Aegor Rivers

Aegor Rivers
Biographical information
Born	In King's Landing
Political information
House(s)	Targaryen (legitimized)
Affiliation(s)	House Blackfyre Golden Company
Title(s)	Captain
Personal information
Also known as	Bittersteel Great Bastard
Culture	Valyrian
Religion	Faith of the Seven
Father	{Aegon IV Targaryen}
Sibling(s)	Paternal half-siblings: Daeron II Targaryen Daenerys Targaryen {Daemon Blackfyre} Brynden Rivers Shiera Seastar

"But wars cost money and Aegor Rivers, the leader of the Blackfyre forces who now called himself "Bittersteel", decided he could sell his army's services to other lords while waiting to return to Westeros. The Golden Company was born. For their words they chose "Beneath the gold, the bitter steel" to remind themselves that they weren't just hired killers, but knights of Westeros who would one day retake their home."

―Jorah Mormont

Aegor Rivers, also known as Bittersteel, is one of the infamous Great Bastards of King Aegon IV Targaryen, also known as "Aegon the Unworthy." He is the founder of the Golden Company, a sellsword company in Essos composed primarily of Westerosi exiles.

Biography

Background

Aegor Rivers was born of bastardy to King Aegon the Unworthy, being considered one of the "Great Bastards." When Daemon Blackfyre, his brother, rose in rebellion against the Iron Throne, Aegor supported the rebels. When the Blackfyres lost the war with the death of the pretender king Daemon on the battlefield, Aegor fled into Essos with the remaining Blackfyre forces.

Aegor, now calling himself "Bittersteel" and fashioning for himself a personal sigil (a red horse with black wings breathing fire on a golden field), founded the Golden Company to fund another war against the Targaryens. The sellsword company, to remind themselves that they are not just sellswords but knights of the Seven Kingdoms who will one day retake their home, chose "Beneath the gold, the bitter steel!" for their battle cry.

Game of Thrones: Season 1

Aegor, along with his siblings is mentioned in the House Targaryen entry of the book The Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms.

Family

Daeron I Targaryen Deceased

Baelor I Targaryen Deceased

Elaena Targaryen

Rhaena Targaryen Deceased

Daena Targaryen Deceased

Aegon IV Targaryen Deceased

Naerys Targaryen Deceased

Aemon Targaryen Deceased

Daemon Blackfyre Deceased

Rohanne of Tyrosh

Aegor Rivers

Brynden Rivers

Shiera Seastar

Daeron II Targaryen

Myriah Martell Deceased

Maron Martell

Daenerys Targaryen

Aegon Blackfyre Deceased

Aemon Blackfyre Deceased

Daemon Blackfyre

Haegon Blackfyre

Wife

Baelor Targaryen

Aerys Targaryen

Aelinor Penrose

Rhaegel Targaryen

Maekar Targaryen

Dyanna Dayne Deceased

Son

Daemon Blackfyre

Son(s)

Daeron Targaryen

Aerion Targaryen

Aemon Targaryen

Aegon Targaryen

In the books

Aegor Rivers by Roman "Amok" Papsuev.©

In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Aegor Rivers was often called "Bittersteel". While King Aegon IV had many bastard children, the mothers of four of them were also noblewomen, which encouraged him to formally acknowledge them. The four Great Bastards were Daemon Blackfyre (whose mother, secretly, was Daena Targaryen), Aegor "Bittersteel" Rivers (whose mother was a member of House Bracken), Brynden "Bloodraven" Rivers (whose mother was a member of House Blackwood), and Shiera Seastar (whose mother was Serenei of Lys, from an ancient Valyrian noble family).

On his deathbed, Aegon IV, perhaps spitefully, had them all legitimized, which led to strife between them and his legitimate heir King Daeron II, tensions which ultimately split the realm apart in the devastating civil war known as the Blackfyre Rebellion.

Bittersteel sided with his half-brother Daemon Blackfyre, while his other half-brother Bloodraven sided with their half-brother King Daeron II Targaryen. Bittersteel and Bloodraven hated each other, because they both competed for the love of their half-sister Shiera Seastar. Bloodraven asked her to marry him dozens of times and she refused, but she did let him into her bed - though she had many lovers. Shiera, however, completely rejected Bittersteel, and for this he never forgave Bloodraven. It also didn't help that Bittersteel's mother was a Bracken and Bloodraven's mother was a Blackwood, as those two noble families had been feuding for thousands of years. Bittersteel became a great champion and general for the Blackfyres, while Bloodraven became a great champion and general for the Targaryens.

The Blackfyre Rebellion ended with the Battle of the Redgrass Field, in which Daemon Blackfyre and his eldest two sons were slain. Bittersteel survived, and became one of the major leaders of the surviving Blackfyre forces as they fled into exile in the Free Cities. Daemon left behind five sons and multiple daughters, so Bittersteel became their guardian, secreting them across the Narrow Sea with his dwindling followers.

While in the Free Cities, many of Bittersteel's remaining men deserted to join mercenary companies. In response, Bittersteel resorted to forming his remaining soldiers into their own mercenary company, called the Golden Company. Day by day and year by year they fought in the petty wars between the different Free Cities in order to make enough money for their basic upkeep. This step at least ensured that the Blackfyre Pretenders would have some semblance of a stable core fighting force whenever they mounted a new plot to invade Westeros. In time, the Golden Company became the largest and most skilled mercenary company in the Free Cities.

Gallery

Aegor, with a shield depicting his own personal sigil, as shown in "The Blackfyres".

Appearances

• – "Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things" (mentioned in text)
• – "A Golden Crown" (mentioned in text)
• – "The Bastards of Westeros" (mentioned indirectly)
• – "The Golden Company" (illustrated)
• – "The Blackfyres" (illustrated)

External links

• Aegor Rivers on A Wiki of Ice and Fire (potential spoilers for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms)

House Blackfyre
Head	Daemon Blackfyre	Heir	Haegon Blackfyre
Seat	Unknown (dispossessed)	Region	Crownlands (exiled) · Tyrosh
Ancestors	Aegon IV Targaryen · Daena Targaryen
Members	Rohanne of Tyrosh · Daemon, son of Haegon
Deceased	Daemon Blackfyre · Aegon Blackfyre · Aemon Blackfyre
Household	Aegor Rivers
Overlords	House Targaryen (formerly)