0:02 aan the Dragon Knight is one of the most
0:04 famous characters in the inworld history
0:07 of A Song of Ice and Fire mentioned more
0:09 than 30 times in the main series and
0:12 counting but who was he and why is he so
0:15 important let's take a look hi everyone
0:17 this is Robert welcome to indeep geek on
0:19 this channel well if you've been here a
0:21 while you know the rest of this intro so
0:24 let's move on and if you're new welcome
0:26 and this video is another collaboration
0:28 with the wonderful history of westros
0:30 please do check out their amazing
0:32 YouTube channel and podcast there's a
0:33 link in the
0:36 description in Bran's second chapter in
0:38 the first book we find him daydreaming
0:40 about stories of Knighthood and that
0:43 someday he'll be in the King's Guard a
0:45 few chapters later R sansa's first and
0:47 she too is thinking of her favorite
0:50 stories daydreaming of chivalry and
0:52 romance it's easy to forget how young
0:54 they are after all they've gone through
0:56 since then how many of those stories
0:58 have since come to life in ways that are
1:00 anything like the stories children dream
1:03 of bran endearingly reminds us of his
1:05 youthfulness at one point by referring
1:07 to the tal Sansa prefers as kissing
1:09 stories while he favors those that
1:13 center around battles only one character
1:15 appeals to both of their preferences at
1:18 the same time only one who checks off
1:20 all the boxes for both bran and Sansa
1:23 while also inspiring singers historians
1:26 Knights Romantics or anyone who loves a
1:29 good story a legend one of the most
1:32 famous in all the history of Westeros
1:34 Prince Aon the Dragon
1:37 Knight Prince aan Targaryen was born in
1:40 136 to Prince viseris Targaryen and Lara
1:43 rer of the free city of lease a city
1:45 rooted deep in Valyrian culture Prince
1:49 viseris was only 13 or 14 when Aon was
1:51 born a young father even by Wester Rosy
1:54 standards and this wasn't even his first
1:56 as aon's brother Aon preceded him by
1:58 about half a year it is reported that
2:02 Aon the future of the aegon IV not yet 2
2:04 years of age was found beating his
2:07 infant brother with a dragon's egg a
2:08 portent for their relationship going
2:11 forward and quite ominous to the realm
2:12 at large given that the dance of the
2:15 Dragons had ended only 5 years prior if
2:17 targarian princes are already fighting
2:20 in the Cradle what would they do in 20
2:23 years as adults with hatched and grown
2:25 dragons though aon's relationship with
2:27 his brother was never easy thankfully
2:29 the realm never found out what they
2:31 would like with Dragons within two
2:34 decades there were no more dragons at
2:37 all for House Targaryen but there was a
2:39 dragon knight a nickname that came from
2:41 the distinct three-headed dragon Helm
2:44 and Crest he wore and it wasn't just a
2:46 dangerous sounding Monica he grew up to
2:48 be the finest sword in the realm
2:51 knighted at age 17 and given dark sister
2:54 to wield by his uncle King aegon
2:57 theii a lot changed for House Targaryen
3:00 in this era not only were the Dr dragons
3:02 gone but most of the adult targaryens
3:04 were killed in the dance or died soon
3:07 after this led to a need to
3:10 rejuso of exceptionalism penned in the
3:13 time of the Old King jeris that stated
3:15 that the targaryens didn't have to live
3:17 by the rules of the seven like everyone
3:19 else they were different and didn't have
3:21 to obey the rules everyone else did when
3:25 it came to incest polygamy and ruling
3:28 why well because dragons that's why a
3:30 simplified version of the argument was
3:33 spread about the seven clearly are okay
3:35 with how the targaryens live because
3:37 they'd strike them down otherwise so
3:39 they can marry each other and do all
3:41 their Valyrian dragon lord business and
3:43 that's that anyone who pushed the
3:45 argument further would find themselves
3:49 at a literal dead end why well because
3:51 dragons that's why you can't argue with
3:55 that but that logic clearly collapses in
3:57 a Dragoness world the basis for their
4:00 exceptionalism was gone House Targaryen
4:03 wasn't done for however and got ahead of
4:04 this critical problem through two
4:07 Central methods one by embracing the
4:09 seven to a degree much greater than
4:11 before and two by proving they were
4:13 still a military force to be reckoned
4:16 with even without dragons both of these
4:18 qualities were embodied to their utmost
4:21 Perfection by Prince aan the Dragon
4:23 Knight he was apparently as Pious as he
4:26 was dangerous qualities that led him to
4:28 be named to the King's Guard at an early
4:30 age and eventually Lord
4:32 Commander his brother aegon was
4:34 dangerous too though not so much as a
4:37 warrior and he was not Pious at all
4:40 however their sister nerice there were
4:42 the three siblings was also as devout as
4:45 they come were told she loved the seven
4:48 and she loved her brother aan and he
4:51 loved her in return but it was Aon whom
4:54 she had to marry and Aon who eventually
4:56 became king and if anything he had the
4:59 opposite qualities he was cruel greedy
5:01 and nothing sacred about matters of
5:04 Faith or anything really this was after
5:07 all the king who became known as Aon the
5:09 Unworthy but we're getting a little
5:11 ahead of ourselves for although his
5:13 relationship with his siblings is
5:16 Central to understanding Aon Aon was the
5:18 last of five Kings in whose Kings guards he
5:19 he
5:22 served the longest reign of the five was
5:24 Aon III who sat on the throne for 26
5:27 years during that Reign nerice married
5:29 aegon as she was expected to and near
5:31 the end of that long tenure she gave
5:35 birth to her first child it was the
5:38 year3 and they named him Daren he would
5:41 eventually be crowned Darren II only
5:44 four years later aegon III died and his
5:47 son Darren I 1 was crowned so yes that
5:49 means that there were two darons and two
5:52 aons at the same time here Targaryen
5:55 naming conventions can get confusing
5:57 though that would not last long because
5:59 King Darren I First's Reign was short
6:02 almost as soon as he was crowned he set
6:04 about invading Dawn he loudly stated
6:07 that they didn't need dragons and proved
6:10 it somewhat there was no doubt about
6:13 prince aan in all this who distinguished
6:15 himself in the war by fighting alongside
6:17 the king who apparently LED from the
6:19 front at least sometimes this would have
6:21 been quite a sight to see since King
6:24 Daron wielded Blackfire in battle and
6:27 Prince aan wielded dark sister side by
6:29 side the two targaryan blades dealt
6:32 death to dornishman in the Deep deserts
6:35 but Dawn was not intimidated by dragons
6:38 so why would they fear swords even fancy
6:40 Ones Still their bravery and expertise
6:43 in local Warfare was not sufficient this
6:45 time they realized they could not defeat
6:47 Daran and Aon and the rest in open
6:50 combat after all and turned to other
6:53 means a poisoned Arrow was fired at King
6:55 Daron at some point but the Dragonite
6:58 blocked it with his own body he managed
6:59 to survive but it seems to have being
7:02 close he had to return to King's Landing
7:05 to heal while he was out of action the
7:08 dornish threw off the iron thron's yoke
7:10 revoking their forced surrender and
7:12 resuming the war Darren was quick to
7:14 respond and by the time his army was
7:17 prepared Aon was ready to fight by his
7:19 side again Darren's strategic abilities
7:22 were as exceptional as his support staff
7:23 and it wasn't long before the dorish
7:26 sued for peace a second time they asked
7:29 to meet and discuss terms Darren agreed
7:32 but it was a trap the dornish used the
7:34 parlay as a cover for an ambush and
7:37 though the Dragon Knight slew two foes
7:39 this time their assassination attempt
7:41 succeeded King Daren lay dead on the
7:43 field with two other King's guards slain
7:46 at his side Prince Aon did not die
7:49 beside his King though it's not unlikely
7:50 he felt it to be exactly what he
7:53 deserved he was captured and held in
7:56 captivity by house will a house known
7:58 for their extreme violence especially
8:00 towards house targar
8:02 it was they who made Oris barathon into
8:05 Oris one hand you can recall that Oris
8:07 got his revenge on the son of the Lord
8:09 will who did that to him by removing not
8:11 just the one hand but the other and his
8:14 feet it would not have been a surprise
8:16 then to see house will further the cycle
8:19 of Violence by maming Prince aan in a
8:21 similar manner instead they hanged him
8:24 in a crow cage in the desert above a pit
8:27 of vipers he may not have known it at
8:29 the time since his captors probably kept
8:32 it to themselves but help was on the way
8:34 the source of the help may not have been
8:37 unexpected but the means Were King Daren
8:39 was quite Young when he died and had no
8:41 children so the throne passed to his
8:44 brother Balor and the new king Balor
8:46 immediately set out to atone for his
8:49 brother's War by walking from King's
8:52 Landing all the way to sunspear Barefoot
8:53 with a peace offer to be sealed via
8:56 marriage at last the realm could be
8:58 United by peaceful means instead of
9:01 Conquest Prince aan thus must have been
9:03 as stunned as he was horrified when he
9:06 saw King Balor walking towards his cage
9:08 intent on freeing him despite the danger
9:10 of the Vipers this is a man who was
9:12 willing to die to save his king and the
9:14 stakes were much higher this time
9:16 because if Bor the Blessed died before
9:19 the peace treaty could be agreed to
9:21 there would be no peace at all House
9:23 Targaryen would surely go to war again
9:26 if a dornishman slew King Balor he
9:29 managed to talk Balor into leaving him
9:31 that his life surely wasn't important
9:33 enough to risk Another fullscale War
9:35 bayor reluctantly agreed but assured
9:39 them all that he would return and he did
9:40 he went all the way to sunpar where the
9:42 marriage of Prince Darren and Princess
9:45 miria Martell was agreed to and then he
9:47 turned around and walked all the way
9:50 back now keep in mind most of dawn
9:52 didn't want Bay Lord dead they'd lived
9:54 through a number of aggressive targaryan
9:57 monarchs invasions dragons Etc you'd
9:59 think they'd like the idea of a pacifist
10:01 neighbor for once and from what we're
10:03 told quite a few in Dawn saw the wisdom
10:07 in that but house will is different they
10:10 were told to leave bayor be but kept to
10:12 the letter of that order rather than the
10:15 spirit of it Aon knew this but this time
10:17 there was no talking bayor out of a
10:20 rescue attempt the wills of course
10:22 didn't try to stop him they just laughed
10:25 and handed him the key and bayor walked
10:27 straight up to the cage to unlock it
10:29 apparently unconcerned with the V ERS
10:32 around his feet but they were certainly
10:34 concerned with him and he was repeatedly
10:36 bitten before he managed to unlock the
10:39 cage with Aon in it aan had been starved
10:41 and left to waste away for weeks if not
10:44 months but his King was collapsing now
10:46 in front of him from those snake bites
10:49 somehow he cloned to the top of the cage
10:51 while holding bayor over his shoulder
10:53 and jumped clear of the pit an
10:55 astonishing feat given how fatigued and
10:57 weak he must have been after so much
10:59 exposure but wherever he found that
11:01 strength he had enough left to continue
11:04 North after jumping he had no time to
11:06 rest the King was dying of
11:09 poison thankfully bayor recovered over
11:11 the next 6 months and it must have been
11:13 a great relief to the realm and Aon
11:16 himself and most of Baylor's Reign
11:17 appears to have been a positive time for
11:19 the Dragon Knight though his rule was
11:21 erratic and many decisions
11:24 ill-considered there was no war Aon
11:26 however probably had other things on his
11:29 mind as his sister nerice who he loved
11:31 remember despite her being married to
11:33 his brother delivered stillborn twins in
11:36 the first year of Baylor's Reign though
11:38 she was in ill health and spirits after
11:40 this and never robust in the first place
11:43 Aon continued to press her for more
11:45 children King Balor intervened in a
11:47 manner of speaking by choosing Aon to go
11:50 on an ambassadorial mission to
11:52 braavos this was likely when aan was
11:54 raised to Lord commander of the King's
11:56 Guard as well his predecessor was
11:58 probably slain in Dawn perhaps during
12:00 the Ambush par
12:02 aan and NYS were thus free of their
12:04 awful brother for a spell while he
12:06 predictably fathered more children in
12:10 Bravos by this time aegon already had a
12:11 number of bastards and he was nowhere
12:13 near finished on that account there were
12:15 so many that we can't even be sure of
12:18 the number on the other hand when bayor
12:21 died after a 10-year Reign he had no
12:23 children at all he had famously shunned
12:26 a marriage to his sister Dana and fasted
12:28 himself to death after she had aasted
12:30 with another man who whom she refused to
12:33 name years later it was revealed that
12:35 aegon himself was the father of this
12:38 child called Damon Waters only to be
12:41 later renamed Damon Blackfire but in the
12:43 short term it made the hand of the King
12:47 viseris II the new king but his Reign
12:49 lasted less than a year and a half so
12:51 aegon the man with so many bastards in
12:55 turn became the new king Aon IV and in
12:56 quite an astonishing example of
12:59 hypocrisy early in his reign aegon
13:01 started accusing his sister wife queen
13:04 nerice of infidelity herself claiming
13:06 that their son Prince Darren was not his
13:09 at all but to the child of the Dragon
13:12 Knight to add to the confusion aegon
13:14 didn't start making these accusations
13:16 until Prince Darren was a full-grown man
13:18 of perhaps 20 and he never technically
13:20 removed him as his Heir which he surely
13:24 would have done if he had proof so did
13:27 aiman break his vows with nerice the
13:30 truth is we don't know just because King
13:32 Aon was an awful man doesn't mean he's
13:35 lying here and even if Aon is not the
13:37 father of Daren it doesn't mean that Aon
13:39 and NES didn't have a romantic
13:41 relationship they clearly did care very
13:44 deeply about each other there are
13:46 clearly some rich parallels here in A
13:49 Song of Ice and Fire aan and nerice were
13:50 brother and sister King's Guard and
13:54 queen like Loris and margorie tyel in
13:56 both cases the queen was protected by
13:58 her valorous brother in part from the
14:01 King himself self but aegon I four would
14:02 have us believe that they were more like
14:06 Jaimie and Cersei to be fair this does
14:08 fit pretty well given how much Robert
14:10 Baratheon has in common with Aon the
14:12 Unworthy and these are targaryens we're
14:14 talking about meaning they aren't
14:16 disgusted by incest like most people
14:19 still both aan and ner seem to have been
14:22 highly Pious individuals and it appears
14:24 that they were the sincere sort not the
14:27 cynical type perhaps they slept together
14:29 just before thees enforced marriage to
14:32 Aon in a moment of weakness Daren was
14:34 the result and aan joined the King's
14:36 Guard shortly after by way of penance we
14:39 don't know but that would make sense
14:41 perhaps even they never knew for sure if
14:44 Darren was theirs and Aon only started
14:46 the rumors when he started thinking
14:47 about the succession himself and
14:49 compared Darren to his own grown-up
14:52 bastard children we'll probably never
14:55 know for sure in any event it all came
14:57 to a head when King aon's catspa sir
15:00 moril hawick made a formal accusation
15:03 against nerice Prince Aon was quick to
15:06 challenge this accusation and slew sir
15:09 morgel in a trial by combat a major
15:12 backfire for King aegon now in the sight
15:15 of Gods and Men Queen nar's innocence
15:18 was proven as was aon's even a king
15:22 can't overrule the gods perhaps Aon
15:23 would have been better to get a better
15:25 fighter to accuse nerice even in middle
15:27 age the Dragon Knight was
15:30 fearsome one other time aan entered
15:32 attorney as a mystery Knight so as to
15:35 name nerice the queen of love and beauty
15:37 he supposedly did this because his
15:38 brother was planning on giving the
15:40 Laurel to one of his Mistresses which
15:42 would be a bit of a slap in the face to
15:46 his queen aan of course won the Tony and
15:47 nar's honor was
15:50 protected it is stories like these that
15:53 appealed to both bran and Sansa years
15:56 later so let's tell one more to
15:59 underline the character of the man one
16:02 day King aegon IV Came Upon one of his
16:04 Mistresses Bethany Bracken a bed with
16:07 one of the white cloaks s Terren toin
16:09 King Aon had the Knight pulled apart
16:12 slowly while forcing Bethany to watch in
16:15 Revenge C terrance's Brothers ambushed
16:17 the king Aon the Dragon Knight was there
16:21 to save his King's life again and died
16:23 in the process he appears not to have
16:26 hesitated for a second despite the fact
16:28 that the man he died to protect was
16:30 arguably the worst King in the history
16:32 of Westeros had consistently harmed the
16:35 woman he loved and slandered her Aon had
16:38 sworn an oath and to him that meant more
16:40 than the man on the throne it
16:42 represented a standard for others to
16:44 follow the King's Guard doesn't choose
16:49 the king they protect him Prince Aon was
16:51 a man of Duty and a knight of the King's
16:52 Guard who dies in battle while
16:54 protecting the king can be said to have
16:57 truly fallen in the line of duty that
16:58 and the fact that he was success
17:00 uccessful in His Last Stand helps
17:03 explain why he is arguably the most
17:05 beloved and heroic member of House
17:07 Targaryen in World almost everyone seems
17:10 to talk about him in an almost AED reverential
17:11 reverential
17:14 way we may have more nuanced views of
17:16 him but in the story even the young
17:18 members of house Stark seem to love
17:21 Prince aan the Dragonite more perhaps
17:23 than any of their own ancestors of
17:25 legend or recent memory the sheer weight
17:28 he carries in A Song of Ice and Fire
17:30 despite having been dead for so long is
17:33 compelling enough but we're sure to see
17:35 even more parallels emerge in the long
17:38 run as the rest of the story unfolds as
17:40 well as the Jamie and Cersei Echoes
17:42 there's also maester Aon of course who
17:45 was named after aan the Dragonite and
17:49 also chose Duty over love but to know
17:51 more we'll have to wait for blood and
17:53 fire AKA Fire and Blood part two which
17:56 will cover the period Prince aan lived
17:59 it's even conceivable we'll see him with
18:01 dark sister and his famous three-headed
18:04 dragon Helm on TV someday we can but
18:07 hope for both if you'd like to see more
18:09 videos like this diving deep into George
18:11 ARA Martin's World Of Ice And Fire
18:12 there's a playlist now on the left of
18:15 your screen or to support this channel
18:17 thank you there's a link to my patreon
18:19 page on the right of your screen that's
18:21 all for this time thanks for watching
