Daemon Blackfyre

Daemon I Blackfyre, born Daemon Waters, was the bastard son of Princess Daena Targaryen and King Aegon IV Targaryen. Daemon founded House Blackfyre, named after the Targaryen Valyrian steel sword.

Daemon was the first and greatest of the five Blackfyre Pretenders. As a bastard of House Targaryen Daemon bore the arms of House Targaryen with the colors reversed: a black three-headed dragon on a red field. Thus he became known as the Black Dragon.

Appearance and Character
Daemon was tall and powerful, with broad shoulders, muscular arms, and a flat stomach. Targaryen on both sides, Daemon had all the hallmarks of his house. He had strong Targaryen features, with deep purple eyes and silver-gold hair which he wore long, flowing down to his shoulders in a silvery-gold mane. He always went clean-shaven, with neither beard nor mustache. Almost inhumanly beautiful, Daemon looked every inch the warrior, and many thought that he strongly resembled portraits of Aegon the Conqueror.

His armor was ornate and costly, all black and red plate, and his warhelm was distinctive, with batlike steel "dragon wings" on the sides.

Daemon matured into a man of considerable charm and strength, mastering all weapons of the battlefield, but with the sword Blackfyre in hand he was said to fight like the Warrior himself. He won friends easily and women were drawn to him.

Early Life
In late 170 AC Princess Daena Targaryen gave birth to Daemon in King's Landing. He was named for Daena's grandfather, Prince Daemon Targaryen, "for the Prince Daemon who had been the wonder and the terror of his age". Although Daena refused to name Daemon's father, many people suspected the involvement of Prince Aegon Targaryen.

Daemon was raised in the Red Keep and was taught arms by Ser Quentyn Ball, the master-at-arms at the Red Keep. In 182 AC, when he was twelve years old, Daemon participated in a squire's tourney, which he won. King Aegon IV Targaryen personally knighted Daemon and publicly bestowed the Targaryen Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre on him,finally acknowledging him as his son. There were some who felt that the sword symbolized the monarchy as it had been the sword of King Aegon I Targaryen, the Conqueror, and had been passed on from king to king ever since. Aegon's public gift of the sword would eventually start the first talk that Daemon should be king. Following the acquisition of the sword, Daemon took the name "Blackfyre" for himself.

King Aegon IV negotiated a betrothal for Daemon to Rohanne of Tyrosh. Daemon's supporters would later claim that Daemon had desired to marry his younger half-sister, Daenerys, instead and that King Aegon, who desired the marriage alliance to Tyrosh, had promised Daemon that he could have more than one wife. In 184 AC, while Aegon IV was on his deathbed, he legitimized all of his bastards; those born to noblewomen, including Daemon, became known as the Great Bastards. Daemon's trueborn half-brother, Daeron II Targaryen, ascended the throne following Aegon's death. He refused to allow Daemon more than one wife, paid the dowry his late father had promised to the Archon of Tyrosh, and saw Daemon wed to Rohanne in early 184 AC, granting him a tract of land near the Blackwater on his wedding day, with the right to raise a castle. Daemon and Rohanne had a fertile marriage. Their twin sons, Aegon and Aemon, were born later that same year. They were followed by five more sons, and at least two daughters.

In 187 AC, Daemon participated in Princess Daenerys's wedding tourney. He was defeated in the final tilt by Prince Baelor Targaryen, Daeron II's eldest son.

Meanwhile, the growing influence of the Dornish at court, the Dornish appearance of Daeron II's heir, the sudden change of Dornish enemies to Dornish allies, Daeron's rumored illegitimacy (started by King Aegon IV during his reign), and Aegon IV's previous public gift of Blackfyre, the "sword of kings", to Daemon caused several nobles and knights to start mistrusting Daeron II and Baelor, while seeing promise in Daemon. Men began to approach Daemon, but it took them many years to convince Daemon to declare his claim. Maester Yandel considers it likely that it had been Aegor Rivers, Daemon's younger half-brother, who had managed to convince Daemon in the end. According to King Maekar I Targaryen, it had been both Aegor Rivers and Ser Quentyn Ball, the master-at-arms at the Red Keep, who had played the largest role in convincing Daemon. Aegor pressed him to proclaim his claim for the Iron Throne, and after Daemon agreed to a betrothal between his eldest daughter, Calla, and Aegor Rivers, his efforts increased. Many lords and knights joined in.[9] Besides the influences of his councillors, Daemon had come to resent having the status of bastard and what it represented.

Following the Blackfyre defeat in the first rebellion (which included the death of Daemon himself and his eldest two children, Aegon and Aemon), Daemon's bastard half-brother, Ser Aegor Rivers, fled to Tyrosh with Daemon's remaining children and widow. From there, Daemon's descendants continued to plot. Four more rebellions would follow, until 260 AC, when Maelys I Blackfyre, the last male of House Blackfyre, was slain on the Stepstones during the War of the Ninepenny Kings.