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You've loosened one of my teeth... so we'll start by breaking all of yours. You look familiar. (Duncan: You took me for a stableboy). I recall you refused to take my horse. Why did you throw your life away? For this whore? She's scarcely worth it. A traitor. The dragon ought never lose.
~ Aerion Brightflame confronting Duncan while abusing Tanselle.
Aerion's quite the monster. He thinks he's a dragon in human form, You know.
~ Prince Daeron Targaryen on Aerion.

Prince Aerion Targaryen, better known as Aerion Brightflame, is a supporting antagonist in the A Song of Ice and Fire novel franchise, appearing as the main antagonist of the 1998 novella The Hedge Knight, the first instalment of the Tales of Dunk & Egg novella series. 

Aerion is remembered as one of the worst sufferers of the Targaryen Madness.

Appearance[]

Aerion was renowned for his monstrous cruelty and insanity. He was slim and of average height, with curly silver hair, a statuesque face with sharp cheekbones, a straight chin and pale skin, and violet eyes.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Aerion Targaryen was born around 191-194 AC as the second son of Prince Maekar Targaryen and his wife, Lady Dyanna Dayne. Prince Maekar was the fourth son of King Daeron II, the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms of the continent of Westeros. House Targaryen traced its lineage back to the Freehold of Valyria, an empire located on the eastern continent of Essos that dominated the world thanks to its advanced knowledge of magic and its control of dragons. Valyria was destroyed in a cataclysm known as the "Doom of Valyria," and the Targaryens, the last of the Valyrian dragonlords, conquered Westeros and formed the Seven Kingdoms roughly a century later.

Aerion had five siblings: Prince Daeron, born in 190 or 191 AC; Prince Aemon, born in 198 AC; Princess Daella, born in 199 AC; Prince Aegon, born in 200 AC; and Princess Rhae, born sometime between 201-209 AC. Aerion was always an exceptionally cruel boy and was loathed by his youngest brother, Aegon, who was often the victim of Aerion's torments. Aerion once threw Aegon's pet cat down a well and would visit him in the middle of the night and hold a knife to his privates, jesting that he would remove his privates and turn him into a sister to marry. Aerion hid his true nature from his father, and was all smiles and courtesies whenever Maekar was around.

The Hedge Knight[]

Aerion meets Duncan the Tall

Aerion encountering Ser Duncan the Tall.

Aerion arrives at the castle of Ashford with his retinue and three of The Kingsguard to attend a tourney at Ashford Meadow, which is hosted by House Ashford. Upon encountering the hedge knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, Aerion mistook him for a stableboy. When Duncan insisted that he was not a stableboy, he was then ordered by Aerion to fetch him wine and a "pretty wench," but Duncan tells him that he is not also a servingman and that he has the honor to be a knight. This caused Aerion to insult him. Turning to a stableboy, the prince orders him to take care of his horse and summon a wench who will take care of him.

Later, during the tourney, Aerion, in his armor and flame-crested helm, challenges Ser Humfrey Hardyng to a joust. During the joust, Aerion disgraced himself by impaling Ser Humfrey's horse with his lance, causing the horse to die a slow and agonizing death while Ser Humfrey suffered from a leg injury he had received. Because of the incident, Aerion ended up getting disqualified, and Ser Humfrey Hardyng was declared the winner of the tourney. Aerion was then furious when his own horse was given to Humfrey to pay for his loss.

Aerion attacks Tanselle

Aerion as he cruelly breaks some of Tanselle's fingers.

That evening, he and his guards attacked a Dornish puppeteer named Tanselle, who was putting on a puppet show that depicts a knight slaying a dragon. Taking this as an insult, Aerion, in his wrath, assaulted Tanselle and claimed that she and her fellow puppeteers are traitors and that the "dragon ought never lose." He then broke some of her fingers, causing her to scream in pain. Aerion was soon attacked by Duncan, who was alerted of the incident by his squire Egg, and the hedge knight struck the prince hard in the face, which loosened one of Aerion's teeth.

After the guards subdued Duncan, Aerion, upon recognizing the latter as the same hedge knight he encountered earlier, demanded the reason behind his actions and reminded Duncan that Tanselle, who is referred to as a "whore," is a traitor, mainly because her puppet show depicts a dragon's death at the hands of a knight. He then angrily reminds Duncan that the dragon should never lose. Before Aerion could make an attempt to break all of Duncan's teeth in an act of retaliation for what he did, Egg immediately intervened, and the latter revealed himself as Prince Aegon Targaryen. Recognizing his little brother, whose head is completely bald, Aerion demanded that he explain what happened to his hair, and Aegon revealed that he cut it off so that he would not look like his brother. However, it wasn't Aegon who cut off his own hair; it was one of his other brothers, Prince Daeron.

Because Duncan had attacked Aerion, striking someone of royal blood is considered treason, and the hedge knight was imprisoned for that crime. He was later informed by Crown Prince Baelor Targaryen that Aerion had been telling his father that the puppet show was a sign of treason and revolt and that he wanted Duncan's head. Though Prince Baelor advised Duncan to demand a trial by combat, Aerion, however, soon learned of this plot and invoked a trial of seven during Duncan's court trial. When Aerion's father, Prince Maekar, worriedly wanted to know if his son was afraid to fight the hedge knight alone, Aerion arrogantly brushed it off and told his father that his brother Daeron had also been wronged by Duncan. When Daeron tells his brother that he prefers to cheer him on, Aerion insisted that he should also partake in the trial by seven, as he would be denied the chance to get revenge on Duncan if he didn't participate.

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Aerion joins in the Trial of Seven.

When the day of the trial came, Aerion arrived with Daeron, their father, Ser Steffon Fossoway, and three of the Kingsguard. When Duncan was summoned by Lord Ashford, Aerion, on his horse, appeared beside Duncan and sardonically bullied him for only having five members on his team, which are Lord Lyonel Baratheon, the vengeful Ser Humfrey Hardyng, Ser Robyn Rhysling, and Ser Humfrey Beesbury, but Duncan corrected him by revealing that he has six since Ser Steffon's squire and cousin Raymun have been knighted. However, since Duncan has only six knights and doesn't have one more, he has to be declared guilty, which is in accordance with the rules and law. When Duncan struggled to find one more member, Aerion laughed at him and, in his arrogance, yelled out that the dragon was not mocked. Just then, Prince Baelor, who came to support Duncan, arrived wearing his son's armor, which stunned his brother Maekar.

Aerion meets his defeat

Aerion meets his defeat at the hands of Duncan the Tall.

In the opening phase of the trial, Aerion immediately jousted with Duncan and managed to wound him with his tourney lance, with a piece of it being imbedded in Duncan's chest. Aerion then uses his own horse to unhorse Duncan before striking him with his Morningstar. Approaching the hedge knight, who lay on the ground, Aerion demanded that he surrender and admit his guilt, saying that he'd only take his offending hand and one of his feet. Changing the subject to Duncan's teeth, Aerion mocks him by suggesting that he can eat peat porridge.

When Duncan didn't respond, the former threatened him by slamming his Morningstar to the ground. Duncan, refusing to accept defeat and using his size and knowledge in brawling, proceeded to force Aerion to the ground and pummel him. A terrified Aerion was then forced to surrender. When Duncan gets distracted as he watches the rest of his team battle their opponents, Aerion tries to reach for his Morningstar but is stopped by Duncan, who then drags him before Lord Ashford, and Aerion is forced to declare his withdrawal of his accusation. In the aftermath of the trial, Prince Baelor tragically died from a head injury that was accidentally inflicted on him by Prince Maekar.

Exile[]

Prince Baelor's death as a result of the way Aerion behaved during the tourney was a wake-up call for Maekar. Hoping to change the Bright Prince's ways, he sent Aerion into exile for a few years, during which Aerion was sent to live in the Free City of Lys, a city-state situated on Essos. This proved not to be the case; Aerion rode with the sellsword company, the Second Sons, for a while and possibly fathered some bastards in Lys. Aerion arrived just in time to fight in the third Blackfyre Rebellion, and while they are "known well," his part in the rebellion is unknown. Alongside Brynden Rivers, Aerion advocated for the captured Aegor Rivers to be executed, but King Aerys I refused and foolishly sent him to the Wall instead, resulting in Bittersteel escaping.

Death[]

Aerion's vanity and insanity culminated when, while drunk, he drank a cup of Wildfire in the delusional belief that he would become a dragon. The Wildfire burned him from the inside out, and Aerion died screaming.

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