Daemon Targaryen

Biodata

Background / History

Dragonstone and Daemon Blackfyre

Daemon first appears riding Caraxes above Dragonstone, urging the crimson dragon to hurry toward the herring shoals around Tidehead Island. His appearance closely resembles Daemon Blackfyre’s younger self 3.

He befriends Blackfyre during the latter’s confinement, admiring his defiance and knowledge of military formations rather than treating his uncertain origins as grounds for rejection. Daemon helps him leave the tower and later circles anxiously on Caraxes while Blackfyre confronts Glutton, reacting with astonishment and excitement when the pair emerge through the cavern roof 7 8.

At the tournament celebrating Princess Rhaenyra’s birth, Baelon gives sixteen-year-old Daemon Dark Sister, declaring him worthy of knighthood. Blackfyre receives the Targaryen name and the sword Blackfyre at the same ceremony, leaving the two namesakes armed with separate ancestral Valyrian steel blades 18.

Marriage and the Riverlands Tour

Daemon initially approaches his arranged marriage with confidence, boasting that a man who could tame Caraxes could manage a bride from the Vale. His relationship with Rhea Royce soon becomes openly hostile. After threatening to burn House Royce’s gates, he is punished by Jaehaerys and Baelon and left with a badly injured leg requiring a cane and, later, a cast 21 28 34.

He rejoins Blackfyre’s traveling party at Saltpans, arriving on Caraxes with a supportive letter from Baelon. At Harrenhal, his mockery of House Strong and Ser Lucamore’s numerous children provokes their hosts; Blackfyre strikes him with his sword’s pommel, has him removed, and apologizes on his behalf 52 55.

Despite his injury, Daemon remains an active combatant. He helps Blackfyre subdue Bracken and Blackwood forces without killing anyone, then fights bandits at Oldstones with Dark Sister. At Seagard, he joins Blackfyre and Gael in destroying Ironborn longships and routing the raiders 62 71 73.

During the visit to Riverrun, Daemon grows close to Lysa Tully, taking her riding on Caraxes and exchanging farewell gifts with her. Their attachment concerns Blackfyre and the Tully leadership and angers the accompanying Royce knights. At the Twins, Daemon accuses Lord Frey of enabling Walder Frey’s attacks and extortion, then leaves for King’s Landing the following morning 67 79.

City Watch and Court Tournaments

When Blackfyre returns to King’s Landing, Daemon announces that he has become commander of the City Watch. He continues sparring with his namesake and is summoned to the Small Council during one of their training sessions 122 124.

Daemon enters both himself and Blackfyre in the swordsmanship contest. He reaches the final after defeating Rupert with Dark Sister, praising his opponent and offering to teach him further techniques. The documented account ends with the two Daemons preparing to fight; it does not establish the swordsmanship final’s winner 140 143.

In the later jousting final, Daemon nearly unhorses Blackfyre but is ultimately outmaneuvered and defeated. Blackfyre then crowns Gael Queen of Love and Beauty 148.

Stepstones and Tyrosh Campaign

Daemon fights with the Joint Fleet against the Triarchy, conducting aerial attacks on Caraxes and boarding enemy ships with Dark Sister. At Echo Bay, he attacks the sellswords defending the cliff ballistae and joins the assault on the enemy ironclads. During a boarding action, Blackfyre saves him from an attacker approaching from behind 161 162.

At Grey Gallows, he is assigned to attack from the south and later ordered west to prevent Dornish ships from reinforcing the defenders. He captures a prisoner who reveals that the Dornish vessels are bait rather than the main force. He also rallies Westerlands soldiers by offering one hundred gold dragons for the live capture of the sellsword commander 167 168 169.

Before the assault on Tyrosh, Daemon explains the weakness of Archon Selos’s position: his violent seizure of power, financial troubles, and suppressed noble opposition make military defeat especially dangerous for him. Blackfyre’s assessment of the campaign distinguishes Daemon’s dissolute behavior away from battle from his consistent willingness to charge at the front 174 175.

Following Tyrosh’s defeat, Daemon persuades Blackfyre to visit Nightingale Alley with the younger Erio, enjoying music and mead while peace negotiations proceed 178.

Family Life and the Iron Islands Command

Daemon attends Blackfyre and Gael’s wedding on Dragonstone with Rhea. Uncharacteristically quiet during the ceremony, he watches the couple with a sincere smile. Later, after Aemma loses her child, he and Rhea soften toward one another while helping care for the children 191 205.

When the Small Council considers a commander for the campaign against the Ironborn, Corlys Velaryon nominates Daemon to command the Royal Fleet and coordinate a broad blockade. Daemon volunteers, and Jaehaerys appoints him vanguard commander. He departs on Caraxes toward the Riverlands as the fleet sails from King’s Landing 239.

Appearance

Daemon has a youthful, handsome face, silver-gold hair, and deep violet eyes; Blackfyre initially sees him as an almost exact image of himself at sixteen 3.

• Disheveled presentation: His hair often hangs messily over his brow, and his cloak is carelessly fastened 7.
• Leg injury: He uses a cane and wears a cast following his punishment over House Royce, though he continues riding and fighting 28 34 71.
• Campaign clothing: Before the Tyrosh assault, he wears modified black-and-red riding clothes 175.

Personality

Daemon is irreverent, competitive, and contemptuous of rigid court behavior. He prefers Blackfyre’s defiance to the castle courtiers’ bowing and scraping, and his rebelliousness reflects a strong desire for freedom. That same lack of restraint leads him to threaten House Royce and insult House Strong while accepting its hospitality 7 28 55.

His recklessness coexists with loyalty and compassion. He remains dependable in battle, repeatedly leading from the front, and responds fiercely to the suffering caused by the Ironborn. After comforting a girl whose family the raiders murdered, he personally executes the final prisoner with a steady, precise stroke despite his injured leg 74 175.

Abilities & Skills

Dragonriding

Daemon rides Caraxes, using the crimson dragon for travel, reconnaissance, and attacks coordinated with other Targaryen riders 3 52 161.

• Burns enemy ships and attacks coastal defenses 73 161.
• Disrupts warships physically, including shattering an ironclad’s mast with Caraxes’s claws 169.
• Transitions directly from dragonback into boarding combat 162 169.
• Remains vulnerable to battlefield surprise; Blackfyre intervenes when a mercenary attacks him from behind 162.

Swordsmanship and Mounted Combat

Daemon fights with Dark Sister in duels, cavalry actions, and shipboard engagements 71 143 162.

• Counters Rupert’s powerful finishing strike to win their tournament semifinal 143.
• Helps disarm and subdue opposing Bracken and Blackwood companies without fatalities 62.
• Reaches the jousting final and comes close to unhorsing Blackfyre 148.
• Retains precise sword control despite his leg injury, demonstrated during the Ironborn executions 74.

Leadership and Political Assessment

Daemon combines direct battlefield leadership with knowledge of Tyroshi politics 169 174.

• Encourages troops through personal example and a monetary reward for capturing an enemy commander 169.
• Identifies Selos’s political and financial vulnerabilities before the attack on Tyrosh 174.
• Earns appointment to lead the Iron Islands campaign’s vanguard and coordinate the blockade 239.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Dark Sister — A slender Valyrian steel sword with a ruby-set hilt, formerly Queen Visenya’s weapon; given to Daemon by Baelon when he is sixteen 18.
• Ordinary steel sword — His early weapon on Dragonstone, carried in a dented scabbard before he receives Dark Sister 7.
• Captured Tyroshi short blade — Worn alongside Dark Sister during the campaign; its sheath bears the Bleeding Tower’s emblem 175.
• Cane and leg cast — Used during recovery from his punishment for threatening House Royce 28 34.
• Embroidered trout ornament — A farewell gift from Lysa Tully; he gives her a ruby accessory in return 67.

Relationships

• Daemon Blackfyre Targaryen — Publicly his cousin, treated as a younger brother; in Blackfyre’s original lineage, Daemon is his great-grandfather. They become friends, rivals, and battlefield companions 7 32 175 244.
• Baelon Targaryen — Father. Gives him Dark Sister, punishes his threats against House Royce, and later orders him to treat Rhea better during their visit to Runestone 18 28 154.
• Jaehaerys Targaryen — Grandfather and king. Disciplines his misconduct but ultimately entrusts him with the Iron Islands vanguard command 28 239.
• Alysanne Targaryen — Grandmother. Reproves his destructive enthusiasm and arranges medical attention and honeyed wine when he arrives injured 14 28.
• Rhea Royce — Wife. Their marriage is marked by insults and public quarrels, though their shared care for children briefly brings them closer 133 145 190 205.
• Lysa Tully — Romantic attachment whose closeness to Daemon creates tension with the Royce family and concern among her own relatives 67 133.
• Gael Targaryen — Aunt and fellow dragonrider. Insists that he rest during the Riverlands tour and later makes extra honey cakes for him before the campaign 52 160.
• Caraxes — Dragon and combat partner, carrying him from his earliest appearances through his departure for the Iron Islands 3 239.

Notable Quotes

“Besides, I'm starting to like you, Daemon Blackfyre. Whoever you are, you're still more interesting than those idiots in the castle who only know how to bow and scrape.” 7

“Lend me Blackfyre. Dark Sister is too light. Using it on these scum would be letting them off too easily.” 74

“Follow me! Drive those Tyroshi bastards into the sea! Whoever captures the sellsword commander alive gets a hundred gold dragons from me!” 169