Game of Thrones: 5 Characters the Aegon the Conqueror prequel must get right
2. Visenya Targaryen
Aegon’s other sister-wife was the stern and relentless Visenya, who was more of a warrior than Rhaenys. She is the first known wielder of the Valyrian steel sword Dark Sister, which we see Daemon use in House of the Dragon.
After Aegon’s coronation, Visenya was dispatched north to bring the Vale into the fold. After the Arryn fleet sunk a third of the Targaryen ships, Visenya used her dragon Vhagar to burn it. She was alongside her siblings at the Field of Fire, and returned to the Vale later to fully assimilate it.
After the Arryns bolstered the bloody gate and seemingly secured their impenetrable fortress, Visenya simply flew past everything and landed Vhagar in the courtyard of the Eyrie where she met the young Ronnel Arryn. Ronnel’s mother Sharra was the regent of the Vale. She walked into the courtyard to find her son sitting on Visenya’s lap asking if he could rider her dragon. Sharra then bent the knee and surrendered to Visenya.
Aegon left the day-to-day governance of the kingdom to Rhaenys and Visenya after the conquest. Visenya was in charge of starting the construction of the Red Keep as well as establishing the Kingsguard, which at first Aegon wasn’t convinced was needed. One day he insisted that his normal guards were enough to protect him; Visenya quickly drew Dark Sister and lightly slashed his face before any of his guards could react, and that was that.
While Rhaenys liked to surround herself with artsy people of high culture, Visenya preferred to don ringmail and Dark Sister. It was said that Aegon married Rhaenys for love and Visenya for duty.
That said, Aegon did have a child with Visenya after Rhaenys died, a son named Maegor. Visenya raised Maegor to be a warrior like her, and she gifted Dark Sister to him on his 13th birthday. Maegor half-brother Aenys was a sickly man and a weaker king than Aegon due to indecisiveness. Despite his impressive skills as a warrior, Maegor was eventually banished to Pentos for taking two wives, something the Faith of the Seven disapproved of and which Aenys was unable to fight despite his father having had two wives. When Aenys died, Visenya immediately retrieved Maegor from Pentos and rushed to put her son on the Iron Throne.
Visenya fell ill and died during her son’s reign. His harsh rule over Westeros resulted in him dying under mysterious circumstances on the Iron Throne. Aenys’ youngest son Jaehaerys became king after Maegor, continuing Rhaenys’ line.
