Approximately two-hundred years before the War of the Five Kings, and a hundred years after the Targaryen Conquest united the Seven Kingdoms, House Targaryen has reigned as the rulers of Westeros for five generations, and the number of dragons they possess has increased to more than ever before. Outwardly, the realm has enjoyed a golden age of peace and prosperity for over fifty years under Jaehaerys Targaryen’s long reign, and the Targaryen dynasty is at the height of its power. However, following the king’s death and the ascension of his grandson Viserys Targaryen, factions are starting to form within Viserys' court that threaten the stability of his own reign. Complicating matters is that, due to the tradition of male inheritance, while Viserys was chosen over of his cousin Princess Rhaenys, the king himself has yet to produce a male heir of his own. His only living child is his daughter Rhaenyra Targaryen, but according to the principle of inheritance, the nearest male heir in the line of succession is his younger brother Daemon Targaryen, a reckless and unpredictable rogue prince. The peace of the realm is set on a knife's edge when not long into Viserys' reign, his wife Queen Aemma dies in childbirth to a stillborn son. To avoid the risk of his brother making a play for the Iron Throne, Viserys controversially acts above tradition by officially naming his daughter Rhaenyra as the new royal heir.