House Velaryon

House Velaryon of Driftmark is a noble house of Valyrians in the Crownlands, and one of the few houses of the Seven Kingdomsbesides the Targaryens that originated in Essos. Their seat is Driftmark, an island in Blackwater Bay located west of Dragonstone. Their words are "The Old, the True, the Brave."

Early history
House Velaryon is an ancient and proud house, with the blood of old Valyria in its veins. A noble house with a storied Valyrian lineage, the Velaryons had come to Westeros even before the Targaryens, if their family histories can be believed, settling in the Gullet on the low-lying and fertile isle of island of Driftmark (so named for the driftwood that the tides brought daily to its shores) rather than its stony, smoking neighbor, Dragonstone. The castle of Driftmark housed their ancient high seat, the Driftwood Throne, which according to legend had been given to them by the Merling King to conclude a pact.

Though never dragonriders, the Velaryons had for centuries remained the oldest and closest allies of the Targaryens. The sea was their element, not the sky. During the Conquest, it was Velaryon ships that carried Aegon’s soldiers across Blackwater Bay, and later formed the greater part of the royal fleet. Throughout the first century of Targaryen rule, so many Lords of the Tides served on the small council as master of ships that the office was widely seen as almost hereditary.

Their close proximity to the Gullet enabled the Velaryons to fill their coffers from trade in the narrow sea and Blackwater Bay. They allied with House Targaryen from Dragonstone and House Celtigar from Claw Isle, both houses of Valyrian descent; While the Velaryons and Celtigars dominated the middle reaches of the narrow sea with their ships, the Targaryens ruled the skies with their dragons.

Aegon's Landing
The close relations between Houses Velaryon and Targaryen resulted in multiple marriages between the houses, both before and after the Wars of Conquest. From one such marriage was born Valaena Velaryon. She married Aerion Targaryen, the Lord of Dragonstone, with whom she had three children: Visenya, Lord Aegon, and Rhaenys.

House Velaryon allied with the Targaryens at the start of Aegon's Conquest. Lord Daemon Velaryon was made master of ships by Aegon the Conqueror after the mouth of the Blackwater Rush had been secured. Daemon died fighting for Aegon I in the battle in the waters off Gulltown, however.

Targaryen Reign
House Velaryon kept an influential position at the court of the Targaryen kings during the first two centuries of the Targaryen reign. In 10 AC Ser Corlys Velaryon became the first Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. His elder brother, Lord Aethan Velaryon became master of ships for Aegon I. Lord Aethan thus succeeded his father as the Admiral of the Royal Fleet, and in turn was succeeded by his own son Lord Daemon Velaryon. Lord Aethan fought against Sargoso Saan, a pirate-lord, in the Stepstones.

Aethan's daughter, Alyssa, was married to Prince Aenys Targaryen, heir to the throne, in 22 AC, with whom she had six children (Rhaena, Aegon, Viserys, Jaehaerys, Alysanne, and Vaella). Alyssa became queen at her husband's coronation. She outlived Aenys I and became a prisoner of his brother, Maegor I Targaryen, on Dragonstone, when Maegor claimed the throne over Aenys's sons by Alyssa. In 44 AC Alyssa fled in the confusion that followed the death of Dowager Queen Visenya Targaryen. Her last surviving son by Aenys, Jaehaerys, put forward his claim for the throne. Lord Daemon Velaryon, Maegor's admiral of the fleet, who had previously supported Maegor, turned against the cruel king, and many of the great houses of Westeros joined with him.

Alyssa's son Jaehaerys became king at the age of fourteen, and Alyssa ruled as his regent, aided by Lord Rogar Baratheon. After Jaehaerys reached the age of majority, the regency ended, and Alyssa married Rogar, giving birth to two more children: Boremund and Jocelyn Baratheon. The Velaryons of the Old King's reign were a house even more influential than House Lannister

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, House Velaryon is an ancient and proud house, with the blood of old Valyria in its veins. Velaryons, like Targaryens, are born with the Valyrian features of silver-blond hair and purple eyes. As a result of such ancestry, members of House Velaryon frequently married into House Targaryen before and after the War of Conquest – Aegon I Targaryen's own mother was born a Velaryon. At no point in the House's early history were they considered equals of the Targaryens: the Targaryens were dragonlords, albeit low-ranking ones, but the Velaryons never were. During the early reign of the Targaryens, their links with the Targaryens meant the Velaryons held a disproportionate amount of power compared to the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms, but as the continent settled into the new status quo, their power waned somewhat.

House Velaryon rules over Driftmark, the largest island of the Blackwater Bay, and like most of the islands there, are sworn to Dragonstone rather than directly to the Iron Throne like the rest of the Crownlands. Their arms depict a silver seahorse on sea green and their titles are Lord of the Tides and Master of Driftmark. Their words do not appear in the books, but according to semi-canon sources they are "The Old, the True, the Brave".

In spite of their close associations with the Targaryens, the Velaryons were allowed to keep their lands and titles following Robert's Rebellion. At the time of A Clash of Kings, the head of House Velaryon is Lord Monford, who seems to be a loyal, if tedious, vassal of Stannis Baratheon.

Historical members

 * Valaena Velaryon, wife of Aerion Targaryen and mother of his three children: Visenya Targaryen, Aegon I Targaryen, and Rhaenys Targaryen.

Current members

 * Lord Monford Velaryon, Lord of the Tides and Master of Driftmark.
 * Monterys Velaryon, his son and heir, a young boy.
 * Aurane Waters, known as the Bastard of Driftmark. Bastard half-brother of Lord Monford.