The year 172 AC saw the end of King Viserys II’s short reign and the beginning of King Aegon IV’s. Princess Elaena’s pregnancy by Lord Alyn Velaryon caused scandal and exile, while Viserys’s death placed Aegon on the Iron Throne. Aegon quickly favored Lord Bracken and Lady Barba Bracken, whose son Aegor Rivers was born before Queen Naerys’s dangerous childbirth brought the royal household to crisis.
Day 16: Princess Elaena Targaryen was discovered to be many months pregnant and named Lord Alyn Velaryon as the father. The scandal angered King Viserys and threw the court into turmoil so soon after Princess Daena’s own defiance.
Day 16: Princess Elaena gave birth to healthy twins, a boy and a girl, fathered by Lord Alyn Velaryon. Oakenfist was allowed to visit her and the children, but his standing with King Viserys was plainly damaged.
Day 27: Lord Alyn Velaryon departed Westeros for Volantis under King Viserys’s command, an embassy widely understood as exile. Princess Elaena protested his removal, but neither Lord Velaryon nor Prince Daeron would force the king to rescind the order.
Day 4: King Viserys II was given funeral rites in King’s Landing, and his son Aegon became king. Princess Naerys was absent from the funeral, with reports confirming that she was again with child and endangered by grief and poor health.
Day 23: King Aegon IV began his reign by appointing Lord Bracken as Hand after briefly naming and dismissing Lord Lothston. The king’s attention quickly fixed on the Hand’s daughter, Lady Barba Bracken, making her place as royal mistress plain.
Day 29: King Aegon returned from his first royal progress, having traveled with Lord Bracken and the pregnant Lady Barba to Stone Hedge. The progress confirmed the king’s fondness for pleasure and for the Bracken household.
Day 14: Lady Barba Bracken gave birth to King Aegon’s natural son, Aegor Rivers. The king celebrated the boy lavishly, and Lord Bracken’s standing at court rose with his daughter’s success.
Day 29: Queen Naerys gave birth to Princess Daenerys and a stillborn son after a dangerous labor. Her survival remained uncertain, while Lady Barba’s recent triumph and Prince Daeron’s private meetings with great lords deepened the strain around the succession and the royal household.
Day 18: As Queen Naerys lay gravely ill, rumors that Lord Bracken spoke of Lady Barba becoming queen provoked Prince Aemon and Prince Daeron into action. The small council intervened while King Aegon was away from the castle, forcing a crisis over Barba’s place and the king’s conduct.