{{For|the spearwife|Nettles (free folk)}}
{{Infobox character
| arms =
| title =
| firstname = Nettles
| lastname =
| image = Nettles - Hylora.jpg
| image_caption = Nettles, by Hylora ©
| Alias = Netty
| Title =
| Allegiance = [[Blacks]]
| Race = Mixed (assumed [[Valyrians|Valyrian]] descent)
| Culture = [[Crownlands]]
| Spouse =
| Lover = [[Daemon Targaryen]] {{S|debated}}
| Place_of_Birth = [[Driftmark]]
| Date_of_Birth = {{Date|113}}
| Place_of_Death =
| Date_of_Death =
| Books = ''[[The World of Ice & Fire]]'' (mentioned) ''[[Fire & Blood]]'' (mentioned) ''[[The Rise of the Dragon]]'' (mentioned) ''[[The Princess and the Queen]]'' (mentioned)
| coat-of-arms =
}}

'''Nettles''', also known as '''Netty''', was a [[dragonseed]] and the first and possibly last [[dragonrider]] of the [[dragon]] [[Sheepstealer]].{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Red Dragon and the Gold}}{{ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon III}}

In the television adaptation ''[[House of the Dragon]]'', Nettles is merged with [[Rhaena Targaryen (daughter of Daemon)|Rhaena Targaryen]], who is portrayed by [[w:Phoebe Campbell|Phoebe Campbell]].

==Appearance and Character==
{{See also|:Category:Images of Nettles|l1=Images of Nettles}}
Nettles was a small, skinny, brown-skinned girl, with black hair and brown eyes.{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Red Dragon and the Gold}}{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant}} She had crooked teeth and a scarred nose. According to [[Archmaester]] [[Gyldayn]], she could not be called pretty.{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant}}

Nettles was foul-mouthed, filthy, and fearless.{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Red Dragon and the Gold}}

==History==
[[File:Nettles and Sheepstealer by Jota Saraiva.jpg|thumb|350px|Nettles and Sheepstealer, by Jota Saraiva ©]]
According to [[Mushroom]]'s ''[[The Testimony of Mushroom|Testimony]]'', Nettles was a [[bastard]] of uncertain birth, born to a dockside [[whore]].{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Red Dragon and the Gold}} She grew up homeless in [[Spicetown]] and [[Hull]] on the island of [[Driftmark]].{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant}} According to [[Septon]] [[Eustace (Dance of the Dragons)|Eustace]]'s [[The Reign of King Viserys, First of His Name, and the Dance of the Dragons That Came After|history]], Nettles's nose was slit after she was caught thieving.{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant}}

During the [[Dance of the Dragons]], when Prince [[Jacaerys Velaryon]] decided that the [[blacks]] needed more [[dragonriders]] in {{date|129}}, several "[[dragonseeds]]" on [[Dragonstone (island)|Dragonstone]] came forward to answer the [[Sowing|prince's call]]. Nettles, sixteen years old, was able to tame the wild dragon [[Sheepstealer]] by bringing it a freshly slaughtered [[sheep]] each morning, causing Sheepstealer to become accustomed to the girl.{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Red Dragon and the Gold}}

Nettles fought valiantly on behalf of Queen [[Rhaenyra Targaryen]] in the [[Battle of the Gullet]] in {{date|130}}. While her fellow dragonriders [[Hugh Hammer]] and [[Ulf White]] celebrated after the battle, Nettles was tearful, perhaps upset by the death of Jacaerys as well as the destruction of Spicetown and the butchering of its people.{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Red Dragon and the Gold}} During the [[fall of King's Landing]], Nettles landed Sheepstealer on [[Visenya's Hill]].{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Red Dragon and the Gold}}

Nettles and Sheepstealer joined Prince [[Daemon Targaryen]], Rhaenyra's husband, and his dragon [[Caraxes]] in hunting Prince [[Aemond Targaryen]] and [[Vhagar]] along the [[Trident]], as Daemon felt at least two dragons were necessary to confront Vhagar. The two dragonriders stayed at [[House Mooton]]'s castle at [[Maidenpool]], from where they continued their search every morning. According to Mushroom, Daemon had come to love Nettles, and took her as his bedmate, despite the fact that she was an unlikely [[paramour]] for a prince. Though Mushroom's veracity is often questionable, Gyldayn considers this story to be far more likely than most of his tales. Gyldayn further references Maester [[Norren (House Mooton)|Norren]]'s ''[[Chronicles of Maidenpool]]'', which recorded that "the prince and his [[bastard]] girl" slept in adjoining bedrooms, but that they ate together each night and morning. Norren wrote that Daemon doted upon Nettles "as a man might dote upon his daughter", and described Daemon teaching Nettles common courtesies and giving her fine gifts, such as an [[ivory]] hairbrush, a [[silver]]ed looking glass, a velvet and satin cloak, and leather riding boots. Norren further wrote that Daemon showed Nettles how to wash herself properly, and recorded that maidservants reported they often shared a single tub, washing each other.{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant}}

[[File:Nettles_by_Lopata_4.jpg|thumb|350px|Nettles by Lopata Four]]

After the [[treason]] of the dragonseeds Hugh Hammer and Ulf White at the [[First Battle of Tumbleton]], Queen Rhaenyra's court at the [[Red Keep]] was outraged. Lady [[Mysaria]], once Daemon's paramour, fed Rhaenyra's growing distrust of the dragonseeds with rumors of Nettles and Daemon's relationship. Rhaenyra raged, declaring that Nettles had used [[magic|spells]] to bond with Sheepstealer and to seduce her husband, and that Daemon could not be relied upon while in the girl's thrall. The queen sent a [[raven]] to [[Manfryd Mooton]], [[Lord of Maidenpool]], ordering him to deliver Nettles's head but not to do Daemon any harm, only to tell him to return to the capital. However, according to Maester Norren, Manfryd and his advisors, fearful of how Daemon slept beside Nettles, unwilling to [[Guest right|kill a guest]] or a young girl (or two guests, to prevent Daemon from becoming enraged at the death of the girl he was "more than fond of" and taking out his wrath on Maidenpool), disobeyed the queen and followed Norren's advice to pretend that they had never received the letter. When Maester Norren informed Daemon that Rhaenyra had declared Nettles a traitor, Daemon recognized Mysaria's actions in Rhaenyra's words, and and thanked the maester for the warning, before he allowed Nettles to escape the next morning. It is unknown how the two spent their last night together, but at dawn Daemon helped Nettles saddle Sheepstealer one last time. Nettles killed a large black ram and fed it to her dragon, then tearfully flew Sheepstealer into the morning mists of the [[Bay of Crabs]]. According to Norren, no word of farewell was spoken between Daemon and Nettles, but as Sheepstealer flew away, [[Caraxes]] let out a scream that shattered all the windows of [[Jonquil's Tower]].{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant}}

That same day, Daemon did not return to his wife in King's Landing, but publicly announced his departure for [[Harrenhal]]. He perished fighting Aemond in the [[Battle Above the Gods Eye]]. Since Daemon's body was never found in the [[Gods Eye]], some songs claim that he survived the encounter and found his way back to Nettles.{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant}} Rhaenyra was enraged by the disappearance of Nettles, and her husband's betrayal.{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown}}

When King [[Aegon II Targaryen]] regained the [[Iron Throne]] after Rhaenyra's death, there were reports that Sheepstealer had been seen at [[Crackclaw Point]] and the [[Mountains of the Moon]].{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II}} In {{Date|134}}, during the reign of King [[Aegon III Targaryen]], Ser [[Robert Rowan]] led a royal army to the [[Vale of Arryn]] to support Ser [[Joffrey Arryn]]. Robert's men encountered Sheepstealer and a ragged Nettles in a cave, and in the ensuing fight sixteen men were slain and threescore more were wounded. Nettles and her dragon were last seen flying deeper into the Mountains of the Moon.{{Ref|FAB|The Lysene Spring and the End of Regency}}

No sighting of Nettles and Sheepstealer was ever again recorded in the chronicles of [[Westeros]], but to this day, the [[Vale mountain clans]] tell stories about a "fire witch" who once lived in a hidden valley within the mountains. An offshoot clan of the [[Painted Dogs]], one of the most savage of the mountain clans, worshipped her. Their boys would prove their courage by bringing her gifts, and were only considered men after they had faced the flames of her dragon and returned with burns. Some of the [[maester]]s of the [[Seven Kingdoms]] believe that this practice was the origin of the tradition held nowadays by the [[Burned Men]], where youths must give some part of their body "to the fire" to prove they have the courage to be a man.{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Vale}}{{Ref|FAB|The Lysene Spring and the End of Regency}}

==Quotes==
[[File:Season5Dance of DragonsNettles.png|thumb|350px|Nettles from ''[[Game of Thrones]]: Histories & Lore'' ]]
{{quote|A skinny brown girl on [[Sheepstealer|a skinny brown dragon]].{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant}}| writings of [[Munkun]]}}

{{quote|She is a [[smallfolk|common thing]], with the stink of [[sorcery]] upon her. [[Daemon Targaryen|My prince]] would ne'er lay with such a low creature. You need only look at her to know she has no drop of [[Valyrians|dragon's blood]] in her. It was with spells that she bound a [[dragon]] to her, and she has done the same with my lord husband.{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant}}| declaration of [[Rhaenyra Targaryen]]}}

{{quote|The girl is but a child, however foul her [[treason]]s.{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant}}| [[Florian Greysteel]], to [[Manfryd Mooton]]}}

{{quote|[[Daemon Targaryen|The prince]] is more than fond of this brown child, and [[Caraxes|his dragon]] is close at hand. A wise lord would kill them both, lest the prince burn [[Maidenpool]] in his wroth.{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant}}| [[Manfryd Mooton]]'s brother}}

{{quote|High above [[Maidenpool|the town]], Nettles turned [[Sheepstealer|her dragon]] toward the [[Bay of Crabs]], and vanished in the morning mists, never to be seen again at court or castle.{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant}}| writings of [[Gyldayn]]}}

==Behind the Scenes==
Nettles may have been inspired by Nettle Farseer, a character from the ''[[w:Farseer trilogy|Farseer trilogy]]'', a series of fantasy novels by American author [[w:Robin Hobb|Robin Hobb]]. [[George R. R. Martin]] knows Hobb and praised her body of work. Nettle Farseer is the illegitimate daughter of FitzChivalry Farseer, the main protagonist of the series.<ref>''Not a Blog'': [https://georgerrmartin.com/notablog/2021/07/30/lords-of-fantasy/ Lords of Fantasy], July 30, 2021</ref><ref>''Realm of the Elderlings Wiki '': [https://robinhobbelderlings.fandom.com/wiki/Nettle_Farseer Nettle Farseer]</ref>

Nettles may have been inspired by George R. R. Martin's wife, Parris. George R. R. Martin met Parris in 1975 at a woman's sauna during KublaKhan.<ref>''Not a Blog'': [https://georgerrmartin.com/about-george/life-and-times/parris/ Parris]</ref> In [[w:Samuel Taylor Coleridge| Samuel Taylor Coleridge]]'s poem ''[[w:Kubla Khan| Kubla Khan]]'', there is mention of an Abyssinian maiden whom some people believe to be a disguised allusion to [[w:Mary Evans| Mary Evans]], Coleridge's first love. [[w:Abyssinia| Abyssinia]] is an ancient name of the former [[w:Ethiopian Empire| Ethiopian Empire]].

==Theories==
{{Main|Nettles/Theories}}
Readers speculated that Nettles was actually not a lover of [[Daemon Targaryen]], but rather his secret bastard daughter.

==References==
{{References}}

[[Category:Bastards]]
[[Category:Blacks]]
[[Category:Characters from the Crownlands]]
[[Category:Characters with black hair]]
[[Category:Characters with brown eyes]]
[[Category:Dragonriders]]
[[Category:Dragonseeds]]
[[Category:House Targaryen retainers]]
[[Category:Members of Rhaenyra Targaryen's court]]
[[Category:Smallfolk]]
[[Category:Veterans of the Dance of the Dragons]]

[[es:Nettles]]
[[fr:Nettles]]
[[pt:Nettles]]
[[ru:Крапива]]