Editing Dragonseed (section)

==History==
===Origins===
The [[custom]] of the [[first night]] — that when [[smallfolk]] [[marriage|marry]], their lord or king has the privilege to bed the bride on the wedding night — had been greatly resented in the [[Seven Kingdoms]]. However, it was less protested on [[Dragonstone]], where the Targaryens had ruled for centuries, because there the common folk viewed their beautiful, foreign rulers almost as [[gods]].{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Red Dragon and the Gold}}{{ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon II}} When a [[Lord of Dragonstone]] took his rights according to the first night custom, the bride considered herself "blessed" if she conceived a child.{{ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon II}} A child born of the union was greatly valued, and the lord would grant the mother generous gifts of [[gold]] and [[silk]] and land. The bastards were said to be "born of dragonseed", and in time, became known as "dragonseeds" or "seeds".{{Ref|FAB|Jaehaerys and Alysanne - Their Triumphs and Tragedies}}{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Red Dragon and the Gold}}

The term "dragonseed" existed for some generations before the [[Dance of the Dragons]], as King [[Jaehaerys I Targaryen]] noted in {{date|58}} that Targaryen bastards fathered during the first night were often called this. Jaehaerys admitted that it was considered something of an open secret that his grandfather [[Aegon I Targaryen|Aegon's]] great friend and commander [[Orys Baratheon]] was in truth Aegon's bastard half-brother, though he knew nothing about Orys's mother or the circumstances of his birth (such as whether he was conceived through the first night or just a youthful dalliance by [[Aerion Targaryen (son of Daemion)|Aegon's father]]).{{Ref|FAB|Jaehaerys and Alysanne - Their Triumphs and Tragedies}}

Though the right of the first night ended when it was outlawed by King Jaehaerys, some Targaryens continued to carry on relationships with the daughters of innkeeps and the wives of fishermen. Seeds and the sons of seeds thus remained plentiful on Dragonstone and surrounding areas, and there were many on Dragonstone who could rightly claim — or at least suspect — that some Targaryen blood ran in their veins.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Red Dragon and the Gold}}{{ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon II}}

===The Dance of the Dragons===
[[File:Dragonseeds by enife.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Dragonseeds of the [[Dance of the Dragons]]: [[Nettles]], [[Addam Velaryon]], [[Ulf White]], and [[Hugh Hammer]], by Enife ©]]
During the civil war known as the [[Dance of the Dragons]], Prince [[Jacaerys Velaryon]] realized that his mother Queen [[Rhaenyra Targaryen]]'s faction, [[the blacks]], had many [[dragon]]s but was in need of [[dragonrider]]s. In {{date|129}}, he offered lands, riches, and [[knighthood]] to any man that could master a dragon; his sons would be ennobled, his daughters wed to lords.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Red Dragon and the Gold}} According to ''[[The Testimony of Mushroom]]'', the [[Mushroom|eponymous]] [[fool]] had prompted Jacaerys to make this search.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Red Dragon and the Gold}}{{ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon II}}

Jacaerys's offer gained the attention of more than just dragonseeds. Most candidates failed and were either killed or burned by the dragons (these included Rhaenyra's [[Lord Commander of the Kingsguard|Lord Commander]] of the [[Queensguard]], Ser [[Steffon Darklyn]], and also Lord [[Gormon Massey]]). Grand Maester [[Munkun]] dubbed this event "the [[Sowing of the Seeds]]", whilst others called it "the Red Sowing".{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Red Dragon and the Gold}} Nevertheless, in the end [[Hugh Hammer]] bonded with the dragon [[Vermithor]], [[Ulf White]] with [[Silverwing]], [[Addam of Hull]] with [[Seasmoke]], and [[Nettles]] with [[Sheepstealer]]. It is unconfirmed if the successful candidates truly had Targaryen blood, or if they did, if that ancestry is what allowed them to master the dragons. But whatever their origin in truth, the successful baseborn dragonriders were called dragonseeds for the remainder of the war and within historical records.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Red Dragon and the Gold}}{{ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon II}}{{Ref|TPATQ}} 

Jacaerys prepared to lead the four new dragonriders in an attack on [[King's Landing]] the first full [[moon]] of {{date|130}}, but before that could happen, news reached [[Dragonstone]] of the attack by the [[Triarchy]] on the ''[[Gay Abandon]]'', which had been escorting Jacaerys's half-brothers [[Aegon III Targaryen|Aegon]] and [[Viserys II Targaryen|Viserys Targaryen]]. Instead, Jacaerys and his fellow dragonriders flew against the Triachy's fleet and fought them in the [[Battle of the Gullet]]. Jacaerys and his dragon [[Vermax]] died during the battle.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Red Dragon and the Gold}}{{ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon II}}{{Ref|TPATQ}}

In {{date|130}}, after the [[Two Betrayers|betrayal]] of Hugh Hammer and Ulf White at the [[First Battle of Tumbleton]], Queen Rhaenyra and most of her council believed none of the other dragonseeds could be trusted, and ordered their arrest.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant}} Addam Velaryon escaped upon his dragon Seasmoke, but later proved his loyalty at the [[Second Battle of Tumbleton]], in which he perished.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown}} In the case of Nettles, it was not only arrest that was ordered, but also execution, because she had allegedly become the lover of Rhaenyra's husband [[Daemon Targaryen]]; however, the girl fled upon Sheepstealer and was never seen again "at court or castle".{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant}}{{ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon II}}