Chapter Text
The House of Targaryen
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King Jaehaerys I established that all male Targaryens are born Princes, no matter how far they descend from a King. He also established that, generally, when Princesses marry outside of the royal family, they lose their status as Princesses. This was to encourage in-marriages.
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The Princes Gaemon and Valerion, younger sons of Jaehaerys, live [1].
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Growing up, both boys were playmates of Viserra and Saera. Saera found interest in the other lordlings of the Court eventually, and Gaemon took to training under Baelon and Aemon quite well. Valerion and Gael became the closest to their mother Alysanne, as the youngest children of the Old King. Rhaenys, Daemon, and Viserys also were included in this grouping of princelings, who all got along well as Princes of the Royal House.
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Gaemon, the more sickly of the younger sons of King Jaehaerys, took to his studies with vigor and found the bow-and-arrow to his liking; eventually Prince Gaemon came to be regarded as perhaps the finest archer Westeros had seen in a generation. While Valerion, though fighting through a sickly childhood, came to be a Prince full of vitality and took to the lance, longsword, and rapier. Valerion became close with Princes Viserys and Prince Daemon, and developed a familial rivalry with the latter.
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Jaehaerys believed it was merely a matter of time before his younger children were wed to each other in some form, but he left exactly how to Queen Alysanne. [2]
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Viserra and Gaemon, close as children but distant in their adolescence, had shocked Court and their family after asking to be betrothed to one another. Of course, later it was remarked that the two Targaryens had always been destined to wed as Gaemon was known to be the only one able to soothe Viserra’s vanity and Viserra temper Gaemon’s arrogance.
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Saera seduced Corlys for her desire to be the “first lady” in the realm behind her mother. Corlys married her in 82 AC. Saera’s eldest son by Corlys is named Jaecaerys, who is born the same year. Saera’s Court at High Tide in many ways surpasses the one in King’s Landing, as she patronises artists, musicians, and great thinkers from both sides of the Narrow Sea, outdoing her parent’s court and making Driftmark and High Tide famous worldwide for its wealth and culture. Her own "Kingdom", if you will.
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Gaemon claimed Dreamfyre in 87 AC, and was married to Viserra the same year on Dragonstone.
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Princess Rhaenys "the Queen who never was" is born three years later; on the 7th day of the 7th moon of the 77th year after Aegon's Conquest. [3]
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The courtship of Princess Rhaenys in 97 AC was a hotly contested issue and a major event. The conflict between betrothing her to her young uncle or cousin. Prince Valerion, a noble Prince and a skilled swordsman, was favored by Jaehaerys. While Jaecaerys, heir to Driftmark, famed seafarer, and daring adventurer was favored by Alysanne, Corlys, and Saera. This conflict and the schemes resulting from it was fierce. However it ended rather simply when Rhaenys and Valerion were summoned in front of the Royal Couple, after the intrigues had become increasingly frustrating to Jaehaerys, and they were asked whether they should like to marry each other. “No”, they said, and the matter was laid to rest. Rhaenys was betrothed, and later married to Jaecaerys in a love match with great pomp, and Prince Valerion was given leave to travel to the Free Cities with Prince Daemon. Later Prince Valerion would be inducted into the Kingsguard as the first Prince given a white cloak. [4]
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Rhaenys in 99 AC gave birth to the twins Laena and Laenor. [5]
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Lord Jaecaerys is lost on an exploratory expedition to the Thousand Islands sometime before 129 AC. [6]
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Gael Targaryen married Ser Aelor "Blackskull", a grandson of Gargon Qoherys, by his bastard son. Ser Aelor is known as the "Knight of Blackskulls" because his father, when knighted by King Aenys I while fighting in a rebellion during that King's reign, adopted the Qoherys arms inverted. Ser Aelor would be a member of the personal Royal/Dragon Guard (not the Kingsguard, they are separate) of the Targaryen family. When Princess Gael married Ser Aelor, he received a fat dowry which he used to greatly expand the keep his father built in the Kingswood. Blackskull Keep, as it became known, would be used frequently as hunting lodge for the royal family as Gael and Ser Aelor would have no children.
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Septa Rhaella, daughter of Aegon the uncrowned, lived until 105 AC.
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Both Prince Gaemon and Prince Valerion die before the Dance.
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In 102 After Conquest, Prince Gaemon had been asked to join Lord Ellard Stark in dispatching an invasion of Giants and wildings under a new King-beyond-the-Wall. Both Prince Gaemon and Lord Ellard were slain alongside the flower of the Northern nobility beyond the Wall in an ambush. Dreamfyre, Prince Gaemon’s dragon, was said to have whined and wailed for weeks after her Prince’s death, with her cries often being heard as far as Karhold, until she returned to Dragonstone. His death comes soon after Baelon’s, triggering the First Great Council.
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Ser Valerion is killed at the beginning of the Dance of Dragons, along with Lord Beesbury. The death of the last living son of King Jaehaerys marked the beginning of the Targaryen civil war, and was also reminiscent of the ancient Valyrian civil wars which pitted dragon against dragon.
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Jaehaerys dies in 108 AC, after 60 years of reign, due to less stress and the survival of most of his younger children. As a result, the events of Viserys I’s reign are pushed back by three years.
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Prince Aerys, son of Gaemon and Viserra, is one of Rhaenyra's foremost Generals in the Dance of Dragons, though no dragon rider. He sires no legitimate children. He passes away during the Regency of Aegon III.
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Gael, Saera, and Viserra live to endure the Dance of Dragons. All sided with Rhaenyra.
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Princess Elaena, daughter of King Aegon III, proved to be one of the most consequential Targaryens of her day, like her sister Princess Daena. Her first very brief marriage to Lord Ossifer Plumm, a trusted counselor of five kings, proved prudent as the Princess soon gained a vast fortune for herself with no Lord to command her. Her possession of the Targaryen estates in the North allowed her to retain her rank as Princess in her own right, by personal decree of King Viserys II. She was one of the most prominent members of King Daeron II’s Small Council, and his steadfast ally - and remains to this day the only Lady ever appointed to the Small Council [7]. The fortune and influence she gained from her marriages to Lord Ronnel Penrose and Ser Michael Manwoody, in addition to the great intelligence and foresight of the Princess herself, allowed her descendants to maintain rank among the high nobility of the Realm and the Valyrian aristocracy of the Narrow Sea.
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The alliances and fortunes of Princess Elaena and her children would prove invaluable to the Iron Throne in the Blackfyre Rebellions, as all those Houses allied through her would remain steadfastly loyal to Daeron II, Aerys I, and Maekar I.
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Princess Elaena would have a love affair with the heir to Driftmark, Lord Corlys Velaryon, which produced twins; Jon and Jeyne Waters.[8]
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Lord Robin Penrose, Princess Elaena’s second son, would become Lord Penrose in his own right and be a prominent Royalist commander in the Blackfyre Rebellions, but would fall in battle alongside his sons, slain by Lord Quentyn Ball, “the Fireball” , and the Penrose lordship would fall to his cousin. [9]
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Princess Elaena’s daughters by Lord Ronnel Penrose; Laena, Jocelyn, and Joy, became Great Ladies in their own right, thanks to their mother's influence at Court and shrewdness in putting her daughters in prominent positions to be married to Great Lords. Their names give a hint of who they married.
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Laena, the eldest, was Lady of Driftmark, and married the grandson of Princess Baela and Princess Rhaena, Lord Corwyn Velaryon. He is the nephew of her mother’s friend Laena for whom the eldest Penrose daughter was named.
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Jocelyn, the middle child, was Lady of Storm’s End, and married the son of Royce Baratheon - Lyonel Baratheon, "the Laughing Storm".
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Joy, the youngest, became Princess of Dorne, and was married to the son of Princess Daenerys and Prince Maron.
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The sisters of Brynden Rivers, Gwenys and Mya Rivers, have no issue. They are very intelligent like their brother but preferred to stay out of court life. For most of their lives they chose to live near their mother's family in Blackwood Vale, in the histories being noted as remaining extremely close to one another. They refused to wed, having a large inheritance from their father and later being provided by their brother and Blackwood relations. Being constant companions of each other, both served as retainers of the Iron Throne's vast and rich holdings in the Riverlands and Crownlands.
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Princess Vaella, daughter of Prince Daeron and Kiera of Tyrosh, has no issue.
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Prince Maegor died in the Tragedy of Summerhall, as a bachelor. Being a disinherited Targaryen Prince with no prospects and little desire from Aegon V to see him wed to a powerful house, his marriage prospects were likely rather slim.
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Interestingly, Prince Maegor is known to be cousin of Jon Arryn; likely a second cousin based on the age of Alys Arryn, Prince Rhaegel's wife and Maegor's grandmother, who was likely Jasper Arryn's aunt.
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The sisters of Aegon V, Daella and Rhae, wed Lord Velaryon and Lord Celtigar respectively. [10]
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Jon Snow's Targaryen name is Aemon, simply because I think it just fits so well with his character and that's probably the name Rhaegar gave him in canon due to his relationship with Maester Aemon.
Notes:
The footnotes of the chapters are not necessary to read, but just provide a bit of explanation for my decisions.
[1] I did this mostly because having so many of Jaehaerys and Alysanne's kids die as children is just depressing. Not necessarily more "realistic", but most importantly less disrupting to canon than giving Viserra and Saera new OC husbands.
[2] I really disliked the way especially Saera and Viserra were handled in Fire & Blood. Giving Gael a better fate was also a no-brainer. And yes, Saera is married fairly young, but also in line with the other matches made by Jaeaherys for his kids.
[3] This is to make her a bit younger so the match with Corlys and Saera's son has less of an age gap. But also, it is a really cool birthday!
[4] At the time of their betrothal, Jaecaerys is 15 and Rhaenys is 19-20. Yes again this is a bit young for Jacaerys but I feel Corlys and Saera would be scheming enough to let it slide to secure the eldest granddaughter of the King. Also, Jaecaerys would have been sailing by himself for many years at this point like his ancestors, so I don't find it *that* far-fetched.
[5] Yes, they are aged down due to the changing of their parents and grandparents. But actually they are closer in age to Rhaenyra which is convenient.
[6] This, of course, was to remove him from the Dance so not as to change it too much. In my mind, he is an adrenaline junkie and born adventurer even more so than his father, so it also would not be unexpected for him to go out this way. This also adds a bit of layering to Saera, who would have lost her only child and son, and Rhaenys, who would lose her husband.
[7] I thought it was kind of lame that Elaena never got a Small Council seat, considering what we know of her in canon. So, I just decided that Daeron II would not care that she is a Lady, and that her status as a Princess and daughter of a King would outweigh the protests of some Lords and appoint her to the SC anyway.
[8] I moved Elaena's affair down a generation. Mostly because Alyn was married to Baela, had two kids by her, and was 40 years older than Elaena! Not that this was unheard of in real life, but it just kind of felt off and out of place.
[9] Lord Robin's sons are not included in the tree.
[10] I know there is supposedly some Tarth-Targaryen connection, but for all we know it could be in-laws of Aegon V's sisters or other, more distant relations. We also know for sure that Brienne of Tarth is descended from Dunk and that's about it. So I really was just not sure where to put any Tarth connection here that fits with the Dunk connection.
Chapter 2: The House of Baratheon & The House of Velaryon
Notes:
Here is the family echo link again for your convenience: https://www.familyecho.com/?c=ht39ak1ajg6an6gd&f=217682243198542663
There are some rules of thumb I followed when making the tree, in addition to the ones I outlined in the first chapter's notes.
- Connecting “wayward” Targaryen bloodlines back into the main line or into an established “cadet” is a tradition held to very strongly by the Targaryens and their relations.
-All of these “quasi-cadets” are significant supporters, both in financial and political terms, of "King Viserys III" in exile. And all, especially the Martells and Velaryons, have had significant ties to Volantis thanks to their Targaryen heritage allowing them entrance to the Old City. One of the major issues with canon, compared with the historical epoch that it is inspired by, is that Viserys and Daenerys received absolutely no support from loyalist houses in exile, or even wealthy Old Blood Essosi families. This makes no sense. Every royal pretender in real life from Charles II to Louis XVIII and everyone in between was always supported by fellow Kings, and usually very enthusiastically.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The House of Baratheon
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The Baratheons are also the most "cadet" of all of these interrelated families, due to their agnatic Targaryen descent. This gives them a genetic hedge against the outbreeding madness of Targaryens. [1]
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All Baratheon marriages from Lord Rogar are filled out.
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Lyonel Baratheon “the Laughing Storm”, the son of Royce Baratheon, is wed to Lady Jocelyn Penrose. It is their daughter, Argella Baratheon [2], who was snubbed by Prince Duncan for Jenny of Oldstones. The Lyonel-Jocelyn match was the first royal match for the Baratheons, since the first Jocelyn Baratheon wed Prince Aemon, eldest son of King Jaehaerys.
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Lyonel’s son is Ormund, who marries Princess Rhaelle.
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Thanks to this and the match with Jocelyn Penrose, Robert, Stannis, and Renly are 5/16 Targaryen.
The House of Velaryon
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Every Lord Velaryon after Corlys has married either a half-Targaryen, or full Targaryen.
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The sequence goes Saera, Rhaenys, Baela, Rhae Hightower (daughter of Rhaena and Garmund Hightower), Laena Penrose (daughter of Princess Elaena and Ronnel Penrose), Daella, and Daena Velaryon (daughter of Daeron Velaryon, second son of Laena Penrose).
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Monford was the first Lord Velaryon in 7 generations to not marry a full or half-Targaryen, instead marrying a distant Velaryon cousin.
Notes:
[1] This refers to the fact that most of the actually insane Targaryens (Rhaegel, Aerion, Aerys) have mostly or significant non-Targaryen descent.
[2] Credit to @dwellingondreams on Ao3 for the inspiration for this name, and in general her wonderful stories.
Chapter 3: The House of Nymeros Martell
Notes:
Here is the family echo link again for your convenience: https://www.familyecho.com/?c=ht39ak1ajg6an6gd&f=217682243198542663
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The House of Nymeros Martell
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There is Valyrian heritage present in the Martell lineage prior to the marriage of Daenerys with Maron, due to the Rogare descent coming from Princess Aliandra and Drazenko Rogare. Like in the Baratheon lineage, this hedges, though only somewhat, against the madness induced by Targaryen outbreeding over several generations. However, madness still manifests in Aerion and Rhaegel, likely Daeron the Drunken too, the progeny of Queen Myriah and Daeron II.
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Prince Darien and Princess Galia Martell are the children of Princess Aliandra and Drazenko Rogare. Princess Galia is far younger than her elder brother Darien. She is allowed to have a love match with Lord Eldon Penrose, the brother of Ronnel, and becomes the sister-in-law of Princess Elaena. [1]
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Prince Maron, the husband of Princess Daenerys, is the grandson of Aliandra and Drazenko. He is the son of Prince Darien.
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It should be noted that the marriages of Maron/Daenerys and Myriah/Daeron II are between cousins, as Drazenko Rogare is the uncle of Queen Larra Rogare.
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That makes the children of Aliandra and Drazenko, Darien and Galia, first cousins of Queen Larra Rogare.
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Maron and Myriah are Second Cousins of Aegon IV, Naerys, and Prince Aemon the Dragonknight.
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Maron and Myriah the second cousins once removed of Daenerys, Daeron II, Daemon Blackfyre, Brynden, Mya, and Gwenys Rivers, Shiera Seastar, and Aegor Rivers.
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Queen Aelinor Penrose is Princess Galia’s daughter by Lord Eldon Penrose. She is Queen Myriah Martell’s first cousin through their grandparents Aliandra Martell and Drazenko Rogare [2] and King Aerys I's first cousin once removed.
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Princess Daenerys and Prince Maron have two sons. The first and eldest, Prince Mors, marries Lady Joy Penrose- a match favored by the two Princesses, Elaena and Daenerys, as well as Queen Myriah. The second son, named Prince Daemon after Daenerys' beloved brother, marries a Martell from a cadet line.
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Princess Joy and Prince Mors have two children; Elaena and Lewyn. Genetically, both Elaena and Lewyn are half Targaryen, as both their parents are half Targaryen.
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Princess Elaena Martell is the mother of Elia, Doran and Oberyn. She marries her first cousin, Darien, son of Daemon. Darien is a quarter Targaryen by Princess Daenerys, his grandmother. This makes Elia, Doran, and Oberyn genetically ⅜ Targaryen, and very favorable for a Targaryen match.
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However, Elaena and Darien both may have been personally against the practice of close marriage alliances, especially to Aerys II’s family, who they would have intimately known. This is why Elia was toured around the Great Courts of the Realm, to potentially find another match other than the son of an unstable and later mad King. However, this effort ultimately proved futile.
- All of Doran and Oberyn's children are nearly one-quarter Targaryen.
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Notes:
[1] I imagine the Penrose brothers were very influential at court post-Dance, being important ministers and/or court functionaries. it seems likely they had a hand in the negotiations to bring Dorne into the Seven Kingdoms, and that's why they married so high.
[2] This was I thought a clever way to make Aelinor and Aerys related, because it is detailed in canon that she is not descended from Elaena Targaryen.
Chapter 4: The House of Plumm & The House of Longwaters
Notes:
Here is the family echo link again for your convenience: https://www.familyecho.com/?c=ht39ak1ajg6an6gd&f=217682243198542663
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The House of Plumm
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Lord Viserys Plumm, son of Princess Elaena, became a great magnate of the Kingdoms with significant land holdings across the Realm. His father Lord Ossifer was the first notable Plumm in the Targaryen era, building a large fortune and great influence at Court, having served five Kings; Aegon III, Daeron I, Baelor I, Viserys II, and Aegon IV. Lord Viserys would succeed his parents on the Small Council as Master of Coin, and be himself a trusted counselor to three Kings: Aerys I, Maekar I, and Aegon V.
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Lord Viserys Plumm would be noted as helping to subdue the forces of Lord Dagon Greyjoy under Lord Gerold Lannister, resigning his Small Council seat to do so. He was rewarded with a match with Lady Tya Lannister- the former wife of Gowen Baratheon, and the sister of Lord Gerold, for his services. This was the second great match in a row for the Plumms and made Lord Viserys quite wealthy in his own right.
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Lord Viserys would be key in keeping the Iron Throne solvent during the Blackfyre years as Master of Coin.
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Lord Viserys’ son Ossifer would wed Argella Baratheon, the former intended of Prince Duncan. The third great match for the Plumms, this solidified their status as no longer just a minor Western House, but one of the most important families in the Realm.
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The Plumms are very much beneficiaries of the Royal Court and Targaryen patronage, spending most of their time in King’s Landing with limited time at their estates in the Westerlands.
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Their wealth was built up over a period of time; first with the inheritance of Lord Viserys from his father, then the inheritance from Princess Elaena, then incomes from the Northern Crown Estates as retainers; then the dowries from the successive Lannister and Baratheon matches which they received as vast underdeveloped estates, which were then made wealthy by their prudence and shrewd management.
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The destruction of the Reynes and Tarbecks benefitted the Plumms, they having received a good chunk of their former lands not given to the Lannisters. This was thanks to King Aegon V.
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This resulted in the Plumms by the reign of Aerys II being some of the wealthiest nobles at court. In the West, they were the wealthiest house behind the Lannisters themselves thanks to the destruction of the Reynes and Tarbecks; this is less notable when one considers the wide gulf between the wealth of the Lannisters and all of their vassals after the Reyne-Tarbeck Rebellion.
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As a result of their very strong connection to the royal house, Lord Viserys’ line likely would have been displaced during Robert’s Rebellion in favor of a cadet Plumm line, not descending from Lord Viserys' lineage. The Plumms joined the pretender King Viserys III in exile are some of his most significant supporters and counselors.
The House of Longwaters
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Jon and Jeyne Waters are children of Elaena and Corlys, son of Alyn [1].
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Lady Jeyne Waters marries the heir to the Bank of Oldtown, Lorro Rogare, descendant of Lotho Rogare, brother of Queen Larra.
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Ser Jon and his heirs are appointed hereditary Lord Castellans of the royal possessions in the Riverlands & Crownlands, giving the house a significant income thanks to the wealth of these estates, like the confiscated estate of House Butterwell, and the amalgamated possessions of Lord Brynden Rivers and his sisters, which passes to the Crown on their deaths. [2]
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House Longwaters is ennobled as a Knightly House, with small but not insignificant direct fiefs mostly on Blackwater Bay, the Crownlands, the Riverlands, and the North. They mainly have served as retainers and castellans spread among the Targaryen estates in the Seven Kingdoms, sometimes giving members to the Kingsguard.
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The Longwaters were hit very hard by Robert's Rebellion. They lost the majority of their lands and incomes, which were distributed to Robert's Riverlords, and only allowed to keep the extremely minor fiefs which Ser Jon had been given during the reign of King Daeron II.
Notes:
[1] Again, unless Baela dies young or Alyn is an adulterer, I am just unsure what George was thinking when he wrote this. So the Sea Snake's namesake also imitates him in another way, ironically.
[2] In this more "realistic", ASOIAF, the Targaryens don't just have Summerhall and Dragonstone, but a large number of other royal estates, summer and winter homes, and direct fiefs across the Seven Kingdoms.

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