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Aerys II

How tyranny scars its witnesses

Contains spoilers through A Dance with Dragons. Television events and unfinished preview chapters are outside this collection.

The character in context

Aerys II begins his reign with Tywin as Hand but grows increasingly suspicious, cruel and obsessed with wildfire. His perverted trial by combat kills Rickard Stark and Brandon, and his demand that Jon Arryn surrender Robert and Eddard turns a royal crisis into rebellion. During the Sack of King's Landing, Aerys orders his pyromancers to burn the city; Jaime kills the king and Rossart before the command can be carried out. Much of this history reaches the novels through survivors' memories, so their later interpretations are not omniscient fact.

A reading path

These are editorial starting points, not a complete appearance list or a claim that the character narrates every chapter.

  1. 1. Ned finds the kingslayer on the throne

    A Game of Thrones, Chapter 12, Eddard II

  2. 2. Jaime carries the old name in captivity

    A Storm of Swords, Chapter 11, Jaime II

  3. 3. The White Book forces him to revisit his oath

    A Feast for Crows, Chapter 16, Jaime II

Sources and chapter references

Our original summaries use named novel chapters and the A Wiki of Ice and Fire reference index. The links lead to that secondary index, not the full novel text. Coverage is selective, not exhaustive line-by-line verification.

  1. 1. A Game of Thrones, Chapter 12, Eddard II — A Wiki of Ice and Fire reference index
  2. 2. A Storm of Swords, Chapter 11, Jaime II — A Wiki of Ice and Fire reference index
  3. 3. A Feast for Crows, Chapter 16, Jaime II — A Wiki of Ice and Fire reference index
Data methods, coverage and corrections