Personality: Daenerys has come a long way since her first meeting with Khal Drogo. The trials she endured while at his side - and after his death - have shaped her into a powerful, outspoken, fearless woman. She believes she cannot feel the pain she felt when she lost her first love, Drogo, and their child again. Thus she has overcome the absolute worst - in her mind, at least. Therefore she charges forward without fear and without hesitation only heeding the advice of those around her occasionally (and only if the advice pleases her). She is a true Stormborn now and her sights are set on ruling all seven kingdoms - something her ancestor did long ago.
However while it is true that she can be downright rash at times - or, perhaps, brash is a better word, Daenerys has the intellect and wit to escape tight corners. An example of said talent happened when she released the Unsullied and kept her precious dragon in the process. She knew full well that no one else could control her dragons but her, yet she kept that important piece of information from her enemies. They paid for that mistake with their lives as they were baked in Drogon's fires.
In their own way, her children (i.e. her dragons) give her even more confidence to charge forward and take what she desires as she makes her way to the throne of ultimate power. With her confidence comes sass, wit, charm and a fiery passion that seems to burn to her very core. But there are more than a few occasions where those traits seem to bring her more ill will - and trouble - than good. Yet, thus far, she has evaded the shadowy arms of death.
"Daenerys is the only daughter and youngest child of King Aerys II Targaryen and his sister-wife, Queen Rhaella. She was named after the first Daenerys in her family and was most like named by her mother. Daenerys was conceived during the last month of the rebellion that would ultimately end her family's reign over the Seven Kingdoms. Shortly thereafter, her mother was sent with the young prince Viserys to the family ancestral seat of Dragonstone to escape the coming Sack of King's Landing. Daenerys was born while a great storm raged above Dragonstone, sinking what remained of the Targaryen fleet; for this reason she is sometimes known as "Daenerys Stormborn." Her mother died in labor.
By this time, the war was already lost. Robert Baratheon had claimed the throne and Aerys had already been killed along with the rest of the royal family, leaving Daenerys and her older brother Viserys as the only known living Targaryen heirs. Robert's brother, Stannis, built a new fleet for the Baratheon assault on Dragonstone. The garrison at Dragonstone planned to sell the Targaryen children to Robert, but before they could act on this plan, Ser Willem Darry and several other loyal retainers rescued the children and smuggled them into exile, sailing to the Free City of Braavos, where they lived for years in a house with a red door. Ser Willem was old and sickly, but Dany remembers that he always treated her kindly. After his death, the servants drove the young Targaryens from the house. Dany wept as they were forced out.
The Targaryen loyalists who raised the two children considered Viserys the rightful ruler of the Seven Kingdoms despite the family's defeat and exile, as did Viserys himself. He regarded it as his duty to revenge himself on the usurpers who murdered his family and reclaim the birthright that had been stolen from him when he was only a child. In the years that followed Ser Willem's death, Viserys wandered the nine Free Cities with his sister, trying to raise support to retake the Iron Throne, which earned him the mocking title of "The Beggar King."
As a result of this long humiliation, Viserys grew bitter and obsessed with his long-denied birthright. Dany was the only convenient target for his frustration, and over time he even came to blame her for their mother's death. He took pride in his lack of control of his own temper, regarding it as proof that he was a true heir to the Targaryen kings; he regularly warned Dany not to "wake the dragon" by angering him. He often spoke to her of the importance of preserving the purity of their royal bloodline through the ancient Valyrian practice of dynastic incest, so Dany grew up believing she would one day wed her brother. She was bright enough to realize that most of Viserys' plans for retaking the Seven Kingdoms were unrealistic, and as she had no memory of Westeros herself, his dream meant little to her; instead she longed to return to the house with the red door, which in her mind became a symbol for the childhood she had lost. With no family other than the abusive Viserys and no expectation of ever escaping his control, Dany grew into a fearful and docile young woman.
Viserys and Daenerys eventually found the help they sought in the Free City of Pentos, in the form of a rich and powerful magister, Illyrio Mopatis, who invited them to stay in his mansion and offered his help in reclaiming their throne.
[CANON] Daenerys Targaryen | A Song of Ice and Fire/A Game of Thrones | Reserved
However while it is true that she can be downright rash at times - or, perhaps, brash is a better word, Daenerys has the intellect and wit to escape tight corners. An example of said talent happened when she released the Unsullied and kept her precious dragon in the process. She knew full well that no one else could control her dragons but her, yet she kept that important piece of information from her enemies. They paid for that mistake with their lives as they were baked in Drogon's fires.
In their own way, her children (i.e. her dragons) give her even more confidence to charge forward and take what she desires as she makes her way to the throne of ultimate power. With her confidence comes sass, wit, charm and a fiery passion that seems to burn to her very core. But there are more than a few occasions where those traits seem to bring her more ill will - and trouble - than good. Yet, thus far, she has evaded the shadowy arms of death.
Even so there is a certain naiveté to Daenerys. She is young (by both book and series standards) and her cockiness blinds her to the dangers around her. Without her retainers like Ser Jorah, she would have succumbed to poison or worse. Yet she doesn't give them enough credit nor does she realize that her loneliness since Khal Drogo's death could be used against her. By choosing one of her trusted handmaidens as a lover (for a short while), she avoided the danger for a short while, yet she truly doesn't have time for love - no matter how much her heart might yearn for it. There is a softer woman behind the shield of steel she has fashioned around herself. If someone were to pierce it, she might be rendered vulnerable. As long as she remains blind to that possibility, Daenerys isn't as strong as she imagines herself to be.
Background: From here to here.
"Daenerys is the only daughter and youngest child of King Aerys II Targaryen and his sister-wife, Queen Rhaella. She was named after the first Daenerys in her family and was most like named by her mother. Daenerys was conceived during the last month of the rebellion that would ultimately end her family's reign over the Seven Kingdoms. Shortly thereafter, her mother was sent with the young prince Viserys to the family ancestral seat of Dragonstone to escape the coming Sack of King's Landing. Daenerys was born while a great storm raged above Dragonstone, sinking what remained of the Targaryen fleet; for this reason she is sometimes known as "Daenerys Stormborn." Her mother died in labor.
By this time, the war was already lost. Robert Baratheon had claimed the throne and Aerys had already been killed along with the rest of the royal family, leaving Daenerys and her older brother Viserys as the only known living Targaryen heirs. Robert's brother, Stannis, built a new fleet for the Baratheon assault on Dragonstone. The garrison at Dragonstone planned to sell the Targaryen children to Robert, but before they could act on this plan, Ser Willem Darry and several other loyal retainers rescued the children and smuggled them into exile, sailing to the Free City of Braavos, where they lived for years in a house with a red door. Ser Willem was old and sickly, but Dany remembers that he always treated her kindly. After his death, the servants drove the young Targaryens from the house. Dany wept as they were forced out.
The Targaryen loyalists who raised the two children considered Viserys the rightful ruler of the Seven Kingdoms despite the family's defeat and exile, as did Viserys himself. He regarded it as his duty to revenge himself on the usurpers who murdered his family and reclaim the birthright that had been stolen from him when he was only a child. In the years that followed Ser Willem's death, Viserys wandered the nine Free Cities with his sister, trying to raise support to retake the Iron Throne, which earned him the mocking title of "The Beggar King."
As a result of this long humiliation, Viserys grew bitter and obsessed with his long-denied birthright. Dany was the only convenient target for his frustration, and over time he even came to blame her for their mother's death. He took pride in his lack of control of his own temper, regarding it as proof that he was a true heir to the Targaryen kings; he regularly warned Dany not to "wake the dragon" by angering him. He often spoke to her of the importance of preserving the purity of their royal bloodline through the ancient Valyrian practice of dynastic incest, so Dany grew up believing she would one day wed her brother. She was bright enough to realize that most of Viserys' plans for retaking the Seven Kingdoms were unrealistic, and as she had no memory of Westeros herself, his dream meant little to her; instead she longed to return to the house with the red door, which in her mind became a symbol for the childhood she had lost. With no family other than the abusive Viserys and no expectation of ever escaping his control, Dany grew into a fearful and docile young woman.
Viserys and Daenerys eventually found the help they sought in the Free City of Pentos, in the form of a rich and powerful magister, Illyrio Mopatis, who invited them to stay in his mansion and offered his help in reclaiming their throne.