Daemon Blackfyre
Daemon Fuegoscuro
Daemon Blackfyre served as captain-general of the Golden Company, the exiled sellsword band raised around the cause of House Blackfyre. Before command passed to his cousin Maelys the Monstrous, he was the one who led the mercenaries across Essos.
Chapter 1
The duel of the cousins
Books only
Little is known of Daemon's early years: he is presumed to have been born and raised in exile somewhere in Essos, like so many other descendants of House Blackfyre's black blood. At some point he joined the ranks of the Golden Company and rose through them until he held the captain-general's baton.
The command did not last. His cousin Maelys, whom the company called the Monstrous, challenged him for the post in a duel: he killed Daemon's warhorse with a single blow, then twisted his head until it tore from his body. With Daemon dead, Maelys took his place at the head of the Golden Company.
Chapter 2
The skull on the pike
Books only
Golden Company custom had Daemon's skull gilded and mounted on a pike, as was done with every fallen captain-general. Years later, when Jon Connington reached the company's camp, he found the captain-general's tent ringed by a circle of pikes crowned with the gilded skulls of past commanders; one of them is presumed to be Daemon's.
His bones, it is believed, crossed the narrow sea with the Golden Company when it launched the campaign to crown Prince Aegon Targaryen king.
