Daenerys Targaryen, informally called Dany and also known as the 'Mother of Dragons', is the daughter of King Aerys II Targaryen and is one of the last surviving members of House Targaryen. Thirteen years before the events of the series, she was born on Dragonstone in the midst of a storm, earning her the nickname Daenerys Stormborn. Shortly after, Dragonstone fell to the forces of rebel Robert Baratheon, and Daenerys and her brother Viserys were smuggled away to Braavos. They spent the following years wandering the Free Cities looking for help to retake the Iron Throne of Westeros. She is a shy and meek young woman who is terrified of her brother's temper. She and her brother are in Pentos as guests of Illyrio Mopatis.

Spoilers Ahead!!!

Illyrio and Viserys arrange a marriage between Daenerys and Khal Drogo, a powerful Dothraki warlord, hoping the marriage will buy Drogo's following, called a khalasar, in the conquest of Westeros. At the wedding, Illyrio gives her three petrified dragon eggs.

Her new role as khaleesi, Drogo's queen, makes her into a strong and confident young woman, and she begins to stand up to Viserys. She adapts to the nomadic lifestyle of the Dothraki and befriends Jorah Mormont, an exiled Westerosi knight who becomes one of her most trusted companions. She conceives a child, who is said to be the long-prophesied Dothraki conqueror, and she plans to name him Rhaego after her brother Rhaegar. Drogo eventually kills Viserys by pouring molten gold over his head, after Viserys threatened Daenerys' life. She feels no sadness over his death, looking on coldly; however, Viserys' death convinces her that she is the blood of the dragon and is thus responsible for reclaiming the throne for herself.

Shortly after, Drogo is wounded in battle. Daenerys orders a maegi to heal him, but the wound becomes infected. While Drogo is dying and his khalasar is breaking apart, Daenerys asks the maegi to use blood magic to save him. However, the magic kills Rhaego in the womb and leaves Drogo catatonic. Daenerys smothers Drogo, then ties the maegi to his funeral pyre and places her dragons eggs by his body. She then walks into the burning pyre and emerges unharmed with three hatched dragons, which she names Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion. Because of this, the remainder of Drogo's khalasar swear allegiance to her and she becomes the first female Dothraki leader.

She decides to follow a comet into the Red Waste, a stretch of barren land. On the journey, she learns that Jorah, who has become her adviser, has fallen in love with her, and she is saddened by the fact that she does not return his feelings. She and her khalasar eventually make it to Qarth. Her dragon's are stolen and the rest of her followers murdered. She finds them at the House of the Undying where they try to restrain her with chains. Proving once again she is The Mother of Dragons she breaks the chains and frees herself.

She goes to Slaver's Bay to purchase an army of Unsullied, highly trained slave soldiers. She agrees to buy every Unsullied in Astapor in exchange for her dragon Drogon. However, she reclaims Drogon and uses the Unsullied to conquer the city. She frees every slave in Astapor, and she then decides to end the slave trade. She sets out for the slave city Yunkai, and she conquers the city with the help of Daario Naharis, a mercenary who betrays the Yunkish.