Dragonseed of the Mad King

   Will the eventual dragonriders in the Song of Ice and Fire be the three Great Bastards of Aerys II
Targaryen?

"The seed is strong."

- Jon Arryn

   There exist three separate theories that are well formed and quite plausible:
1) Tyrion Lannister is the son of Aerys II Targaryen and Joanna Lannister.
2) Jon Snow is the son of Aerys II Targaryen and Lyanna Stark.
3) Daenerys Targaryen is the daughter of Aerys II Targaryen and Ashara Dayne.

   These are all so well thought out that I wish I could take credit for them.  (I especially appreciate the Water Gardens analysis in the Daenerys section.  Go read it!)  Alas, I cannot.  However, I have not seen anyone question whether all three of these theories combine to form a tale greater than the sum of its parts.

"Daenerys. Remember the Undying. Remember who you are."

"I remember the Undying. Child of three, they called me."

   You will note that all three of these characters are often considered to be eventual dragonriders.  There was an old woods witch who prophesied - apparently - that the Prince that was Promised would come from the line of Aerys and Rhaella.  Of course, we don't actually have a first-hand account of that prophecy, so in typical GRRM fashion it was likely twisted and deceptive.  What if the three heads of the dragon are, instead, Aerys's illegitimate children?  This sounds very much like GRRM's style.

"He spoke of dreams and never named the dreamer, of a glass candle that could not be lit and eggs that would not hatch. He said the sphinx was the riddle, not the riddler, whatever that meant."

   Could Aemon have been onto something?  Did Aerys fail to light the Targaryen candle?  Rhaella's eggs would not hatch.  Is the result of this failure a Valyrian Sphynx?  A mixture of various houses joined by a common Dragon?

   This possibility would explain much and more, and it doesn't interfere too much with many of the other more established theories out there.  After all, Jon is already suspected of being a Targaryen, so much of the evidence already accepted works for this version.  It even explains many things better, as you can see in the pieces linked above.  Enjoy!