Aerion Brightflame revisited

[Lord Varys]

If anyone else has watched Ran & Linda's videos on Dunk & Egg you realize that they hinted at the fact that Aerion is supposed to be become a more complex/less dark character than he has been introduced/can be deduced from the little we know about him (behavior in THK and the story about the wildfire bottle).

Now, there is a hint in TWoIaF during the non-account on the Third Blackfyre Rebellion speaking about 'Aerion Brightflame's deeds'. Many people sprang to the conclusion that Aerion must have been the guy who murdered Haegon Blackfyre in cold blood after he had 'given up his sword', adding another darker layer to him, but I never bought that.

If that was the case I doubt Aerion's word would have been any good when King Aerys I conducted his trial against the captured Bittersteel. Aerion and Bloodraven apparently strongly urged the king to sentence Bittersteel to death - considering that Aerys I was not willing to execute his own uncle (which Bittersteel happened to be) one assumes that Aerion would have had to face a trial of his own had he been the one who killed the helpless Haegon (who happened to be a first cousin of Aerys I). Aerys' take on his Blackfyre kin really seems to be that he doesn't intend to go as low as to have them executed. That was his policy on Daemon II and Bittersteel, and would presumably also have been his way of dealing with the captured Haegon.

Thus I'd say Aerion Brightflame might actually turn out to be a more, say, balanced character who ends up playing as important a role in favor of the Targaryen cause during the Third Blackfyre Rebellion than Maekar, Egg, and Bloodraven.

Any thoughts on that?

[AerionBrightflameII]

I always loved Aerion i thought he was a great character, If i was the king i would have made a farce about justice and sent him to the Wall but i would have quietly had him killed. He was too dangerous, founding the Golden Company to bind the Blackfyre supporters together was a master stroke..

I thought it was Bloodraven who killed him not Aerion, he had a great hatred for the Blackfyres which would have made him biased, if Bloodraven didn't kill him he would have mentioned it to Aegon who i think would have believed him since he had no love for Aerion but Aegon sent him too the Wall because he feared the world would see the IT as untrustworthy which makes me think it was him.

[Lion of the West]

I'm also kind of in the area to think that Bloodraven had Haegon I killed, for one reason or another. I don't think that Bloodraven just walked up there but he might have had someone do the dirty work for him.

[Shuvuuia]

I've never thought that Aerion is that one dimensional, he probably can be brave and he managed to behave in front of Maekar. So, it won't surprise me if with more Aerion on-page we would see more dimensions to him. (Or maybe he learnd to pretend better). I can see him genuinely wanting his dad's approval.

I've thought that his "deeds" during 3d Rebellion meant something like unnecessary sacrificing a large number of his troops (or not aiding some minor lord's force) for a big victory, it seem to be in-character with his "dragon above everyone" attitude. 

 

[Lord Varys]

I'm not sure Bloodraven would have had any reason to kill a defenseless Haegon in cold blood. They successfully dealt with Daemon II by locking him up - and I actually imagine it as some sort of honorable hostage situation rather than Daemon disappearing in a black cell (Aerys I and Bloodraven would both be rather interested in Daemon's prophetic dreams, one would think) - and there is little reason to assume that a defeated Haegon in their custody would continue to be a great danger. Instead, it would prevent the remaining Blackfyre loyalists from crowning Daemon III or Aenys Blackfyre.

My guess is that Bloodraven really was pushed into dealing with Aenys this harshly by the circumstances and the resurgence of the Blackfyre cause in the wake of Maekar's death. Aenys would never have wanted to present his claim to the Great Council if he hadn't been pretty sure he could actually win.

I think we simply don't yet know who killed Haegon Blackfyre. Some person did, but not necessarily a Targaryen prince/bastard nor anyone acting under orders from such people. It could have been a Kingsguard knight or another loyalist/retainer close to the royal family thinking it was the best way of action to protect them.

Character-wise I think Aerion will develop into another version of Prince Daemon insofar as his cruelty and ambition is concerned, perhaps not really reaching his level of skill at arms. His madness clearly isn't going to incapacitate is rational thoughts and plans, just the whole 'I'm a dragon in human form' confusion thing Aerys later came to believe as well. Dragonless Targaryens seem to be prone to that.

[Lion of the West]

I didn't think that Aerion's bravery was in question. I always thought that Aerion took the way with a Trial by Seven because he wanted to refuse Dunk the chance to die in battle as opposed to just be executed like a criminal, and not because he was afraid of Duncan, or any of the other combatants in the trial. And judging from the trial and tourney, Aerion is not half bad with arms.

[Bran Vras]

Heraldry is always significant in Westeros. It should never be taken as mere decoration. How else does one proclaim one's allegiance, one's cause, one's family? For whom or for what someone fights is declared by displaying the appropriate colors. Personal banners are never to be taken lightly, especially in the context of a battle or a tourney. 

I am intrigued by Aerion's personal banner at Ashford. Three dragon heads: yellow, orange and red. Those are the colors of both House Martell and the clergy of the Red god. They appear on Stannis' banner, for instance, and on the temple of R'llhor in Volantis, and on the robes of the priests of the Lord of Light. 

Aerion's grandmother was a Martell, so the colors would make sense if he referred to her. But he seemed to loathe Dorne (see his assault on the pupeeter). So, if we leave aside the Martells, could it be that he had an interest in the Lord of Light? That might connect with his fateful attempt at drinking wildfire. Anyone keen on pursuing that connection?

Note that Rhaegar displayed the very same colors during the tourney at Lannisport. That was before the marriage with Elia Martell was on the table. I am not sure what it could mean in connection to Aerion or R'llhor, but it's worth remembering.

Another thing worth remembering is that Aerion was a Second Son for a time. Interestingly, his contemporary Rodrik Stark, the Wandering Wolf, was a mercenary of that company. Both are mentioned in the same breath by Inkpots, suggesting that they might have been brothers in arms. That leaves open the possibility of a friendship between them, even that Rodrik took care of Aerion's infant son (who was just as undesirable as Maester Aemon when Egg accessed the throne). Rodrik is not mentioned along his brothers in the account of the battle of Long Lake in 226. He might have been "wandering" with the Second Sons then.

I could not decide when Aerion was a Second Son. Certainly not when he was the heir of the Iron Throne. Was it before or after the Third Blackfyre Rebellion? 

[Rhaenys_Targaryen]

Heraldry is always significant in Westeros. It should never be taken as mere decoration. How else does one proclaim one's allegiance, one's cause, one's family? For whom or for what someone fights is declared by displaying the appropriate colors. Personal banners are never to be taken lightly, especially in the context of a battle or a tourney. 

I am intrigued by Aerion's personal banner at Ashford. Three dragon heads: yellow, orange and red. Those are the colors of both House Martell and the clergy of the Red god. They appear on Stannis' banner, for instance, and on the temple of R'llhor in Volantis, and on the robes of the priests of the Lord of Light. 

Aerion's grandmother was a Martell, so the colors would make sense if he referred to her. But he seemed to loathe Dorne (see his assault on the pupeeter). So, if we leave aside the Martells, could it be that he had an interest in the Lord of Light? That might connect with his fateful attempt at drinking wildfire. Anyone keen on pursuing that connection?

Note that Rhaegar displayed the very same colors during the tourney at Lannisport. That was before the marriage with Elia Martell was on the table. I am not sure what it could mean in connection to Aerion or R'llhor, but it's worth remembering.

Another thing worth remembering is that Aerion was a Second Son for a time. Interestingly, his contemporary Rodrik Stark, the Wandering Wolf, was a mercenary of that company. Both are mentioned in the same breath by Inkpots, suggesting that they might have been brothers in arms. That leaves open the possibility of a friendship between them, even that Rodrik took care of Aerion's infant son (who was just as undesirable as Maester Aemon when Egg accessed the throne). Rodrik is not mentioned along his brothers in the account of the battle of Long Lake in 226. He might have been "wandering" with the Second Sons then.

I could not decide when Aerion was a Second Son. Certainly not when he was the heir of the Iron Throne. Was it before or after the Third Blackfyre Rebellion? 

Aerion didn't assault the puppeteer because she was Dornish. He assaulted her because she was portraying a dragon slain, and he saw that as an attack on House Targaryen. So I wouldn't say he loathes Dorne.

Nor is the connection between Aerion and Rodrik Stark that strong. Because in that same breath, Aegor Rivers is mentioned to have been a Second Son, and we know that he didn't serve with Aerion in the company.

Aegor Rivers served a year with us, before he left to found the Golden Company. Bittersteel, you call him. The Bright Prince, Aerion Targaryen, he was a Second Son. And Rodrik Stark, the Wandering Wolf, him as well. No, not that ink. Here, use this." He unstoppered a new pot and set it down.

 

 

[Bran Vras]

Hmm. How about Rhaenys and her dragon who fell to their death in Dorne?

I understand the death of the dragon puppet as a reenactement of the death of Meraxes in Dorne. Since the puppeeter's repertoire includes the exodus of Nymeria, presumably fleeing the dragons, it is possible but less likely that the death of the dragon refers to some episode of Nymeria's story. It's not clearly said that the dragon is dead at the hands of the Dornish/Rhoynar, but given the evident ethnic type of Tanselle (salty dornishwoman), that is what we are led to believe along Aerion.

If Aerion were, say, sentimentally attached to House Martell, his feelings wouldn't be so one-sided against the show. Hence I take the incident as a sign that Aerion does not suffer dornish people boasting of having taken down a dragon. But yes, there is still a margin before we can conclude that Aerion loathes Dorne (we would need to know a bit more about his relationship to his mother, also a dornishwoman).

[Rhaenys_Targaryen]

You make an interesting point regarding the inclusion of Nymeria. 

But honestly, I don't think it mattered much of which ancestry the puppeteers had. If it did, I would expect an insult to have been made by Aerion indicating such, but as far as I can recall at the moment, all he focused on was the dragon. "The dragon ought never lose" is what he proclaimed, and Baelor stated that Aerion called the show a "veiled attack on House Targaryen, and incitement to revolt". 

[Lord Varys]

Well, I really think that the Trial of Seven idea is mostly motivated by Aerion's desire to not be forced to fight a trial-by-combat against Dunk. But then, I'm not sure why he should as a royal prince, the Kingsguard could do that for him - but then, I guess Prince Baelor would have prevented that.

But I'm not really thinking Aerion was a coward there, either. He may have feared that Dunk might be stronger than he, but he would have had the edge on him due to his better training. It would have been most about the fact that fighting a trial-by-combat against a hedge knight could not possibly gain him any prestige.

The motive for Aerion cannot be that the puppeteers being Dornish, especially not in light of the fact that Aerion's grandmother and mother are Dornish (the latter only being revealed in TWoIaF but still...), it really seems to be about this whole 'insulting the dragon' thing as well as the fact that Aerion was probably quite drunk at that point. His later story construed the whole thing as treason but then we don't really know how much of that Maekar or Baelor believed (I don't think Maekar is as stupid as that). The deciding factor for Maekar would have been that Daeron inadvertently sort of backed up Aerion by telling his story.

Technically, Aerion and Aegor Rivers could have fought with the Second Sons at the same time. The Golden Company is only founded in 212 AC, after the Second Blackfyre Rebellion, and we know that Aerion went to Lys in 209 AC. If it turned out that he joined the Second Sons in 209-210 at Lys, and if Bittersteel was still with them at that point, they might very well have been comrades for a time. But I don't think that's very likely. I rather expect Bittersteel to have fought with the Second Sons in the late 190s or early 200s.

I don't think Aerion's personal arms carry much significance aside from emphasizing Aerion's fascination with (dragon-) fire. Yellow, orange, and red a usually the colors George uses to describe flames in the series. The whole concept of personal arms is still somewhat underdeveloped during THK.

[Bran Vras]

Rhaenys : If I may remind you of our starting point, which is: do the colors red/orange/yellow refer to Aerion's ancestry on the Martell side? If it were the case, it would point to an attachment to House Martell as an important part of Aerion's psychology. But we see none of that split identity in the incident with the puppeeter, even the passages you quote indicate that Aerion sees himself as nothing else than a Targaryen. (I understand that you mean that Aerion would have been offended in the same way by anyone alluding at the death of a dragon. That might be true but doesn't contradict what I am saying.) My point here is that there is an unmistakable allusion to a Dornish-Targaryen (if not perhaps Rhoynar-dragonlord) conflict and that Aerion's Martell side would manifest itself if such a side existed.

The fact that the puppeeter is Dornish is loaded with meaning within the story. It helps set up the tragedy that will follow. In the trial by combat, one side is led by Baelor Targaryen, seen by many in the Seven Kingdoms as Dornish if only in appearance, on the other side we have princes worthier in appearance of the Targaryen blood. Take note that Baelor defends the protector of the dornishwoman, which aligns with his assumed Dornish heritage (contrast with Aerion).

The fact that Baelor was too Dornish to inherit the crown was already a motivation for the Blackfyre rebellion, if I recall well. Later, Aerys would consider Elia and her children as too Dornish for his taste as well. So the mistrust between the Targaryens and Dorne is a recurring theme, as is the rejection of Dornish elements in the royal family. And the Dornish puppeeter who orchestrates the death of a dragon is there to remind us of that. (Surely we didn't know that Meraxes was brought down in Dorne and that Nymeria had been hunted by dragonlords when the Hedge knight was published. But all that confirms the importance of the theme.) So it would be a pity to disregard that backdrop to appreciate Baelor's death.

I don't want to overly push an interpretation but anyone who is familiar with tragedy can't help seeing in such "accidental" deaths as the death of Baelor the power of fate (read if you will: the realization of a deep desire in the Targaryen family). I won't risk pursuing further the logic of this idea. 

Lord Varys: That Aerion is part Dornish of course doesn't prevent him from hating the Dornish (those things happen). About the personal arms, I have verified long ago that the conjunction of red, orange and yellow serves overwhelmingly to describe the flames of R'llhor in the story (Stannis' banner, the light of his sword, the priests of Volantis, the magic of Melisandre) or the Martell colors (Oberyn in King's Landing, Doran in Norvos). Heraldry is there from the start in Martin's series. Witness Renly's personal banner in ACoK, well calculated to please the Tyrells, or the Blackfish's. Generally it pays to be attentive to heraldry. It's a language that GRRM uses rigorously. You seem to have written lightly here (while I think you are generally quite knowledgeable, otherwise I wouldn't post here). 

[Lord Varys]

Red, yellow, and orange are also prevalent in the description of Drogo's pyre, for instance.

In regards to personal arms I was just trying to say that back in the days of ACoK and THK personal arms weren't really a well-thought concept yet. Jon Snow even seems to believe in AGoT that bastard cannot have arms at all, and Stannis changing the Baratheon sigil is remarked on in ACoK is a way that suggests that it is rather uncommon.

But by now we know that personal arms are (retroactively) much more common than hinted at in the earlier publications. Aegon II had a golden dragon as his banner, and Rhaenyra's personal arms depicted the Targaryen dragon quartered with the Velaryon seahorse and the Arryn moon-and-falcon.

Compared to that the personal arms of Daeron II's descendants in THK and TMK don't seem to be all that personal. And speaking about that, I actually find it irritating that Aerys I's royal standard should depict his two three-headed dragons rather than just the Targaryen dragon red on black as it is done usually. If Aerys I and his brothers all had personal arms, why the hell doesn't anyone during the main series have such arms, especially not Aerys II, Rhaegar, and later Daenerys as of yet (she can still change that, though)? Not to mention all the other houses - Tyrion, Cersei, Ned, Robb, pretty much anyone could have chosen a personal sigil.

[Bran Vras]

When (and how) GRRM codified heraldry is worth debating. By the end of ADwD, it appears to me that it is a rigid convention of the Seven Kingdoms to wear your arms on the brooch/pin that clasp your cloak. Most often this is the prerogative of the lord or his heir. But in AGoT, Boros Blount departs from that convention by wearing a brooch with a lion, which merely serves to indicate that he leans towards House Lannister. But that is a rare and early exception, and GRRM had his system in place rather early I think. 

To answer to question on personal arms, we have to understand the function it fulfills. Your sigil is what you show to the world, the only way you have to broadcast a message. Most people have no need to convey or no interest in conveying the idea that they differ in a small or large way from their family. Stannis signaled his allegiance to the Red God, Renly wanted to rally the Reach. How not take as significant that Aerion modified the family sigil in a manner similar to Stannis and with the same choice of colors? There was a reason which went beyond simply the personal fascination for fire (and the mere color red of the Targaryen dragon would be good enough to convey that, though I grant that Aerion's flames are noted as more vivid than Valarr's). As you note, there is no other Targaryen personal banner at Ashford (Valarr's seems standard, we don't know about Baelor, and Egg is too young), which makes Aerion more remarkable. But during the same era, Bloodraven displayed a white dragon (white is the color of the weirwood, I suppose), Bittersteel had a creature half-horse half-dragon (the horse is on the Bracken banner), Daemon followed the bastard custom of inverting the colors of the house. In every case, that was significant.

Note: there is no orange I can see in Drogo's fire. But you can find very few instances of use of red, orange and yellow that don't refer either to R'hllor or House Martell.

[Isobel Harper]

When (and how) GRRM codified heraldry is worth debating. By the end of ADwD, it appears to me that it is a rigid convention of the Seven Kingdoms to wear your arms on the brooch/pin that clasp your cloak. Most often this is the prerogative of the lord or his heir. But in AGoT, Boros Blount departs from that convention by wearing a brooch with a lion, which merely serves to indicate that he leans towards House Lannister. But that is a rare and early exception, and GRRM had his system in place rather early I think. 

To answer to question on personal arms, we have to understand the function it fulfills. Your sigil is what you show to the world, the only way you have to broadcast a message. Most people have no need to convey or no interest in conveying the idea that they differ in a small or large way from their family. Stannis signaled his allegiance to the Red God, Renly wanted to rally the Reach. How not take as significant that Aerion modified the family sigil in a manner similar to Stannis and with the same choice of colors? There was a reason which went beyond simply the personal fascination for fire (and the mere color red of the Targaryen dragon would be good enough to convey that, though I grant that Aerion's flames are noted as more vivid than Valarr's). As you note, there is no other Targaryen personal banner at Ashford (Valarr's seems standard, we don't know about Baelor, and Egg is too young), which makes Aerion more remarkable. But during the same era, Bloodraven displayed a white dragon (white is the color of the weirwood, I suppose), Bittersteel had a creature half-horse half-dragon (the horse is on the Bracken banner), Daemon followed the bastard custom of inverting the colors of the house. In every case, that was significant.

Note: there is no orange I can see in Drogo's fire. But you can find very few instances of use of red, orange and yellow that don't refer either to R'hllor or House Martell.

There are two instances of orange in the Drogo's pyre.

She had sensed the truth of it long ago, Dany thought as she took a step closer to the conflagration, but the brazier had not been hot enough. The flames writhed before her like the women who had danced at her wedding, whirling and singing and spinning their yellow and orange and crimson veils, fearsome to behold, yet lovely, so lovely, alive with heat. Dany opened her arms to them, her skin flushed and glowing. This is a wedding, too, she thought. Mirri Maz Duur had fallen silent. The godswife thought her a child, but children grow, and children learn.

Another step, and Dany could feel the heat of the sand on the soles of her feet, even through her sandals. Sweat ran down her thighs and between her breasts and in rivulets over her cheeks, where tears had once run. Ser Jorah was shouting behind her, but he did not matter anymore, only the fire mattered. The flames were so beautiful, the loveliest things she had ever seen, each one a sorcerer robed in yellow and orange and scarlet, swirling long smoky cloaks. She saw crimson firelions and great yellow serpents and unicorns made of pale blue flame; she saw fish and foxes and monsters, wolves and bright birds and flowering trees, each more beautiful than the last. She saw a horse, a great grey stallion limned in smoke, its flowing mane a nimbus of blue flame. Yes, my love, my sun-and-stars, yes, mount now, ride now.

[Lord Varys]

Isobel Harper,

yeah, those are the quotes I had in mind. And I really think those colors come up a lot when fires are described in detail in the books, not just with the Red Priests.

Bran Vras,

AGoT has a lot of inconsistencies in regards to a lot of stuff regarding heraldry, for instance we have squires and even knights apparently wear Lannister and Baratheon livery at Winterfell whereas later it seems to be the case that everyone bears his arms if he has arms at all (and squires and knights usually have arms of their own).

The problem with the personal arms is that TMK has Aerys I - the head of House Targaryen and King on the Iron Throne - continue to bear his personal arms he apparently chose back when he was just the second son of Daeron II and use them as his royal standard. Technically, this kind of thing should lead to change in the royal arms themselves since sons would subsequently inherit the arms their fathers had already reinterpreted/modified to suit their needs and change them then accordingly rather than working off 'the house arms' as a template. In fact, there wouldn't be any standard house arms like the three-headed dragon, red on black, or the roaring lion, gold on crimson, and stuff. There would just be individual arms constantly changing, and the royal arms would be the individual arms of the reigning king.

I don't have THK comic ready here, but the coat of arms there seems to have had individual arms for all the Targaryen princes there, perhaps with the exception of Baelor Breakspear who as Daeron's first son would have had just one three-headed dragon.

[Rhaenys_Targaryen]

Rhaenys : If I may remind you of our starting point, which is: do the colors red/orange/yellow refer to Aerion's ancestry on the Martell side? If it were the case, it would point to an attachment to House Martell as an important part of Aerion's psychology. But we see none of that split identity in the incident with the puppeeter, even the passages you quote indicate that Aerion sees himself as nothing else than a Targaryen. (I understand that you mean that Aerion would have been offended in the same way by anyone alluding at the death of a dragon. That might be true but doesn't contradict what I am saying.) My point here is that there is an unmistakable allusion to a Dornish-Targaryen (if not perhaps Rhoynar-dragonlord) conflict and that Aerion's Martell side would manifest itself if such a side existed.

The fact that the puppeeter is Dornish is loaded with meaning within the story. It helps set up the tragedy that will follow. In the trial by combat, one side is led by Baelor Targaryen, seen by many in the Seven Kingdoms as Dornish if only in appearance, on the other side we have princes worthier in appearance of the Targaryen blood. Take note that Baelor defends the protector of the dornishwoman, which aligns with his assumed Dornish heritage (contrast with Aerion).

The fact that Baelor was too Dornish to inherit the crown was already a motivation for the Blackfyre rebellion, if I recall well. Later, Aerys would consider Elia and her children as too Dornish for his taste as well. So the mistrust between the Targaryens and Dorne is a recurring theme, as is the rejection of Dornish elements in the royal family. And the Dornish puppeeter who orchestrates the death of a dragon is there to remind us of that. (Surely we didn't know that Meraxes was brought down in Dorne and that Nymeria had been hunted by dragonlords when the Hedge knight was published. But all that confirms the importance of the theme.) So it would be a pity to disregard that backdrop to appreciate Baelor's death.

I don't want to overly push an interpretation but anyone who is familiar with tragedy can't help seeing in such "accidental" deaths as the death of Baelor the power of fate (read if you will: the realization of a deep desire in the Targaryen family). I won't risk pursuing further the logic of this idea. 

But why would Aerion refer to his Martell ancestry when attacking the puppeteers? 

 

As to Aerys, there was a point where he apparently didn't feel that Elia being Dornish was an issue, as he agreed to the betrothal between her and Elia. Personally, I suspect that him disliking the Dornish began only after the dornishmen who came with Elia to court began to side with Rhaegar, and thus not with Aerys. 

[RumHam]

Red, yellow, and orange are also prevalent in the description of Drogo's pyre, for instance.

In regards to personal arms I was just trying to say that back in the days of ACoK and THK personal arms weren't really a well-thought concept yet. Jon Snow even seems to believe in AGoT that bastard cannot have arms at all, and Stannis changing the Baratheon sigil is remarked on in ACoK is a way that suggests that it is rather uncommon.

But by now we know that personal arms are (retroactively) much more common than hinted at in the earlier publications. Aegon II had a golden dragon as his banner, and Rhaenyra's personal arms depicted the Targaryen dragon quartered with the Velaryon seahorse and the Arryn moon-and-falcon.

Compared to that the personal arms of Daeron II's descendants in THK and TMK don't seem to be all that personal. And speaking about that, I actually find it irritating that Aerys I's royal standard should depict his two three-headed dragons rather than just the Targaryen dragon red on black as it is done usually. If Aerys I and his brothers all had personal arms, why the hell doesn't anyone during the main series have such arms, especially not Aerys II, Rhaegar, and later Daenerys as of yet (she can still change that, though)? Not to mention all the other houses - Tyrion, Cersei, Ned, Robb, pretty much anyone could have chosen a personal sigil.

Robb's wolf head sigil comes up in Game of Thrones, for what it's worth.

[Bran Vras]

Rhaenys: Contrast Aerion with Baelor. Indeed, Baelor is attributed in the story precisely the sort of feelings that Aerion would have if the Bright Prince had any sentimental ties to his Martell grandmother. Egg tells of Baelor:

“It’s said he favors his mother,” the boy reminded him. “She was a Dornish princess.” 

The implication is that the other sons of Myriah Martell, including Maekar, and by extension his sons, do not particularly favor their mother. And Baelor is the only Targaryen who defends the puppeteer (indirectly, through Dunk). By way of consequence, he is not particularly offended by the puppet show. That might be just my personal reading, but it seems to me that the difference in behavior between Baelor and Aerion with respect to the puppeteer has to do with their relationship to House Martell. Is my thinking clear enough?

Isobel Harper: my mistake, I had understood that Lord Varys spoke about Drogon's fire in Meereen (sic). If only I could read. Otherwise my comments on the colors red/orange/yellow stand. 

Lord Varys: When Jon Snow tells Arya that "Girls get the arms but not the swords. Bastards get the swords but not the arms.", one could interpret that he is thinking about merely being forbidden to bear the Starks' arms. On the same page, one can see Joffrey's personal arms divided between Baratheon and Lannister. 

Perhaps there is no legal obstruction to your hypothetical situation where arms change every generation. But there is a practical one: lords and kings should behave conservatively, since their legitimacy rely on dynastic continuity, and it is not in their interest to modify the attributes of power they have inherited. By adopting the paternal arms, or better the ancestral arms, they consolidate their authority. Daemon's banner was a rather a difficulty for him, since the ancestral, and therefore legitimate, banner was on Daeron's side.

[Rhaenys_Targaryen]

Bran Vras,

 

Yeah, I understand what you are saying. I just can't agree. Baelor favored his mother in appearance, and I don't think the quote was trying to imply anything more than that. 

Aerion and Baelor are clearly different. Where Aerion perceives anything like a dragon being portrayed killed as clear treason, Baelor is capable of recognizing when it means little to nothing.

But Baelor did not intervene because the puppeteer was Dornish. By the time Baelor intervenes, though, nothing he does will have an effect on the puppeteers. They are already gone. Baelor intervenes to help Dunk. No one else.

Similarly, seeing how willing Aerion is to shift his focus from the puppeteers to Dunk, would also be a suggestion that it was about what the puppeteers did, not where they came from.

As to Aerions sigil, it might be a reflection of his Martell heritage. But I'd more expect him to combine the sigil of his mother with that of his father, if he were to combine sigils. And it doesn't seem that that happened. So I'd expect that Aerions choice of colours had more to do with fire from dragons, and not with ancestry.