The youngest of Balon's brothers, Aeron was a ribald drunk in his youth. He once wagered his birthright against a flock of goats that he could douse a hearth-fire by urinating on it, and won. After a near-drowning, he experienced a spiritual reawakening, and dedicated himself to the Ironborn religion of the The Drowned God. He is now a hard, humorless ascetic, wearing a roughspun robe and living as a hermit on the beach. He weaves seaweed into his uncut hair, earning him the name "Damphair". Fellow holy men, called Drowned Men, do his bidding without question, and he is greatly respected by the Ironborn in general.

Aeron fears his brother Euron for reasons that are not presently clear. He has recurring memories and nightmares of a door with screeching hinges, which might have something to do with his fear of Euron. He is still afflicted with guilt over the death of his brother Urrigon, who died from the infection of a wound that occurred while he and Aeron performed the Finger Dance, a traditional axe-juggling game.

After Balon's death and Euron's return, Aeron used his influence as a high priest of the Drowned God to bring about a Kingsmoot for the selection of Balon's replacement. He had hoped to crown his brother Victarion, who he knew would continue Balon's traditional and conservative ways. The plan went awry, however, and Euron was able to claim the throne. Aeron announced plans to try to rouse the people against the "godless" Euron, and disappeared the next day. His fate is unknown.