The Blessed Dragon: The Ascent of Jaehaerys Targaryen
As a trueborn son of House Manderly, I was already a squire at thirteen when I met the young prince in Winterfell's training yard. Though I was his senior by five years, it did not take me long to realize that my prince was destined to become a great figure of this Age, as great a personage as can be found in any of the histories and tales of the Seven Kingdoms.
That may sound absurd, like the honeyed words of a lickspittle, but I do not exaggerate. I challenge any man to stay long in his presence, and deny that he is touched by more than greatness. The prince, even then, displayed a keen and cunning intellect, a might to topple older and more experienced foes, a force of personality that was seldom denied. Subsequently, I found myself often wondering if that was how Aegon the Conqueror appeared as a child on Dragonstone.
To be sure, I was always a bookish sort, more fond of books than lance or sword. This inclination led me to forge half a dozen links at the Citadel after receiving my knighthood at nineteen, so I was not taken wholly by surprise when Jaehaerys bade me to be his personal biographer. We were familiar, and I had displayed my loyalty many times. My prince ever sought to surround himself with men of quality and loyalty. A wise decision as the passage of years illustrates.
Thus, I took up quill and parchment when he celebrated his thirty-third year, as disturbing reports from beyond the Wall flew on dark wings through the Seven Kingdoms.
"The Night approaches, and I can only hope that we will have children to hear our stories." As all great men do, Jaehaerys sought to preserve a legacy to pass onto future generations. His solemn words echo through my mind even as I write this true history.
Our history begins, not in the North where the young prince was raised, but in the great city of King's Landing.
Born to King Baelor I and Queen Elaena Targaryen in the last month of 171 AC, Prince Jaehaerys was a topic of great discussion and interest even before he took his first breath. A large and healthy babe, the maesters note that he slept very little for a newborn, always looking this way and that with wide-eyed curiosity. There are reports he would only sleep when put to bed near a roaring fire, and at times be calmed only by being bathed in scalding water. Surely, his thunderous cries echoed through the halls of the Red Keep to send maids and servants skittering about. Further, he would accept no suck from anybody but the queen herself.
"Never has a babe been filled with more verve or vigor." Queen Elaena testified with a small smile. "In those days, no one could guess that a true dragon had been born!" She laughed, and continued with scorn, "It seems that my brother-king did do at least one thing right before shuffling off to meet the Stranger!"
While notable, these were hardly matters remarked upon beyond Queen Elaena's rooms.
No, what was remarked upon by both high and lowborn was the circumstances of his birth. The King was an ordained Septon, and he locked his three sisters away in the Maidenvault many years beforehand. Some rumormongers whispered and japed that another Targaryen must have fathered Jaehaerys. Many speculate that Baelor's youngest sister seduced the king with dark magic, so that he would wed and bed her. A scurrilous rumor to be sure. The Queen has ever shown herself to be a proper lady and devout follower of the Seven. Even more folks say Baelor the Blessed, in the midst of a month-long fast, received a divine vision showing him the righteousness of extending his line.
Whatever the case may be, King Baelor never recovered from his last fast. He died only a fortnight after consummating his quickly officiated wedding with his sister-wife.
"A long regency is not good for the realm, and we cannot even know if you will give birth to a boy or a girl, my queen." Prince Viserys said to his niece when the matter of the Baelor the Blessed's child was brought to the fore. Moreover, once the matter of Daena the Defiant's own claim was raised he simply said of his other niece, "The Iron Throne is not made for a woman. The lords of the Seven Kingdoms, great and small, can only be ruled by a king. This was true when we had dragons, it holds even more true now."
Baelor's Hand and uncle, Viserys Targaryen, who had ably ruled the realm while his nephew delved ever deeper into the litanies and prayers of the Faith, was crowned only three months after Baelor died, and a full six months before Prince Jaehaerys would take his first breath.
The first two years of Jaehaerys' childhood saw much change in the Red Keep. King Viserys died only a year after taking the throne under questionable circumstances. Rumors were rife around the Seven Kingdoms that the king decided to name the hale and healthy newborn prince as his heir, but no official proof of this claim ever materialized. Woe unto the realm that it didn't.
Furthermore, the odious idea of kingslaying and kinslaying were bandied about the dark corners of the Red Keep and King's Landing. King Viserys had been a strong man in the prime of his life. His death aroused much suspicion and investigation, yet no poison could be identified nor any poisoner found.
With the benefit of years, and further analysis of Aegon the Unworthy's character, it is not hard to gather that the son had the father murdered for his throne, but in those years, Aegon's excessive capacity for cruelty, corruption, and carnality were not widely known.
"Only we had an inkling what he was then, and we could do nothing to stop him." Queen Elaena laments.
While there were loud and frequent cries about Prince Jaehaerys having the better claim, some fiery speeches from lauded septions, he was only a babe with only his cloistered mother for true support. King Aegon IV, Viserys' eldest son, a dashing knight with a trueborn son, brushed aside any competing claims or dark suspicions of kinslaying to be crowned that very year.
Once again, Jaehaerys' claim was set aside a second time. Some mocked the babe as the Belated Prince, and his mother as the Fortnight Queen.
Thereafter, King Aegon married Queen Elaena to Jonnel Stark of Winterfell to 'seal the Pact of Ice and Fire'.
The one-eyed heir to Winterfell was fifteen years senior to the young queen. His long face was scarred and weathered by the harsh northern climate. Recently widowed with no issue, he was still one of the most eligible bachelors in all the Seven Kingdoms, though whispers followed him of infertility. Considered humorless and cold, he was acknowledged as a man of honor and valor, having lost his eye to a dornish spear while fighting under the Young Dragon. They said he had simply fought on through the blood and pain to slay Ser Robar Jordayne of the Tor.
"We fought the dornish, spilled our blood and spent our kinsman's lives on their damnable sand. Those vipers killed the Young Dragon under parley, and that bloody septon washed their fucking feet for it!" Jonnel spat once when he was uncharacteristically deep in his cups. My own lord father recounted his words to me, "Mark me well, we'll pay even more before that bloody business is done!"
Whispers speak of sending Queen Elaena away because she spurned King Aegon's carnal advances, or to finally shut her up about traveling abroad. Records report the so-called Fortnight Queen saying, "10 years were stolen from me in that silk and velvet prison! I would see the world with Jae at my side!"
A more cynical mind with a political bent might imagine King Aegon or the members of his Small Council wanted to isolate his clever cousin and her son from politicking in the royal court. On the other hand, able councilors would have tried to dissuade the king from placing his cousin with one of the Great Houses. None can dispute the strength of Prince Jaehaerys' claim, and the prince, an unusually robust and spirited specimen, would not remain a babe forever.
At court, those who might oppose King Aegon's rule could flock to him. In harsh and remote Winterfell, there would be far less flocking! That seems to have been the prevailing sentiment.
Despite all this conjecture, no one can argue the result. The queen and princeling left King's Landing in the care of the queen's new husband, Jonnel, for the distant and remote north when Jaehaerys was only two and a half years old.
Perhaps, King Aegon spitefully intended to send his cousin away to a loveless and childless marriage. This might be corroborated by the king's flagrant confiscation of Elaena's beloved dragon egg. Seated upon the Iron Throne King Aegon proclaimed, "A wolf will have no need of a dragon's egg". After taking the egg, he gifted her a fine sable fur cloak. "For the long winters to come."
Elaena Targaryen responded glibly, as she gracefully accepted the trade, "Many thanks for your kind thoughts, your grace, but you need not fear. My husband shall keep me warm, and my son is the only dragon I need."
The course of the Seven Kingdoms moved forward under the uncertain hand of Aegon IV, who would be called Unworthy and worse in years to come. The Smallfolk and the Faithful continued to venerate Baelor the Blessed, and this carried over somewhat to his only son. But, soon the talk of a toddler faded. For a time, the Belated Prince and the Fortnight Queen were forgotten by the majority of the realm.
At Winterfell, both of the Targaryens found places of honor and value.
Queen Elaena initially found the austere surroundings drab and dull, entirely different from the vibrant and vivacious court of King's Landing. She arrived during spring, but the nights were still chill. The lands of the North are as vast as the rest of the Seven Kingdom combined, yet it's population is scarce and spread throughout the rugged and untamed lands.
Many might expect a lady of the highest birth accustomed to the ease and comfort of the king's court to fall apart in this land of strange gods. However, the Targaryen Queen flourished. The straightforwardness of Winterfell and the whole North was refreshing. In fact, she frequently remarked, "If a northman is going to stab you, at least you will see the blade bared first!"
No doubt her long years of confinement made her more receptive and understanding of the harsh life in the North, and her cousin's spiteful behavior lit a fire in her. At least, here she could ride out into the Wolfswood, at least here she had companions and freedom. She especially took solace in her son. Never has there been a fiercer or more devoted mother. Unexpectedly, the queen found a loving husband and a fine partner in Jonnel One-Eye. It seems an older and more mature man fit her tastes perfectly.
Vitally, there happened to be much of value and meaning Queen Elaena could busy herself with inside the walls and keeps of Winterfell.
She gave birth to the first of her three trueborn Starks: Brandon in 174 AC, Edwell in 176 AC, and Daenaera in 178 AC. All were healthy and well-formed, and Elaena's labors were markedly easy. She recovered quickly from each ordeal with nary a threat to her life.
Additionally, the cleverest daughter of Aegon III busied herself with the purse and running household of Winterfell. Soon, none disputed or competed with her as the First Lady of Winterfell. In the following years, many northern marriages were brokered by her design, and the coffers of the Warden of the North swelled as never before due to the queen's facility with coin and ledger.
For his part, Jonnel Stark prevailed upon his father, the aged Lord Cregan Stark, to commission a modest sept and a large library within the walls of his ancestral castle to please and accommodate his new wife's sothron gods and her scholarly bent.
It was not long before Elaena's Library approached the size of the library at my own native White Harbor. Anyone of noble birth was encouraged to visit and study there. The saying, "A learned lord and lady, a strong lord and lady." swept across the North, and any noble who could not read or calculate sums felt shamed.
Additionally, Lord Cregan went to considerable lengths to see Jaehaerys and his half-siblings receive the best tutelage and training possible. Tutors and skilled warriors were brought from far and wide. Ravens also flew to the houses of the north seeking would-be companions for the princeling and his Stark kin. Every northern house quickly replied with many likely candidates.
The Starks spent nearly a full month debating the merits of the various candidates put forth by the noble houses. Finally, it was arranged that sons of a suitable age from Umber and Bolton, Cerwyn and Dustin, Manderly and Reed would foster in Winterfell during the upcoming years. Many who could not send sons would send likely daughters to serve as Elaena and her daughter's ladies and companions
Somewhat surprisingly to the remote Starks, houses from below the Neck and throughout the Seven Kingdoms also sought to send fosterlings to be raised next to the Belated Prince. Sons and daughters from Raventree Hall in the Riverlands, Runestone and the Redfort in the Vale, the Crag in the Westerlands, and Hightower in the Reach were arranged to be fostered in Winterfell. The only house not of clear and ancient First Men lineage to send fosterlings was House Velaryon of Driftmark, the house of Elaena's own mother.
"Where there are Targaryens, there are Velaryons." Queen Elaena was heard to say.
Prince Jaehaerys was eight years old when the first of his childhood companions began to arrive at Winterfell…
What do they find?
Valor. Temperance. Compassion. Conviction. These four virtues spring forth from the secret depths of the prince and are held closest to Prince Jaehaerys' heart. Within these virtues lies a path to divine power. Through action, deed, and the passage of time will these virtues be tested and grow. There are five general tiers for each virtue. More information will be made available as you progress.
1 Mortal (50 VP)
2 Champion (100VP)
3 Heroic (200 VP)
4 Demigod (400 VP)
5 Ascendant (800 VP)
Each virtue receives a base roll of 1d20 every year. Modifiers are added for excellent gameplay and considerable displays of each virtue. Acting counter to these virtues will cause a loss of modifiers. Generally, your character should reach Heroic in every Virtue by the age of 35 without modifiers.
Valor is strength. The valorous prince is strong and fast, durable and quick. They are marked apart from others by their physical capacities.
Temperance is resistance. The temperate prince resists the woes and ills of the world. Illness and cold and poison that bring others low will not tear him down.
Compassion is empathy. A compassionate prince can form deep bonds with others. They can share pains and triumphs, be understood and gain understanding in turn.
Conviction is restoration. A prince possessing conviction refuses to be stopped. They can heal from all but the most lethal of injuries, even time may not touch them.
Please collate your vote into plan format.
Choose a Major Virtue (x1.5 modifier) and a Minor Virtue (x1.25 modifier) for Jaehaerys to begin with. This will not only shape his starting character, but also shape his capabilities.
[] Valor Major
[] Valor Minor
[] Temperance Major
[] Temperance Minor
[] Compassion Major
[] Compassion Minor
[] Conviction Major
[] Conviction Minor
A Question of Talent
Martial- Across all of Westeros, warriors are venerated. To rule effectively, one must be strong. To live to rule, one must preserve their life. To earn the right to live with dignity, one must have strength.
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Horseback- You were born for the saddle. Some say you are half a horse yourself. Be it lance or bow or just the reins in hand, your mount and you move as one. Little and less can hope to dislodge or even discomfort you once you truly get riding.
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Afoot- When all else is done, it is in the blood and mud of the battlefield that men are proven. And it is here that you shine. Weapon in hand, you are a demon few can hope to stand against. Your guard impenetrable, your strikes unerring.
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Ranged- The day you miss a shot might just be the day the sun fails to rise. Or so men say, anyway. Excelling in archery, you have a drawing and throwing arm few can imagine matching, and an aim to beat all but the absolute best.
Education- A sharp mind can be far more dangerous than a sharp sword. You possess immense potential, and your tutors and trainers have spared no effort to hone your mind. Still, you have only so much time to study, and you evince a particular talent.
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Reading- Those who fail to know history are doomed to repeat it. You are a voracious reader, devouring ancient texts and modern treatises alike with equal ferocity. Many know of the hundred kingdoms that preceded the seven, but you can name each of their kings. Every account and every history there is to read you have read. From the manuscripts smuggled out of Sarnor as it fell to the famed
Days before the Doom: My Journey to Valyria by Archmaester Gawayn. But little in your readings has drawn your fascination as much as the Yi-ti accounts of the near-mythical Great Empire of the Dawn...
[]
Math- Your mother, they say, is the cleverest woman alive. You cannot disagree with that statement. And she taught you many of her tricks. Numbers dance for you, calculations others would struggle with for hours accomplished in minutes. You also find great faculty with neatly and efficiently organizing lists and groups. This attention to detail leads to a strong aversion to waste. Others consider you a veritable genius when it comes to money and mathematics, disdained as counting coppers may be by your lordly companions, but you know that nothing is without cost.
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Art- Reading others' words is well and good, but it is in creation that men may find immortality. Songs, Poetry and stories, and even some painting taught to you by a visiting Tyroshi find your interest. Though it is far below your station, you find great ability to craft items, and a strong desire to sketch whatever crosses your mind. Furthermore, the arts of chivalry and courtly behavior come easily to you. Were you not a prince you fancy you could be a Bard like few others. As a prince, you can compose heart-stirring speeches and comport yourself like a courtier twice your age.
Personality
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Reserved-You say little, therefore when you do say something your words possess more value and weight. While perhaps not the most welcoming of attitudes, your quiet solemnity has its own draw among your companions. You do not prove yourself a fool by word or deed. Instead, you speak and act after thoughtful deliberation. You've always been stronger and faster than others your age, and as a prince, your words carry greater weight indeed. Acting thoughtlessly has caused you to hurt others before. Never again.
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Gregarious- You enjoy any gathering you attend with an easy laugh and cheerful countenance, singing and joking with the best of them. There is a genuine ease, an effortless confidence and approachability to your manner. Friends come easily into your circle, but these friends made in ease may not be true friends indeed..Still, you find yourself the center of attention at any social gathering with both maidens and boys paying great attention to you.
[]
Bellicose- You are not one for perfunctory social niceties. Though you are still a boy, you have been robbed twice of your birthright, and it rankles. Others may not know it, but you are already at war. You are skilled at winning others to your side, but you only make the effort when you judge the reward worth it. Men and women of quality can find your presence enthralling, but you are no mummer to perform for every vagrant or lackwit. In any event, you aggressively seek justice and redress.
A/N: Here we go again. Hope this turns out to be a successful quest.
