Jaehaerys Targaryen (son of Aegon II)
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 Jaehaerys Targaryen, by riotarttherite © | ||||
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| Title | Prince | |||
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| Race | Valyrian | |||
| Culture | Crownlands | |||
| Born | In 123 AC | |||
| Died | In 129 AC, Tower of the Hand, King's Landing | |||
| Father | Aegon II Targaryen | |||
| Mother | Helaena Targaryen | |||
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| TV series | House of the Dragon: Season 1 | 2 | |||
Prince Jaehaerys Targaryen was the son of King Aegon II Targaryen and his sister-wife and Queen Helaena Targaryen. He was Aegon's firstborn son and heir, next in line to the Iron Throne. He had a twin sister, Jaehaera, and a younger brother Maelor.[1] The dragon Shrykos was bound to Jaehaerys.
Contents
Appearance and Character
Jaehaerys was larger and healthier than his twin, but he was also born with six fingers on his left hand, and six toes on each foot.[2]
History
Early life
Prince Jaehaerys was born in the year 123 AC, barely a year after his parents had wed. The greens at the court of King Viserys I Targaryen were happy to proclaim that Prince Aegon Targaryen now had heirs of his own. A dragon egg was placed in Jaehaerys's cradle, and as well one in the cradle of his twin sister, Princess Jaehaera. Both eggs soon hatched, and for Jaehaerys, the dragon Shrykos was born.[2]
That same year, two of Jaehaerys's half-siblings were born: a boy, whose mother was a whore in the Street of Silk, and a girl, whose mother was a maidservant of Jaehaerys's grandmother, Queen Alicent Hightower. In 127 AC, Jaehaerys's trueborn brother Prince Maelor was born.[2][1]
In 129 AC, on the third day of the third moon, Jaehaerys, his sister Jaehaera, his brother Maelor, and their mother, Princess Helaena Targaryen, went to visit their grandfather, King Viserys I Targaryen. There, Jaehaerys listened to a fictional tale[N 1] Viserys told, about their great-great-grandsire, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, Jaehaerys's namesake, and how he had flown north of the Wall on his dragon to fight against wildlings, giants, and wargs. That night, King Viserys died in his sleep.[2]
The Dance of the Dragons
At the time of the death of King Viserys I Targaryen, Jaehaerys and his twin were six years old. His father, Aegon II Targaryen, was crowned king by the greens in King's Landing, but Aegon's older half-sister, Rhaenyra Targaryen, who had been Viserys's proclaimed heir, was crowned queen by the blacks on Dragonstone. This provoked a civil war that became known as the Dance of the Dragons. With his father now king, Jaehaerys became the heir to the throne.[4]
At the start of the war, Jaehaerys's uncle, Prince Aemond Targaryen, killed Prince Lucerys Velaryon, the second son of Queen Rhaenyra. Her husband Prince Daemon Targaryen declared vengeance, writing that there would be "An eye for an eye, a son for a son".[1] Sometime thereafter, two men, remembered as Blood and Cheese, snuck into the chambers of Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower in the Tower of the Hand. As was her custom, Queen Helaena Targaryen took her three children to visit their grandmother at dusk, before they went to bed. Once Helaena entered the chambers with Jaehaerys, Jaehaera, and Maelor, Blood barred the door and slew Helaena's guardsman, while Cheese snatched Maelor. Cheese told Helaena that they were two "debt collectors", and asked which one of her sons she wanted to lose. The queen offered herself but the two killers refused, telling her that it had to be a son, a boy. As the queen agonized over the decision, Cheese warned her to make a choice soon, before Blood grew bored and raped Jaehaera. The weeping Helaena eventually named her youngest child, two-year-old Maelor. Cheese told Maelor his mother wanted him dead, then grinned at Blood, who slew Prince Jaehaerys instead, striking off the boy's head with a single blow from his sword. The two men did no further harm to Helaena, Jaehaera, or Maelor, fleeing with Jaehaerys's head in hand while Helaena screamed.[5]
Legacy
Blood was seized at the Gate of the Gods, with the head of Prince Jaehaerys hidden in a saddle sack. Before he died under torture, he confessed he was making for Harrenhal, to collect his reward from Prince Daemon. However, Cheese was not found, and in his fury, King Aegon ordered every ratcatcher in the city to be hanged. Queen Helaena became deeply depressed and slowly sank into madness, and refused to eat, bathe, or leave her chambers. She couldn't stand to be in the presence of Maelor, having named him to die. Thus, the king took Maelor from her and gave him to Queen Alicent to raise as if he were her own. Aegon and his wife slept separately thereafter, with the king drinking each night in anger.[5]
The deaths of both Prince Lucerys and Prince Jaehaerys set the civil war ablaze, with both sides calling for vengeance and unwilling to show any mercy.[5]
Family
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Notes
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Princess and the Queen.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Fire & Blood, Heirs of the Dragon - A Question of Succession.
- ↑ A Forum of Ice and Fire: Inconsistencies, plot holes, and missing details in TSOTD, TRP, and TPATQ (February 28, 2018)
- ↑ Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - The Blacks and the Greens.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - A Son for a Son.