Baelon Targaryen

INFORMATION

Alias(s): Baelon the Brave The Prince of Spring Silver Jester Title(s): Prince of Dragonstone Hand of the King Allegiance: House Targaryen Race: Valyrian Culture: Crown Lands Born: 57 AD Died: 101 AD, in Tower of the Hand, King's Landing Spouse: Alyssa Targaryen Child(ren): Viserys Targaryen Daemon Targaryen Aegon Targaryen

APPEARANCE AND PERSONALITY

At birth, he was smaller than his brother Aemon Targaryen, but louder and hungrier. In childhood and early adolescence, he was shorter and less strong than his brother Aemon, but faster and fiercer. Baelon is full of energy. Baelon Targaryen, the second son of Jaehaerys I Targaryen and Alysanne Targaryen, inherited the traditional good looks of his house. He has the iconic silver-white hair, worn long, and deep violet eyes that shine with intensity, features that clearly identify him as a pure Targaryen. Physically, Baelon is tall, strong, and athletic, with a warrior-like build due to his years of military training and combat. He is described as brave and determined, reflected in his confident expression and firm stance. His skin is fair, and he is often seen wearing armor ornately decorated with the symbol of dragons, especially when in battle or at important events. In everyday life, he favors luxurious clothing in somber colors such as black and red, in homage to the colors of his house. His imposing presence and natural charisma make him a difficult figure to ignore, both in battle and at court. Baelon saw his older brother, Prince Aemon Targaryen, not only as a brother but as a rival in everything and his best friend, and he looked to him for anything. The common people loved Baelon the Valiant, and the lords of the realm saw him as his brother's obvious successor.

HISTORY

In 57 AC, just two days before he was born, White Ravens flew from the Citadel to herald the beginning of spring, and so the prince was given the nickname Prince of Spring.[1] Grand Maester Benifer feared that enmity would develop between Baelon and his older brother Aemon, as had happened with Aenys and Maegor, but in the end there was no need for such concern, for Baelon admired his brother and followed him everywhere, imitating his steps. They were extremely close. When Prince Aemon was old enough to train with swords, Prince Baelon attempted to follow in his footsteps as well, but he was too small to hold a sword, so he used a twig to practice with. Prince Aemon was shy around dragons, but Prince Baelon is said to have struck Balerion the Black Dread on the snout when he first entered the Dragonpit, earning him the nickname Prince Baelon the Brave. A little later, when Princess Alyssa Targaryen was born in 60 AC, Queen Alysanne Targaryen noticed that the princess was much like Prince Baelon: bold and fearless. And just as Prince Baelon had followed Prince Aemon everywhere he went as a child, Princess Alyssa followed Prince Baelon wherever he went. When Prince Aemon was seven, he and Prince Baelon sparred every day in the courtyard, and their matches were so evenly matched and vigorous that they often drew large audiences. After the death of Princess Daenerys Targaryen, everyone thought that Princess Alyssa should marry Prince Aemon, but Queen Alysanne Targaryen knew that Princess Alyssa and Prince Baelon were inseparable and that this would be the right match.

HISTORY

In 72 AC, a tourney was held at Duskendale to celebrate the marriage of the young Lord Darklyn to the daughter of Lord Theomore Manderly. During the tourney, Prince Aemon was crowned champion of the melee, defeating Prince Baelon (after the latter had surrendered). Also in the same tourney, Prince Aemon, at the age of 17, was knighted after performing well in the jousts. Shortly thereafter, Prince Aemon took the dragon Caraxes as his mount. Prince Baelon could not be outdone by his brother and rival, so at the age of 16, in 73 AC, he went to Old Oak, seat of House Oakheart, to participate in a tourney, but presented himself as a Mystery Knight calling himself the Silver Fool. In the tourney he defeated Lord Rowan, Ser Alyn Ashford, the two Fossoway twins, and Ser Denys Oakheart, but was defeated by Ser Rickard Redwyne, who knighted him for his deeds in the tourney.[1] After the celebration, Prince Baelon went to King's Landing to claim a dragon for himself and ended up taking the great Vhagar as his personal mount, the second largest dragon alive, second only to Balerion the Black Dread. In 75 AC Prince Baelon married Princess Alyssa Targaryen at the Red Keep. The bride was fifteen, the groom eighteen. Prince Baelon had not stopped smiling since the wedding. In 77 AC, the couple's first son, Prince Viserys Targaryen, was born. In 81 AC, Prince Aemon was named Master of Laws, and Prince Baelon congratulated him. That same year, their second son, Prince Daemon Targaryen, was born.

HISTORY

In 83 AC, the Fourth Dornish War began when the Prince of Dorne, Morion Martell, decided to attack Westeros, but King Jaehaerys I Targaryen had spies in Dorne and before they could even land at Cape Wrath, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, with Vermithor, Prince Aemon, with Caraxes and Prince Baelon, with Vhagar, descended from the clouds and ended the invasion before it even began, killing several Dornishmen. That same year, Princess Alyssa Targaryen became pregnant for the second time and in 84 AC Prince Baelon's third son was born: Prince Aegon Targaryen. But both the boy and his mother died soon after. Prince Baelon was devastated, but found strength in his two remaining sons. In 86 AC, Prince Baelon showed no interest in any woman, but his sister, Princess Viserra Targaryen, showed interest in her brother, not because she desired him, but because she wanted to be queen. When Queen Alysanne Targaryen decided that Princess Viserra should marry Lord Theomore Manderly, the princess sought out Prince Baelon's chambers, got drunk, and waited naked for him to seduce him, but he threw her out of the room. She died shortly afterward from her rash act, and Prince Baelon regretted his decision, as he felt guilty for his sister's death. In 88 AC, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen set out on a tour of the Westerlands after a falling out with Queen Alysanne Targaryen, and both Prince Aegon Targaryen and Prince Baelon accompanied him on some of these trips.

HISTORY

During the event known as the Myrian Bloodbath, two rival factions of Myr fought for supremacy. The defeated faction, driven from the city and becoming pirates, fled to the Stepstones, where they were driven out again and ended up trying, with temporary success, to take Tarth from Lord Cameron Tarth. In 92 AC, during the attempt to retake the city, Prince Aemon Targaryen was assassinated by a dart, which caused the fury of his father, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, and his brother, Prince Baelon the Brave. Then, Prince Baelon mounted his dragon Vhagar and bore Dark Sister and massacred all the pirates of Myr. Upon returning to King's Landing, he was received as a true hero and honored by the entire city, but when the prince met his mother, he broke down in tears mourning the death of his brother, best friend and rival. After the death of his elder brother, Prince Aemon, Baelon was named heir apparent to his father, King Jaehaerys I. He was thus named Prince of Dragonstone, overriding Prince Aemon Targaryen's eldest daughter and sole heir, Princess Rhaenys,[5] as Prince Baelon was an experienced knight of thirty-five and was better suited to rule than the eighteen-year-old Princess Rhaenys, but this caused friction with both House Velaryon and House Baratheon. In 99 AC[3][N 1] Prince Baelon was named Hand of the King, succeeding Ser Ryam Redwyne who had been deposed. In Queen Alysanne Targaryen's final moments, the only son who remained close to her was Baelon, but he was the Prince of Dragonstone, Hand of the King, and could not devote all his time to his mother. In one of their meetings, Queen Alysanne Targaryen stated that Prince Baelon would be an even greater King than his father. In that same year of 100 AC, Queen Alysanne Targaryen died.[6] Baelon served admirably, but tragedy struck a year later in 101 AC when, during a

HISTORY

During a hunting trip, Baelon complained of a sharp pain in his side. He died within days of a ruptured abdomen in the Tower of the Hand with his father, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, at his side. After his death, a moot of lords held the first Great Council to answer the question of who would succeed King Jaehaerys upon his death.[4][5] Baelon's eldest son, Viserys, was chosen and succeeded Jaehaerys I two years later as King Viserys I.