Prince Jacaerys Velaryon

ABOUT

Prince Jacaerys Velaryon was the son of Laenor Velaryon and Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. During the Dance of the Dragons, his mother opposes King Aegon II and crowns herself on Dragonstone. Jacaerys supported him with his dragon, Vermax, but was killed in the Battle of the Gullet by the Triarchy.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Origin: Dragonstone, Dragonstone Island Culture: Valyrian Religion: Faith of the Seven Allegiance: House Targaryen Blacks Family: Velaryon House Born: late 114 AD Death: 5th day of the 1st moon 130 BC (15 years) the Throat Country: Laenor Velaryon (officially) Harwin Strong (rumored) Father { Daemon Targaryen } Mother {Rhaenyra Targaryen} Brothers {Lucerys Velaryon} {Joffrey Velaryon} Maternal half-siblings: {Aegon III Targaryen} {Viserys II Targaryen}

APPEARANCE AND PERSONALITY

Jace was a robust boy who grew into a handsome teenager. Like his brothers, Lucerys and Joffrey, he had brown hair and eyes and a flat nose. This led many at court to suspect that Ser Harwin Strong, the sworn shield and possible lover of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, was his real father. Responsible, bold, and politically astute, Jace was very protective of his family. Jace became skilled at arms while serving as a squire.

HISTORY - YOUTH

Prince Jacaerys was born in 114 AC to the princess of Dragonstone, Rhaenyra Targaryen, daughter of King Viserys I Targaryen, and her husband Laenor Velaryon. Laenor wanted to name the boy Joffrey, in honor of his late friend, Ser Joffrey Lonmouth, but his father, Lord Corlys Velaryon, interceded against it. Instead, the child was given a traditional Velaryon name, Jacaerys, and was nicknamed "Jace" by friends and family. Jace's brother, Lucerys, was born in 115 AC, and another brother, Joffrey, was born in 117 AC. By royal decree, all of Rhaenyra's children were presented with dragon eggs in their cradles. There were many who doubted that Laenor was the father of the three children, as they were most similar in appearance to Ser Harwin Strong, Rhaenyra's beloved. One of the purposes of these eggs was to show how strong Valyrian blood was in children. The first dragon to be born was that of Jacaerys, who he named Vermax. According to Septon Eustace, while they were at court, King Viserys told Jacaerys that the Iron Throne would be his. The reason for this was that the king had no direct male heirs, so he would be succeeded by his daughter Rhaenyra. However, Rhaenyra and her children's position as heirs was threatened when the widowed King Viserys I remarried, to Alicent Hightower. and had three sons with her (Aegon, Aemond and Daeron), who began to rival Rhaenyra's sons, leaving the question of succession open. Royal duties (banquets, tournaments and studies) forced them to live together, something that increased rivalry and dislike within the family. In 118 AD, with the king's blessing, Rhaenyra married her two eldest sons to her cousins, daughters by Daemon Targaryen and Laena Velaryon. Four-year-old Jacaerys was betrothed to two-year-old Baela.

HISTORY - YOUTH

With this move, Rhaenyra intended to increase the inbreeding of her descendants, improving her claim to the crown. At some point, Prince Aemond Targaryen claimed Vhagar, the oldest living Targaryen dragon, but Jacaerys and his brother Joffrey discover and confront him. Aemond mocked his three nephews, stating that they were "strong" (an allusion to "Strong House", insinuating that the boys were descendants of Harwin Strong and, therefore, were bastards born of adultery), then starting a fight. Aemond manages to overpower Jacaerys, but Lucerys uses her dagger and attacks Aemond, taking his right eye. King Viserys decreed that anyone who mocked his grandchildren as "Strongs" would lose their tongue. Rhaenyra and her children would remain on Dragonstone, while Alicent and her children remained in King's Landing. Later, Jacaerys' mother, the now widowed Rhaenyra Targaryen, married her uncle, Prince Daemon Targaryen. Jace's mother had two more children, Aegon and Viserys. Unlike the Velaryon boys, Rhaenyra's children were completely Targaryens and had the classic family features (violet eyes and silver hair, for example). At a great feast in 127 AC, Rhaenyra and her father's wife, Alicent, tried to show unity. However, the rivalry continued and as the king left the dinner, Aemond raised his cup for a toast in honor of his Velaryon cousins, mocking their brown hair and eyes and making reference to their "strength" (another mention of their supposed bastardy). ). That same night, Aegon was offended when Jacaerys asked his wife, Helaena Targaryen, for a dance, and a fight almost broke out, but the Kingsguard separated them.

THE DANCE OF THE DRAGONS

In 129 AD, King Viserys I Targaryen passed away and this precipitated a great civil war. Rhaenyra Targaryen, the firstborn of Viserys' descendants and whom he favored to succeed him, claimed the throne after her brother Aegon II crowned himself as the eldest male child. The kingdom was divided, between those who supported Rhaenyra (known as "the Blacks") and those who were loyal to Aegon II (known as "the Greens"). Among one of the reasons for Aegon II to claim the throne, Ser Criston Cole pointed out that Rhaenyra's successor would be Prince Jacaerys, who was possibly a bastard born of adultery. Jacaerys was 14 years old when the Dance of the Dragons began. His dragon, Vermax, was strong and grew bigger every year. When Rhaenyra convened her council at Dragonstone, Jacaerys and his brother, Prince Lucerys Velaryon, volunteered to set out with their dragons to drum up support among the lords of Westeros. Rhaenyra agreed, but made the boys swear under The Seven-Pointed Star that they would not fight anyway. The next day, Rhaenyra Targaryen crowned herself Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men and named Jacaerys Prince of Dragonstone and heir to the Iron Throne. Aegon II sent terms to Rhaenyra stating that if she submitted, he would maintain her sovereignty over Dragonstone and Jacaerys would inherit her lands, but she refused. Jacaerys, as Rhaenyra's eldest son, was given the most difficult task as his mother's envoy . He flew with Vermax to the Eyrie, where he met with Lady Jeyne Arryn who readily agreed to support Rhaenyra if she committed to defending the Vale of Arryn with her dragons. Jacaerys also enlisted the support of the islands of the Three Sisters by meeting Lords Borrell and Sunderland at Vilirmã. Then, in White Harbor, Jacaerys negotiated with Desmond Manderly, ensuring that his daughter would marry Joffrey Velaryon when the war was over.

THE DANCE OF THE DRAGONS

According to Grand Maester Munkun, Jacaerys befriended Lord Cregan Stark at Winterfell, as the prince resembled the Lord of Winterfell's deceased younger brother. After drinking and hunting together, the two swore an oath of brotherhood. Septon Eustace, on the other hand, says that Jacaerys tried to convince Lord Cregan to follow the Faith of the Seven instead of the old gods. The fool Mushroom claims that Jacaerys fell in love with Cregan's bastard sister Sara Snow and married her in secret in the Winterfell godswood, though Archmaester Gyldayn does not believe this. Mushroom also claims that Vermax laid eggs in the Stark castle. Regardless, Jacaerys did indeed gain the support of the North, making a pact that included a promise of marriage to a daughter he would eventually have with Cregan's heir, the boy Rickon Stark. Princess Rhaenys Targaryen was killed at the Battle of Rook's Rest, leaving her grieving husband, Lord Corlys Velaryon, enraged at Rhaenyra. Jacaerys reconciles the two by naming him Hand of the Queen, and Jace begins planning an attack on King's Landing with his grandfather. He sends his younger brother, Prince Joffrey, to the Vale, as his other brother, Lucerys, was killed by Aemond earlier in the war. Lady Baela Targaryen wanted to marry Jacaerys at Dragonstone, but Munkun claims the prince wanted to wait until the war was over. To make up for the deaths of Arrax at Storm's End and Meleys at Rook's Rest, Mushroom claims it was his idea for the Blacks to go after the "dragonseeds" to find tamers for the six riderless dragons at Dragonstone, but Munkun says it was Jace who suggested it. The prince proclaimed that any man or woman who could tame a dragon would be granted noble status.

THE DANCE OF THE DRAGONS

Those who succeeded included Addam of Hull, whom Lord Corlys adopted into House Velaryon. At Corlys and Jacaerys's request, Queen Rhaenyra legitimized Addam, making him heir to Driftmark. Jacaerys then contacted the Prince of Pentos to receive his younger half-brothers, Aegon and Viserys, so that they could be kept safe. In late 129 AC, the two boarded Merry Delight and set sail for Pentos, but were intercepted by the Triarchy's fleet, allies of the greens, and captured. Aegon the Younger escaped with his dragon Stormcloud to Dragonstone and informed them of the approaching enemy ships. In the ensuing Battle of the Gullet, Jacaerys and four other black dragonriders attacked the Triarchy's fleet. The Blacks' victory seemed at hand until Vermax, flying low near the waterline, was wounded by crossbow bolts and scorpion fire from the ships, or, according to other accounts, became entangled in the ships' sails and masts, and fell into the sea amidst a burning galley. Jacaerys managed to free himself and floated in the water, dazed, but Myrish crossbowmen shot him with several arrows, killing him. Driftmark, his grandfather's castle, was burned to the ground shortly afterward.

JACAERYS LEGACY

The death of Jacaerys, Prince of Dragonstone, was a terrible loss for the blacks. Many were further disheartened after another defeat, this time at the Battle of Honeywine, but a vengeful Rhaenyra Targaryen was more focused on conquering King's Landing. Near the end of the Dance of the Dragons, Lord Cregan Stark led his army of northerners to King's Landing to honor his promise to Jacaerys. Jace's betrothed, Lady Baela Targaryen, eventually married Alyn Velaryon.

QUOTES ABOUT JACAERYS

“Our uncles call us Strong, and declare us bastards, but when the lords see us riding dragons they will know such accusations are lies. Only Targaryens ride dragons.” “Broken by the loss of one son, Rhaenyra Targaryen seemed close to recovery before the death of her second. Jace's death had hardened her, consumed her fears, leaving only her fury and hatred.” —— Archmaester Gyldayn