Aemon Targaryen

Prince Aemon Targaryen was a member of House Targaryen. He was the third child and second son born to King Jaehaerys I Targaryen and Queen Alysanne Targaryen. Aemon was married to Lady Jocelyn Baratheon. Together, they had one daughter, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen. Rhaenys would later be known as "The Queen Who Never Was".

Title(s): Prince Prince of Dragonstone Master of Laws Loyalty: House Targaryen Race: Valyrian Culture: Crown Lands Birth: 55 AD Death: 92 AD Wife: Jocelyn Baratheon Daughter: Rhaenys Targaryen

Aemon was born a healthy child with perfect limbs and eyes as clear as lilac. His hair was light, gleaming like white gold, a rare color even in ancient Valyria. Even at the age of two, much of his personality was already revealed; he was a serious, cautious, attentive, and obedient boy. Apparently, he was also very curious, as Queen Alysanne Targaryen used to joke that his first words were "Why?" and even though he hadn't yet learned to read, he loved having things read to him. At seven, he was strong and tall for his age, and as handsome as he was modest. By the end of his adolescence, at fifteen, he stood 1.88 meters tall. As an adult, he proved to be an excellent warrior and a man more than skilled in both war and peace, as he helped administer the kingdom alongside his father. Aemon and Baelon were not only brothers but best friends, possessing a friendly and healthy rivalry. Initially he was shy in the presence of dragons, but eventually he ended up taking Caraxes as his personal mount.

Before he was born, his older sister, Princess Daenerys, asked her mother to give her a little sister. Prince Aemon was born in 55 AC on Dragonstone, and not only the Queen and King celebrated his birth, but all the people of King's Landing when they returned to their city. From his birth, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen referred to him as his heir, which caused friction with Queen Alysanne Targaryen, who believed Princess Daenerys should be the heir. As a way of settling the score, King Jaehaerys decided to marry them so they could rule together, but the Queen was not entirely satisfied with the decision. In 60 AC, Prince Aemon's older sister and betrothed, Princess Daenerys, died during the great Shiver epidemic. In 61 AC, Lord Rogar Baratheon brought Lady Jocelyn Baratheon to King's Landing to be raised in the city while he waged war against the Vulture King. In 62 AC, when Aemon was 7 years old, the sword duels between Princes Aemon and Baelon were so fierce that they attracted large audiences to watch the training sessions, among them the beautiful Lady Jocelyn Baratheon, who became interested in Prince Aemon. In that same year, 62 AC, King Jaehaerys named Prince Aemon Prince of Dragonstone and heir to the Iron Throne. During the banquet celebrating Prince Aemon's appointment as heir, Queen Alysanne brought Lady Jocelyn Baratheon to sit beside Prince Aemon, and they both talked and laughed all night, paying no attention to their surroundings. In 68 AC, King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne publicly announced that Prince Aemon and Lady Jocelyn would marry, going against the common practice of marrying the heir to the Iron Throne to his sister, Princess Alyssa Targaryen, who later married Prince Baelon. The wedding took place in 70 AC and was a splendid and memorable event.

In 72 AC, a tournament was held in Duskendale to celebrate the marriage of young Lord Darklyn to the daughter of Lord Theomore Manderly. During the tournament, Prince Aemon Targaryen was the melee champion, defeating Prince Baelon (after the latter surrendered). Also at the same tournament, Prince Aemon, at age 17, was knighted after performing well in the jousts. Soon after, Prince Aemon took the dragon Caraxes as his mount. Prince Baelon could not be outdone by his rival, so a year later he earned his knighthood and took Vhagar as his personal mount. On the seventh day of the seventh moon of 74 AC, Prince Aemon and Lady Jocelyn had their first (and only) child: Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, the first granddaughter of King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne. In 81 AC, at the age of 26, Prince Aemon was so competent and well-regarded at court that King Jaehaerys included him on the Small Council as Master of Laws, a role he performed with great competence. 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 many Dornishmen.

During the event known as the Myrian Bloodbath, two rival factions of Myr fought for supremacy. The defeated faction, expelled from the city and turning to pirates, fled to the Stepstones where they were expelled again and eventually attempted, with temporary success, to take Tarth from Lord Cameron Tarth. In 92 AC, during the attempt to retake the city, Prince Aemon Targaryen led the royal army composed of men from the Stormlands, including the Prince's own brother-in-law, Lord Boremund Baratheon, and the men of Lord Cameron Tarth, as well as some men from the Crownlands, such as the Prince's son-in-law, Lord Corlys Velaryon. His daughter, Princess Rhaenys, and her dragon Meleys would have accompanied her father had she not been pregnant. In the camp near Tarth, Prince Aemon and Lord Cameron Tarth were planning together the attack to retake Tarth when two men from Myr secretly invaded the place and attempted to assassinate Lord Cameron with crossbow bolts, but ended up hitting Prince Aemon in the throat, killing him. The fury of his father, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, and his brother, Prince Baelon the Brave, was terrible. Then, Prince Baelon mounted his dragon Vhagar wielding Dark Sister and massacred all the Myrish pirates. After returning to King's Landing, Prince Baelon was received as a true hero, being honored throughout the city, but when the prince met his mother, he broke down in tears lamenting the death of his brother, best friend, and rival.

After his death, Aemon had only one daughter, Princess Rhaenys, who could inherit the kingdom in his place. Therefore, Aemon's death left the succession of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen uncertain, and the king himself saw the need to personally choose his new heir. The choice had to be made between Princess Rhaenys, Aemon's only heir, and Prince Baelon, Prince Aemon's younger brother. Prince Baelon was ultimately chosen, as he was an experienced knight of thirty-five years and more suited to rule than the eighteen-year-old Princess Rhaenys, but this caused friction with both House Velaryon and House Baratheon.