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
Allegiance: House Targaryen
Race: Valyrian
Culture: Crown Lands
Date of 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 as bright as white gold, a rare color even in ancient Valyria. By the age of two, much of his personality had already been revealed, as he was a serious, cautious, attentive, and obedient boy. He was also apparently very curious, as Queen Alysanne Targaryen used to joke that his first words were "Why?" and even though he had not yet learned to read, he loved being read to. At the age of seven, he was strong and tall for his age and as handsome as he was modest. By the end of his adolescence, at the age of fifteen, he was six feet two inches 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 to administer the kingdom alongside his father. Aemon and Baelon were not only brothers, but best friends and had a friendly and healthy rivalry. Initially he was shy around dragons, but eventually he took Caraxes as his personal mount.

Before he was born, his older sister, Princess Daenerys, asked their 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 the entire people of King's Landing when they returned to their city. From the moment of his birth, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen began to refer to him as his heir, which caused friction with Queen Alysanne Targaryen, who believed that Princess Daenerys should be the heir. As a compromise between the two, King Jaehaerys decided to marry them so that they could rule together, but the Queen was not completely satisfied with the decision. In 60 AC, Prince Aemon's older and betrothed sister, Princess Daenerys, died during the great Shivers 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 seven years old, the sword matches between Princes Aemon and Baelon were so fierce that they drew large crowds to watch the sparring, among them the beautiful Lady Jocelyn Baratheon, who became interested in Prince Aemon. In that same year of 62 AC, King Jaehaerys named Prince Aemon the Prince of Dragonstone and heir to the Iron Throne. During the feast celebrating Prince Aemon's naming as heir, Queen Alysanne brought Lady Jocelyn Baratheon to sit next to Prince Aemon, and the two talked and laughed the night away, oblivious to their surroundings. In 68 AC, King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne publicly announced that Prince Aemon and Lady Jocelyn were to be married, contrary to the conventional wisdom of marrying the heir to the Iron Throne to his sister, Princess Alyssa Targaryen, who later married Prince Baelon. The said wedding took place in 70 AC and was a splendid and memorable event.

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 Targaryen won the melee, defeating Prince Baelon (after the latter had surrendered). Also in the tourney, 17-year-old Prince Aemon 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 rival, so a year later he knighted himself and took Vhagar as his personal mount. On the seventh day of the seventh moon in 74 AC, Prince Aemon and Lady Jocelyn had their first (and only) child: Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, the first grandchild of King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne. By 81 AC, at the age of 26, Prince Aemon was so competent and well-regarded at court that King Jaehaerys included him in 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 several Dornishmen.

During the event known as the Myrian Bloodbath, two rival factions of Myr fought for supremacy, and the defeated faction, driven from the city and turned pirate, fled to the Stepstones, where they were driven out 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 a royal army composed of men from the Stormlands, such as the Prince's own brother-in-law, Lord Boremund Baratheon, and men from 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. At the camp near Tarth, Prince Aemon and Lord Cameron Tarth were planning together an attack to retake Tarth when two Myrish men secretly entered the camp and attempted to assassinate Lord Cameron with crossbow bolts, but ended up shooting 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 bearing Dark Sister and slaughtered all the Myrish pirates. Upon returning to King's Landing, Prince Baelon 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 his death, Aemon had only one daughter, Princess Rhaenys, who could inherit the kingdom in his place. Aemon's death left King Jaehaerys I Targaryen's succession uncertain, and the king himself felt the need to personally choose his new heir. The choice had to be made between Princess Rhaenys, Aemon's sole heir, and Prince Baelon, Prince Aemon's younger brother. Prince Baelon was ultimately chosen, as he was an experienced knight of thirty-five and was more suited to rule than the eighteen-year-old Princess Rhaenys, but this caused friction with both House Velaryon and House Baratheon.