Vaegon Targaryen

Vaegon was born in 63 AC, the fourth son and seventh child of King Jaehaerys I and Queen Alysanne. From early childhood his parents assumed he would one day marry his sister Daella, barely a year younger than him; when the boy was five, Jaehaerys himself asked him to be gentle with her, for one day she would be his own Alysanne.

Things turned out otherwise. Vaegon barely tolerated Daella and thought her a fool; she, in turn, feared him and thought him cruel. When one of the queen's maids innocently asked about the wedding, Vaegon answered in front of the whole hall that his sister could only give him children as stupid as she was, and the girl fled the room in tears. His elder sister Alyssa emptied a jug of wine over his head; he only complained about wasting good Arbor gold and walked away.

After the scandal, the court dropped the match and looked for other spouses for both of them. Convinced his son needed less time with his books, Jaehaerys had his firstborn Baelon train the boy in arms; a year of lessons left teacher and pupil equally miserable, and ended the day Alyssa, dressed as a squire, humiliated him in the yard while Daella watched from the castle. Vaegon threw down his sword and never picked one up again, nor did he ever show any interest in women afterward, not even when Grand Maester Elysar gave him a book of racy drawings hoping to spark some. Even as a boy he was seen as sullen and friendless, happier among scrolls than swords.

At fifteen, in 78 AC, Jaehaerys and Alysanne asked Grand Maester Elysar whether their son had the makings of a maester. Elysar answered that Vaegon wasn't cut out for that, but might well become an archmaester, and suggested sending him to Oldtown, where the Citadel held the greatest store of knowledge in the known world: there he might find himself among the books, or lose himself in them for good. Three days later the king told him he would sail for Oldtown within a fortnight; Vaegon answered coldly, though Jaehaerys later told Alysanne he thought he had almost seen the boy smile.

At the Citadel, Vaegon forged his chain until he wore the ring, rod, and mask of yellow gold of an archmaester. He wrote to his parents now and then, in letters correct but never warm, and as the years passed much of the Seven Kingdoms forgot he existed at all.

After the death of his brother Baelon, Jaehaerys's heir, the king summoned Vaegon back to King's Landing. Accounts disagree: some say Jaehaerys meant to offer him the crown and that Vaegon refused it; others say the king only wanted his counsel as an archmaester on who should succeed him. It was Vaegon who suggested settling the matter by calling a Great Council of the realm.

By then nearing forty, he had grown pale and frail, given over to alchemy, astronomy, mathematics, and other arts that had little to do with the court he had long since left behind.