Perceon Vance

Perceon Vance is the current Lord of Harrenhal and Head of House Vance of Harrenhal. He is the son of Lord Perwyn Vance and Lady Roslyn Tully. Since the disappearance and presumed death of Prince Aemon Targaryen in 405 AC, he served as Hand of the King for King Aenar I Targaryen - and now serves as the Hand of the Queen for Queen Visaera I Targaryen.

Appearance and Character
Perceon Vance has shoulder-length hair and piercing blue eyes. Once thick and dark, his mane of hair is now streaked with grey and kept shorter than it had been in his youth, though not by much. He keeps his chin clean-shaven in warm months and sports a closely-cropped beard during winters. Old now, Perceon's face bears his years well; wrinkles accentuate his usually unsmiling expression. He dresses appropriately for his station as a Lord of the Realm and member of the Small Council but avoids excess ostentation in his attire. He favours dark colours, mostly expensive black dyes, accented with the white and gold of his house colours.

Perceon was shy as a child, and has worked hard to overcome his introverted tendencies in social settings. He rarely speaks more loudly than necessary to make his voice heard in a room yet is charismatic enough not to have to, and is seldom given to displays of anger in public. He prefers to smile now and seek revenge at his leisure later. He possesses a talent for organization and administration, evident in both wartime and peace. The last decade has somehow made him even more serious. Perceon rarely smiles these days, unwilling to let his emotions out to all but his closest family. The trials of the Queen's reign have drawn the Hand in on himself, almost reverting back to the shyness of his youth. Yet now, that shyness is edged by the hardness of experience.

History
Perceon Vance was born in 368 AC, the firstborn son of Lord Perwyn Vance and Lady Roslyn Tully. Perceon proved a bright child, but had little interest in esoteric academic learning. He much preferred to be his father's shadow, so Maester Maynard tailored the boy's lessons to build off of what he observed in the operation of Harrenhal's court.

In 379 AC, Perceon traveled with his family to the capital for the Kingswood Tournament. While there, Lord Perwyn arranged for his heir to squire for Prince Viserys Targaryen.

Perceon quickly became fast friends with Viserys's son Aemon as the two boys were of similar age. He received an intense education in the art of statecraft in the service of the Lord Hand, and learned to navigate the intrigues of the court from a young age. And though Prince Viserys was himself not a man of martial bent, he arranged for the two boys to receive arms training from members of the Kingsguard and lessons in generalship from Captain-General Rogare of the Golden Company.

Perceon became completely smitten with Shiera Velaryon, eldest daughter of Lord Vaemond Velaryon. Vaemond played the part of an overprotective father to the hilt, refusing all attempts by Perceon to secure permission to court her and sternly warning him to stay away from his daughter. In truth, Vaemond had already written to Perwyn Vance at Harrenhal and arranged the betrothal.

In 387 AC, Perceon was knighted by Prince Viserys. A few months later, he returned home to Harrenhal for his wedding to Shiera Velaryon. He spent the next decade helping his father administer Harrenhal and its lands, along with regular trips to the court of his cousins at Riverrun. Shiera gave birth to their first son, Preston in 388 AC, and a daughter Rhialta followed the next year. A second son, Paxter, was born in 395 AC. The Great Famine struck the Riverlands hard. Perceon Vance used the connections he'd gained during his time in the capital to do what he could to alleviate the misery in his lands, straining House Vance's finances.

He took on Gwayne Baratheon as a squire in 395 AC, and due to Gwayne's rapid growth, the boy was taller and stronger than his master by the age of four and ten. Perceon focused his lessons on military command and lordly administration, and brought in a hulking knight named Ser Arlan to serve as Gwayne's sparring partner.

In 398 AC, he answered the King's call to arms and bid good bye to his pregnant wife, and joined his cousin Lord Brandon Tully in leading the men of the Riverlands in the war in the Stepstones. While Lord Tully was more courtier than soldier, he knew how to effectively utilize the talents of his subordinates, and Perceon became a leading voice in his command tent. He absorbed further lessons from the example of Prince Baelor Targaryen until the Prince of Summerhall fell to a bout of camp fever.

At the Battle of Grey Gallows, Perceon rallied the Riverlands troops and kept their lines from breaking when Arranax bathed the Westerosi forces in flame. The lines held until Prince Maekar Targaryen engaged Alequo in a dragon duel, whereupon Perceon renewed the assault on Alequo's forces. After the battle, he knighted Gwayne Baratheon for his bravery in rescuing another knight from the flames.

Upon returning home in 402 AC, he was greeted by the news that the Scarlet Winter had claimed the life of his father scant weeks before. After settling affairs at Harrenhal and confirming his brother Ser Pollux Vance as Castellan, he traveled back to the capital to re-join his friend Prince Aemon. Aemon had been named Hand of the King, and Perceon took his former position on the Small Council as Master of Laws. He worked closely with Aemon and Princess Visaera with the intent that he would become Aemon's Lord Hand once he ascended to the Iron Throne. The following year, the winter's unrelenting cruelty claimed the life of his mother, as well.

In 405 AC, Aemon Targaryen vanished on a diplomatic mission to Essos and no trace of him or his dragon Rhaegal could be found. He was presumed dead and Perceon was named as the new Hand of the King by King Aenar. With the King's health declining and the succession being questioned, Perceon finds himself responsible for overseeing an orderly transition of rule to the next monarch when the King finally passes.

King Aenar has declared a grand tournament at Harrenhal to celebrate the appearance of the Red Comet. When the King died, Perceon was at Visaera's side, to continue serving her as Hand as he did her father. Queen Visaera's reign saw swift change for his family - his heir, Preston, married the Lady Elana of the Crossing, and his daughter, Rhialta, wed to Damion Rivers - now Damion Tully, Lord Paramount of the Riverlands. An encounter with his niece Elana made it clear that her feelings, however, lay with the father, and not the son, and a kiss had left Perceon feeling angry over the situation, with little he could do - she was the Queen's Lady-in-Waiting, even if he was one of her closest confidantes.

It was not the only doubt that weighs on Perceon's shoulders. He knew he should not feel bitter about it, but seeing Rhialta marry a by-blow instead of Gwayne Baratheon stung, a long term plan sent to ruin by the sudden roll of politics. He had genuinely surprised himself with feeling a mourning for the passing of Berenna Tully - something he has only wished to acknowledge as being a political opportunity lost. Perceon had, however, accepted the loss of a marriage to his past ward as a necessity of stability in the realm easily enough. There had been a darker doubt, one he has locked tightly away, a worry over the actions Visaera took the night her father died.

Yet that worry was put aside. Perceon proved to be as loyal to the Queen as he had ever been to the King through the so called 'Mummer's War'. While he could not say that he approved of how Maegor and Maekar had been slain, it was once again something he kept quiet. They were dead and buried. The manner was hardly relevant. It was Perceon who rallied the Royalists at the Ruby Ford, alongside his good-son Damion. While he had felt little but bitterness to the newly-minted Lord Tully, fighting alongside him earned Damion a shred of respect - something that would at the very least be nurtured into grudging neutrality over the next decade.

After the Mummer's War, Perceon rarely returned to the Riverlands. Harrenhal was left in the hands of Preston, to rule in his father's name as he would one day in his own right. Perceon has not minded being away from home; in truth, King's Landing was more his home than Harrenhal, considering how long he had lived there. The only thing that worried him, being so far away for so long, was Rhialta. His daughter had always been his favoured child - Perceon would never admit it, but it would take him years to accept she was happy in Riverrun, let alone thriving. It is unlikely he will ever acknowledge her love for her husband. In regards to his daughter, Perceon's stubbornness is eternally unmoving.

Perceon saw Visaera's decrees handled after the Mummer's War with near perfection. Ever the pragmatist, Perceon worked furiously behind the throne to slowly knit the realm back together. To the myriad of minor lords who were not so publicly dealt with like the Great Houses, Perceon soothed, gave stern reminders, and gave thanks.

The Hand would swiftly become the face of conservatism within the capital. The acceptance of R'hllorists within the capital, and later the Queen's growing group of sorcerors, has left a bitter taste in Perceon's mouth. He was not a man to like change at the best of times; this infringement on what he considered the way of life for the kingdom pushed at boundaries for him. While he did not fault Visaera her compassion to the foreigners who came in, with their new religions, Perceon understood it fell to him to influence the kingdom back on to the correct track - from treating with the High Septon publicly, to refusing to work with Princess Rhaenys, Lord Connington, or any of the new worshippers of the Red Faith past a professional level. It is a battle Perceon fears he is slowly losing.

Current moons have seen the Queen withdrawn to Dragonstone, leaving Perceon ruling the capital by himself. The hand finds himself stressed, and worried - between being unsure as to why the Queen has withdrawn, the lingering concern over the uncertainty of his family's future, the reformation of both the Stepstones and the Triarchy, and now winter, Perceon finds himself faced with a myriad of uncertainties.

He fears that it may become a time of troubles once more. Perceon simply hopes he is wrong.

Family

 * Perwyn Vance (344 AC - 402 AC), Father. Lord of Harrenhal 389 AC - 402 AC, died during the Scarlet Winter
 * Roslyn Tully (346 AC - 403), Mother. Married 366 AC, died during the Scarlet Winter
 * Perceon Vance (368 AC - -) Lord of Harrenhal 402 AC - present.
 * Shiera Vance (nee Velaryon) (371 AC - ), Wife. Lady of Harrenhal 402 AC - present
 * Ser Preston Vance (388 AC - -), Son. Heir of Harrenhal. Wed to Elana Frey, Lady of the Crossing
 * Petyr Vance (315 AC - 315 AC)
 * Cassana Vance (318 AC - -)
 * Rhialta Tully (389 AC - -), Daughter. Wed to Damion Tully, Lord Paramount of the Trident
 * Paxter Vance (395 AC - ), Son. Squired under Lord Robert Vance of Atranta
 * Minisa Vance (399 AC - -), Daughter.
 * Ser Pollux Vance (371 AC - ), Brother. Castellan of Harrenhal
 * Wife of Pollux
 * Children of Pollux
 * Cassana Vance (371 AC - 393 AC), Sister, twin of Pollux. Married Lord Symond Frey.
 * Mellara Vance (374 AC - ), Sister.
 * Pearse Vance (376 AC - ), Brother. A Maester of the Citadel