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 has served on the Small Council as Hand of the King.

Appearance and Character
Perceon Vance has shoulder-lenth dark hair and piercing blue eyes. He keeps his chin clean-shaven in warm months and sports a closely-cropped beard during winters. 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 favors dark colors, accented with the white and gold of his house colors.

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 the Captain-General of the Golden Company.

In 387 AC, Perceon was knighted by Prince Viserys. A few months later, he returned home to Harrenhal to wed Shiera Velaryon, daughter of Lord Vaemond 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.

He took on Gwayne Baratheon as a squire, though the boy was already 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 brute of a knight 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 a position as his aide, 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.

Recent Events
King Aenar has declared a grand tournament at Harrenhal to celebrate the appearance of the Red Comet.