Maekar Targaryen (son of Baelor)

Maekar Targaryen is the Prince of Summerhall, and the son of Prince Baelor Targaryen. Born in 376 AC, Maekar inherited Summerhall when his father died in 402 AC, during the War of the Three Thieves. He would go on to defeat Alequo Silverband the next year, slaying him and his dragon and helping end the war. This propelled Maekar into following his father's reputation as a warrior of renown, serving on the Small Council for two years under his grandfather.

Maekar is married to Leona Tyrell, twin sister of Lord Lyonel Tyrell, with whom he has two daughters; Rhaena and Gael. He rides the dragon Stormsong, a swift and deadly beast of grey and blue.

Appearance and Character
When one thinks of a Targaryen Prince, one does not think of Maekar. The Prince of Summerhall is akin got Baelor Breaskpear in that his appearance carries no indication of his heritage expected. More like his mother and grandmother than his father and grandfather, Maekar's hair is a darker blonde, and his eyes a pale blue. He keeps his hair to his neck, usually tied back, and his beard short and neat - a picture of fastidiousness in how well-kept he is. A strong face with a bold nose, Maekar is quick to smile, an expression backed by a genuine kindness. He is oddly serious as well; an earnest sort of sincerity fired by the strong religious views he holds deeply.

Not the tallest of men, Maekar stands at 5'9, yet he carries the broad shoulders of his father, strengthened over time by the effort behind riding and controlling Stormsong. As expected from a man as zealous as him, much like his wife Maekar's dress lacks ostentation, and is relatively simple. Practical cuts, with an edge of militarism, Maekar dresses the part of the pious war hero. His armour is decidedly traditional for House Targaryen, perhaps one of the few aspects of him that is. Scale armour of black and red, the design is akin to the old suits of Valyrian Steel that have been lost to the ages. In battle, he wields a poleaxe primarily, a deadly weapon forged to break through armour. On dragonback, he fights with longsword in hand, the swift cutting edge much more useful.

Maekar is very much the grandson of Patrice Hightower, who heavily influenced him as he grew. While the Schism is not at the height it was in decades gone by, Maekar is an extremely strong proponent of the Starry Rites. He looks upon the incest that House Targaryen practices with disgust, seeing it as a sign of the excesses, corruption, and everything wrong with his family. While not necessarily ambitious in his own right, he genuinely increasingly sees himself as the last bastion to save his family from themselves. Maekar believes himself to be a properly pious man. He holds to the Seven Sided Star as much as possible, and has a close relationship with his Confessor, Septa Malora, as well as his equally pious wife. His religious views bond easily with his chivalric nature; Maekar takes his oaths of Knighthood just as seriously as the ones he swears to the Seven, reflected in refounding the Rainbow Guard as a knightly order.

Past that, Maekar is generally a kind and affable man. He can be merciful to the point of naivete - unless the wrong is done against his core beliefs, and then he is implacable is his response, and desire for justice. Maekar strives for perfection in himself - and strives to see it in others, as well. Maekar expects the best of everyone, and few people meet it. His wife is perhaps the only woman who does meet the high standards he sets, and this pushing of people to be the best they can be in his eyes also pushes them away. As much as Maekar is friendly, he easily isolates those who could be friends, in a misguided desire to force them into being better people.

Childhood - 376 AC to 387 AC
Maekar was born in 376 AC, the first son of Baelor Targaryen and Deana Arryn. While his older sister had been born during Baelor's tenure as Master of Laws, by the time that his wife was pregnant again, the Prince of Summerhall had grown restless. The Dragon of the East, as he would come to be known, spent much of his time fighting in Essos during this period, coming back and forth over the years, a few months at a time. Left to mostly raise their growing brood by herself, it was not unexpected that Deana would take her children to King's Landing very often in the beginning; something very much supported by the Queen, who enjoyed seeing her grandchildren. Indeed, Queen Patrice would become a major influence in the young Prince's life, and his first memories were more of her and his mother than his father. It was here, through both of them, that the spark of religion was kindled in him. it was simply a way of life; prayers before meals, attending service in the Sept, a life where the Faith was woven thickly through it in near every aspect.

Of course, Maekar had a cradle egg as well. Cyrax had recently laid a clutch at the time of his birth, and the first of those eggs was placed with him; an egg as dark as charcoal, with deep blue veins. The colours of the tempest, and when the beast was hatched when Maekar was eight, it looked like the storm. Scales of dark grey, claws, ridges, and membranes of a dark, brooding, blue; Maekar, on encouragement from his mother and grandmother, would avoid the usual Valyrian name and decide upon Stormsong. The dragon quickly proved itself to be a swift, deadly, beast, with a speed unmatched by most of its peers.

Like his father before him, Jacaerys swiftly began to prove himself a skilled fighter. If not as skilled as either his father or Aegon, he was still far above average, earning the praise of the Master-at-Arms at both King's Landing and Summerhall. However, it was not just combat the young prince concentrated on. As he grew, hatching his dragon, and serving as a page in the court of the Red Keep, Maekar became more and more well known. The young boy impressed in the Great Sept of Baelor with his quiet dedications - until he harangued the High Septon as only an eleven year old could over the Schism. For, while he was of House Targaryen, and lived with his family there, his mind had been pushed towards the Starry Rites by Queen Patrice and her own companions. It was with a surprising fervour that Maekar had adopted the Rites, and that would last through his life. As a boy, it would be a steady piety for the Faith of the Seven as a whole - it would be later in his life that the meanings of the Starry Rites truly began to impress upon him.

A Prince's Teachings - 388 AC to 394 AC
On his twelfth birthday, spent at King's Landing, a surprise came to the young Maekar. Now twelve, Baelor saw in his son a promising swordsman, as well as a boy who was already causing trouble and rifts within the Red Keep. The Prince of Summerhall had been spending more and more years of the last few years back in Westeros. As his children grew, he realised he had a duty to be with them more, to be a father; if not a terribly good one. As someone who had never really liked his brothers anyhow, Baelor simply fought it best to withdraw Maekar fully from King's Landing, and take him under his wing as his squire, officially.

Unlike many squires that Maekar had known in King's Landing, the young Targaryen was thrust into war with his father. He was sternly told that they left their dragons in the Free Cities for the most part - Baelor disliked the idea of using such noble beasts for mercenary work. What Maekar did experience was war proper. Baelor was a skilled fighter, and a good knight. He taught his son how to fight with the sword; Prince Baelor had always been one of the most skilled swordsmen in the Seven Kingdoms, and that along with Maekar's natural talent resulted in a prince who showed more and more talent. That was not the only weapon that Maekar trained with, however. Fighting with men such as mercenaries, who knew how to kill, taught him the importance of other weapons. When a sword wouldn't do against armour, Maekar found himself just as skilled with the poleaxe - a deadly weapon and that could hammer and pierce plate with ease. He never did quite grasp the intricacies of strategy, however. Enough to pass, but not enough to be anything notable of course.

Maekar never did like Essos. The people were far too decadent for him, the mercenaries rough, the Seven rare. There were few he truly liked; Baelor's closest friends, especially the famed Nikovo of Lys. 'Uncle Nikky', as he came to be down to the boy, was a rogue that Maekar shouldn't have liked at all. Yet, against all odds, he did. When Aegon joined him a year later, he proved to be more suited to Essos than Maekar was. Certainly, by the time that Maekar was knighted at the age of ten and eight, he could not return home to Westeros permanently soon enough. Baelor Targaryen had never been the best of fathers; yet in his stoic manner, behind which shone flashes of genius and charm, Maekar found something that was familiar in himself. Father and son grew closer than either had truly expected; and, unsaid, realised how similar they were. Key amongst that a restless desire to prove themselves truly great; if for different reasons.

Father, Husband, and Warrior - 395 AC to 396 AC
Maekar returned home to Summerhall at the end of 394 AC, done with Essos - as far as he hoped, anyhow. It was good to be back in the land of the Seven, of chivalry, of tourneys. First was a visit to Oldtown, to see his brother. Jacaerys had been studying in Oldtown, in the Citadel, and when Maekar took the chance to visit the Hightower and his relatives. There, he met the young Leona Tyrell - sister to Lord Tyrell, and a woman he would meet again in the future. Maekar was charmed, to say the least.

Afterwards, was a surprising call back to Essos. Aegon had recently been knighted, and wished his brother to join him in the celebrations. While reluctant to do so with him, especially in Essos, fraternal loyalty won out, and Maekar found himself in Lys. At ten and nine, Maekar had still never been with a woman and in the city of lovers his brother was determined to fix that. He and his friend pressured Maekar into accepting the courtesan they had bought for him. A girl, a maiden like him, hired especially to match his own inexperience. Their coupling was sweet, and when Maekar awoke the next morning in shame and despair at what he had done, he immediately sought to make it right by proposing to her, offering his signet ring with the four dragons of Summerhall. The courtesan gently rejected him, but the ring was kept as a sign of favour. His father noted the ring's disappearance swiftly, and it wasn't hard to drag the truth out of the embarrassed Maekar. Baelor was gone for but one night, but on his return he was incensed. Maekar was ordered home immediately. He never would find out why, nor would he get the ring back. All he knew was a name.

Selenya.

On his return to Westeros, Maekar attended a tourney in Highgarden; one in the honour of Lady Leona Tyrell as she came of age. Maekar, already struck by her beauty, put all his effort into winning it. When he named her Queen of Love and Beauty, the connection was instant. A spark that shot through him that finalised him forgetting about the foolish endeavour in Lys. They were married surprisingly shortly, and their first child was born at the end of the year; Rhaena Targaryen. Leona Tyrell proved to be everything that Maekar sought in a wife. Beautiful, charming, and as pious as he was for the Starry Rites. As much as he wished to spend his days with her in Summerhall, it was unfortunately not meant to be. Soon after Rhaena's birth, word arrived from the Stepstones - War.

War Hero - 397 AC to 402 AC
The War of the Three Thieves, as it would be known, as Maekar's first experience at full scale warfare. His father, as expected, was one of the leading commanders of the Royal Forces - the only Targaryen with true military experience from his time in Essos. The war frustrated Maekar to know end. The sheer amount of troops, the incompetence of various leaders involved, and the luck and skill of the Three Thief Kings dragged the war on for years. Maekar returned home occasionally to see his wife. Not even he could fight every day, determined as he was to purge the Stepstones of the pirates. During one of his visits, Leona got with child again, giving birth to a daughter named Gale; as a result, Maekar missed home, his wife, and his children even more.

The land war was gruelling, and his temper grew shorter and shorter was the war went on. Tragedy in 402 AC did not help. The Stepstones was a bad place, and as with any army, disease was rampant. Baelor Targaryen was struck with camp fever; as strong as he was, both in mind and body, he couldn't escape the Stranger. The Prince of Summerhall died delirious on a camp bed, an ignoble death for a noble man. Maekar was thrust into a position of responsibility he didn't think he was prepared for, in any way. Fortunately, there were greater issues to distract his mourning. An untamed dragon in need of taming; Jacaerys was pulled in immediately to tame the beast, lest it go into rampage in the middle of the their own army. As they finally started to centre around where the last King lay, Alequo and his dragon, Maekar and Aegon agreed that if they saw the man upon his beast, they would engage together. The reality was different. As Maekar patrolled above his forces, with his Uncle Nikovo leading the vanguard, he saw Arranax rise up from the enemy, and aim itself directly at Nikovo and his men.

Maekar did not wait for Aegon. He couldn't. He struck Alequo and his dragon himself, Stormsong's speed dancing him out of the reach of the younger dragon. The battle saw Maekar victorious, striking down the beast and its rider to leave them plummeting to the ground below, leaving the Prince of Summerhall the first known Dragonslayer in decades.

The Dark Years - 403 AC to 405 AC
As the Scarlet Winter began, Maekar found himself rather lost after the war. It was initially covered with the Founding of the Rainbow Guard - a group of knights he had come to know and respect during the war, men such as Raymun Florent, Garth Mertyns, and Beric Dondarrion. As he was about to return to Summerhall, an offer came from the King himself. A position on the Small Council for his service, an attempt to bind back the Summerhall Targaryens to the Crown. Maekar graciously accepted, even if he came to hate it. The hard winter of the city, and being so near members of his family that he had come to dislike put the Prince in a dark mood, one he struggled to raise himself out of. Seeing the suffering in the city with the hard winter, his former squire and friend Leyton Hightower drifting away, surrounded by Baelorians and perceived corruption he found hard to stomach, all of it combined drove his spirits down. One light was his son, born in 403 AC, exactly nine months from his return to his wife, who was named for his father. There was worry there, however. The boy was sickly, weak, and born in an unfortunate time for an unhealthy child.

It all came crashing down in 405 AC. First, sickly Baelor died, casting a shadow on the normally positive Prince. It was made worse by the decision to officially name Visaera heir. After arguing long and hard for a Grand Council at the least, and that a woman simply couldn't inherit, it was to no avail. In a black fury, Maekar left the capital, to mourn for his son and to return to Summerhall, swearing to never return to the capital.

Recovery - 406 AC to Present
Maekar took his time picking up the pieces of his life that had cracked and broken over the last couple of years. He had withdrawn to Summerhall with those he knew, liked, and loved, and had his eyes opened to those who were truly on his side. Two years have been enough to recover, drawing him closer to his Court at Summerhall, and ever brooding upon Visaera, his family, and the fate of the Kingdom that in his eyes stands upon the edge of a knife.

Recent Events
With the announcement of the Tourney of Harrenhal, Maekar prepares Summerhall to attend - as irritated as he is by the extravagant, needless, event.

Family

 * King Aenar I Targaryen, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, b. 320 AC
 * Queen Patrice Hightower, of House Hightower, b. 329 AC, d. 395 AC
 * Prince Baelor Targaryen, Prince of Summerhall, b. 350 AC, d. 402 AC
 * m. Lady Deana Arryn, of House Arryn, b. 352 AC
 * Princess Jaehaera Targaryen, b. 373 AC
 * Prince Maekar Targaryen, Prince of Summerhall, b. 376 AC
 * m. Lady Leona Tyrell, of House Tyrell, b. 380 AC
 * Princess Rhaena Targaryen, b. 395 AC
 * Princess Gael Targaryen, b. 399 AC
 * Prince Baelor Targaryen, b. 403 AC, d. 405 AC
 * Prince Aegon Targaryen, b. 377 AC
 * Princess Baela Targaryen, b. 379 AC
 * Prince Jacaerys Targaryen, b. 381 AC
 * Princess Naerys Targaryen, a Septa of the Most Devout, b. 354 AC

Household
Summerhall has an active Court, full of life - the home of Septons and Septa, bards and poets, knights and ladies, it is a shining home to chivalry and piety, and the idealistic perfection that Maekar wishes to force on everyone. While Maekar has not created his own Kingsguard, in the Rainbow Guard there is a knightly order that reflects Maekar's views. While it is not quite a bodyguard, it holds some sworn swords for the family, including his own Kingsguard. At its core, it is an order of knights that Maekar respects and admires
 * Septa Malora Hightower, a Septa of the Most Devout, Maekar's Confessor.
 * Bonifer Rogers, Maekar's Chamberlain. An old man who served both Baelor and Viserys, Bonifer still keeps a tight reign, and the servants of Summerhall working like a well oiled machine. As the years creep up on him, Bonifer is prone to forgetfulness, yet this hasn't dampened his quiet yet hard-edged personality.
 * Nikovo of Lys, an old friend, companion, and battle-brother of both Baelor and Maekar. Like an uncle to the Prince.
 * Ser Raymun Florent, the Red.
 * Ser Brynden Corbray, the White. Maekar's Kingsguard, and wields the Valyrian Steel blade Lady Forlorn.
 * Ser Garth Mertyns, the Grey. Princess Rhaena's Sword Sword. A knight a few years older than Maekar who he met while fighting in the Stepstones, Garth had originally served with the Holy Hundred. Enamoured with the young Prince, he fought by his side and swore to him when the Rainbow Guard was founded. Cheerful and polite, Garth is not a man prone to conflict, but when roused fights with a zealous fury.
 * Ser Ben Rivers, the Black. Princess Jaehaera's Sworn Sword. A Hedge Knight from the Riverlands, Ben Rivers was a rogue and a mercenary who fought with Baelor's company in the Riverlands. When he met the young Maekar, he was originally dismissive of the Prince, before slowly being won in by the promises of redemption through the Faith. Still haunted by his demons and his vices, Ben is gruff and harsh, but genuinely tries to be a good man.
 * Ser Edric of Grandtree, the Green. Princess Gale's Sworn Sword. A well meaning but lazy knight in service to Prince Maeker who is currently assigned to be Gael's bodyguard. He is better at tourney fighting than actual fighting, but so far Prince Maeker hasn't noticed. He worries that he will be exposed as a fraud and fired, or worse.
 * Ser Beric Dondarrion, the Purple. Another knight met through the War of the Three Thieves, Beric Dondarrion is a courageous yet impetuous man, full of pride. Pious as many of the guard are, if not to the degree of Maekar, Beric is the first one into the fray, and the last to leave it. Obsessed with his honour, he keeps his oaths and his word completely, to the point rarely even lies.
 * Ser Byron Graceford, the Blue. Lady Leona's Sworn Sword. Brought with her from Highgarden, Byron is exact the type of man that Maekar wished for the Rainbow Guard. Pious and obedient, Byron takes his orders in without ever a word of protest,serving his lady in whatever way he can. Quiet, the young knight is extremely shy, and is glad that he can sink in the background and just quietly get on with his job without Maekar pushing him for more.