Rhaegar II Targaryen

Prince Rhaegar Targaryen is the eldest child of Prince Aemon and Princess Visaera, siblings wed in classic Targaryen fashion and second in line to the Iron Throne. Born in 387 A.C., Rhaegar immediately developed a strong connection with his dragon, Nightwing, and his twin sister, Rhaenys Targaryen. Once a sweet boy with with stars in his eyes, Prince Rhaegar has surprised many of the royal court by developing into a knight worthy of song. A young man unparalled in the art of swordplay, Rhaegar is as gallant as he is deadly.

Some say Nightwing is a reflection of the young Prince's dark side.

Appearance and Character
Tall and athletic, Rhaegar has only recently grown beyond the lanky boy he once was and become the knight he always strived to be. Prince Rhaegar bears all the tell tale hallmarks of the old world. Lilac eyes and hair of spun silver, worn long and loose or drawn into a tight braid between his shoulders. He keeps a strong jaw perpetually clean shaven, never looking a day more than his twenty years. He has kind eyes for a dragon rider, but Rhaegar’s expression is ever changing, as turbulent as the heart that lies beneath his gallant veneer.

Early Life
In 387 A.C. Rhaegar came into this world in the same way Prince’s so often do, in a royal chamber, from the labors of a royal woman. The remarkable part was that he wasn’t alone. At his heels came his twin, Princess Rhaenys, thus the most significant moment of his life was his very first, for their fates would be forever intertwined.

Named for the Last Dragon by his father and given no lack of care as a babe by his mother, Rhaegar was groomed for greatness from the moment he was first swaddled. His promise as the future of House Targaryen was further cemented when the egg placed in his cradle hatched not year after his birth. Nightwing as the beast would come to be known as, was found coiled about the young prince. A beautiful dragon of black scales and a deep indigo inlay, Nightwing is a stark contrast to her own mother Tyraxes. In the crib beside Rhaegar, Vhaegon hatched in the same instant. From there on forward, the two dragons would share a bond not unlike that of their riders.

For the first few years of Rhaegar's life, he was given the upbringing and attention that the future Lord of the Seven Kingdoms called for. His mother, though sometimes a cold, calculated woman, spared every moment for her first born son. He proved to be a sweet young boy, perhaps a little too sweet, but was loved by everyone in the royal court. The sense of acceptance Rhaegar experience in early in life would become invaluable in helping him with the conflict that would spawn after adolsesnce. In a strike of irony, Nightwing couldn't have been any different than the boy she was bonded to. The black dragon proved to be a trouble maker and a cunning huntress. When not with Rhaegar or Vhaegon, Nightwing spent the evening hours hunting cats, hounds, rats... Anything furry that stirred in the streets of King's Landing or the crags of Dragonstone, she meant to sink her fangs into.

One Heart, Two Minds
No matter the affection Visaera and Aemon gave Rhaegar, every relationship the young prince developed paled in comparison to closeness he and Rhaenys had as children. They were inseperable, irreplaceable to one another. They had the same interests, the same wit, the same needs, the same destiny as dragon riders. As youth they even almost looked identical. The only tangible difference between Rhaegar and Rhaenys was that the little princess was always one step ahead of her brother.

Rhaenys was the first to take a step, the first to string a bow, the first to recite her letters fluently. She was always tougher than Prince Rhaegar and would often win their games, playful completions where the victor would always win a prize. Sometimes it was a favored training sword, sometimes a kiss. Unbeknownst to the twins, a secret betrothal had been arranged for the two by their grandfather, Prince Viserys. Having been born of parents that were siblings themselves, boundaries were never set. Closeness and affection bloomed between the twins that few could ever hope to understand.

Under Pressure
While Rhaegar's bond with Rhaenys deepened, the affection his mother showed him soured. Everything Rhaegar could do, Rhaenys could do better. A sweet boy with a heart too kind wouldn't last a moment in the great game, let alone as King. When Rhaenys finally mounted her dragon, Vhaegon, at the age of eight, Visaera turned her eye on Rhaegar to do the same. Every victory of Rhaenys became a challenge for Rhaegar to overcome. Encouragement degraded into an impossible standard to meet. Visaera pushed him to train harder, learn faster, to overcome his fears and trepidations lest he be belittled for his failures.

It was almost through force of will that Visaera's constant pressure chiseled Rhaegar from a soft boy into a young dragon to be reckoned with, though not without earning his resentment.

War of the Three Thieves
When war returned to the Seven Kingdoms, Rhaegar was initially too young to join the fray. Rather he was squired to Axell Connington, an honorable and steadfast member of King Aenar's court. Rhaegar's dragon Nightwing, however, was vicious enough to be considered a strategic asset in the conflict. Eventually, Rhaegar would follow Axell Connington to Griffon's Roost on his father's orders, Nightwing's mere presence enough to make the marauders think twice about launching a mainland assault on the Stormlands. When it came time to reinforce the assault on Sunstone, Rhaegar would join Lord Connington in managing logistics and ferrying men for the final battles. A chance incursion saw their transports under attack, an event in which the young prince would bloody his sword and kills his first man. As young as he was, Rhaegar fought valiantly, but was never in any true danger. He would never truly come to know that he was little more than another pawn on the cyvasse board.

To Rule the World
After the war, battle was no longer a vague concept to the young prince. He returned to the capital and doubled his efforts in the sparring ring, honing his budding talents with a blade into something remarkable. What he lacked in raw experience, Prince Rhaegar seemed to overcome with tenacity and natural ability. His swift rise in physical prowess partially gave thanks to his mother's continuous oversight. Even as Rhaegar became a man grown, she continued to push him to unattainable heights.

One particular match up saw him squaring off against Alester Steelsong, a man Rhaegar befriended during his stays at Dragon's Rest. Alester soundly defeated the prince in one on one combat, to which Rhaegar requested he become his new tutor. Through half a hundred duels and a dozen adventures, Alaster would become Rhaegar's closest confidant and brother in arms, save for his twin Rhaenys.

Rhaegar would eventually come to understand it took more than a perfect sword arm to run seven kingdoms. His passion would always lie in the heat of battle, but with every passing year, Rhaegar would spend more and more time with his Great-Grandfather's court. He followed Aemon, his father and the Hand of the King, and Perceon Vance in particular as they navigated the endless administrative duties it took to keep Westeros in one coherent piece. During this time, Prince Rhaegar took advantage of his proximity with King Aenar to learn from the man directly.

A Maiden, a Dragon and a Tower
When the Scarlet Winter came, Rhaegar had taken on many of the responsibilities fitting for the future heir of the Seven Kingdoms. Paramount was the defense and protection of the people of Westeros. The cruel weather conditions saw a stark increase in banditry and crime, story after story of injustice and bloodshed fell on the Prince's ears. He took it upon himself to resolve as many conflicts as he could personally. With the help of Alaster and the Golden Company, as well as Nightwing, Rhaegar began to gain a reputation as a just prince, a benevolent young leader that valued the integrity of his people, noble and smallfolk alike.

One quest in particular seemed to be straight out of a story book. A cabal of extremists following the Red God R'hllor had kidnapped the daughter of a wealthy Volantene merchant and meant to sacrifice her to their dark god. The man pleaded to Prince Rhaegar personally, begging him to act swiftly before he lost his only child. Perhaps caught up in the story, perhaps eager to prove himself worthy of the songs he adored, perhaps still simply naive, Rhaegar agreed to help the man without question.

Prince Rhaegar, Alester Steelsong and the young Lord Hightower tracked the cabal through the frozen swamps of Massey's Hook with a group of knights. To keep the element of surprise, Rhaegar bid Nightwing stay back at the capital, leaving the men with only their wits and their swords to see the night through. It was no sooner than the group had snuck up on the bandit's camp that they were discovered, as though their presence had been anticipated. What ensued was a fight for their lives, one in which Rhaegar swung his sword like a man possessed. During the chaos of the ambush, the Prince managed to push his way to the cage that held the merchant's daughter and cut his way through the calamity back to safety. Every good man that fell that night was handpicked by Rhaegar, men he trusted and admired... Men that he had lead to their deaths.

Surrounded by the broken bodies of friend and foe alike, Rhaegar was knighted by Alester Steelsong In 405 A.C. on Massey's Hook.

Fire and Blood
With heavy hearts, Rhaegar and his men returned to the capital with their rescued captive in tow. Rhaegar insisted the maiden share his saddle, an honor he thought the young woman might never forget. Unfortunately, the honor would be lost on the girl, for Prince Rhaegar could have never expected what would occur next.

Arriving to the merchant's manse with their quest at an end, the men were shocked to find the place littered with Goldcloaks. The maiden's father had been murdered in their absence. The killer responsible however, had been promptly captured and to Rhaegar's surprise, claimed he would only speak to the prince. What followed was the revelation of a conspiracy. The merchant's daughter had been little more than bait, Prince Rhaegar had been the intended target. The man claimed the mastermind and leader of the cabal, a disgraced Red Priest from Volantis had collaborated with the merchant and his daughter. The entire affair had been a set up to capture Rhaegar, and when the bandits failed, they sent him to tie up the loose ends.

Rhaegar wasn't just disappointed, he was enraged. His friends had died for a farce. He'd fought and bled and killed for nothing. Something wild possessed the usually charming prince. He beat the beat the prisoner until the location of the Red Priest was given up on bloody lips. Storming out of the Goldcloaks barracks he ordered the man's execution and found Nightwing already waiting for him. The dragon stirred impatiently, eager to share in Rhaegar's newfound bloodlust.

That night Rhaegar became as much a beast as the monster who ferried him across the Crownlands him to the bandit's hideout, an old abandoned tavern near the Whispers. Every window was lit when Rhaegar arrived on silent wings. Pyres littered the surrounding grounds, adorned with charred effigies and human remains. Prince Rhaegar dismounted, drew his sword and uttered a single word: Dracarys.

The decrepit wood lit up like a tinder box. Any man that tried to escape met the prince's sword. In his momentary madness Rhaegar had given the men two options, fire or blood. When the screaming died down, a single soul emerged from the inferno. Burnt beyond recognition, a charred man limped his way towards the prince with fire in his glare. The Red Priest who had meant to capture Prince Rhaegar for himself cackled out words more dark than Rhaegar had ever heard. With one final stroke of his sword, Rhaegar robbed the man of a death by fire.

So it was, Prince Rhaegar's first act as a true knight was one of unparalled vengeance.

Origins and Endings
After the events of the Tourney of the Red Comet, Rhaegar returned to King’s Landing with a heart in turmoil. Of all the people in the world, Selenya Targaryen was the last he expected to see in attendance to the great feast. But as if her presence were not surprising enough, Rhaegar soon discovered she was with child, with his child, an unexpected consequence from their love affair months prior in the city of Lys. His relationship with Rhaenys suffered from Selenya’s presence and the blatant fact Rhaegar didn’t intend on dismissing the Lysene woman did little to repair the sibling’s tumultuous bond. Despite his clear affection for her, Rhaegar did everything in his power to consol Rhaenys after her maiming at the tourney. It seemed truly as though his heart was torn in two different directions. Fortunately, prince’s don’t have to choose.

With a political strife washing across the Seven Kingdoms and war on the horizon, Rhaegar grew ever more concerned for the civilization he would one day inherit. Though he always fancied himself the next great warrior, he loathed the thought of open conflict and countless lives wasted over a conflict solely between the varying branches of the Targaryen family. It was ultimately to his future that Rhaegar’s thoughts flew, what that picture of him sitting on the Iron Throne might look like. A rare opportunity presented itself in the shape of the errant dragon Rhaegal, his father’s mount. He would reconcile his love for both Rhaenys and Selenya by choosing them both. Rhaegar meant to emulate Aegon the Conqueror and fix himself between two dragon-riding wives. Selenya just needed a dragon.

When the expedition to tame Rhaegal set out, Rhaegar was as blinded with confidence as Selenya. He thought if only he willed it, the future would bend before him. Such was the folly of a man who’d never wanted for anything. The encounter on Massey’s Hook would claim the lives of four people and become the ultimate resting place of the dragon Cyrax. Selenya barely survived with her life, and Rhaegar watched as his dream of glory turned to ash before his eyes.

The next months were little more than a blur of a tragedy. Rhaegar’s closest companion, Alester Steelsong perished in a coup at Storm’s End, Rhaenys would not speak to him, the rumors of war grew more and more reliable and finally, the life of Selenya and the child that grew within her hung by the thinnest thread. Everything Rhaegar cherished was collapsing around him.

Kill the Boy
Upon returning to King’s Landing, Rhaegar would proclaim his failures and uncertainty at the foot of the Iron Throne. With nothing left to guide him, Rhaegar turned to his mother's strength, a crutch that never failed him. In a passionate conversation, Visaera hit him like a strike of lightning and realigned the thoughts of a starry eyed young knight into that of a future king. Rhaegar left the throne room envigored and determined.

He found Rhaenys later that evening and apologized for his willful stupidity that nearly got them both killed in Massey's Hook. They shared a kiss in the middle of the dragon-pit while Nightwing and Vhaegon looked on, and for a moment, Rhaegar felt like there was still hope for his future. He spent most of his nights in King's Landing with his sister, rekindling a flame he'd nearly snuffed out over the past few months.

All the while, the Mummer's War was in full swing in the Riverlands and the Reach. Rhaenys was dispatched to deal with Maekar in the south, and it would ultimately fall on Rhaegar's shoulders to placate the Riverlands while the Queen met the Knights of the Vale led by Alaric Arryn. But before Rhaegar set out, a most unexpected opportunity presented it's self. Maegor Waters, the Black Bastard, had written him directly asking for a clandestine parlay. Suddenly, Prince Rhaegar had the chance to sway the war in whatever way he pleased. He stayed up all night, reading the letter over and over again, deciding whether to bring it to the Queen or to fly at once and give credence to the men who so desperately wanted to crown him over his mother. In the end, it was Rhaegar's desire to end the war swiftly that prevailed over the prospect of ultimate power.

So Rhaegar, Lucerys Velaryon and Queen Visaera flew to the Quiet Isle on dragonback to treat with the bastard. Upon arrival, a treacherous storm rocked the coast, perhaps underscoring the gravity of the moment. In the midst of the downpour, Rhaegar heard Maegor's proposal and deemed it self serving and unworthy of acceptance. He promptly challenged Maegor to an honorable duel, to which the bastard responding by tossing his sword into the river. Rhaegar made his decision, but not without struggling with the consequences. As he prepared to strike Maegor down, he understood that by killing this man, he would be crossing a threshold over which there was no return.

In the spring of 407 A.C., at the height of the Mummer's War, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen slew Maegor Waters on the Quiet Isle. The true events of that day would be twisted by Visaera not long afterwards. The Queen crafted her own truth, that Maegor attacked them and left Rhaegar no choice but to act. The decision Rhaegar made that day would haunt him until his last.

The Edge of Reason
After the events at the Quiet Isle, Rhaegar and Visaera retreated to Harrenhal to gather their forces for the inevitable battle with the Knights of the Vale, who had began their campaign across the eastern Riverlands and northern Crownlands. In those haunted halls, Rhaegar stewed on all he'd done and the supreme loneliness that seemed impossibly intertwined with the path he'd chosen. He told himself over and over that he was protecting his kingdom, that he was building a future of peace and prosperity, but the truth was far more selfish. It wasn't peace he'd chosen, but Visaera. Everything he'd done since their conversation in the Throne room months prior, he'd done for her. The need for her

One night, their twisted relationship reached a crescendo. Prince Rhaegar entered the Queen's chambers and did not leave until the sun crested the horizon. It was a terrible thing in eyes of Gods sand men, but Rhaegar's greatest personal victory. The very thing he sought his entire life, the Queen's love, acceptance and admiration, he gained in a way he never thought possible.