Quick answer: Shiera Seastar was the last of Aegon IV’s Great Bastards — daughter of the king and the Lysene noblewoman Serenei — and by every account the most beautiful woman of her age: the half-sister that Bloodraven and Bittersteel both loved, and the one who chose between them without ever marrying either. No marriage is recorded for her, she never claimed power openly, and she exits the histories like a rumor. See her place on the interactive Targaryen family tree.
A Legend Made of Specifics
Westerosi “most beautiful woman alive” titles are usually vapor. Shiera’s comes with receipts. She was the daughter of Serenei of Lys, Aegon IV’s last mistress, who died giving birth to her. Shiera inherited the look twice over: thick, curling silver-gold hair worn very long, a figure the court poets bankrupted their metaphors on, and mismatched eyes — one dark blue, one bright green — a flaw that somehow became the most famous feature in the realm.
She refused to be given to anyone. In a court where noblewomen were currency, Shiera Seastar was the one coin that never spent.
Shiera Seastar at a Glance
| Detail | What the sources say |
|---|---|
| Born | Between 178 and 184 AC, probably at King’s Landing; the last of Aegon IV’s Great Bastards. |
| Mother | Lady Serenei of Lys, Aegon IV’s last mistress, who died giving birth to her. |
| Looks | Thick, curling silver-gold hair worn very long, a heart-shaped face, and mismatched eyes — one dark blue, one bright green. |
| Mind | A keen reader from an early age; she is said to have spoken about a dozen languages and kept ancient scrolls. |
| Her name | Her mother called her “Star of the Sea,” which is the root of “Seastar.” |
| Famous suitors | Brynden “Bloodraven” Rivers, who proposed several times, and Aegor “Bittersteel” Rivers, who wanted her too. |
| Fate | Recorded as in or after 211 AC; how and where she died are not stated. |
Bloodraven and Bittersteel
The triangle at the center of the era’s most famous feud: Brynden Rivers loved her openly and proposed marriage more than once — she took him as a lover and refused him as a husband, and she reputedly enjoyed his jealousy. Aegor Rivers wanted her too; she chose his brother. Two half-brothers already primed to hate each other by their mothers’ feud and a civil war, handed one more reason that couldn’t be settled on a battlefield.
Did she enjoy it? The sources are court gossip, so read them accordingly. What’s on record: she refused Bloodraven’s proposals, and no marriage is recorded for her.
The Blood Baths and the Sorcery
The legend: Shiera bathed in blood to keep herself beautiful. The honest version: it’s a rumor — repeated by a character in The Sworn Sword — and the books never confirm it. It fits the kind of slander that sticks to a beautiful, unmarried woman at court. The magic question isn’t entirely closed: there are also rumors that she used sorcery to help Bloodraven when he served Aerys I. The books neither confirm nor deny any of it.
How Does Her Story End?
Unknown, in any detail — and it’s worth saying plainly: the histories don’t tell us how or where Shiera Seastar died. She fades from the record around the time of The Sworn Sword (211 AC), with no husband, no children on record, and no final chapter, while the men who loved her go on to fight their wars, take their black, and become legends. For a woman courted by a spymaster who supposedly saw everything, remaining a blank spot in the record is, depending on how you read it, either the strangest accident in the family tree or the neatest trick anyone in it ever pulled. (For the wider family, see the Great Bastards family tree.)
How the Shiera Rivalry Shows Up Later
Shiera’s story survives mostly as a footnote to other people’s wars. In A Dance with Dragons, Ser Barristan Selmy remembers that the rivalry between Bloodraven and Bittersteel over a woman was one of the quarrels that spilled into wars in Westeros. He does not dwell on it, but he does not dismiss it either: the old knights seem to have understood that the hatred of two half-brothers was part personal and part political, and that Shiera sat at the center of the personal part.
That is a lot of weight to put on one woman, and it explains why the histories still repeat her name while saying so little about her. Court gossip said duels were fought over her, and that some men who lost her favor took their own lives. Those are the same kind of sources that gave us the blood-bath rumor, so they are best read as the fame of a beauty rather than a record of fact.
FAQ
Who is Shiera Seastar?
The last Great Bastard of King Aegon IV, by Serenei of Lys — famed as the most beautiful woman of her generation, with one blue and one green eye, and the cause of the bitterest corner of the Bloodraven–Bittersteel feud.
Did Bloodraven love Shiera Seastar?
Yes — he proposed marriage repeatedly; she refused but shared his bed. Bittersteel also wanted her and never had her. Their rivalry over her ran the length of their lives.
What happened to Shiera Seastar?
The histories don’t say how or when she died. She fades from the record around 211 AC, with no recorded marriage or children.
Was Shiera Seastar a sorceress?
Never confirmed. The blood-bathing story is a rumor the books never back up, though rumors of sorcery cling to her and her family.
Why is she called “Seastar”?
The books don’t explain the surname directly. She was reportedly known as the “Star of the Sea,” a name said to come from her mother, which is likely the root of it.
When was Shiera Seastar born?
Between 178 and 184 AC. The sources give a range, not a single year, and she was the last of Aegon IV’s Great Bastards.
What did Shiera Seastar look like?
She had thick, curling silver-gold hair worn very long, a heart-shaped face, and mismatched eyes — one dark blue and one bright green.
Who did Shiera Seastar choose, Bloodraven or Bittersteel?
Bloodraven. She took him as a lover but refused his repeated marriage proposals. Bittersteel wanted her too, and the rivalry deepened the hatred between the half-brothers.
How did Shiera Seastar die?
It isn’t recorded. The sources place her death in or after 211 AC and say nothing about the circumstances.