Quick answer: Jacaerys Velaryon (born late 114 AC) was Rhaenyra’s eldest son and the heir she named at her coronation: officially the son of Laenor Velaryon, widely rumored to be the son of Ser Harwin Strong. He flew Vermax to the Vale and Winterfell to win allies for the Blacks, is credited with the idea of the dragonseeds, and died at the Battle of the Gullet in 130 AC, aged fifteen. His whole life was an argument about legitimacy.
The Question on His Head
Jace was born with the wrong hair, and Westeros never let it go. Rhaenyra’s sons by her marriage to Laenor Velaryon came out brown-haired and pug-nosed, with brown eyes, looking nothing like Targaryens or Velaryons and a great deal like the princess’s sworn shield, Ser Harwin Strong. Aemond’s taunt that they were “strong boys” gave the rumor its enduring phrase. The Greens made it doctrine, and the king punished those who repeated it: in 126 AC Viserys ordered the tongues of rumormongers removed. The boys grew up legitimate by royal decree and doubted by half the realm. For the family tree behind the rumor, see Rhaenyra Targaryen and Rhaenys, who was officially his grandmother.
Jacaerys was given a dragon egg in his cradle, and the dragon that hatched, Vermax, grew up with him. When Rhaenyra was crowned, she named him Prince of Dragonstone and her heir.
The Dragonseeds and the Pact of Ice and Fire
When the Dance turned military, two of its cleverest moves are credited to Jace. The first was the Sowing of the Seeds: opening Dragonstone’s riderless dragons to bastard claimants who might master them, with the promise of a lordship for anyone who succeeded. Septon Munkun credits Jacaerys with the idea, while the court fool Mushroom claims it for himself. The gamble produced Addam of Hull, Hugh Hammer, Ulf the White and Nettles, and it eventually detonated at Tumbleton when two of them turned traitor.
The second was diplomacy. Jacaerys flew Vermax to the Eyrie, where Lady Jeyne Arryn agreed to support Rhaenyra if dragonriders defended the Vale. He then went to Winterfell, where he befriended Lord Cregan Stark. The result was the pact of ice and fire: if Jacaerys had a daughter, she would be betrothed to Cregan’s heir, Rickon Stark. Cregan led the North south to honor the pledge, in what became the Hour of the Wolf. See who won the Dance of the Dragons for the war that pact helped decide.
The Gullet
It ended as fast as it rose. Jacaerys had arranged for his young half-brothers, Aegon and Viserys, to be fostered in Pentos, but their ship was captured by a Triarchy fleet in the Gullet. Jacaerys and four dragonseeds attacked it. Vermax flew too low, possibly hit in the eye by a crossbow bolt or pulled down by a grapnel, and crashed into a burning galley. Jacaerys leapt free and clung to the wreckage until Myrish crossbow quarrels struck him and he sank. It was the fifth day of the first moon of 130 AC, according to Fire & Blood. He was fifteen. Aegon, the future Aegon III, escaped the Triarchy by flying his dragon Stormcloud. (The World of Ice & Fire dates the battle a year earlier, to 129 AC.)
Jacaerys at a Glance
| Detail | Record |
|---|---|
| Born | Late 114 AC |
| Mother | Rhaenyra Targaryen |
| Father | Officially Laenor Velaryon; widely rumored to be Harwin Strong |
| Title | Prince of Dragonstone (named at Rhaenyra’s coronation) |
| Dragon | Vermax |
| Died | 130 AC, Battle of the Gullet, aged 15 |
FAQ
Was Jacaerys really Laenor Velaryon’s son?
Officially yes. By overwhelming rumor, no: Rhaenyra’s sons bore every mark of Ser Harwin Strong. The king punished those who spoke the rumor, but it outlived him.
How does Jacaerys die?
At the Battle of the Gullet, flying Vermax against a Triarchy fleet. Vermax crashed into a burning galley and Jacaerys was struck by crossbow quarrels in the water. He was fifteen.
What was the pact of ice and fire?
Jacaerys’s agreement with Cregan Stark: the North’s support for Rhaenyra, sealed by a betrothal between Jacaerys’s future daughter and Cregan’s heir, Rickon Stark.
What dragon did Jacaerys ride?
Vermax, hatched from the egg placed in his cradle. Vermax died with him at the Gullet.
What was Jacaerys’s connection to the dragonseeds?
Septon Munkun credits him with the idea of the Sowing of the Seeds, which armed the Blacks. Its results included Addam of Hull, Hugh Hammer, Ulf the White and Nettles.