Work Text:
Prince Daeron Targaryen was not granted many pages in the history books of his house. Some maesters have said that the single page afforded to him in some Targaryen genealogies was more than enough. Yet those who wish to know more of the firstborn son of King Maekar would do better to turn their eyes away from the Targaryen books and toward the libraries of Driftmark.
Within the records kept by the lords of House Velaryon, the prince appears more often than might be expected. His name is scattered through the volumes that recount the voyages, triumphs, and governance of the Lords of the Tides, and it is there that his life may be pieced together.
Daeron Targaryen, after his marriage to the Lady of the Tides, liked to share with anyone who was in his vicinity that in theory he was “Prince Daeron of House Velaryon” as he married into her house. The marriage had been arranged so that the young Velaryon claimant might rule in her own right, while binding once again the ancient blood of Old Valyria. In such a union the prince was the means the crown had to tie a promising force to their ranks.
The first moon turn of their marriage produced what is remembered as the earliest of the three great paintings associated with Prince Daeron’s life.
This work can still be seen in the main hall of High Tide, the ancient seat of Driftmark, where it hangs between the portraits of the late Lord Jorgen Velaryon and his wife, Mya Rivers turned Velaryon, and that of Lord Jacaerys Velaryon with his lady wife, Baela Celtigar.
In the painting, the Lady of the Tides sits upon the Driftwood Throne, clad in her wedding dress of sea-green and silver. The garments are rendered with such richness that the colors seem almost to swallow the gaze of those who stand before the portrait. A slender circlet of silver rests upon her brow, from which pearls fall like drops of foam upon the tide, nearly blending with her silver-white curls. In her left hand she holds a dagger identified in Velaryon inventories as Pearl of Driftmark, a blade of Valyrian steel said to have passed from lord to lord since the days of Lord Alyn Velaryon, such dagger also can be seen in others artworks where the lords and ladies of Driftmark are the central event.
At her right stands Prince Daeron.
His hand rests upon his lady wife’s, a gesture often interpreted by later commentators as a symbol of their strong bond and his place as her right hand off the seas. The prince himself is dressed not in the colors of his birth house, the royal family, but in more sea-green and silver, the hues of his wife’s house. A simple silver circlet crowns his head, set with a single pearl that matches the one worn by the Lady of the Tides. Though the prince’s head is turned toward the painter, the artist seems unable to conceal a certain truth: Daeron’s gaze, and indeed the posture of his whole body, remains fixed upon his wife.
The piece is known in the Velaryon records as "The Lady and Her Prince", and is frequently referenced in accounts of first years of the lady’s reign.
The second painting associated with the prince lies not in the great halls but within one of the inner chambers of Driftmark Castle. Known simply as “The Heir", it was painted after the day when the couple’s firstborn son, Jacaerys Velaryon, was presented to the smallfolk of Driftmark.
The boy was the grandson of King Maekar, and heir to the Lady of the Tides. He is portrayed standing upon the upper landing of the castle’s main stair, dressed all in silver, waving a chubby hand toward the gathered crowd below. Behind him stand his parents. Prince Daeron is depicted in garments that match those of his son, his attention wholly fixed upon the child. One hand remains steady upon his lady wife’s lower back, while she herself steadies the young prince with careful hands.
Notably, the Lady of the Tides is shown with a faint crease of worry upon her brow, a detail many maesters have remarked upon when discussing the painting.
This work is often cited in descriptions of the old Velaryon custom of presenting an heir to the people only after the child has lived long enough to be considered blessed by their Merling King. Some later writers claim the rite to have originated in the belief that the ancient kings of the Narrow Sea approved such heirs if after some years they still had the gift of breathing.
The painting is also frequently mentioned in connection with the peculiar distinction held by the boy himself. Jacaerys Velaryon was the second man of that name to bear the title of prince of the blood while carrying a surname other than Targaryen, and by certain counts he is remembered as the fourth Velaryon prince in the long history of the royal house.
The last of the great paintings depicting Prince Daeron was commissioned many years later by Jacaerys, after he rose to become Master of Driftmark.
At its center stands Prince Daeron in the midst of battle, captured in the moment of victory. His sword is raised high as he cries victory, the blade shining bright in his right hand. His armor is rendered in silver steel, while a sea-green cloak, very torn and darkened with foreign blood, whips behind him in the wind.
Beside him stands the Lady of the Tides, in armor bearing the seahorse of her house proudly on her chest. She is shown tall and unbowed, gazing forward like a conqueror while the bodies of fallen rebels lie beneath her feet. The prince’s free hand clasps her own, binding them together even amid the carnage of battle.
The painting was titled " The Victory of the Seahorses".
Though the work itself is now believed lost, it is mentioned more than once in writings concerning the events surrounding the Third Blackfyre Rebellion, where the deeds of both Daeron and his lady wife are said to have played no small part.
Thus it may be said that while Prince Daeron Targaryen left a pretty small mark in the formal histories of his own house, the records of Driftmark remember him far more vividly and kinder.