Vaenarr Vakerian I

Vaenarr the Monstrous

**Vaenarr Vakerian** is the King of Saerial and the 98th King to sit on the Throne of Fire. He is the eldest son of Raemor Vakerian and Selera Vakerian, the wielder of Darkfire, and the rider of Kasikav. He ascended to the throne in 1,338 AC after his father's death at the Battle of Bloodkeep.

Controversially, Vaenarr is the first king to have engaged in polygamy since Aenyx I Vakerian who wedded six wives almost 1,300 years prior. Vaenarr first married his eldest sister, Vaehna Vakerian I, during the Springtide Celebrations of 1322 AC; worried in 1,335 AC that she was potentially infertile, he then married his other sister, Visaenys, in a proud and lavish ceremony. This act, which had been ministered by the future High Septon, Septon Brykan, would engender two rival political factions at court and help trigger a series of cataclysmic conflicts across the realm.

Early in the year 1,343 AC, Vaenarr fighting in the Battle of Scalekeep grew gravely injured on the back of his dragon, after an iron harpoon shot by a Mullyn General tore through his chest just missing his heart.

## Appearance and Character

Vaenarr has his father's strong jaw and his red eyes. Unlike either parent, he keeps his silver hair deliberately cut short. Dark circles hang heavy beneath his eyes, betraying a lack of sleep. He is of a wiry build, which has, since his coronation, slowly degraded in definition.

Vaenarr often carries a corrosive but somehow collected demeanor, emanating the aura of a warrior king. He is widely known for his deliberate, but violent, nature. When met with significant or complicated decisions, he tends to make the decision as soon as possible. Consequently, he often castigates incompetent courtiers and frowns upon those, such as Nimue, who display poor or impulsive judgment in his eyes.

The political and personal difficulties that have plagued Vaenarr's reign have transformed him from the boisterous, bold Prince before the Bleeding into a cynical, irreverent monarch in its aftermath. Vaenarr is blunt and brutally honest, though he retains enough wit to know when to guard his tongue for the sake of civility. He rules as a man of action, though his continued failure to name one of his sons as his heir has been the one great exception to this style of ruling.

He is far more confident and competent on the battlefield than he is at the decision table, and yet Vaenarr has made it a point to try and avoid delegating his authority and duty to advisers and agents unless it proves necessary. He desires all of the decisions he makes to be his own, even as he seeks wisdom and guidance from his advisers. Perhaps the most influential of which are his Queens.

His relationship with his two consorts had once been envisioned as a simple matter, wherein he would have the best of both worlds and the dynasty would prosper by it. Yet it has proved more complicated than that. The Bleeding did much to change Vaenarr's outlook on all matters of life and ruling, and this affected the nature of his dual marriage. Where once it was clear that Visaenys was the favored Queen, Vaenarr has gained a new - or more accurately, re-discovered - admiration for Vaehna after her stalwart conduct during the Bleeding. In his view, Visaenys may be the better wife, who can be his comfort and his joy, while Vaehna may be the better consort, who might stand beside him as his faithful, forthright, strong right hand. There is a great deal of conflict in his heart, full of desire, guilt, and worry, with regards to his Queens.