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The Story of Shiera Seastar
As you know by now, kids, I'm an avid storyteller. The characters I choose to cosplay mean a lot to me because of their stories - of who they are, and how they were made, and how I connected to them. I said a while ago I'd share the tale of Shiera, one of the most interesting and most underused women of G.R.R. Martin's world, and how come I chose to portray her of all people, given that you cannot find even a decent fanart with her likeness. So here we go, guys - some facts about Madame Seastar:
She was born as the only child of Aegon IV Targaryen and his last mistress, Sweet Serenei of Lys, who came from an old, noble but impoverished Lysani family (or so she claimed), or was a mere pretty-headed courtesan with a talent for spinning fantasies (or so gossip had it). An unpopular figure at the court due to her alleged aloofness and “strange foreign customs”, Sweet Serenei was rumored to use “dark magic” to maintain her beauty. Magic or not, it did not help Serenei much: she died giving birth to Shiera.
Being an illegitimate child – despite of everybody and their uncle knowing it’s the king’s daughter – Shiera initially had a bastard’s last name, and came to this world as Shiera Waters. With her half-brothers Daemon Waters, Aegor Rivers and Brynden Rivers (all from different mothers), she was part of the so-called Great Bastards, i.e. the naughty king’s known illegitimate offspring from noblewomen.
At his deathbed – purely for the lulz and to spite his only legitimate son, Daeron, with whom he harbored a very complicated relationship – Aegon IV legitimized his bastards. The Grand Four thus became the king’s official children, and chose new names for themselves: Daemon Blackfyre (after the legendary Targaryen family sword that Aegon gave to his favorite bastard, and not his trueborn son), Aegor Bittersteel (because he was of great combat prowess, and also had a temper), Brynded Bloodraven (after a red raven-shaped mark he had on his face), and Shiera Seastar. George Martin never explains why she decided to call herself Seastar – and my own theories about it are numerous.
Shiera had mismatched eyes: one blue and one green, but the “defect” was only said to enhance her beauty. She had a legendary massive necklace with altering sapphires and emeralds, made to match her eyes. She despised gold and wore only silver, and always dressed in shades between blue and green – teals, turquoises and aquamarines. She was a patron of arts, a trend-setter in fashion, an avid reader, a speaker of many languages, and a well-known femme fatale.
Her best known lovers were two of her half-brothers - Bittersteel and Bloodraven, who hated each other passionately, fighting for her affection (ah, the Targaryens, gotta love ‘em). She claimed she never wanted to choose between them, and that she loved them both equally. Still, rumor had it, the only brother that she was actually attached to was the eldest of the Great Bastards – Daemon Blackfyre.
And then, one fine day, Daemon Blackfyre rose to arms and rebelled against king Daeron, stating that, being the eldest and now legitimized (and wielding the family sword that the late king thought his actual son was too much of a wuss to inherit), he had better claim to throne. Bittersteel supported Daemon, while Bloodraven chose to fight for king Daeron. It was noted that both men were more avid proponents of their respective causes than Deamon Blackfyre and king Daeron themselves. What followed was a bloody, bitter, heart-wrenching civil war that tore Westeros in half. Or, as Sir Barristan put it once: “Bittersteel and Bloodraven both loved Shiera Seastar, and the Seven Kingdoms bled.”
In the end, the Rebellion was quenched: Daemon Blackfyre perished in battle, Bittersteel ended up exiled, and Brynden Bloodraven returned victorious, ready to ask for his half-sister’s hand in marriage. Her answer? Well, she more or less told him to go f*ck himself.
During her last years, Shiera was mentioned in chronicles as Sir Bloodraven's "paramour" who enjoyed to make his heart ache with jealousy games, and never ever accepted his proposals, no matter how many times he asked her to marry him. Rumors had it that, just like her late mother, she resorted to dark magic to keep her beauty well past the age of forty - regular baths in virgin blood and all that crap. And while Bloodraven's downfall and subsequent rise to become one of the most mysterious figures of "A Song of Ice and Fire" - or, y'know, that dude who turned into the infamous Three-eyed crow - George R.R. Martin never shared with his readers what became of Shiera Seastar.
Of course, the conspiracy theories are many.
Credits:
Character design, wig styling and makeup by me
Dress by Ana&Marina - www.facebook.com/sheandshedesi…
Necklace exclusively designed by Holy woman's Treasure Chest
Photo by Aleksandar Jovković, edited by Wacky Cherry

Description

The Story of Shiera Seastar
As you know by now, kids, I'm an avid storyteller. The characters I choose to cosplay mean a lot to me because of their stories - of who they are, and how they were made, and how I connected to them. I said a while ago I'd share the tale of Shiera, one of the most interesting and most underused women of G.R.R. Martin's world, and how come I chose to portray her of all people, given that you cannot find even a decent fanart with her likeness. So here we go, guys - some facts about Madame Seastar:
She was born as the only child of Aegon IV Targaryen and his last mistress, Sweet Serenei of Lys, who came from an old, noble but impoverished Lysani family (or so she claimed), or was a mere pretty-headed courtesan with a talent for spinning fantasies (or so gossip had it). An unpopular figure at the court due to her alleged aloofness and “strange foreign customs”, Sweet Serenei was rumored to use “dark magic” to maintain her beauty. Magic or not, it did not help Serenei much: she died giving birth to Shiera.
Being an illegitimate child – despite of everybody and their uncle knowing it’s the king’s daughter – Shiera initially had a bastard’s last name, and came to this world as Shiera Waters. With her half-brothers Daemon Waters, Aegor Rivers and Brynden Rivers (all from different mothers), she was part of the so-called Great Bastards, i.e. the naughty king’s known illegitimate offspring from noblewomen.
At his deathbed – purely for the lulz and to spite his only legitimate son, Daeron, with whom he harbored a very complicated relationship – Aegon IV legitimized his bastards. The Grand Four thus became the king’s official children, and chose new names for themselves: Daemon Blackfyre (after the legendary Targaryen family sword that Aegon gave to his favorite bastard, and not his trueborn son), Aegor Bittersteel (because he was of great combat prowess, and also had a temper), Brynded Bloodraven (after a red raven-shaped mark he had on his face), and Shiera Seastar. George Martin never explains why she decided to call herself Seastar – and my own theories about it are numerous.
Shiera had mismatched eyes: one blue and one green, but the “defect” was only said to enhance her beauty. She had a legendary massive necklace with altering sapphires and emeralds, made to match her eyes. She despised gold and wore only silver, and always dressed in shades between blue and green – teals, turquoises and aquamarines. She was a patron of arts, a trend-setter in fashion, an avid reader, a speaker of many languages, and a well-known femme fatale.
Her best known lovers were two of her half-brothers - Bittersteel and Bloodraven, who hated each other passionately, fighting for her affection (ah, the Targaryens, gotta love ‘em). She claimed she never wanted to choose between them, and that she loved them both equally. Still, rumor had it, the only brother that she was actually attached to was the eldest of the Great Bastards – Daemon Blackfyre.
And then, one fine day, Daemon Blackfyre rose to arms and rebelled against king Daeron, stating that, being the eldest and now legitimized (and wielding the family sword that the late king thought his actual son was too much of a wuss to inherit), he had better claim to throne. Bittersteel supported Daemon, while Bloodraven chose to fight for king Daeron. It was noted that both men were more avid proponents of their respective causes than Deamon Blackfyre and king Daeron themselves. What followed was a bloody, bitter, heart-wrenching civil war that tore Westeros in half. Or, as Sir Barristan put it once: “Bittersteel and Bloodraven both loved Shiera Seastar, and the Seven Kingdoms bled.”
In the end, the Rebellion was quenched: Daemon Blackfyre perished in battle, Bittersteel ended up exiled, and Brynden Bloodraven returned victorious, ready to ask for his half-sister’s hand in marriage. Her answer? Well, she more or less told him to go f*ck himself.
During her last years, Shiera was mentioned in chronicles as Sir Bloodraven's "paramour" who enjoyed to make his heart ache with jealousy games, and never ever accepted his proposals, no matter how many times he asked her to marry him. Rumors had it that, just like her late mother, she resorted to dark magic to keep her beauty well past the age of forty - regular baths in virgin blood and all that crap. And while Bloodraven's downfall and subsequent rise to become one of the most mysterious figures of "A Song of Ice and Fire" - or, y'know, that dude who turned into the infamous Three-eyed crow - George R.R. Martin never shared with his readers what became of Shiera Seastar.
Of course, the conspiracy theories are many.
Credits:
Character design, wig styling and makeup by me
Dress by Ana&Marina - www.facebook.com/sheandshedesi…
Necklace exclusively designed by Holy woman's Treasure Chest
Photo by Aleksandar Jovković, edited by Wacky Cherry