The Fate of Shiera Seastar

Similar to how the trueborn children of Viserys I brought on the first Dance of the Dragons, I find it fascinating how the bastards of Aegon IV resulted in the Blackfyre Rebellions. I love everything about both time periods and in this post I wanted to focus on the fate of Shiera Seastar (which is unknown).

Background

History

Shiera Seastar was the youngest of the "Great Bastards", fathered by Aegon IV (The Unworthy) on Serenei of Lys (from an ancient but impoverished Valyrian line) sometime between 178 and 184 AC:

The reign of this unworthy monarch came to an end in 184 AC, when King Aegon was nine and-forty years of age. He was grossly fat, barely able to walk, and some wondered how his last mistress—Serenei of Lys, the mother of Shiera Seastar—could ever have withstood his embraces. The king himself died a horrible death, his body so swollen and obese that he could no longer lift himself from his couch, his limbs rotting and crawling with fleshworms. The maesters claimed they had never seen its like, whilst septons declared it a judgment of the gods. Aegon was given milk of the poppy to dull his pain, but elsewise little could be done for him.

His last act before his death, all accounts agree, was to set out his will. And in it, he left the bitterest poison the realm ever knew: he legitimized all of his natural children, from the most baseborn to the Great Bastards—the sons and daughters born to him by women of noble birth. Scores of his natural children had never been acknowledged; Aegon's dying declaration meant naught to them. For his acknowledged bastards, however, it meant a great deal. And for the realm, it meant blood and fire for five generations. -TWOIAF, The Targaryen Kings: Aegon IV

Her mother died giving birth to her and her father died when she was at the oldest ~6.

SERENEI OF LYS (SWEET SERENEI): A Lysene beauty from an ancient but impoverished line, brought to court by Lord Jon Hightower, the new Hand. Serenei was the most beautiful of Aegon's mistresses, but she was also reputed to be a sorceress. She died giving birth to the last of the king's bastard children, a girl called Shiera Seastar who became the greatest beauty in the Seven Kingdoms, beloved of both her half brothers, Bittersteel and Bloodraven, whose rivalry would ripen to hatred. Children by Serenei: Shiera -TWOIAF, The Targaryen Kings: Aegon IV

and according to this SSM, her mother named her:

Lady Shiera was the natural daughter of King Aegon IV by the ninth and last of his mistresses, Lady Serenei of Lys, the last daughter of an ancient but impoverished line of Valyrian nobility. "Sweet Serenei," Aegon called her, but about his court she was considered cold and haughty, and some said that she was much older than the king, and preserved her beauty by the practice of dark arts. Considered by many the most lovely of Aegon's mistresses, Sweet Serenei died in childbed, bringing forth the last of the king's "Great Bastards," the daughter she named Shiera, Star of the Sea.

Appearance/Character

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but she sounds like most men were quite interested:

Shiera was born with one dark blue eye and one bright green one, but the singers said that this flaw only accentuated her loveliness. She was the greatest beauty of her age, a slender and elegant woman, slim of waist and full of breast. She had the silver-gold hair of the Targaryens, thick and curling, and wore it very long. At some points in her life it fell well below her waist, almost to the back of her knees. She had a heart-shaped face, full lips, and her mismatched eyes were strangely large and full of mischief; her rivals said she used them to melt men's hearts.

and:

she was fond of ivory and lace and cloth-of-silver (but not gold, which she considered too vulgar). Her favorite piece of jewelry was a heavy silver necklace of emeralds and star sapphires, alternating

She was also one of the very few characters known to have a heart-shaped face & that necklace is just interesting to say the least.

Intelligent, and like her mother and half-brother/lover she was a reported practitioner of the dark arts:

Even at an early age, she was a great reader. She spoke a dozen tongues and surrounded herself with ancient scrolls. Like her mother, she was reputed to practice the dark arts.

Relationships

Shiera never wed and had numerous lovers:

Though she never wed, she had many offers, and several lovers through the years. Duels were fought over the right to sit beside her, men killed themselves after falling from her favor, poets outdid each other writing songs about her beauty.

Simped Bloodraven (and likely Bittersteel)

Her most ardent admirer was her half-brother, Bloodraven, who proposed marriage to her half a hundred times. Shiera gave him her bed, but never her hand. It amused her more to make him jealous. -SSM, Shiera Seastar: 7 March 2006

Let's take all of the above (along with the last few quotes she is mentioned in) and tie it into the timeline/events and see if we can at least narrow down Shiera's fate somewhat:

While discussing "love" Barristan seemingly refers to Bittersteel/Bloodraven's love of Shiera as part of the cause for the Blackfyre Rebellions:

Daenerys Targaryen loved her captain, but that was the girl in her, not the queen. Prince Rhaegar loved his Lady Lyanna, and thousands died for it. Daemon Blackfyre loved the first Daenerys, and rose in rebellion when denied her. Bittersteel and Bloodraven both loved Shiera Seastar, and the Seven Kingdoms bled. -ADWD, The Kingbreaker

And that during the Dunk & Egg storyline (~210's AC) and during the Blackfyre Rebellions she is referred to as Bloodraven's paramour:

You've known queens and princesses. Did they dance with demons and practice the black arts?"

"Lady Shiera does. Lord Bloodraven's paramour. She bathes in blood to keep her beauty. And once my sister Rhae put a love potion in my drink, so I'd marry her instead of my sister Daella." -The Sworn Sword

and:

Bloodraven proved to be a capable Hand, but also a master of whisperers who rivaled Lady Misery, and there were those who thought he and his half sister and paramour, Shiera Seastar, used sorcery to ferret out secrets. It became common to refer to his "thousand eyes and one," and men both high and low began to distrust their neighbor for fear of their being a spy in Bloodraven's employ. Yet Aerys had need of spies, given the trouble that followed the Great Spring Sickness. Summer came, and with it a drought that lasted more than two years. Many blamed the king, and many more accused Bloodraven. There were poor brothers who preached treason, and knights and lords as well. And amongst those were some who whispered a specific treason: that the Black Dragon must return from across the narrow sea and take his rightful place. -TWOIAF, The Targaryen Kings: Aerys I

That's it. That is all we know about Shiera canonically/semi-canonically. I am going to try and use logic/timing to extrapolate a bit here, but since we have fates for Bittersteel and Bloodraven and Daemon (the other oft mentioned great bastards, we should get one for Shiera too).

Theorization

As I mentioned above our last official mention of Shiera is in ~211AC, but I think we can assume she lived further:

Duels

Its mentioned that men "fought duels" for her. If we assume that the duels fought by Bloodraven/Bittersteel were for Shiera then we know that a duel "for Shiera" took place in:

• Duel #1 (First Blackfyre Rebellion - 196AC)

The rebellion ended at the Redgrass Field, nigh on a year later. Some have written of the boldness of the men who fought with Daemon, and others of their treason. But for all their valor in the field and their enmity against Daeron, theirs was a lost cause. Daemon and his eldest sons, Aegon and Aemon, were brought down beneath the withering fall of arrows sent by Brynden Rivers and his private guards, the Raven's Teeth. This was followed by Bittersteel's mad charge, with Blackfyre in his hand, as he attempted to rally Daemon's forces. Meeting with Bloodraven in the midst of the charge, a mighty duel ensued, which left Bloodraven blinded in one eye and sent Bittersteel fleeing. -TWOIAF, The Targaryen Kings: Daeron II

Worth noting that early versions of this battle had Bittersteel losing a hand as well.

• Duel #2 (Third Blackfyre Rebellion -219AC)

The Second Blackfyre Rebellion proved a debacle, but that was not always to be the case. In 219 AC, Haegon Blackfyre and Bittersteel launched the Third Blackfyre Rebellion. Of the deeds done then, both good and ill—of the leadership of Maekar, the actions of Aerion Brightflame, the courage of Maekar's youngest son, and the second duel between Bloodraven and Bittersteel—we know well. -TWOIAF, The Targaryen Kings: Aerys I

Worth noting that Bittersteel escaped after being sent to the Wall. If interested: Aegor "Bittersteel" Rivers

Bloodraven was then sent to the Wall in 233 AC, so if Shiera was alive after that she was likely no longer physically with Bloodraven.

Effect on the Storyline

We see each of the other "Great Bastards" that are often mentioned having this massive effect on the current storyline (Bloodraven = treeman, Bittersteel = Golden Company, Daemon = House Blackfyre), but nothing from Shiera, which is just odd, coupled with her disappearance from the story.

Bloodraven tells this to Bran (assumed to be about Shiera):

"But," said Bran, "he heard me."

"He heard a whisper on the wind, a rustling amongst the leaves. You cannot speak to him, try as you might. I know. I have my own ghosts, Bran. A brother that I loved, a brother that I hated, a woman I desired. Through the trees, I see them still, but no word of mine has ever reached them. The past remains the past. We can learn from it, but we cannot change it."

So it could be that Bloodraven's lingering desire for Shiera, attempt at changing the past is her effect on the storyline.

Children

I posted awhile back a list of all the current characters with Valyrian blood. Any children (I've seen numerous characters theorized) by Shiera would have some of this blood, that said there aren't many options that truly fit the story (Mel would be impactful since Bloodraven loved Shiera).

Quaithe

I go back and forth on who exactly I think Quaithe is, but it def. should be noted here:

"Quaithe?" Dany called. "Where are you, Quaithe?"

Then she saw. Her mask is made of starlight.

"Remember who you are, Daenerys," the stars whispered in a woman's voice. "The dragons know. Do you?" -ADWD, Daenerys X

It should also be noted that there are only three characters known with heterochromia but they don't seem to match up very well: Alyssa Targaryen, Tyrion Lannister and Shiera.

Bloodraven/Shiera also seem to have some parallels to the Night's King and his Queen.

TLDR: Just some thoughts/theories on the fate of the mysterious and beautiful Shiera Seastar. She is last mentioned in ~211AC, but likely was at least part of the inspiration for a duel in 219AC. If she lived past 233AC (when Bloodraven was sent to the Wall) then she was likely teasing someone else.