Aianna Corbray

Aianna Corbray is the eldest daughter of Ronnel and Myra Corbray. She holds not actual titles beyond the birthright of scion of her house, though she dreams of being a knight.

Appearance and Character
Some men must peer up at Aianna's braided, raven-haired head, which crests a height of six feet. When they do, it is sometimes with scorn or distaste, and she meets them with a deep, cobalt stare, like twilight winter skies reflecting in deep, blue pools. Far from the waifish women who preen their feathers behind perfurmed vanities, Aianna's is a muscled, hardy body, that immediately calls to mind a stalwart, valiant fighter. Beneath her armor, the history of battles scar this fair-skinned Lady of House Corbray.

Always trying to imitate her brother and the ideals of knighthood, Aianna is quiet and collected, impassive and dedicated to what she puts her mind to. Her friends find her a capable, likable ally, even if she does not fully open up to them. For those more intimate with Aianna, there is a quiet wisdom and a yearning for acceptance. Her manner follows this truest part of herself, always rising to meet challenges, even if they are sometimes a shade foolish.

Aspiring to uphold the ideals of knighthood, for the love of her people and an honor that is all her own, Aianna drives herself forward.

History
The world was starlight and stormy when Aianna first cried. Despite the size this daughter of Corbray holds now, when she was born, Aianna was so small the measter and midwife thought she might not live to see morning.

But morning came, and Aianna still drew breath.

Perhaps due to fear, her lord father did his best to hide his daughter from the world, hoping that she might gain strength by keeping her strength and not exerting herself. It seemed to be working, as the girl was always ravenous, eating from the age of three like a grown man who had starved through winter. Satisfied he had succeeded in keeping her alive, Ronnel stepped aside to allow her the proper tutelage of a Lady.

Unfortunately for tutors, her brother Brynden's letters gave the girl more strength and gall than they knew what to do with. She was beside herself with energy, always leaping around Heart's Home, running through the nearby snakewood until red in the face. If Brynden would visit, it only bolstered her chaotic energy to even greater heights.

It wasn't until she was eight, already beyond strong enough to briefly climb the rock-faces of the Vale's many mountains that she discovered what a terrible problem she was becoming. Her father could not make her a match and her mother was growing worried of her; that she would hurt herself if she followed in Brynden's path, for his was now war.

Her father berated her for such reckless behavior and tears and anger would be a common theme in these next few years as she bent herself to her studies and gained a "proper" education.

At fourteen, Rollen attempted to make a match for Aianna with a scion of House Royce. All seemed well until they met in person at a party hosted by the Arryn's. They were dancing, and then Royce was on the floor, missing a few of his child's teeth. Aianna fled from the many eyes with angry tears.

Though embarrassed and fuming, the young Royce had taught her what men thought of a woman who did not fit a certain ideal. When she spoke of knights and fighting while twirling on the dancefloor, he was dismayed, attempting to correct her on what she should do. When she balked at these suggestions, he whispered at how a woman with her strong legs should have no problem cradling his giant cock when they were wed.

Later, bleeding with a maester and bidden by her father to apologize, they both overheard Royce say Aianna could never be a loving wife; better suited as a workhorse with a bit in her mouth. Whatever disappointment her father had - still has toward his only daughter - he dropped his insistence on apologizing and withdrew his request to wed Aianna with Royce altogether.

Not that he would speak so tastelessly of his daughter, he shared the young Royce's opinion and continued to urge Aianna toward making herself a Lady worthy of her House. But that confrontation with Royce had changed Aianna. When she looked in the mirror, she saw a powerful, young woman. Plain, but pretty in her own way, with strength enough to floor a man five years her senior. She would not settle for a sweet thing that was to be married off.

The decision to forgo the ideals of womanhood and lady-like decorum would cause a schism between her and Lord Corbray that would never be fully mended.

She left for the capital after that on her mother's pretense that she would become a lady in waiting; perhaps the queen and her attendants would be able to transform the teenager into the graceful, enchanting beauty where her parents and teachers had failed. In reality, she acquired a tutor that her brother approved of and began to train in the sword. Her father was busy with other things at the time, and did not notice this feint; a famine was his main concern.

She would follow her brother's example and forgo what she could in order to help those in need during this time of strife and suffering. Here she learned what it was to truly be a knight; that a man with a sword in times of war were necessary, but what are you fighting for if you come home to hungry mouths? What good was a sword when you needed to feed the masses? Honor, though hard to come by outside of battle - for that was all men seemed to deem worthwhile - she believed could be gained through these daily gestures as well.

And yet, no matter what struggles befall the people of Westeros - no matter how they may yearn for peace and endless springs where no one goes hungry or freezes - war comes back to them. A dragon with three pretenders had risen in the Narrow Sea, and Aianaa, now with rippling muscle and a build capable of wielding massive steel blades, joined her brother in this conflict.

She cut her hair and traveled as a man, saying that she was a hedge knight from the East when asked by a Westerlander; from the West if a Crownlander would inquire. They soon found this directionally-challenged knight to be an extreme asset, able to cleave men in half with a single blow or dispatch three at once if her swing was aimed properly.

However, Aianna did her best to remain hidden during these early years of the war, heeding her brother's advice that women would not be seen as knights. She would leave and join up in different groups when they grew too close or asked too many questions.

In the latter years, when Westeros became united, she saw an end to political pretense and shadowy schemes, giving way to an honest, unified force that worked to crush an external threat. It was in the second battle of the Splinters that Aianna would find herself both revealed and wounded, killing a commander, but suffering several blows to her back and thigh.

In war, it would seem, no matter who wore the crown or what rules existed during times of peace, camaraderie was king. Even though she claimed herself a hedge knight - penniless and without a house to call her own - she was cared for by healers that could be spared, and miraculously recovered. Those Crownlanders whom she fought and bled with welcomed her back with joy.

Renewed and in the open, Aianna still kept her name hidden, and finished the rest of the war, gaining no greater notoriety save for a few rumors of a woman who hefted a massive blade. A rare sight, indeed, and so men dismissed it as drunken foolishness. Surely they had been mistaken; that woman was merely a man with long hair, but more muscle and strength than any woman could wish to be gifted with. Eventually the realm returned to peace, and Aianna back to more somber duties which in many ways, pleased her more than swinging a sword.

She began to wonder over the philosophy of battle; of war and soldiering. Her tutor encouraged such thoughts, hoping perhaps to instill some lessons of the mind to pair with those of arm and blade. He was in his twilight years, but still had the vibrancy of youth in his bright blue eyes, which seemed to her to be of Northern descent. Tall and broad-chested, he began to fill her head with teachings and ideas that he had developed as a warrior in his time that was now passed.

Aianna now finds herself reunited with her father who has come for the feast at King's Landing. She wore dresses as she might to please him, but she could not hide the strength and training of her hands, and her tutor was soon discovered who divulged everything during a drunken night.

She had hoped to combat in the melee, but her father forbid it, and like a fool, Aianna listened, still hoping to gain some approval for her choices in life beyond those of her brother. Perhaps in time, she thought, he would see her worth as a soldier and a woman. Surely someone would, and if not him, then another from the Vale, the North, Dorne, Braavos, or the Summer Isles if she must travel that far.

Family

 * Lord Ronnel Corbray - Father - b. 349 AC
 * m. Lady Myra Corbray nee Lynderly - Mother - b. 350 AC, d. 407
 * Ser Artys Corbray - Brother - b. 367 AC
 * Ser Brynden Corbray - Brother - b. 369 AC


 * Ser Gawen Corbray - Uncle - b. 351 AC
 * m. Alyssa Ruthermont - Aunt - b. 354 AC
 * Ser Andar Corbray - Cousin - b. 372 AC