Jasper Farwynd

Jasper Farwynd is the current Lord of the Lonely Light and master of the longship Grey Horizon. He is a scholarly and charismatic individual, and somewhat of a traditionalist among the Ironborn.

Appearance and Character
Lord Jasper is a dignified, greying man in his forties. He carries the scars of a life spent partly at sea. His dress is sober and his manner is usually serious and restrained, with flashes of humour and empathy that many find charming.

Childhood in the North
Jasper was born to a White Harbor whore in 397, the result of an encounter with a young Lord Finntryggyr Farwynd. His mother died when he was an infant and he spent his early days raised by the women of the brothel he was born in. When his father returned to White Harbor and discovered the existence of his son, he purchased him from the bawdy house and took him to his new home in the Iron Islands. Jasper was six years old.

The Lonely Light
Out on the edge of the world, with his father absent on his many voyages, Jasper led a lonely existence. Used to living among women he charmed the maids and cooks of the Lonely Light but never bonded with his stepmother, Lady Gyda. In the absence of friends his own age he found solace in the castle's library - an unusual feature for an Iron Islands holdfast. When his father learned of his interests he began to bring books from far lands as gifts for his son, and both Jasper and the library grew over the years.

The Farwynd Name
As time passed and Jasper grew into manhood it became clear that Finntryggr was not about to have any more children. This left Jasper Pyke as his only direct heir - or it would have if his son were not bastard-born. With this in mind his father petitioned to the Crown for Jasper to be liegitimised, alongside a raft of other natural-born Iron Islanders including Theon Harlaw. The decree was passed as a royal concession to House Greyjoy.

Shortly after Jasper was granted the Farwynd name his father sailed for an ill-conceived raid on the Citadel of Oldtown. He never returned from this voyage and Jasper was declared rightful Lord of the Lonely Light. When he reached adulthood Jasper married a bastard daughter of House Sparr and had a son, Balon, who also took the Farwynd name.

Life as a Lord
The new Lord Farwynd travelled from his remote castle to Lordsport and then Harlaw, in order to maintain the ancient ties of his house. While staying at the courts of greater lords he demonstrated a talent for negotiation and resolving disputes, and caught the eye of Dagon Greyjoy, who put him to work as an envoy to the other Iron Island lords. This was a canny calculation on the part of Dagon (or possibly Lady Alannys): Jasper was recognised as a follower of the Old Way and had as keen a grasp of tradition and lore as any Drowned Priest, but he was also loyal as a matter of principle to his liege lord despite their ideological differences. Though he may not have been happy with the direction the current regime was taking the Ironborn in, he respected his obligations as a bannerman.

War and Exile
When the Black Prophet's Rebellion began, Jasper was torn. He was a traditionalist, faithful to the Drowned God and a quiet supporter of the Old Way. However, he also acknowledged the need for moderation and the damage religious fanaticism had done to the Iron Islands over the centuries. he also believed that Loren Greyjoy was a fool whose cause was ultimately doomed, and preferred to sit out the conflict on the fringes of the Iron Islands. His son Balon, however, a man at 16, had other ideas. He roused some of the more adventure-hungry Farwynd captains and sailed off to war in defiance of his father, decrying him as a coward and a Northerner in his heart. Lord Jasper wrote to his friend Alannys Harlaw pleading for his son's safety, offering a hefty ransom for his return if captured. Alannys was killed however, and her son Theon was not so forgiving. He hunted Balon down and slew him during the Scouring towards the end of the war. Jasper locked himself away in his library for weeks upon hearing the news, drinking little and eating almost nothing.

With the war over, Lord Jasper found himself in a difficult position. The victorious modernising faction among the Ironborn looked upon him with suspicion as a known traditionalist and the father of a rebel. The conservative faction considered him a hypocrite for refusing to take up arms for Loren's cause. Consumed as he was with bitterness towards the new rulership of the Isles over the death of his son, he volunteered to leave the kingdom for a spell and serve as an envoy to the Reach. He took up residence in Oldtown, the city in which his father was executed, and there spoke on behalf of an Iron Islands he no longer entirely believed in while brooding privately on his family's fate.

The Strangeness of the Farwynds
House Farwynd of the Lonely Light has always enjoyed a mystical reputation among the Ironborn, due in no small part to the remoteness of their holdings. They have long been rumoured to be skinchangers, able to inhabit seals and travel beneath the waves. While serving Lord Dagon in the Iron Islands Jasper was often subjected to half-joking comments and questions about his peculiar family. Jasper Farwynd has never claimed to be a skinchanger... however while at home he would dream of the sea almost every night, of diving into the darkness of the ocean. These dreams became less common when he travelled to Harlaw and stopped almost entirely when he was sent to the Green Lands. Even so, he sometimes still dreams of strange waters and odd, half-remembered sensations.

Family

 * Finntryggr Farwynd, b. 379, d. 407
 * "Violet", d. 399
 * Jasper Farwynd, b. 397
 * m. Sarella Pyke, b. 396
 * Balon Farwynd, b. 416, d. 433