Morgan Saddler

Ser Morgan Saddler is the first and current knight of Fallowfield and head of the newly-founded House Saddler. Receiving a knighthood in 402 AC, Ser Morgan was granted his lands in 405 AC and has ruled them since.

Appearance and Character
Morgan is tall and well built, but lean. His arms and shoulders are strong from an early life of field work, and his muscles have since been trained at the arts of war throughout his adulthood. He has long brown hair and blue eyes.

Morgan is a relatively shy and quiet man. His newfound station is still an uncomfortable one for him and there are many aspects of it he has yet to learn. He struggles with his letters and even more so with numbers, having only started learning both a little more than a year ago.

Morgan largely chooses to keep to himself and his lands, feeling somewhat uncomfortable with the notion of the judgement he might receive as a peasant-turned-knight amongst his newfound peers.

Early Life
Morgan was born on a small farm in 383 AC, on the lands of a Lord Buckler, though he never knew his full name. His parents -- Humfrey and Dina -- were simple farmers, born of farmers who were born of farmers. Morgan was the fourth and final child of the pairing, having a brother and two sisters.

In 388 AC an ugly turn of events saw the death of Morgan's oldest sister Beth. Too young to fully understand the situation, Morgan would later learn that the men who had come to their farm were marauders and looters. Beth would be one of their many victims. Seeking retribution, Morgan's father and brother eagerly answered the call when summoned to war by Lord Buckler. They would be gone fighting the bandits for many months, and only one ever returned.

Morgan's father was very different when he came home, though he had brought back many riches that helped the family live comfortably on their land. He had become bitter and withdrawn, and always instructed Morgan on the importance of standing up to those who would seek to rob the poor of what little they have, and who would manipulate and twist them into being thankful for it. He wanted a better life for his son, one that was fair and just, not the life those people had thrust upon them.

Humfrey would remain that way for the remainder of his life, which in turn was not all that long. A famine struck their lands a few years later, and word even spread that the famine had afflicted half of the Seven Kingdoms if not more. Consumed with bitterness and hate, the famine was hard on Humfrey and he passed during those years. Morgan's remaining sibling would pass as well not long after. By the famine's end, Morgan was frail and weak, having staved off death 'by nothing short of a miracle,' his mother would say.

Becoming a Man
Five years of peace and serenity passed before the call came once more. Lord Buckler had summoned his levies, and Morgan was now of an age where he was compelled to answer. Leaving his mother to tend the farm, an eighteen year old Morgan would be called off to war against tyrants from the east. Bringing with him a scythe and a wicker shield, Morgan had little hope for what was to follow -- his experiences with war had only brought him ruin.

Surprisingly, war was not like the songs sung by travelling bards. Battled were infrequent, particularly for those of lesser lords and knights. Morgan saw fighting in the war, and even grew to have some skill with his scythe -- replaced later by a proper spear -- and shield. The war dragged on for long, though word would have it that some had been fighting in it for many years before Morgan had been called to fight.

Eventually, towards the close of the war, ships would carry Morgan and many others to the islands that housed the enemy that had attacked them. Fighting was had there until at last they came to the final stronghold of the enemy. The fighting there was harsh and hectic, their lines struggling to maintain shape on the uneven rocky landscapes. The men from the Stormlands had been tasked with holding the left along with a contingent of Rivermen. It was one of those Rivermen that would change Morgan's life forever.

During the fighting, a combined force of knights from the Stormlands and Riverlands thrust past their spearline and hit against the enemy. The landscape did not suit fighting on horses, even a farmer could tell that, but they did it anyways. When their horses wheeled to pull out for another charge, the enemy pressed forward and closed the distance to limit the impact. One knight -- Morgan did not know him save for the red horse on his coat -- fell from his horse and appeared stuck as the impending line approached.

What had come over him Morgan could only describe as the lessons of his father -- the defense of what was right and just against those who would seek to harm and use them. Morgan broke rank and ran to the knight's aid, freeing him from the tangled stirrups and helping him back to his saddle. Morgan had thought that would forever be the end of that encounter but fate had other plans for him.

They were victorious that day, and the war had all but been won. Many men were knighted that day for their deeds, two score or more some said, and by some stroke of luck Morgan was counted among them. Through much searching, that knight had found the man who had saved his life. To thank him, he bestowed upon Morgan the only thing a knight truly could -- a knighthood itself. Morgan, a farmer from the Stormlands, was now Ser Morgan, knighted by none other than Ser Lothar Bracken of a famed house in the Riverlands, as it was told to him.

Knighthood
A knighthood was plenty for Morgan, but to add to that each man knighted on that historic day would be granted lands by the crown. They would not be much, but they would be their lands to own and tend as they saw fit. This also meant each new knight would earn himself the right to take a name and sigil for himself. Morgan had a great deal to think on the matter... or so he had thought.

Morgan was returned to King's Landing with the victorious fleet and army. There he expected to be given his lands and titles officially, but they did not come. What came was more death. A winter so severe that it was said to have put fully-stoked hearths out in a single breeze hit the Seven Kingdoms. Morgan did not leave the city for three years, waiting for winter to abate. When it finally did, Morgan was granted his lands as promised, to the north. First however, he rode south.

Weeks later he had returned home to his farm in the Stormlands. There he showed his mother the deed to land in the Crownlands and permission from who he could only presume was the king himself for them to leave service on the lands of House Buckler. Together, mother and son ventured north again for their new home, outside of a town called Duskendale, one not far from King's Landing itself.

On the journey Morgan asked many questions of Duskendale and its lord. House Rykker ruled the town he was told, and a young man named Erasmus Rykker was their lord. Part of his new life meant he would owe this man his service instead of Lord Buckler, but now as a knight and not as a peasant. Weeks later they reached Duskendale where Morgan was introduced to Lord Rykker and his obedience was sworn to him. Then, he left for his new home.

Becoming a Landed Knight
It was a small parcel of land, home to two dozen hovels at most and a small creek. The lands had been hit hard by the Scarlet Winter, and the fields had only just began recovering from the conditions. Men from Duskendale had come to see to the reparation of the soil, something Morgan himself was familiar with. It was fallow, a common practice for when crops and the lands they grew on were failing. Morgan took inspiration in that, and decided his new home would be Fallowfield. For his arms and name, he took the only things he knew -- a white knight on a field of blue, to represent his actions on the Narrow Sea, and Saddler would be his name. Thus, Ser Morgan Saddler, the Knight of Fallowfield came to be.

Morgan set to familiarizing himself with his new lands and titles. First came the assigning of a Maester from the Citadel, because apparently everyone who held land got one. Maester Forley would come to be a friend of Morgan's, guiding his rule and teaching him the ways of the more noble life. From there, Morgan took two knights into his employ -- Sers Romney and Ellery -- and moved on to the far more formidable task of marriage.

Morgan had only ever imagined marrying a lass from the surrounding farms in his life, as everyone in such circumstances did. Now though, he found himself courting the daughters and sisters of wealthy businessmen from Duskendale. Maester Forley informed him that sisters and daughters of truly noble houses would not yet come to agree to such matches, but those of the 'in between classes' would very much prize marriages to those who held lands and titles.

Eventually it was settled that Morgan would wed the young daughter of a local merchant that dealt mainly in rugs and carpets from the east. Her name was Mary and she was a few years younger than Morgan, but they would grow to be happy together. A year into their marriage their first child was born, a son. Morgan did not know how it was done among the nobility, but on farms it was common to not name children until they had reached at least a year. However, Mary had insisted on naming the child and so the pair settled on Robin.

Family

 * Humfrey (355 - 393 AC)
 * Dina (b. 358 AC)
 * Tom (374 - 388 AC)
 * Beth (377 - 388 AC)
 * Genna (381 - 394 AC)
 * Ser Morgan Saddler (b. 383 AC)
 * Mary Saddler (b. 386 AC)
 * Robin Saddler (b. 406 AC)

Household

 * Maester Forley (b. 363 AC)
 * Ser Romney (b. 350 AC)
 * Ser Ellery (b. 380 AC)