Morgan Dayne

Ser Morgan Dayne, Knight of the Kingsguard/Queensguard, aged 28, is known for a steady yet so far possibly never overly ambitious or otherwise outstanding execution of his Kingsguard duties. Though he proved efficient, able, circumspect and persistent when recently accompanying Prince Rhaegar to Essos.

To the outside, in general, however, his suitability for the task, his dutifulness and his wider attitudes are hard to assess, for the Order keeps much of these internal affairs to themselves. Nor does Morgan's reserved demeanour prove to reveal any of that. As a Kingsguard, for sure Morgan fulfils what is required and gives a suitable impression. In King’s Landing, he is known for being either reserved or sarcastic, socializing only with those he trusts and never causing excesses. He is famous for spending a lot of time in the training yards, and notorious for being one of the possibly most stunning fighters in Westeros. The lack of the at first glance very suitable title of Sword of the Morning leaves many people in King’s Landing to wonder why a fighter like him was obviously denied the title.

In wider Dorne, most people will still remember Morgan as a decent commander during the war, though never one of the highest rank nor esteem, certainly able to do better than he did. More than that, he is remembered as one of the deadliest of fighters Dorne has seen for many years.

The closer one gets to Starfall, or the more informed one is about Dornish gossip, the more likely it is that one will have heard rumours about the background of Ser Morgan. Renowned for having devoted all his later childhood and youth to live up to the ideal of chivalry – possibly to prove worthy of being granted Dawn – he had been known as a very (possibly overly) ambitious page and squire. Having trained weaponry as hard and persistent as few others ever will, Morgan has also gone through a thorough education in warfare, etiquette and other fields suited to a life devoted to chivalry, such as religion and history. All of these distinguished aspirations, however, ended abruptly from one day to the other. Residents at Starfall and the lands nearby vividly remember the night Morgan Dayne, fully armoured, still not knighted at the age of 20, went mad in the yard of Starfall, suffering a fit of rage, insulting his family and killing his own horse. After that unforgotten night, his so far devoted, composed and humble lifestyle changed into the complete opposite: Morgan took to drinking, gambling and whoring, regularly insulting and gossiping about his family, proving unpredictable, choleric, sadistic and uncontrollable.

Appearance
Morgan is 5’10 feet tall and is of an elegantly muscular, well-proportioned build. Black, often pomaded and oiled curls frame a slightly tanned face with dark grey eyes. He is found properly shaved unless too busy or too lazy to do so, though certainly his hair and armour are granted more of his attention than the state of his facial hair. Or than many other things, actually…

A Childhood and Youth devoted to Chivalry
Morgan is born as the second of three sons to Lord Arthur Dayne, considerably younger than his older brother Ulrick, but just two years the senior of his youngest brother Aron.

Always frowning upon the erudite aspect of his younger brother, and with little contact to the way older Ulrick, Morgan from an early age onwards is trained to become a skilled knight of his House. His talent for weaponry shows early, and the best tutors are assigned to him. He spends his childhood and his youth dreaming of warriordom and chivalry, with his family more than happy to be granted such a skilled and proud son, suitably for the ancient warrior traditions of the notorious House. It is soon that rumours go that Morgan would soon be a suitable aspirant for receiving the ancestral blade Dawn, and the superb title that comes with it. It is for that reason, and especially after his father’s early death, that young Morgan devotes all his skill and strength, his efforts and his time on living up to the task: He spends more hours in the training yards than any other page or squire or even grown knight. He hones his skills in riding and receives a masterful training in the arts of war. Though he never finds interest in scholarly features – not considering them necessary and, in secret, not finding himself suitable for such theoretical studies – Morgan eagerly tries to make up for that by attending lectures of Septons about chivalry, the Book of the Warrior, and learning etiquette, dancing and elegant conduct. Though these things do not come half as easily to Morgan as fighting does, and the harder they are for him, the more effort he invests. He eagerly serves as a page at Sunspear and acts as squire both at Sunspear and to his uncle Ser Valarr Dayne at Starfall.

During these days, he is known as an ambitious young man, more skilled with the blade than most even at Sunspear already, and getting better day by day. Also talented as a rider and a lover of horses, Morgan is perceived as patient – especially when taking his Dornish blood into consideration. He still is temperamental, but can keep this aspect more in check than most other Dornish youths would be able to. Among his peers, he stands out by very much trying to live up to the role of Sword of the Morning he is sure will be passed onto him one day: He stays away from girls and women, similarly avoids drinking and gambling, spends more time in the Septs than is considered good for a Dornish youth, and only his knightly aspirations prevent him from lecturing others. He endeavours to be generous and welcoming, hospitable and just. And all the other knightly virtues that he pursues from young an age onwards far more than anybody else Morgan knows.

Towards his family, Morgan proves helpful and friendly, especially when dealing with his cousins and nephews (one of them Aemon Dayne, future Lord of Starfall), and tries to make things as easy and pleasant as possible to fit in again when eventually his younger brother Aron returns to Starfall after long years of being a page and squire far away. Above all, Morgan would always give high-quality lessons in fighting to his younger relatives. Or anybody else who would ask him.

Not becoming Sword of the Morning
And though especially Morgan’s martial abilities make him the perfect aspirant for Dawn, and, truth be told, Morgan has devoted his whole life to revolve round the ancient, famous blade and the title, fame and status it promises, his uncle Ser Valarr Dayne, acting as a father to the youth and being the most senior of councillors to Lord Ulrick, remains hesitant to officially arrange for Dawn to be passed onto the second-born son of the former Lord. Morgan remains patient, guessing it is not to insult his other brothers and his young nephews. But deep inside, Morgan gets more and more worried over the years. And the only thing the adolescent knows to do to deal with the feeling of insecurity is to train and try even harder. Ser Valarr Dayne, on the other hand, is actually worried as well: He appreciates the efforts of his nephew as nobody else does, and admires the youth for all of that. But he cannot help but feel that there is something “hidden” behind the everlasting attempts of the adolescent to prove himself and please his family and others around him. He cannot shake off the feeling that “there is something dark to Morgan.”

Ser Valarr Dayne even manages to postpone that Morgan is knighted – until his younger brother is actually knighted before him. Morgan either lacks the deeper insight for sensing his uncle’s deeply-enrooted concerns, or he turns his gaze away and does not want to realize what is going on in the worried aging Lord.

At the eve before receiving the accolade at the rather advanced age of 20, in 399 AC, Morgan finally approaches his uncle, with the question pending for years, looming on the horizon of Starfall’s future prospects, subtly having weighed down the mood for years and years now due to the insecurity of the unresolved issue. Morgan, unusually nervous, asks his uncle in a way as respectfully and carefully as possible, “whether he had ever thought about the passing on of Dawn in the merely potential case something unforeseeable should happen to him or to Ulrick.” It is a prudent question, actually. All the more as the escalating War of the Three Thieves leads many lords intending to join the war efforts personally to arrange for the succession at home. It is a matter to be addressed, long overdue.

What happens after Morgan asking the question, is something people keep speculating about. Morgan himself does not really remember anymore what exactly it was, his uncle had replied. For after a heavy silence had fallen between uncle and nephew at first, Ser Dayne tries to tell his nephew with the most gentlest of words that he does not consider him suitable for this position. He tries to show him alternatives, offering him other positions, money, lands, horses, in return, informing him he has already talked to the Martells to get Morgan a renowned position in their household, in the army, whatever he wishes for. It is a very empathetic speech, words of understanding, that Morgan encounters upon the question that the aging Dayne knight had been afraid to be confronted with for years. And had taken preparations to deal with for years, being aware of the shock that Morgan might suffer – and the potential void afterwards.

Morgan himself hardly listens. His uncle stands there, in his study, speaking to him with nothing but the most prudent and gentle, reassuring and understanding words. But Morgan hardly listens. He stands there in shock and paralysis. Finally, he turns around, and leaves without another word.

It is six hours later, in the middle of the night, that Morgan leaves his chambers again, having meanwhile stayed there with locked doors and not yielding to the request of his Lady mother and uncle to talk to him again. Starfall has fallen into a restless sleep in the meantime. However, the castle is awake shortly after, when the alerted guardsmen deny Morgan to leave the castle. His uncle had taken precautions, forefeeling that his nephew might be so shocked he would try to leave – and maybe never return. What happens next is a catastrophe still remembered vividly to the present day at Starfall: Always so prudent and composed Morgan Dayne literally goes berserk. Everything that had been suppressed for years and years explodes within the inner yard of Starfall. One of the best fighters of Dorne, armoured, fully armed and atop his horse, losing control, suffering a fit of rage, and filled with nothing but the sheer lust for blood and chaos, for destroying whatever and ripping apart whoever gets in his way. But turning his intense frustration and breathless rage against somebody turns futile: The guards have quickly withdrawn into the guardhouse, and Lord Dayne and Ser Valarr, who had quickly appeared on the scene, have ordered all gates and entries to be closed. Morgan finds himself literally locked in the yard, on his own, with the eyes of whole Starfall watching with bated breath, as the young man’s pent-up fury explodes in the deserted yard. It is a sight as terrifying as pitiful, for surges of formerly absolutely unknown curses and insults erupt from the else so composed young man, directed mainly against his family, especially his uncle and brothers. Yelling, shouting, damning them and everybody listening, Morgan soon turns to desperately hacking at several gates with a war axe, and destroying everything that gets in his way. The whole scene lasts for more than an hour, and leaves an absolutely desperate Morgan kneeling in the middle of the yard, amidst the blood of his own horse, both shocked and exhausted, and having ruined the reputation he had built up ambitiously for years and years within a single night. The accolade scheduled for the following day is cancelled.

A Life of Vices
The next days find him exhausted, confused and hopeless. He rejects food and talking to anybody. The 20 year old is clearly overstrained with dealing with a situation that some people say he should have been expecting for years. But all of them are wiser in retrospective. All but Morgan. No gentle word of understanding nor generous material offer can appease him.

As soon as he is strong and composed enough again to be allowed to leave both his chambers and Starfall, he obviously seeks to make up for all the deprivations he had accepted during his youth in order to live up to a humble, righteous, pious and chaste lifestyle that had once been intended to make him a worthy aspirant for the title of Sword of the Morning. But this attempt runs riot: Morgan spends all the money he has with him on drink and the services of whores for the whole day. When he does not return after several hours, his family proves desperate yet reluctant to send somebody to get Morgan back, clearly remembering what had happened that one night a week ago. Things prove more difficult when this condition starts to persist: Morgan starts to sell his armour, horses, clothes, and other belongings to fund excessive stays at taverns, gambling houses and brothels. It proves difficult to stop him from doing so, for whatever his family taught him on the sparring yards is now used as a threat against them. Nor would threatening the own son with military might make things better.

Leaving for War to find Relief and Alleviation
When after several weeks, no improvement is in sight, Morgan is finally subdued in a brothel while sleeping, forced to return to Starfall, and put under arrest. His fits of rage continue, proving unwilling to get assistance by anybody, until from one day to the other, the shocked and overstrained youth seems to have been overcome by a mixture of exhaustion and desperation, rendering him helpless and unable to defy being helped by others.

Stricken by sorrow and grief, his family finally allow him to leave for the raging War of the Three Thieves, hoping Morgan would be able to calm down while having a *real* opponent to turn his rage against, and hopefully being in a position to regain his feeling of self-worth, his self-confidence and, unfortunately, also the renown he has dramatically lost in the eyes of others.

Morgan Dayne serves in the forces of Lord Martell, and gets known for having lost not only his ambition, but also many of his abilities and skills. It is just when directly facing the enemy, engaged in combat, when hell has broken loose around him that Morgan Dayne’s eyes are found to be sparkling again. Yet sparkling with something that strikes fear not only in the hearts of his opponents, but also in the men serving alongside him.

During the long course of the war, his condition gets more stable again, and finally Morgan is able to show at least a bit of interest again in what is going on around him. He settles for being average and never doing more than what is necessary during routine operations and when dealing with his own countrymen. But he gets renowned more than ever before as one of the deadliest of fighters that Dorne has seen during many decades. It is also during these days that he is finally knighted. Not that Morgan would still be interested in it, it just serves to reinforce his status among other lords, knights and soldiers.

Return to Starfall
After the war, Morgan returns to Starfall. He spends one day locked in his chamber, three days failing to converse in a reasonable way with all of the local friends and residents that are happy to have him back safe and sound, and then returns to an indecent lifestyle. Thereby, Morgan also gives away most of the renown war has earned him.

It stays like this for nearly a year, with Morgan increasingly suffering from the first indications of compounding addictions (alcohol mainly) and venereal diseases.

A new Life in Sight - As a Kingsguard
As these excesses, however, are rather known on a local level, behind the scenes, his uncle has finally succeeded in his continuing requests sent to King’s Landing. Known to only few people, he had been trying for several years already to ensure that Morgan would be considered for the next vacancy in the ranks of the Kingsguard to arise.

When this rare incident occurs in 403 AC, Morgan is indeed considered, and a letter reaches Starfall. Ser Valarr addresses his nephew with the very unexpected offer. Morgan’s reaction is one of pure cynicism and feeling insulted. Yet, not expected anymore by anybody at Starfall, at the very evening of the offer to end, Morgan – in a rare state of having been sober for a week now – informs his uncle that he will indeed leave for King’s Landing. To become a Kingsguard.

He leaves a few weeks later, with, as people say, few words and no glance back.

Beginning of a Kingsguard Career
In 403 AC Ser Morgan Dayne is anointed a Knight of the Kingsguard, and quickly takes to his new duties. The imposed rigid structure of Kingsguard life and routines helps the young man to gain a foothold in normal social life again. The flair of the metropolis and getting to know new people that he holds no grudge against also assist him in returning to a rather normal life again. A Kingsguard’s way of living, that is. And a Kingsguard’s way of serving.

Among his brethren in White, Morgan does not particularly stand out. Aged 24, he is rather young, and his fighting abilities are more than adequate for his new position. He returns to training and to the outside becomes known for suiting well into the Order.

When in 405 AC Lord Ulrick Dayne dies, after two years of hearing nothing from Morgan, a letter reaches Starfall. The content is a (possibly by then drunken) Morgan asking to be reconsidered to be granted Dawn. After, however, his younger brother Aron becomes appointed Sword of the Morning, nothing is ever heard of Morgan again.

Recent Events
In  406 AC, Ser Morgan Dayne is assigned to accompany Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and Ser Alester Steelsong to a journey round Essos. Their return in 407 AC finds him exhausted by his demanding guard duties that he hardly partakes in the Tournament at Harrenhal at all, and in the few fights he does, performs poorly.