Salladhor Ormollen

Salladhor Ormollen is the Patriarch of House Ormollen and a Magister of the Conclave of Lys. He has held the title of Magister since 417 AC when he was still heir to House Ormollen, and has been Patriarch of the house since his father's death in 426 AC. He was born, raised, and resides in the Free City of Lys.

Appearance and Character
In his youth, Salladhor was fashionable, bold to a fault, and confident to the point of arrogance, at least in his outward behaviors and appearances. Age and responsibility have worked in tandem to suppress his more impulsive, daring instincts, molding him into a more respectable Magister of the city and Patriarch of a great house. Yet although he has more in common with his late father than he had thought possible when he was young and brash, Salladhor is still his own man in every sense of the word. He possesses a strong sense of humor, and a casual attitude towards most matters. Though his days of prowling the streets looking to fight other would-be bravos is long-gone, he is still physically active and in fit condition, though softer and perhaps *rounder* of physique than he would wish. Salladhor is a lover at heart, adoring - and often seeking to acquire - all things beautiful and pleasurable - be they skilled artisans and entertainers, exotic beasts for his menagerie, weapons, works of art, curiosities, or simply a comely and intriguing woman - his chiefest delight and greatest weakness. He has been widowed twice, and has fathered a single son and several daughters - two legitimate and the rest being born of concubines.

History
Salladhor was born in the year 395. His father at that time was heir to House Ormollen, and his mother was the eldest daughter of a notable merchant family, who was considerably younger than her husband. When Salla was three years old, his mother died giving birth to his only sister, Visenya.

Under the guidance of a slave-tutor his father provided him, Salladhor was given the standard education befitting a man of a great house such as Ormollen. Yet Salladhor, even at a young age, had little interest in Lysene politics and trade. The Ormollen heir quickly took to horsemanship, swordplay, and the arts as the foundations of his education, taking only enough from the rest of it so as not to seem stupid in front of others. It seemed that Moredo's son sought adventure more than wealth, and beauty more than prestige (of course, he would hardly refuse either, if offered).

When he was 16, Salladhor first encountered Lucerys Velaryon, when the Lord was living in Lys for a time. Salladhor at once took to the man, admiring and envying him for the life of leisure and adventure which he seemed to be living before the boy's eyes. Lucerys took Salla under his wing for a time, exposing him to a great deal of 'firsts' for the young man's life. Among these were his first time getting drunk, his first time bedding a girl, and his first genuine duel (which he lost, though it had only been to first blood and he was left with merely a scar that he has worn with pride ever since). Lord Lucerys inspired Salladhor to follow the calling of his heart, embracing the life of leisure and adventure he craved and neglecting the boorish life of law and coin which his father wished for him to delve further into.

With the passing of his uncle, Lysario Ormollen, Salladhor ascended to the post of Magister of Lys, becoming a member of the Conclave. The office was largely that of a placeholder, and Salladhor found the Conclave and its affairs terribly dull, choosing to simply vote as his more experienced and interested father did, and hope he was not expected to make a speech.

However, despite his nonchalance which sometimes bordered on contempt, Salladhor proved to be more useful to the Conclave in those early days of his tenure than he had ever intended to be. In 418 AC, Salladhor offered - or more accurately, was sent after suggesting that someone ought to be - to sail for Bloodstone to extend an olive branch to Prince Aeryn Targaryen. The mission proved a success, with the dragonrider prince proving most amiable with the bold, youthful Magister Salladhor. Unfortunately, nothing would come of this success, as Aeryn proved uninterested in peace with the whole of the Triarchy, but the event managed to build a confidence in Salladhor that he had not realized was lacking. This confidence could not have come a moment too soon, as it was needed when Salla was confronted with the first great conflict of his tenure. He would play a notable, but easily overlooked, role in The Rise of Despots, which began not long after his mission to Bloodstone.

When Nohia Rogare came to the patriarch of House Ormollen to entreat them to back house Rogare over the scheming Phaedrus Sathmantes, it was Salladhor who guaranteed Ormollen support instead of his father, who was hesitant to become involved in what was certain to be a great civil conflict. Showing an uncharacteristic boldness in the political sphere, Salladhor superseded his father's hesitance with his own surety. Part of it was his own pride, which had been wounded by Phaedrus's attempts to undermine his efforts on Bloodstone. But there was also a simple distrust of the Sathmantes Magister, who he had never cared much for. Lady Nohia, on the other hand, was beautiful, charming, and witty, which made her far more convincing to the young Salladhor than Phaedrus Sathmantes could ever hope to be.

Throughout the following years of conflict, it can be said that Salladhor came of age as a gentleman of the City of Lys, no longer a mere swaggering wannabe of a bravo. He fought at the Battle of Lys, when Aeryn Targaryen and his dragon were turned away from their attempt to seize the city. It was not long after this battle, in the year 423, that Salladhor elected to marry, and was wed to Linae Vymar, the sister of a major retainer. Their marriage was happy enough, though the pair tended to be little more than friendly to one another. It would prove tragically short, as less than two years after their wedding Linae died giving birth to a stillborn son. It was not long after that Salla's beloved concubine, Kiera, was taken by a wasting illness, leaving behind the daughter Salla had fathered upon her. These losses sent Salladhor into a morose state that might have sapped his spirit wholly were it not for the return of the conflict with Prince Aeryn.

When the Triarchy went on the offensive in 426, Salladhor took part in the campaign in the Stepstones. These experiences, in the service of Lys and the Triarchy rather than his own glory, opened Salladhor's eyes to the realities of his station. It was while he was taking part in this campaign that his father's death placed Salladhor at the head of House Ormollen, which only served to encourage him further to take his place as a great man of Lys. However, his contempt for the conclave continued, and made him wholly accepting of the rise Lysarus Rogare as despot of Lys, and indeed the rise of all three of the despots who came to rule the Triarchy. In Salladhor's eyes, three despots were preferable to three dozen of them.

In 427, after returning from the war, Salladhor made up his mind to marry again, meeting and falling into affection with Doreah of Pentos, the daughter of a cloth merchant from that city who did frequent business with the Ormollens. This marriage proved more affectionate and more fruitful than his first, producing three children - a son and two daughters. Unfortunately, it was not to last, and in 433 Doreah suffered a fall from her horse not long after birthing their second daughter, Rhaenys, and died within the hour. Despondent from yet another loss, Salladhor took comfort in concubines for the first time since Kiera's loss, and a part of him still mourns his second and favored wife.

In the decade since the campaigns in the Stepstones, Salladhor has worked to consolidate his authority as Patriarch of House Ormollen, and to find his place in the new governance of Lys. For his own sake, and that of House Ormollen, Salla has made noteworhty ventures in trade, farming in the interior, land-lording, and other mercantile endeavors which once he would have rolled his eyes at. Yet even now, Salladhor retains much of his impulsive and excessive personality, and a fair portion of his charm, tempered as they might be by his growing responsibilities. He continues to delight in feminine companionship, filling the Valonqar with comely women and girls that he might be surrounded by beauty, and in recent years developing a keen interest in Daena Rogare, First Magister of Lys, for reasons beyond respect for the wealth and power held by her House, or the dragon awaiting her commands.

Despite his office as a Magister, Salladhor has never been of a mind for petty politics or courtly intrigues, his interest in the conclave revolving mainly around commercial ventures, the goings-on of high culture, and his own flirtations with the First Magister - among others, for Lys is nothing if not a bastion of comely, clever women, and Salladhor Ormollen is not ready yet to be a sluggish old man. In his own words; ''My hair was grey twenty years ago, it shall be twenty years hence. Why worry myself too much over a number?''.

Family

 * Magister Moredo Ormollen (deceased)
 * Wife: Serenei Ormollen nee Varysa (deceased)
 * Magister Salladhor Ormollen
 * 1st Wife: Linae Vymar (deceased)
 * 2nd Wife: Doreah of Pentos
 * Tregar Ormollen
 * Visenya Ormollen
 * Rhaenys Ormollen
 * Kiera (concubine, deceased)
 * Alyse
 * Tanselle (concubine)
 * Qira
 * Saera (concubine)
 * Rhae
 * Lysa
 * Visenya Ormollen
 * Magister Lysario Ormollen (deceased)

Household/NPCs
Pallos - Chamberlain of the Valonqar. Born in 389 (50 as of 439), son of a slave at the Valonqar. Portly and balding, plain of face but with a charming grin and bright eyes. Pallos's mother was a household slave at the Valonqar, his father most likely a Volanteen Corsair who took a liking to the girl while staying as a guest of the Ormollens. Over the years, Pallos showed wit and obedience which made him a favorite of the household, and eventually led to his being appointed Chamberlain when Salladhor became patriarch of the House and master of the Valonqar. Today, he manages all the goings-on and day-to-day affairs of the property, from provisions to upkeep to the managing of tasks and slaves.

Tanselle - Concubine of Salladhor's. Born in 410 (29 as of 439), purchased as a bedslave in 433. Olive-skinned with dark hair and grey eyes, slim and lithe. Senelle was acquired from a pleasure garden which Salladhor frequented after his second wife's death. Catching his eye with her wit as much as - if not more than - her physical charms, Salladhor purchased her as his own. Despite her servile status, she has a defiant nature which inevitably reveals itself from time to time, and is seemingly unphased by threats and unabiding of commands given by those she deems contemptuous. She and Salladhor have one daughter, Qira (b.436). Saera - Concubine of Salladhor's. Born in 419 (20 as of 439), purchased as a bedslave in 434. Rosy complexion with auburn hair and brown eyes, curvaceous. Mara was given as a gift by the master of one of the Ormollen vineyards in gratitude to Salladhor's support during a poor harvest. He took a liking to the sweet, simple girl and chose to keep her as a concubine. Mara is possessing of a docile innocence, naturally trusting and optimistic. She and Salladhor have two daughters, Rhae (b.435) and Lysa (b.438). Mysaria - Concubine of Salladhor's. Born in 417 (22 as of 439), purchased as a bedslave in 436. Pale skin, green eyes, flaxen hair, slim and tall. Mysaria is quiet and reserved, though always observing and assessing all that is around her. She was purchased from a well-respected dealer of skilled bedslaves, speaks the Common Tongue of Westeros as well as the Braavosi dialect of Valyrian, and at some point was trained as a dancer - excelling in that regard - but her exact origins are a mystery. Often she will tease others by providing stories of her past which are never confirmed to be true or false. Salladhor finds this amusing, and as such her evasiveness his tolerated to the point of encouragement. Orthos - The Valonqar's captain of the guard. Born in 405 (34 as of 439), purchased from a corsair in 411. Summer islander with dark skin, a shaved head, and dark brown eyes. Large and well-conditioned, wears the feathered cloaks and loose breeches of his homeland, as do the rest of the Valonqar's Summer-Islander slave guards who he commands. Skilled with a scimitar and his bare hands.
 * Ysilla - Tanselle's handmaid. Born in 425 (14 as of 439).
 * Helicent - Saera's handmaid. Born in 427 (12 as of 439).
 * Larra - Mysaria's handmaid. Born in 426 (13 as of 439).