Astera Blackadder

Chieftess Blackadder, informally known as Astera, is a Wildling from the Frozen Shore. She is the eldest surviving child of Isyger "Icetraitor" Blackadder. Formerly an exile, she rose to the position of Chieftess with assistance from Maegor Waters.

Appearance and Character
Astera has copper-brown hair, brown eyes, and fair skin. In her youth her father would shear her hair short in order to make her look like a boy, but she grew it back in her adulthood. She wears her hair loose with braids sprinkled throughout. As Chieftess, she has taken to wearing rough butterfly patterns of makeup around her eyes as her "warpaint", a symbol of the rebirth of the Blackadder line. She often wears pelts over her rough shift dress, her favorite being a direwolf pelt fashioned so that she might use the head as a hood. She is fond of whale-bone accessories, and is a purveyor of any shiny objects that might wash up on the Frozen Shore. In addition to this, she has one dress that might rival the opulence of the Great Houses, made of silk from Lys and Myrish lace.

History
Astera was born in the year 381, underneath the light of the third moon. She was the eldest daughter of Isyger Blackadder and his first wife, Larkspur of the West. It was a hard labor, due to the particular harshness of the cold. Larkspur labored for nearly two days, nearly dying to blood loss. Fortunately, both mother and babe survived the ordeal, and Astera was named by her grandfather in honor of one of the Queen of the Free Folk. She was perfectly healthy, and adored by her uncle and grandfather. Despite this, her own father had little interest in her. Astera's mother would give birth two more times over the next two years, both resulting in stillborn boys. During this time, Isyger grew increasingly volatile and impatient.

Exile
Isyger Blackadder was the younger of Banwird Blackadder's two sons. Torryg Blackadder, Astera's uncle, was presumably luckless in love, and never fathered any children, thus meaning that when Banwird died, Isyger would in turn inherit upon Torryg's death. However, Isyger had grown envious of how Torryg was loved by their father, and sought to end his brother's life. In a moment of sheer fury, Isyger dragged his brother out to the forests and hung him like a petty thief, an honorless death for a respected hunter. He was not even respectful enough to burn the body, forcing his elderly father and mother to track down the corpse to ensure that their son would rest peacefully. For this atrocity, Isyger was banished, and ordered to take his household with him. Astera, only three years old at the time of the incident, left the only home she had ever known to be dragged by her murderous father and her poor mother into the woods, away from her playmates and favorite elders. The small family made their home in the woods near the Haunted Forest, far away from their former home. Astera was taught how to stab with a spear at the tender age of five. After years of trying for another baby, Larkspur found herself pregnant again. Astera watched in horror as her mother labored for nearly four days. Eventually, her baby brother was born, but Larkspur died due to a loss of blood. At the age of six, Astera was placed in charge of taking care of her newborn brother. She often had to sneak into the other villages to beg new mothers to nurse her baby brother, out of fear that what berries she could scavenge would not be enough. It was around this same age that her father began to cut her hair short in hopes that she would pass as a boy. The first time this occurred, Astera wept for hours, and burnt her own locks as if they would be possessed by the Others if she didn't. Astera began to hunt with her father, becoming used to the spears and bows that her former clan prized for hunting. She was a natural at stalking through the underbrush, while her little brother (named Torygg after her deceased uncle) preferred the hands-free approach of snares. The small family made a good income by selling the pelts to the crows of the Wall.

Hunt for a Sword
Astera was nearly nineteen when Maegor Waters crossed the Wall in search of Valyrian steel. She had since broken off from her father, and taken her brother to live in a tiny thatch hut on the outskirts of the Haunted Forest. She dared not return to the Frozen Shore, instead continuing to make a living off of hunting. She volunteered as a contract guide for the party of Maegor Waters, who she would come to realize was one of the potential heirs to the supreme kneeler throne. Though the initial expedition was a failure, Maegor and his compatriots assisted Astera by restoring her family in the Frozen Shore, going as far as to help her become Chieftess of her people.

Chieftess Blackadder
The adjustment to leading her people was hard. For nearly seventeen years of her life Astera had lived with at most two other people at a time.