Jasper Waynwood

Jasper Waynwood is the thirdborn son of the late Ser Lucas Waynwood, and his late wife Carolei Waxley. The case of Jasper's inheritance of Ironoaks was completely unexpected as neither his father, his father's father, nor for that matter, his father's father's father had been Lord of Ironoaks before him.

Prior to his inheritance, Jasper was wed to a childhood love, his distant cousin Alayne Waynwood, with whom he had but one daughter, his current heir; Sarra Waynwood. But when Alayne died of what the Maester described as a "lump" in 433 A.C., Jasper joined the Brotherhood of Winged Knights and swore direct service to Lord Godric Arryn until the time of his unfortunate inheritance in late 436 A.C.

Appearance and Character
Jasper's appearance is nothing out of the ordinary (some have said much worse). His head is crowned with brown hair that slightly curls at the ends. His eyes are dark brown, very much like his mother’s. Even though his height and relative fitness mark him as a fighter, this can only do so much to help him in the eyes of the ladies.

Jasper’s strengths are undoubtedly in war and combat, but it would be unfair to label him as war-hungry – he simply thrives in the simplicity that these fields bring. He would be the first to admit he has no talent or desire to take part in the undercover dealing and negotiating that so often occurs in the capital, and so he aims to stick to the areas he is good at all times.

Thankfully for his smallfolk, Jasper is not quite so ready to dismiss the finer arts of ruling. He is an honest and just lord, and with the aid of the Ironoaks Maester, the same work ethic (and classic youngest-son insecurity) that led him to become an extremely capable commander and fighter have made him a decent, if not spectacular Lord.

Jasper, sadly, has few friends - although the loss of almost all his close family members may have had something to do with that. The death of his beloved wife, Alayne Waynwood, just a few years into their marriage hit hard, as did the relentless loss of Lords and Heirs of Waynwood over the last few years. His quiet, but pleasant personality was soon overtaken by a somber sadness and a silent brooding after these events, and as a result he is also rather protective of his daughter and heir, Sarra, as well as his last living sibling Mya.

410 - 426 A.C. Smile, Jasper
Jasper Waynwood was born to a rather insignificant branch of House Waynwood. For him, his life was not to be defined by lordship and governance and a high ranking marriage that accompanied such, for not even his father's father's father had been Lord of Ironoaks. No, the honour of Lord of Ironoaks was a title held by cousins of his, cousins with heirs by the plenty, and heirs of youth.

So while Jasper grew up amidst the wider Waynwood family, he was never the pearl of any eyes. Even to his own parents, their pride and joy was that of his older brother, Oswell, a lad four years his senior, and his sister, Mya, three years his junior. With his eldest brother's death having come in 404 A.C., long before his birth, at the mere age of two, his parents had grown to possess what Jasper saw as a thoroughly dour attitude, except when it came to Oswell. In Oswell, they saw a hope for some pride and greatness for their meager line, for the possibility of being acknowledged by their cousins, the Lord of Ironoak and his closest kin.

And so, as consequence, Jasper and his younger sister, Mya, were oft left with Septas and other guardians and given easily endured pats on the head and the most basic of congratulations and encouragement for their achievements. Such served to spur Jasper forward greatly so. He fast came to the conclusion that he would not win the eye of any by remaining in the shadows of his brother and other kin, and so with haste to the training yard with a dedication unlike anything Oswell showed.

It was then that his attempts to master the use of spear and shield began, as a means of countering Oswell’s significant height and reach advantage when the two sparred. Jasper was determined to outdo his older brother in every way, for the mere hope of gaining the pride of his parents' eye. But alas, such never came, and over time, Jasper's dedication for the purpose of gaining their recognisation morphed into a more self-serving dedication.

With the guidance of a maester, this led to Jasper becoming perhaps a more well-rounded young man than similar noblemen who were also obsessed with perfecting their swordplay or footwork. Although in the early stages the young man would become incredibly frustrated at his attempts to learn more about the wider world, his dedication would eventually pay off, and he grew to understand the finer arts of obtaining gold. If nothing else, he reasoned, a man with gold who can defend it from others should not end up with too many difficulties in life.

427 - 430 A.C. Infatuation Mounts
Despite the striking rate at which Waynwood heirs and a Lord of Ironoaks, himself, had been taken by death, Jasper Waynwood remained in what was for him, a pleasantly insignificant overall standing within the House. While as a child, and a younger youth he had sought to agrandise himself so as to become a man worthy of memory and records, with age, and the passage of time, came a change in focus. Girls. Of course, any Westerosi male was like to be infatuated with the opposite sex at some point in his life, and for Jasper, that came when he was a mere seven and ten years old.

She was beautiful in a peaceful, pleasant, and completely intoxicating kind of way. It did not take Jasper long to find himself amidst what to him, was the love of his life. In the youthful bliss of young love, he found himself unable to focus on anything but her. Serving to further spur him on, his cousins, the Lordly branch of their House cared not for his infatuation, for he was but a cousin, with an older brother, and no way of inheriting, for Lord Brynden was young, and he had a son. A son. All to often, men with sons fell to complacency, but for Jasper, that was just what he wanted, what he needed.

While his feelings for his distant cousin, Alayne Waynwood, only continued to build through the years of 427 through to 430 A.C., they would not be wed until the latest of those years. While their senior cousin, their Lord, had permitted their courtship, although to say it had only gone so far was a falsity to both the laws of Gods and Men, both he and their immediate families were hesitant toward the match. It was all far too often that love matches fell to shambles once the early years, the period of delight and excitement had passed, and to throw away two scions, no matter how distant, for no sort of marriage alliance whatsoever, could not be accepted.

But alas, their feelings remained strong. And so, in early 430 A.C., Jasper and Alayne Waynwood became one in the eyes of Gods and Men. They took their vows in the ancient place at Ironoaks, where countless Waynwoods come before them had said the very words they spoke now.

Ceremony had ever been an integral part of their House, as well as appearances, and so when their day came, their wedding was of a calibre that said the Lord himself was to wed. No Waynwood was ever to fall by the wayside, for to risk such was to risk the House's appearance and prestige, its history, and all it was.

431 - 433 A.C. All I Need
One word, one perfect word, that was all that could describe these years for Jasper. Bliss.

For Jasper, his life was all encompassing. Woes and worries of his standing within the House, and the greater Vale as a whole departed his mind entirely. Youth was nothing but joy to him. His wife was perfection made flesh, his life, while as a lesser member of the House, was nonetheless possessing of wealth and position that few within these Seven Kingdoms would ever come to possess. And so, as their young daughter, Sarra Waynwood, gradually grew from babe to toddler, to paint the clearest of pictures, Jasper's life was picturesque. Simplicity was more than enough for Jasper Waynwood. More than enough.

But in 433 A.C., tragedy struck. Alayne caught a chill and passed to next life within days of such. Jasper was understandably broken. He felt as if his insides were in constant revolt, much as Alayne's had been in those last days. He felt as if he no longer had a place, as if everything about him had been so suddenly redefined in a matter of moments.

Even the presence of his young daughter, who was no older than three, brought sadness and despair to both his visage and person in equal quantities. Where other men took to the blade in times like this, Jasper simply, at first, vanished. A mere few days after Alayne's passing, he was gone from Ironoaks. Much to the upset of his House and kin, he was absent her funeral and her burial, but Jasper had no mind for any of that. For three weeks he remained absent his post, until his eventual return at the end of said period, with unkempt facial hair, and a stink to match. Even so, he still could not stand to be in Sarra's presence, instead delegating her care to his kin, notably that of his sister, Mya.

433 - 436 A.C. What is Dead May Never Live
With the passing of the wife he had wed out of love and not obligation, Jasper was lost within himself. For a time, that was all there was to him. But such would not last. Thankfully, the Vale and the ruling House Arryn provided opportunity via service as a member of the Brotherhood of Winged Knights. Having grown into a commendable and most talented warrior throughout his years, Jasper Waynwood was readily accepted. While his knighthood had been no major affair, with such coming by the sword of another far off Waynwood scion, this, was far different.

Jasper's years in direct service to the Lord Godric Arryn and his family proved fruitful in that they were a time of escape, and just what Jasper needed. While he knew it not at the time, such a distraction served to immensely aid him in coping with his grief. However, this process was gradual and not without its setbacks, most notably being unable to prevent his brother, Oswell’s death in the Gulltown Massacre, despite the best efforts of the Winged Knights and Abelar Arryn in particular. Despite the sibling rivalry, Oswell was one of Jasper’s few true friends, and the loss of his last brother might have driven Jasper to insanity had it not been for the brotherhood he found in the Knights.

His years as a Winged Knight brought him into contact with many lords and heirs of his age. He would befriend the Knight Robert Arryn, and he developed a fatherly affection for Abelar Arryn, who mentored Jasper and taught him how to fight more effectively on horseback. He also saw first hand the effect attention to detail can have in warfare, as the guerilla tactics Abelar used within Gulltown led to the fall of the city before Jasper and the rest of the Winged Knights had even finished besieging it. With Robert and the other Knights of the Brotherhood, Jasper did gradually come to feel as if he belonged once more, but alas, despite the much needed remedial treatment fighting and killing in the name of one's Liege Lord provided, in early 436 A.C. Jasper Waynwood would see his days come to change once more, in a manner he could never have even imagined.

436 - 438 A.C. An Unfortunate Series of Events
Luceon Waynwood had been the last of them. The lad's own father had passed in 422 A.C., leaving him to inherit the Lordship of Ironoaks, and while it could not be said that the Lordship had freely passed amongst Waynwood hands, it could very much be said so for the title and position of the heir. At the time of his inheritance, Luceon had been put two years old, and by the time of his death, but six and ten.

The guards told the Lord Arryn and Jasper that it had been a shadowcat in the night, one quite evidently deprived of food and sustenance if it were to so boldly attack people. They said Luceon had not at first succumbed, but by the morn he was gone from this world. The lad had been travelling to request greater supplies of grain in these trying times, in this never-ending winter, this winter that seemed only to break the Vale and its inhabitants further every day.

But now, he was gone. And before him had gone his aunt, taken by the mountain tribes, and both of Jasper's own two brothers, the second of which passed only a year earlier in the Gulltown Massacre.

Thank the Seven many had whispered, that the Brotherhood of Winged Knights was not an order that served for life, and was one that readily allowed individuals to be pardoned from its ranks, for without such, the title and lands of Ironoaks would have been, by rights, that of Jasper's daughter's, a girl of some five years. So with the pardon of his Liege Lord, Godric Arryn, Jasper Waynwood set aside his mantle within the Brotherhood, and led those same guards whom had escorted poor dead Luceon, back to Ironoaks, with insurances pertaining to grain to be sent soon enough.

Yet, as great a gift as Lordship undeniably was, it was not what Jasper had wanted, nor expected. Many a time he internally mused on how he would give it up in an instant only for Alayne to be able to rejoin him, and for them to be whole once more. But alas, that was not the way of the world, and now, he was to be the Lord of Ironoaks.

Jasper once again was forced to put his desire to improve to good use, and the boy who never once dreamt he would have any more power than a hedge knight has since been doing his best to become a lord his people deserve. He has also tried to make up for his absence in his daughter’s life, and Sarra and he are as close as one could expect after being apart for so many years. His past may be a source of regret, but Jasper is not as broken as he once was, and is determined to put it behind him – for his people’s sake and his daughter’s, if not for himself.

Lineage of House Waynwood.

 * Morton Waynwood, b. 342 A.C. d. 366 A.C.
 * m. Rhea Royce, b. 346 A.C. d. 379 A.C.
 * Jeyne Waynwood, b. 366 A.C.
 * m. ???
 * Lucas Waynwood, b. 370 A.C. d. 425 A.C.
 * m. Carolei Waxley, b. 373 A.C. d. 424 A.C.
 * Edmund Waynwood, b. 402 A.C. d. 404 A.C.
 * Oswell Waynwood, b. 406 A.C. d. 435 A.C.
 * Jasper Waynwood, Lord of Ironoaks, b. 410 A.C.
 * m. Alayne Waynwood, b. 411 A.C. d. 433 A.C.
 * Sarra Waynwood, Heir to Ironoaks, b. 430 A.C.
 * Mya Waynwood, b. 413 A.C.
 * Mya Waynwood, b. 413 A.C.

Major Household Members

 * Sarra Waynwood, Jasper's daughter
 * Mya Waynwood, Jasper's sister
 * Lyonel Stone, Castellan of Ironoaks
 * Maester Ray, Maester of Ironoaks