Andros Kenning

Ser Andros Kenning is a sworn knight and First Builder of the Night's Watch. He is a practical and intelligent man with a troubled past.

Appearance and Character
Ser Andros is a well-built man of average height, with tan skin and unusual features that hint at Ghiscari heritage. Handsome in his younger days, his looks are beginning to fade. He walks with a noticeable limp and wears the black furs of a highborn member of the Night's Watch.

At first meeting Andros might seem like a typical petty knight or sellsword - brusque, incurious, unintelligent. This demeanour belies a keen mind and good practical sense. His temper can be erratic, though he is calmer now than in his youth.

Early Life
Andros Kenning was born in 371 AC, far from Westeros in the ancient city of Meereen. His father, Tytos Kenning, was a bold seafarer who belonged to a lesser branch of the Lords of Kayce. Lacking any great holdings or status in the Seven Kingdoms he had travelled to distant lands to make his fortune. In Meereen he wed Zantara Morroq, daughter of one of the old families that had survived the Dragon Queen's revolution. Andros was born as Andros Kenning zo Morroq in the depths of one of the great pyramids of Meereen, and was anointed in the Temple of the Graces.

Andros's childhood in Meereen was a happy one. He was raised in both the Ghiscari culture and the Andal traditions of his father, and spoke both Westerosi and Meereenese Valyrian as a native. This happiness was not to last, however. When Andros was six years old his mother died in childbirth, and with nothing binding him to this place Tytos finally returned to Westeros with his son.

A New Home
Andros struggled to adjust to life in the Westerlands. In his teenage years he became difficult. He was squired to a Westerlands knight who drank excessively, and soon he adopted the same bad habits. He became a fixture of the drinking dens and whorehouses of Lannisport, mixing with unsavoury characters. He was however a competent squire and his master eventually knighted him. He fought against rebels in the Hammer Uprising and was taken into the household of his more prestigious kinfolk, House Kenning of Kayce.

Rise and Fall
Andros never abandoned his bad habits even when in service to Lord Kenning, but his natural intelligence still shone through. Kayce was being redeveloped and refortified during the time of his service, and he was given responsibility for overseeing the building works. He found he enjoyed this work and had an easy grasp of the principles of fortification and project administration. This newfound sense of purpose led him to drink less and spend more time working than carousing. It seemed at last that Ser Andros was on track to becoming a respectable knight.

Nobody is sure what triggered the dispute between Ser Andros and Erryk Hightower. Heavy drink was certainly involved, to the extent that even Andros claims not to remember why he fought his friend. All that is known is that Erryk was stabbed to death by Ser Andros in a fit of drunken rage. Luckily for him the Lannisport Watch found Andros before Erryk's Hightower men-at-arms, and rather than being killed outright he was dragged to the cells to sober up and face trial for murder. Deeply ashamed of his crime, Andros offered no defence of his actions. Offered the hangman's noose or a black cloak, Andros took the black and left for the Wall as a humbled and haunted man.

Watcher on the Wall
En route to the Wall Andros's party of Night's Watch recruits were set upon by brigands, determine to free a few of their number who were prisoners with the party. In deference to his knightly status Andros had been allowed his sword and a horse, and he helped fight off the attackers. In the process of this he was dragged from his mount and suffered a badly broken leg. By the time the part arrived at Castle Black Andros's leg had healed out of shape and he could no longer walk without limping. While still capable of riding horse and of holding his own in a fight, Andros found he could no longer walk long distances and so assignment to the Rangers became impossible. Instead his construction experience was brought to bear and he joined the Builders, rapidly rising to the rank of First Builder.

Current Status
As First Builder Ser Andros has overseen Wall maintenance projects and has drawn up plans for the restoration of Deep Lake and other abandoned fortifications. He no longer drinks and has abandoned the faith of his father, finding the Old Gods to be more appropriate in his current life. He still wears a bronze harpy around his neck, inherited from his mother.

Family

 * Tytos Kenning, Captain of the Black Sun (d. 390 AC)
 * Zantara Morroq, a Meereenese noblemwoman (d. 377 AC)
 * Alys Kenning Morroq
 * Gawen Kenning zo Morroq
 * Ser Andros Kenning zo Morroq