Talbert Tarly

Talbert Tarly is the second-born son and current heir of Lord Rolland Tarly. Currently serving as a squire to Ser Addam Hightower of the Kingsguard, the heir of Horn Hill is an experienced soldier for his tender age, having fought in the Second Hammer Uprising. He is known for his short temper and implacable anger.

Appearance and Character
Talbert is a youth of above-average height with a lean and muscular build and posture as straight as a dirk. His looks are austere, and one could even describe them as pleasant if it weren’t for the almost constant scowl adorning his face, the narrow, angry, eyes as well as the long scar running down from his right eye to his neck. His hair is dark, near coal black, and reaches down to his neck, brushed out from in-front of his face.

The squire is rarely seen without some form of armour on, though for day-to-day use (such as training) he has a suit of worn grey steel, plain and unadorned. For tournaments, battles and ceremonial occasions, however, he has a suit of burnished green steel, with the huntsman of House Tarly etched into his breastplate in red. His helmet is ornately decorated in the fashion of a demon, open-mouthed and slavering. Over the armour he wears a red cape lined with green and collared in ermine. If, however, he is required to wear formal wear he prefers a plain green tunic with red hose, collar and sleeves lined with Myrish lace.

Talbert is a crude, arrogant, and aggressive person who tends to come off as somewhat villainous for those not familiar with him. This behavior goes back to his childhood, when he was known to bully the other children at Horn Hill. He is not known to be particularly warm and open with people, but will act less unfriendly and sometimes even kind to those that manage to earn his respect. He is immensely prideful and prefers to act alone, as he hates the idea of having to rely on others to assist him, with the only exception to this being his knight, Ser Addam. Those who earn his loyalty, however, may count on it through thick and thin, as the Tarly would go above and beyond for those he holds dear.

Due to the constant praise of his abilities in his youth, Talbert has developed a superiority complex, and because of that, he desires to be the first and best at everything. He loves to win above all else and cannot stand it when he doesn't, leading him to lose his already short temper or sulk. Despite his pride and devil-may-care attitude, he does have a vulnerable side, though he rarely, if ever, displays this to others.

Determined and thirsty for victory, he is known to smile when fighting and has a nigh-unmatched drive to achieve his victories. For now he has set his goals on the ancestral sword of his House, Heartsbane, and is striving to be knighted to prove himself worthy of it. In the long term, the squire desires to become the greatest knight in all the Seven Kingdoms - an ambitious goal if ever there was one.

History
Talbert was born in the year 423 AC as the second son of Lord Tarly and his wife. A lusty lad, the boy was a tad smaller than his elder brother had been at birth, but many times as fierce, allegedly crying loudly and rejecting wetnurses, only agreeing to be fed by his mother. It was said that the boy took up a sword before he learned to walk and even as a young boy was known to terrorize the castle, especially the children of servants and any animals that were unfortunate enough to cross his path. However, most of his early years were spent in the company of his elder brother, who he worshiped almost religiously and with whom he spent most of his days, either in the yard, out hunting with their father, at play or studying at the Maesters. The younger brother did not show any aptitude, nor interest, in learning or books, barely even managing to learn his letters with the tutelage of his brother. This is not to say that the boy did not enjoy the stories he heard from books, read to him mostly by his brother, of the heroes of ages past, of his own ancestors - Savage Sam Tarly, Harlon the Hunter, Hendon of the Horn and many other men and women of legend. However, it was the call of the training yard that tempted the boy most and he spent each waking hour afforded to him there, taking a beating more often than not from picking fights with boys stronger than him and refusing the help of his elder brother, who, inevitably would have to intervene. Still, as time wore on and the lad got more accustomed to the rigours of physical combat, his abilities improved also, though the bruises given by the wooden and blunt metal swords still dotted his young body.

The lads also enjoyed hunting and riding in the marches as well as swimming in the local rivers. The two, along with their companions, were fond of riding up to the headwaters of the Torrentine, on the edge of the Dornish mountains, to swim there, even if the area was dangerous both for it's wildlife and for the wild men that hid in the depths of the mountain range. Most of the trips were uneventful, except for a few scrapes, bruises and other such minor hassles, but there were a few close calls as well, and one event that would end in tragedy. It was an especially hot summer day that prompted the lads to look for refreshments at the Torrentine. The air was thick, the heat oppressive and Talbert, never being of the most calm temperament, was the most active of the group, doing his usual tricks and finding higher and higher places to jump into the water from. On this rather daredevil quest the boy would find himself on a cliffside overlooking the river, but the ground beneath would suddenly give away and send him hurling towards the river, gashing his face on the way down and knocking him unconcious. It would be his brother, the brave Josmyn, who would run to his younger sibling's rescue, jumping into the river after Talbert, managing to catch the boy but finding both himself and his charge carried downriver by a fast current. No one is sure what happened then but Talbert would be found half-concious, clinging to a jagged outcrop of rock jutting from the river and his brother nowhere to be found, presumably carried away by the river and drowned.

Having been brought back to Horn Hill, the boy would take moons to recover physically, though his temperament only got worse as the lad grew angry, bitter and withdrawn, his fits of rage increasing erratically. The only time he was noted to exhibit his old, more joyful personality was when he was at training, battering at the other squires and the men-at-arms. No help to the matter was the fact that his father held the lad at fault for what happened to his eldest son, and... Talbert could do naught but agree, after all... It was after him that Josmyn dived and it was for him that he had died. Though being heir to his sire now, the relationship between father and son was noticeably cold, which made it all the better when the boy was packed off to go serve as page and squire - to no less a man than Ser Addam Hightower, a fresh knight of much renown and promise. So it was in the year 432 AC that Talbert left Horn Hill for the Hightower, serving a year as a page before taking up the duties of a squire. It would not take long for the boy to see action, as the Second Hammer Uprising was reaching it's apex and in the battle of Bitterbridge the freshly made squire would earn his baptism by fire and blood. Despite his youth of eleven years, the boy proved himself capable of bloody work as he killed two men during the battle while fighting besides his knight. Watching his master cut a bloody path through the ranks of traitors gave the young Tarly a sense of admiration for his knight, and inspired him greatly. The battle was won, even though the royalists bore a heavy loss when the king was shot from the back of his dragon. Still, both he and Addam had survived this battle, and needed to concern themselves with living to the next one. The battle of Ashford would prove to be the decisive point of the war, ending in the death of Ser Duncan Hammer at the hands of both Rhaenyra and Ser Addam, a fact known by only a select few, Talbert being counted amongst them. It was at the battle that the squire would also further accomplish himself, capturing a knight of House Ashford and earning a good ransom while also showing himself to be brave and able in battle.

The end of the war would herald good fortune for Ser Addam, and by extension, Talbert. A place in the Kingsguard was given to the Hightower knight and the two were set to serve at the capital. The Tarly lad was happy with the development - serving amongst the finest knights of the Seven Kingdoms was not an opportunity to be wastes, especially if one wanted to be the best, and Talbert was very much devoted to that goal. However, before they set their sights towards the capital and the White Sword tower, both of the veterans would visit their respective homes. What transpired at Horn Hill between the young Talbert and his father is not known, as neither of the two have spoken of it, but when Addam returned from the Hightower, the heir of Horn Hill went with him to serve out his squirehood. From that day Talbert has been the faithful shadow of his knight while the white knight served the royal family dutifully.

Family
The primary branch of House Tarly is as followed: Lord Rolland Tarly (384-), married first to Lady Catelyn Vyrwell, marriage produced no issue, then re-married to Cissa Tarly, neé Hightower, marriage produced issue:

Josmyn Tarly (419-229), presumed drowned

Viola Tarly (422), formerly bethroed to Ser Leyton Hightower, now married to _____

Talbert Tarly (423), squire to Ser Addam Hightower

Tyana Tarly (423), twin to Talbert

Triston Tarly (425)

Tom Tarly (429)

There are more distant relations, uncles, aunts and such, but they do not bear mentioning here.