Clarence Stokeworth

Clarence Stokeworth is a scion of House Stokeworth and the Commander of the City Watch of King's Landing. A renown organizer, administrator and knight, Clarence had a colorful and dynamic career before becoming the Commander of the City watch of the Capital.

Appearance and Character
Clarence isn't a man that cares a lot about his looks or his clothing, not necessarily following the latest traits at court. His hair is often messy and his face unshaved, there is often some dirt under his finger nails. His eyes often reveal the stress that he puts on himself, due to dedicating most of his time to routine cycles that he dedicates his time to, but as he doesn't really feel strongly dedicated to those jobs, he has no problem with changing them, a characteristic that he was able to aquire while often changing his bread givers during his career.

He is usually able to keep his temper in stressful situations, moreso in those related to his job, less so in social ones. That is the trait that he usually criticizes himself for the most. He is often able to use that for gain, making himself seem more imperious and intimidating for his employees.

Clarence is also a man of "big faith", or, as some put it, religious fanatism. Raised by a very conservative mother and controlling Septon, he cares most for what is the best for the faith, and he believes that he himself knows what is generally best for the faith.

Childhood
Clarence was born in the second moon of 399 AC to Lord Bennard Stokeworth, the Lord of House Stokeworth, and Lady Cassana Stokeworth née Celtigar. As the second son of the couple, Clarence wasn't originally meant to be anyone in particular, so his earliest days focused on a diverse education, even when his father died in Clarence's early childhood in one of the harshest days of the scarlet winter, that was when the boy was about five years old. Due to a strong position in the keep, the wife of the late Lord, Cassana, was able to claim the seat of the regent of House Stokeworth. She tried to educate the boys herself, teaching them about how great the seven are, and how much they have to hate other gods, especially those of the North, for killing their father. During their restrictive upbringing, the boys weren't allowed to play with other children or even read books not related to the faith. The Maester was kept far away from them, and when the time came, the boys were taught to fight with sword- but only by the regent's most trusted men. Nonetheless, she still tried to let Clarence and his brother, Lord Harlon, develop themselves in many aspects. As a child, Clarence soon became interested in organizing time and being as efficient as possible. He understood that, if another winter as bad as the previous one was to come, he could help in that way. His brother had the same mindset; on a sunny day, near the sept, Clarence and Harlon made a deal, that as the Lord, Harlon would learn to organize courtiers and the functioning of a castle, while as a knight, trusted advisor and master-at-arms, Clarence would learn to organize soldiers and weaponry, something that he was already engrossed in. And so the boys did; Harlon began reading up the ledgers left around the keep, while Clarence visited the guards and often discussed with them how to be more efficient with spending money on armor. He was able to develop other skills, too. With the help of his mother, a cunning woman, he learned that men often fall for many things short of faith; money, women, their own wellbeing. He came to understand that those people, the ones that do not truly seek to fight for the Seven and spill their own blood in battle for their name can be used as tools whilst achieving goals. In the grand scheme of things, those people, simple, faithless tools, don't mean much, as they do not stand for the Seven. Like his brother, he was taught that the King can make mistakes that may even cost lives; with better organization, his father would live, after all. The Seven, however, cannot make mistakes. If one follows them, then their life is complete.

With time, his mother came to grow old and week, more and more unable to truly rule in the keep. The Septon, her closest companion and friend, Pypar, become more and more powerful. After her death which came with a sickness, he became the regent for a few months, before Harlon was able to fully take power. Clarence saw that Pyper used the same models as his mother presented to him. But he couldn't use them in good faith; his mother educated HIM about those methods, and Pyper was clearly undermining his influence, trying to construct marriages with exotic Houses and bringing along people from foreign Houses to take seats in the keep. His men followed Harlon all the time, something that the Lord complained about. He tried to sell armor and weapons for low prices, buying food for some of the local villages instead; although there was, in fact, a shortage in them, and the people we complaining constantly, with some even denying to pay taxes and threatening the nobles with a rebellion. It was clear that the best way to deal with the would be cleansing those villages, for the Seven warn against not being humble. With friends in the guard, however, Clarence was able to cut the man's schemes short, with an arrow from nowhere.

Early Adulthood
With his brother taking power, Clarence was sure that things would change. He didn't know how much so. As soon as Harlon assumed his position, he decided to invite people left in his family; of all of his relatives, he knew one, Theon Stokeworth, who served as the Master-at-Arms in Hayford. With the arrival of his uncle, Clarence was devastated. With a new Master-at-Arms, he understood that his brother betrayed him. He wasn't going to keep his promise. The guards were more supportive of him than Clarence, and so were the Maester and new Septon. He understood that he was going to be delegated to some minor House to be a sworn sword or something. But that could not be what the gods really wanted. With the few guards that supported him, he began to scheme. But he wasn't sure as to what he wanted to achieve. During his education, he came to learn how to organize soldiers, not a court, so becoming a steward wasn't likely. But as he saw what his uncle really began bringing to the keep, he understood that he too would have to be replaced. But this time, Clarence understood that the guards couldn't be trusted. Ser Theon,the brother of his father, held many feasts and brought over dancers or bards. He even convinced Harlon to invite some "thinkers" to court, because, as he said "We will never be known for our riches or military prowess, however, we can become famous for the bright minds that come here". He even invited people from Essos. In no other Westerosi keep were there so many pagans. Thoughts about getting rid of the man drove Clarence wild in the night. He had to come up with something, either to stay in the keep to lower his uncle's influence or just drive the man away. His brother grew to not be able to rule on his own, that was toxic. But, to his surprise and shock, his plans were detected. "You are a bright man. You love books" that is how his brother began; he was sent to the citadel. In which normal House is the heir sent to become a Maester? For Clarence, it appeared as if Theon had a scheme. As he was second in the line of succession, and soon to be the heir, Theon could have ambitions... At the age of 17, in 416 AC, Clarence was sent to the Citadel to lose his family name. For the first few months, he was okay with it, even though the situation was often stressful, he liked the fact that he could focus on reading the most important religious texts or learn about metals, something that he grew to love. It did not, however, feel right to be in a foreign city, far away from home. He became more and more paranoid. On a dark night, he was able to sneak out of the citadel, with the help of a few new students and a wolf attacking the ravens. He escaped, naked. He didn't want his brother to know anything about it. He understood that the only way to return would be through hardships, proving his brother that he was really worth returning. Dressed in some rags, he sneaked out of the city. He was able to travel with some farmers for the first few weeks. Later, he was able to join a band of mercenaries, giving them his knowledge about health and medical abilities for their care, and some moons later, somewhere in the riverlands, he was able to join some bandits, on his way to King's Landing. When he returned, almost a year later, his brother greeted him with open arms.

Career
Although Theon was still the Master-at-Arms, his influence wasn't as big as a year ago. Nonetheless, Harlon still followed his ways, inviting foreigners to his court. Happy that his brother returned, he wanted him to stay, making him an actual steward. Then he looked for a wife for his brother; he found the young Della Staunton, a blonde girl with a pretty face.With their marriage, however, came a frightening revelation. Clarence realized that he could not do it. He wasn't ever closed with anyone, he knew how sinful that would be. But he realized that there was something even more sinful, hiding deep inside him. He realized during the baths that he had with his companions in the lakes that they passed that there was something bad, disgusting within him. Their marriage was never consummated. Clarence constantly complained about his bad health, supposedly, that was caused by contact with his new wife. She too began to fall for an illness, failing to wake up less than a month after their marriage. In reality, that was Clarence's scheme. For all that time, he slowly poisoned himself and his wife, just with two different poisons. Della faced a death spell as Clarence poisoned her meals with toxic metals that he was able to sneak away from the Maester, while his food was seasoned with many herbs that may have made him feel nauseatic, were largely harmless. The death of young Della hit Clarence more than his murder of the Septon; that was an old, sickly man that was up to nothing good, largely undermining the House, moreso with his stupidity than any bad intent. Since a guard shot him, Clarence believed that he wasn't alone in his analysis of the situation, and that it wasn't really a sin. But killing Della was different. She didn't do anything bad after all. He didn't have the support of anyone, so there was nobody that could have made him feel better with that decision. But it was a lesser sin than what could have really happened. He was able to explain it to himself, however. The gods tested him, they wanted to know whether his supposed "real nature", that had no right to be real, would win with the truth. With the victory of the truth, however, came the death of an innocent woman. That made Clarence understand that for the greater good, as his mother said, some things must be sacrificed.

With the murder of his wife came paranoia; it haunted Clarence for a long time. To be comfortable with the situation, Clarence built a spy network, convincing servants and guards to come on his side, granting them more resources, but he also campaigned with their fears, threatening them with compromitation. He was able to expand his network to other keeps, such as the Antlers and Starcrown, with his influence in other keeps resulting in an efficient economic policy of the House, becoming famous in parts of the Crownlands. On a visit to his mother's home, hoping to achieve a deal with the Celtigars, he stayed there for some time, becoming friends with some members of the House. As he later returned to Stokeworth, he began to clash even more with his uncle, with the conflict resulting in a big decision; he decided to get away from his paranoia and the relative that he was clashing with, and he decided to put everything on one card, writing down a letter that he sent to to his Celtigar relatives, asking them to let him become their steward. He was able to convince the Lord, and he moved there, taking care of the keep first as a steward, and later as the Master-at-Arms. In the meantime, he was knighted by the Lord of House Celtigar. With his skills and influence in other Houses, which allowed him to slightly influence many deals of the Celtigars, and later great planning and organization, making the guards and soldiers of the House very well trained. The Celtigars often spoke of him. As the news of the young administrator became more and more widespread, the radicalism of the Stokeworth grew. As he saw the hedonism of the nobles, and as he was forced to talk with all those Essosi pagans, he saw that Westeros needed help, some cleansing and healing.

When the knight went to King's Landing to a tourney, although without any great success, his name was on the lips of many. Soon, his career began to gain momentum. Alesander Staedmon decided to give him a position in the City Watch. Although Clarence wasn't ever a fighter, his fame as an administrator and organizer were what granted him that position in a somewhat criticized decision. Clarence became the Captain of the Old Gate. The decision was criticized in the City Watch, with many saying that it had no basis. Clarence gladly accepted the proposition, disgusted by the ways of the nobles in his family, and hoping to deal with the heathens of Kingąs Landing. He was very efficient on that post, making the Old Gate the go-to model of a well-ran bureaucratic system, which Clarence transformed it into. As Staedmon passed away due to an injury, many people believed that Clarence should become the new Commander. In the end, Addam Farring of the Dragon Gate became the new commander. Clarence, however, believed that he wasn't the right man for that position. As his men in the Dragon Gate informed him, Farring was suposedly a lustful man, often seeing with cheap prostitutes. He also tolerated Essosi thieves, supposedly way more than those believing in the real gods, apparently because he felt some sort of attraction to those woman.

Clarence kept infiltrating the allies of Farring, hoping to gather information and influence to keep the man's "anti-moralism" at bay. He had men that infiltrated the City, so that he was able to to intervene even before Farring, hoping to gain the respect and support of other people of the Watch. At the same time, he spied on them, hoping to get more power, to be able to combat Farring better. As he constructed a network of information and spies within the City Watch of King's Landing, paired with high levels of respect, with time, Clarence became the *de facto* commander of the City Watch, undermining Farring's success. He began to compromitate the man. With time, as more information about Farring's *romantic fantasies* spread around the City Watch, the Commander became more and more despaired. He began to lose all of his respect. The mix of all those things pushed Farring off a tower. With words of efficiency and idealism, but also undertones of combating the red faith, Clarence was able to become the commander of the City Watch.

Family
Erryk Stokeworth (312 AC - 349 AC)
 * Erryk Stokeworth (331 AC - 377 AC)

Harlon Stokeworth (397 AC)
 * Bennard Stokeworth (369 AC - 404 AC)
 * Theon Stokeworth (378 AC)
 * Lothar Stokeworth (424 AC)

Clarence Stokeworth (399 AC)
 * Ulf Stokeworth (429 AC)