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.