Jakob Mormont

Jakob Mormont, known as the Grizzly Bear among those in Bear Island for his size and strength, is the current Lord of Bear Island and head of House Mormont. He is the eldest son and firstborn of Medrick Mormont and Jeyne Glover.

Appearance and Character
The Mormonts are renowned for being some of the hardiest people of the North, and Jakob is no exception. He has short black hair and stony jade green eyes, and sports a light beard. He often dresses in simple clothing in contrast to the extravagance most would associate with a lordly figure. Easily the most distinguishable feature is the man's size. Jakob is a hulking brute of a man and almost always the largest man in the room, sporting muscle more befitting of a knight than a lord.

As a child, Jakob was recognized to grow up to be a fine warrior; Often doing his best to avoid lessons with his father or the maester and instead train with the Master-at-Arms in the yards of Mormont Keep. During his practise, the greatsword was always favoured despite being too heavy at first, until eventually swinging it felt almost natural. After his father's death to a wildling attack on the northern shores of the island, Jakob became withdrawn from almost everything but his practised prowess with a sword. Later on in life, Jakob began to become less withdrawn and more outgoing, ready to assume his duties as Lord.

History
Jakob was born in the 2nd Moon of 374 AC as the firstborn of Medrick Mormont and Jeyne Glover. He did not prove to be particularly shy as a child, making fast friends with several of the other children of the many Mormont soldiers serving his father who would eventually grow up to serve him. Lessons on history from the maester only sought to bore the boy, who instead found a knack in the studies of war and swordplay with the Master-at-Arms. It was evident the boy would grow to be a warrior from a young age, towering over most boys in the training yard.

The first of Jakob's sisters, Sarra, was born in 375 AC and the second, Evelyne, was born in 377 AC. Growing up, he grew quite close to both - particularly the latter who also took a pursuit in learning to fight with both short sword and bow and arrow, as is common for most women on Bear Island. Soon enough, during 381 AC, Jakob's brother Brandon was born.

387 AC saw the first time Jakob had actually properly left Bear Island, during a tour of the North with his family. In 388 AC, his sister Sarra was sent off to wed the heir of Winterfell, whom he promised to watch over should she be mistreated. In 392 AC, the same happened with his other sister and he vowed to do the exact same thing as he did with Sarra.

Towards the end of 393 AC, Lord Medrick had died fighting during a wildling attack on the coast and passed on the lordship of Bear Island to Jakob. Not long after, his mother passed too. The following few moons saw Jakob become withdrawn and only spoke when prompted, often keeping himself away from others and finding relief in practise with the greatsword.

Upon the start of the War of the Three Thieves, Jakob hesitantly rallied the men of Bear Island in answer to the king's call and travelled to join up with the rest of the Northern forces in Mormont Longships. It seemed foolish to run south and fight someone else's war for them, but he obeyed nonetheless. Having fought in the Battle of the Gulf, the Battle of the Broken Arm, Ormollen's Pyre, and the Gallows, Jakob returned home having learnt about the true monstrosity that is war and its horrors, and contemplated the choices he'd made; the people he'd killed. While many would argue that those he'd slain were far worse than wildlings and a far bigger threat, he couldn't help but feel a sense of dread and guilt for his actions.

The following years proved to be peaceful on Bear Island, with the Scarlet Winter and the death of Jakob's sister Sarra being the only seemingly significant events. The Scarlet Winter and its sudden drop in temperature, a cold easily worse than the usual frost that plagued the North, caused a lot of frostbite among those living on the island and sickness ran rampant. Even worse, however, was the frozen oceans surrounding the island caused by the bitter winds that descended south from beyond the Wall. With the largest source of food for the island being fish, the smallfolk had to rely heavily on hunting.

In 407 AC, Jakob rode south to Harrenhal with the rest of the North and participated in the Tourney of the Red Comet where he won the axe throwing competition and came 3rd in the melee. During this time, Lord Eyron Stark approached him with a plead for help to regain his claim on the Dreadfort. Jakob begrudgingly agreed to help, though continued to berate him at every chance. On the journey back to the North, Lord Torrhen of the Dreadfort died, which in turn made Cregard Stark the new lord of the Dreadfort. By invitation, Jakob eventually accompanied the Starks of the Dreadfort to their home where he continually argued with Cregard until they eventually fought, because Jakob refused to leave the Dreadfort despite Cregard's attempt to remove him, and Jakob slew him without any hesitation. Because of this, Eyron ascended into lordship once more through forgery. Eventually, the lords of the North were called to Winterfell and Jakob rode with the rest of the Dreadstarks to the great keep. While there, he spoke with most people including Lord Harkan Umber and Benjen Stark, and ended up punching Eyron Stark out of frustration in the Godswood. When all lords were assembled in the great hall, he was sentenced to join the Night's Watch and Eyron was beheaded for their involvement in the death of Cregard Stark. He took down 9 Stark guards with his bare hands before being taken down and imprisoned.

Family

 * Medrick Mormont (350 AC - 393 AC)
 * Jeyne Mormont (née Glover) (354 AC - 394 AC)
 * Jakob Mormont (b. 374 AC)
 * Sarra Stark (née Mormont) (375 AC - 404 AC)
 * Evelyne Stark (née Mormont) (b. 377 AC)
 * Brandon Mormont (b. 381 AC)

Household

 * Maester Byrron
 * Ser Robett Snow, Master-at-Arms
 * Robert Rivers, Captain of the Guard