Abelar Prester

Abelar Prester is the Lord of Feastfires. He is the third, and eldest surviving, of the late Lord Jon Prester, having become his father's heir at the age of ten after his elder brothers were taken by sickness and accident. He is married with two young children - a daughter and a son. He fought in The War of Three Banners for the Lannisters and their allies, having been present at the first year's Siege of Lannisport, the Battle of Three Banners, and eventually the second taking of Castamere. Since the war, he has served admirably as Lord of Feastfires, developing a reputation as a skilled lord and greater planner of built works.

Appearance and Character
Some men were born to be knights, others to be lords, and few could ever dispute that Abelar Prester is a member of the latter group. Quiet and bookish as a boy, he might have ended up in the Citadel had it not been for the untimely deaths of his two older brothers. Despite the doubts of many, Abelar proved a fine knight and has excelled as the Lord of Feastfires. A builder, or more accurately a planner at heart, Abelar has a skill and passion for looking upon a place and figuring a way to make the most of it. Many of the smallfolk in Feastfires Hold jest that Lord Abelar was conceived in a pasture amongst goats, born under a bridge and swaddled in a map of his father's lands. Additionally, he is deeply interested in the many intricacies of farming, and the study of botany.

Though he is certainly of a learned mindset, Abelar seldom comes across as sage or pretentious the way some scholars might when dealing with laymen and colleagues alike. This is for the simple reason that Abelar, with his honest nature and diligent behaviors, has never been one for being dour and enigmatic, even if he may come across as reserved. He views all things that intrigue him - from arms and armor to bridges and canals, sheep and cows to remedies and poisons - with a boy's awestruck fascination rather than a man's solemn reverence. His lordly demeanor may be easily broken by his admiration for a new poleaxe, or a bridge he desires built.

For most, Abelar's occasional eccentricities are a small price to pay for his effective administrating of Feastfires. The smallfolk have come to admire and respect their lord, quiet as he seems and peculiar as he can be, for the manner in which he addresses all difficulties large and small with his full attention. It would seem that Abelar possesses a natural gift for organizing and leading men in whatever endeavors are deemed necessary, whether digging a waterway or building a wall. It is this meticulous planning, rather than any boisterous inspiration, that is characteristic of Abelar's approach to lording over Feastfires.

Abelar stands fairly tall, though not tremendously so for a man of his breeding, and is of an average build, his daily rides and infrequent sparring keeping him fit enough to not be thought too soft even as he departs from the life and livelihood of a knight-at-arms. His eyes are blue, but so dark that they are hardly noticeable unless close, and his features are softly defined. His hair seems his best feature - soft and lustrous, colored a rich chestnut and of modest length. While not hard to look upon, the Lord of Feastfires strikes a less-than-remarkable visage.

History
Abelar was born upon the 3rd Day of the 2nd Moon in the year 407 AC, the third son and fourth child of Lord Jon Prester and his wife, Lady Tanselle Westmark. His childhood was not especially noteworthy until 417, when both of his elder brothers - Jorah and Boros - were taken within months of each other. The former by flu, the second by a kick to the head by a mule. Until then, the Lord and Lady Prester had been considering the citadel as a place for their bookish son, but by the age of eleven the boy instead found himself the heir to Feastfires, and was placed on the path of a lord. In his grief, Lord Jon had remarked that his unassuming son would be wholly useless carrying anything heavier than a quill or riding any beast larger than a pony. But the Lord of Feastfires would later be pleasantly surprised by the manner in which Abelar quickly adjusted himself to the life and duties of a page and then a squire, eventually earning his spurs in 424 AC at the age of 17. The open-minded Abelar saw martial pursuits as a new adventure, relishing the opportunity to learn new and unexpected skills that had never been offered to him as a child. While certainly not a great knight, Abe had truly earned his title and could hold his own with most of his fellow men-at-arms in many a tourney.

After being knighted, Abelar was a frequent attendant at tourneys, balls and festivals throughout the Westerlands, and occasionally went beyond the Lion's lands, going as far as Maidenpool in the Riverlands and Oldtown in the Reach. Despite his growing fascination with built works, he found that he did not care for cities, preferring the open air and opportune lands of the countryside. He saw far more importance in the irrigation ditches or tolled bridges of a greener, cleaner land than in the grandiose towers and septs of a festering, crowded landscape of endless stone.

In 429, at the urging of his parents, Abelar agreed that it was time for him to be wed. Although he had always been drawn to women, more so than men, the heir to Feastfires was hesitant and clumsy when it came to choosing a bride. It was not until the first weeks of 431 that he was finally married to Emberlei Russart, the daughter of Ser Robar Russart, a vassal of the Presters. Emberlei had been rather plain compared to a number of the other potential matches, but Abelar had been taken by her wit and charm and declared that he would marry none but her. The marriage was a happy one from the start, with a daughter, Sansa, being born within the year. Their happiness was to be short-lived, however, as the whole word fell to madness and The Bleeding began.

It was inevitable that the Synod of Lannisport, that which ought to have been a time of pious unity, would lead to conflict. The Firestorm that followed it turned the resentment and discontent into outright division, which would simmer for two years before turning to open war in 432. In this first year of what would come to be known as The War of Three Banners, which at that time was merely a war of two, Abelar rode with Lord Kenning's host with a small retinue of men-at-arms under his command. He and his company took part in the defense of Lannisport in that first year, a quiet and uneventful posting compared to what was occurring in other parts of the West. Including back home at Feastfires, which near the year's end was assailed, besieged, and quickly forced to yield to Lord Westerling, a man of the then-unknown third banner in the war that was only just beginning. Abelar would not learn of what had transpired until after the most ferocious fight he would ever know, the Battle of the Three Banners.

Abelar and his men rode out with the host of Lords Tybolt and Jason Lannister early in the second year of the war, 433, with the intention of seizing Sarsfield and putting an end to the rebellion. Instead, three armies clashed in the mud and filth of the fields around the castle, in a maddening fight where friend and foe became so terribly mingled that one could never be sure who they were fighting alongside of, or who they were supposed to attack. It was the only true battle Abelar has ever seen, and he has had no desire to bear witness to another one after what he saw, and did, on those muddy fields amidst a vicious press of men and beasts.

(Specifics to be added based on openness with lore collabs. To summarize, Abelar learned of Feastfire's submission after the battle, and was ransomed (if captured by Burning Tree men) or simply left the battered army to return home with his surviving men.)

Having been defeated in open battle, and unable to sustain a siege defense, Lord Jon had submitted to the Lord Westerling, promising his passive cooperation in the man's rebellious plans. Ships from Feastfires had been taken into the service of the Westerling rebels, as had food and other supplies from the Hold itself for the use of their host as it marched and sailed away. Safely home again, in the arms of his adoring wife, Abelar nevertheless could not feel at peace, nor even merely contented. He had not been present at the Culling of Lannisport, where Lord Jason had led a heroic defense until forced to withdrawal. Nor was he among the many knights who were making their stand at Casterly Rock. Shame took hold of him, to such a point that neither Emberlei nor Sansa could cheer him. A way out of his shame seemed to be presented in the following year, when men bearing the banners of Faircastle arrived at Feastfires, the Lady Tysane Lannister at their head. Feastfires, like Kayce, reaffirmed its loyalty to House Lannister, and sought to prove its claims by providing more in materiel and manpower than what had begrudgingly been given to the Lord Westerling. Once again, Abelar rode to war, now at the head of a larger company of men-at-arms and archers, despite the pleas and protests of his wife.

Abelar was one of the many knights in that host of Faircastle, Kayce, and Feastfires men - among others - who made oaths of loyalty and protection to the Lady Tysane as she led them to Castamere. In his mind it was his wounded pride, and a his desire to prove himself worthy as a knight after abandoning Lord Jason's battered army, that motivated him to make such declarations, and indeed to march at all. Yet there were other reasons, which focused more upon his new liege than his own honor. The image of Lady Tysane was beauty and power embodied, and she possessed the sort of easy, wicked charm that could make a grown man as dizzy as a boy squire asked to dance by his master's lady. And there was something peculiar about her as well, something fascinating and mysterious in her nature. Abelar found himself enthralled by the Lady Lannister, almost to the point of being smitten, as many others were. Yet the events that unfolded at Castamere later that year would leave him with a bewildered and heavy heart, and many conflicting inclinations towards the Lady of the Rock.

At the Battle of Three Banners, Abelar had been terrified beyond measure. Yet his appetite for war, the appetite every knight and lord knows, was not wholly ruined until the Fall of Castamere. Abelar was with the Lord Kenning and Lady Tysane when the latter ordered the whole of the keep put to the sword, and his men had taken part in the massacre that followed. Abelar has seldom spoke of that day, or what he saw and heard in Lady Lannister's presence, but all of it has weighed heavily on his mind ever since. The end of the fighting brought him home finally in 435, only to find himself named Lord of Feastfires after his father's death within weeks of his return.

He also returned to a bed, indeed a marriage, that was far colder than when he had left it earlier in the year. Though Emberlei would become pregnant again, birthing Abelar's son and heir, Boros, in 435, the couple quickly found themselves drifting apart. As he found less and less to adore in his wife, Abelar drove himself even further into his lordly affairs. His fascinations with farming and building came to the forefront of his mind, and he utilized his diligence and the commanding nature he had learned during the war, striving to restore Feastfires Hold and then going beyond to improve it further. He has employed builders to span rivers and creeks, to dig ditches for drainage and irrigation, to raise watchtowers and make villages more orderly. All while struggling with the difficulties of his faltering marriage, his distant relationship with his young children, and the memories and doubts that haunt him still.

Family
Lady Emberlei Prester: Abelar's wife. The pair were married in 431 AC, and have two children. While their marriage was happy and affectionate in its first years, it was strained to the point of breaking during the War of Three Banners. Abelar's absence in the initial phase of the war had weighed heavily on Emberlei, and this was only made worse by the submission of Feastfires, which added even more dread. When he returned after the great Battle of Three Banners, Emberlei had welcomed her husband warmly and had been thrilled to have him home and safe again. When he turned about and departed with Lady Tysane's host mere months later, it left resent in his wife's heart that would not be healed by the eventual end of the war. Both of the pair had been changed by their experiences, and had drifted apart. They both found each other's little quirks and flaws to be grating irritants, and despite conceiving a son and still coming together intimately from time to time, there is fierce resentment lingering between them. Yet Abelar, though he threatens it in his thoughts often, has never been unfaithful to his lady, nor she to him. Whether this is out of lingering, buried affection, or simply because doing so would be like admitting defeat for either of them, cannot be said with certainty. Sansa Prester: Abelar's and Emberlei's firstborn daughter. Born in 431 some nine months after their wedding, the pair have held the belief since then that Sansa was conceived on their wedding night, though that is not at all certain. Boros Prester: Abelar and Emberlei's son. Born in 435, probably conceived in Abe's first weeks back at Feastfires. Young Boros has largely been left to his mother's care - or more accurately, his nurse and the septa - with his father being just as distant from him as from his sister.
 * Appearance: She is of average height and fleshy, buxom build. Her skin is fair, her hair long and thick chestnut curls which frame expressive brown eyes.
 * Personality: Emberlei possesses a dry, often irreverent wit, and while this can delight those who she is fond of, it can be used to harsh effect on those who have earned her scorn. She is very fond of music and dance, and her needlework is near-flawless. She always been self-conscious, sometimes to the point of insecurity about herself and her deeds.
 * Appearance: Average height and build for a girl of seven. She has inherited her father's chestnut hair color, but it curls much like her mother's. Her eyes are wide and brown, also like Emberlei's.
 * Personality: Sansa is clever and fiercely loyal to her parents and little brother. She is very close with her mother, and longs to be closer to her father who has been distanced from her ever since his second return from the war.
 * Appearance: Large for his age, portly. His hair is brown curls, even more like his mother's than his sister's is, but his eyes are his father's, though a fairer shade of blue.
 * Personality: Adventuresome, often a troublemaker, but good-natured and prone to being taken by guilt when his mischief brings disapproval.