Aemon Dayne

Aemon Morningstar Dayne is the current Lord of Starfall, and Sword of the Morning, and the eldest son and child of the now deceased Lord Ulrick III Dayne of Starfall, and Lady Rhaella Velaryon of Starfall. He is wed to Lady Ellyn Lannister, with his heir being their young son, Lord Varion Dayne.

Appearance and Character
Aemon Dayne, as of 418 A.C. is a man of some twenty-five years. His physical features from birth, have suggested a close tie to his Velaryon Mother's own appearance, his pale blonde hair, his blue-violet eyes, his white skin, he is, as has been said of many Daynes come before him, strangely similar to a Valyrian in appearance. Yet, in this generation of Daynes, Valyrian blood is without doubt present.

While through practice, Aemon has become a rather towering individual, the perfect combination of height, and muscle. But of course, such is only befitting the Sword of the Morning.

As a youth, Aemon's character rendered him quite the dubious individual, one only need ask his Mother about his Lannister Bride for context. Alas, as he aged, he grew into responsibility, and into a stern and talented mind for combat, and warfare. Yet, in person, Aemon is an individual of open, warm, and welcoming arms, a man whom encourages friendship and gladly embraces new people into his life, while also being one whom greatly enjoys copious amounts of physical activity, very much being one for the outdoors. It is quite a personal pride of his, that he does rather well know the terrain and paths of the mountains surrounding Starfall, and those respective of the banks of the Torrentine.

393 A.C. Early Life at Starfall
Aemon's early days at Starfall were simple and pleasant, he spent his time practicing with blade and bow, with word and basic politics, and very much so enjoyed adventures through the foothills of the mountains near Starfall, and along the banks of the Torrentine. As a child, he and his twin sister, Ashara were nigh inseparable, and for quite some time, did not at first quite understand why they could not undergo identical education, as for those earliest of years, they had done almost everything as one.

401 A.C. Squire to the Lord of Tides
Alas, during Aemon's ninth year, he was sent from Starfall to Driftmark, where he met his Lord Grandfather, the Lord Vaemond Velaryon for the first time. The pair remained not long at Driftmark, for they were soon for the Capital. The first time Aemon lay eyes upon its high walls, upon its Keep of Red brick, and upon the sheer amount of people, he was thoroughly awestruck, but, he was yet to see what would stay with him until this day. He heard it first. The roar of a mighty creature, the roar of a God, a dragon. It glided across the sky with stunning speed, right by their ship. Aemon raced along the side of the ship in those moments, determined not to lose sight of it, but alas, it was inevitable that he would, and so, he did. This interaction, nay, fleeting moment of grace that Aemon witnessed left him with a burning desire to one day be atop such a creature himself.

Days in the Capital were strange to Aemon, at first anyway. The smell itself, was thoroughly overpowering, but with time, he adjusted to it, and somehow forgot it was ever there. While at Court with his Lord Grandfather, Aemon learnt a great many things; how to act in proper custom while around other Nobles, those of both greater and lesser station than he, as well as the important political and diplomatic knowledge that he would need as a Lord. Yet, something Aemon found himself particularly surprised by, was his fascination with bloodlines, and with family. Aemon spent hours at a time going over old tomes, tracing back lineages, tracing back simple traits, be they hair colour, eye colour, or even height. So very often he had gone to his Lord Grandfather with queries about this Lady, and that Heir.

Stranger yet, came to be Aemon's growing fascination with the Red God and the R'hllor faithful. While Dorne was quite thoroughly populated with followers of the Red God, most especially when compaired with the other Kingdoms of Westeros, the Daynes had never seen any steady progress of conversion within their lands and so had essentially ignored and forgotten about its presence. But alas, now the Young Dayne was experiencing an ever-growing interest, that would ultimately come to shape his religious beliefs and turn him to the faith of the Red God, for the ideals they preached, and the symbolism they were tied to greatly appealed to Aemon, far more than dusty old Septas and Septons.

Alas, as much as it might at times have seemed he devoted all his time to the studies of text that interested him greatly, his true passion, was on the field of battle. While his Lord Grandfather was unable to train him in the arts of swordplay, archery, and the like, due to his evergrowing age, Aemon nonetheless received marvellous tutilage by hired hands. Yet, as Aemon was a rather brash youth at times, well, most times, he often found himself standing atop a fellow squire, having swiftly beaten them, rather aggressively, sometimes, for good reason, but most times, for none more than 'I wanted to'.

407 A.C. The Tourney at Harrenhal
I wanted to. This motto would prove itself to enter Aemon into a rather precarious situation, for a youth of fourteen. During the tourney at Harrenhal, after defeating all other squires in the melee and emerging victorious, with a new monicker to match, an overly confident Aemon Morningstar Dayne won the eye, and attraction, of a noble girl of the same age as he, a Lannister. A youth's infatuation, most would say, a fleeting attraction, they would say, a passing desire, the rest would state. But, Aemon was the impulsive type, and so, when his Lord Grandfather was poisoned at the Tourney, and renderred lifeless, Aemon took shock, whether it was panic, fear, an oppourtunity to glance the West, or who knows what, not even Aemon can say, he can only recall his actions.

407 A.C. Infatuation with the Golden Lioness
The Young Lord went West, to the Rock, Casterly Rock. Alongside his Cousin, Lord Nymor Yronwood, Heir to the Yronwood Lands and Title, he wed his Lannister bride, the Lady Ellyn Lannister, while her sister, the Lady Lysa Lannister, wed the Yronwood Dornishman.

Soon after the nuptials were completed, Aemon received a letter, a letter that if it could talk, would've bitten half his ear off. His Mother, the Lady Rhaella Dayne, was not at all amused by his actions. Yet, before the Young Lord could depart, there was one final prize to receive. With the tap of a sword, and oaths sworn, Aemon arose, Ser Aemon, knighted by the Lord Loreon Lannister of the Rock himself. Aemon's pride was beyond speech.

With his newly wed Wife in tow, and after conversations with the Lord of the Rock, of which he will never forget, the Young Lord boarded a ship, and set sail for Starfall.

407 A.C. Return to Starfall
His Mother was livid. He had acted impulsively, without thought for how this would affect his House, his Family, his Lands, and his People. He resigned himself to listening to his Mother, he had made a mistake, he knew that, but the mistake was not in his bride, no, he would never regret that, but instead, was in not practicing proper customs of courting, he was after all, still a youth and not of age.

Alas, it had not been he to make the treacherous mistake that most worried his Mother, for some relative's Bastard had achieved that. When Aemon read the letter sent by one, Laenor Targaryen, he shot from his chair with the ferocity Dawn once headed toward Dorne with. Within minutes, the Bastard was in front of the Young Lord and on his knees, pleading innocence and ignorance, Aemon would tolerate none of it and as immediate punishment for the lies he was being forced to hear out in these moments, personally took to beat the Bastard, leaving him with at least a broken nose and cheekbone. Nigh a day later, the Young Lord shot forth at a strong pace accompanied by retinue and the Bastard imprisoned, making for Sunspear, this Bastard would see the executioner before the week's end.

409 A.C. The Rising Star
The next few years after returning to Starfall had, in the grand scheme of Westeros, passed rather uneventfully, yet, there were two things that Aemon could not stop thinking of: Dragons, and Ships. House Dayne lacked both, he lacked both. While he loved Starfall, and his heart did yearn for it while he was away, the warmth of the Dornish Sun, the lands surrounding Starfall, the Torrentine, he could not sit idle forever. He had spent enough years idle already.

But before Dragons and Ships, he wanted to see Westeros, and Essos.

409 A.C. The Shooting Star
Had he a desire to be accompanied by squawking court advisors and ambitious social climbers, mayhaps he would have taken the court of Starfall, but alas, he took with him no more than himself, his Wife, and some fifty guardsmen. In his place, he would leave the governance of Starfall to his Mother, the Lady Rhaella Dayne, his twin and favourite sister, Lady Ashara Dayne, the Maester Monford, and his Captain of Guard, Ser Quence Torpyne. The Morningstar's path blazed bright as he made the ride to the gates of Oldtown, thoughts of the Starfire on his mind as they made progress. It was strange riding through the Reach in such a peaceful manner, his ancestors never would have been able to do so, would they even have wanted to? Alas, eventually, the retinue arrived at Oldtown. As much as Aemon found the city to be a marvel, he swiftly found himself outnumbered in terms of religious doctrine, not that he had not been expecting such, but it was a reality that would fast drive him from the city. Although before he did leave, he and the Lord Hightower would come to break bread, enjoy a never-ending duel, and swear on the betrothal of his cousin, Dorian Hightower, to Aemon's sister, Arianne Dayne. Flying forth from the gates of Oldtown at a speed most certainly unable to be maintained terribly long, Aemon and his party rode with haste so as to leave such a nauseating scent of the Starry Faith behind them. The Rose Rode of the Reach greatly expedited their travel, and soon enough, they were at Horn Hill; feasts, hunts, japes and duels filled Aemon's time here, serving to convince him to stay longer at the Castle of the Tarlys than he had at that of the Hightower's, but alas, soon enough, his retinue was off once more, toward the greatest Keep in the Reach, Highgarden. Once more, Aemon would be met with a bastion of the Starry Faith, and so, soon enough, after a brief stay, the Rose Road was his once more. The next real bed, the next proper meal, would not come until after the crossing at the Northernmost fork of the Mander River, when Aemon and his retinue would take rest at Bitterbridge, a Castle Aemon found remarkably unremarkable.

As the retinue thundered along the Rose Road, Aemon at times, taking it all as quite a game, eventually reached the Kingswood, at which time Aemon returned to a moderately more appropriate pace as they progressed and began to near the Capital; King's Landing. Just as he knew he would, he smelt it and heard it before he saw it, but such bothered him not, the Capital, to him, was as a second home, it was where he had spent so much of his youth, under the tutilage of his Lord Grandfather.

The Capital undoubtedly came to be one of the longest recesses in Aemon's journey, but the time he spent there was certainly worth the while. The Morningstar oft found himself duelling with the Crown Prince, Rhaegar Targaryen, and quite thoroughly enjoyed his company, they were after all kin. Aemon would also come to spend an evening at dinner with the Lord Tybolt Lannister, the man was Master of Laws, and Aemon's kin-by-marriage, such was expected of him. Yet while said interactions were most definitely the most notable of Aemon's time in the Capital, they were not without a third, fulfilling his duty he made certain to pay homage to her Grace, Visaera I Targaryen.

From there, the retinue took to sea, sailing with haste to Driftmark. Aemon knew he had allowed too many moons pass without apologising in person for his actions after the death of his Lord Grandfather, so now would have to do. He found his Uncle Aurane Velaryon, the new Lord of the Tides, a rather reserved man, and the topic of Lucerys, his Mother's twin brother, seemed very much one not to comment on, for the one time he did, the gaze received warned of terrain best left unclimbed. Furthermore, during his time on the isle of which he sometimes longed to see, some might be so brazen as to say the Young Lord's gaze drifted from his Wife and to his Cousin, the Lady Aelora Velaryon, too often and for too long, yet, such was not the main focus of the island, for after all, a son and heir had just that year been born to the Lord Velaryon. But alas, so very much of the Castle's focus seemed to go toward ensuring that the Lady Baela, Wife to the Lord of the Tides, was kept away from all outsiders, secluded in her rooms, but seclusion can only do so much, a reality Aemon learned when he briefly witnessed and heard, rather strenuously and emphatically, the condition of which his Aunt lived in. The Young Lord had never seen anyone so 'touched' and as such, even after leaving the island would carry those memories with his person, long and far.

Onward the Stony Dornish would find pause in Gulltown, although the purpose of such a stop was mainly to replenish their food stores as they headed toward the Riverlands. Docking near the Saltpans, they took to steed once more, and made for for Harrenhal, but alas, before one could make arrival at Harrenhal, Darry was sternly situated in their path. Aemon found the Lady of Darry a rather recluse woman whom preferred to spend her days buried in books, yet even so, there was the odd bout of hunting and a small feast, but no matter that, the Dornish retinue would not spend long at Darry, especially since the Young Lord's Wife did not receive an especially warm, or for that matter, unbiased welcome, it seems the River Lords still held some form of animosity toward the Lion for actions of years passed. Aemon would come to remember the Lady of Darry as a recluse grudge-holder, nothing at all notable. Finally, they arrived at the mighty Keep of Harren Hoare. Aemon was wide-eyed and stunned with the marvel before him, as much as it had been ruined by the first Conqueror's dragons, it was still a sight to behold. The Young Lord spent quite days admiring and exploring the ruin, it was a Castle that would not be easily let go from his mind.

As the retinue headed North, Aemon and company thoroughly donned layer after layer. The first real cold struck them around the The Twins, but they had been cold long before, they were from Dorne after all. The only one amongst them able whom had been able to bare the Riverlands climate was the Lady Ellyn, and oh how they envied her for it. Passing through the bogs of the Neck and the ruin that was Moat Cailin were certainly sights, albeit rather bleak ones. As they moved, it became increasingly clear to Aemon why exactly Northerners tended to be such stone-cold individuals, this land was entirely lacking of warmth, and entertainment. With the Kingsroad continuing out ahead of them, Aemon regularly and readily swore the last time he had seen anything of any real culture or enjoyment was back in the Riverlands, and that even then, the rest of these Kingdoms needed "a little Dorne" and the North, "a lot".

Eventually, they arrived at Winterfell, by which time Aemon shared the sentiments of so many come before him whom had mocked it as 'Winterhell'. With the Lord of Winterfell being so similar in age to himself, he did find himself quite enjoying his time within the walls of Winterfell, and even the hunting in the Wolfswood was far better than he had expected it to be this far north, and at the feast the Lord held, Aemon did indeed learn that Northerners can laugh, and drink, and drink some more, and then keep drinking, and seemingly never stop, it was truly one of the nine man-made wonders of the known world. A few days after the feast, Aemon's retinue continued north, toward the wall, accompanied by Lord Stark.

Upon arrival at the Wall, Dayne and Stark shook strong, spoke some words, and Dayne went below, accompanied by a handful of his retinue, and a number of seasoned rangers. He left his Wife in the care of the majority of his retinue, and the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, whom was clearly very displeased with the Young Lord's antics. A few days in to their trip north of the Wall, a storm hit hard, and unexpectedly, separating Aemon from both his retinue and the rangers, and soon enough, he found himself in the rather tumultous position of having no idea where he was. It did not take long for them to find him. It was not the them he had hoped for. Wildlings.

He managed to cut down a number of them before they could subdue him with sheer numbers, courtesy of Dawn. Subdued and restrained, the Young Lord was reduced to little more than a figure in the snowy landscape of the bleak north. It did not take long for what would grow to become a breif dalliance to occur, for one night when trying to sleep with hands and feet bound, Aemon felt a presence. The wilding Astera had taken a quick liking to him. The north was cold, and Astera was warm, Aemon's mind did not protest long, and within a short few days, their affair had begun. Not long after, some other Wildling, the name forgotten to Aemon, took hostage of Astera and provided reason for her band of barbarians to make war against another, ultimately forcing Aemon to fight alongside them. It was during this battle that he could come to possess the scar that cuts along his lip and cheek, a loose Wildling arrow, one he would never forget, nor would he forget the corpse of the damn barbarian after it no longer had a head. At the conclusion of the battle, the Wildlings soon gathered to name their King Beyond-the-Wall, and so, Aemon seeing his oppourtunity, fled south with haste, leaving his brief fling with Astera behind him, as he had seen it as nothing more than such. Upon return to the Wall it had been some months now and for God knows why, Ellyn had waited. They embraced warmly and Aemon took pause at Castle Black for nigh on a week before they made their journey to Eastwatch by-the-sea.

Onward from Eastwatch, the Daynes and their retinue boarded a trading galley and set sail for Braavos. The trip across the northern seas proved to be a treacherous one, with great winds and waves blowing high and striking hard in what one could only describe as 'religious fury'. While within the City, Aemon would come to visit the Palace of the Sealord, it was a marvel he had wanted to see for a while now, and he heard that oft times, there were descendents of the Dragon housed there, but with the skin of a Summer Islander, it had sparked his curiousity. And so, within the Palace, Aemon met the young lad Balerion Otherys, whom had quite a desire to see Dawn, a desire which came to be fulfilled in the following days, prior to the Daynes taking their leave from yet another location along their lengthy journey.

After Braavos came the great city of Pentos. Upon entering the city, Aemon attempted his best guise at the distaste he felt for the inordinate amount of siege weapons acquired solely for the purpose of murdering dragons. Within the city, he found the people quite thoroughly opposed to dragons and the customs and cultures of those across the Narrow Sea. During his time here, he rather often complained to Ellyn of the tenacity of the Pentoshi, many of whom were simply peasant merchants or upjumped sellswords. Once again, Aemon rather hastily took his party and made leave from the city. He was quite coming to possess a notable disdain for Essos and the Essosi. A thought that regularly danced on his mind while in the East was how even their inheritance was wrong. The East was quite clearly beginning to wear away at Aemon's patience, and so, rather wisely, Ellyn suggested they take a brief reprieve from their journey back in the West, Aemon gladly obliged her suggestion, yet, perhaps not in the way his Wife had desired.

Parchments. A simple landing place. Aemon possessed no desire to be shipwrecked and dragged asunder like some Ironborn oarsman. Shipbreaker's Bay would be given a wide birth. Onto Storm's End, Aemon would treat with the inhabitants of the Keep, and stay for some time, induldging his desire for Westeros. But alas, with time, and after considerable storms that were beginning to annoy Aemon, as were the wet clothes, the Daynes continued on their journey. Yet, they would come to stop sooner than expected, and spend quite some time at Griffin's Roost. While there, Aemon would treat with the Conningtons of Griffin's Roost, bar the Lord Rodrik, for he was occupied in King's Landing. Aemon quite enjoyed his time with the Conningtons, and rather to his surprise, even gained a squire, no matter that the lad was quite similar in age to himself. Then, with the hooves of steeds clambering against the earth of the Stormlands, the party would eventually pass through the Rainwood and arrive at the seat of the region, named the same. While there, Aemon would spend a handful of days in conversation with the Lord of the Castle, learning of his rather unorthodox past, it would be fair to say Aemon thought such an unnatural past certainly marred one in the current, and made them rather undesirable as a marriage prospect. Leaving the Rainwood, Aemon felt cleaner in a way, he could not properly describe it, he just did.

Once more, his journey took him back to Essos. Myr and Tyrosh. Much like the previous cities of the East, they proved rather similar, although, Aemon was finding the women much more attractive to his eyes, and by that, it seemed that so did they. Not long after arrival in the City of Myr, the Lord Dayne and his retinue were hosted by the Sarmyr, and although Aemon did not see them as much more than upjumped merchants, that did not stop what would come next. With the youngest daughter of the Patriarchy of the Sarmyr Family, Aemon soiled sheets and made a raucous. Yet, when her brother, the brazen fool Titus Sarmyr found out, he attempted violent chastisement upon the young Sword of the Morning, much to the Sarmyr's personal dismay, as he quickly found his nose bloodied and broken, and his brazen behvaviour broken. While Aemon's days in Myr turned out to be rather eventful, his time in Tyrosh was less so, and was moreso seen by himself as a period of relaxation after the turmoil of Myr.

Aboard ship once again, the Daynes made their final landing before Starfall, Sunspear. Within the walls of Sunspear, Aemon would pay his respects and reassure his fealty to his Liege Lord, as he had no desire to be perceived in the treacherous light his Yronwood cousins had been. Their deaths were certainly, unpleasing, but, treachery and treason only has one consequence.

Finally, the Daynes returned home to Starfall. The ride along the Torrentine as they made up the land pleased Aemon greatly, it had been a few years since he had been home. Yet, right as he rode through the gates of the Castle, part of him wished to be in some far off Castle or City enjoying his time with his Wife, for his Mother certainly had a penetrating frown, and a disapproving tone. That tone always seemed to be there, always. Could she not just be pleased over Ellyn's growing belly instead.

412 A.C. The Westerosi Years
The Lord Aemon Morningstar Dayne would spend the next years governing, for a change. Between the years of 412 A.C. and 418 A.C. he would father three children, a daughter and two sons, on his Wife, the Lady Ellyn Lannister. Accompanied by this were regular trips to High Hermitage in order to build closer ties between the two branches of House Dayne, as well as what was to be expected of Aemon Dayne, trips almost every year to both the Capital, where in 413 A.C. he was named as a Justiciar by the Master-of-Laws, Lord Rodrik Connington, and his Mother's home, the isle of Driftmark.

417 A.C. A Time for Growth
Having spent the past half decade both improving the strength of the Dayne army, and the defences of the land surrounding Starfall, and forging alliances with neighbouring Houses, Aemon, now undeniably a man grown and a Lord versed in his duties, looked north, up the Torrentine. House Dayne once ruled the entire Torrentine, he would have it be so again.

Notable Accomplishments
407 A.C. 410 A.C.
 * Claiming victory in the Squires Melee at the Tourney of Harrenhal.
 * Wedding the Lady Ellyn Lannister at Casterly Rock.
 * Being Knighted by the Lord Loreon Lannister of Casterly Rock.
 * Surviving a ranging Beyond the Wall.

Recent Events

 * Aemon Dayne looks north, up the Torrentine.

Family

 * Lord Ulrick III Dayne, Lord of Starfall b. 369 A.C. d. 405 A.C.
 * Lady Rhaella Dayne nee. Velaryon, Lady of Starfall b. 378 A.C.
 * Lord Aemon Dayne, Lord of Starfall b. 393 A.C.
 * m. Lady Ellyn Dayne nee. Lannister, Lady of Starfall b. 393 A.C.
 * Lady Elyana Dayne b. 412 A.C.
 * Lord Varion Dayne b. 414 A.C.
 * Lord Ulrick Dayne b. 417 A.C.
 * Lady Ashara Dayne b. 393 A.C.
 * Lady Arianne Dayne b. 396 A.C.
 * Lady Anara Dayne b. 398 A.C.
 * Lady Allyria Dayne b. 402 A.C.
 * Lord Arthur Dayne b. 405 A.C. d. 405 A.C.


 * Ser Morgan Dayne, b. 379 A.C.
 * Ser Aron Dayne b. 382 A.C.
 * Lady Ysilla Yronwood nee. Dayne, Lady of Yronwood b. 385 A.C. d --- A.C.
 * Aelor Sand, Bastard of Starfall b. 381 A.C.
 * m. Lord Ormond Yronwood, Lord of Yronwood, b. --- A.C. d. 407 A.C.
 * Lord Nymor Yronwood, b. 389 A.C. d 407 A.C.
 * Lady Ashira Yronwood, b. 390 A.C.


 * Ser Edric Dayne, b. 376 A.C.
 * m. Lady Beony Fowler, b. --- A.C.
 * Ser Samwell Dayne, b. 395 A.C.
 * b. Lady Cersei Fowler, b. 392 A.C.
 * Lady Serala Dayne, b. 399 A.C.


 * Ser Triston Dayne, b. 379 A.C.
 * p. Lady Belandra Blackmont, b. --- A.C.
 * Ryella Sand, b. 404 A.C.
 * Lyara Sand, b. 406 A.C.
 * Daryn Sand, b. 409 A.C.

Household:

 * Castellan: Ser Triston Dayne.
 * Steward: Lady Rhaella Dayne.
 * Master-at-Arms: Ser Edric Dayne.
 * Red Priest: Qoren.
 * Maester: Monford.

House Guard:

 * Captain of Guard: Ser Quence Torpyne.
 * Constable: Willam Croe.
 * Sheriff: Archibald Norrtyn.
 * Gatekeeper: Myles Banks.
 * Gaoler: Darion.

Retainers:

 * Head Cook: Ardry.
 * Master Blacksmith: Ferris.
 * Master of Horse: Ser Joffrey Dayne.
 * Keeper of the Mews:
 * Keeper of the Kennels:


 * Sword Swords:
 * Ser Gerold Connington.
 * Pages and Squires: