Alesander Arryn

Alesander Arryn is the youngest son of Lord Alaric Arryn and his late wife, Lady Theodosia. Born in 389 A.C., Alesander had spent most of his formative years away from the Eyrie. Never quite as skilled as his brothers in the way of the sword, Alesander spent several years at the Citadel training to become a maester. Just before his final oath, Alesander elected to depart Oldtown and return to the Vale.

Appearance and Character
Alesander was imparted many of the qualities present in the sons of Lord Alaric Arryn, and his wife, Lady Theodosia. He is of a height, but only slightly shorter than his father and siblings. More often than not he is clean shaven, having never cared for the bristle of beards. In some ways he inherited more from his mother, for there is a smoothness to his features that is not quite present in his father. Handsome, and well kept, he dislikes heavier clothing, and has never been one to don armor. Despite his tastes, he is not one to wear garish colors, preferring the subtler strands more prevalent within the Vale.

What Alesander lacks in brute strength he makes up for with keen intelligence, and more than a fair share of cunning. He is bookish and prefers to think things through rather than acting brashly. Unique among his immediate family he dislikes violence, but this proclivity does not run to extremis. He can well appreciate the status and arts of a joust, even if he looks upon more savage displays with an air of distaste. Just as he understands the necessities of war.

Early Life
Alesander was born to Alaric Arryn and his wife, Theodosia of House Belmore, in the Fourth Moon of 389 A.C.  He was a relatively healthy babe, despite the difficulty associated with his birth. Unlike his brothers, however, he was of a slighter frame. Even as a small boy he was fascinated by the books studied by the resident maester and was able to grasp the meaning of words rather more quickly than his peers.

His acumen and ability within the sphere of academics did not well translate to his abilities with the sword. Alesander hated training in the yards and was more than displeased by the mockery he faced when he was obliged to do so. He was not quite as strong in a physical sense, and so garnered his mother as an ally in a more fitting ambition. He had no desire to be someone’s squire or knight, but rather he would walk the path of a maester. A chain, to his mind, was far greater company than the bruises of the field.

After succeeding in this endeavor, Alesander spent more time cloister with the Maester at the Eyrie, and in the week after his twelfth nameday was sent off to Oldtown to begin study at the Citadel.

Acolyte
Life in Oldtown proved to be rather a shock to the young Arryn. He was sometimes entertained by the Hightowers, and in many ways he enjoyed those forays. Alesander had always been a perceptive boy, and the lord’s efforts at manipulation never quite passed his notice. Rather than resent it, he enjoyed the exercise it all provided him. Despite his homesickness, the young Arryn came into his own within Oldtown.

His time as a novice was short as he quickly came about forging his links. While perhaps not the greatest prodigy, he usually found that he could earn his links with far greater alacrity than most of his peers. An echo of his boyhood when he had competed with the other children in the mastering of letters. Of his links he was most proud of the ones forged of electrum, for he did so love gazing at the stars.

The subject matter that earned him his links were not all that Alesander observed in those ears. No matter where he went there were things to be studied, and as an acolyte he was exposed to people from all walks of life. There were even times he would sneak off to the docks to observe the many foreign peoples that came into one of the busier ports in Westeros. He came to have an appreciation for that diversity, and what it meant.

An examination that did much to ignite his curiosity in the foreign, and the obscure.

The Chain Left Wanting
Near the end of his time as an acolyte, with a chain that quickly coming to the stage of completion, Alesander began to doubt his ambition. There was much of the oath, of the life he would lead as a maester that excited him. Along with a small cabal of his closest friends he’d been planning a foray to Essos, as some of their kind had done before. Much like the Grand Maester himself had done in the course of studying many a vagary.

Still, when the time came he did not give voice to his oath. He did not see to the complete forging of a maester’s chain. It was not that he minded relinquishing the prospect of a wife or of children. In fact, that function of the chain had always been a very great relief to him. Rather it was the prospect of becoming shorn from his name. A worry, a concern that had always been at the back of his mind.

Recent Events
Alesander left the Citadel at the beginning of the Sixth Moon of 407 A.C., making his way slowly but surely to the Eyrie.