Aubrey Hatch

Aubrey Hatch is an Ironborn reaver raised in the tradition of the "Old Way." From a humble upbringing he rose to be a feared warrior and, eventually, a fixture in the Greyjoy court where he gained the trust of the young Lord Reaper Alyn Greyjoy.

Appearance and Character
Hatch is an imposing figure standing 6'2" and 230lbs with broad shoulders, massive arms and a big, hard pot-belly. He wears black boots and salt stained black tunics, sleeveless when the weather permits. On his back he wears a massive castle forged battle axe he obtained courtesy of the iron price. On his right side is a hatchet that has been honed razor sharp.

Prone to finding the bright side of everything, Aubrey has been heard laughing raucously during a battle. He enjoys sitting on the deck of a ship drinking ale and telling sea stories.

Early Life
Aubrey Hatch was born into an impoverished lowborn family from a small fishing village on Harlaw named Scaley Shore. His mother was taken by a sudden fever when he was eight years old. Since his Father spent most of his time fishing the waters of Ironborn Bay Aubrey was raised by the elders and women of the village. From an early age Aubrey was taught the ways of the Drowned God and grew to devoutly follow the traditional Ironborn religion and way of life.

Aubrey joined the ranks of Ironborn reavers as soon as a Captain would have him. It was there he learned how to pay the Iron Price and earn for the villagers who raised him. Aubrey quickly earned a reputation for being a brutal fighter with booming laughter that could be heard across the decks of longships during a battle or reaving. He stole food, property and thralls from Westerosi fishing villages to bring back home. He grew up knowing the Old Way is the destiny the Drowned God set out for Aubrey and his people.

By 304AC Aubrey was a massive man, roped with muscle and scars and carried the clout to match it. Reavers young and old wanted to serve on a longship with Aubrey for the opportunity to fight and steal with a modern day Ironborn warrior. He was truly at home on the deck of a ship, bouncing jovially from task to task and basking in the carnage every time the ship he was on pulled up to reave. Aubrey was aboard the “Deep Menace” when she was reaving near Sea Dragon point and House Glover dispatched a small force to stop the Ironborn. When the reavers poured onto the shore of a small seaside community 20 Northerners on horseback rode up from either side of the beach to meet them. With his namesake’s weapon in either hand, Aubrey embraced the challenge of a true fight and engaged. After burying one of his small axes in-between the eyes of a horse, Aubrey fell upon its’ rider and dashed his helmeted skull against the rocky shore, taking the giant battle axe the man was carrying. He looked around to find twelve dead Northerners, just as many dead Ironborn and the haunches of northern horses galloping away. The remaining reavers put the village to the torch after taking what belonged to them and pushed off back into the sea.

The Old vs The New
When Dagon Greyjoy sat upon the Seastone Chair in 408AC and outlawed reaving shortly thereafter a great conflict rose up within Aubrey. His devotion to the Drowned God insisted that he take what he needed from others, just as the Ironborn have been for thousands of years. However, a part of him wondered if the Ironborn that died by his side, the children he tore from their homes kicking and screaming and the women his fellow reavers turned into salt wives deserved their ultimate fates.

While he was morally conflicted, Aubrey knew better than to disobey the edicts of the Lord Reaper so when a former Captain called on him to help enforce Dagon’s ban on thralldom he gleefully accepted. Turning his reputation for chaos into a reputation for keeping his Lord’s peace, Aubrey became a constant in Dagon Greyjoy’s service. He spent time with young Alyn Greyjoy while the future Lord was learning how to work rigging and scrub decks. The two were an odd pair, a young energetic noble Ironborn alongside a massive battle hardened warrior with thunderclap laughter.

Aubrey was present in the Great Hall of Pyke when Lord Aeron Blacktyde thrust a blade into his Lord’s stomach and wept while Dagon bled on the floor in the arms of Lady Alannys and his son Alyn. Aubrey fought with unflinching fury during The Black Prophet’s Rebellion. He was active in several major battles including the Battle of Lordsport where he swung his giant battle axe at rebels on the longship “Relentless.”

When the rebellion finally ended Aubrey stood on the island of Pyke and knew his next move. Aubrey was immediately granted an audience with the newly named Lord of the Iron Islands. In the same hall where Dagon’s blood stained the polished stone, Aubrey knelt and laid his massive axe at Alyn’s feet. Alyn seemed relieved to find an ally in a familiar face and named Aubrey as Captain of his house guard.

Aubrey dutifully carries out his duties in the management of the guard, but his primary task is accompanying the young Lord Reaper wherever he goes as a friend and counselor as much as a guard.