Symeon

Background

It is said the curse of Harren the Black touches every soul who steps foot in the Iron King's scorched hall. Lord Whent's niece Linisa was a great beauty her uncle had little trouble finding her a match with one of Lord Goodbrook's sons, she married well and knew joy, for a time. Linisa miscarried thrice during her brief marriage to Eldred Goodbrook, the last came only a fortnight after her husband was mauled to death by a rabid hound, within a stone's throw of their bedchamber. Lord Whent sought to marry his daughter off to a score of middling and minor lordlings, but each refused him, many believed that Lady Linisa was barren, and cursed. After a period of mourning, Lord Whent hastily married his niece to the renowned tourney knight Sumner of Sevenstreams. Many whisper, to this day, that, despite her blemished beauty, Lord Whent had to induce Sumner with a generous dower. It was, beneath the twisted towers of Harenhal, on the eve of her marriage to her second husband, that Lady Linisa conceived a son.

Five months later, Ser Sumner departed Sevenstreams to join the Whent levies preparing to embark for the Stepstones, to put an end to the last Blackfyre pretender. For months, there was no word of Ser Sumner, or the Whent levies. Then, Hours before Linisa gave birth to Symeon, a raven arrived at Sevenstreams. Ser Sumner had drowned off the Stepstones, with some two hundred Whent men-at-arms and sworn swords in a maelstrom brine, armor, and flotsam. At the village of Sevenstreams, Lady Linisa suffered a brutal twenty-eight hour labor, and perished, screaming, in a bed of blood. No Maester was on hand, thus it fell to Lady Linisa's goodsister, the midwife Serina of Sevenstreams, to save the child. It was Serena who cut the child from his mother's still womb, tearing a stunted blue infant from Stranger's ravenous maw; she named the boy Symeon in homage to the legendary knight from the Age of Heroes.

The boy's early childhood was grim; the Stranger ever at the door, but for the ministrations of his aunt, young Symeon would have died several times over. Much of his time at Sevenstreams was spent abed, or in the company of his aunt. It was Serina of Sevenstreams who taught the boy the rudiments of chiurgeonry and herbalism in the hope that said knowledge would prolong the boy's life. At the age of six, a distant cousin, Pate of the Blue Fork, gifted Symeon with a wooden sword, and shield, and suggested that Serina encourage the boy to take up martial exercise, as a means to improve his fragile constitution. During the embryonic years of his martial training, Symeon sustained a multitude of scrapes and bruises, but, gradually, the hours of exercise improved his frail constitution, and Symeon's inborn nimbleness began to manifest in martial drills, and sparring contests.

Symeon scarce left Sevenstreams until, at the age of 10, he was sent to Hag's Mire to serve as a page in the Household of Lord Rickart Nayland. It was at Hag's Mire that, to the astonishment of Serina and Pate, Symeon began to distinguish himself in soldierly drills and sparring matches against his fellow pages, with blunted blade, and tourney lance. Shortly after his fourteenth nameday, Serina sought to squire the boy to Lord Rickart Nayland. The Lord of Hag's Mire politely refused. Symeon and his aunt left Hag's Mire shortly thereafter. On the road to The Twins, the page and his aunt came upon a distant cousin, Ser Wil of the Red Fork, and, after a bit of exhortation, Serina persuaded Wil to take Symeon's martial education in hand.

Although Wil lacked the martial acumen and renown of Symeon's father, Ser Sumner, the Knight of the Red Fork was still a formidable swordsman and jouster. In time, Symeon assimilated his knight's every lesson. Symeon and Wil travelled the length of the Riverlands for two years, until, at the age of six-and-ten, Symeon returned to Harrenhal. Lord Whent held a small tourney to celebrate his daughter Shella's nameday, and the squire donned a suit of ramshackle mail; pauldrons, gorget, and kilt of femurs and skulls, to compete as "the Knight of Bones." A hedge knight, and another squire, fell to the Knight of Bones, and then sons of great lords took the field against him. The Knight of Bones unhorsed sons of The Lords Frey, Mallister, Royce, and Mooton, before falling to Ser Oswell Whent, of the Kingsguard. The following night, Ser Wil knighted the boy, and Symeon's Great Uncle, Lord Whent, took the newly-minted knight into his service.

At the age of nine-and-ten, Symeon fought at the Battle of Summerhall and witnessed, firsthand, the disastrous defeat of three Royalist armies, comprised largely of Stormland and Riverland levies. Symeon acquitted himself well, cutting down two serjeants, and one of the Usurper's knights. After the Usurper slew Lord Fell, Symeon narrowly escaped, through sheer luck, and a gallant rearguard action by the larger part of the Whent levies. Symeon nearly died, again, at the Battle of the Bells, but distinguished himself by cutting down three serjeants, and two knights in the vicious house-to-house fighting that lead to Jon Connington's disgrace and exile. Some months later, Symeon fought in the Battle of the Trident, on the left flank of the Royalist forces, with Lord Whent's banners. The nimble sworn sword , and his fellows, had tasted ignoble defeat—twice, and were determined to smash the Usurper's hosts, in the Riverlands. The young knight acquitted himself well cutting down three of the Usurper's knight, but was grievously wounded, shortly before Jonothor Darry fell.

In the aftermath of the Battle of the Trident, Symeon spent some four months convalescing at Harenhal under the care of his aunt. As the young knight's body mended, it became quite apparent that he had sustained wounds of another sort. Alone, Symeon would speak to himself; the sworn sword also took to pacing the twisted and perilous ramparts of Harrenhal, alone, in the dead of night. It took another war, Greyjoy's Rebellion, to pull Symeon out from his black humor. At Seaguard, Symeon fought with a newfound ferocity, and fatalism, sending seven Ironmen to the Stranger—at Pyke Symeon was fast behind the garlanded heroes of the war, Ser Jorah Mormont and Thoros of Myr racing through the breach. Again, Symeon was gravely wounded, he took two arrows to the chest and nearly died before house Whent's Maester could stem the flow of his lifeblood. The remainder of the year was spent in the company of his aunt, at Harenhal, and the minstrel Tom of Sevenstreams, a distant cousin. In time of peace, Symeon lapsed into his peacetime ailments. Again, Symeon took to speaking to himself, and pacing the battlements of Harenhal, at night. It was, at the behest of Tom and Serina that Ser Symeon left Harenhal, and its ghosts, to seek service with Lord Walder Frey, the grandfather, by marriage, of another distant cousin, Ser Pate of the Blue Fork.

Family

Relationship Name Status
Father Ser Sumner of Sevenstreams A Tourney Knight Deceased
Mother Lady Linisa Whent Lord Whent's Niece Deceased
Great-Uncle Lord Whent Lord of Harrenhal
Great-Uncle Ser Oswell Whent A Knight of the Kingsguard Deceased
Great-Aunt Lady Shella Whent Lady of Harrenhal
Aunt Serena of Sevenstreams Midwife at Sevenstreams
Cousin Tom of Sevenstreams A wandering Minstrel
Cousin Ser Wil of the Red Fork A Hedge Knight
Cousin Ser Pate of the Blue Fork A Hedge Knight

Physical Features

At 6'3", Symeon towers over most of his peers. Wiry, and spare, the sworn sword's frame is bereft of superfluous flesh. Pale blue eyes sink into a shadowed, brooding brow. His hair is blond, cropped short, a day's growth of meticulously groomed flaxen stubble clings to his jaw. Symeon is arrayed in gray riding boots, and lambswool trousers. His jerkin is doeskin, dyed a deep steely blue, of a hue with the waters of the broad Blue Fork. His cloak is a heavy thing of forest green wool, lined with mangy wolf's fur, pinned round his neck by a plain, longsword broach wrought from castle-forged steel.

On his right ring finger, the signet of Sevenstreams is hard hewn steel, the mark of Ser Symeon's seal is seven winding strokes. Round the sworn sword's slender waist, a belt of steely blue leather, his sword possesses a rounded pommel, embossed with the bat forge mark of Harenhal. Guard and pommel shine from diligent care. The blades hilt is wrapped in soft, albeit unremarkable, gray leather. Opposite the blade, rests a trim dirk.

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