Jaster Blackthorne

Jaster Blackthorne, called the "Young Griffin," is the thirdborn son of Lord Arthur Blackthorne and his wife, the Lady Alyssa Monmoth. Formerly an anointed knight and a warrior of considerable renown, the young nobleman inherited his father's titles and fortune after the older man's murder at the hands of Sir Preston Knox; this made Jaster the Lord of House Blackthorne and Lord-Paramount of The Thunderlands, his home nation. In his new position, Jaster has become one of the most powerful and wealthy men in the realm, head of an ancient dynasty that boasts descendance from Jason Blackthorne, the last of the Storm Kings. He has three living trueborn siblings, including his fraternal twin sister Talia Blackthorne with whom he shares a strong friendship. Jaster is apprehensive of his uncle, Dominic Blackthorne, who is known to covet the lordship for himself. He married the Northern Heiress, Rivka Vennet.
.After his uncle Dominic created the institution of Monarchy to replace the senate before his death, Jaster was named as his heir and was formally coronated as His Royal Highness Jaster, First of his Name, By Aradia's Grace the High King O'er All The Isles of Aradia, Lord of House Blackthorne, Lord-Paramount of the Thunderlands, High Chancellor of the Everglow Senate, Defender of the Faith & Father of the Realm. He was the second monarch of the Blackthorne Dynasty, crowned on the 1st day of Demon's Moon, 1015AE, and reigning until [redacted].
== Appearance and Character ==
Jaster is charismatic and visibly highborn; he stands at just over six feet tall and has a toned, athletic figure. He has a stern face and a mouth that hardens into a "grim line" when he is angered, though he is known to also wear a "charming smirk" that he believes to be irresistibly attractive to the opposite sex. He takes after his mother's family in appearance, with "vivid" blue eyes and a crop of thick, red-gold hair. War has sullied his appearance; most of his hair has been cut off, his face is scarred on the left side with burn marks, and he seems gaunt and more old than he actually is. Two of the fingers on his left hand are cold, grey and dead from demonic poisons. Before his exile he was known to wear a curled mustache and dress in a selection of finely-crafted coats, in accordance with the common nobleman's style in the Thunderlands. He had a suit of silver plate armor inlaid with beautiful High Elven scrollwork and designs, wielding a custom-crafted broadsword in battle. Following his exile, however, he wears a spike-studded leather coat over a blue undershirt, with leather trousers and boots.
While courageous, good-hearted and a great warrior, Jaster struggles with the dilemmas and complexities of ruling his House. He is not a born politician and lacks the manipulative abilities and tact that is common to many members of his family. He also has a notable disinterest in books and academia, preferring to train himself in matters of warfare instead. Despite this he possesses a certain innate cunning that allows him to outwit some opponents, as well as a dry conversational wittiness. Jaster also has an arrogance about him and a promiscuous approach to romance, though his ego is fragile and he is easily irritated by insults to his person. His main strength is his resilience, which is fueled by a sometimes hot temper, and when enraged in combat he becomes terrifying to fight against. He enjoys falconry and hunting; before his marriage he was also known to engage in drunken debauchery and whoring alongside his friends, Cletus Cogworth and Llewys Monmoth, though he has made an effort to put a halt on this behavior as part of his lordly duties.
== Skills and Abilities ==
Jaster has been trained as a knight from a young age. This has given him many combat skills--most notably relating to swordsmanship and use of heavy armor with a shield. He has been trained with a variety of other weapons, such as the greatsword, the dagger, the spear, the lance, the morningstar, the axe and the hunting bow. The sword remains his area of expertise, however.. As a future Lord, Jaster has also received a noble's education and has some political knowledge, though he has no patience for manipulation and prefers to solve problems with his broadsword. Jaster gets along well with animals; he has had three horses, Vesper (a grey female destrier he raised from a foal, killed by Dorian Knox),Gambit (a black-and-white mare, wedding gift from Titus Sabre) and his current steed Reaper (a black stallion he took from Preston Knox). He enjoys falconry and has been practicing it since childhood, building up a talent for the sport over the years, and is often known to incorporate use of his own hunting bird (a gyrfalcon named Roland) into his combat style.
== History ==
Jaster is the thirdborn son of the accomplished war hero, Lord Arthur Blackthorne, and Alyssa Monmoth. He was born in 996AE approximately five minutes before his sister, Talia. From earliest childhood, the twins were inseparable, and both were particularly close to their eldest brother Gordon. However in time they grew apart as each was made to conform to the traditional roles of their respective genders. 
Jaster was given an education and trained to fight with a sword by Blackthorne manor's master-at-arms, Sir Valar Druun. He notably held a strong friendship with Kavin Falmar, the heir to Green Gable, in his youth, with Kavin often being recognized as the accomplice of the Blackthorne twins' antics. Jaster showed an early aptitude for fighting, and is said to be almost the equal of his father or uncle Dominic. He was greatly upset by the deaths of his mother and brother, compensating by relentlessly trying to win his father's praise and affection to no avail. At 14 he was sent to squire for his uncle, Yven Monmoth. In this time he formed friendships with fellow squires Llewys Monmoth and Cletus Cogworth, and the three would often be seen drinking and sleeping about with the most expensive escorts of Crystanthium. At some point Jaster had a steady relationship with a lowborn elven girl named Esmé, though they separated before he finished squiring. He was eventually knighted at the age of 18 after emerging as the victor of the Tourney at the Deep Falls on his home island of Stormrise. Now he travels with his sister to Everglow city, so that he may learn of the complicated inner workings of the Aradian political system.
== Events of 1014AE-1016AE ==
Lord Arthur sent Jaster and Talia to Everglow City in 1014AE, with the hope of finding suitable marriages for both of them. Their uncle Dominic selected Rivka Vennet as the marriage for Jaster, hoping to consolidate a political foothold in the North. Jaster fought in the Everglow Tourney and won a dubious victory over Dorian Knox in order to become champion; a fight broke out between them and the older knight was crippled by Jaster's blade. The Blackthorne heir's wedding was the next day and the ceremony went well until Dorian's brother Preston stormed it with a group of armed soldiers, seeking revenge on the groom. In the ensuing scuffle, Lord Arthur was slain. As a result Jaster was named Lord of House Blackthorne. He had no time to adapt to his new title as he was forced to lead a war effort against House Knox for their actions. 
Following a humiliation at the Ambush in Dimhollow Mire, which resulted in the death of a close friend, Jaster led the Blackthorne army into the Massacre at the Riverford. A Demon Horde appeared halfway through the battle and destroyed the terrestrial forces; Jaster was severely wounded in single combat with their leaders, Generals Malakai and Imshael. Owing perhaps to his inborn resilience to Demon influence, he survived the ordeal and was found washed up on the banks of the Whiterush River days later by Arianne West. He found that the realm thought he was dead, and that his evil uncle had taken control of House Blackthorne. 
During his travels with his half-sister and her allies, Jaster encountered the monstrously deformed Preston Knox and was almost killed by him. Arianne's intervention saved Jaster's life, but drove him to apoplexy, resulting in a fight between the siblings; Jaster's eventual, forceful admission of his own depression and trauma softened the stormy relationship between them. Arianne eventually reconnected with the Wild Huntsmen, currently under the leadership of the Headhunter, and signed Jaster up as her personal squire. The Huntsmen went on to fight at the Battle at Medger's Spine, and thereafter attended the wedding of Jaster's former wife to Casim Ludlow. It was there, at Caybourne, that Jaster discovered his sister Talia had killed their cousin Jacques and had been imprisoned by the Bloodhawk for Witchcraft. Jaster and his allies, now including Darius Black and his priest cousin Eustace Blackthorne, devised a plan to rescue Talia, succeeding in extracting her on her way to the gallows and transporting her to a getaway ship, spiriting her away to the Silkwood. It was her that Jaster encountered Imshael once again, this time in the humanoid form. She promised that he would help him become King of Aradia and win the demon war, but only if he promised eternal servitude to her after the war's end--and to become father of her offspring. Jaster had no choice but to accept. 
Jaster journeyed to Stormrise Isle where he learned the true origin of his bloodline. This took place during the battle at Stormrise Isle, Dominic crowned himself king, and Jaster became determined to take the crown from him. Upon returning to the mainland, he rejoined with the Huntsmen as they marched with the royal army during the Arkon War. During this Jaster co-operated with the Headhunter's squire Edelweiss to diguise himself as the mercenary captain and take charge of the Wild Huntsmen. With the corps' fanaticism, he earned their loyalty, even once his true face was revealed. Jaster took the Headhunter's gear, exiling Spinner to wander the mountains; while the captain's patchwork armor was destroyed in a fight with Lleran Arkon, Jaster managed to preserve the ancient western blade Drakalibür that was among the Headhunter's finest trophies. 
Now the Captain of the Wild Huntsmen with a detachment of Valar Druun's troops, Jaster commanded a standing army to enforce his claim to the throne with. He marched south to the capital, arriving by the 1st of Demon's Moon. Together with his compatriots, Jaster was able to seize control of the city and his ancestral blade Redwing. He confronted and killed Cadmus Knox, reuniting with old flame Aislinn Corcoran, and finally got to confront Dominic--though by now, betrayed by his demonic allies, the Bloodhawk was dying. He revealed that he'd named Jaster as his heir in the event of his passing, having no sons of his own. He also warned about an oncoming demon attack at the end of that month. Jaster, now High King of the Isles, was forced to scramble together a defence of the city in time for the Final Battle for Everglow City. During the fight he led a charge and personally slayed two high demon commanders, the Dancer of the Igneus Marius and General Steerpike. Unfortunately, he was badly wounded, severely burned & crippled in a duel with General Malakai. It was Nimbe Elassore-Rodin who saved his life, and allowed him to fight on; however, ultimately, Imshael came to collect on her debt with him. She dragged him into the Void, ending his terrestrial life, and leaving the throne to pass to his sister Talia. 
== In the Void ==
After the Void was closed in the Final Battle of 1015, news from inside that chaotic immaterial realm became rare. However, it is known that Imshael styles herself the Underqueen, though she does not conquer as her predecessor did; she is content to be vainglorious in her spiritual victory over Mordaghast, and makes no move to claim any more than what is already her dominion, despite the other High Demon incursions into what she rules. Rumours from the Void state that a feared creature serves her; a Hell-Knight, a slayer, a creature that wears dark mirrored armor and carries a crimson blood-flame blade. They call this the Harbinger of Imshael; he is an indentured bodyguard and servant to her, standing always behind her dark throne, and it is said that he is the father of her fell offspring. They also say the Harbinger chafes at his bit; though soul-bound to serve his mistress, he constantly seeks for ways to escape the Void, so that he may return to the life he held on the terrestrial earth.
== Legacy ==
Queen Talia I reigned for sixty years, and in that time, she ensured that her brother was not forgotten. She memorialized and mythologized the "Revenant King" who preceded her, ensuring that he passed into the annals of history as a great hero & warrior. Talia's daughter Princess Valoria idolized her uncle, believing him to be the ideal ruler; and several of his close friends ended up naming their children in his honor, with Llewys Monmoth naming his eldest son Jaster, and Aislinn similarly having a son named Jaster Worcester. A great statue was built in the courtyard of the Royal Palace, a white marble sculpture fifty feet high that showed the Blackthorne twins in their splendour; Talia in robes, carrying a book, hand raised in a gesture of peace, while Jaster wore armor, hands resting on the hilt of his blade Drakalibur.
== Family ==
An extended family tree is viewable here
Trivia
Category:IronParagon's Characters