Merrick Dayne

Lord Merrick Dayne, also known as "Brightstar", is the second born and eldest son of Vorian Dayne and Aryanna Targaryen of Starfall. Merrick was knighted at the age of sixteen, after the siege of Greyhold, due to his valour in battle. He was a knight of House Dayne and the Sword of the Morning, being the wielder of the longsword Dawn from the age of twenty-two. At the age of twenty-four, Merrick's father was killed during a campaign to relieve Storm's End of a siege whereupon the knight was made Lord of Starfall, having to carry that title as well as Sword of the Morning.
==Appearance and Character==
Merrick is tall, broad-shouldered and powerful in appearance, with amethyst purple eyes and shoulder length blonde hair. He is very charismatic and commanding. During his peaceful moments, he wears a white tunic with cream coloured trousers and black boots all with a beautiful lightweight patriarch purple cloak, trying to keep everything light due to the Dornish sun. When in other parts of Westeros, Merrick wears much the same, the materials being different to counter the temperature of the area he is in. Merrick does not wear much jewellery, though he does wear a silver falling star pin that keeps his cloak pinned to his clothing, and a singular ring on his left middle finger made of silver with a moonstone gem that some say glows with the light of stars. Everyone who meets Merrick says he looks like the Conqueror reborn, though without the Valyrian silver-gold hair.
While he is charismatic, he is also solemn due to his time in the Stepstones, often reminiscing of lost friends
=== Fears===
==History==
Born in 378 AC at Starfall as the first born son of Vorian and Aryanna Dayne, Merrick’s early years were filled with peace, taking place in the aftermath of the War for the Dawn. From the moment he could hold a stick, Merrick could be found within Starfall’s training grounds, watching the knights train and attempting to copy their moves. Being named after a great knight and a Sword of the Morning, Merrick wished to prove himself to be just as honourable, though with the War in the Stepstones looming the chance would come far too soon.
Merrick’s seventh nameday had just passed when he decided to explore, foolishly going alone. Hours passed and the sun began to set and Merrick could not find his way back. Panic began to set in when the small patch of woodland he was in grew dark and the young boy began to run around, the only answer being the echo of his own voice. The sun had all but completely set when Merrick heard a noise in the bushes to his side and, curious, went to look. It had been some kind of small animal that led Merrick to an old well, the stone walls completely crumbled down, the rotting planks that covered it being covered by leaves and twigs, blending it into the surrounding woodland floor. Falling through the ancient wooden planks across the mouth of the well, Merrick cried out as he was swallowed by darkness. Within the void he had fallen into, the boy felt something begin to crawl over him, first it was just one, then two, then five.
With every passing moment the number grew. It was due to a small sliver of moonlight that shone into the well that allowed Merrick to glimpse what was going on. A whole nest of spiders were crawling around him, many crawling on his skin and clothes themselves. Terrified, Merrick screamed and cried which alerted his father who had been informed of the boy’s absence by a servant. After being retrieved from the well, Merrick curled up in his bed for days, with candles burning throughout the night, trying to hide from both the dark and spiders alike.
As Merrick turned eight years old, he was made his father’s squire as he began to learn from the knight and trained even harder to impress Vorian. Sometime after that, his father, mother, uncle and aunt took their leave to fight in the Stepstones and though he begged and begged to go with them, Merrick was ultimately left behind in Starfall to learn and train and most importantly, be safe and cared for. While Merrick was safe within the walls of Starfall, one could not say he remained unharmed as he put more and more effort into his training as the days went by, pushing himself more and more so he could one day join his family in the war.
When once Merrick’s reasoning for becoming a warrior was to be made Sword of the Morning like Ser Arthur Dayne, it soon changed to being able to fight alongside his family in the Stepstones. In 392 AC, at the age of fourteen, Merrick journeyed to the Stepstones in secret and joined the fighting, surprising his father who tried to protest but could not send him back as it was too late. While other boys his age would be seeking pleasure in girls or maybe even boys, Merrick did not care about that side of life, having made his entire purpose war, that was until he met a girl two years older than him called Tyene. The Dayne boy started to develop feelings for the girl as they grew closer whenever the fighting calmed down enough to rest. Merrick spent time with a fellow squire by the name of Olyvar Sand, who he was able to spend slightly more time with due to being on the battlefield together.
While sieging the fortress of Greyhold in the year 394 AC, Merrick was the first through the hole in the wall, surprising and surpassing those older and more experienced than him, and was one of the main factors of taking the castle. It was an intense battle, though the Dayne remained strong and persevered, slaying many enemies though he took no pleasure in it. In fact, the whole war made him wish to remain at peace in his lifetime as experiencing the horrors of combat, true combat with only life as your prize scarred him. After the siege, Prince Ormond himself knighted Merrick, naming him Ser Merrick Dayne. He was sixteen years of age and had been knighted, a light now shined through the black stain of war and the moment was a true victory for the boy.
In 395 AC, during the siege of the Bloodfort, Merrick was fighting side by side with his father and he could see Olyvar in the corner of his eye fighting for his life not too far away. In a matter of moments, after cutting off a pirate’s sword arm, the boy saw his friend on the ground, the knight he served with had disappeared in the thick of the fighting. With wide eyes, Merrick watched as a pirate brought an axe down onto the squire's head, blood and brain being sent into the air before falling onto the mud. The young Dayne had all but given up until he felt his father step into him and he pushed through with a ferocity that had been buried under the innocence of childhood. He fought his way toward the pirate who slew his friend and beheaded him with two rage filled strikes. 
Once safe, Merrick knelt by the broken body of Olyvar. He was one of the only friends the Dayne had within the Stepstones and now he was gone. All he could think of was the pirate lying face down in the thick mud, Olyvar's face being replaced by the pirate when he tried to think of the fun times when they laughed together around a fire. The songs had never told him what war was truly like, how men shit themselves as they died or the screams you could hear ringing throughout the battlefield. It scarred the boy for life, taking away his innocence to life for good. While in war, Merrick gained the nickname “Brightstar” due to his shining chainmail armour, which he cleaned every chance he got due to sitting alone most of the time when not fighting.
== Recent Events ==
=== A Star Ascends ===
Merrick arrives in the crownlands aboard Vorian's Wrath, surrounded by knights of Starfall. He had been tasked with relieving Driftmark and Dragonstone. Though he did not wish to do it, helping the crown while maintaining their hold over the Stepstones, which they took without official leave from the Iron Throne, was the best option.
=== A Dragon's Wish ===
=== Book 3 ===
=== Book 4 ===
==Family==
==Relationships==
=== Love interests===
<tabber>
|-|Alysanne Velaryon=
Merrick's first love, wife and queen.
|-|Name=
Word
|-|Name=
Word
</tabber>
===Friends===
<tabber>
|-|Name=
Word
|-|Name=
Word
|-|Name=
Word
</tabber>
===Companions===
<tabber>
|-|Ranger=
Words.
|-|Bird=
Bird
</tabber>
===Rivals===
==Abilities and Tools==
<tabber>
|-|Valyrian Abilities=
*Dragon Rider: Being of Targaryen decent, it is assumed Merrick can bond with and ride dragons, though with the death of Drogon and no new clutches of eggs being produced, this theory could not be tested, though that all changed when Silverwing was rediscovered.
*Dragon Dreams: Like a handful of other Valyrians, Merrick is granted prophetic dreams.
|-|Special Weaponry=
*Dawn: Ancestral longsword of House Dayne made from a fallen star. It is passed down to worthy Daynes instead of to each Lord of Starfall. Merrick used it from the age of twenty-two.
|-|Additional Items=
*Dusk: Merrick's first sword was modelled from Dawn, though far simpler as to not confuse the two and to show the separation of ordinary knight and Sword of the Morning. It is made from castle forged steel and has a wooden handle and dark steel pommel and guard, the guard being adorned with a golden sun. Merrick gave the weapon up when he was made the Sword of the Morning and Dawn was made his primary weapon.
*Dagger:
*Dayne Armour: Shining silver coloured armour complete with a purple tabard with the silver Dayne sigil embroidered upon it. Merrick wore this in times of war. The helmet is also silver, with a circlet of stars around it acting like a crown.
</tabber>
== Gallery ==
Category:Characters
Category:Sword of the Morning
Category:Lords of Starfall
Category:House Dayne
Category:Dorne
Category:Knights