Victor Hightower

*“Men forge their own destiny. Fate is just the foolish hope of blaming someone else for our choices.”*

―Ser Victor Hightower to the God-Emperor of YiTi

## Biographical Information

### Title(s)

Ser
High Admiral of the Hightower Fleet

### Nickname(s)

Bane of the Stepstones
The Dark Tower of Oldtown

### Allegiance

House Hightower of Oldtown
House Targaryen of King's Landing

## Family

### Sibling(s)

Lorent Hightower
Desmera Hightower
2 unnamed younger sisters

### Additional Family

House Tyrell of Highgarden
House Targaryen of King's Landing

## Personality

### Personality Description

Victor is a calm and calculated person, preferring not to give away his intentions to outsiders. He thinks before making big decisions and appreciates counsel and advice from wiser people. He is only loyal to his house, considering that outsiders must first show respect and loyalty to him before expecting the same in return.

Victor does not believe in fate. His time at sea taught him that men forge their own paths and fate is just how they throw the blame.

Victor is a man who learns from his past to prepare for the immediate future. He is a loyal person, his loyalty extending to his men and the people he deems worthy of said loyalty. He is ruthless at sea, earning his nickname, Bane of the Step Stones. Victor is a serious person and a calculated one as well, his rage concealed behind the calmness he shows to his family and the small number of friends he has. He can be hot-headed sometimes and stubborn. Victor is very protective of his siblings, even though them being grown-ups might not need his protection anymore.

### Goals and Motivation

Victor wishes for his house’s prosperity, and is willing to achieve it by any means possible. He wishes for more influence and power for both himself and House Hightower.

### Reputation

Victor is known to be a brilliant sailor and advisor, in times of war or peace. He is a good duelist, his training as a swordsman paying off after all these years. Victor was nicknamed Bane of the Stepstones by the pirates he fought during his days on the sea. He is a friend of the God Emperor of YiTi since his visit there years ago.

## Backstory

Victor was born as the son of Lord Otto Hightower and Lady Alerie. He is the twin of Lord Lorent and has 3 younger sisters for which he cares deeply. Since childhood, Victor has never shown interest in ruling, his great loves being the sea, the military, and history. Victor has also shown interest in politics, especially since he was preparing to stay in Oldtown and advise his twin brother. At the age of 16, his father granted him leave to explore the seas. For 4 years, Victor has sailed around the Jade Sea, visited the Slaver Cities, and acquired a small fleet of 20 ships, returning home to Oldtown at age 20.

He is known to be a good swordsman and politician, as well as a sailor. After their father passed, Lorent became the new Lord of Oldtown and named his brother Victor, High Admiral of the Hightower Fleet and his main advisor. Victor studies and trains daily so he can be of service to his brother and to Oldtown as well as he can possibly be.

Victor is unmarried, placing his focus on traveling and working instead of finding a match for himself. He doesn’t believe in ‘love at first sight’ either, expecting a marriage for status and alliances instead of a union for love. He had a love interest however in Volantis, a beautiful girl and an intelligent one at that, the daughter of a senator. Victor was young and foolish, and fell in love with the girl, trying to buy her gifts and ‘win’ her attention. By the time he realized that the girl was playing with him and was just enjoying the gifts, Victor’s chests were empty and he woke up, seeing the truth of this affair. Since that day 10 years ago, Victor has never loved anyone else.

Victor is loyal only to his house and his brother, following him and advising him in any situation. He does not care for the politics behind the Iron Throne unless his house is directly involved in the games. Victor was knighted at 21 by his father, Lord Otto Hightower, for the diplomatic missions held in the east during the 4 years he was away.

Between diplomacy and drinking his money in taverns in Lys, Victor made his bones by terrifying the pirates in the Step Stones that were attacking merchants’ vessels. During the 4 year voyage, Victor earned himself the monicker ‘Bane of the Step Stones’ because his pirate body count was only rising. Victor killed someone for the first time at 17 while defending a servant on his flagship. Some rumors on the Step Stones arrived in Oldtown eventually while Victor was away, the rumors saying that he is massacring every pirate in his way, raider or not because he has grown a taste for pirate blood’. Worried about this, Lord Otto summoned Victor back home to Oldtown, ending the voyage of his son. Victor was indeed changed upon his return, however, he was not the man-killing machine he was painted out to be.

Victor has a fleet of 20 warships and a personal guard formed by 2 unsullied from Astapor, 3 Westerosi knights from Oldtown, and a water dancer from Braavos. His crews on the ships are handpicked personally by Victor himself from the Slaver Cities and Volantis. He is rather fond of his men and would even die for them, his guards and crews being the only outsiders that Victor trusts completely.