Rolland Payne

Ser Talbert Plumm (Adoptive Father)

Ser Rolland Payne is a knight of the Kingsguard of King Daemon III, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm. Ser Rolland took the White after the debacle at the Duel of the Dragons cost the lives of most of the existing Kingsguard. Prior to his elevation, Ser Rolland fought on behalf of the Crown and in service to Lord Lannister during Durran's Defiance.

## Appearance

Ser Rolland is freakishly tall and as strong as an ox. He was encouraged to pursue a military career early in his life and it shows, both in his musculature and the scars he carries. He has dark hair and green eyes and so further stands out from his fair-haired kin.

## History

Rolland Payne was born late in 243, the third of three children borne by Lord Addam Payne and Lady Lynesse Marbrand. Due to complications arising from the pregnancy, Lady Lynesse passed shortly after Rolland was borne. Rolland would never know his mother. Rolland's elder Cedric was groomed to rule and the middle brother, Kevan, was groomed to rule in the event of Cedric's untimely demise. Rolland, however, was of no particular use.

Lacking any productive path towards his future, Rolland was fated for a life of service. When he started showing his inclination towards prodigious height and strength, he was quickly sent to train with the best knight that Lord Addam could find: Ser Talbert Plumm. Lord Addam had found in Ser Talbert an exemplar of the fate he foresaw for Rolland: to fight for kith and kin, to settle for a life that offered no great future for his children, and an early grave. Despite being handed off to Ser Talbert when he was seven, to serve as the man's page, Rolland and Ser Talbert grew as near to one another as family.

But it was not to last. Fourteen years later, Ser Talbert and Rolland came upon a group of Ironborn ransacking a village along the Searoad. After driving the raiders back into the sea, the village elder offered his daughter, fairest Lynesse, to Ser Talbert. Ser Talbert, being without a wife and having no prospects of advancement as he neared his fourth decade, wed her. But it was a joyless union. Lynesse knew no pleasure from Ser Talbert, who could bring himself to love no one other than himself and his own glories.

Rolland, too, faced demons. He had become an uncle a year past and knew that Cedric's son, named in honor of their father, would know a life that Rolland's own children (should he have any) could only envy. Even Kevan, betwixt Cedric and Rolland, would be able to give wealth and prestige to his own children in the form of a marriage to some other noble house. And Rolland finally knew the cruel genius behind Lord Addam's choice of Ser Talbert, for Rolland \*was\* Ser Talbert. He would achieve nothing in his life save to raise one of the next generation of unwanted sons.

And so, when Ser Talbert had drunk himself to sleep as he did ever night, Rolland and Lynesse shared their unhappiness with one another. Lynesse spoke of all that Ser Talbert would never give him, regardless of his title; Rolland spoke of all that was denied him \*because\* of his name. Youth, shared misery, and alcohol can lead to only a handful of outcomes. And so it was that Rolland bedded the wife of the man he had come to see as his father.

The morning did not bring shame or discovery. Ser Talbert saw nothing, knew nothing. Rolland and Lynesse would repeat their transgression again and again. Ser Talbert loved Rolland as his own son and could never have fathomed such betrayal. Even when an innkeeper intimated that perhaps the two youngsters had grown too fond of one another, Ser Talbert was blind to the treason.

The tipping point came late in 264. After much chasing, Rolland and Ser Talbert slaughtered a bandit of brigands in the forests around Crakehall. Ser Talbert, who took two wounds that day, propped himself up with the branch of an ash tree and knighted Rolland in the twilight of the day and embraced him as a brother. That evening, after Ser Talbert had been dosed with milk of the poppy, the freshly minted Ser Rolland and Lynesse once again laid as one.

The following morning did not bring discovery. Indeed, Ser Talbert slept much of the day away and the two lovers were able to spend a morning together for the first time in years. It was finally too much; Ser Rolland could hardly look his adoptive father in the eye in the weeks that followed. He had craved to be outed, to be discovered, to be forced to defend his passions with naked steel; instead he had been loved, adored, and knighted in a glade covered in the blood and offal of his enemies. Ser Rolland's conscious gnawed at him like a hungry beast.

Ser Talbert recommended they return to Payne Hall to pay their respects to Lord Addam and give news of Ser Rolland's elevation. Ser Rolland, seeking an escape, whole-heartedly supported the idea. And every night between Crakehall and Payne Hall, despite the ever-growing hole in his heart, he laid with Lynesse. He was a man ruled by his basest desires and it shamed him.

The return to Payne Hall brought more pain. The family he had not seen in a decade showed little interest in Ser Rolland's recent knighthood. Lord Addam and Ser Cedric, who had done far less to earn the title, were fixated on discussions regarding the most recent news: Mad King Maelys killed his brother and murdered Axel Baratheon. Ser Rolland's return to his home did precious little to assuage his pain.

Relief came in the form of word from Casterly Rock: the Lannisters were going to war. Ser Rolland knew not against whom, only that perhaps the war camp would offer some respite. He hoped dearly to dissuade Ser Talbert from coming, citing the man's advancing age and his need to settle down with his young wife, but it was for naught. Their shared time under the roof of Payne Hall brought unhappiness to Lynesse, who was forced to suffer Ser Talbert's company once again.

When Ser Rolland went to war, Ser Talbert, Kevan, and Lynesse accompanied him. Ser Talbert sought his glorious death; Kevan sought his advancement; and Lynesse sought a reprieve from the obligations of being a lady. Ser Rolland and Kevan bonded in the weeks that followed; weeks that Ser Rolland and Lynesse were close but never in one another's arms. Still the shame of their secret love ate away at Ser Rolland.

South of Lannisport, with the Lannister army encampment ever expanding around them, Ser Rolland and Ser Talbert pledged their swords to Lord Tytos Lannister's cause. Kevan Payne pledged that Lord Addam's host was on their heels and would arrive in two weeks' time. the three men were dismissed without much fanfare. The coming weeks would bring more torment to Ser Rolland, kept apart from his love but still shamed for it. After the skirmish at Red Lake, Ser Rolland and Lynesse shared a secret night on one of the many islands of that lake. And on that night she whispered to him of the abuses and injustices she had suffered at Ser Talbert's hands. And Ser Rolland felt his shame give way to anger.

The smoldering ember of that anger burned in the days that followed. As the Lannister host spilled into the Reach, Ser Rolland found himself consumed by hatred. He sought battle wherever it might be found, for despite all his rage he still loved Ser Talbert as the father that Lord Addam never was. And, perhaps, he sought death at the hands of the Men of the Reach, for surely such would bring reprieve from his pain.

But Ser Rolland's lot was never a pleasant one. He was not the first over the walls at Highgarden but he "acquitted himself with honor," as the records show. But Ser Rolland's conduct was anything but. He slew dozens of men pledged to House Tyrell, but these were the left-overs, men left behind by Lord Tyrell as being inadequate for his purposes. Young men, old men, injured men, ill men. There was no challenge in cleaving them in twain or throwing them from the battlements. And so it was that Ser Rolland and Ser Talbert carved their way into one of the dark cellars of the Reach; a place reserved for hoarding arms and coin. And there, with none as their witness, Ser Rolland challenged Ser Talbert.

Ser Talbert, shocked, denied the allegations. Who was Lynesse to stand between them and slander his name? How could Ser Rolland, whom he had known for so many years, believe the words whispered by serpents? How could Ser Rolland allow this poison to so thoroughly corrupt him, rather than simply speaking to him? But Ser Talbert's words fell on deaf ears and the two men fought. They were interrupted once by a man in Lannister armor, who was promptly decapitated by Ser Rolland, but otherwise left to fight their battle in the darkness of the Tyrell cellar.

Thrice times Ser Talbert laid Ser Rolland low and thrice he begged Ser Rolland to yield and stand down. But Ser Rolland was young and overcome with anger. Ser Talbert, overcome with grief, could not bring himself to slay the man he loved as his son. And so Ser Rolland slew him and left his body where it lay. Ser Rolland sat in that cellar for hours after the fight, overcome with grief at the death of Ser Talbert. The shame and guilty conscious that had plagued him up until Ser Talbert's death were magnified. His small treason had festered and grown; his adultery given way to kinslaying. Ser Rolland wandered the halls of Highgarden aimlessly for hours after that. Perhaps he sought death at the hands of some Man of the Reach, but the Lannisters had prevailed and no such relief would be found.

Ser Rolland made his way back to the encampment, but he could hardly remember how he had gotten back. All that mattered to him at that time was that his father was dead at his own hands, all for the words of a woman. And that night he saw Lynesse as she truly was: a woman of unfathomable beauty and inconceivable evil. They went together into the forest that night; he returned the following morning alone. He would never forget the look on her face as choked the life from her, or the sound his sword made as he reduced her body to so many unidentifiable bits of meat. Those horrors were etched on his soul and no amount of mercy from the Mother would ever erase that stain.

Ser Rolland and Kevan Payne, fresh from his own victories, made their way back to Payne Hall. Kevan was greeted as a hero while Ser Rolland was largely ignored. But the slights that Lord Addam and Ser Cedric laid at his feet amounted to nothing; what did their petty spites and slights matter now that his love and his father were dead? They could never hurt him as much as his love did, no matter how hard they might try.

Kevan spoke of his plans to expand the family's influence in King's Landing. Ser Rolland, seeking any escape at all, offered to escort him. Lord Addam and Ser Cedric, ever-eager to be quit of the men they perceived to be hangers-on, supported the venture whole-heartedly. And so they left. Ser Rolland found ways to serve the Boy-King and Kevan Payne worked to build his business, centered around cloth and dye. Kevan eventually sent his bastard by-blow, a lad named Uthor and dating to Kevan's excursions during the invasion of the Reach, to serve as page for Ser Rolland. And when Lys threatened to send half of the world to war, Ser Rolland took up arms in the service of House Blackfyre. He fought in the Blackfyre Navy, serving aboard the \*House of Payne\*, a slave galley bought by Kevan Payne for the war. The \*House of Payne\* was rammed off the island of Serpents and sank, but Ser Rolland waded to shore and continued the fight. Ser Rolland would serve on a Blackfyre ship next, which \*also\* sank under him, but not before he was able to land on Scarwood and participate in the ensuing battle, taking two injuries for his trouble.

Ser Rolland's hope of a desperate last stand, or perhaps merely a drowning at sea, were lost when the two sides decided to settle matters in a more amicable manner. Lacking the standing to participate in the Trial by Seven, he stood and watched as the flower of Westerosi chivalry died on the field. And, as he watched so many of the Kingsguard fall, he saw the potential for refuge from his guilt. And so, when he was offered the opportunity to take the White, Ser Rolland committed himself whole-heartedly to the task. And, for the first time in years, he found reprieve from the ghosts of his past.

On his return to King's Landing, Ser Rolland found a young lad named Tristifer Hill waiting for him. Tristifer had previously squired for Ser Cedric, and so was not unknown to Ser Rolland. Tristifer came with a letter bearing the seal of Lord Addam Payne, saying simply "he will serve."

## Timeline of important events

243: Rolland Payne is born. His mother, Lynesse Marbrand, dies.

250: Rolland is given as page to Ser Talbert Plumm.

257: Rolland becomes Ser Talbert's squire.

263: Ser Talbert weds Lynesse. Lynesse and Rolland promptly fall in love.

264: Rolland is knighted by Ser Talbert.

270: Rolland participates in the Lannister invasion of the Reach. He murders Ser Talbert and a Lannister guardsman in a cellar beneath Highgarden's walls. He then murders Lynesse in a glade outside of the city.

276: Ser Rolland seeks a glorious death in the Duel of the Dragons, but survives two major battles. He is given the opportunity to join the Kingsguard, which he accepts.

## Family

Lord Addam Payne (b. 224) (Ruthless, Leadership)

Lady Lynesse Marbrand (d. 243)

- Ser Cedric Payne (b. 239) (Leadership, Vitality)

- - Addam Payne (b. 266)

- - Alannys Payne (b. 270)

- - Torrhen Payne (b. 274)

- Kevan Payne (b. 242) (Magnate)

- Ser Rolland Payne (b. 243) (Strong, Towering, Gullible)

### **Supporting characters**

Ser Talbert Plumm (d. 270) (Duelist)

Lynesse of the Sea Road (d. 270) (Cunning)

Tristifer Hill (b. 262), Ser Rolland's squire

Uthor Hill (b. 267), Kevan Payne's bastard and Ser Rolland's page

Garth, Kennet, Larence, Mern, Sefton, and Yohn; guardsmen sworn to House Payne and serving Kevan Payne in King's Landing.