Tarik Norrey

## Commander of the Shadow Tower

Tarik Norrey is the current commander of the Shadow Tower. Former ranger and son of the chief of the Norrey clan in the North.

## Appearance

Tarik is a true northman in his appearance. He sports long, shaggy browwn hair that is rarely kept in any sort of style or fashion. He also has a beard of decent length, despite the standard for men of the watch to be cleanly shaven. He is a fairly tall man, which coupled with his muscular physique makes for a fairly intimidating person. His face and body contain many scars, though none are of any significance.

## History

The man who would one day become the Commander of the Shadow Tower and the terror of wildlings began his life as the fourth son of the chief of the Norrey’s, Wullman Norrey. Born into a life of fighting and survival, Tarik had to fight his way through life with axe and fist. As the fourth son of the chief, he was expected to be among the strongest of the clan’s warriors, an expectation that he met with much eagerness.

Throughout his childhood, Tarik was trained in a vast array of weapons and fighting styles, though he took a special liking to axes. By the time he was 8, he was taking down opponents almost double his edge with the fury and strength of a berserker. A skill he would need, as his clan regularly encounter and inevitably fight with the wildlings that managed to find their way over the wall and into the North. He regularly went out on patrols with other warriors and his brothers, learning how to survive off of the land and make it through the harshest of conditions with minimal supplies.

When he was 11, he had his first encounter with wildlings as he and his brother Torren came across a small band of 5. With axe in hand and fury in their hearts, the brothers rushed the band and slew them in a battle that lasted barely a minute that left the wildlings dead as well as Torren, while Tarik remained with only bruising and some small cuts. Although he lamented the loss of his brother, it only helped fuel his resolve to protect his people from the wildlings.

As their clan was a friend of the Watch, it was only natural that one of the chief's sons would pledge his life to the Night’s Watch and to protect the realm. Tarik took this oath at the age of 15 with eagerness, hoping to become a ranger and take the fight to the wildlings. He got his wish as he was quickly made a Ranger and sent to serve at the Shadow Tower. Throughout the various ranging he went on, he quickly showed a natural talent for logistics, being able to the easily and efficiently divide and distribute the supplies for the rangings, as well as setting up caches throughout the land north of the wall for the rangers to use in case of emergency.

After being a member of the watch for 6 years, he was chosen to join the Commander of the Shadow Tower, Rodrik Snow, on a special ranging to deal with a growing group of Hornfoots and Thenns. Fearing the resurgence of another King Beyond the Wall, the Lord Commander sent this group of rangers to scout the area and investigate the situation. Upon arriving to the Skirling Pass, the group was set upon by a group of wildlings that had been waiting for them. Taking huge initial losses, the group retreated to back to the Frostfangs, hoping to the lose them in the mountains. They were not so lucky, as they were pursued for two days before coming to a narrow mountain pass.

In order to guarantee the survival of as many as possible, Rodrik asked for volunteers for men to hold the pass while the rest escaped. 13 volunteered, chief among which were Tarik and a ranger named Jory Flint. The brothers repeated their vows as they drew their swords and charged the wilding pursuers. The battle lasted for almost day, and was hard fought and left many dead on both sides. The battle was ended by Tarik, who slew chief of the Thenns with his sword, which had been broken by the aforementioned adversary. Taking the axe from the chief's body, he chased the wildings off with a fury that even they found terrifying. Still, at the end, only Tarik and Jory made it out mostly unscathed, with Rodrik mortally wounded and the rest of the brothers lay dead.

Through Tarik’s bravery, the day was won, and with his skills and pre planning with supplies placements, the trio managed to make it back to the wall with Rodrik alive, but barely so. His wounds had become infected, and by the time the three returned to the Shadow Tower, it was too late to save him. Still, Tarik was rewarded for his skill and bravery as the Lord Commander made him the new commander of the Shadow Tower at Rodrik’s request. This position, as well as the battle that led to it, also sparked a lifelong friendship and rivalry with Jory. Being a man from a rival clan, he had no choice but to butt heads with the new commander, but also show him respect for his martial prowess.

Through his position, Tarik made effective efforts to prevent wilding incursions south of the wall, making tactical use of the limited supplies and men at his disposal. He also made another friend, a steward by the name of John Waters. Due to his inability to read and write, he kept his steward relatively close at hand to help with his day to day duties as commander, as well as keeping the axe he took from the chief of the Thenns nice and sharp. Despite frequently making fun of the boy’s lack of martial skill, he grew to appreciate the boy as a friend and ally and grew to rely on the boy’s skills in order to conduct his day to day duties.

When the Lord Commander died in 378, Tarik threw his name into the running to be the Lord Commander. Although he had the support of his men, he lost to Aedan Rivers, who had been First Ranger. Although upset that a greener man from the south had won, Tarik conceded that the boy was indeed a skilled leader and resumed his command at the Shadow Tower, where he has served to this day, and where he intends to serve until his last.

## Timeline

346 AC: Tarik is born

357 AC: Tarik fights wildlings for the first time, Torren is killed

361 AC: Tarik joins the Watch, taking the black later that year and is made a ranger

367 AC: Battle of the Frostfangs, Tarik is made Commander of the Shadow Tower

378 AC: Aedan Rivers elected 1001st Lord Command of the Night’s Watch

380 AC: Present day

## Family Members

Wullman Norrey - Father - Chief of the Norreys

Walda Norrey - Mother - d 377

Duran Norrey - Brother - Eldest, to be chief

Dran Norrey - Brother - Sellsword in Essos

Torren Norrey - brother - d 357

## Supporting Characters

Jory Flint - Tarik’s second in command, friend and rival  [Gift- Strong]

John Waters - Tarik’s assistant steward and trusted friend  [Gift- Audodidatic]