Alaric Stark

## Personality

### Personality Description

Alaric is a strange man, always switching between melancholic, sullen, rambling, and delusionally heroic.

Pestered in youth by overbearing advisors meant to educate his brother, and stuck with a temperamental bullying brother, Alaric took to avoiding things as much as possible. He often daydreamed and ran away when things became too stressful for him.

This has caused a nasty habit where he disappears for weeks at a time. It’s not totally clear what he does, but it seems to be hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, or carousing among smallfolk.

This habit has made him extremely strange: he always cites how beautiful the outer world is, and has a tendency to talk in nonsensical metaphors. Often he’ll ramle about smallfolk tales, and tell people he’s accomplished ludicrous and even supernatural feats. To the point where Alaric is sometimes considered mad.

Yet he is still loyal to his family, evidenced by how he always comes back to Winterfell. Even with his horrid brother Farlen demeanor, Alaric remains resolved with a strong loyalty to him. And he shows great care to his sisters- chiefly worried about Alys (although unhelpfully he expresses that she should ‘go to Skagos’).

Alaric would like to join the Night’s Watch, but bound by duty to his house he has postponed this endeavor. He has utterly no interest in ruling, and lacks most leadership qualities.

### Goals and Motivation

Alaric intends to join the Night’s Watch, but first he feels he has to fulfill his duty to the Starks.

### Reputation

Alaric is considered his brother’s quiet shadow, and is known for his borderline madness and sudden bouts of going missing. However, he is extremely popular with the smallfolk of the north: as he is known to visit and treat with them constantly.

## Backstory

Nothing was strange about Alaric’s early childhood. Born normally and healthily, Alaric was a loud and playful boy- delighted for his mirth and never thinking twice to display kind compassion. Any who knew him at the time had expected him to grow into a charming warrior or carousing dilettante. He wasn’t remarkable- but he was known to stick up for his three siblings. Famously challenging and getting beaten by a stable boy for calling Alys “more bear than woman”.

But then his father, for reasons Alaric still doesn’t understand, invited many lords of the north to Winterfell. And suddenly, his cheery demeanor diminished. No longer was he free to roam Winterfell- instead, he was constantly hounded by a flurry of old men. They’d tell him how to act, what politics was, how ‘better’ than Farlen Alaric was, and how Alaric should consider running Winterfell. His brother, who he loved dearly and relied on as a bedrock, was suddenly cruel and would belittle Alaric at any opportunity. Utterly discontent and having all of his free time filled with rambling old lords, it all boiled over.

Alaric first hid in obvious places, like stables, or near the broken tower. Momentary absences that lasted hours at most, no one paid it any attention. Then he hid in the crypts- for 3 days. Winterfell was in a mayhem searching for the prince during this time, and in the end it was a disappointed and angry Farlen who found him- starving and staring at the floor.

At the age of 11, he ran away for real the first time- getting away while he was unsupervised during a winter hunt. Winterfell was on high alert again, and it was patrolling footmen that found him and brought him back this time. And then one night he snuck away east towards “Hornwood”. And then north to see the wall. Usually with frostbite, often ending up in smallfolk houses caring for him.

Once the habit formed, Lord Stark wasn’t so alarmed when Alaric ran away (as at this point it was a stressful annoyance he’d rather ignore). Soon enough, Alaric was good at it- by 13 he could forage competently, and knew all the tricks of the trade to survive out in winter. A terrifying prospect- winter was not easy in the North, so it was strange that Alaric seemed to relish the opportunity to go. Despite how skinny and haggard he was when he returned.

He was returning of his volition by this point, and always came back to a more dire state of Winterfell. Thankfully, most of the lords ignored him now as a lost cause- but all the offices had been replaced with unfamiliar faces. Alys wasn’t around, and Lysara seemed avoidant of everything too- although handling the extreme attention a lot better than Alaric did. And Farlen- he was killing wildlife en masse and spouting strange nonsense.

At 14, Alaric expressed his wish to join the Night’s Watch. Lord Stark denied this request, and said that Alaric could not join until Farlen had children. He egged Farlen to go get married, pushing his brother to visit White Harbor and find a wife. This did not work, Farlen came back wifeless and angrier than before. Rejecting any women who visited Winterfell left and right.

In the few times Alaric was in Winterfell by now, the thumbscrews of duty were heavy on him. Because Farlen reigned as a cruel prince who wouldn’t take a wife- and Winterfell itself was in mayhem. His father now urged Alaric to take a wife too, and to take on responsibilities of an heir to Winterfell. Consequently, Alaric now disappeared whenever a woman visited court- and delegated tasks given to him to underqualified peasant boys.

All in all, Alaric does not want to rule. At this point, he lets his sisters do all of the political thinking for him, and figures if he has to take the seat of Winterfell he’d abdicate as soon as someone eligible can inherit.