Durran Baratheon

## Personality

### Personality Description

Durran is a bold, jovial, highly honorable, and boisterous young man. Many regard him as a joy to be around, so long as one does not anger him, which is usually not easy to do. He has a surprising control over his temper, and unlike his father, he is more inclined towards being respectful, with a general aversion to large amounts of alcohol. When facing his foes, Durran goes into battle with steadfastness, a level-head, and a respectable degree of confidence that is accompanied by a ruthless refusal to give said foes any mercy until the battle is done. Put simply, Durran is an ideal knight, like something out of a story book.

Underneath this, though, is an underlying sense of insecurity, and a high amount of introversion. He worries constantly about being “the strongest” or “the best” because of his unusually powerful physique. Extreme standards have been ingrained in him from childhood, and it has warped his own self-perception, as well as his general outlook.

### Goals and Motivation

Durran seeks to become the greatest fighter and general the realm has ever seen.

### Reputation

Durran is young, but he is already well-regarded in the Stormlands as one of the most talented fighters to come out of the region.

## Backstory

At the hour of Durran Baratheon’s birth, a storm greater than any in an age railed against Storm’s End. Lightning and thunder, conjoined with the tides, crashed against the castle and its outlying settlements. As Durran’s mother struggled, nearly dying in childbirth to push the little lad out, the storm reached a crescendo. However, both Durran and his mother survived, and soon after Durran was safely brought into the world, the storm quickly subsided. The boy was massive even as a baby, a surprise to his relatives and other courtiers who witnessed the birth. It was no wonder that Jocelyn had such trouble birthing him. Not only was he big, but he was unusually heavy, even for his size. Unknown to the limited medical and biological knowledge of Westeros, Durran was born with two genetic mutations: One completely disabled his body’s production of myostatin, resulting in greater muscle strength, mass and density. The other disrupted the gene related to bone growth and activity, causing overactivity, resulting in unusually high bone density and strength.

As Durran grew through his childhood, always far taller than his peers, he was swiftly put into knightly and martial education. From his earliest days, Durran was instilled with the expectations that he would be the combative pride and joy of the Baratheon Dynasty. Smallfolk began calling him “Godsgrief Reborn”, which only added to the immense standards placed upon him. In his training, which he took very well to, Durran was not allowed to settle for anything less than perfect. If he did as expected, he was showered with love and praise. If not, then he would be sternly verbally admonished, given pointers on exactly where to improve, and tasked to immediately work on rectifying his failings. This type of childhood did not condition Durran to be very socially adept, as one could expect. However, Durran still did his best to actually be social where he could as a child. As a young adolescent, Durran was already taller than many adults, and was strong enough to wield his own heavy warhammer. Durran trained with equipment meant for those much older than himself, and gained experience in combative prowess and the intricacies of leading soldiers at an age far younger than one would expect. One could say Durran was born for war.

Durran’s first crowning moment, his great debut, was easily winning a squire’s tourney at the age of 13. After this, Durran was sent off to King’s Landing to squire for one of the Kingsguard members at the time, where his rapid progress and growth only continued. The Kingsguard mostly kept him training in the Red Keep, as they were hesitant to go out into the wider realm with a mere child. However, boys had to grow up, and at the age of 15, Durran was brought along with the Kingsguard on one of many visits made by the royal family to a vassal Lord. Along the way, the family was attacked by a band of highwaymen. Durran was initially instructed not to engage, but he was eager to prove himself. Grabbing his trusty hammer, the lad of 15 jumped into the fray alongside his mentors. With one well-placed blow, Durran caved the leader of the highwaymen’s chest completely inwards, and continued smashing whatever paltry bandits that stood in front of him. His squire’s attire and hammer covered in gore, Durran stood before his knightly teachers unabashedly, bearing no shame in having helped them win the conflict. At that moment, Durran’s master no longer saw a squire. He saw a warrior. On that road, Durran was officially anointed as a knight before the royal family and the rest of the Kingsguard by his mentor. After returning home from the travels of the royal family, Durran had proper Baratheon armor forged for him, with a stag helm crowned by real horns, all befitting his great size.

Now 18 years of age, Durran is a young but well-renowned knight of the Stormlands and the Baratheon dynasty. His great journey has only just begun, and he is eager to prove his quality to the rest of the world.