Bennarion Pyke

The Iron Islands

**Bennarion Pyke**, also known as Ben Pyke, is the illegitimate son and only living child of Rodrick Blacktyde, a sworn bannerman to the House Greyjoy. He was raised in his father's keep once the last of the trueborn Blacktyde children died, and was put through numerous trials and tribulations in an attempt to earn the name 'Blacktyde' and serve as his father's heir.

A seasoned captain and raider, Ben has established himself as a capable soldier and leader. A young man with large aspirations that include riches, reputation, and his father's acceptance - his goal is to someday be named 'Bennarion Blacktyde'.

## Appearance

> "*A young fox-faced man, with a mess of scruff lining his jaw, a mangled fresh scar carved across his cheeks. He looked every part the raider from old songs - rough and unkempt, with the calloused hands of a seafarer.*"
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Ben is in very good physical condition from his years on the Iron Shroud. Possessing the ice-blue eyes and dark brown hair of his father, Ben also has notably calloused hands.

## Biography

### Backstory

Ben Pyke was born in Blacktyde Castle to a highborn father and commoner mother, the result of a scandalous martial affair which was never meant to end with his birth. Though he does not remember it, he spent a brief few months being raised solely by his mother in a seaside hut on the northern edge of Blacktyde, only to return to be forcibly returned to his father's care after his sire's latest attempt to create a legitimate family ended yet again in failure and death. Naturally, he never saw his mother again and didn't even learn of her death until years after her passing.

#### Life in Castle Blacktyde

Much of Ben's early upbringing was greatly coloured by the stigma that comes with being illegitimate: Ill-concealed dirty looks and muttered slurs, casual insults, and repeated neglect from most of the people around him. More than once, he was ushered out of sight and deeper into his father's fortress to ensure that he would not cross paths with any of his father's esteemed guests. Despite his father's lacking presence, the servants charged with looking after Ben wasted no time filling his young head with all kinds of stories about his father's reaving days, painting him as a brave and strong warrior of near mythical proportions. By the time his father actually became a presence in his life, the only thing Ben couldn't have wanted more was to be just like him, precisely as his father would've desired.

As the only living child of Blacktyde, he was soon given an education comparable to most any young lordling of the Iron Isles, with a particular heavy focus on a martial training as well as the various studies necessary to become a capable seafarer and enough basic instruction in terms the words and sigils of other houses from the Iron Islands. Thanks to Blacktyde's old Maester, a kindly man who stuck out like a sour thumb next to the many hardy and gruff ironmen, Ben also received a fairly standard scholastic education, allowing him to read, write, do arithmetic, or perhaps most importantly, imbued him with knowledge regarding the recent and relatively esoteric history of the Iron Isles.

It was also from these lessons that Ben picked up some of his hobbies, including swimming, climbing, and sparring. Though they are pastimes, they also originate from the skills taught to him growing up.

#### Rodrick the Fishskin

While it never fully went away and continues to plague him to this day, Ben began to experience slightly better treatment as he spent longer in his father's castle. By the time Ben was eleven, his father had contracted Seascale Fever, ensuring that reaving days were well and truly over. Seeing as Ben was now all but the designated heir, illegitimate or not, he was now given responsibilities by his father, especially beyond the confines of their island. As his father no longer had any use for them, Ben was given command of his father's old ship and the accompanying crew.

#### Captain of the Iron Shroud

Within a few short months, he'd been to most if not all of the various islands that make up the Iron Isles. He ended up setting foot on both Orkmont and Harlaw relatively often, allowing his men some time to relax and work off some steam while the ship's upkeep was being taken care of, likewise allowing him to ensure Blacktyde's social standing with regards to their closest neighbours remained secure.

When he was fifteen years old, Rodrick deemed it time for Ben to set out on his first raid, thereby giving him a taste of what it truly was to be Ironborn. In the First Moon of 152 A.C., word reached him of a failed raid on Bear Island, perpetrated by one of the Harlaw brood.

##### The Raid of Bear Island

> "*She was no bear - just a woman*." - Rodrick Blacktyde's response to his son.
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By the time the sun had fully risen in the sky, the Ironborn were losing ground on Bear Island. At that moment, the gates to the keep opened and a considerable force of Mormont axewives charged out.