Ser Alyn Corbray

Alyn Corbray was one of the seven members of The Kingsguard under King Viserys I. He earned his position at the end of the Rosegold Rebellion, in which he fought in the Battle of King's Landing and served until 115 AC, when he took the black, the culmination of years of a growing dissaproval of the man he was sworn to protect. He is currently a ranger of the Night's Watch Although his father Ser Artos Corbray used to wield the ancestral blade Lady Forlorn, he chose to pass it onto his Alyn's first cousin, lord Lucion Corbray, viewing his son as unfit in every way to wield the family blade

### Appearance and Character

Tall, dark and wiry, Alyn aspires to be nothing less than a weapon of The Gods so that he might do their work on earth. A lifetime of training has forged him into a vaunted warrior, rigid and unwavering even as he turns grey with age and pale from the cold of the wall. All aspects of his person are upheld through a deep-running piety and devotion to The Seven. He is proud to a fault, though he would never percieve himself as such, a facet of his personality which renders him socially inept. He has comerades and superiors, but few friends, as he looks down on anyone who does not constantly endavour to follow scripture to the letter in every aspect of their lives. As a young man he saw no place or purpose for himself outside of the Kingsguard, viewing it as the holiest responsibility he can possibly hold, as combat is the only thing he has ever excelled in and he finds common knights to be repulsive hypocrites. Going from Kingsguard to Night's Watchman is not a transition most would view as advancement, however his dissillusionment with the royal family has ultimately lead Alyn to conclude that while the Watch is no less plagued by sinners than the royal court, it serves a nobler purpose

#### Biography

The second child of Ser Artos Corbray and Lady Jeyne Royce, it seemed that Alyn's role in life had been chosen for him before he was ever born. Ser Artos was no lord, but rather a henchman and enforcer for his brother, The Lord of Heart's Home. Artos made a name for himself as one of the great warriors of his generation, becoming the wielder of the legendary valyrian steel sword Lady Forlorn despite being a second son. During the War of The Mountains of The Moon he gained renown as an effective and ruthless soldier, slaying numerous clansmen and befriending Lord Royce, whose daughter he married. When Alyn was born, Lord Corbray was pleased, thinking he would have a nephew to follow in his brother's footsteps as the iron gauntlet of House Corbray. That was not to be. As a boy Alyn was entirely unremarkable in every respect. He showed no talent for anything, even taking longer than usual to learn reading and sums than most children. At first combat training went no better. His mother, ever pious, advised him to seek guidance and comfort in the book of the warrior. Though a slow reader, he would learn it by heart. From the age of 10 he intensified his own training regimen voluntarily, preforming exercises daily and nightly, often by skipping other lessons to have more time for weapons training. As the Vale was in a state of war this was not only accepted, but eventually encouraged by his father, who thought his son might finally be toughening up. In the final four years of the war, Alyn squired in the field. In a normal conflict squires his age would rarely fight, but this was no ordinary war. By the time it ended, Alyn would have witnessed deaths beyond counting, and killed men. His rigid nature was born of battle, and his devotion intensified. His worldview became one of the heathens and the faithful, where the latter mus constantly combat the former to prevent the destruction of the world itself. During the war, the clansmen were the heathens. Once it ended, he came to see them all around him, even beside him in the sept. The book of the warrior had taught him that knights were selfless, humble, chaste and restrained. Instead he found the knights he served and his comerades in arms to be sinful and debauched, leherous beyond measure, ocnstantly drinking and purchasing the services of camp followers. In particular he grew antagonistic towards his own father, who made use of prostitutes while on campaign. Irritated by his son's prudish nature, Ser Artos decided it was time to make a man of his son. Alyn was taken to a brothel and lead into a room, where woman awaited him, paid and ready. When locked in the room by his father, Alyn responded by picking up a chair and shouting at the prostitute, threatening her not to come near him. He was kicked out of the brothel whilst telling the owner that he was free to keep the money, but that his virtue was not his father's to give away. Returning to Heart's Home, Alyn wasted no time in shaming his fellow squires for their 'sinful' ways. Hardened by war and a rigorous training regimen, he dominated the castle yard with equal parts of skill and brutality, claiming to be punishing and purifying the boys around him by beating them senseless in sparring matches. Finally having had enough, Artos sent his son packing south. Having given up any hope of making anything of him, he simply wanted him out of his sight. Ser Artos's prestige as a knight allowed him to get his son a spot at court. His father sent him to King's Landing knowing he would hate it, and he did. The court appeared to him as utterly antithetical to the ways of devout andal chivalry he worshipped. He continued his ways in the yard of the Red Keep with increased vigour, until he was taken on as a squire by Ser Aethan Velaryon. Aethan was not the model of religious perfection Alyn considered as the measure of a true knight, but he eventually learned to respect him as a great warrior. Outside of the kingsguard, few if any men have impressed him in the same way. Aethan made no secret of how hopeless a person he found him to work with, but did not loose faith that the unhinged boy in his charge could one day become a decent warrior in one form or another. It was his respect for Aethan coupled with his religious fervour that made Alyn realize his only goal in life, to serve on the Kingsguard. In his eyes it presented the possibility to live in a sacred, chivalric society cut off from the debauchery of common knighthood. He remained as one of Aethan's squires until 93 AC when the Rosegold Rebellion broke out. It would be the second war Alyn Squired in, but this time he was a man grown, a trained warrior even if he was yet unknighted.

However an apparent whim of fate would prevent him from joining the crownlander host on their southern campaign. A few days before they were to depart, Alyn came down with a fever, which was strong enough that some feared he was in the early stages of dragon sickness, the feared plague that had long been the curse of the Targaryen dynasty. He was quarantined in a cell. For two weeks he struggled against illness, praying in every lucid moment. At the end of the fortnight he had lived through it. Whatever affliction had struck him, it was not dragon plague. Alyn would later come to view it as divine intervention, a sign from the gods that it was in the capital his battle would be fought. When the army of the Vale came to King's landing he was reunited with his father and cousin Lucion. When the westermen attacked the Gate of The Gods he joined the defense. Valiant though it was, the knights of the vale would be forced back into the city. While the Lannister host began concentrating on the Red Keep and The Dragonpit, the larger battle became a bloody struggle being fought street by street. Eventually the Valemen would regroup and sieze the opportunity given by Balerion to drive the enemy out of the city.

With the Golden Truce, Alyn would be reunited with Aethan, who, after listening to accounts of his squire's bravery in battle, finally decided to knight him. Alyn would stand his vigil in the Sept of Remembrance, a night he would remember as one of the best moments of his life. As peace was declared came the time for rewarding brave warriors. To Alyn it was the opportunity to fulfill his dream. He would ask both Aethan and Lord Gunthor Arryn to support his appointment, which was finally approved by the king one month after the end of the rebellion. Finally Alyn believed he had found the place he truly belonged in the world. His sister congratulated him, his cousin was indifferent, his father seething with anger. Immediately after Alyn's appointment, Artos passed Lady Forlorn onto his nephew Lucion instead of his son. Alyn did not care. Donning sacred white, he saw no need for a blade forged by pagans.

Ever since the rebellion, Alyn has served with the utmost loyalty and diligence. His conviction that his duty to the king is sacred is what dirves him on and allows him to endure the sinful vanity of the royal capital. A white sword is all he has ever aspired to be, and he dedicates the whole of his person to this role, his every action dedicated to improving his ability to guard the king. Though his rigidity and zeal make him an offputting man to be around for most, any man wishing harm upon the king will find him an unyielding shield at his sovereign's side

### The white cloak and the black (98-130 A.C)

Alyn would join King Viserys on his campaign to supress a second rebellion in the reach. During this time he became aqquainted with Princess Helaena, the King's cousin, whom he would fight with against the rebels. It was at the end of this campaign she would learn that she was carrying the child of Lyman Crane, whom she subsequently married. Meanwhile Alyn was growing dissillusioned with Viserys's whoring over the course of the rebellion, finding himself guarding the king's person during his sessions of lechery and the salacious secrets forever after. Unknowingly, he was being roped into the conflict that would erupt between the Targaryen cousins. A few months after Helaena was married and her child had been born, she would meet Viserys in the training yard, who promptly accused her of being a harlot for marrying the man who got her pregnant, all the while ranting about his own love for her. When the princess drew steel, Alyn had to intercede. This event lead to Alyn losing whatever little respect he'd still held for the king, and for the next decade and change he would serve purely out of a sense of obligation to his oath and office, to the position if not the man. Eventually, even this grim determination would not endure in the face of Viserys's misrule

When the man known as The Righteous One became High Septon, Alyn held out hope for a brighter future, secure in the knowledge that The Seven Kingdoms still had a true leader even in the absence of a true king. It was this conviction that would drive him to the breaking point. While conflicted when the Cobblers first rose up, he ultimately came to see theirs as a crusade of righteousness, dedicated to a true cause no matter its imperfections. It was everything he couldn't see in his liege. When Viserys turned his swords on the Cobblers in the streets of King's Landing, Alyn could no longer suffer to be among their ranks. The same day the riots were supressed, he stepped before the Iron Throne and threw his blade to the floor. When asked to explain himself he said:

> *"Your Grace, I ask to take the black, for I have chafed in the white for half my life. I have shed blood for you, my own and that of countless others. I have guarded your person and your secrets, both equally vile. I can no longer suffer to be your sword knowing whom you would want to strike down, nor your shield knowing who you view as the enemies of the realm"*
>
>

Alyn would depart the city seven days later after taking confession and a walk of punishment through the streets of the city with the intent of purifying himself of his sin as Viserys's servant. Now the thought of living at The Wall, beyond the king's jurisdiction seemed almost too good to be true. His arrival was as such a rude awakening, seeing how he was now surrounded by petty criminals. In spite of this, he would find peace in service. Perhaps he, who felt so ill at ease around most other people, was fated to serve a purpose so vast and impersonal as The Wall. He has served faithfully since, and even found small moments of comraderie like he once did with his fellow Kingsguards. For the rest of his days, he will guard the realm even if it means holding The Wall to the last man

## Family

* Artos Corbray (Father, b. 46 A.C)
* Jeyne Royce (Mother, b. 51 A.C)
* Jonelle Corbray (Sister, b. 71 A.C)
* Lord Lucion Corbray (First Cousin, b. 72 A.C, d. 99 A.C)