Denys Mormont

Arya Mormont

Denys Mormont is the Heir to Bear Island and a skinchanger.

## Biography

Denys was born the second child to Edrick Mormont, son of Lord Brandon Mormont and the heir to Bear Island, and his wife, Daella of House Karstark, in the first moon of the year 277 after Aegon's arrival.The first few years of Denys' life were uneventful, apart from his two younger siblings, Rodrik and Arya, being born. He was a well-mannered toddler, and the four siblings got along well with one another.

However, when Denys was only five, circumstances would shift dramatically. Ironborn raids on Bear Island have never been uncommon occurrences, and were usually bloodless affairs, as Bear Island had little to offer the Ironborn other than wood, and no one was willing to die over some trees. In the year 282, what was supposed to be a routine plundering erupted into a bloody massacre as a unusually large reaction force lead by Edrick Mormont engaged the Ironborn reavers, lead by Andrik Greyjoy. Looking to put an end to the theft of Mormont resources, Edrick engaged the Greyjoy in personal combat and caught a blade to the chest for his troubles, dying minutes later as his men dragged him from the brutal skirmish.

Fearing for his new heir's safety, perhaps unreasonably so, Lord Brandon had Denys and his mother brought to the relative safety of Karhold to be fostered. Being much younger and having trouble coping with his father's death, he never connected much with any of the other boys there, preferring to keep to himself. He often found himself visiting the Karhold kennels on the days where he had nothing else to do. He was a natural animal tamer, and had an uncanny ability to calm down the dogs when they would get riled up, which was often. As was tradition, Denys was trained in combat as aged, with the blade at first, but he soon realized he had a knack for archery and neglected swordplay to focus on that instead.

Denys would often go on hunts with the men at Karhold, and he had an uncanny ability to track prey alongside the dogs, though oddly only when with the dogs, as he was a rather mediocre hunter otherwise. His shot with a bow was what redeemed him. Additionally, as he got older, Denys would begin to have extremely vivid, recurring dreams: they were uneventful, always in the kennels, and always from the perspective of a dog. It was only later that he would discover the meaning of these dreams.

When Denys was fifteen, a raven was sent to Karhold, requesting he come to Bear Island, as he would very soon be of age. His mother had already returned herself two years prior, and Denys was eager to rejoin her.

Denys and some guards set out west, eventually finding a small fishing village on the coast of the Bay of Ice, barely south of the Gift. Denys and his companions convinced a fisherman to bring them to Bear Island on his boat, with the promise of a hefty prize. The fisherman warned of a storm further southwest, near Deepwood Motte and the Wolfswood, and recommended they sail north, hugging the coast, before moving to land on Bear Island's northern shore. The man being the most experienced sailor out of any aboard the small vessel, Denys and his entourage let him follow what he thought was the best course. However, the storm the man had warned of was closer than previously thought. In Denys' attempt to return home their boat was destroyed, and Bear Island washed up on the northern shore of the Bay of Ice along with most of the shattered boat, the only survivor.

Cold, wet, alone, and stranded north of the Wall, Denys began to wander the shore in search of some manner of food and warmth. It wasn't long before he stumbled across a recently dead wildling, that looked to be savaged by some animal. There was a trail of blood and footprints leading further inland, and Denys followed it, armed with a dagger which had thankfully remained in its sheath during the wreck. The trail brought Denys to a bloody sight: three dead wildlings and a dead shadowcat. It was obvious the wildlings were hunting the shadowcat and had been attacked by the beast, as the creature was riddled with arrows and covered in cuts, and the hunter's wounds indicated it had been a beast that had killed them.

While scavenging the scene for for dry clothes, a better weapon, and some food, Denys heard a pathetic mewing from nearby the dead shadowcat: one of its cubs had been nearby, and was attempting to wake its "sleeping" mother. He took great pity on the small cat, and picked it up using the skills he had gained in the Karhold kennels, hoping to comfort it.

However, the moment the creature made eye contact with him, his vision went black, and his body went numb. A few seconds went by, and he opened his eyes to see himself, laying on the ground, his body rigid in a trance-like state. A few more seconds and he realized that somehow, he had entered the body of the cat. He closed his eyes again, and he was back in his own skin. More scared than anything else, he sat up, and attempted to replicate what had just happened, however convinced he might of been that he was hallucinating. And to his surprise and terror, it worked, if only for a few seconds. He was a skinchanger, like the legends his mother would tell him when he was younger.

He spent a few more days north of the Wall, living off of pond water and a deer he killed with the bow he took from one of the dead wildlings. He spent much of his spare time entering the skin of the shadowcat he had "adopted". At first, he could only enter the animal for no more than a few seconds, and could only see through the creature's eyes, hear through its ears, and feel what it felt. The more he entered the animal's mind, the easier it became, and the longer he could remain. By the time help came, he could even control its actions.

And help did come. The village had sent another boat to Bear Island to see why the fisherman had not yet returned, this voyage with more success. Fearful that his heir was dead, Lord Brandon sent out longships to scour the shores of the Bay of Ice, and had men patrol Bear Island, in search of Denys. A ship eventually found Denys on the beach, exhausted, starving, and sick from bad meat and water.

Denys spent almost his entire time in recovery in the skins of other creatures. His innate with his shadowcat, Syggerik, had grown even deeper, to the point where it felt like he was in two bodies at times. Additionally, he learned how to force himself into the minds of creatures he did not have a bond with, shoving his mind into the skins of sparrows and ravens and flying high above the ground, or into squirrels and rabbits to run through the forest. With time, it became easier and to slip into the skins of animals, and Denys began sinking time into researching his "gift," while keeping it a secret from everyone else in the keep.

Five years after he left Karhold, and five years after unlocking his latent abilities, much has changed. The North is embroiled in a fierce civil war, one that Lord Brandon is insistent on not becoming a part of. Syggerik is a fully grown shadowcat, and roams Bear Island and the Mormont's keep, when he is not following around Denys. With the Black Wolf calling a war council at the Dreadfort, and the heir to Bear Island invited, the neutrality of House Mormont might find itself at an end.

## Timeline

277 - Denys is born

282 - Following the death of his father, Denys is brought to Karhold along with his mother to be raised in safety

292 - Denys leaves Karhold to return to Bear Island

293 - While on the journey to Bear Island, Denys is shipwrecked and stranded North of The Wall for a week, where he discovers his *gift*, before being rescued.

298 - Denys travels to the Dreadfort to attend the Black Wolf's council

## NPCs

Brandon Mormont - Lord of Bear Island - General

Jon Mormont - Castellan of Bear Island - Castellan

Dickon - Maester of Bear Island - Maester

Jorah - Master at Arms - Warrior

Rickard Snow - Bastard of Bear Island - Cavalry General