Artos Dayne

## The Sword of the Morning

**Artos Dayne** is the second son of Darreth and Laena Dayne. He holds the title of The Sword of the Morning, the first man to hold the title in almost a century (the last having been Ser Arthur Dayne). Artos is also a Sworn Brother of The Kingsguard, having been offered membership in the brotherhood following the death of Ser Harrion Clegane in The Battle of the Burning Brand. He is one of the more senior members of the brotherhood.

## Appearance

Artos stands at about 6'3, his body still covered in muscle despite his advanced age. One might think that his hair has gone white from age, but the few inches that adorn his head have been white since his birth, creating a rather picturesque image when combined with the white blade of Dawn and the white cloak of the Kingsguard. Violet eyes oft find themselves studying the world, and his face is adorned by a well-trimmed goatee.

## History

Artos was born in Starfall in 330 AC, only a year after his older brother, Maric. He came into the world **strong**, his violet eyes aglow and his white hair shimmering in the torchlight. He followed along in his brother's footsteps--little more than a spare, should something occur to precious Maric. His achievements were often overshadowed, tormented by reminders that "Maric had done it better." This only became more prevalent when he began his formal education at the hands of Maester Donovar. Though he had a head for facts and names and places and lineages and all of the things that one must know as a Highborn Lord, he lacked the capacity to read. Words escaped him--the letters seeming to shift about on the page like the sands of the Dornish desert. As such, he remained **illiterate**.

When he turned eight, his mother, Laena, arranged for him to be sent to page for his uncle, Lord Daeron Yronwood. He performed the duties well, if not notably. The Maester of Yronwood, Maester Kaegan, was similar unsuccessful in teaching Artos his letters. It wasn't long until he simply stopped trying altogether.

After he served his time as a page, Lord Darreth arranged for Artos to squire under one of the great knights of Dorne, Ser Gerold Uller, who was then serving as a sworn sword of Princess Alysanne Martell. Ser Gerold was one of the few Dornishmen to fight in The War of the Exile, and Artos accompanied him, serving dutifully. During one battle, his quick wit and steady hand slew one of the Volantene cavalrymen that was charging Ser Gerold, saving his life. The two developed a strong bond as a result. Said bond was only strengthened in The Crisis of The Claw, where Artos's even-thinking and calm words were enough to prevent a fight between Ser Gerold and a group of Northern soldiers.

Artos fast grew tired of a squire's life; he yearned for glory. With some assistance from Ser Gerold, he entered himself in a Tournament at Sunspear as a mystery knight, The Silver Serpent. Riding valiantly, Artos unhorsed many. Among them was Ser Gerold himself. After unseating the expected winner of the tourney, Artos revealed his true identity, and crowned Princess Alysanne his Queen of Love and Beauty. Astonished by how well he had performed in the lists, Ser Gerold decided that there was nothing left to teach the young man, and knighted him the next day.

After crowning her as his Queen, Artos began to see much more of the Princess. He became one of her Sworn Swords, all the while searching for her hand in marriage. He was one of the first to respond when she needed help, always by her side. He was smitten by her--or at least, he told himself. In time, she became more intrigued in the young knight. They would oft exchange surreptitious glances. Light brushes. Wandering hands. Over-familiarity. This went unnoticed by the majority of the Court.

In 348, Alysanne summoned Artos to her chambers. She told him she wanted him--that she found herself thinking of him in each waking moment. Though she tried to seduce the knight, he found himself too bound by his honor to return her advances (or at least, that's what he told himself). Begging of her any other task, she instructed him to root out one of the ferocious Pirate Captains of the Stepstones, Tirius the Bloody. He accepted the task in earnest, and set out.

It was a difficult task, one she likely did not expect him to succeed in, but succeed he did. Taking his small contingent of soldiers, Artos located the pirate's lair and fought them. Meeting Tirius in single combat, Artos proved himself the more **martially adept** of the two, dispatching him easily.

When news of the battle reached Starfall, the men and women of House Dayne were stunned. Artos had not returned home since he left to squire for Ser Gerold, and yet all they heard of him--the second son, the illiterate one, always second to Maric--was victory after victory, honor after honor. Recalling him to their ancestral keep, the House decided to bestow upon him their highest honor. They named him The Sword of the Morning, and with it, the legendary greatsword Dawn.

Returning to Sunspear with renewed purpose, he proposed marriage to Alysanne. She skillfully evaded his proposal, offering false promises and idle gratifications. In an attempt to prove himself to her, he finally acquiesed to her demands, spending a night with her in her chambers. It was lackluster. Something seemed missing. He attributed it to the dishonor of it all--laying with the Princess before she was wed--but she would have none of it. She would not invite him into her bed again, though he would still clamor for her hand.

   Not three moons later, his world came crashing down about him. In a sudden turn of events that left the whole Court in shock, Alysanne married the captain of a company of sellswords. A nobody. Artos was livid. In his anger, he turned to his oldest friend and companion, Ser Gerold. He told him everything--how they had slept together, how she had promised they would one day be wed. His complaints were met by nothing more than a wry smile. Unbeknownst to Artos, *Gerold* had also been sleeping with Alysanne. Enraged that his friend and mentor had allowed him to be strung along (to say nothing of the fact that he had slept with Artos's Queen of Love and Beauty), Artos made it very apparent that their friendship was dead.

Perhaps because he knew no other life, Artos remained the Princess's sworn sword. He watched from the sidelines as the woman he had felt destined to wed had one child with the man. Then another. Then another. Strong children. Beautiful children. Children that should have been his. When his brother informed him that he had arranged a marriage for him, he barely cared. He wed Myriah Vaith for duty and duty alone. His first squire, Pearse Peasebury, arrived not long after the wedding.

    Less than a year after wedding her, she was pregnant with their child. Only a few moons after that, she was gone. Having fallen down a flight of stairs during a bout of faintness, Myriah had shattered her leg. Despite the efforts of the Maesters, she died of infection not long thereafter. Though he put on the required display of mourning, Artos found himself mostly apathetic. He had no special love for the woman.

354 was, for the most part, uneventful, but Artos did welcome his second squire, a Reachman named Gerris Caswell.

    In 355, Artos grew tired of seeing the Sellsword captain and his wife--tired of seeing the reminders of his failures. When news reached him of the growing bandit troubles of The Westerlands, he set out with haste, dedicating himself to the defeat of Arrec of the Burning Brand. The many battles saw his skill with a **greatsword** increase.

When the Kings finally grew tired of the thorn that was Arrec, Artos marched in the armies that they sent to destroy him. He fought in the vanguard, which saw the worst of the fighting. Many men around him died--men who had been fighting against Arrec far before the Kings themselves had cared. Artos himself was wounded, taking a particularly nasty wound upon his leg. He still bears the scar, a wicked reminder of the battle that aches on humid days.

Ser Harrion Clegane, a knight of the Kingsguard, had fallen in the battle, leaving a vacancy upon the Kingsguard. As a reward for his honorable and distinguished service, the cloak was offered to Artos. Though he did not particularly desire it, he saw no way to politely decline such an honor, and accepted. As his first action as a Sworn Brother, he knighted his first squire, Pearse Peasebury, in recognition for his bravery in The Battle of the Burning Brand.

His first year of service was undistinguished. Still recovering from his wound, Artos was haunted by the memories of the Battle of the Burning Brand. He sought whatever respite he could--drink, milk of the poppy... yet, despite it all, they remained. Haunting him when he closed his eyes. He became a tired man, for the ghosts of his companions seemed determined to visit him in the dark of the night. Still, he remained dedicated to his duties as a Sworn Brother of the Kingsguard.

Artos was to the Kingswood on several occasions to root out bandits within. It was on one such journey that he knighted Gerris Caswell, as a reward for his valiant service and martial prowess.

The first true test of his ability came in 363 AC. Prince Richard Baratheon, convinced that he would make a better King than his brother Alesander, led a coup that would later be known as Richard's Regret. The brother in charge of defending the King's chambers that knight, it was Artos's martial prowess that held the line until more of his brothers arrived. Recognizing his service, Alesander and Artos became friends of sorts.

Their friendship became stronger through the years. When his wife died giving birth to Prince Robert, Artos was there to play the sympathetic ear. Alesander became the first person Artos could trust with his thoughts. His disgust at the lives lost in The Battle of the Burning Brand. The fact that his brothers in arms still haunted his dreams. The King's silver tongue washed away the concerns with ease, and it was his kindness that finally allowed Artos the ability to rest once again.

The King began to occupy most of his thoughts. Not his duty to protect him, but *him.* He found himself thinking impure thoughts--one might even say *treasonous* thoughts about His Grace. Artos has yet to come to terms with these.

## Timeline

* 330 AC: Artos Dayne was born to Darreth and Laena Yronwood, a mere year after his older brother Maric.
* 335 AC: Old enough to begin a formal education, the Maester of Starfall tried his hardest to teach him his letters. Though Maric took to them fondly, Artos could never learn.
* 338 AC: Artos was sent to page for Lord Daeron Yronwood in Yronwood.
* 341 AC: Completing his time as a page, Artos moved to Sunspear, squiring under Ser Gerold Uller, a sworn sword of Princess Alysanne.
* 342 AC: Traveled north with Ser Gerold, squiring for him while he fought in The War of the Exile. He saves Ser Gerold's life, and the two become fast friends as a result.
* 343 AC: Participated in The Crisis of the Claw. During one tense encounter with soldiers of the North, Artos's advice helps Gerold defuse the situation, avoiding a potential escalation of the conflict.
* 346 AC: Entering as the mystery knight "The Silver Serpent", Artos won a tournament at Sunspear held in the honor of Princess Alysanne Martell. He named the yet-unmarried Princess his Queen of Love and Beauty. Ser Gerold knighted him the next day. Artos began to court Princess Alysanne, who is five years his senior.
* 348 AC: Princess Alysanne tasked Artos with defeating a group of pirates who were raiding trade passing through The Stepstones. Following a fierce battle (in which Artos slew their leader in single combat), House Dayne came to a consensus, and named him The Sword of the Morning. He has the greatsword Dawn bestowed upon him.
* 349 AC, 3rd Moon: Princess Alysanne takes Artos into her bed.
* 349 AC, 6th Moon: Princess Alysanne marries the Captain of a company of sellswords, spurning Artos and many other Dornishmen. When he confronts her, she informs him that she had been sleeping not only with him, but with his mentor, Ser Gerold. Though furious, he continues to serve as her Sworn Shield. The friendship between Ser Gerold and Artos dies.
* 352 AC: Twenty-two and unwed, Maric arranged a marriage for his younger brother. Artos married Myriah Vaith. Pearse Peasebury arrives in Sunspear to squire for Artos.
* 353 AC: Myriah broke her leg falling down a flight of stairs. The injury never healed, despite the Maester's efforts, and she died of infection. She was pregnant with Artos's child.
* 354 AC: Gerris Caswell arrives to squire for Artos.
* 355 AC: Having grown tired of serving the Princess who had scorned him, Artos left Dorne for The Westerlands, helping to fight False King Arrec's bandits.
* 357 AC: Fights in The Battle of the Brand. He is offered the position on The Kingsguard that was vacated by the death of Ser Harrion Clegane. Seeing his prowess in battle, he knights Pearse Peasebury.
* 361 AC: Following a particularly skillful display against bandits, Artos knights Gerris Caswell.
* 363 AC: Protects King Alesander during Richard Baratheon's attempted coup, earning the new King's trust.
* 370 AC: Artos was unable to participate in the festivities of The Grand Tournament, having been assigned to the King's side throughout the whole affair. He continues to serve loyally.

## Recent Events

Artos continues to serve to this day, having been unable to participate in the tournament due to his obligations towards the King. He jests that it was to give the other knights a chance at victory, for were he to compete, he would have surely bested them all.

## Family

* His father, Darreth Dayne (b. 306 AC d. 349 AC)
* His mother, {Laena Yronwood} (308 AC - 352 AC)
	+ His brother, Maric Dayne (b. 329 AC)
		- His nephew, Alliser Dayne (b. 350 AC)
		- His niece, Una Dayne (b. 353 AC)
		- His niece, Arianne Dayne (b. 353 AC d. 365)
	+ Himself, **Artos Dayne** (b. 330 AC)
	+ His wife, {Myriah Vaith} (b. 332 AC d. 353 AC)