Dunstan

Easily recognized by his reddish-brown, long beard and short hair. An athletic profession with a sturdy diet have made the man stocky and strong.

## Biography

Born to a couple slightly above the average Westerosi boogaboo - a Lord's armed retainer and a cobbler's daughter - Dunstan proceeded to luck out as his father's master later allowed the child to be educated in the knightly arts by one of Lord Erenford's unmarried sons. Though expected to inherit his grandfather's cobbling trade, the boy later proved to all that his purpose was not to repair shoes, but rather slice them in half with his blade.

Dunstan's father died of a festering wound when the child was only eleven, and his mother followed her husband into the grave soon after, having been bed-ridden by fever for a moon already. Some might consider it a tragedy, others another stroke of luck for Dunstan; as an orphan, he was taken in by local septas and given a better education than his parents could have ever afforded him.

By his teens, Dunstan was considered the toughest fighter in the lands of the Erenfords. He could go on slashing, stabbing, parrying and throwing punches until he was absolutely burnt out, a gift many were amazed by. A strong and healthy lad, keeping up a heavy shield was no issue for him, nor was handling an arming sword like a professional while doing so. Sadly his mentor in the knightly arts, Lord Erenford's third son, was eventually overcome by his addiction to the Stranger's drink and his liver gave in. Dunstan's dreams of becoming a knight were shattered, but Lord Erenford offered the promising youth a place in his castle's garrison.

His luck had to run out at one point, however, and after a bad harvest and some other inconveniences at the Erenford lands, the Lord had to let some of his extra men go, Dunstan among them. Thrown out into the world with only his sword with him, he went from castle to castle seeking a new place to stay. Finally, he resorted to escorting merchant caravans in Fairmarket with various mercenary groups. A questionable bunch, it was work that paid well enough, but which Dunstan wasn't very comfortable with. Despite this, travelling with merchants taught him all about the transportation of goods from one place to another. After a few years, he managed to find a place as one of Lord Roote's mounted soldiers.

Faithful service to the Lord of Harroway's Town culminated in Durran's Defiance, where he followed his master to do battle against the Mad King Maelys. Old Lord Roote's men went from campaign to campaign, until they were decimated and the Lord himself met his end on the battlefield. Some returned to Lord Harroway's Town to his heir, while others like Dunstan continued the war in other Riverlords' armies. It was after an ambush by crown loyalists in the town of Sallydance when the ordinary soldier bowed before Lord Shawney, whom he had rescued from being crushed by a burning wooden beam, and became Ser Dunstan of Sallydance, the Knight of Drakes. He apparently took the sigil of three drakes after the three ducks he saw paddling in the Trident prior to the ambush. Suffering severe burns in his chest and shoulder area, he spent the rest of the war recovering in a nearby septry, where the servants of the Faith nursed him back to health.

Feeling indebted to the septas, he retired from servitude to the Rootes by staying at this septry and doing what he could to repay them. As somewhat of a consequence, religion was introduced into the knight's life and he became a devout believer in the Seven Who Are One.

Dunstan discovered his deeds at Sallydance hadn't gone unnoticed when he began riding in tourneys across the Realm. Particularly Lord Lychester seemed impressed by the man's reputation, skill in combat and firm devotion to the Faith, and he was named the master-at-arms of the Lord's castle.

Almost a decade later war broke out in the Riverlands again, and Ser Dunstan rode with Lord Lychester to face the Blackwoods in the Battle of Black Salt. Receiving a serious blow to the same area where his burn scars were, he lost consciousness and was bleeding heavily. The Seven hadn't abandoned their paragon, it seemed, when a septon came about and dragged him away from the fighting, stopping the bleeding and once more seeing to the wound. Some weeks after the battle, Dunstan finds himself not in the Stranger's halls, but breathing the fresh air of another Riverlands sept again.

## TIMELINE

* 239 AC: Born to a retainer of Lord Erenford and his wife, a cobbler's daughter
* 245 AC: Instead of pursuing his grandfather's cobbler trade, Dunstan's father manages to persuade Lord Erenford to let the healthy boy squire for one of his sons
* 250 AC: Dunstan's father dies of an unattended wound, and his mother passes away from a fever some moons later. As an orphan, he is raised by the local septas along his squire's duties.
* 255 AC: Shows promise as an outstanding fighter and a decent organizer. He is however forced to give up squiring, and instead he becomes one of Erenford's retainers.
* 258 AC: Desperate times end up giving leave to some of Erenford's retainers, including Dunstan.
* 260 AC: After two years of wandering the Riverlands, Dunstan finally begins receiving contracts from mercenary bands in Fairmarket.
* 264 AC: Dunstan settles in Lord Harroway's Town to serve as one of Lord Roote's mounted cavalrymen.
* 270 AC: Durran's Defiance. Dunstan follows the old Lord Roote to fight for House Bittersteel. Named a knight by Lord Shawney after a display of heroism at Sallydance. Gravely wounded shortly after, nursed back to health in a nearby septry.
* 271 AC: Retires from servitude to pay back his debt to the septas after the war.
* 273 AC: His deeds at Sallydance running before him, Dunstan participates in tourneys and is soon named master-at-arms of Castle Lychester.
* 282 AC: The War of Black Salt erupts. Receiving a serious blow while fighting for Lord Lychester, he is dragged from the battlefield and healed by servants of the Seven once more.