Desmond Cassel

**Desmond Cassel** was a son of Rodrik and Beth Cassel and served Bowen Stark, the brother of and close advisor to Lord Osric Stark. He was married to Mara Cassel with whom he had two children, Martyn and Bethany.

He was well-trained and experienced in a variety of underhanded tactics that Bowen Stark found useful to employ for the benefit of House Stark. Not all issues could be resolved out in the open, after all, and so it fell often to Desmond to work in the shadows to ensure his master's goals were met.

## Appearance and Character

At 5'10" Desmond Cassel was not an overly tall man, being roughly average in height for a northman. Like many of his fellow countrymen Cassel's face often bore a beard; sometimes scraggly, sometimes well-groomed. It all depended on what was needed of him at the moment.

He was not a man that liked to draw attention; eyes being on him, after all, made his work more difficult to pursue and certainly more difficult to success in his aims and assigned tasks. Desmond therefore was frequently a quiet figure, preferring to observe rather than offer his own opinions.

## History

### Early Life, 98 AC to 110 AC

Born to Rodrik and Beth Cassel in the wintertown outside Winterfell, Desmond was fortunate to be the son of parents employed by the Kings of Winter. Beth worked as a maid while Rodrik oversaw the kennels. While not a particularly glamorous life it was at least one with some security and that ensured the small family was not left impoverished.

Not long after his birth,, a pirate called Blackvein attacked Karhold. When King Theodan Stark called for men to march to the eastern coast, Desmond's father naturally was amongst those that answered his liege's request.

Only a year later in 99 AC Rodrik again marched with a northern host, this time south to Barrowton when the Riverlands invaded Cape Kraken.

Although there was no fighting on land this time around, Rodrik came home a changed mind nonetheless. Months of camping near the coast left him with an illness. Over time it manifested in a physical weakness with the man's fitness deteriorating.

As his condition worsened Rodrik became unable to meet the demands of his position in the kennels, leaving his wife Beth as the primary breadwinner of their small household. Desmond, being but a child, did not understand the changing conditions around his house, even if he internalized and became nervous around the bitterness that was enveloping his father.

### Adolescence, 110 AC to 116 AC

Over the years Rodrik only became worse - verbally and physically abusive to both wife and son. While he matured towards manhood himself Desmond rather quickly arrived at the conclusion that he was glad to be an only child and he took blows meant for his mother whenever possible. Those that came on his father's good days hurt worse than the ones on his bad days.

The ongoing drought during Desmond's adolescence only made matters even worse, of course, and culminated finally in a tragic incident. Aged thirteen now, Desmond was serving under a blacksmith inside the castle. When he came home on one fateful day Rodrik was beating Beth through no fault of her own. Enraged at the sight Desmond took a knife from the pantry and defended his mother - and in the process his father was killed.

Despite the mistreatment she'd suffered for years at the hands of her husband Beth was horrified at her son's actions, which led to Desmond fleeing their home and wintertown. On his own now the young man thought to make his way to Castle Black. It was well known around Winterfell that the Night's Watch, aided by King Theodan and the houses of the North, were fending off assaults by a new King-Beyond-the-Wall. And where else could a man that killed his own father and had no skills of which to speak find a life for himself but at the Wall?

After encountering traders headed for White Harbor, however, Desmond opted to head that direction. The thought of seeing the sea for the first time in his life held a great appeal to the boy, as did the possibility that he might find another blacksmith to apprentice himself to.

The latter did not happen after he arrived in the white city. Instead Desmond fell in with a criminal element - one of the few gangs that operated within the city. Smuggling, protection rackets, gambling, pit fighting; there was little this gang would not undertake in order to earn silver and coin. Someone as young and thin as Desmond was particularly useful given how little attention he drew.

By the time that he was a man grown Desmond had earned a reputation for himself within the gang as being clever with his tongue and wits, able to talk himself out of difficult situations - or, better yet, possessed of a facility in spreading ill rumors of their competitors. From time to time this skill came in handy for even more nefarious purposes; having killed his own father at a young age, Desmond felt little qualms as he matured in sticking daggers into other men when occasion warranted it, or when his masters in the gang required it of him.

Under the mentorship of an elder member of the organization, Desmond came to learn the careful art involved in making preparations that could kill a man without the need for his hands to get bloody. Poisoncrafting came easily to the man, whose mind delighted in finding new ways to mix together potent ingredients. Alongside women and drink this was one of the few genuine amusements in his life.

### A New Master, 116 AC

A chance encounter in a White Harbor tavern changed his life once more. Bowen Stark, a son of King Theodan, had come to the city to reside with the Manderlys. When Desmond espied the scion of Winterfell in the same tavern as he one night, Cassel thought he saw an opportunity to make some coin by stealing the other man's coinpurse.

The plan did not work out. Having turned his mind to other matters for too long the pickpocketing skills that Desmond honed as a youth were atrophied and he was caught. Rather than punishing him immediately, however, Bowen Stark opted for a conversation with Desmond.

Hours later, during which Desmond shared every detail of his life with the other man, Stark saw in the man an asset worth preserving as opposed to a criminal to be discarded. Thus was an offer made - if Desmond would swear his skills and life to Stark, then Stark would not hand him over to the Manderly guards to be imprisoned in the Wolf's Den.

There was little deliberation on Desmond's part. Serving a Stark represented quite a change in circumstance from being a criminal in the underbelly of White Harbor and so he readily accepted, becoming an agent of the second son of the King of Winter.

### Winterfell Once More, 118 AC to 130 AC

When Bowen Stark returned home to Winterfell after the pirate known as Lucerys the Sea Bear was defeated, Desmond Cassel naturally accompanied him. To his great disappointment the man learned that his mother had passed away in the years since his flight from the wintertown. As their only son Desmond was the last living remembrance of Rodrik and Beth Cassel.

Soon enough he found himself in possession of his own house in the town, arranged by Bowen. As the North's political situation changed and the King of Winter became the Lord of Winterfell instead, Desmond cared little for that change in fortune for his master. Whether a prince or not Bowen was still a Stark and therefore as close to the top of the world as Desmond could imagine someone being. Bowen was outraged, however, and vowed that one day the Kings of Winter would return once more.

When his patron disappeared from Winterfell, so too did Desmond again. Their skills were complementary and Bowen needed the cutthroat tactics that Cassel could bring to bear.

Not long after they returned to the castle again Desmond took to wife a woman named Mara that worked in Winterfell's kitchens. It did not take long at all before she gave birth to their first child, a boy that he named Martyn. A daughter was soon to follow, whom they named Bethany.

Even as he began to gain the trappings of a respectable life, Desmond continued to practice and hone his skills. His master would always have need of them, and it was through these skills that he would continue to advance his own life - and that of his children, for whom he pledged to be a better father than his own.

## Family Tree

* Rodrik Cassel, d. 110 AC.
* m. Beth Cassel, d. 114 AC
	+ Desmond Cassel, b. 98 AC
	+ m. Mara Cassel, b. 100 AC
		- Martyn Cassel, b. 113 AC
		- Bethany Cassel, b. 115 AC

## Meta

### Character Build

**Attribute**: Agile

**Social Status**: Bannerman

**Skills**:

* Contract Killing (STE)
* Diversion (STE)
* Poisoncraft (INT)
* Propagation (INT)