Suoka Bayeri I

**Suoka Bayeri** is currently Lord of Thouria and helps command the bannermen loyal to House Bayeri in the Holdfast of Saerial; he also serves as the House's man-at-arms. He was born into House Bayeri and knighted Ser by Artys Kalien for his aid in securing Kamain Hall during the Battle of the Long Morning against Glacerr loyalists in the Bayeri territory. Suoka is known for his strategic mind and is a respected tactician within the Holdfast and throughout Saerial. Many who have met Suoka note that he is a stoic man of principles. He is a leader of men who has a reputation for being both evenhanded and ruthless; he is charged with keeping the King’s peace in Thouria and the surrounding districts. Although he carries out this duty with unrelenting meticulousness, therer are many in the world who hate him and think he is simply a plague. Ever since the battle of Gaerrenport he has been in the Palace helping with strategy while recovering from his near fatal wounds.

## Appearance and Character

Suoka stands in at 6 feet tall and has an athletic build. He is in his early 40s with black hair that shows a light dusting of snow with age. He is in good shape, but his life experiences have left him with visual injuries. Suoka has a long scar running down the length of his right forearm that culminates in matching circular scar tissue on the underside and top of his hand, which he attributes to a spear puncture. He is also missing a large chunk of his shoulder, an injury he obtained from Daegar Vakerian. Suoka is usually garbed in any combination of dirtied greys, black, and browns, however since wedding Haerya who wished him to dress better he did, continuing to do so even after her likely demise. Suoka’s stride conveys an unwavering determination accompanied by a lifetime of combat experience.

Suoka is very much the son of his late father Ide Bayeri, who heavily influenced him as he grew. Suoka is an extremely strong proponent against the Starry Rites thinking the Faith is just but does not need to be granted even more power. While not necessarily ambitious in his own right, he genuinely increasingly sees himself as the last bastion to save his family from the powers of the Mullyn and Maegaron's fleets. Suoka believes himself to be a pious man but not in the ways of the new faith. He holds to the *flame medallion* of his late wife as much as possible.

Past that, Suoka is generally a kind and affable man. He can be merciful to the point of naivete unless the wrong is done against his core beliefs, and then he is implacable is his response, and desire for justice. Suoka strives for perfection in himself - and strives to see it in others, as well. Suoka expects the best of everyone, and few people meet it but even so he doesn't call them out he just tries to push them to their true ability. His wife is perhaps the only woman who did meet the high standards he sets. As much as Suoka is friendly, he easily isolates those who could be friends, in a misguided desire to force them into being better people. He still seems to think his wife may be kept on Firekeep and has tried to plan sieges on it but to no avail thanks to its heavily defendable position. Due to everything Maegaron's family has done he hates them with every fiber of his being and refuses to rest until they have been brought to justice.