Alester Dayne

## Seventh Sword to the Order of the Seven

**Alester Dayne** is a distant nephew of the Lord of Starfall, Nymor Dayne. He is described as a resolute, commanding presence, and keeps the reputation of a true knight, save a single mar – a bastard son. He is in service to the Faith and High Septon as the Seventh Sword of the Order of the Seven.

## Appearance

 Alester is a stark image of Dayne descent. His eyes are a deep purple and his hair a dusky silver that seems both dark and light at once. Like the old Kings of Dorne before the Rhoynar, Alester is pale complected, but worn and darker from the Dornish climate.

Alester is not overly tall, but not short, and his physique is lean and fit. He wears a thoughtful and serious expression with sharp features.

## History

**370 AC:** Alester is born the first son to the niece and nephew of Lord Dayne of Starfall. He is a difficult babe.

**376 AC:** The product of stringent parentage, Alester is a well-mannered boy. He minds his studies and is praised often by the Maester. At the age of six, he is sent to foster at the Hightower of Oldtown.

**383 AC:** Under the tutelage of Lord Desmond Hightower, Alester is further taught chivalric customs. He is obedient to the lord of Oldtown as he was his own parents, and becomes well read in all subjects expected of high birth. He is commended for his knowledge of the Faith and his understanding of both battlefield tactics and his capable sword hand. Though initially a quarrelsome relationship; throughout his years as a ward, Alester becomes fast friends with the heir of Lord Desmond, Ormund Hightower, even after the heir is sent to squire at Highgarden.

**386 AC:** At the age of six and ten, Alester has competed in several tournaments throughout the Reach. Appropriately, it is the Tourney of Highgarden that sees him riding against Ormund in the final joust. Though Alester is unseated, the boys, men grown, are each knighted, and Alester returns to Starfall by the year’s end.

**393 AC:** For some years, Alester serves as a member of his uncle’s guard at Starfall. His status and name extends his duties and privileges further, and he soon is charged as the captain of Starfall’s household guard. Alester’s role is far more influential than a standard captain’s, and is often regarded as Lord Dayne’s seneschal.

**398 AC:** Though fond of at least a small number of girls through his years - and one that he would call a lover - it isn’t until Alester is nearly a man of thirty that he falls in love, a young woman, nearly twenty, named Larra. She is beautiful, and lowborn as she is, Alester intends to wed her. Larra, however, is seen riding south on a starless night, and is not seen again.

**403 AC:** Alester visits the Oldtown after news of Lord Hightower’s death and spends a fortnight there with Ormund.

**409 AC:** While few Dornish participate in the War of Four Daughters, Alester joins Reach forces as a commander under Lord Ormund Hightower.

**413 AC:** Alester commands and fights in several battles throughout the war, among them, he distinguishes himself at the Battle in the Ruins, the Battle of Golden Fields for his commanding defense of the flank, and again in the Orchard’s Battle. He is wounded, however, at the Battle of Fisher’s Hill, and returns home a year before the war is decided.

**414 AC:** Returned to the service of his great Uncle, Nymor Dayne, Alester resumes his previous charge at Starfall. Late in the year, a woman and son arrive at Starfall on the back of a wine cart. At the insistence of business of import, she waits in the gatehouse with her son for an hour’s half before Alester is brought to her. It takes him an astonishingly length of time before he recognizes the woman as Larra. She is worn, thin, frail – dying – and looks far older than her years could be. Alester kisses her feet, and accords her a room where she passes on the third night.

There is a period of grief and discomfort, but Alester comes to accept the boy, Joffrey, as his own son, and departs for Oldtown by the year’s end and commits himself and his son to the Order of the Seven, where he may be given advantages a bastard would otherwise not be extended.

**417 AC:** Alester’s rise through the Order is rapid, where he soon becomes the Seventh Sword. Joffrey, though eventually knighted and anointed within the Order, endures secret and persistent ridicule and mistreatment.

## Possessions

### Animal Companions

* Rogue – Rogue is a mature, beautiful sand steed. Her coat is a bold red with a mane as black as pitch.

### Weapons

* Longsword – A nameless, castle-forged longsword, often worn at Alester’s hip. The hilt is braided in simple, thin leather, and the cross guard and pommel are simple and uninteresting – aside from a seven pointed star graved into the end.

### Trinkets

* Larra’s Pendant – A necklace worn loose around his neck, the chain is long and often hidden beneath his garments. A small, plain oval pendant hangs at its end, the design of which has long since worn smooth and indiscernible.

## Connections

* Nymor Dayne – Alester’s great uncle, with whom he has grown close. Old and practical, Alester regards his uncle fondly and with admiration.
* Ormund Hightower – Alester’s childhood friend; the two have remained close even in their age.
* Joffrey Sand – A bastard and estranged son, Alester has come to effortlessly care for Joffrey as a son, despite the years apart. He is stringent, and expects much, which often taxes Joffrey.

## Rumours

* Slew a captain of the Second Sons in single combat during the Battle in the Ruins.
* Led a strategic defense of the Reach flank during the Battle of Golden Fields. A Westerland’s lord who witnessed the defensive from his position in reserve commended Alester later, stating it was “the bravest thing I’ve ever seen.”
* Has fasted without bread or water for a fortnight.
* Has given away 3 sand steeds from his stable; a wedding present, a reward to a brave captain of Oldtown, and another to a deceased laborer’s family.

## Recent Events

Here you will be able to record events within the RP.