Brus Dondarrion

Brus Dondarrion is the Lord of Blackhaven, the seat of House Dondarrion in the Stormlands.

## Biography

In 366AC Brus was born to Arlan Dondarrion and Alyssane Dayne and he was enormous. Weighing a little over 10 pounds at birth, he nearly sent his mother away from this world as he made his entrance to it. Luckily, the maesters and midwives present were able to bring her back from the pulls of death. Brus on the other hand came out as one of the more healthy babes the maesters had claimed to see, an oddity for his size. As he grew from baby to toddler to child, no ailments of the body nor mind seemed to hold him back despite his freakish size, once again surprising those around him (Monstrous). He was a very kind young man, almost always minding his manners and even going out of his way to do nice things for others. His mother and father loved each other and their children more than anything in the world. Thus young Brus was raised with a lot of love to give back to the world. Not 3 years after he was born, his mother bore triplet girls and miraculously survived once again. The tri-forked bolt some in the courts of Blackhaven jokingly called them. Another 2 years later, his only younger brother was born.

Growing up as a young man Brus made fast friends with his cousin, Brienne Storm, as they shared many interests- mostly those of physical fitness. Eventually this shared fondness for sport became quite competitive, with the most fierce of their competitions being footraces through the Marches surrounding Blackhaven. They'd run through blistering heat and tempest storm alike, through summer days and winter nights. Brienne always seemed to be faster throughout the race but that didn't prevent the intensity of the sport. As they grew closer through their races and bouts, Brus could more and more often be seen around his cousin rather than where he was expected to be. If Brienne were lightning Brus was her thunder.

A bit later when he was only 15, he and Arlan were called upon to fight against the Triarchy with the Dornish. In 381 AC Brus followed Arlan in leading a host of the Marcher lords to victory with Anders Yronwood and his host at the Battle for the Tor. While Arlan stayed with the army afterwards, he commanded Brus return to Blackhaven and rule in his stead.

By the time 383 AC came around Brus had been home for a time, and Griffin's Roost fell under siege. In the wake of this an unexpected visitor came seeking asylum in Blackhaven. None other than the young Edric Martell in disguise, on his way back from the Vale to escape the political unrest of the rest of the country and return home. The two young men came to be good friends, heard throughout the halls cracking jokes and getting into mischief with the various folk of Blackhaven. These antics would not last long enough though, as a young stable-hand started to spread malicious rumors that Brus' new friend in the keep was actually a Martell. Little did the boy know his targeted insult was actually true, and so both Brus and Edric got to work trying to find the mole. Through mostly Edric's handiwork and Brus' knowledge of the locals they were able to find the perpetrator. Edric, preventing Dondarrion from beating the young man senseless, instead opted to spread foul rumors back in his direction to great effect. The rumors spread in the first place had stopped completely.

Even still, this time drew to a close when the army returning from the Dornish campaign came back through the Boneway and stopped at Blackhaven. Brus once again marched with the army and his father, and they proceeded to victory at the Battle of Hangman's Hill. Then they all went further to the armies besieging Bronzegate and in the midst of the fighting they found themselves ambushed by mercenaries returning from Haystack Hall. Lord Arlan Dondarrion perished at the hands of a mercenary cavalier, and Brus witnessed. Unable to control his rage he slaughtered his way through mercenaries on the battlefield to reach the horseman. By the time he had approached his foe he was so drenched in blood that his armor and sword alike were red and dripping. With a timely first swing of his zweihander he sunk his blade deep into the neck of the horse, killing it. As it fell and dropped Arlan's murderer to the ground Brus stepped aside and beheaded the rider. After the horrendously bloody battle concluded Gawen Baratheon, who observed Brus' actions, saw fit to knight him. Of course he would also go on to inherit his father's lands and holdings, officially becoming the Lord of Blackhaven.

After the Battle at the Bronzegate, Brus elected to stay back from further invading the Triarchy at the time. House Dondarrion needed to have time to grieve for those fallen, their lord included in that number. Though he slew the man who killed his father, a small part of Brus desired vengeance on the Triarchy, but he was determined to protect his family above all else. In turn, over the course of the next few years he'd further draw himself closer to the families of the Stormlands, eventually squiring his younger brother Erich to Robert Baratheon and having his sisters married. While he has been working dutifully to make sure his family line continues strong, his martial prowess has gone unfortunately undeveloped as a result. In the more recent moons he has been making it a point to fight it tournaments and competitions, his passion for sports rekindled in the wake of peace and through the desire to become a better fighter.

## Supporting Characters

* Tourney Knight: Brienne Storm - Brus' cousin/close friend and daughter of Roland Baelish. Has a passion for fighting, sport, and things more smiled upon as interests for men in general.
* Warrior (Swords): Erich Dondarrion - Brus' only younger brother and squire to Robert Baratheon. A bit of a hot-headed show off.
* Medic: Walda Snow - A midwife who not only saved Alysanne from the brink of death after delivering Brus, but also his triplet sisters. Highly experienced and respected medicine woman from the Neck.
* Negotiator: Shyra Dondarrion - The only unwed sister of Brus. An enchantingly kind and sweet girl who has a tendency to help her brother by simply being the way she is.
* Scholar: Petyr Hardyng - A member of the Dondarrion courts due to his clutch assistance in delivering Brus as a baby. He is an elderly and wise valeman traveled far and wide and as such is steeped in wisdom.