Alyn Crane

Alyn Crane is the second born
son of the heir to House Crane, and brother to the recent Lord Lyman Crane.
He has left his home and family at the age of 15 to live an independent life. Since then,
facing injuries and continuing setbacks, Alyn’s prime qualities proved to be his social intelligence, his tactical and strategical cunning as well as his never-fading high degree of will power. To solve whatever problem, remain
independent and to finally *succeed.*

To the outside world, with his days of military command gone, most people nowadays perceive Alyn as calm and of a moderate appearance. Dressed in dark Reach elegance,
behaving in a courtly fashion. Nothing outstanding. With not even
his inherent androgynous natural beauty overly emphasized.

## Biography

### Black Sheep of the Family

Alyn Crane was born as second
born son in 75 AC to the heir of House Crane and his lady wife. Ever since he
had been known as a very intelligent and healthy child. Even when his mother
died from weakness after giving birth to his younger brother, the boy remained
composed and would not show any signs of being struck by the sad event.
Instead, he took over looking after his little brother and would often spend
time with the toddler, carry him around, laugh and play with the sickly child.
Also his relationship to his older brother Lyman was one of trust and mutual
understanding.

At the age of ca. nine years,
things changed, however. A process had started that Alyn would not be able to
see through until his late teenager years. And even to the present day, he finds
it very hard to grasp all of what has happened to him in various subtle ways.
For it was first his Lord Grandfather who decided to disapprove of nearly
everything the boy was doing or saying. His sharp mind – a keen ability for
analysis and observation, fast learning and a high degree of emotional
intelligence – became more and more interpreted as a calculating and sly. Up to
the present day, Alyn cannot remember to have done or said anything to his
family or anybody else to have set this process in motion. Instead, he clearly
recalls being highly interested and ambitious about the concept of chivalry,
weaponry and warcraft. Maybe, he has often been told, he was \*too\* good at
them. For all the following bullying, harassing and targeted devaluation, that
increased at such a subtly rate that a nine year old could not see through the
process, might have been aimed at reducing his skills for his first born
brother to find it easier to take the lead.

At first, Alyn kept being very
ambitious, trying even harder to please his family. But ever more of them
became convinced of Alyn’s shortcomings and deficiencies. When even his father
and brother more and more suspected Alyn of fundamental character flaws
unappreciated in an ancient honourable militaristic family, things got worse
and worse. Being accused of lying when he was saying the truth, Alyn quickly became
an actual liar in order to cover up any real (additional) mistakes that he had
done. Even his versed fighting and military skills were criticized by not only
his relatives but also his trainers until Alyn was so confused his level really
started to decrease. He was told to be insufficient until the day he in fact
had become insufficient. Fits of rage, false friends, excesses in the realms of
money, dogs and horses, hunting, alcohol and sex marked his early teenager years.

At the age of 14, he was sent
to squire for Ser Denys of Dosk. The ancient captain of the Osgrey house guard
was a knight of definitely too low a rank for a second born son of a House like
Crane. And though Alyn already complained about that, things got terribly worse
when Ser Denys turned out to be a drunkard and a person from whom Alyn knew held
little potential to teach and educate him. For his thirst for knowledge was
still remarkable.

Alyn asked to be sent to
another knight. But his family, seeing it as yet another sign of disobedience
and insubordination, refused. Until the day when 15 year old Alyn ran away. And
has never seen his family since.

An adventurous journey, acting
as squire to several hedge knights he met on the road, confronted with yet
unknown problems and dangers, the noble youth somehow made it as far as
Starpike. Where Lord Uther Peake accepted him as his squire.

### Gaining Independence

Up to the present day, Uther
Peake was one of those people Alyn learned the most from. Training the talented
youth in all the fields that the Lord was himself so versed in, Alyn quickly
turned out not only an able strategist and future commander, but also the study
of other people and how to interpret and influence their behaviour ranked high
among the things he quickly took to.

He followed his Lord into the Rosegold Rebellion.

And it was also at Starpike that
Alyn got to know young Margot Tyrell. But it was not before her 16th
year when she and Alyn were able to arrange to meet at the court where Margot has been
sent as a handmaiden that the two fell in love. Yet were bound to keep their
relationship an exhausting, energy-sapping secret – for few steps of a daughter
of Lord Tyrell would go unnoticed.

During the years, Alyn has
served several Lords and other employers. Despite of many setbacks (often owing
to his strange social status as some kind of hedge knight hailing from one of
the greatest Houses of the Reach), Alyn kept an extreme and never-fading level
of ambition. Some months were even spent in Essos as a mercenary. He rose through
the ranks in the conflicts of this time and found it a good investment to raise a
credit in order to finance armour, horses, equipment, servants and clothes to prepare
for his rise in rank and status. However, close to promotion, Alyn got heavily
wounded in combat. With several muscles and sinews of his right arm cut, his
armour stolen, several of his horses killed, and most of his new equipment
either stolen or lost during the following hasty retreat, Alyn’s career had met
a sudden end.

Due to not being able to use
his right arm, and advised to also treat his left arm with care from now on,
Alyn dropped out of military service not only during the ongoing conflict, but
also in the years after. Used to earning his living as a self-reliant man
working in martial pursuits, he started receiving more and more rejections when
trying to apply for a position in household guards, garrisons, watches or other
private units. Addiction to painkillers and the increasing debt load drove him
to nearly end up in the gutters of Flea Bottom.

It was mainly owing to Lady
Margot Tyrell, his brother Merrell Crane and Lord Uther Peake – as well as Alyn’s
rekindling spirits – that Alyn found his way back into employment again. And
though his arm is currently healing well, Alyn is now focusing on more subtle
businesses. Nowadays, he is serving House Peake again as a sworn sword.

### Family

http://www.familyecho.com/?p=RNBY1&c=sr76e1a881&f=970032667495479446