Alesander Rowan

Willem Rowan

Gyles Rowan

Elinor Rowan

Alesander Rowan is the current Lord of Goldengrove and Marshal of the Northmarch.

## Appearance and Character

Alesander is not a particularly impressive physical specimen, standing at around two hands above five feet tall, with a rather slim, albeit still fit, build. His face is at a point of transitioning from young to old, with things both glad and sorrowful being written upon it. His eyes are wily and the thin dark eyebrows curving downwards towards his narrow nose gives him the look of a fox. His mouth is thin, with an indefinable, faint expression of his lips, something stealthy, like a smile. The Rowan’s hair is a long mane, golden like the sun, that he usually wears in a braid.

## History

Alesander Rowan was born as the second child and first son of Lord Edgerran Rowan, Lord of Goldegrove and Marshal of the Northmarch, and his lady wife Lady Helicent Crane. The newborn was frail and sickly, with both parents fearing that the child would not last long. But as would prove a pattern with the Rowan, he had a tendency to cheat death, and survive. Yet he still remained a small child, showing no tendency towards the strong physical constitution that characterised his father or his younger brother. This lead his mother to dote on him and become, according to his father, overprotective. His younger brother, Lucan, proved to be more to his father's liking, which would lead to a rivalry of sorts between the siblings for the affections of their parents - Alesander being favoured by the mother while Lucan was favoured by the father. But for all his lack of physical might, the youth proved more than adept at matters of the mind, demonstrating quickness of wits and a yearning to learn. His interests, foremost, laid in the realms of warfare, with him pouring over books and tomes detailing the campaigns of times long past. Yet the gifts, such as he possessed them, also laid elsewhere - he was a fine singer, with a strong, sweet voice, and courteous, charming and clever besides. As the scion of an ancient, powerful and proud house, the young heir was afforded the very best education. In matters of arms he was taught by his father and household knights, though all agreed he was no more than adequate in these matters. The Maesters and Septons, however, heaped praise and even the Master-at-Arms had to acquiesce that the lad's intuition for military matters was more than adequate, even if he wasn't much of a fighter.

When he was old enough, it was judged that Alesander would benefit from a stay at another lord's court, both to develop relations as well as get the boy away from his mother. For this, his father picked the Crakehalls, cousins to the Rowans and counterparts to their own power across the border. The biggest men that Alesander had know thus far in his life were his father and some of his household knights, but the Crakehalls were another lot entirely - big and burly, impressive. The small-framed Rowan felt quite slight next to them, though their friendly, or at least accepting, demeanour put him at ease quite quickly. While Lord Jason was not too impressed with the fighting capabilities of his new ward, he did appreciate the lad's mental accumen for matters of warfare. He also managed to strike up a friendship with another of Jason's squires, Sumner Crakehall. As he grew into manhood, Alesander became a fair equestrian, seeming to possess the same aptitude for handling horses that he had for handling people. As to the latter, the heir of Goldengrove was quite priodigious in making friends both among the high and the low, and rumours of bastards would not be far behind. After a sufficient time serving the Lord of Crakehall as a squire, he would be deemed worthy of knighthood - not for any noteworthy deed, just due to any further training judged to be unnecessary. After performing well in the lists at a local tourney, he would be dubbed Ser by Lord Jason Crakehall.

After earning his knighthood, the Rowan heir traveled the realm, visiting many places great and small. While no one to have his deeds set down in great stories, he proved himself an able tournament knight, albeit only achieving marginal fame. More to his tastes was making friends. A generous man with a penchant for people-pleasing, the heir of Goldengrove was known to attract a large following and blow through large amounts of money in incredibly short amounts of time. This did not endear him to his father, however, and the strain in their relationship caused Alesander to stray further and longer away from Goldengrove. Yet this time would not last long as soon the realm was torn asunder by the War of the Last Dragon.

Returning home, the Rowan heir would take command of the levies headed for Highgarden while Lord Edgerran, acting as Marshal of the Northmarch, himself stayed to wait for the levies from the more far-flung parts. Alongside Alesander would be his younger brother, Lucan, who had proven himself a most puissant knight. Having reached Highgarden, the forces from the Northmarch would set themselves up per the Tyrell plan of battle, anticipating the attack of the Golden Company. And that attack would come, to the detriment of many poor souls. But the Heir of Goldengrove managed to avoid death once more, being out scouting - or whoring, accounts differ - when the attack came. So it was from a distance that he saw his men, and his brother, burn. What took over him next defied reason - he reigned in his horse and charged into the burning inferno that was the Highgarden maze. It was a fool’s errand, to try to find his sibling in all this chaos, if there was a man to be found and not just ash and charred bone. Yet fortune would seem to favour the scions of Goldengrove as after a while of searching, his hair and skin being zinged by the roaring fires all the while, he would come upon the object of his search. Terribly burned, but alive, his brother was there, fighting. Alesander would have none of that, however, and barreled his horse into the enemy nearest to the burned man and hoisting the latter upon the mount before riding out of the inferno.

After delivering his brother to a Maester’s care, the heir of Goldengrove would be at something of a loss as to what to do. The battle, or more specifically it’s aftermath, had demoralised him - facing a dragon in open battle was clearly suicide. In what was mayhaps a fortuitous circumstance, he managed to get wind of a mission being planned by Mace Wildflowers, aimed at striking at the heart of the Dragon Queen’s empire. Driven by anger at what had happened to his brother and, perhaps even more so, desiring to get away from the stresses of his life in Westeros, he would jump at the chance to set sail, to get away.

The war that Alesander now engaged in was an altogether different sort - one of shadows, deceit and dishonour. Back alley murders and bold raids in broad daylight was the new order of the day and the Rowan took to it well. However, as his talents lay more in the area of military tactics, he drifted to the company of Ser Manfred Lannister, a man who had grander, more glorious desires. Joining with the latter’s riding troupe, the Westerosi would land at Pentos and begin to raise hell for the Pentoshi and their Golden Company masters. Being the most naturally talented at matters of strategy and tactics, Alesander would be at the forefront of planning the raids and leading them. But it was not to last. As the war in Westeros died down, the Golden Company shifted its attention back to its backyard. So unto Manfred Lannister’s little fiefdom descended Lia Cole with fire and sword. The defense put up by Manfred and Alesander among others was admirable, but numbers stuck out. Manfred was defeated and forced to retreat, but the Heir of Goldengrove was not so lucky. Losing a horse in the battle, he would be stranded and left for dead. However, once more eluding death, he would be captured rather than killed, with the Golden Company wagering they could cash in a pretty ransom for the nobleman. Alas it was not to be - Alesander managed to use an opportune moment to escape, utilizing the chaotic setting of Pentos to make a break for it. Charming himself on a ship set for Westeros, utilising whatever methods he could, he would get himself onto a boat to Tyrosh and then, hopefully, to Westeros.

Yet on a stop at Lys, the heir of Goldengrove would meet with a calamity, being robbed of his remaining belongings and being left, once again, for dead. But yet again fortune would smile upon him. A Braavosi merchant was stricken with him and took him into his home, nursing him back to health and acquired help for him to get back home. Why the Braavosi helped him is not known to any besides the two. Yet whatever the reasoning, he was soon on his way to Oldtown. Arriving there, he would seek help from his old friend, Lord Androw Hightower. The latter would graciously afford him a horse and escort back to Goldengrove.

The welcome he received would be tense. His father had died a while after the war had ended and he was presumed dead, leaving his brother, who he had last seen horribly burned and on the verge of death, the new lord. The return of Alesander complicated matters, yet there was little to be done, unless he was of a mind to disappear again. He wasn’t. So the heir of Goldengrove who had cheated death so many times was made lord, and now heads towards King’s Landing.