Damion Blackwood

Damion Blackwood

The Raven Wheel, Damion's personal sigil

Damion Blackwood is the first and trueborn son of Lord Dorian Blackwood by his wife Alysanne Blackwood. He is the eldest of the Blackwood children. As such, Damion is the heir of Raventree Hall. He is currently unwed.

## Appearance and Character

Tall, athletically built, and roguishly handsome, Damion is every bit the picture of a noble lordling. His facial features are well-defined, though somewhat fuller than his siblings. His eyes are a deep shade of grey-blue, and though small, are bright and expressive. He is often found wearing an easy, if subtle, smile. His hair is charcoal black and is wavy, curling at his ears and neck where it ends. He sports a rough layer of dark stubble.

He is tall, standing 6 feet and 2 inches. His body is that of a fit and conditioned fighter: not immense, but broad of shoulder and sharp in definition. He takes great pride in his physical stature, and submits himself to a daily regimen to build and maintain his strength and stamina.

He is a disposed to be a somewhat unassuming and reserved with those he is unfamiliar with; but to his kin and those he deems friends, Damion is warm and welcoming. With them, his laughter and wide smile come easily, as does genial conversation. Even with strangers, he is charismatic and polite, a perfect example of the chivalrous. He is not easily roused to anger, but when he is, he is not easily dissuaded from his enmities.

Less bookish than his parents and siblings, Damion leans instead toward martial and social pursuits. While he is indeed quiet, he can also be quite charming and inspire trust. He works hard to be a capable warrior, and often puts his mind to tactical puzzles. He considers himself the strong arm of the Blackwood family, and takes that role seriously. While not as eagerly hungry for all knowledge as his father, mother, or brothers, he is nonetheless intelligent and seeks always to improve himself in preparation to one day rule Raventree Hall.

In spite of his natural kindness, as he has become older, he has become more burdened with concern for his family. The weight of his future and responsibilities lies heavy upon him, and this weight seems to him magnified by the oddities of his family members. His relationship with his father, while still good, has been strained by his concern for the elder Blackwood's outlandish beliefs. His worry for his father causes Damion to take unnecessary burdens on his own shoulders, feeling he must work doubly hard to be a sturdy pillar for his house and kin.

## History

### Early Life

Damion was born in the 10th Moon of 388 AC, the first child and son of Dorian and Alysanne Blackwood. While his mother's pregnancy with him was difficult, he nonetheless was born a healthy child, if a bit skinny.

Just months after him, his bastard brother, Brynden Rivers, was born. His own mother dying in the aftermath of the childbirth, Brynden was raised lovingly by Damion's parents. As such, Damion and Brynden grew up as happily as any trueborn brothers, not even questioning their relationship until Brynden grew curious as a growing boy. The knowledge of their different stations did nothing to change Damion's love for his brother, and the two were ever found playing and getting into trouble together.

Four years after his own birth, Alysanne bore Damion's younger brother, Ambrose. The young lad was sickly and frail as a baby and child, and Damion was often dismayed to learn he could not play with Ambrose in the same rough-and-tumble manner as he did with Brynden. It was perhaps for this reason that he and Ambrose diverted to different paths -- Damion, to his swords and combative pursuits, and Ambrose to his books and thirst for knowledge. Though Damion would do anything for his younger brother, he did not always understand him.

Alysanne gave birth to two daughters after Ambrose, and Damion, now growing older, took seriously the charge of his parents to watch over his siblings and protect them.

### The Strong Arm of House Blackwood

When he was old enough, Damion began to study for hours under Ser Barney Vypren, the Master-At-Arms of Raventree Hall. Beginning with wooden weapons and archery, Damion took adeptly to martial pursuits. Once he was old enough and strong enough, Ser Barney began training him with the bastard sword, and Damion adapted splendidly to the weapon's versatility. Before he reached manhood, he could best many of the sworn swords of Raventree Hall, and could fight admirably against all but the best of them.

In the last moon of 404 AC, a minor tournament was held by House Paege. Damion, wanting to put his skills to the test, decided to enter. However, he feared how his parents might react to his wish, and so he elected not to tell them; thus, it was not Damion Blackwood who fought at the tourney of Aspenfield, but the Ravenwheel Knight. Though it was his first true test of his skill, Damion performed very well, besting four opponents in the melee, and making it to the semi-finals of the joust before he was finally beaten in a close match. However, in the last tilt of the match, his helm was struck and knocked from his head, and he was revealed as the son of Dorian Blackwood. The word reached his parents swiftly.

Though he did receive a stern scolding from his mother for endangering himself, the news of the young man's skill, coupled with the interest surrounding his choice to fight under alias, spread through the lands of Aspenfield and the Blackwood Vale, and Damion had unwittingly forged himself the beginnings of a reputation in the Riverlands. Though he has not fought in a tournament since, there are still a number that remember the Ravenwheel knight and the tourney at Aspenfield. Furthermore, Damion took the raven-wheel sigil for his personal use.

## Recent Events

Though he longed to fight in the Tournament of the Red Comet, and even considered dawning the helm of the Ravenwheel Knight once more, Damion allowed the opportunity to pass by to spare his mother another fit of fright. He remained at Raventree Hall, left to wistfully wonder what might have been.

## Family

* Dorian Blackwood, father (b. 370 AC)
* Alysanne Blackwood, mother (b. 371 AC)
	+ **Damion Blackwood (b. 388 AC)**
	+ Ambrose Blackwood (b. 392 AC)
	+ Lenore Blackwood (b. 393 AC)
	+ Lysa Blackwood (b. 395 AC)
	+ -- Brynden Rivers, half-brother (not by Alysanne) (b. 389 AC) --