Cayden Stark

Sister - Torrha Stark

Brother - Brandon Stark

**Cayden Stark** is the second-born son of Brandon and Gwyn Stark. He has spent the last few years travelling around the North, from the Wall to the Wolfswood to White Harbour to the Isles of Skagos. He is known to be rowdy and quick to anger.

## Appearance

Cayden has a short and stocky build, with a barrelled chest and thick, tree trunk arms. He has a little more fat to him than some, due in no small part to his more hedonistic lifestyle. But he still has a great deal of muscle beneath his mass. In short, he has a typical strongman physique, and leans into the "wild northman" appearance. Cayden has wild brown hair often ties it back, and round and intense grey eyes. Cayden has pale and rough skin. Cayden is described as having a gruff charm to him, a wild and mysterious panache to his appearance. His jaw is strong and box-like, his cheekbones are high and sharp, and his lips are full and slightly cracked. Cayden also has his fair share of scars, his body being a canvas of his travels and skirmishes, such as a bite mark on the left side of his neck. On the other, he has a tattoo of the Stark sigil above crossed tridents.

## Biography

### Life in Winterfell

Brandon often said that being born on a warm and comfortable sunny day made Cayden different to his siblings, that the kiss of the sun turned him into a summer wolf. Cayden spent much of his youth in the shadow of his father and Maester Gawen, lessons of duty and honour and the ways of his house being driven into his mind. However, unlike his elder brother, these lessons never truly took root in Cayden. While deep down, he did come to appreciate that with his name came duty, he never really cared for the minutiae of the day to day responsibilities of a Stark. Even as a boy, Cayden found his place was in the training yard, blade in hand, despite his seeming physical disadvantages: Cayden was always considered to be small. Both the maester and his parents were dumbfounded by just how little he seemed to grow. More than that, Cayden also inherited much from his mothers side of the family: most prominently, the notorious Manderly appetite. Even before he had teeth, the boy was infamous for his ravenous hunger. As such, Cayden grew to be quite the short and dumpy boy, despite his love for sparring, while Corwyn grew into a tall and mysterious man.

As the years passed on, it became clear that Cayden had inherited the Stark wildness rather than their usual stoicism and icy disposition. Never was this more clear than when he was around his brother, Corwyn. The tall, lean and mysterious heir. As icy as he was handsome. Where Corwyn was all duty and solitude, Cayden was fun and freedom. Yet, he was not without a sense of duty. When the summer snows came, he was right beside his kin, aiding the denizens of Winter Town in whatever way he could.

### Travels

In 149 A.C., when he was ten-and-six, and his youngest brother had passed those most deadly of infant years. The weather was fair and the harvests had been plentiful. So, when a wandering crow arrived with recruits for the Night's Watch, Cayden decided to accompany him. Not to take the black, but to journey and visit the Wall. It was there, where he found the greatest structure built by his ancestor, that Cayden decided to continue journeying.

In the years that had passed, Cayden had visited Last Hearth, the Wolfswood, White Harbour, and the Isles of Skagos, where he claims to have had an affair with a maid.

### *The Reign of Dragons*

Cayden returns home in 152 A.C. and feasts in the great hall of Winterfell, and is singing *the Skagosi Maid* when he is reunited with Corwyn. The two sit and talk, and Cayden informs Corwyn that he's also heard Kolfinn Mormont has deserted the Night's Watch. He also visits his sister the following day, where he gives her some a case of dragonglass arrowheads. After Alyna receives her discomforting news from home, Cayden goes to comfort her. Later that day, he gives gifts to several members of his family, first a bow he acquired on his travels to Myra Snow, then to his younger brother, Smallbran.

## Personality

Wild, boisterous and fierce of body and spirit, Cayden is a man who can be both the life of the party, and the first one to see it descend into a pit of flying fists and lost teeth. Even as a boy, he was known to be rambunctious and something of a trouble maker, particularly by his more serious father.

Quick of temper and humour, Cayden is not the type of Stark to stay cooped up behind the walls of Winterfell, shackled down by duty. That being said, Cayden is still a Stark, and does have a deep sense of duty to both his people, and more importantly, his family. He is highly protective of his own, particularly his sister and younger brother, whom he cares for deeply. However, he has also somewhat matured while out on his journey, coming to know his lands and its people well all the while. As such, while Corwyn may be the more dutiful and traditional brother, Cayden has a deeper connection to the \*people\*. Moreso, Cayden also has a closer understanding of his family (save the Smallbran), he knows their interests and likes, their dislikes and quirks. And he accepts these are what makes them who they are. In truth, Cayden has a shockingly open mind, especially for a Northern, who are often so stuck in their ways.

That being said, Cayden is not without his faults. First and foremost is his temper. Cayden has a temper that is easy to rouse, and hard to quench. And despite his often jovial nature, can find slights easily. Having grown up far shorter than most boys, Cayden was exposed to his fair share of ridicule which, he soon learned, quickly ceased when violence was implemented. As such, Cayden is quick to use his fists to solve his problems. And finally, despite his accepting nature, Cayden is also not without his prejudices. He holds grudges for a long time, and his mistrust and scorn can transcend generations.