Torvin Breaker

{Unnamed son}

Captain **Torvin Breaker** is a captain of the Iron Fleet and a major PoV character in Book 1. He is the older brother of Garthon Breaker, who serves as his first mate on his ship, the Behemoth. As one of the lowest-ranking captains in the Iron Fleet, Torvin holds virtually no power at court and finds himself at odds with the needlessly cruel actions of his king, Harren Hoare.

## Background

Torvin was born in a small fishing village on the island of Pyke, as the oldest son of a formerly wealthy and influential family of raiders. His father, a useless drunkard, brought the family to ruin during his life, focussing more on celebrating past victories than proving his strength and worth. His inability to lead the family cost them much and by the time he died, back when Torvin had been only sixteen years old, only the families ship, the Behemoth, remained.

Still a captain of the Iron Fleet, Torvin worked hard over the next years to restore the glory of his family, supported by his younger brother, Garthon Breaker. The two brothers achieved mixed results. His fathers actions caused his family not only to lose power, but to lose respect as well and Torvin was always seen as the weakest captain of the Iron Fleet, despite numerous feats of bravery he showed over the years.

A fierce, merciless raider, Torvin gained at least enough reputation to remain a captain and those around him soon developed respect and admiration for his strength. While he always looked out for a good match when it came to marriage, he eventually fell for a common seamstress from his home village, Clarisse Pyke. The two kept their relationship largely a secret, since Torvin feared that she could be used against him by his enemies.

Eventually, Torvin gained enough influence to be called to the court of Harrenhal, to directly serve his king in the council of captain. Always ready to prove his worth, Torvin was one of the first captains to arrive at Harrenhal, even before Harren's sons arrived there. However, the kings brutality soon disillusioned him and his once positive opinion of Harren got worser with each passing day, as he realized that this man was a danger to anyone around him.

## Involvement in Book 1

### Dark Wings, Dark Words

At the beginning of the story, Torvin and Garthon were present in the Great Hall of Harrenhal, where they saw Harren judging over a starving worker, who stole a loaf of bread. Harren dealt with utmost cruelty, which appalled Torvin and caused a conflict between the king and one of his lords, Edmyn Tully, the Lord of Riverrun. This conflict escalated to the point where Edmyn left the room in disgust.

Impressed by Edmyn's brave behaviour, Torvin followed him subtly, much to Garthon's displeasure, as his brother feared the king's wrath. Torvin caught up to Edmyn and the two men got into a discussion, where they realized that they share similar values despite their different origins. Ultimately, Torvin and Edmyn formed an alliance to take down the king.

### Broken Vows

Only shortly afterwards, Torvin prepared to meet Edmyn and his allies in a small shack in the woods south of Harrenhal. However, he is confronted by Garthon, who angrily accuses him of having offended the king on purpose by leaving the Great Hall. The brothers got into an argument that ended in a physical confrontation. Ultimately, Torvin revealed his involvement in the conspiracy against Harren Hoare to his brother. After an initial shock, Garthon surprisingly agreed to help Torvin.

Together, the brothers traveled to the shack south of Harrenhal, where they met Edmyn Tully, as well as his allies, Gabin Strad, a young soldier in service of Lord Reymand Orkwood, and George Rivers, a soldier in service of House Tully. The Lord of Riverrun proposed a plan. While he himself is going to gather the other Riverlords, all of them co-conspirators, Garthon and George are supposed to travel to the city of Maidenpool in the eastern Riverlands, to acquire a newly designed crossbow and a special poison. Meanwhile, Torvin and Gabin are going to remain in Harrenhal, where they were supposed to get close to the king's secondborn son, Harlan Hoare.

### We Write History

A few days later, Torvin and Gabin met up with Harlan Hoare, who was already acquainted with Gabin and who was curious about Torvin, having heard a lot of stories about his supposed cruelty, which have been fabricated by Gabin to give him a better chance with Harlan. Eager to see him in action, the prince took the two to the dungeons, where he introduced them to Harrenhal's chief torturer, Holt Torv, who took an immediate disliking towards Torvin.

However, Harlan's recklessness soon proved to be a problem, when the prince made the mistake of getting too close to one of the prisoners, a supposed member of the Sons of the Trident, who grabbed him and threatened to break his neck if he wouldn't be released. This left Torvin with the difficult choice of trying to save Harlan's life, by throwing his knife at the prisoner. He narrowly missed the prince himself and succeeded in killing the captor.

This deed earned him Harlan's gratitude and friendship. To reward him, Harlan decided to take Torvin and Gabin to a meeting with his brother, Harmund, who made plans to travel to the Riverlands to hunt down some women. Knowing that this would give him a chance to get close to two Hoare's, Torvin accepted the offer, even if it went against his personal morals.

### Butterfly

Before leaving, Torvin met and befriended the young hunter Hjalgar Holgarsson, who was mocked by Harmund for his perceived weakness and subsequently forced into accompanying him. Torvin, Hjalgar and Gabin continued to follow the two princes and their men, among them Harmund's best friend Rell Vessels.

Shortly afterwards, the hunting party found their first target, an old man by the name of Tomard, who worked as a farmhand for the local farmer Woody Lincoln. Woody, himself a proud Riverlander, had a habit of hiding young girls on his farm, to keep them save from Harmund and his group. The prince learned about this and brutally beat Tomard until the farmhand revealed the location of the farm. Afterwards, he forced Hjalgar to shoot the man.

After this, Harmund and Rell decided to take their men to the farm, while Harlan, Gabin, Torvin and Hjalgar were ordered to chase down the one girl that refused Tomard's offer of staying at the farm, Alys Boleyn. At night and without any hounds, it was sheer luck that the younger prince and his men soon found her trail. After a chase, Torvin ended up finding her hiding spot, but in a moment of mercy, he decided to keep her position a secret, therefore saving her from Harlan.

Only shortly afterwards, they encountered Alys again, now in the company of the Stepstone pirate Edward Anturion and his bodyguards, Carvin Granverand Alisa Karstark. Though Harlan insisted on Anturion giving up on Alys, he continued to protect her. After revealing his identity, he revealed that Harren Hoare was expecting him, therefore forcing Harlan to escort them back to Harrenhal.

### The Iron Price

A few hours later, Torvin arrived back at Harrenhal, together with a heavily pissed off Harlan, who quickly left for the night. Before Torvin himself was able to retreat to his rooms, he was approached by Damon Greyjoy, Lord Captain of the Iron Fleet, who had called for a meeting of captains earlier, to discuss the next steps in the war against the Kingdom of the Rock. Though not pleased that Torvin rather spent an evening with Harmund and Harlan Hoare, he nonetheless invited Torvin to a last-minute discussion about his own role in the coming war.

They met up with a group of other captains, among them the experienced Durren Stallhart, Alynne Hollard, a Riverlander turncoat and finally, Simon Vessels, father of Harmund's friend Rell. Also present during the meeting was Damon's sister Kyra Greyjoy, Harrenhal's captain of the guard. After a brief discussion, it was decided that Torvin and Durren Stallhart would raid the coast of the Northern Rock together.

After ending the meeting, Torvin had a short talk with Kyra, to whom he almost revealed his secret. Kyra in turn gave him a cryptic warning, hinting that she realized what he was up to. Afterwards, Torvin met up with Gabin and Hjalgar. To his surprise, Gabin informed him that he revealed their mission to Hjalgar, having grown fond of the young man during the past day and starting to trust him. Left without much of a choice, Torvin agreed to include Hjalgar in their mission from now on.

On the next day, Torvin was present during an archery contest between Hjalgar and Carvin, when he spotted his brother and George returning to Harrenhal. Together with Edmyn Tully, they started the final step of their planned assassination, as Torvin asked Harlan to assure an audience between Tully and Harren Hoare. Accompanied by the king's son, they moved to Harren's audience room, where they were stopped by Kyra. Even though she realized what they were up to, she let them through and they met up with Harren, who currently had a talk with Edward Anturion.

Unfortunately, Harren himself quickly revealed that he already knew what they were up to. With the help of Arrec Mallister, who had turned against the rebellion after becoming disillusioned with the other Riverlords and seeing it as bound to fail either way, he had always been informed about their plan. He also revealed that Mallister had swapped the poison Garthon was sent to acquire. To show how much control he had over them, he presented Edmyn's eldest daughter, Dayna, whom he had captured after learning about their plan. He forced Edmyn to leave the rest of the assassins to themselves, to keep his daughter safe. As a reward for peacefully surrendering, Harren did not punish him. He also made the same offer to Torvin, Garthon, Gabin and George. While Gabin quickly agreed and left the room, George stubbornly insisted to remain with Torvin and Garthon.

Equally stubborn, Torvin refused to surrender and instead tried to go through with the plan. He managed to wound Harren, while George fought against Harlan, whom he wounded grievously. Ultimately, their assassination was bound to fail. Harren survived, though heavily scarred, while George was killed by Edward Anturion. After Kyra and her guards arrived, Torvin and Garthon were taken prisoner and brought to the dungeons.

### Masquerade

After their failed assassination attempt, the brothers have been thrown into the dungeons below Harrenhal, where they are at the mercy of Holt Torv. After a week in which they are systematically starved, Harren Hoare decides to pay them a visit, together with Kyra. The king revealed his dangerous situation. Though the assassination failed, the Riverlords started to see the brothers as figureheads of a potential rebellion. To prevent this, Harren made them an offer. In exchange for their public display of loyalty, Harren would spare their lives. Though Torvin disagreed in disgust, Garthon reluctantly accepted the offer, which heavily tarnished Torvin's opinion on him.

Torvin reappears towards the end of the chapter, when Harren orderded him to be brought to the Great Hall. There, the king revealed to the present audience that he had captured Torvin's lover Clarisse and that the abuse she suffered at the hands of his sons had caused her to have a miscarriage. He presents the stillborn child to a shocked Torvin, who quickly breaks down in horror. To ensure Clarrise's safety, he finally gives in to the king's demand and bends his knee once again. The king orders him and Garthon to go on to a dangerous raid to the city of Raylansfair. They were accompanied by three hundred men, among them the influential Lord Clint Volmark and Rell Vessels, as well as Edward Anturion and his followers.

### Valar Morghulis

A week later, Torvin commanded the mission to Raylansfair. Traumatized by the loss of his child, he had grown sullen and silent, rarely speaking with the others, up to the point where his presence severely weakened the morale of his crew.

### What Is Dead May Never Die

Torvin and his Ironborn army arrived at Raylansfair after a long journey, ready to burn the city to the ground as ordered. He mercilessly leads the initial attack against the city guard that tries to hold the docks, where he overruns them and forces the survivors to flee to the inner city.

Unfortunately, the lack of a clear leadership among the Ironborn soon causes problems for him. While Anturion and his men take off to do their own business in the archives of Raylansfair, while Volmark is less interested in conquering Raylansfair and more interested in raiding as much as possible. Eventually, Torvin leads the attack on the inner city himself, while ordering Garthon to follow Volmark, to convince him to join him during this attack.

## Appearance

Torvin is taller than the average man and as a result of his lifetime as a sailor and raider, he is very muscular, his body covered in several scars. His skin is tanned from many hours spent outside and his hair is dark, with a massive beard that falls down onto his chest. As a result of his harsh life at sea, Torvin looks a bit older than he actually is.

## Personality

Torvin is a stern and unforgiving man, a natural leader who demands and inspires respect and loyalty in those around him. He is a fearsome warrior and experienced raider, whose gruff and cold shell hides a strong idealistic streak. Torvin has a set of morals that might be surprising for an Ironborn raider. While he does not disapprove of using violence to achieve his goals, he never resorts to it for the sake of bloodlust. He respects honesty and those who stand up for their values, while he despises liars and those who are unnecessarily cruel. His family is the most important thing for him and he would do anything for those he loves.

Unfortunately, his finer qualities are also his weaknesses. He is honest to the point of having problems with telling a lie, he is brave to the point of unyielding recklessness and he is stubborn to the point of foolishness. If Torvin has a goal, he will do anything to achieve it and he is unable to deal with failure. If faced with a potential defeat, he would rather go down fighting, doing as much damage as possible, instead of yielding.

## Relationships

### Garthon Breaker

As his brother, Torvin cares deeply for Garthon. In fact, many of his actions over the course of Book 1 made it clear that he considers his brother to be the most important person in his life, a feeling Garthon reciprocates. Torvin's act of rebellion against the king has been primarily motivated out of concern for Garthon's wellbeing. Unfortunately, Garthon's actions in Masquerade stressed their relationship severely and Torvin seemed to be heavily disappointed by how easy his brother gave in to Harren's threats.

### Harren Hoare

Torvin feels nothing but burning hatred for his king. Initially, they started off on a neutral, but slightly negative note, but Harren's cruelty even against his own subjects always worrie Torvin. The moment he joined the rebellion, Torvin's resentment turned into hatred, which only grew worse the closer he got to his goal. The ultimate failure of his rebellion fuelled his hatred even more and it was made only worse by Harren's actions against Torvin's lover and his unborn child. In turn, Harren doesn't see Torvin as a rival, not even as an enemy, but simply as an insignificant and unruly subject.

### Edmyn Tully

Soon into their first meeting, Torvin and Edmyn noticed surprising similarities between them. These similarities led to a quick trust between the two men and the Riverlord appreciated Torvin's thoughts and opinions. Though hailing from different backgrounds, the two men became something that resembled friends. Unfortunately, Edmyn's retreat from the assassintaion, to save his daughter, ended any friendship between them, though Torvin undoubtedly understands and respects Edmyn's decision.

### Harlan Hoare

Torvin's relationship with Harlan is complicated. For the most of their shared time, Torvin was disgusted with Harlan and only continued to befriend him to get closer to his goal. However, he also sympathized with the emotional trauma Harlan suffered in his cruel childhood and despite his continuing disgust, Torvin also felt a lot of pity for the prince. In stark contrast, Harlan genuinely took a liking to Torvin and saw him as one of his closest friends. His ultimate betrayal hit the prince hard and wounded him arguably even worse than George's blade.

### Gabin Strad

Initially, Torvin and Gabin started on a distant, untrusting note. Gabin had no understanding why an Ironborn would turn against his king, while Torvin saw the young man as too weak to truly contribute to their cause. At the same time, they were forced to work together and slowly, a slight mutual respect formed out of their interactions. Gabin's cowardice during the assassination of Harren Hoare caused any positive feelings from Torvin's side to vanish though.

### Hjalgar Holgarsson

After seeing him forced into accompanying the Hoare brothers into the Riverlands, Torvin quickly took pity with the hunter, noticing his lack of confidence. Over the time of their journey, Torvin tried to built up Hjalgar's strength, with mixed results, though his actions won him the young man's friendship and loyalty, up to the point where Hjalgar agreed to help him with the assassination of Harren Hoare and later on, he willingly followed him to Raylansfair.

### Clarisse Pyke

While the relationship between Tovin and his lover Clarisse hasn't been shown in the story, the mentions of her made her importance for Torvin clear. Together with Garthon, her safety was the prime condition for him to join Edmyn Tully's rebellion against House Hoare and it was the mention of her capture, as well as the death of their unborn child that ultimately broke Torvin into following Harren's wishes. The concern for her safety drove him to his actions during the Raid on Raylansfair