Valren Sand

**Appearance:** Valren has short hair, lean but toned physique from years of training and defensive fighting. His eyes are a dull blue.

**Before Game:** Valren was a bastard born from a Dornish whore who passed a month later, he learned about being a bastard early and took it well. He had no dreams or aspirations of being a great lord all he desired was to protect his people. He trained with various military commanders leaving the politics and economics to his half brother and sister. He spent his time slipping away from the hold to walk among the small folk, listening to their concerns and their fears and acting on them to keep the small folk at ease. His desire to protect his home and it's citizens were imprinted onto him from as he grew into a competent commander and soldier. Valren embarked on Titus' quest to gain ten various flowers to show his worth to marry Ellaria during this time he fought along Titus defensively for a while bringing Dornish strategy and supporting him tactically gaining a friend and ally in Lord Titus.

**Game before time jump:** Despite his desire to protect his people Valren was deeply curious about the rest of westeros, he craved something but did not know what. Perhaps it was a desire for self discovery. During the wedding of Lord Titus to Lady Ellaria, Valren's curious gaze fell upon the Ironborne and his curiosity took hold. He started a conversation with one about the way Ironborne fight curious to see if he could learn things from the savagery of their fighting. The Ironborne struck first and thus began a duel between Callus and Valren in which Valren was defeated, Callus took Valren as a Ward to teach him the Ironborne ways. Valren was curious but he did not expect to endure what he did, Valren was forced to raid and rape in various villages during these times his values and honour was crushed. It sickened him, each time he wore a helmet when he fought the small folk in a vain attempt to distance himself from his actions. When he returned to his family, they asked how it was living with the Ironborne but he swiftly deflected the questions and drunk wine. When he drunk wine Marion assumed it was because the young bastard could not handle the ocean but that was a lie.

Valren tried to rationalize his thoughts trying to separate himself from the reaver and rapist he turned into while on the Iron islands. He tossed his helmet across the room but when it stopped rolling it's piercing gaze stared into Valren's soul, he knew the helmet would never let him forget what he did so he kept it as internal weight of guilt and symbol of the cruelty he possessed. He now only wears the helmet in combat situations to keep himself desensitized to the cruelty of his actions.

After those moments Valren struggled, returning to normal bastard life and protecting the small folks was difficult and Valren suffered in silence never forgetting that sickening feeling of enjoyment as he speculated launching his own raids but he kept silent and forced himself to not be like the Ironborne and to focus on the protection of his territory. It was not long from out of no where Valren was legitimized, this shook Valren a little, he was comfortable with being a bastard and now he had expectations, he felt he had accomplished nothing worthy of being legitimized he felt like a pawn. However he rose to his new lordly duties and did what he could for the protection of the lords during the festival.

**During and After Time Jump:** Valren moved to the Tyr household and studied to become lord under them, the events of the Ironborne still haunted him but he shut it away when he focused on learning his way into Lordship. He's working towards being noble and protective of his new lands as he seeks a wife...however the helmet still sits silently, staring emptily as it's dark and silent seduction tugs in the back of Valren's mind.