Aidan Storm

{Wilson Connington} - half-brother

Jaime Connington - half-brother

Anya Connington - half-sister

Captain **Aidan Storm** is a character in Book 2. He is the bastard son of Merrin Connington, head of House Connington, born from an affair with one of the servants. However, tensions in his family have moved him to leave his highborn family behind and he chose a life at sea, becoming one of the great pirate captains serving under Aeron Blacksails.

## Background

Aidan is not one to speak much about his past. It is known that he is the bastard son of Lord Merrin Connington and one of his father's former servants. Growing up alongside his trueborn siblings, Aidan has often been at odds with them, particularly with his eldest brother, Wilson. However, he was relatively close to his father, who acknowledged him as his son and gave him a good life.

Things changed after Wilson Connington's death, for reasons that are yet unknown. Rumour has it that Aidan himself had a hand in this, but he adamantly refuses to speak about it. What is known is that he has left Griffin Roost behind after this and with it his noble family and life.

Unfortunately, Aidan soon learned that life outside the walls of his home was a harsh and cruel one. Doing several odd jobs in the Free Cities, one of his employers eventually betrayed him when he learned too much about the man's dishonest business practics, opting to simply sell him into slavery.

Made a slave, Aidan was transported to Slaver's Bay, though he would never reach the place itself. Never one to submit to hardship, Aidan managed to rile the slaves up against their captors. Though many died in the process, the mutiny was successful and Aidan took command of the ship. With the help of a man named Gill, who would later become his first mate, he captained the ship from there on and the slaves became his crew.

Naming his ship the "Sparrowhawk", Aidan became a pirate, though notably less feared than others. Fair towards prisoners, he has arguably helped more than he harmed, as his short stay with the slavers gave him such a deep hatred for their kind that he prefers to attack their ships, freeing the slaves in the process. He eventually submitted to Aeron Blacksails, self-proclaimed pirate king of the Narrow Sea, though retains a great deal of indepencence.

## Book 2

### Fires Far

Coincidentally, Aidan is at Merman's Rest when Edward Anturion makes his return, to speak to the council. Alongside Sargasso Saan, Gregor Harlaw, Warmond Manderly, Jadith Linster and Melvan Tiren, he attends the council meeting. He displays amusement at Edward's situation, as he is shown chuckling and grinning.

When listening to Gregor's tale about the coming war between Aegon Targaryen and the kingdoms of Westeros, he is the only one who decides to leave Merman's Rest alongside his friend, unwilling to fight the dragons and smart enough to know that hiding won't work forever. He takes it a step further though, by revealing that he is unwilling to work for Aegon either. Instead, he retreats to the east, naming Lys as his first stop.

### Thorns

During his stay in Lys, Aidan is approached by the sellswords John Gutten and Temari Keys, who seek to hire him to hunt after the slaver Abbas al-Yunkari. Not yet knowing about their reasons, Aidan proposes that they help each other, with them helping him out with something first.

## Appearance

Aidan is a tall and lean man with skin that has been tanned from his long life at sea. His hair is dark brown and long, growing down to his shoulders. One particularly notable feature about him are his eyes. Formerly light blue, an accident has changed them, severely altering his sight in the process. During one raid, a strange mixture was thrown into his eyes, blinding him for some time. Though his sight returned, his eyes are now a pale grey, almost white, giving the impression as if he is blind and while he can see perfectly fine, he has problems separating between colours.

## Personality

A carefree, jovial man, Aidan is sociable and quite a likable man. Seemingly confused and often giving the impression that he is either not quite present during a talk or at the very least painfully gullible, he is actually an intelligent and rather sharp man, who knows how to use this impression others have of him against them and who strikes when people expect the least of him. Idealistic, especially for a pirate, Aidan is not one to hold grudges, though there is a notable exception. He absolutely hates slavery and slavers, preferring to hunt them down and free their slaves, often offering them a place in his ever growing crew of freed men.

## Relationships

### Aeron Blacksails

Not much is known about Aidan's relationship to Aeron Blacksails. However, as one of his captains, he is loyal to his king, respecting him and being respected in return. As such, the two men have a good working relationship. Aidan has even gotten a position as one of the members of the pirate council, a role he assumes whenever he is at Merman's Rest.

### Gregor Harlaw

Gregor and Aidan are good friends and as the ones usually seen as outsides in the pirate king's court, they usually support each other during the council sessions. Aidan clearly values Gregor's opinion a lot, which is shown when he immediately makes plans to leave Merman's Rest once Gregor informs him about the coming war against Aegon Targaryen.