Jon Bolton

## Jon Bolton, Lord of the Dreadfort

Jon Bolton is the young Lord of the Dreadfort, ascending to his title in 97AC after the death of his father.

## Appearance and Character

Jon Bolton stands a little over six feet tall and although he isn't known for combat he has the athletic build of a soldier. His black, curly hair covers his ears and his eyes are an ice blue.

Jon is known as a charasmatic leader and a smart steward of his lands. The lands of the Dreadfort have prospered under his leadership, even while his father still ruled as Lord, and the people beholden to him view him as a champion. He is a young lord who is unsure of himself and still growing into his position as Lord.

## Biography

Jon Bolton is sometimes referred to as Jon the Unlikely by the smallfolk beholden to the Dreadfort. The second son of Belthasar Bolton, he was known around his home for being a quiet and thoughtful boy. He was a sharp contrast to his older brother, a bookish boy who took quickly to his studies under the Maester, while his older brother Ramsay spent much of his time with their Lord Father and lording over the younger inhabitants of the Dreadfort. Under the tutelage of the Maester, and away from the influence of his father, Jon excelled at maths and was a quick study of military strategy. Additionally, he was a natural leader of his younger siblings and cousins who often sought his help with their problems instead of turning to an adult. His life was relatively easy his first thirteen years until the Curse fell upon and ravaged the North.

The Curse ravaged the Dreadfort, infecting almost half the population within the first month of the outbreak. Jon was spared - a small miracle in itself - but many of his family were not so fortunate. He could only watch as the plague claimed the lives of his grandmother, mother, elder brother, and several cousins. The only Bolton to catch the Curse and survive was Jon’s younger sister, Alyssa. Despite being forbidden by his father, Jon remained by Alyssa’s side until her fever broke. In the aftermath of the Curse, Jon emerged as the new heir to the Dreadfort, although his father’s attitude towards him remained indifferent. Indeed, Lord Belthasar seemed to take little interest in anything outside of hunting the Bolton’s lands after the death of his wife and eldest son. Jon continued his education under the Maester and began to help his father’s steward manage House Bolton’s finances.

As Jon grew older his father’s “hunting trips” lasted longer and longer and rumors of what occurred on those trips began to circle the countryside. Smallfolk spoke of villagers going missing in the night and of the Lord of the Dreadfort reinstituting the First Night - though such rumors were always quickly quelled. Jon took more of his father’s duties upon himself during this time. These duties included meeting the smallfolk who petitioned the Lord of the Dreadfort to solve their problems, approving of repairs and new buildings, and touring the local villages. Jon was seen as a champion of the smallfolk by his eighteenth nameday and widely regarded as the true leader of House Bolton despite lacking the title of “Lord”. Under Jon’s guidance House Bolton and its lands began to prosper and truly recover from the devastation inflicted upon them by the Curse. Belthasar began to resent Jon’s efforts when he began to hear the murmurs that Jon was the true lord.

His father’s inattention to his duties, along with the persistent murmurs that Jon was the true lord of the Dreadfort, pushed Jon and Belthasar further apart, straining their already fragile relationship. As Jon approached his twentieth nameday the sounds of he and his father arguing were heard more frequently in the Dreadfort and it was said that the two could scarcely be in the same room for any amount of time without bickering. Thus, it came as a surprise to all when it was announced that the two would be undertaking a hunting trip on the day of Jon’s nameday. Lord Belthasar claimed that it was an attempt to mend the divide that separated father and son and celebrate and important day. A party of ten men set out from the Dreadfort on Jon’s nameday but two days later only Jon and two guards returned, with the body of the deceased Lord Belthasar tied over the back of Jon’s horse. When asked what occurred Jon and the two guards gave the same story - bandits had descended upon them a days ride away from the Dreadfort and killed most of the party before the survivors could fend them off.

Jon spent several months under intense scrutiny as his claims of bandits were investigated. Rumors swirled around the Dreadfort; with some saying Jon had killed his father, others saying that Belthasar had attempted to take his son’s life as part of a blood magic ritual or out of jealousy, and others saying that Belthasar was killed not by bandits, but by smallfolk who blamed him for the disappearance of their wives and daughters. Whatever the truth is, Jon Bolton was eventually cleared and assumed his father’s lordship.