Roland Stone

## Hedge Knight

**Ser Roland Stone** is a hedge knight who hails from the Vale of Arryn. A knight of little renown from the most remote parts of the Vale, he seeks to follow in the footsteps of his hero, Duncan the Tall.

## Appearance

Roland is a lively young man. He stands nearly six feet and six inches in height. His build, though not lacking in muscularity, is lithe and gives a gracefulness to his movements. A long scar decorates his stomach, tracing diagonal line across the abdomen.

His face is sharp and angular. Brown hair sits atop his head in a great mess of waves, and he keeps the sharp lines of his jaw clean-shaven. He sees the world through dark brown eyes, which are known to blink often.

## History

Roland is the result of a passionate tryst between the old Lord Coldwater and a miller’s daughter by the name of Dyanna in the year 392. The Lord Coldwater initially left the boy in the care of the miller’s family, though he returned the following year and claimed the child for himself. He brought Roland back to Coldwater Burn, claiming that the boy required a “proper” upbringing so that he may overcome his peasant blood.

During his time at Coldwater Burn, Roland was given an education typical of young nobleman, if not the same amount of respect. He was taught to read, ride, fight, and hunt. He found he had a deep love of fishing in the nearby rivers and streams, and this was often where he spent his free time. During much of his youth, fell deeply in love with the stories of the great knights of old. In particular, he found a fondness for the legendary knight Duncan the Tall. In 398, he becomes a page for the Coldwater Court. After serving in this capacity for a number of years, in 406 he becomes the squire to a Ser Robert of Ironoaks, a knight sworn to a lesser branch of House Arryn.

Ser Robert and his squire travel through much of the Vale, and through some parts of Riverlands. In 409, Ser Robert promised a merchant in Darry he would deal with a group of bandits on the road to Riverrun. The duo managed to find the bandit group, which numbered 5. Ser Robert went to attempt to scare the bandits off, though they proceeded to attack the knight. The bandits began to overwhelm the Vale knight, though the tide was turned when Roland began to chuck stones at the bandits, creating enough of a distraction for Ser Robert to dispatch the outlaws.

In 411, Ser Robert and his squire made their way across the Narrow sea along with the many other Vale knights for the Four Daughters war. They first made their way to Braavos, where Roland and his mentor were kept out of the majority of the fighting. The pair then followed the Vale host south from Braavos. During the Coastland battle, Roland was given his first taste of real warfare, wounding a number of enemy knights with a crossbow.

As the army made their way through Andalos, Robert made promise to his squire that he would be knighted before the war’s end. At the Battle of Northern Andalos, Roland killed his first enemy, spearing a Norvoshi skirmisher through the breast. As the army moved further south, they are again blocked by Essosi forces. Whilst engaged in battle in Southern Andalos, Roland is severely wounded in the abdomen.

Roland recuperates and continues with the Vale soldiers on their warpath. As Essosi forces ambush the Westerosi army in the Battle of the Gap, Roland rides with the Vale knights as they route the enemy forces, fighting alongside many of the knights he had come to know. As the Westerosi forces regroup after this battle, Roland’s mentor Ser Robert formally knights the boy.

Roland’s last participation in the war would be at its last battle, at River Bridge. Now a true knight, Roland rode with the Vale knights through the whole course of the battle. During the course of the battle, he lanced a Qohorik nobleman through the chest, and claimed the man’s longsword for himself. Also at River Bridge, he made the acquaintance of Corrad Dayne.

As the freshly made knight and his mentor sailed back across to the Vale, Ser Robert became stricken with illness, and died during the voyage. He left his armor, sword, and horse to Roland. The young man buried his mentor shortly after making landfall, and set out from the Vale as a wandering knight, in the style of the legendary knight Duncan the Tall.

He did little of renown as he traveled through Westeros. Whilst facing down the famed Lionknight, Ser Tybolt Lannister, Roland was unhorsed by his opponent, and received a crack in his breastplate. The Ser Lannister saw fit to not ransom the hedge knight, not that he would get anything for doing so. Roland went on to be the champion of a much smaller tourney in Gulltown, and won himself enough money to have made a set of plain, but tailored, armor. He traveled back to where he had buried Ser Robert years ago, and laid the old knight’s arms to rest there.

He dispatched a band of mountain clansmen whilst traveling down the High Road into the Riverlands. He then made his way towards King’s Landing on the tail of an announcement of a grand tournament to celebrate King Maelor’s nameday, in the hopes of making more a name for himself, as well as following the promise of reward.

## Possessions

### Weapons

* Longsword taken from a Qohorik nobleman.

### Other

* A suit of tailored armor.
* A grey cloak, reddened from long use on dusty roads.

## Connections

* Was unhorsed by Tybolt Lannister during a joust.
* During the Battle at River Bridge, he made the acquaintance of Corrad Dayne.

## Rumours

* It is said in certain circles that he holds a silent grudge towards Tybolt Lannister, after the Lionknight unhorsed him in the final bout of a tournament.

## Recent Events

**Iaisse I - A Lone Dear Hedge Knight** - Roland travels to King's Landing to participate in the Grand Tournament and meets several faces, new and old.

**Iaisse II - Streets of Laredo** - Roland meets a variety of folk while wandering through King's Landing.

**Iaisse III - The Unfortunate Rake** - The hedge knight considers leaving Westeros, but has a change of heart.