Post by Lord Samuel Tarly on Jun 29, 2008 18:32:20 GMT -5
First
Character Name:
Lord Samuel Tarly
Character Age:
28 (b. 1472)
Character Nationality:
Reachman/Summer Islander
Character Byname:
The Black Hunter, the Summer Knight
Character Skillpoint Distribution:
96 Swordsmanship (Longsword)
83 Battle Tactics/Strategy
80 Stewardship
78 Lance
60 Horsemanship
55 Archery (Longbow)
40 Leadership
40 Drinking
30 Flanking Tactics
30 Persuasion
Character Personal History:
Lord Samuel Tarly was the only child of his father, Lord Duncan Tarly, and his wife Kojina Mor, a princess of the Summer Islands. Lord Duncan grew enchanted by her exotic beauty when he visited the Islands with his own father, and ended up bringing the woman back to be his wife, much to the dismay of the high lords of the Far Reach. They were legally married, however, and when Samuel was born the realm looked on in awe at the heir to Horn Hill, whose skin was as black as pitch. Lord Samuel grew up to be skilled warrior and a competent commander of men, although his opportunities in life have very noticeably been diminished due to the color of his skin. At twelve, his father sent him to squire for the heir of Lord Johanon Hightower, who he served for five years before earning his spurs. While in Oldtown, Samuel became friends with just about every Hightower in the castle, and Osney himself as well, which improved Samuel Tarly's position among the other lordlings of the realm due to his friendship with the overlord House. His own father died in 1494, when he was two-and-twenty and so he inherited the Lordship of Horn Hill as well as his family's Valyrian Steel longsword, Heartsong. A thousand years past, the greatsword of House Tarly had been taken by a Baratheon king as punishment some treachery committed by a Lord of Horn Hill, and it was melted down into two swords. One of them was given to House Falgrave and the other was kept by the King, but his successor gifted the longsword back to the new Lord Tarly a decade later, who renamed it Heartsong.
Lord Samuel was the unexpected victor of the Joust during the tournament in King's Landing celebrating the coronation of King Jonarth II Baratheon in 1498. He swiftly defeated Ser William Royce and Lord Jared Mallister, who had been a favorite to win. He knocked Stannis Royce off his horse, after the boy surprised the realm by defeating his first two opponents with ease, before Samuel faced off against Lord Lannister in the final tilt. The two men broke three lances against each other's shields before the Bloodroar was sent flying off his horse into the dirt. He was also among the last five men standing in the Melee Event of the tournament, though he was defeated by Lord Lewyn Corbray a few seconds before the Lord of Heart's Home downed Stannis Royce to win the event. Lord Samuel also competed in the melee of Lord Robert Caraven's wedding tournament as a mystery knight, winning the event and the 10,000 Dragon winner's purse.
He spent six-months in the east, forming a mercenary company which he called the Blackguard, financed primarily by his winnings from Caraven's tournament gold. He took his sellswords north and joined Lord Stark's army in time to crush the wildlings at the Battle of the Nightfort where Samuel slew an undead abomination that turned out to be the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, Harry Piper.
He returned to Horn Hill after the Battle of the Nightfort, and found his people muttering angrily about his absence as well as the Dornish threat. Samuel raised a small army and marched into Dorne, sacking Blackmont and burning the castle to the ground, as vengeance for Blackmont's sack of Uplands Castle in 1496. He retreated back to the Reach with his soldiers, and was summoned to King's Landing by Lord Arthur Royce to stand trial for his actions. Before the trial occurred, Dorne revolted against the King's rule and Royce released Samuel to take part in subjugating the rogue kingdom.
After Dorne's defeat, Lord Samuel was ordered by the crown to marry Alyana Blackmont, in an effort to bind Dorne's lordly houses to those of the rest of the realm. Their first son, Quentyn Tarly, was born in the third month of the year 1500. The new heir to Horn Hill's skin-tone was a mix between the pitch-black of his father and the soft brown of his mother.
Character Physical Description:
Lord Samuel is very tall and thickly muscled, almost six and a half feet tall, and 200 pounds. As a warrior, he batters opponents down until they tire and make mistakes; Lord Samuel has incredible fighting stamina and once dueled another man for six hours before they both fell to the ground exhausted. His head is shaved bald, although he wears a neatly trimmed black goatee framing his mouth and perfect white teeth. His eyes are an oddity; a deep clear blue that he inherited from his father, and they contrast strikingly with his dark skin which is the color of pitch.
Character Reputation:
Lord Samuel is known around Horn Hill as a good man and a very competent lord, although men who do not know him well often look down on him because of his heritage. He was lucky to squire for the heir to Oldtown so the men of House Hightower see him favorably, but many other lords choose not to look past the color of his skin. Some men whisper behind his back of diluted bloodlines and even illegitimacy, though none are brave enough to voice their rumors in his presence.