Two spicy characters that aren't strangers to these games, [@HeySeuss], [@Ruby].

[hider=Mercenary Captain and Company][Center][B]Name: Ascario Cosca, Captain of the Bright Banners, a Free Company
Age: 42
Appearance:[/B] 
[img]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ElY9q-RtNso/TFWPc715vEI/AAAAAAAAAVc/4RS73Kqv5y4/s1600/alatriste.jpg[/img]

“You can never have too many knives.”[/Center]

[B]Personality:[/B]
Literally a whoreson, Ascario is a capable warrior and, like most sellswords, is fickle, faithless and brutal. His greed is so much of a fault that it almost turns into a quality. You can always trust Cosca… trust him to side with the highest bidder. As a soldier of fortune, he tries to enjoy life as much as possible, for tomorrow you might find your heart pierced by an arrow, or your spleen ruptured by a spear.

In a fight, Ascario Cosca is vicious, swift and incredibly agile as befits a bravo and mercenary. He is utterly pragmatic and ruthless, caring little for the fates of his men (though he is careful to conceal it of course lest the fools lynch him), always pressing them. The job needs to be done, as long as he is paid. He might look like just a joker, but he is far more cunning than he seems.

Incredibly vain and witty, he considers himself the epitome of manly attraction, in spite of having some feminine quirks. He likes to display his qualities, and is blind to his own faults. Lacking scruples and morals, Cosca has committed terrible and heinous crimes in his life, from murder and all sorts of abuse to wholesale torture and merciless slaughter.

Ascario has several great loves in his life that all compete but are never mutually exclusive. Though not exclusively attracted to women, Cosca is a great womanizer and sees all women as conquests. Other than carnal pleasures, he is fond of the bottle, dice, fists and of course the thing that makes it all possible: coin.

[B]Biography:[/B]
Cosca was born to a Tyroshi concubine and so there is quite some doubt about his parentage. His mother always told him it was a Braavosi ship captain, but it could just as well been a lowly Myrish sailor. Nevertheless, Ascario was forced to look out after himself, helping out in the brothel occasionally, or working the streets as a purse-cut. He was little more than a gutter-rat. As he grew up, it became apparent he had a talent for violence and manipulating, joining one of the local gangs.

At the age of fourteen he left the city, using his flamboyance and genial ways to join up with the Bright Banners. He served first as a mere kitchen boy and farrier, until one of the crossbowmen took him as his shield boy. After carrying a large pavise for a few years, Ascario enlisted as a regular soldier of fortune.

Fighting in the Disputed Lands saw him wounded several times, even when he climbed the ladder of the company. It also introduced him with exploiting the company’s strengths when negotiating contracts. Aside from commanding the pike-men of the Bright Banners, Ascario functioned as a notary who drafted contracts. Aware of the military power monopoly in the Free Cities, Cosca became notorious for his capriciousness, and after rising to captain-general soon dictated terms to his ostensible employers.

Ascario Cosca preferred fighting indirectly, not directly— thus, only reluctantly endangering himself and the enlisted men, avoiding battle when possible, also avoiding hard work and winter campaigns, as these all reduced the total number of trained soldiers available, and was detrimental to the company’s political and economic interest. The Bright Banners set a trend. They fought by outmanoeuvring the opponent and fighting his ability to wage war, rather than risk uncertain fortune —defeat, capture, death— in battlefield combat.

[Center][b]The Company:[/b]
[img]http://www.hispano-irish.es/noticias/413irlandesesenejercitoespanol.jpg[/img]
[i]You'll See Us Coming[/i]
[/Center]

Though not with the best reputation, the company is well-known and infamous throughout Essos. A motley crew of disparate and displaced soldiers, the Bright Banner has become the home of many a desperate man who knows how to fight. There are axemen from Qohor and Norvos, bravos from Braavos, Lyseni sellswords, Tyroshi pikemen and all other sorts of mercenaries from both sides of the Narrow Sea that serve. The units of bowmen are mostly made up of Dornish, and some Summer Islanders with their deadly bows, while occasionally contingents of Myrish crossbowmen march along. In total, the Bright Banners number 2,000 regulars, of which two-hundred are mounted fighting men, and the majority are pikemen.

[Hider=OOC notes]If anyone's read the First Law series, you'll know who this fella sort of is.[/hider][/hider]

[hider=Master of Coin applicant]
[Center][B]Willem “Willie” Morningwood, Lame Willie, Master of Coin[/B]
[B]Age: 45
Appearance:[/B]
[img]http://therebelprince.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/tudors3_7.jpg[/img][/Center]

[B]Sigil:[/B] A golden oak tree on a field of green
[B]Words:[/B]To Rise and Shine
[hider=picture][img]http://inkwellideas.com/coa/images300/oaktree_eradicated_full.png[/img][/hider]

[B]Personality[/B]
Willem Morningwood is bitter and whimsical towards life in general, often mocking his own condition, and views steps as his greatest enemies and chairs as his greatest allies. After the accident and depression, Lame Willie became extremely cynical, capable of appreciating irony to its fullest extent. He despises his work sometimes, but enjoys the influence and protection his position bestows on him.

Spat out by his peers has made Willie thrive on isolation. Instead of the strength of his sword-arm, he had to rely on his wit. He has a sly and ruthless nature, branding himself as a survivor at all costs, trying to out-think his adversaries. Being a cripple, he has resolved to ignore, even amputate, his scruples. As such, he is no stranger to strong-arming, bribing or cajoling to have things his way. These often come in handy in both the worlds of commerce and politics.

Willem has turned himself into a caricature, and likes to mock everyone and everything. Keenly aware of the world laughing at him, he has turned to a sickly mockery and laughs back. His cane made of black oak, for instance has a silver knob in the shape of a large acorn, with leaves wrapping downward alongside the length of it.

[B]Biography:[/B]
Willem grew up as the son of a landed knight, sworn to Ashford in the Reach. As the years went by, he received a traditional upbringing, and showed some promise while being a squire and page. Like many a nobleman’s son, Willie, generous with his smile, dreamed of making a name for himself as a tourney knight. In spite of his humble origins, the son of Morningwood was a rising star in the firmament of the Reach.

His tale of glory and fame came sharply to an end when he, at the age of 18, participated in a tourney at Maidenpool. Over-confident and careless, Willem had challenged a much older and experienced knight to a bout. The subsequent exchange of tilts ended with Willem’s horse tripping, falling and crushing its rider’s leg.

For the next two months, Willem drifted between life and death for his broken, wounded leg had begun to fester. When he finally was on the mend, it became clear that his mutilated right leg would not be able to bear his full weight any longer. His old friends left him, and he could no longer bask in the adoration of fair maidens. Instead, he was shunned by most of the society and abandoned by those he held dear. Though his father did not say, it was clear he considered Willem as less than before.

Crippled, Willem experienced a period of debauchery where he consumed vast quantities of poppy-milk and passed his time with dicing and whoring. A failed attempt at suicide later, he set sail for the Free Cities where he led the life of a rogue. After spending some time in Pentos, he moved to Lys in order to escape his debts. There he was employed by a pleasure house to handle the ledgers, accounts and sensitive information. It is said he even served with a free company as its paymaster for some time.

However, eventually he returned to Westeros at the request of his ageing father. Willem agreed to pass his inheritance over to his younger brother, Ser Joss Morningwood while he took up a position as steward in Ashford, dealing with market days and financial affairs. The local lord, however, refused to recognise his talents and so Willem departed once more after helping his brother Joss.

After the final stages of the Dance of Dragons and the chaos that followed the Regency, Willie ventured to the capital and worked as a customs officer and port official, until he was selected by the Master of Coin. For the past five years, Lame Willie has toiled in royal office, and made a reputation for himself as a brilliant accountant. When the late Master of Coin died, Willie graduated to the Small Council.

Thriving in a metropolitan environment such as King’s Landing, Willem has acquired a steady income and a reputation, and works on gathering his fortune and influence. He has, ever since his time in Lys, sworn off knighthood and donned the cape of a politician and businessman, though some might call him a crook. Dealing in coin or favours, it is all the same to him.

[hider=OOC]
Yes, this is meant as somewhat of a joke. In the past we have often joked about making a House Morningwood. I am making it happen.
[/hider][/hider]