[hider=Mychel Arryn, the Black Falcon][center][img]http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/hieloyfuego/images/3/3b/Casa_Arryn.png/revision/latest?cb=20130331165346[/img][/center]

[b]Name:[/b] Mychel Arryn, the Black Falcon 

[b]Age:[/b] 17

[b]Affiliation:[/b] House Arryn 

[b]Appearance:[/b]
[center][img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/2c/4c/dc/2c4cdc5dbc6b714e279c556cdd55b990.jpg[/img][/center]
Young and fair Mychel looks very little like his father. While not particularly tall, standing at 5' 9", he boasts a lithe, triangular physique, product of his training under Lord Royce. His straight, shoulder-length black hair frames his pale, soft features and bright blue eyes. There is a sincerely gentle and joyful brightness to his face and posture.

[b]Profession:[/b] Heir to the Vale. Knight, diplomat and artist.

[b]Equipment:[/b] The Black Falcon often carries with him a plain longbow and a long Valyrian steel dagger named "Talon". He has seldom needed to use either. His armor, which he rarely wears, is a tight-fitting thing, made primarily of black leather, combined with blackened steel plate and decorated with black feathers. It displays the falcon and moon of House Arryn on his chest, with the falcon in that same blackened steel.

[b]Skills:[/b] Though educated in the arts of war, Mychel's talents have proven themselves to be better suited for diplomacy and peacetime rulership. While his intelligence and creativity make him an outstanding strategist and tactician, he truly excells in arguing for the Vale's interests and administering the affairs of the land and its people. Though not the most inspiring speaker, his integrity has made him popular among the smallfolk, and his practical and diligent nature has earned him the approval of many of his father's bannermen. The years of practice have transformed Mychel into a competent artist, particularly in sculpture. More importantly, however, they have given him a keen eye for detail.

[b]Biography:[/b] Lord Andar Royce did not mince his words on the day he knighted Robin Arryn's heir:

"You are the son your grandfather deserved."

The implied disdain towards his liege was hardly surprising to the black-haired youth. Even as a child, Mychel Arryn had been quite aware of the fact that the lords of the Vale did not hold the Lord Paramount in high esteem. And their reasons were rooted in the past two decades of Westeros' history.

Mere months after becoming Lord Protector of the Vale, the infamous Petyr Baelish was mysteriously murdered in his sleep. Many at the time suspected none other than his protegee, Sansa Stark, but before anyone in the Vale thought to pursue those suspicions, she fled to the North. The sudden power vacuum gave the Lords Declarant, staunch opponents of Baelish's regime, the opportunity to seize control of the realm. Soon after they took Lord Robin hostage, severed all ties with the Iron Throne, and joined forces with Jon Stark in his successive wars.

Under the command of the Lords Declarant, the knights of the Vale fought bravely against the white walkers, while the Vale itself continued to be an island of stability and relative prosperity in the Seven Kingdoms. The mountain clans were repeatedly pushed back, though not defeated, and Gulltown came out all but unscathed from Euron Greyjoy's attacks on the shores of Westeros. The Lord Paramount himself, however, remained capricious and unwilling to learn, even as his poor health gradually improved, and thus he was stripped of most powers and made into a figurehead for several years, even after he came of age.

Mychel Arryn was born in the Eyrie, three years after the Lords Declarant finally stepped down as Lord Robin's regents, having deemed him to be fit to rule over the Vale. His birth was the result of his father's union with Rowena Waynwood, Lady Anya's youngest daughter, and was met with cautious celebration by his bannermen. Unlike his father, the newborn lord of the Vale was healthy in his infancy, much to the relief of the court, and in the following months showed a lively disposition.

Tutored by his father's maester, Mychel turned out to be a very perceptive, though somewhat shy, boy. He became very interested in art and history, and taught himself to draw and carve whenever he was not studying the reforms of the various Targaryen kings. He received some early training in bowmanship and horseback riding under the captain of the household guard, but paid more attention to writings on strategy and tactics. His father's bannermen came to like him for his sharp mind, imagination, and warm but strong character, and he was present during many council meetings.

At the beginning of his adolescence, his father sent him to the Runestone to serve as Lord Andar Royce's squire. Though initially reluctant, for he had wanted to be sent to Winterfell with his Stark relatives instead, Mychel quickly grew close to Lord Andar and his children. In particular, he developed a very close relationship with Lord Andar's own heir, Lucas. From Lucas he would receive "Talon", a long Valyrian steel dagger.

As a squire, Mychel did well in small tourneys, though not remarkably so. In battle against the mountain clans, he fought competently side by side with Lord Andar and others, coming out of the experience with only minor wounds and a handful of clansmen felled by his longbow and dagger. His truly noteworthy achievements during that time were not in the field of battle or at the lists, but outside of both. For one, in the aftermath of Lord Andar's battle against the mountain clans, Mychel single-handedly negotiated a truce with some of their chiefs, going so far as to earn the fealty of the Moon Brothers' remnants. He also settled a few disputes, many of which involved smallfolk.

By then, Mychel had come to be known among his peers as the Black Falcon, due to the color of his hair, and had earned a reputation for helping others. Unfortunately, he was not without scandals, and indeed, in his adolescence, he was hounded by vicious rumors concerning the bond he shared with Lucas Royce. In feasts and inns all over the Seven Kingdoms, voices began to whisper that Robin Arryn's and Andar Royce's heirs were in fact lovers. Although nobody outside of the Runestone ever really knew with certainty, Lord Andar himself did discover the rumors to be true. But rather than try to forcibly separate them, and cast young Mychel out, the Lord of the Runestone kept the Black Falcon as his squire, and encouraged them to part ways. Mychel and Lucas reluctantly agreed, and the latter was sent to serve as a squire in the Gates of the Moon under Ser Albar Royce, his kinsman. Several months later, Lord Andar knighted Mychel and sent him back to his family in the Eyrie.

The heir to the Vale returned to find his house's ancestral seat being ruled with a steady but barely competent hand by his father. Even in his adulthood, Robin Arryn was still prone to arbitrariness and listening to the wrong counsel. The Lord Paramount had the loyalty of his bannermen and good relations with the Iron Throne, but did not quite understand how to use them for the betterment of the realm. With his heart full of ideas and ambitions, Mychel sought to become his father's advisor and change the course of his reign. However, his efforts were undermined by Ser Harry of the Winged Knights, and although his father meekly attempted to strengthen his bond with his son and heir, the two soon became distant. Mychel began to spend much of his time out of court, in the company of soldiers and smallfolk, working on his art, and acting as his house's representative outside of the Eyrie. Over time, Mychel gained the respect of the people of the Vale, as well as the support of various lords, thus building a fair amount of power and influence in the realm's politics.

These days, as turmoil begins to spread through the Seven Kingdoms, the Black Falcon is looking to the future. Yet though he suspects his future may well await outside of the Vale, his loyalties lie with his homeland first and foremost, and ultimately it is an altruistic sense of duty that guides him. In the name of the common good, he does not only want to rule, but also feels that he must rule. With those sentiments comes ambition, and indeed Mychel Arryn has many great aspirations. He is sentimental, kind and imaginative, but also proud and eager. Though young and well aware of it, he takes pride in his house and its history, as well as his abilities. Practical and honest to a fault, he cares about honor and tradition only insofar as they are not obstacles to what he thinks is right.

Mychel now travels with his father to King's Landing, where a tourney is being held. To him, the event presents an opportunity to learn more about the state of the Seven Kingdoms, and to further prepare for the day when he becomes Lord Paramount of the Vale.

[b]Notes:[/b]
- He still keeps a correspondence with Lucas Royce, but their mutual infatuation has faded considerably.
- He continues to have a strained relationship with his father and Ser Harry, but his mother and grandmother are both close allies of his in court.
- He cares about his Stark and Tully relatives, even if he has only met them sporadically throughout his life.
- He has mixed feelings about the royal family, given that his much revered grandfather fought to overthrow the Targaryens.
- He is not devoted to the Faith of the Seven (and it is rumored that he sympathizes with R'hllor worshippers), but he has good relations with many septons in the Vale, thanks to their shared work in helping the smallfolk.[/hider]