[hider= Jaron Steed] [b]Name[/b]: Jaron Steed [b]Age[/b]: 20 Sex: Male [b]Appearance[/b]: Short, dark hair. Stubble. Stern features but a friendly demeanour. Blue eyes. Slightly athletic build. 6ft 1". Scar on the end of his right brow, near his temple. [b]House[/b]: House Steed, Petty Lords of the Southstone [url]https://imgur.com/AeNemPy[/url] [b]Words[/b]: "We Mount Towards Glory" [b]Seat[/b]: Steedteat [b]Region[/b]: The Riverlands [b]Overlord[/b]: Lord Jonos Bracken [b]Profession/Title[/b]: Master of Horses at Stone Hedge [b]Religion[/b]: Faith of the Seven [b]Philosophy[/b]: Loyal and content with life, Jaron has no grand ambitions to achieve a higher place in life. He is perfectly happy tending to the fine horses of Stone Hedge and courting the sister of his lord. He, like most respectable men, has a code of honour and a sense of duty to those around him. [b]Bio[/b]: Born to a house that has served the Bracken family for generations now, Jaron is another loyal servant in a long line of Horsemasters. He is best friends with the youngest of the Bracken clan, Wyllis, and has a romantic relationship (insofar kept secret) with Catelyn Bracken, the sister of Lord Bracken. Jaron's father was killed a few years ago by bandits who had raided a harvest shipment that he was protecting. Jonos Bracken, stricken with the loss of his friend and bannerman, immediately send out a party to hunt down the aggressors, of which Jaron was eagerly keen to join. The posse quickly tracked down the perpetrators, and Jaron was the one to slay his father's murderer. He felt empty afterwards, yet would have plunged his steel into the bandit's heart time and time again. Jaron managed to move on with his life, he had to, to look after his widowed mother and younger sister the best he can. Not embittered by the experience Jaron continues with his life, learning to appreciate the positive aspects of it while he can. He hopes soon to marry Catelyn Bracken and raise a family with her, Jonos would surely agree to it, he had no grand plans to wed his siblings to prestigious men of nobler houses. A happy life seems within grasp! [b]Armament[/b]: A steel sword, 'Hoof's Thorn', with navy bands engraved into the handle and black horse hair stemming from the pommel. [b]Other Notable Equipment[/b]: As master of the stables of Stone Hedge, Jaron has the power to requisition horses and a few men should he need to, and has a reasonable amount of autonomy and authority given to him from his lord, castellan and master-at-arms, with Jaron being on good terms with all three. Jaron possesses a loyal and well-trained thoroughbred horse called Deynum. [b]Other[/b]: Jaron is a calm, collected individual, professional in his tasks and responsibilities as Master of Horses at Stone Hedge. He is jovial and pleasant to be around, and a natural charmer amongst friends and romantic interests. His only flaw is that he tends to show off, a side effect of his success as a racer of equines. He is fiercely loyal to his family and those he cares about, and is not above violence if someone forces his hand. Somewhat optimistic in a dreary world, he has yet to experience the true horrors of the world and of war. [b]Sample Post[/b]: Open meadows, a gentle breeze and an uninterrupted spring's sunshine bearing over the proceedings of the land. '[i]What's not to love?[/i]', thinks Jaron as Deynum canters below him. The grass yields beneath the horseshoes of the gracious steed, his coat grey as winter's fog and his mane like silk. Jaron pats his horse on the neck, approving of the smoothness of his ride. Not for his own comfort, no, for that of his nobleborn passenger straddling behind him, who is unused to the dire hardships of horseback travel. [b]"Such a fine day, I can hardly believe that that downpour happened just the other day!"[/b], came a softly spoken voice from behind Jaron's ears. So spoke Catelyn Bracken, one of the many ladies of Stone Hedge, and a dear friend of Jaron, although recently he has been thinking there may be something more mutually felt between them. Jaron audibly agreed in earnest, it was indeed a lovely occasion for a trip out with his closest companions. [b]"Should we rest by the oak over there?"[/b], bellowed a different voice, belonging to Wyllis Bracken, the youngest sibling of Lord Jonos, and Jaron's closest confident and friend. The suggestion was mutually accepted, and after hitching the horses underneath the sprawling shadow of the oak tree, the band of three began to gossip, eat and drink while relaxing under the midday sun. Eventually, jovial tipsiness turned into drunken self-assuredness, which culminated in Wyllis convinced that THIS time, he'd finally beat Joran in a horse race, stating that 'all men are equal after a couple of 'skins of wine'. Yet again, Joran beat Wyllis by a fair amount, however that was not the most memorable event of the day. Of course, it was for Joran, for what happened next knocked the memory right out of him. Celebrating his victory, Joran was detailing his superiority of horsemanship abilities, proudly exclaiming that his family had been the fastest riders this side of the Narrow Sea for generations, and he was not about to let that title slip in his lifetime. In his hubris, he had wandered right behind Wyllis' horse, and the last thing Joran remembered was a snort and the sound of a horse shifting before everything went black. The maester exclaimed that Joran was extremely lucky to be alive, and luckier still to keep his wits about him afterwards. Many a man had gone lame in the head after an unfortunate incident with a horse, but Joran was not one of them. Other men would have suffered from a phobia of horses since, but not Joran, such a commitment would go against every bone in his body and the pre-determined destiny running through his veins [/hider]