[hider= William Marston] [color=blue]William Martson:[/color] [color=blue] Name William Marshal [/color] [color=blue]Age:[/color] 23, born in summer, 18 AC. [color=blue]Appearance:[/color] [center][img]https://whfb.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/images/d/d1/ErrantKnight.JPG[/img][/center] [color=blue]Description & biography:[/color] A tall man, William possesses a heavily muscled build, though he moves with ease in his layers of mail and plate. His shoulder-length hair is well kept and perfectly coifed, as befits a man of his status. Though his features could be pleasant, his arrogant demeanor is evident in his bearing and the cast of his face and dark eyes. William was born to a household of minor nobility in the year 18 AC. Like any other young man of the Vale, he learned to ride, fight in the saddle and how a knight should conduct himself. In his youth, he was sent to his uncle's hold, a small castle in the east of the Vale. More than one great knight and traveling swordmaster, looking for a patron, found their way to that citadel. The influx of talent and experience to an otherwise isolated place, would stand the young squire in good stead. William grew in strength and in stature, as time passed he found he truly enjoyed what he did. Life in the saddle, hunting, hawking, riding for days at a time and the promise of a fight with lance and blade were his passion. As his skill at arms grew so did his pride. Though his family was a minor one in the Vale, that only reinforced his ideas of social standing and hierarchy. Men were little better than beasts if they were not governed, he reasoned. For men to get ideas above their station was to court anarchy. He had been blessed to be a knight and so he would serve and be of service. For such an aloof and arrogant man, it did come as a surprise to many that William also took a keen interest in the art of metal-smithing and the craft of the farrier. But to William's mind these things were crucial to a knight's success in the field of battle. He might disdain the peasants who worked in the fields, but he knew full well their utility. An army could only succeed if fed and equipped. A soldier with a full belly would fight on, long after others might have given up. So it came as surprise to none that William was able to best a bandit chieftain of the hillmen, shortly after he reached his full size. From there he soon began to lead detachments of squires and mounted archers. Young William bloodied his blade many a time in the valleys and woods of the Vale. He soon gained a reputation as brilliant and ruthless cavalry commander. But slaying brigands was not his only claim to fame. Even as a squire, his size, skill and dogged drive meant he was an absolutely merciless foe in the tourney. By aged twenty, he was a blooded veteran of several skirmishes and as many tourneys. He consulted with the maesters upon his return home. Using his knowledge he forged his own blades and two suits of fine armor, as well as a separate harness for the tourney. After slaying a hedge knight turned bandit chief on a bridge, in single combat, he was knighted by his father, Godryn and granted a small fief in the southwest of the vale. Though it was certainly nothing compared to the great citadels of the mighty houses, Castle Larkwood, as it was known, was a strong keep with a high curtain wall and a deep moat. Nestled at the end of a mountain valley full of turgid rivers and deep woods, it served its new lord's needs perfectly. He obtained his lord's permission to create his own arms, a two-headed falcon on a field of red. Once his manner was raised over the mossy walls and his lands inspected, he returned to his keep and began dispensing orders. His craftsmen and farmers soon began work on improved irrigation methods. He also ordered new farming equipment and hired other artisans to serve him and dwell within his hold. In a curious gesture, he also found a septa and a maester. Though he had no use for them personally. Instead, they served to teach the smallfolk and their children to read and write, for William allowed his subjects to visit his personal library. It should be noted though, that this measure was out of his own kindness. But rather, he deemed his servants could be more productive if they were better trained. He might have been said to care for the smallfolk, but only in the way a horse trainer cares about a prized stud or a merchant a well-built ship. Though William studiously observed all courtesies and was a fair, even generous lord to his smallfolk, he was rightfully known as a cold and aloof sort of man. "As much cheer as a drawn blade in that one, though I think a blade ain't so rigid," an archer of William's once said. Though, not anywhere where his lord might have heard. In truth, William was only ever really friendly to his family and those he saw as his immediate peers. All others were either above him and deserving of obeisance or they were beneath and should render obeisance. To this knight of the Vale, there was no middle ground in his world. Though for all his coldness and arrogance, he was always kind to his hounds and to his falcons. In the saddle or the clash of arms were the only places where this young lord truly came alive. Something his retainers can bear testimony to. For all the fighting aged men in his lands were required to assemble and drill not once, but three times in a year. And those who bore arms for their lord had to muster once every thirty days, or risk a hefty fine. Though not all his men were pleased at their lord's demands, their training did serve them well. The next few harvests went largely undisturbed and the hillmen had learned a painful lesson about attempting any raid on Lord Marston's holdings. But all this, the cold devotion to duty and the workmanlike stewardship of the land, may be why the young lord has yet to marry. He has courted suit among women of what he deems an appropriate station. But it would take a woman of great resolve to bear sharing a life with such a calculating and haughty sort of man. [/hider]