Name: Robin Hill
Age: 27
House/Affilitation: Non-acknowledged bastard of a house in the Westerlands. Which, is unknown.
Age: 27
House/Affilitation: Non-acknowledged bastard of a house in the Westerlands. Which, is unknown.
Appearance (source): Lithe and slightly shorter than the average man, Robin hardly makes for an imposing figure. Dresses in exquisite, fine clothing while working or engaging with the lords and ladies of Westeros, and plain peasant garbs otherwise. His facial features are gaunt and weathered, yet his large blue eyes and blond, curly hair seem to balance the scales, given how easily Robin tend to work his way inside bedchambers. A scar adorns his face, a telltale sign of his daring personality.
Biography: Robin Hill was born to Kella, a serving wench at a tavern in Lannisport. His early childhood was quite wild, his mother often leaving him to fend for himself as she spread her legs for what seemed like anyone in the hopes of gaining a husband. Later, once Robin had grown a man himself, he would consider this a very counterproductive measure. As told by his mother, Robin's father was a lord of the Westerlands, though which his mother would never say. While never sure as to whether his mother was telling him the truth about this or anything, it was plain for all to see that his father must be someone well off as Kella received a generous amount of coin every month.
Somewhere around his eight' nameday, Kella noticed that Robin had quite the singing voice. Accordingly, he was promptly put on stage by the tavern owner Morney every night to perform with the various bards coming and going. While enjoying the attention at first, something he had always sorely lacked, it wasn't long before Robin grew contempt with his role. Treated little more than an animal, Robin decided to run away. However, the boy was too scared of his mother - who certainly didn't hesitate in beating him when displeased with him, and he feared what she might do if she caught him.
Blessed was he then, when one of his mother's lovers turned sour at realizing Kella had slept with half of Lannisport, stabbing the woman to death. The man was dealt with swiftly by a couple of burly patrons. "A small comfort, mayhaps" Morney had told him, but Robin wanted to thank the murderer rather than watching him hang. The very next day, Robin scrounged up what little coin and things of value his mother had and set out, leaving Lannisport behind him.
Life on the road was hardly easy, especially not for a child, but Robin learned how to survive. He allowed himself to be used in whatever way desired in return for food and shelter, eventually resorting to performing in taverns, inns and wherever else he was allowed. As he grew older, half a man, Robin realized his talents surpassed most. He relied more and more on singing to sustain him, and started spending his free time composing songs and ballads worthy of far more experienced bards. This time around, the attention he got wasn't as that of some cute little boy where the laughs and smiles were mocking him. This time, the interest was genuine, and Robin revelled in it.
He began bedding men and women alike in search of attention, appreciation and, perhaps, affection. Years went buy and Robin soon found himself att fancier occasions and locations, tending to nobility as often as the smallfolk. While drunken lovers had always shared their secrets, Robin found that noble secrets held actual value. Coaxing out truths and scandals was as much of a drug for Robin as bedding the people in the first place was. It made him feel powerful and in control, and now he saw potential for monetary gains as well.
Wether by chance or fate, Robin eventually happened across a man named Luco, a Lysene sellsword. As it turned out, Luco was a very knowledgable man who put Robin in contact with decidedly powerful people. Information was a valuable commodity in these peoples circles, and Luco made sure to initiate Robin. Soon enough, Robin was making additional coin selling tales of infidelity, jealousy, murder and grudges to entities looking to extort and/or cripple.
Yet this was not enough. While enjoying the ridiculous attention he was getting from seemingly all directions, Robin couldn't help but feeling used - ever and always. He was being used as musical enjoyment by patrons, sexual enjoyment by partners and now as an informant by everyone. Dissatisfied, Robin was embittered. Sinking into depression, Robin used alcohol to get away from himself - finally something he used rather than the other way around. He stopped writing new material, began stealing from his lovers and lying to those he sold truths to. Growing ever more contemptuous, Robin soon stopped caring at all about others. Or at least, so he told himself. Stealing became murder, and while he found little enjoyment in taking a life, he did find it a way of turning the tables - he didn't feel used by those he eventually killed. Even so, Robin felt anything but joy.
And then the Dance of the Dragons began. As war broke loose, bards where in little want. Where there would normally be work, there was now either chaos or nothing. Deciding he had no wish to die just yet, Robin joined Luco as the latter offered him to journey with him back to Lys, far away from the ongoing war. In Lys, Robin found his carnal pleasures far more accepted and commonplace. Him and Luco opened a brothel which soon turned into a meeting place for the Lysene elite. Luco was not the common-but-connected sellsword Robin had thought him to be, but rather a very uncommon one, hired by the ruling magisters as a spy and, sometimes, assassin in both Westeros and the Free Cities. Through him, Robin met the magisters himself, whom explained they sought another man like Luco in Westeros, but one who was Westerosi himself, and Luco had recommended Robin. It was an opportunity that was hard to pass up on, as Robin was offered far more coin than he was accustomed to. Yet the dilemma remained - he would be used once again.
Robin decided to take up the magisters on their offer (after all, their reaction to a refusal would hardly lead to anything positive) on a few conditions; he would be given free reign in Westeros, going where and when he pleased without Lysene directions. Moreover, Robin required the twenty-odd slaves at his brothel to be set free. In return, they were to accompany him as servants to Westeros. They were to headquarter in a secluded mansion that Luco had proposed (and that had later been bought through the magisters) in the Crownlands. While the magisters had been hesitant in allowing mere slaves that kind of freedom and responsibility, Robin and Luco had assured them it would not pose a problem. The slaves had been treated well by Robin, who genuinely respected his slaves because of the fact that they never used him and did whatever Robin desired. This was of course never an otion for a slave, but Robin valued it regardless, and his slaves were more than happy to serve a master who did not mistreat them.
And so as the Dance of the Dragons concluded, Robin and his servants left Lys by three different ships, all headed to King's Landing. Most of the servants where to continue immediately to the mansion, while a few where to remain in King's Landing in case Robin needed their service. Robin himself was to reassume his vocation as a bard, trying to woo himself into the court affairs of King's Landing. Meanwhile, Luco was left behind to attend the brothel as well as the business in general in Lys. After all, what could possibly be a better incentive to remain loyal to the magisters than the well-being and life of Robin's lover, and quite possibly love, Luco?
