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BobbyJones314Artoran Sand
"The boy has fire in his blood, to say the least. Fire and wine, and no small amount of venom."
"What good is a life without pleasure, without excitement? Thrills of victory, pleasures of drink, indulgences of flesh... Anything to keep the blood boiling."
Basic Information
N A M E
Artoran Tritan Sand
N I C K N A M E S
Toran - Used by his family and friends, and almost anyone in a non-formal setting.
Snake Charmer - Used by well-meaning commonfolk, nobility, and friends, in reference to his affinity with both his animals and his family members.
The Scorched One - Used by ill-meaning peasants and lesser nobility, rarely said to his face lest the user wish to retain their tongue. This name stems from the scarring that mars his skin from an old burn injury.
G E N D E R
Male
A G E
18
S E X U A L I T Y
"I want what I want, when I want it. That is all."
Home
F A T H E R
"Do not listen to the scorns of outsiders, Toran. You were born of love and passion, and just as much a Martell as any other. Never be ashamed of that; your name may make outsiders turn their backs on you, but that only makes them easier to cut down."
Prince Mikael Martell, the son of Trystane Martell, brother of Nymeria Targaryen and the youngest Prince of Dorne.
Prince Mikael could have rivalled his great-uncle Oberyn Martell in his lustful tendencies; his escapades with various partners led him to sire many bastards, all of whom he took into his home, along with their mothers, and cared for lovingly. However, he could not simply pledge his love to only one partner and thus, never thought it fair to marry.
Mikael is looked upon strangely by his more noble and reserved cousins, is very close to his sister and her husband, and loves all of his nieces and nephews. He is a passionate man, both in love and in war, delighting in combat and excitement as much as in family and flesh. Many of these traits he passed on to Toran, who greatly resembles his father. Mikael lives his life for himself; far from the line of Dornish succession, he is mostly content to leave the stresses of politics to his cousins and offer advice if called upon. This “Pirate King” does not intimidate him much, though if he were to become a problem for his family and for Dorne, Mikael would be first in the vanguard to cut him down.
M O T H E R
"Enjoy this fantastic life we are so lucky to have, my son. Enjoy it to its fullest, for you have been given an opportunity that thousands like you can only dream of."
Dardana Namieth, daughter of a lesser Dornish merchant.
She had been accompanying her father to Sunspear on business and quickly caught the eye of Prince Mikael. From their passion came Toran, who would be Mikael’s third child and first son. From the moment Dardana had shared that she was with child, Mikael took her in as well as any wife and promised to care for them for their entire lives. He made good on his promise, and Dardana and Toran have been living the lives of royalty since.
Dardana is a clever beauty, who pays little mind to Mikael’s non-monogamous tendencies and tends to similarly indulge herself. As a mother she is watchfully fierce; she offers advice when she is needed, and knows when to leave well enough alone. She is aware that her son must make his own choices, but offers council when she knows those choices are unwise.
She gets along well with the mothers of Mikael’s other children and treats those other children like her own. Theirs may be an odd family, but they are thick as thieves and fiercely protective of their own, by blood or otherwise.
S I B L I N G S
Three half-sisters: Dalia Sand (27), Retilla Sand (20), and Nyra Sand (5).
Four half-brothers: Jorus Sand (13), Mytchell Sand (12), Dorian Sand (10), and Dardan Sand (5).
Dalia has left Sunspear to study under the Maesters at the Citadel, and Retilla fell in love with and married a young nobleman from Braavos and spends much of her time sailing the Narrow Sea. This leaves Toran as the oldest offspring in Sunspear, his cousins included.
Toran is relatively close to all of his siblings, particularly his sisters, over whom he is extremely protective (although Dalia and Retilla are more than capable of taking care of themselves). He revels in his large family, considering himself a son with many mothers and throwing the notion of “half” siblings to the wind.
R E L I G I O N
Born into the Faith of the Seven, although he doesn’t actively practice.
Skills
S T R E N G T H S
Having taken an old Dornish tradition and made it new, Toran is a skilled acrobat, using creative movement and taking advantage of his environment to bring great agility and speed into combat. He has a tendency not only to use his acrobatic skill to be an effective warrior, but also to impress onlookers by turning the battle into an impressive acrobatic spectacle. He has been a crowd pleaser at tournaments since he first began using the technique, and loves the unique flare it lends his fighting. His battle technique consists mostly of artfully dodging attacks until his opponent grows tired or frustrated, and then going offensive. These techniques work together to create a greatly unpredictable and entertaining fighting style.
Toran also has a great affinity for animals, going so far as to have taken Toruk, a deadly young desert viper, as a pet and companion. Rumours circulate among those who have watched Toran with the snake, that he is immune to his venom; many have seen the snake bite him (mostly by accident, if Toran is trying to stop him from biting someone else) and walk away unharmed and unconcerned. Toran has not confirmed or denied these suspicions. anyone get that old thread reference?
Rather than dip his blade in poison like Oberyn before him, Toran has taken a more upfront approach to combat: Fire. With the help of Dalia, his maester-in-training sister, he has learned to use special ores and powders to throw fire at his opponents. This is mostly for show and to confuse the enemy; this fire quickly extinguishes itself in the air. An accident while training with fire years ago resulted in a patchwork of jagged burns on his arms, torso and part of his right-side jaw. Luckily, due to skilled court maesters, Toran healed with little more disfiguration than pale scar tissue, which contrasts starkly with the rich brown of his skin. Still, this interest in fire borders on obsessive and he continues to train long and hard to bend it to his will.
W E A K N E S S E S
Toran is nothing if not prideful, and it can sometimes get in the way. His otherwise low temper can be sparked in an instant by a slight against his family or his nature as a bastard, though he is capable of hiding his loathing behind an insincere smile and another name added to his shit list when the stakes are as high as they are in King’s Landing.
Toran’s lust, both for people and for life in general, rivals his father’s, and he’s been known to shirk responsibilities in favour of pursuing his hedonistic goal of enjoying himself as much as possible before he dies. He is sinfully irresponsible in this regard, which will undoubtedly turn to bite him in King’s Landing.
Finally, Toran wears his emotions on his sleeve. Far from stoic, Toran feels everything deeply, be it voracious delight or crushing sorrow. He despises all the sneaking and backstabbing of upper Westerosi court, and sees no merit in trickery or underhandedness. This is the type of quality that can make a weak player in the game of thrones, but he holds to his (albeit few and sideways) morals nonetheless.
W E A P O N
Toran has taken to the challenge of fighting with a staff or dagger, but also adores the history and fluidity of the Dornish spear. His answer? A weapon that can be all three! His dark, strong wooden staff, short for a spear at only six feet long, bears ornate copper and steel inlay along its length, like a coiled snake that shines like flame in the sunlight. This inlay gives way to a heavy steel cap on one end, acting as the foot of the staff. The opposite end is also capped with steel, in a jagged pattern.
Toran’s dagger is a wicked seven-inch affair worn on his belt. The glossy, black dragonglass blade is wide and curved, wickedly sharp on both sides with an edge like curved broken glass, as dragonglass blades tend to be. The hilt and handle are made from the same wood and metal inlay as the staff, including an inlaid snake’s head baring its fangs. The handle, however, is hollow with a steel pattern on the inside (corresponding to that on the staff) and a spring. These inner fixtures act as the counterbalance to the blade and as an interlocking mechanism for connecting the staff and dagger to form a spear.
This connection can be made in one fluid, well-practiced move either before or during battle. In this form, it is clear that the weighted foot of the staff (which is somewhat imbalanced on its own) acts as a counterbalance for the spear. The weapon is of Toran's own design; he even helped the armourer shape it.
Mannerisms
L I K E S
Beautiful people
Parties/celebrations
Fine food and drink
Tournaments
Showing off
Animals
Sunlight/heat
Luxury
D I S L I K E S
Rain and cold
Rough seas (he gets horrible sick)
Miscommunication
Lies, deceit, and underhanded trickery
Being looked down upon
Most nuts (he has a soft spot for pistachios)
Overbearing responsibilities
H A B I T S
Talking to Toruk
Spinning his ring
Pulling his earlobe
Drumming his fingers
H O B B I E S
Training with his spear and his fire
Training/interacting with Toruk
Playing with his young siblings and cousins (he's very good with children)
Slight of hand
F E A R S
Drowning
Death (of himself or loved ones)
Losing his mind
Losing his wealthy position
Fading into history, forgotten
Losing Toruk and him biting someone
Digging Deeper
P E R S O N A L I T Y
Toran is firstly and most predominantly charming. A savvy ladies man (well, anyone’s man, really) he is most often found enjoying himself in some way or another, be it training, lounging, or endlessly flirting. His soul is as light as his feet, and he has few cares in the world. His anger bears striking likeness to a whip; fast, loud and painful, but gone as quickly as it came. Like any self-respecting Dornishman, he is deeply rooted to his family. He believes that kindness is never wasted, though he knows the value of some well-placed acidity.
Brutally honest, Toran's straightforward look at the world has been known to get him into trouble with more uptight nobles who are used to the fancy words and sugar-coated reports of court life. While he isn't entirely clueless on when it is best just to say nothing, Toran tends to err on the side of speaking, an easy comment or jibe always on the tip of his tongue.
Despite his abundant pride and confidence, Toran is still somewhat insecure about his nature as a bastard. Whereas in Dorne nobody questions it, in King's Landing it's much more of a slight against him. This doesn't bother him at home in Dorne, but elsewhere deep down he is self-conscious and sensitive about it (despite knowing that it is not his fault and being encouraged by his family that it is far from a bad thing) and secretly hopes that someday, his father will legitimize him. If asked about such hopes, he would fervently deny them. Nonetheless, he can't say the stigma doesn't get to him. Even with the Queen as his aunt, he still feels every sideways look, hears every underhanded comment about the Martell bastard who likes to pretend he's royalty. He tries his best to follow his father's advice and ignore it, "Wear it like armour," as Oberyn's Lannister friend had said, but there's only so much a teenager can handle.
H I S T O R Y
Born the bastard son of Prince Mikael Martell, Toran grew up with a life unheard of for bastards in any other country in Westeros. Where a bastard in King’s Landing or Winterfell would face disgrace and shun, he enjoyed nobility and luxury, a large family and boastful wealth. With his family’s standing greatly improved after King Daerys took a Martell (Toran's beloved aunt, no less) as his Queen, his life was easy and relatively free of court drama. He spent his days enjoying the best food and wine, learning and training with court Maesters and fine combat teachers, and endlessly flirting with whatever beauty happened to catch his eye. As his father and Queen Nymeria were thick as thieves, Toran travelled to King's landing often throughout his life and is very familiar with his Targaryen uncle and cousins.
When King Daerys sent a summons for the heirs of the great houses to gather, Toran's father saw a great opportunity. Some clever placement and a few letters to Queen Nymeria got Toran a seat at the heir's table, albeit formally as a guard to his cousin Gabriel. Toran isn't overly fond of his position as a guard (it was so Northern to send a bastard to guard the important children) but he knows his father means nothing by it, and looks forward to seeing his family and forming some connections with the other wards.
T H E M E
King – Lauren Aquilina
Glass half empty, glass half full
Well either way you won't be going thirsty
Count your blessings not your flaws
E X T R A
Toran generally has one or two fingernails painted with a rust-coloured substance that resembles clay.
Toruk accompanies Toran almost everywhere, generally hiding in his sleeves or coiling around his hands and lower arms.
He wears a gold and copper ring with the house words "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken" engraved around it in the old tongue of the Rhoynar.
A regular feature in Toran's wardrobe are hardened leather armguards, resembling falconer's greaves. He also currently wears a modest and becoming goatee, but also commonly goes clean-shaven.
