Name: Ethan Stone
Age: 23
Appearance: Stands at 5'11, is well-proportioned. Black hair and brown eyes.
House/Affiliation: House Stark
Biography:Ethan was raised in Gulltown, the bastard son of a minor noble hardly worth mentioning. His mother was a chambermaid, and when she discovered she was pregnant she went to live with her parents in their inn. Ethan grew up to be a healthy and quick-witted lad, prone to fights with the other children when they taunted his bastardry. He adored tales of heroic knight and clever heroes, and so when a Hedge Knight visited their inn Ethan immediately begged to squire for him. The Hedge Knight, Ser Darris Strickland, quickly took a liking to the lad and agreed on the condition of his mother's approval. And so Ethan Stone became a squire to Ser Darris Strickland.
Ser Darris proved to be one of the rare chivalrous Hedge Knights. Under his careful tutelage, combined with a natural talent for swordplay, Ethan soon was acknowledged as a prodigious swordsman. He and Ser Darris traveled all across Westeros, visiting every major city and most of the minor ones. Over their many stays at taverns and inns, Ethan developed a fascination with music and counted himself a fair singer. When he was sixteen, he made the trip with his mentor across the Narrow Sea to Volantis, where they came under the employ of a wealthy merchant-prince. Ethan was disgusted by the practice of slavery, but was placated by Ser Darris. They stayed in Volantis for two years, with Ethan continuing to develop his swordsmanship until an assassination attempt on their employer resulted in Ser Darris taking a mortal wound. Bereft and helpless with grief, Ethan left Volantis and traveled across the free cities for a year, eventually arriving in Braavos.
There, he met the renowned swordsman Bellaquo Vogaris, who took Ethan as a student. For four years Ethan learned the Braavosi Water Dance style from Bellaquo, adapting it to the Westerosi teachings of his former mentor Ser Darris. Over time, Ethan came to love Bellaquo as much as he had Ser Darris, and Bellaquo named him the most promising and beloved of all his students. Braavos became as much a home to Ethan as Gulltown had been, and he entertained thoughts of living there permanently. However, when Bellaquo was being considered for the position of First Sword of Braavos after the previous one passed, he was poisoned and died after three nights of agony. Once again left without a mentor and consumed by grief, Ethan decided to return to Westeros. He arrived just as the Dance of the Dragons began, and met the Stark host along the road. He has been serving them as a loyal man-at-arms ever since.
Personality/Attributes (Thought it would be necessary):An emotionally weary man, Ethan is slow to trust and chronic cynic. When earned his friendship is absolute. He holds his personal ideals of honor close to his heart, but recently has become somewhat disillusioned with them. He loves music and art but disdains those with religious undertones, as he no longer follows the Faith of the Seven. Ethan is an excellent swordsman and has a watchful eye, though he is not the most cunning of men; his approaches to most problems are often straightforward.
