House Name: House Mormont
House Words: Here We StandHouse Decription/General Information: The Mormonts of Bear Island are an old family, sworn to the Starks of Winterfell. Despite their decidedly empty coffers, the Mormonts have always served their Bannerlords faithfully and honourably - never stooping to dishonesty or illegal acts to increase their own wealth. The House is currently led by Androw Mormont, a great bear of a man nearing his Twilight years. Although Androw is still the ruler of Bear Island, his sons and grandchildren take care of much of the day-to-day running of the Mormont’s lands, with Androw spending most of his time in his personal chambers.
Name: Androw Mormont
Age: 58
Appearance:
Personality: Androw is a man bound by the importance of honour, duty and family. Raised from a young age to respect these three values, he will always put them before his own personal gain. Androw is known by the people of Bear Island to be a fair and just ruler in the way that he settles disputes between his subjects - he will always listen to both sides of a story, and mete out an appropriate punishment if there is one to be had; and, like many Northern Houses, he shares the belief that ‘he who deals the sentence should swing the sword’ - so, on the rare occasion that a death sentence is handed out, the honourable old Lord himself will be there to deliver the killing blow.
Androw is loyal to the Starks before any ‘Southron Kings’, as he gruffly puts it, as he believes that loyalty should be earnt and not freely given - and the Targaryens have never made any effort to come and visit Bear Island, at least during his lifetime.
Biography: Androw was born the first son of the late Lord Hareth Mormont and his Lady wife, and the middle child of four siblings. He had a younger brother and two older sisters, who had already been raised in the traditional Bear Island fashion - with a needle in one hand and an axe in the other.
Androw’s young life was fairly uneventful, and from the age of about six and onwards his days were so full he hardly had time to be a child anymore. Unlike many young Lordlings, Androw did not enjoy a life of luxury - he was born into a lifestyle of hard work and labour, and was happy if at the end of the day he had a warm fire and a large, hearty meal to sit down to. His father saw to it that Androw would grow up to be a warrior worthy of wielding the Mormont’s ancestral weapon, Longclaw; Androw spent hours every day practicing swordplay with the warriors of Bear Island, and by the time he was fifteen he was already a fearsome warrior.
Androw fought alongside the men - and women - of Bear Island whenever they were invaded by Wilding - or Ironborn - raiding parties, and by the time his father was on his deathbed, he handed over Longclaw - and Bear Island - to his eldest son with a fond, parting smile. His two eldest sisters had already been married off to other Lords of the North by the time Androw became Lord Mormont, and his younger brother fell defending Bear Island from a Wildling attack when Androw was in his mid-twenties.
As the only surviving Mormont left on Bear Island, Androw recognised the importance of attaining a wife - and quickly. He was wed to Alysa Dustin - a rather plain young woman, but one with a large heart - something that had become rare within the nobility. She was someone whom Androw grew to love deeply. He and Alysa had three children - a boy, a girl, and then another boy, before his wife’s passing two years ago due to a cold she had never quite recovered from.
Weighed down by grief from his wife’s passing, Androw has begun gradually passing more and more responsibilities to his children and grandchildren, and spends quite a large amount of time locked away in his personal chambers - with a keg of ale kept closeby.
Name: Garlan Mormont
Age: 32
Appearance: Like his father, Garlan is a bear of a man - standing at an impressive 6’5”, he possesses a similar physique - broad, powerful shoulders, a wide chest and impressive strength; born from a mixture of genetically inherited ability and a lifetime of near constant training and labour.
His eyes are a bright blue, and shine with intelligence and wit despite Garlan’s somewhat brutish appearance.
Despite his almost beastly strength, Garlan
has begun to put on a bit of weight - due to his handing over of much of Bear Island’s more physically demanding duties to his younger siblings, as well as his own two sons and his numerous nieces and nephews. The warrior’s stomach has gradually grown larger over the last few years, leaving the man with a respectable potbelly. As well as this, his facial features have lost the chiseled aspect of a young, rugged warrior - these angular looks replaced by fat and loose skin, and a rather large beard that the man has grown out in an attempt to hide this.
His hair is dark brown in colour, and sits atop his head in a mass of untamed curls; but his hair, wild as it is, is nothing compared to his massive beard; which, combined with his large amount of body hair, makes Garlan appear rather significantly bear-like. The Mormont usually dresses in leathers or chainmail, and will never be seen without a weapon - be it a large bastard sword resembling Longclaw (which he will one day inherit) or a double-bladed battleaxe.
Personality: Like his father, Androw, Garlan is an honourable man who recognises the importance of honesty, family and duty. Although he is certainly not a knight - and is much more straightforward and abrupt than the ‘Knights of Summer’ who reside in Westeros’ Southern Kingdoms, Garlan is certainly chivalrous. He cares for the smallfolk, and does everything in his power to make sure they are protected and are able to live comfortable lives.
Although he lives a good life on Bear Island, Garlan is ambitious - and, unlike his father, recognises the value of earning the Targaryen’s favour - and the wealth and power that will come with it. If he was given the chance to advance his place - and his
family’s place - in the politics of Westeros, Garlan would certainly take it.
Biography: The first-born son of Lord Androw Mormont and his Lady wife Alysa Dustin, Garlan was given the full attention of his parents - and their household staff - until the age of four, when his younger sister was born. Garlan was raised in a similar way to his father - from a young age, he was allowed to explore Bear Island, accompanied by his mother - and, as he grew older, she was progressively replaced by his father’s most trusted men - and occasionally his father himself.
Garlan was trained in horseriding, hunting and fighting - and by the time he was in his mid teens, he was very well skilled indeed in all three fields. Although he was never necessarily ‘book smart’, Garlan had a talent for physical pursuits and a good head for tactics. As a result of his father’s unconventional approach to his upbringing, Garlan had all sorts of friends in his youth - from the sons of other Lords who came to visit, to the young fishermen who plied the waters of Bear Island learning their father’s trades. A very well known - and well liked - young man, he was a favourite with the ladies of Bear Island; and is likely the father of a few unacknowledged bastards.
Androw recognised his sons frivolousness, and decided to fix the issue by marrying him off as early as he could. As a way of broadening his family’s connections, Androw sought his son a wife from the Riverlands - a task which proved much harder than he had originally anticipated. However, a wife was eventually found in the form of Shireen Haigh, the youngest daughter of the Minor House Haigh. Garlan’s galavanting came to an abrupt age when it was announced at his nineteenth nameday celebration that he would be wed to Shireen the following month, after a great deal of planning and preparation on his father’s part - kept quiet from the young man to prevent his intervention.
Garlan appreciates Shireen’s beauty, but their marriage is a loveless one - Garlan, as he says, ‘could never be tied to one woman’, but instead prefers to distribute his ‘affections’ between numerous women - of both low and noble birth. Shireen accepts her husband’s indiscreet actions as part of who he is, but refuses to allow him to acknowledge any of his bastards because of the disgrace it would bring her.
Name: Cassana Mormont
Age: 28
Appearance: Cassana Mormont was lucky enough to inherit her mother’s looks over her father’s; and although she appears rather plain, she possesses beauty in other ways. Her hair is a light blonde - the colour of sunlight, as Androw often used to tell her when she was a child sitting upon his knee.
She stands at an average height, and although her frame isn’t the most curvaceous in the world, her green eyes and bright, perfect smile are what make her attractive. Cassana is not like most Ladies - she wears similar - if not the same - clothes to her brothers, and carries a sword at her side and an axe on her back.
Bio: Cassana - or Cass, as she’s called by those who know her - was born four years after Garlan Mormont, and was doted upon severely by both her parents - and her older brother, as he grew up into a young man. Cassana’s young life was somewhat more luxurious and easier than Garlan’s, but this was not to say she didn’t work - she took care of the running of the Mormont’s household, along with her mother and the few staff her father could afford to employ.
As well as household work, Cassana - like all women on Bear Island - was taught how to defend and look after herself in the event of a Wildling or Ironborn raid. Cassana is an excellent shot with throwing knives, and knows her way about a sword if she ever needs to use one.
Visiting Lords have been somewhat shocked by the way Cass dressed, earning her the nickname ‘Lady Wildling’, which was often snickered about by boys her own age behind her back - before she punched a Lord from the Riverland’s son in the nose because he made the mistake of laughing at her when she was within reaching distance.
Cass is as yet unmarried, and it seems unlikely that she ever will be wed - her father just loves her too much to send her away.
Name: Ramsay Mormont
Age: 25
Appearance: Ramsay is decidedly shorter than his father and older brother, standing at a still very acceptable height of 5’11”. The young Lordling’s hair is blonde, like his mother and sister, but has still inherited the curly, wild nature of his father’s hair. His eyes are blue, like Garlan’s, and seem to whisper of a shrewd, careful intelligence.
Ramsay is no bear, but this is not to say that he’s not strong - he’s fit, but in a much more lean way than the other men of his family. His shoulders are narrow, his frame slender - lending the young man to a fighting style more quick and graceful than the strong, brutish attacks that most men on Bear Island practice.
He wears a longsword at his side, and often has a few days’ growth on his cheeks.
Personality: Unlike the rest of his family, Ramsay is not trusting - and nor is he honourable. He has a shrewd, calculating mind, and it is rare indeed that he’ll be truly honest with someone other than his siblings.
Despite his calculating nature, Ramsay is still quite likeable - he’s smart, witty and confident, and seems to know just what to say to keep people happy - or at least he likes to think so. Ramsay has a talent for books and mathematics, which is how he came to take up the position of House Mormont’s Steward.
Minor Members of the House
Name: Rolland Snow
Age: 48
Role: Head of House Mormont’s household guard, Androw’s deceased older brother’s bastard.
Name: Harwin
Age: 20
Role: Garlan Mormont’s right-hand man, a commoner from Bear Island - in a position of command within the fighting men of Bear Island.
I’ll add more characters to this list as they become relevant, and write proper sheets for any who become major characters.
