Steffon Tyrell
House Tyrell
[ ⚔ ]Birthdate
188 AC
[ ⚔ ]Reputation
Steffon is known to be a hot-blooded, tempestuous man who is quick to offense and slow to forgive. He is called Sweetbriar for his thorny nature, after the wild roses that grow to the north of the Reach. Restless and irascible, he is considered a man of action by his companions, and disdains the courtly game of politics and ruler ship, preferring the song of swords instead. A born warrior, he is deadly with sword, lance and spear, and takes to the saddle near as well as his lord father had. He takes great pride in both the accomplishments of his house and his personal renown, and hungers for glory and accolades wherever they lay.
While he is brusque and sharp tongued, he is also known to be gentle—he is known to have doted on his sickly younger sister, now the Lady of Highgarden, in their youth. While his friendship is oft hard won, it is absolute once forged. As a knight, he finds the depredation of the weak by the strong to be an insult to both his pride as a warrior, believing that true men should only bloody their blades against opponents of equal strength, or in the defense of those of lesser strength. This lends him a certain gallantry, made somewhat lesser by his weakness for the fairer sex and revelry.
[ ⚔ ]Appearance
The Sweetbriar is a tall and strong, with the lean, hard build of a fighting man. He is considered handsome by many, with strong, sharp features and a devilish smile. His chestnut hair as wild as he, and he keeps it short and carefully styled as to not impede his duties. Like the rest of his family, his eyes are a lovely emerald green, and very expressive, showing his every emotional high and low. While at Highgarden, he often dressed in fine silks of green and gold, though now wears the austere garb of the Kingsguard while off duty. He spends more time in his fine, enameled armor than not, the only ornamentation he bears being the simple golden roses that clasp his white cloak.
[ ⚔ ]History
Born the second son to the legendary Leo Tyrell, Steffon's early years were spent among the high luxuries at Highgarden. Unlike his more stoic elder brother, Steffon was always something of a wild child, and often found himself on the wrong end of the discipline stick. When he was old enough, he was taken on as a page by his lord father, and accompanied the Longthorn into the waning years of the Blackfyre rebellion, and eventually into the tourney circuits that would lead to his legendary reputation. He admired his father and his skill at the lance, and so it was decided that he would put his excess of energy into the training yard, rather than causing all manner of trouble across the castle grounds. From dawn 'til dusk, the young Tyrell practiced at arms with the finest knights of the Reach. He had a talent for swordplay, and rode almost as well, a promising young knight in the making from the very first.
He was knighted at the age of sixteen, and assumed minor responsibilities around Highgarden once his spurs were secured. While his training had honed him into a fine warrior, it did little to curtail the worst of his temperament. His father had hoped that age and a suitable bride would help in taming him, but Steffon showed little interest in taking a highborn bride, preferring to boast and brawl and keep the company of serving girls and comely peasants instead. When it became clear that the role of a husband would not suit him, the Longthorn looked elsewhere in finding purpose for his rambunctious son. He found just that during a visit to the capital in 208 AC.
Riding with his father as part of the household guard, Steffon spent his time in King's Landing in the yard of the Red Keep. He was eager to prove himself against the king's court, full of knights from throughout the kingdoms. It was during one particularly intense match of sparring against a couple lad from House Crabb that the Hand, Prince Baelor, had stopped to bear witness to the Sweetbriar. A vacancy had opened up on the Kingsguard with the recent passing of a previous brother, and young Steffon's skills were deemed worthy to replace him at the king's side. As a second son who stood not to inherit, his father raised no objections, hoping that duty to the Crown might soothe the fire in him where duty to the Rose would not. Steffon did not object to the most prestigious of appointments either. So, he swore his vows shortly thereafter, before King Daeron the Good himself. He would be a steadfast shield to for his king, and a loyal sword to see his enemies defeated.
Unfortunately, the enemy to come was not one which could be defeated by sword, nor stopped by shield. A series of tragedies befell the House of the Dragon after he took up the mantle as their stalwart protector. It began with the death of Baelor Breakspear in their year to follow, killed by his own brother, Prince Maekar at Ashford. Then the sickness came. It swept through Flea Bottom first, then the rest of King's Landing, and soon enough the Red Keep. It claimed his king and two princes, and three of his brothers and he could do naught but stand idly by and pray with the others for its end. By the time the sickness had fully abated and recovery could begin, it had also seen fit to claim his father, his brother and his young nephew as well. As he had sworn his vows in the years before, Highgarden passed on to his fragile sister, who had survived the plague either by miracle or cruel, divine jape.
Forced to guard a weak king in place of the great man he once served, and hundreds of miles away from a family in dire need of his guidance, Steffon finds himself ever more disillusioned in his life of blind glory seeking. But chained by pride and a sense of duty, he can only hope that with the mercy of summer so too will his lot change for the better.
[ ⚔ ]Family Tree
Lord Paramount Leo Tyrell, deceased
Lady Lynette Tyrell née Oakheart
- Lord Paramount Ryland Tyrell, deceased
- Ser Steffon Tyrell
- Maester Sebastien
- Lady Paramount Rosalynn Tyrell
- Sofia Tyrell
