Aethan Brax

Aethan Brax was the former squire to Ser Jason Lannister and a current squire of Ser Tywin Lannister. He is the second son of Lord Clayton Brax of Hornvale.

Appearance and Personality
There is something slightly predatory about Aethan's entire countenance, though it is hard to place exactly what it is. He stands about 6'0 feet tall and he has a confident, cocky swagger. He looks to weigh a touch more than twelve stones, and has broad shoulders and a lithe, muscular frame. His features are comely, though more than a few have said he has the face of a scoundrel. There is always slight glint at the edge of his green eyes that give his gaze a mischievous cast, while his lips are full and often drawn up into a lopsided expression equal parts smile and sneer. Aethan's jaw is wide and his cheeks gaunt while his chin is a square and prominent. He has a large, straight, regal nose and a heavy brow. A long scar runs from just below his left eye up his forehead. His eyebrows are full, starting off rather thin at the sides of his face and growing thicker as they approach the brow. Aethan has a widow's peak atop his forehead, and two long strands of his sandy blond hair hang on either side of his face. The rest of his hair is pulled back into a bun at the rear of his skull. Friends have often said that Aethan's face would be positively avian were it not for his facial hair. He does not have sideburns, but he grows long whiskers on his upper jaw that he trims short on his lower jaw and chin. He doesn't have a full beard though because he always keeps his upper lip clean shaven, claiming that he likes the way the whiskers make him resemble a mountain lion (though perhaps in truth its because his mustache never quite grows in all the way).

Aethan has grown up fighting in the training yards, first of Hornvale and later of Feastfires. He thus looks most comfortable in armor with sword and shield in hand. He favors deep, rich, luxurious colors, especially dark reds and royal purples. He often dies his armor with red ochre, while in formal settings his clothing features prominent blends of his houses purple and silver, often with inlaid gold embroidery. Having grown up a son of privilege in the wealthy Westerlands, his equipment and his clothing are always of the finest quality. Underneath the clothes, he has the muscles and scars that come with a lifetime of fighting and training.

Aethan Brax is a man defined by his ambition. He was born mere moments after his older twin brother Andros, and his father has always sworn that the younger Aethan was grasping his brothers heel as they left their mother's womb. Smarting at being born second, Aethan has always striven to outshine his barely-elder brother. He always had to be the center of attention with his mother, father and nannies. Whether at the dinner table when it came to swapping jokes and telling stories or in the training yard when it came to swapping blows he has striven to excel and surpass Andros. More often than not, he has succeeded. Aethan was always a precocious and charming youth, and he has grown into a confident, charming, and somewhat mischievous young man. He is courageous but not foolhardy, and while he may be quick to take offense he is quicker to forgive. When he was younger, Aethan used to be naive and quick to trust, quick to open his heart to others and to fall in love. After the death of Rosalind and his child, and the subsequent revelations he has become much more cynical and mercenary when it comes to his interactions with others.

History
Aethan Brax was born the second son of Lord Clayton Brax of Hornvale. His elder twin brother, Andros, was born mere moments before Aethan and Lord Clayton has always sworn that the younger boy was grasping at his brother's heel as they exited their mother. Clayton, his young wife, the entire house were thrilled by the birth of two healthy, strong young babies. However, very early on the Lady Brax noticed that the younger Aethan was always jealous of the older Andros, trying to drive him away from her breast when they fed. She hoped that as the babes grew they would grow to get along better, a hope that never came to pass.

Aethan and Andros continued to compete with each other as children. Aethan was always the more daring, precocious, and mischievous child though he had a charm about him that endeared him to lords and smallfolk alike. Andros was more quiet, reserved, and more patient. He was less likely to get into trouble, but truth be told most of the Brax house was less fond of Lord Andros than his younger twin Aethan. Lord and Lady Brax did their best not to show any favoritism between the boys, and saw to it that they were both raised in a manner befitting their station. Men at arms taught them to ride and hunt, knights trained them in the castle yard, and maester's schooled them in reading and writing. Both children were competent, if not excellent students. Andros was better with the Maesters and with hunting while Aethan excelled in the training yard.

When Aethan was ten he was at a spring festival with his family when he went to see a woods witch. He wanted to have his fortune read, and he was bold enough to sneak away and seek the old woman. She cackled when she told him he was cursed, that he would live as he had been born, always grasping at the heels of his betters, never to surpass them. The young Aethan was shaken by the fortune, but he quickly brushed it off. As the years have continued though, he often thinks of that dark haired old woman and things that followed. Later that year, Aethan's mother delivered a third son, Rupert. Clayton and his wife had been trying for many years to have another child, but their joy quickly soured as Lady Brax never recovered from the birth. She passed away some two weeks after Rupert was born, and the death of his wife was a blow that Lord Clayton never recovered from. For six weeks after her death, Lord Clayton withdrew into his rooms and refused to see anyone. During this time the household came to listen to young Andros, as he stepped up to fill the void left by his father. When Lord Clayton eventually emerged he seemed to have aged two decades in six weeks. His hair was thinner and torn in many places, his skin was pale, and his mind... his mind was gone. The friendly, boisterous man that had raised Aethan was no more and in his place was all that was left was a pale shadow.

Andros continued to run the household as their father wasted away. At first, he merely made decisions based on what he thought his father would want, but as weeks turned into months and months turned into years Andros began to shape things more and more to suit his vision. Unfortunately for Aethan, that vision was to his detriment. Before Rupert was born, Clayton had arraigned for both of his sons to squire for prominent knights around the Westerlands, Aethan with Ser Jason Lannister and Andros to Ser Michael Tarbeck. Andros changed those plans, brining Ser Michael to Hornvale and apologizing to Ser Jason, saying that Aethan could not be spared. Of course, no suitable knight of Hornvale could be spared to train Aethan either. This was the first of many slights, Aethan was exiled from the family table as dinners, he was moved to servants quarters, he was forbidden to continue lessons with the Maester. For years Aethan was forced to suffer these humiliations, until he simply could not take it anymore.

The final straw that broke the camel's back was Ysillia Payne. Her father and Clayton Brax had been close friends for years, and they had often mentioned (only half in jest) binding their two houses together through marriage. While the betrothal had never been truly official, it was well understood in the Payne and Brax household that Ysillia and Andros would someday marry. The only problem with that idea was that Aethan was convinced Ysillia loved him, and not his brother. She had always been quicker to talk with him, to play with him, even to run away with him and wander the crags and foothills together. Somehow, Aethan always thought that when the time was right they could convince their fathers that he was the man who should marry her, not Andros. When Ysillia and her father came to Hornvale to make the betrothal to Andros official, Aethan could wait no longer. He snuck into Ysillia's room, and begged her to marry him and not his brother, to run away and elope and seal their bond before her father or his brother could stop them. He stole a single kiss, but before she could answer Andros found them.

Andros was, of course, furious. However Aethan had not predicted exactly how he would respond. Apparently, Andros did not trust Aethan to remain in Hornvale, and wished to dispose of him as quickly as humanely possible. So the next day, when Aethan awoke, he found his bags packed and a horse ready and news that a letter had been sent ahead to Ser Jason Lannister. Apparently, Andros decided to finally take advantage of the arrangement for Aethan to squire with Ser Jason in order to get him away from home. Nevermind that Aethan was now 16, and quite to old to be squiring for anyone.

Ser Jason was less than thrilled when Aethan arrived at Feastfires to squire for him. As far as he had been concerned, the agreement with Lord Clayton had been made years ago before being tossed aside by young Andros. Still, it would reflect poorly on him to turn away the young man now so he accepted, though truth be told he wanted as little to do with Aethan as possible. So when Aethan arrived at Feastfires, he found himself squiring less for Ser Jason than he had expected. In fact, his life did not change much from his days in Hornvale, except here he was expected to act as a guard as well. Aethan did become fast friends with Garrison Prester though, the young heir of Lord Malcom Prester. The two boys were of similar ages, and they both had a strong competitive streak and a desire for mischief. The two were constant sparring partners in the yard, and used to rise to Lannisport for drink and game and women for days at a time.

Over the course of their frequent outings, Aethan met and fell in love with a beautiful peasant girl, Rosalinda. While he knew his father wouldn't approve, he figured his brother would never arrange a match and it seemed like he would never be a knight, so for the only time in his life he considered settling and not striving to surpass everyone around him. Aethan and Rosalinda used to go for long walks along the coast together, and spend days at a time intertwined, never leaving the bedroom if they could help it. Or course Aethan would always have to return to Feastfires eventually, though he would always sneak away to Lannisport at first opportunity. Eventually, Rosalinda became pregnant. Aethan was overjoyed, and the thought of a son or daughter of his own always brought a smile to his eye. Aethan arranged to spend more and more time in Lannisport as the due date grew closer and closer, but two months before Rosalinda was due tragedy struck. The babe came early, far too early, and as Aethan held her hand and the midwife struggled to save the young girls life both mother and child perished. To this day Aethan is still traumatized, as the mere thought of midwives and apothecaries and some such nonsense causes his stomach to churn and his head to pound.

Rosalinda's death hit Aethan hard, he was myopic for weeks and often failed to leave his bed. Two things snapped Aethan out of his depression. First, Ser began to take an interest in his young charge. Ser Jason, when he was younger had lost a love in child birth and understood how Aethan felt. Previously he had treated the young Brax as a minor annoyance to be tolerated, he now took to young Aethan almost like another son, training him to fight, having him sit with the family during meals, teaching him the basics of leadership and command. Second, when Aethan next returned to Lannisport Rosalinda's younger sister Emma found him. Through tears she confessed that Aethan was not the only man who had enjoyed Rosalinda's bed, and that initially they thought the baby was Ser Lymond Lannister. When Ser Lymond refused to take responsibility for the child, they decided that for Rosalinda's sake they should lie to Aethan. Aethan was infuriated by the news the next day sought him out in the practice yard and fell on him with an anger worthy of the Storm Kings of old. Guards eventually dragged Aethan away, but he had broken Lymond's femur.

After that Ser Jason decided it would be best to keep Aethan away from Lannisport for a time. Opportunity soon came, as the King called Westeros to war. When the men of the Westerlands sailed to the Stepstones to fight in the War of the Ninepenny Kings it was Ser Jason who led them, with Aethan at his side in the early battles and in the command tent. For the first time in Aethan's life he was given a taste of real power and real responsibility and it seemed like his fortunes might shift. The Seven had other plans though, and Ser Jason was laid lame with one of the diseases common to those islands. Aethan was at Ser Jason's side the entire time as the disease wasted him away, until his master passed.

It seemed like all would be for not, and for a time Aethan considered simply finding a ship to take him to the East where he might find work as a mercenary. Lord Tywin Lannister, heir to Casterly Rock had different ideas though. He had seen Aethan at his uncle's side in the command tent, and had interacted with the young Brax a great deal in the early months of the war. Aethan was only a year older than Lord Tywin, and while the two did not become friends a kind of camaraderie developed between them. At the end of the campaign, Lord Tywin sent for Aethan and informed him he would be taking Aethan on as his squire. He would not be knighting Aethan until the young Brax proved himself ready for the responsibility, and should Aethan prove useless Tywin would toss him out as fast as he had accepted him.

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