#i. sebastian manderly — intro.

[wnterreign]

with aaliyah mormont / @crwngolds

        sebastian's  grin,  which  had emerged  when  the sparring match ended with him as the victor, remained as he strode toward the outskirts of the training yard. the dornish sun remained warmer than he was used to. he poured himself a cup of water, but before he could drink it, his eyes landed on their frame and narrowed. before he could turn and depart, she looked in his direction   ❝ princess sharra isn't here. ❞   query of why she was here left lingering in the air. the less words he spoke to them the better.

[wnterreign]

⟨  michael evans behling.  cis male.  he/him.  29.  ⟩       we welcome sebastian manderly to king’s landing , the lord of white harbor. keep an eye out for their obstinate nature, they tend to cover it up by acting affable. rumor has it they are for the peace treaty, and their loyalties lie with house manderly & stark. you’ll know it’s them when you get flashes of warm eyes that possess an unseen depth  |  standing in between danger and those you care for  |  snowfall on a sunny day 

BASICS.

FULL NAME:   sebastian manderly. ALSO CALLED:   bash, seb, sebastian. TITLES:   lord of white harbor. knight of white harbor. AGE:   twenty-nine. GENDER:   cis male, he / him. ORIENTATION:   bisexual, biromantic.

BIRTHPLACE:   white harbor, the north. RELIGION:   the faith of the seven. SPOKEN LANGUAGES:   common tongue.

STATUS:   unwed, unbetrothed. LOYALTY:   house manderly and stark.

PERSONALITY

POSITIVE:   affable. hardworking. determined. valiant. cheerful. NEGATIVE:   obstinate. blunt. overprotective. guarded. self-sacrificing.

HISTORY

born a bastard, the result of a single night’s mistake, it would’ve been expected that sebastian would’ve grown up forgotten in white harbor because his father, lord farlen manderly, was already wed when he was born. however when lord manderly learned of his son’s existence and that his mother had passed away shortly after giving birth, he, with his wife’s approval, welcomed him into house manderly. for the first few years, he was only known as the manderly bastard, but the lack of the manderly name didn’t cause sebastian to be treated any differently from his half-siblings. he would’ve been happy living the rest of his days as a snow, but eventually lady helaena manderly brought up the topic of legitimization to lord manderly. and so the request was sent to king tylon. the close relationship between the two houses meant that the king didn’t hesitate to grant the manderly’s request, and suddenly sebastian was officially a manderly by name.

sebastian had more freedom growing up due to not being the heir, which he took full advantage of. he did have similar lessons to his half-siblings, which included lessons on politics, but those lessons never interested him nor did he particularly excel at them. he much preferred exploring the city of white harbor, going horseback riding and hunting, and learning how to wield a sword. sebastian was not a natural swordsman by any means. in fact, when he first started his lessons with the master at arms he struggled, causing some to worry that he might be a lost cause. however, what bash lacked in innate talent he made up for tenfold in determination. he trained from sun up to sun down many days because more than anything he wanted to become a knight. 

when he was sixteen, he was knighted, and it was the proudest day of bash’s life - a testament to his years of hard work and perseverance. he might not have been a prodigy but when the title of “ser” was bestowed onto him, he was considered one of the finest knights in the north. not only was he known for his skill but also for how he carried himself; sebastian fit the archetype of the knights from stories - brave, honorable, and kind. 

the manderlys were a very close family, and sebastian grew up close with his half-siblings, even before he was legitimized. he greatly looked up to his older brother and was protective of his younger siblings. he would do anything for them. his relationship with both of his parents was equally as positive. never once did his family make him feel like an outsider or less than simply due to his lineage nor would they tolerate anyone speaking down to him.  

he is very wary about love, despite once wanting to have a marriage like his parents and also his older brother. watching the heartbreak that struck both of those relationships following the deaths of his mother and good sister made sebastian want to avoid that for himself. he once wanted to have a marriage like his parents and also his older brother had. it also didn’t help that his previous betrothal to one of the blackwood sisters ended particularly badly. since then, no betrothal ever went past the initial talks, with most families calling off the possible match in favor of securing a better one with the heir to a house rather than the spare. bash had eventually told both his father and his brother to stop looking for a spouse for him, stating that he would commit himself to his service as a knight instead. 

sebastian became the sworn shield for princess alexia stark two years ago, shortly after the death of his father. he viewed it as a great honor and was extremely committed to his new role. the move to winterfell was an adjustment since while sebastian had traveled throughout the northern kingdom before it was never for too long at one time, but he came to view winterfell as a second home. however, he still wrote often and visited home when possible.