Name: Maester Owell
House: Greystark
Role: Expert (Maester)
Age: 36 (Middle Age)
Gender: Male
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Occupation: Maester
Wealth: 67 stags and 25 coppers
Goal: Knowledge (Astronomy), Security (Greystarks)
Motivation: Stability
Virtue: Humble
Vice: Cowardly
Appearance: Tall, scrawny, almost emaciated. A long, narrow face with a tall forehead, dark eyes, and shoulder length black hair. He prefers loose fitting robes, and his chain is smaller than the average Maester's. He looks young for his age. [[I know you said real life photo, but this seemed like a high quality painting, and finding a RL Maester who is neither Luwin nor Aemon is quite difficult. Let me know if you want me to change it.]]
Skin: Pale
Hair: Black, shoulder length. No beard.
Eye Color: Hazel
Height: 195 cm
Weight: 70 kg
Background: Maester Owell was born Owell Rolfson on the northern end of the isle Greenstone, off the coast of the Stormlands. His father had been a carpenter, his mother a maid at the local inn in their small village. When he was five, Owell's mother stabbed his father to death during an argument. After she was hanged, a hedge knight brought Owell south to a sept in the town of Greenstone. Here he resided for the next eleven years, earning his keep by cleaning the sept, collecting donations, repairing torn robes, and other minor duties. In return, the septons fed and clothed him and, most importantly, taught him to read and write. Inspired by a volume on the stars written by a long dead Maester, Owell left Greenstone at the age of 16 to join the Citadel.
His studies progressed quickly, and Owell forged his first link (bronze, for astronomy) when he was 18. While he was ultimately interested in observing the stars and planets, Owell felt a need to earn the rank of Maester. Without a chain of his own, he wondered, would anyone take his ideas seriously? Over the next four years, Owell moved from one subject to another, forging links for ravenlore, lenscrafting, warcraft, healing, anatomy, alchemy, weatherlore, and history. However, Owell grew bored before he could finish his chain, and returned to astronomical pursuits, three links short.
When he was 22, Owell began observing the motion of the stars, wondering if they moved from year to year. The Archmaester of astronomy, Vaellyn, had stated that they did not, but Owell had recently learned of another observatory in Norvos that was twice as old as the one in Oldtown. Perhaps they're measurements, contrasted with the Citadel's, could reveal the answer. Curious, Owell stayed in Norvos for two years, poring over their observatory's precise records of star positions, and discovered that the stars had indeed drifted slightly over the centuries. Triumphant, he returned to Oldtown and presented his evidence, inadvertently shaming the prideful Archmaester Vaellyn. Out of spite, he granted Owell three additional bronze links and made him a full Maester. Unaware that Vaellyn was only doing this to deny him access to an observatory, Owell happily accepted and was promptly forced to accept an assignment to Greyhold.
Although this would make his research much more difficult, Owell resolved to fulfill his duties as best he could. He would not be a burden upon the Greystarks. Shortly after arriving in 283 AL, Owell proved himself when he cured Erik Greystark of a persistent cough that had nearly killed the boy. As a reward, Lord Lewys allowed Owell to convert part of the rookery into a makeshift observatory and granted him free reign to pursue his scholarly interests, so long as he always placed his duties as a Maester first. Owell happily agreed, and has faithfully served House Greystark since.
Family: Being a Maester, Owell forsook his family name when he forged his chain. He is currently serving the House Greystark.
Friends and Allies: Maesters Cristoff and Codwell, who share his fascination with telescopy and astronomy. The three men frequently exchange their research, discoveries, and lengthy arguments via ravens. In addition, Maester Owell's calm and friendly, albeit withdrawn, demeanor has earned him several friends amongst House Greystark, such as Lord Lewys' youngest daughter Elise, who frequently helps him in his makeshift observatory in the rookery. While many look down their nose at a nobly born girl engaging in what are considered the pursuits of a Maester, he finds the intelligent and quick-minded Elise to be an invaluable assistant.
Rivals and Enemies: Being a quiet and gentle man, Maester Owell has made very few enemies. However, an academic dispute in Oldtown pitted his evidence against the theories of the Archmaester Vaellyn, the stargazer known for his sharp tongue. After years of study, he had demonstrated that the stars had moved from their locations in the sky over the past four hundred years, contradicting Vaellyn's theory that they were immobile. Although the matter was not considered important by many members of the Citadel, Archmaester Vaellyn took it as a personal insult to his pride. The issue escalated quickly and precipitated with Maester Owell being assigned to Greyhold to deny him access to the Citadel's observatory.
Secondary CharactersName: Elise Greystark
House: Greystark
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Occupation: Nobleborn daughter
Appearance: In progress
Description: Lord Lewys' youngest daughter, Elise was born 16 years ago. As a young girl, Elise was naturally curious and excitable. She possessed a love for the outdoors, alongside a predisposition to engaging in unladylike activities, such as scuffing her knees, falling out of trees, and whacking her twin brother Erik with branches in mock duels. As she grew, Elise reluctantly demurred to the cultural and societal norms of Westeros. By her thirteenth birthday, Elise was engaged in the expected activities of a nobly born girl, from stitching to memorizing family lineages. While appearing to be the model example of a young woman, she had not lost her curiosity, and often pursued scholarly interests in private. Elise proved to be very intelligent, and she hoped to one day become the first female Maester, although she readily acknowledged how unlikely such a feat would be. Shortly after Maester Owell arrived at Greyhold, Elise realized he was far more accepting of her curiosity than the previous Maester, and began to follow him around, prying him with questions. Seeing potential in her, Maester Owell allowed her to help him in his makeshift observatory. Such a relationship has been the subject of many hushed whispers in the dark corners of Greyhold, something Elise seems oblivious of.
Plot Ideas: Some kind of conflict deriving from her friendship with Maester Owell, whether it be concerning her unusual interest in the life of a Maester or an accusation of their association being something more than just a friendship.
Name: Erik Greystark
House: Greystark
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Occupation: Nobleborn son
Appearance: In progress
Description: Where Elise is endlessly inquisitive and content to read all day, Erik is loud and ambitious, your typical nobly born son dreaming of winning fame on the battlefield. He has been trained by the Master-at-Arms, and possesses moderate skill with a sword, although he is an excellent jouster. Erik has been growing increasingly restless of late. He recently started a fight with a stableboy (which he won), and appears to be a bit too eager to hack at his friends with a wooden sword during training. Ultimately, Erik cares not about politics or issues of inheritance, but instead wants to prove himself as a great warrior. He dreams of joining a tourney as a masked knight and unhorsing the great champions, ripping the fabric off his shield to reveal the device of House Greystark. He looks up to Lord Lewys a great deal, and has begun to despise Maester Owell, who he sees as a doddering fool corrupting his twin sister with dusty books and dented telescopes. In a bit of an OOC comment, I see Erik as a male version of Sansa: he embraces the archetypical male role in society, but is ultimately completely naive to the realities of the world.
Plot Ideas: He starts a fight to prove himself and gets in over his head, resulting in someone dying or being crippled.
