Information:
Land Holdings (If any):
None


Special Possessions/ Heirlooms:
A solid steel mace with a head shaped like a clenched fist, Large Northern
Raven (named Raven), Destrier (named Mount), blackened steel plate armor
(includes a blackened steel kettel helm and a partial chain aventail)


Character Description:
Sedgant is a man of little expression. Even in the heat of combat he is
often noted as appearing as stone faced as ever. There have been some
occasions where he has burst in to rage, but these stories are often
told by house guards shaken at the sight of the brutality that such
rage brings with it. He keeps his scalp and jaw clean shaven. He is
massive of stature at nearly 7 feet tall and weighing 340 lbs, and
among his clan's holdings it is rumored that he has giant's blood in his veins. When he is not in combat, his movements are slow and sluggish, as if he is underwater, or walking through swamp. When engaged in combat however he moves with surprising speed for someone his size, though still slow compared to lighter fighters.


Sedgant never leaves home without his Destrier, "Mount". His loyal pet
raven, "Raven", perches itself on the roof of any building he enters.






Personality:
Sedgant may seem dull or slow, but he would say he is reserved and cautious. When he does speak it is usually quietly. He is constantly
observing his surroundings, ensuring that he does not overlook
anything. As the Fifth son of a small house in the Northern
mountains, constantly threatened by snow and wildlings,
Sedgant has no inheritance to look forward to, and no real
motivation to live out his days thanklessly killing wildlings.
He hopes to gain himself at least some land and renown in
service to the more upwardly mobile nobility of the North,
planning to make himself physically indispensable to whatever
social climbing noble accepts his service.


If he is ever asked why he shaves his head, he claims that without hair enemies
have no handle on his head and he does not have to clean it. While this is
partially true, he also does so because he enjoys the sensation of rain falling
upon his bare head. Many folk have seen the giant man sitting on a step,
getting drenched in cold rain.

Sedgant will often look on, unmoved by the plight and sufferings of other
humans, but he has always had a soft spot for animals. He still eats meat and
kills creatures threatening him, but he is angered by the sight of people being
cruel to dogs or rats or other animals without cause.

Skills/Education:
Sedgant has some minor education in history and political intrigue, but he was
never quite taken with these subjects. He is extremely well trained in combat
however, and has fought many wildling raiders, bandits, and other mountain
clansmen. Few people know this, but he understands and can speak the Old Tongue.
He has no formal training in husbandry or breeding, but he easily bonds with
animals and has a natural talent for training them.


History:
History:
Sedgant Knott was born the fifth of seven sons, to Lord Urian and Lady Thifa
Knott. When he was very young his teachings began on all the subjects a good
lordling aught to know, but Sedgant quickly grew in size and took to martial
training. Lord Urian, sensing the potential in his son to become a great
warrior, ordered that Sedgant's teachings in manners, history, and other
courtly things be minimized. Instead the young child was to be focused on the
art of violence. Sedgant threw himself in to the training. He was good at it,
and his father was constantly extolling how well he would serve the family as
the sentinel of Clan Knott.

He was still not technically a man when The Knott, Lord Urian, ordered he
accompany a patrol that was headed out from Mount Knott to hunt wildling
raiders that had gotten past the wall. Urian felt himself more than ready,
and he equipped his gear and left at once. His patrol was ambushed by
wildlings and took heavy casualties. When Sedgant and the other survivors
returned to Mount Knott, the wildling raiders were dead, and Sedgant carried
a new mace with a head shaped as a clenched fist. The Cheiftan of the wildling
tribe had carried it, and Sedgant had used it to crush the man's skull.

His father sang his praises as a mighty warrior at such a young age. The clan
celebrated their little soldier as well, but there were mutterings from some
of the house guard that while Sedgant killed the wildling chieftain his
expression had been cold and calm. Afterward he did not laugh, or cry, or
vomit, but instead the young Sedgant had simply sat down on a nearby stone
and listened to the sounds of the battles aftermath.

Sedgant began to notice that some folk were afraid of him as soon as he
entered a room, and it confused the young boy. He found fewer such people
within the clan's warriors, and so he volunteered for many patrols, eager to
feel appreciated by the the other clansmen and to be doing what he felt was
his purpose.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Throughout his childhood Sedgant sometimes had vivid dreams. They felt surreal
and powerful, so much so that even the pleasant ones were unsettling to him
when he would wake suddenly in the night. He dreamed of a strange giant that
he knew to be himself, standing on a green plain, blackened steel armor drenched
in blood. He dreamed of sex with a wild, animalistic woman. He dreamed of the
banner of Clan Knott aflame. He dreamed of his younger brother Rhusgrund, dead
and rotting, yet somehow still alive, clawing at Sedgant's ankles. He dreamed
of a fine and luxurious hall, and at the head he sat, expression twisted by a
cruel sneer, upon a throne of corpses.

Sedgant never told a single soul about his dreams. In his childhood he worried
that his father would think him weak. In his teens he worried that the dreams
were omens of a dire fate, and he did not wish to be such an omen to his clan.
Now he simply tells no one because there is no one for him to tell that would
care.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Though his calm demeanor and slow movements often caused people to think he was
dull or stupid, Sedgant was always curious and observant. As a child he
harbored a secret fantasy, that one day he might run away from his training
and his duties and join the wildlings beyond the wall. There they might respect
him for his abilities, and though it would not be comfortable, he might
live free of responsibility and expectation.

As Sedgant grew older, he would sometimes set out in to the wilds alone. It
gave him a brief reprieve from his teachers, his drill instructors, his parents,
and his brothers. He often imagined that he was actually beyond the wall,
wandering the great north, or exploring the Frostfang mountains. To those who
cared to ask, he said he was teaching himself every detail he could of their
lands and holdings, which garnered him even more praise. On one trip, when he
was 16, he made a huge discovery.

Sedgant came across an old cave some distance away from Mount Knott. As he
wandered toward it he saw a young woman and two small children rush in to the
cave's mouth, replaced by an average looking man with a crude wooden spear. At
16, such an opponent caused no fear in the son of The Knott. Sedgant approached,
weapon and shield in hand, and the wildling knew he could not win. The wildling
threw down his weapon and surrendered, but before Sedgant could act the wildling's family rushed from the cave and wrapped themselves around the defeated stranger. The wildling's family consisted of a middle aged wife, a young daughter, and two small children, a boy and a girl.

The family begged Sedgant not to strike them down or take them to Mount Knott
for trial. They even went so far as to offer their eldest daughter, Azria, in
exchange for their lives. Azria was attractive, and Sedgant was of an age where
such an offer was tempting, but Sedgant waved away the bargain. Here he had found himself an actual wildling tribe, small as it was. He might learn of the lands beyond the wall, or of wildling culture, and he might gain an extra layer to his ongoing fantasy of life outside of the Northern Mountains. So instead
Sedgant promised to spare them and not to report their location, so long as
they allowed him to come and go as he pleased, be it to rest, eat, sleep, or
ask questions. The family agreed, relieved to be spared.

For the next year or so, Sedgant increased the frequency of his solo trips in
to the wilds. He claimed to find a sort of peace alone in the wilderness, but
in reality he was visiting the wildlings, and particularly Azria. He had asked
her early on to teach him the old tongue, and as he progressed so did their
feelings for each other. Eventually they were sleeping together frequently
beneath the northern sky, which never seemed to bother her parents. When
Sedgant eventually impregnated the girl, he began planning a way to introduce
the family to his clan. Over the next few trips he took them Westerosi clothing,
weapons, belongings, anything that might make them seem like citizens. He
began to teach them about customs and traditions in Westeros. He believed
that once they were able to pass as northerners he could simply introduce them
to his parents as a hunter's family he'd come across in his travels. It seemed
an easy enough plan, and who would question the blood of the clan?

Unfortunately, his time in the wilderness had not gone unnoticed at home. Even
though Sedgant had not allowed any threats to the clan go unchecked, he had
gone on far fewer patrols, and his younger brother Rhusgrund stealthily
followed him one day. When Rhusgrund saw the wildling family he was shocked,
but when he saw the pregnant Azria kiss Sedgant he naturally assumed that
wildling sorcery had ensnared his brother to join them in their raids south.
Rhusgrund charged forward and forcibly separated the two young lovers. He drew
his blade and declared that he would slay the wildling whore, releasing
Sedgant from her magics. Sedgant shouted for him to stop, but Rhusgrund drew
back his sword to strike.

Without a moment's hesitation Sedgant wrapped his burly arms around his
brother's neck and strangled the life out of his own kin. For a long time none
at the small encampment moved or spoke. The wildling family knew they would
have to run, and feared that Sedgant might strike them down himself in grief.
Sedgant however, was realizing that he had never really known his dead brother.
The young Rhusgrund had not been a skilled warrior, and his light step and
mischievous nature had never mixed well with Sedgant's personality. Finally
Azria moved, placing her hand on Sedgant's shaved head. The contact drew
Sedgant out of his reverie, and he immediately set to a plan, the only one
that might work.

Taking the clothes and items he'd brought for their plan to unite the two
families, Sedgant ordered the wildlings to travel south, as clansmen moving
away to find greener pastures. He instructed that they go south until they
could no longer feel the icy northern cold, and then to travel for another
three days at least. When Azria asked him to come with them, he knew he could
not. As much as he longed to go with his lover and unborn child, his familial duties and his own conscience would not allow him. He had to take his brother's body back to Mount Knott for proper burial rites. Besides, back with the clan he
could lead the patrols away from where Azria and family were headed. He gave
them what coin he and his brother had carried, then lifted his brother on to
his shoulders and bore the corpse back home.

Upon his return to Mount Knott, Sedgant lied. He said that Rhusgrund had
followed him out in to the wilds, but had called out to him on the first
evening. They had decided to travel together. However, on the fourth evening a
thief had strangled Rhusgrund in the night, and a second had attempted the same
to Sedgant himself. Sedgant explained that his attacker failed, waking him in the process. When he came up swinging the thieves, five in all, had taken flight, leaving Sedgant to return with the corpse. He demanded he lead the patrols to catch his brother's killers, and though they searched for two weeks, they could find no trace of the murderous thieves, a public shame for Sedgant, but a private joy.
--------------------------------------------------------------
(For other players, especialy Mountain Clansmen; there's currently no proof the following happened, but it's likely a poorly kept secret that Clan Knott isn't above raiding other clan territories dressed as wildlings. As such, there might be some suspicions that Clan Knott, or even Sedgant specifically, were involved in the death of Olvir Wull.)

Though when in the southern lands the chieftains of the mountain clans play at
noble bearing, there will always be some men of the northern mountains who do
things the old way, raiding and pillaging their neighbor's lands. Lord Urian
Knott is one of those types of men, and every so often he would send Sedgant
and some of his men, dressed as wildlings, in to the territory of the other
mountain clans. Their orders were to raid, bring back anything of value, and
frame the wildlings. There were to be no witnesses left alive, simply bits of
wildling armor or their weapons. (Or even corpses if they'd recently taken care of a few stragglers.)

When Sedgant was 19 years of age he lead one of these missions. Unfortunately,
they ran across Lord Olvir Wull, the second son of Clan Wull. Olvir was older
than Sedgant, and had years of training and real battlefield experience that the young Knott was lacking. He was also a smart man, and he recognized Sedgant almost immediately. Sedgant's forces outnumbered Olvir's personal escort by a sizable number, as Olvir had simply been touring the holdings. Olvir offered a challenge to Sedgant. They would duel to the death. Whichever fighter lost, their men would be allowed to leave in peace, Sedgant's death being fair punishment for their raiding, and Olvir's men sworn to blame wildling raiders if the Wull lost. Sedgant agreed, and the two set out to duel.

The battle was hard fought, Sedgant's strength and talent against Olvir's
experience and trained skill. In the end it seemed experience was going to win
out, Sedgant having been disarmed of both mace and shield. However, as Olvir
made to deliver the killing blow Sedgant lunged forward, catching the sword
arm inside. Olvir attempted to counter, smashing his shield against the
lumbering, unarmed warrior. Sedgant simply endured the blows, delivering
his own attacks to the bridge of Olvir's nose. The young Lord Wull died, his face caved in by Sedgant's armored fist.

The Wull clan soldiers were in shock at the sudden development, and when
Sedgant unceremoniously dropped their lord in to the mud, charging toward them in cold silence, their resolve shattered. Sedgant's men quickly took up the charge themselves, and by the time they finished not a single Wull clansmen drew
breath. Afterward Sedgant ordered their return to Mount Knott. With the death
of their second son, House Wull would be on guard for some time to come. The
soldiers were sworn to secrecy, even from their fellow Knott clansmen, but
soldiers always seem to talk. Among Clan Knott holdings people began to call
Sedgant "The Fist". It was said, "He doesn't need his mace to kill you with a
fist." (If outsiders ask, the explanation for the name is always that
he is the right hand of The Knott, clenched in to a fist. And of course the
fist shaped mace.)
--------------------------------------------------------
As a young boy, Sedgant always had an affinity for animals. They had no sense
of ambition or greed, at least so long as you did not count the drive to feed,
which Sedgant did not. They asked nothing of him and gave freely of the one
thing Sedgant desired, acceptance. He would spend long hours in the kennel
with the hounds, or in the tower with the ravens, or the stables with the
horses. One day, when he was 20 years old, Sedgant was lucky enough to witness
the hatching of baby raven. Sedgant felt connected to the little creature, and
once a day he found time to stop by the tower. He watched it and spoke to it,
so often in fact that his kin began making a few half-jokes at meals that Sedgant spoke more to a bird than to his own flesh and blood.

One day the bird was perched on the tower window as Sedgant walked from one
building to another. It let out a loud caw, then dove from the tower. Suddenly
it pulled out of its dive and spread its wings, soaring black against the grey
mountain sky. Sedgant grinned broadly as it showed off its aerial abilities.
Eventually it perched on a nearby roof and cawed at him once more. Sedgant chuckled, something he almost never did, and continued on his way. For the rest of the day, the bird moved from roof to roof, following Sedgant and cawing at him whenever he emerged once more. So, after dinner Sedgant went to the kitchen and took a small chunk of raw meat. Stepping outside, the bird cawed once more, and Sedgant moved in to an open portion of street. There he held out his hand, palm up, holding the raw flesh. immediately the raven swept from the roof, perched on his extended arm, and gobbled up the meat.

Luckily the Maester was willing to excuse Raven from any further duties as a
messenger bird, and the creature was allowed to simply go where it willed,
which happened to be wherever Sedgant went. Sedgant ensured all the folk of
Mount Knott understood not to trifle with the bird, and after three years Raven
had grown to be over two feet tall, with a wingspan of almost four feet. By
then it had become an expected sight around the skies of Mount Knott. Even the
rest of the clan found it helpful, since any time they were looking for
Sedgant they could tell which building he was in by looking at the roofs for
Raven. People in the surrounding mountains began to expect Sedgant's arrival
if they ever spotted a single raven drifting slowly their direction. Raven
himself gained much out of the relationship, as he was usually allowed to feast
on the aftermath of Sedgant's battles.

Now, at 5 years old, Raven is fully matured, and has never left Sedgant's side
in all that time.
---------------------------------------------------------------
There was a period of time in which Sedgant began to drink heavily. He was 23,
and it seemed that he'd finally come to accept that his fantasy of a simple
life free of responsibility and duty could never be. After all, he'd already
given up a family of his own. By and large, Sedgant's arrival at such a
conclusion was in the clan's best interest, but it gnawed at him. He'd become
quicker to anger, a thing no one at Mount Knott enjoyed seeing, and the alcohol
only aggravated matters. One particularly late evening, when the clan had
visitors from a southern house, Sedgant laid too heavily in to his cup, and in
the wee hours of the morning he was heard roaming the halls, singing bawdy
tunes. His carousing disturbed the guests, but when Lord Urian came to shout
at his son for his rudeness and indulgence Sedgant's expression soured. He
turned on his father, raising his cup as if to strike his Lord with it.

Luckily there was still liquid inside, and when he raised it up the booze
poured out on to his head. The sudden wetness from above drew his attention
away from his anger, and he quickly realized what had just happened. Sedgant
dropped the cup and fell to his knees before his father, tears running down
his face. Urian, being the kind of father who preferred to exist outside of
the nurturing capacity, didn't know how to respond to his strongest son crying
so soon after threatening violence. So Urian just ushered Sedgant to stand and
go to bed before anyone came out and saw his weakness. Sedgant just nodded and
slowly trundled to his chambers. The following day Sedgant swore never to
drink alcohol again, partially because of his instinctive urge to kill his own
Liege Lord, but also because it had made him appear vulnerable in the eyes of
a parent who demanded strength.
-------------------------------------------------------
Now, with 25 years of mountain violence under his belt, Sedgant has begun to
feel restless. He no longer drinks, but the drab grey of the northern mountains
continues to irk him for some reason he can not really grasp. Each day the
faces of his family and the well known areas of Mount Knott serve as reminders
of his still secret act of kin slaying. He'd begun to lose the sense of
fulfillment he got from killing wildlings. Each time he did so he remembered
Azria and her family, and how much he empathized with their motives for fleeing
past the wall. He knows he will inherit nothing at Mount Knott, and he will be
expected to serve as the mace and shield of the mountain clan for as long as he
draws breath. He is also aware that doing so means risking his life and limb
for no rewards, no holdings, and no comforts past the meager luxuries the
mountain clans can provide.

Lord Urian has begun to fade with age and drink, and the eldest son Balan is
being groomed to take over. In a drunken fit Urian commanded Sedgant to go
south to the tournament and show the weakling northern lords what a true
warrior is. Sedgant immediately saw the event as an opportunity. If he made a
good impression on an upwardly mobile heir, or an already influential Lord, he might be able to make himself physically indispensable to them, as
he has to his father. At that point they might carry him with them to greater
heights. (Or at least make introduction to someone else who could do so) He
resolved that if he was going to risk his life and take those of others, he aught to get something in return.