Jon Snow
From A Wiki of Ice and Fire
Jon Snow is the bastard son of Eddard Stark, by a mother whose identity is not widely known, and a POV character. He was raised by his father alongside his true-born half-siblings, but joins the Night's Watch when he reaches adulthood. He is constantly accompanied by his albino direwolf Ghost.
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[edit] Appearance
Jon has a strong Stark features. He has a lean build and a long face, with dark hair and grey eyes.
[edit] History
Ned brought Jon back from Robert's Rebellion and insisted on raising him with the rest of the Stark family. Jon got along with most of the Stark family, but Catelyn always considered him an outsider and his presence served as a constant reminder of her husband's infidelity. Sansa Stark also showed no affection for him. When the family encountered the direwolf pups after Gared's execution, Jon took the albino pup, as it too was an outcast from its litter. Jon's position both inside and outside the family subtly chafed him over the years until, when he neared adulthood, he joined the Night's Watch to escape.
Tyrion Lannister accompanied Jon to the Wall, and the two formed a friendship due to their shared position as noble outsiders. Jon was initially resented by the other Watch recruits for his noble background, but he eventually learned to fit into the crowd by uniting the recruits against their caustic master-at-arms, Alliser Thorne. Jon also protected Samwell Tarly from bullying by the other recruits. Though Jon had learned to fit in with the Watch, he had difficulty letting his old life go. At the outbreak of the War of the Five Kings, he tried to desert to join Robb's army, but his new friends brought him back before he could be punished for desertion. Jon finally decided to honor his bonds and abandon his Stark past.
Lord Commander Jeor Mormont appointed Jon as his personal steward and squire as a means to groom him for command. During a wight attack on Castle Black, Jon saved Mormont's life and received serious burns on his hand. Mormont gave him the Valyrian steel bastard sword Longclaw of House Mormont, and had a direwolf head engraved onto the pommel in honor of House Stark. When Mormont mounted an expedition to investigate the goings-on in the north after disappearances of several rangers, including Benjen Stark, Jon went ahead with a small group of scouts led by the famous Qhorin Halfhand. Along the way, Jon released a captured wildling woman, Ygritte, instead of killing her. The party was later discovered and pursued by wildlings led by Rattleshirt. Before they were overtaken, Qhorin commanded Jon to join the wildlings and discover their plans, making Jon kill him in front of the wildings to legitimize his request. Ygritte supported Jon's request and saved him from execution.
Jon met with Mance Rayder and convinced him that his defection was sincere. During their conversation, Jon learned Mance's plans to invade the Seven Kingdoms. For a time, Jon broke his vows to become Ygritte's lover and hesitated between betraying her or leaving the Night's Watch. Jon joined Styg's mission to scale the Wall and ambush the skeleton crew left manning Castle Black, but fled his wildling comrades to rejoin the Watch. There he led the defence of Castle Black against Styg's raiders. All of the raiders were killed, including Ygritte. Jon then received command of the Wall's defences against Mance's direct assault. Using a number of impromptu tactics and his natural leadership, Jon successfully held the Wall against overwhelming odds for several days. However, upon the arrival of Alliser Thorne and Janos Slynt to Castle Black, Jon was arrested for his earlier defection and forced to make an assassination attempt on Mance during a parley. Before Jon could attack, Stannis Baratheon's forces made a surprise appearance and routed the wildlings.
Jon's service defending the Wall earned him popular support and his release from imprisonment. Due to the efforts of Samwell Tarly, Jon was voted as a compromise candidate between rival factions of the Watch for the post of Lord Commander. Though Stannis offered to make him Lord of House Stark if he would recognize Stannis as king, Jon ultimate refused and became the 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. His earliest acts as Lord Commander served to frustrate the plots of Stannis's priestess Melisandre by sending Mance's child away from the wall.
[edit] Parentage
Jon Snow's parentage remains a mystery, as Eddard rarely spoke of the matter. When Catelyn confronted him about the rumor that Jon's mother was Ashara Dayne, Eddard would not answer. Years later, when queried by Robert, he claimed that a lowborn woman named Wylla is Snow's mother. Both possibilities have been mentioned by outside sources. Cersei Lannister believes his mother to be Lady Dayne, while Edric Dayne, who was wet-nursed by Wylla, tells Arya that he and Jon are milk-brothers.
[edit] References and Sources
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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at House Stark. |
