Alester Florent
Alester Florent | |
---|---|
| |
Titles | |
Allegiance | House Florent[1] |
Culture | Reachmen[1] |
Born | Brightwater Keep[3] |
Died |
300 AC Dragonstone[4] |
Spouse | Lady Melara Crane[5] |
Books |
|
Alester Florent is the Lord of Brightwater Keep and the head of House Florent, sworn to House Tyrell of Highgarden.[5]
He is married to Lady Melara Crane and they have three children, Melessa, Alekyne and Rhea. Alester had three brothers; Ser Axel, Ser Ryam and Ser Colin, and one sister, Rylene. His niece, Selyse is married to Stannis Baratheon. He is also Samwell Tarly's maternal grandfather.[5]
Contents
Appearance and Character
- See also: Images of Alester Florent
Alester is an older man, very tall and slender, with silver hair and a beard shaped in a spike surrounding a long and distinguished face. In battle he wears red-gold armor,[6] the shining snout of a red-gold fox poking out of his breastplate, surrounded by a circle of lapis lazuli flowers.[1]
A very wealthy and powerful man, Lord Alester is very puissant. Alester is known to be courtly and he considers himself to be a man of honor, however he is very ambitious. Although he has publicly taken up the worship of R'hllor,[1] it appears he still holds belief with the Faith of the Seven.[7]
Recent Events
A Clash of Kings
When Lord Stannis Baratheon declares himself King of Westeros, his wife Selyse believes that her uncle Alester and her brothers will pledge their swords to his cause. Stannis believes otherwise, as Florent lands lie too close to Highgarden for Lord Alester to risk the wrath of Lord Mace Tyrell.[8]
Lord Alester follows House Tyrell in supporting Lord Renly Baratheon as king.[9] When Renly marches on King's Landing, Alester's banners are spotted when Renly's host camps outside Bitterbridge.[10] After Renly's death, Alester rallies his banners and is the first of those who swore to Renly to go over to Stannis's cause.[11] Lord Alester believes that it was Lady Catelyn Stark who slew Renly. He is the first of the new lords to discard the Faith of the Seven and take up the worship of R'hllor, becoming foremost among the queen's men. When Stannis's host besieges Storm's End, the castle's castellan Ser Cortnay Penrose accuses Florent of being a turnclock. Lord Alester urges Stannis to bring old Lord Penrose to the castle and hang him before his son.[1]
After joining with Stannis, he briefly becomes Stannis's Hand of the King. When the Battle of the Blackwater begins, Stannis gives command of his fleet to Alester's nephew, Ser Imry.[12] The Florent banners are seen outside King's Landing when Stannis's vanguard arrives.[13]
A Storm of Swords
After Stannis's defeat at the Battle of the Blackwater, it is left to Selyse and Alester to rule in Stannis's name while the king broods. Alester is given the king's seal by Selyse, to speak in Stannis's name.[2] For their support of Stannis, the Florents are stripped of Brightwater Keep by the Iron Throne.[14] When the Night's Watch requests for aid against a wildling host, Lord Alester dismisses the plea for help.[15]
Alester tries to make peace with House Lannister by having Stannis give up his claim to the Iron Throne in exchange for him being named Lord of Storm's End and Dragonstone, with Florent vowing to do the same in exchange for Brightwater Keep and all his lands. He offered to seal the bargain by wedding Stannis's daughter Shireen to Prince Tommen Baratheon. However, his plans are discovered by the queen's men and Stannis is furious with the terms. For his treason, he is imprisoned in Dragonstone's dungeons, placed in the same cell as Ser Davos Seaworth.[6] When Ser Davos is retrieved from the dungeons, Alester's brother, Ser Axell Florent, denounces him as a traitor and takes the torch from his cell.[7]
Denys Mallister recalls that he once unhorsed both of Samwell Tarly's grandfathers in the same tourney.[16]
A Feast for Crows
Lord Alester is reported to have been sacrificed by Melisandre to R'hllor as a traitor.[17]
A Dance with Dragons
Ser Davos recalls that when Stannis decided to aid the Night's Watch at the Wall, Melisandre burned Lord Alester alive in order to obtain favorable winds for their expedition to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. When bound to a post, Lord Florent had been silent and dignified, but as the flames began to touch him, he began to scream.[4]
Quotes by Alester
Alester: You know me for a man of honor—
Cortnay: I know you for a man of ambition, a man who changes kings and gods the way I change my boots.[1]
– Alester and Cortnay Penrose
My chests were lost when the Lannisters overran our camp. I escaped with no more than the mail on my back and the rings on my fingers. No doubt some cook’s boy or groom is prancing around King’s Landing just now in my slashed velvet doublet and jeweled cloak. But war has its horrors, as all men know.[6]
- Alester to Davos Seaworth
Stannis Baratheon will never sit the Iron Throne. Is it treason to say the truth? A bitter truth, but no less true for that.[6]
- Alester to Davos Seaworth
Not treason. Never treason. I love His Grace as much as any man. My own niece is his queen, and I remained loyal to him when wiser men fled. I am his Hand, the Hand of the King, how can I be a traitor?[6]
- Alester to Davos Seaworth
Quotes about Alester
This man is defeated.[6]
– Davos Seaworth's thoughts
Family
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 42, Davos II.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 10, Davos II.
- ↑ George R. R. Martin's A World of Ice and Fire, Alester Florent.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 9, Davos I.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 A Clash of Kings, Appendix.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 25, Davos III.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 36, Davos IV.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Prologue.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 10, Davos I.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 22, Catelyn II.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 36, Tyrion VIII.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 58, Davos III.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 52, Sansa IV.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 19, Tyrion III.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 54, Davos V.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 78, Samwell V.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Appendix.