Difference between revisions of "Ashara Dayne"

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{{Infobox character
 
{{Infobox character
| Character_name = [[File:DayneCoA.png|50px|left]] Ashara Dayne [[File:DayneCoA.png|50px|right]]
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| Character_name = [[File:House Dayne.svg|50px|left]] Ashara Dayne [[File:House Dayne.svg|50px|right]]
| image         = [[File:Elena-maria-vacas-ashara-dayne.jpg|350px]]
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| image = [[File:Elena-maria-vacas-ashara-dayne.jpg|350px]]
| image_caption = Ashara Dayne, by [https://www.artstation.com/artist/ab3nd Elena María Vacas]  
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| image_caption = Ashara Dayne, by [https://www.artstation.com/artist/ab3nd Elena María Vacas].
| Alias         =
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| Alias = The maid with laughing purple eyes{{Ref|ASOS|24}}<ref name="Citadel">[http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/FAQ/Entry/Who_were_the_different_people_in_Meeras_story/ "The Citadel: FAQ, entry 6.2.6- Who were the different people in Meera's story?" (2007]</ref>
| Title         =
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| Title =
| Allegiance     = [[House Dayne]]
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| Allegiance = [[House Dayne]]
| Race           =
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| Race =
| Culture       =  
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| Culture = [[Dornishmen]]
| Spouse         =
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| Spouse =
| Place_of_Birth =
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| Lover = Lord [[Eddard Stark]] <small>(rumored)</small>
| Date_of_Birth = or between 260 AC and 269 AC<ref>''See the [[Years after Aegon's Conquest/Calculations Ages#Ashara Dayne|Ashara Dayne]] calculation''</ref>
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| Issue = [[Jon Snow]] <small>(rumored)</small>
 +
| Place_of_Birth = [[Dorne]]{{Ref|AWOIAF|Ashara Dayne}}
 +
| Date_of_Birth = {{Date|260|269}}<ref>''See the [[Years after Aegon's Conquest/Calculations Ages#Ashara Dayne|Ashara Dayne]] calculation''</ref>
 
| Place_of_Death = [[Starfall]]
 
| Place_of_Death = [[Starfall]]
| Date_of_Death = {{date|283}}
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| Date_of_Death = {{Date|283}}
| Books         = ''[[A Game of Thrones]]'' (mentioned)<br>''[[A Clash of Kings]]'' (mentioned)<br>''[[A Storm of Swords]]'' (mentioned)<br>''[[A Dance with Dragons]]'' (mentioned)
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| Books = ''[[A Game of Thrones]]'' (mentioned)<br>''[[A Clash of Kings]]'' (mentioned)<br>''[[A Storm of Swords]]'' (mentioned)<br>''[[A Dance with Dragons]]'' (mentioned)
| coat-of-arms   =
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| coat-of-arms =
| Played_by     =
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| Played_by =
| TV_series     =  
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| TV_series =
 
}}
 
}}
  
'''Ashara Dayne''' was a noblewoman of [[House Dayne]], a sister of the famous [[knight]] Ser [[Arthur Dayne]]. She committed suicide shortly after the end of [[Robert's Rebellion]].
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'''Ashara Dayne''' was a noblewoman of [[House Dayne]] and a sister of Ser [[Arthur Dayne]], the [[Sword of the Morning]]. She committed suicide shortly after the end of [[Robert's Rebellion]].
  
 
==Appearance==
 
==Appearance==
Ashara was tall, with long dark hair and haunting [[violet eyes]].{{Ref|aGoT|6}}{{Ref|aDwD|67}} She had a reputation for great beauty. Many men were infatuated with her, including [[Barristan Selmy]] and, according to rumor, [[Eddard Stark]].{{ref|aSoS|43}}
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:''See also: [[:Category:Images of Ashara Dayne|Images of Ashara Dayne]]''
 +
 
 +
Ashara was a young, beautiful, tall and fair [[maiden]], with haunting [[violet eyes]].{{Ref|AGOT|6}}{{Ref|ADWD|67}} Her long dark hair tumbled around her shoulders.{{Ref|ADWD|67}} According to Ser [[Barristan Selmy]], [[Daenerys Targaryen]]'s eyes resemble Ashara's eyes.{{Ref|ADWD|67}}
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
Ashara was a lady-in-waiting to Princess [[Elia Martell]]. She was present at the [[Tourney at Harrenhal]], where she danced with several men, including [[Eddard Stark]] after his brother [[Brandon Stark|Brandon]] spoke with her.{{Ref|asos|24}}
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Ashara was a [[w:lady-in-waiting|lady-in-waiting]] to Princess [[Elia Martell]], the wife of Prince [[Rhaegar Targaryen]]. She had not been long at court by the false spring of {{Date|281}}.{{Ref|adwd|67}} She was present at the [[tourney at Harrenhal]] that year, where she danced with a knight of the Kingsguard, Prince [[Oberyn Martell]], and Lord [[Jon Connington]]. After [[Brandon Stark]] approached her on behalf of his younger brother [[Eddard Stark|Eddard]], Ashara danced with Eddard as well.{{Ref|asos|24}} According to [[Allyria Dayne]], Ashara's younger sister, Ashara and Eddard Stark fell in love at Harrenhal.{{Ref|ASOS|43}} Ser [[Barristan Selmy]] of the Kingsguard was also in love with Ashara, although he never told her so. Barristan recalls that, had he won the tourney, he would have named Ashara his [[queen of love and beauty]].{{Ref|adwd|67}} According to Barristan, Ashara was "dishonored" by a man at Harrenhal.{{Ref|ADWD|67}} In addition, Barristan states that Ashara "looked" at "Stark" following the final tilts at the tourney, although he does not identify the Stark in question.{{Ref|adwd|67}}
 +
 
 +
Ashara's brother [[Arthur Dayne|Arthur]] died [[Robert's Rebellion|the war]], fighting during the [[combat at the tower of joy]]. Eddard traveled to [[Starfall]] to return Arthur's greatsword [[Dawn]] to [[House Dayne]].{{Ref|agot|6}} Some time after his visit, Ashara jumped from the top of the Palestone Sword, one of the towers of Starfall, into the sea.{{Ref|aSoS|43}} Several characters have cited possible reasons for Ashara's decision to commit suicide: a broken heart,{{Ref|ASOS|43}} because of her stillborn daughter,{{Ref|ADWD|67}} because of a stolen child,{{Ref|AGOT|45}} for the "man who had dishonored her at Harrenhal",{{Ref|adwd|67}} or due to grief over Arthur's death.{{Ref|ASOS|43}} Her body was never found.<ref>[[So Spake Martin]]: [http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/1116 Soms Questions (August 23, 2000)]</ref>
 +
 
 +
At [[Winterfell]], Eddard Stark's soldiers spread the tale that Ashara was the mother of Eddard's [[bastard]] son [[Jon Snow]]. When Eddard's wife, [[Catelyn Stark|Catelyn Tully]], heard these stories from her maids, she confronted Eddard, who refused to confirm or deny anything regarding Jon's mother, and subsequently silenced all talk of Ashara at Winterfell. Her name was never mentioned at the castle again.{{Ref|agot|6}}
 +
 
 +
==Recent Events==
 +
===''A Game of Thrones''===
 +
[[Catelyn Stark]] recalls confronting her husband [[Eddard Stark]] years before about the whispers she had heard about Ashara being [[Jon Snow]]'s mother.{{Ref|agot|6}}
 +
 
 +
===''A Storm of Swords''===
 +
When [[Meera Reed]] tells [[Bran Stark]] the story of the [[Knight of the Laughing Tree]] and the [[tourney at Harrenhal]] in {{Date|281}}, and refers to Ashara as "a maid with laughing [[purple eyes]]".{{Ref|ASOS|24}}
 +
 
 +
[[Edric Dayne]] tells [[Arya Stark]] about Ashara and Eddard.{{Ref|ASOS|43}}
  
After the events of the [[Tower of Joy]], Ned Stark went to [[Starfall]] to inform House Dayne of Ser Arthur's death and return to them his greatsword, [[Dawn]]. Ashara jumped from the top of one of the towers of Starfall, called the Palestone Sword, on the cliff atop the sea. Her body was never recovered.{{Ref|aSoS|43}} After these events, Ned Stark returned to [[Winterfell]] with the infant [[Jon Snow]], whom he claimed as his bastard son, refusing to name the child's mother. This sparked rumors that Ashara had been the mother of Stark's bastard,{{ref|aCoK|45}} and that grief at learning that her lover had been responsible for her brother's death was the cause of her suicide.{{Ref|aGoT|6}}{{ref|aSoS|43}}
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===''A Dance with Dragons''===
 +
Ser [[Barristan Selmy]] recalls the [[tourney at Harrenhal]], and regrets losing the final tilt to Prince [[Rhaegar Targaryen]], as this prevented him from crowning Ashara as the [[queen of love and beauty]].{{Ref|ADWD|67}}
  
Ser [[Barristan Selmy]] believes that Ashara gave birth to a stillborn daughter. According to Selmy, a man dishonored her at [[Harrenhal]] during the tourney. Selmy's account is ambiguous. In his account, it was grief over the death of her child, and perhaps grief at the loss of the man who "dishonored" her or shame of the "dishonoring" that led to Ashara's suicide. Selmy also wonders whether Ashara would have looked to him, instead of "Stark", if she had known of his feelings for her.{{Ref|aDwD|67}}
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==Quotes==
 +
[[File:Ashara_Dayne_by_Jena_Velour.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Ashara Dayne, by Jena Velour.]]
  
==References in the books==
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{{Quote|How dare you play the noble lord with me! What do you take me for? You've a [[Jon Snow|bastard of your own]], I've seen him. Who was the mother, I wonder? Some [[Dorne|Dornish]] peasant you raped while her holdfast burned? A [[Prostitution|whore]]? Or was it the grieving sister, the Lady Ashara? She threw herself into the sea, I'm told. Why was that? For [[Arthur Dayne|the brother]] you slew, or the child you stole?{{Ref|AGOT|45}}|[[Cersei Lannister]] to [[Eddard Stark]]}}
===A Storm of Swords===
 
[[Meera Reed]] tells [[Bran Stark]] the story of the [[Knight of the Laughing Tree]], a tale of the Tourney at Harrenhal. She mentions that "[[Howland Reed|the crannogman]] saw a maid with laughing purple eyes dance with a [[Barristan Selmy|white sword]], a [[Oberyn Martell|red snake]], and [[Jon Connington|the lord of griffins]], and lastly with [[Eddard Stark|the quiet wolf]]... but only after [[Brandon Stark|the wild wolf]] spoke to her on behalf of a brother too shy to leave his bench."{{Ref|asos|24}}
 
  
[[Edric Dayne]] tells [[Arya Stark]] about his aunt Ashara who died before he was born, having committed suicide because "her heart was broken". He is surprised that Arya has never heard of Ashara and that Arya's father Ned had never spoken of her. Edric tells Arya that his aunt [[Allyria Dayne|Allyria]] says that Ashara and Ned fell in love at Harrenhal. This upsets Arya, who insists that [[Catelyn Tully|her mother]] was the only one her father loved. [[Harwin]] confirms that he has heard the story as well, at [[Winterfell]] when he was young, but that he doubts there's any truth to it. He says that even if the story were true, it would not be a stain on Ned's honor as he was not betrothed at the time. Harwin believes that Ashara killed herself because she was grieving for her dead brother Arthur.{{ref|aSoS|43}}
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{{Quote|If [[Jon Snow|Jon]] had been born of Ashara Dayne of [[Starfall]], as some whispered, the lady was long dead; if not, Catelyn had no clue who or where his mother might be.{{Ref|ACOK|45}}|thoughts of [[Catelyn Stark]]}}
  
===A Dance with Dragons===
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{{Quote|[[Howland Reed|The crannogman]] saw a maid with laughing purple eyes dance with [[Barristan Selmy|a white sword]], [[Oberyn Martell|a red snake]], and [[Jon Connington|the lord of griffins]], and lastly with [[Eddard Stark|the quiet wolf]]... but only after [[Brandon Stark|the wild wolf]] spoke to her on behalf of a brother too shy to leave his bench.{{Ref|ASOS|24}}|[[Meera Reed]] to [[Bran Stark]]}}
In [[Meereen]], alone on [[Queen’s apartments (Great Pyramid)|the terrace of the Great Pyramid]], Ser [[Barristan]] remembers [[Tourney at Harrenhal|Old Lord Whent’s tourney]] at [[Harrenhal]] and thinks of whom he would have chosen as [[Queen of Love and Beauty]],
 
{{Quote|[[Rhaegar]] had chosen [[Lyanna Stark]] of [[Winterfell]]. Barristan Selmy would have made a different choice. Not the queen, who was not present. Nor [[Elia Martell|Elia]] of [[Dorne]], though she was good and gentle; had she been chosen, much war and woe might have been avoided. His choice would have been a young maiden not long at court, one of Elia’s companions … though compared to Ashara Dayne, the Dornish princess was a kitchen drab.
 
  
Even after all these years, Ser Barristan could still recall Ashara’s smile, the sound of her laughter. He had only to close his eyes to see her, with her long dark hair tumbling about her shoulders and those haunting [[purple eyes]]. '''[[Daenerys]] has the same eyes'''. Sometimes when the queen looked at him, he felt as if he were looking at Ashara’s daughter ...
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[[File:Ashara Dayne by BellaBergolts.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Ashara Dayne, by Bella Bergolts.]]
  
But Ashara’s daughter had been stillborn, and his fair lady had thrown herself from a tower soon after, mad with grief for the child she had lost, and perhaps for the man who had dishonored her at [[Harrenhal]] as well. She died never knowing that Ser Barristan had loved her. '''How could she?''' He was a knight of the [[Kingsguard]], sworn to celibacy. No good could have come from telling her his feelings. '''No good came from silence either. If I had unhorsed Rhaegar and crowned Ashara queen of love and beauty, might she have looked to me instead of Stark?'''
+
{{Quote|Lady Ashara Dayne. It's an old tale, that one. I heard it once at [[Winterfell]], when I was no older than you are now. I doubt there's any truth to it. But if there is, what of it? When [[Eddard Stark|Ned]] met this Dornish lady, his brother [[Brandon Stark|Brandon]] was still alive, and it was him betrothed to Lady [[Catelyn Stark|Catelyn]], so there's no stain on your father's honor. There's nought like [[tourney at Harrenhal|a tourney]] to make the blood run hot, so maybe some words were whispered in a tent of a night, who can say? Words or kisses, maybe more, but where's the harm in that? [[Year of the false spring|Spring had come]], or so they thought, and neither one of them was pledged.{{Ref|ASOS|43}}|[[Harwin]] to [[Arya Stark]]}}
  
He would never know. But of all his failures, none haunted Barristan Selmy so much as that.{{Ref|aDwD|67}}}}
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{{Quote|His choice would have been a young maiden not long at court, one of [[Elia Martell|Elia's]] companions ... though compared to Ashara Dayne, the [[Dorne|Dornish]] princess was a kitchen drab.{{Ref|ADWD|67}}|thoughts of [[Barristan Selmy]]}}
 +
 
 +
{{Quote|She died never knowing that Ser Barristan had loved her. How could she? He was a knight of the [[Kingsguard]], sworn to celibacy. No good could have come from telling her his feelings. No good came from silence either. If I had unhorsed [[Rhaegar Targaryen|Rhaegar]] and crowned Ashara [[queen of love and beauty]], might she have looked to me instead of [[House Stark|Stark]]?{{Ref|ADWD|67}}|thoughts of [[Barristan Selmy]]}}
  
 
==Family==
 
==Family==
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==References and Notes==
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==References==
{{references|2}}
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{{References|2}}
  
 
<!-- Categories -->
 
<!-- Categories -->
 
[[Category:House Dayne]]
 
[[Category:House Dayne]]
[[Category:Noblewomen|Dayne, Ashara]]
 
 
[[Category:Characters from Dorne|Dayne, Ashara]]
 
[[Category:Characters from Dorne|Dayne, Ashara]]
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[[Category:Characters with purple eyes|Dayne, Ashara]]
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[[Category:Deaths by suicide|Dayne, Ashara]]
 
[[Category:House Martell retainers|Dayne, Ashara]]
 
[[Category:House Martell retainers|Dayne, Ashara]]
 
[[Category:Members of Aerys II Targaryen's court|Dayne, Ashara]]
 
[[Category:Members of Aerys II Targaryen's court|Dayne, Ashara]]
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[[Category:Noblewomen|Dayne, Ashara]]
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<!-- language interwikis -->
 
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[[es:Ashara Dayne]]
 
[[es:Ashara Dayne]]

Revision as of 15:36, 27 April 2022

House Dayne.svg
Ashara Dayne
House Dayne.svg
Elena-maria-vacas-ashara-dayne.jpg
Ashara Dayne, by Elena María Vacas.

Alias The maid with laughing purple eyes[1][2]
Allegiance House Dayne
Culture Dornishmen
Born 260269 AC[3]
Dorne[4]
Died 283 AC
Starfall
Lover Lord Eddard Stark (rumored)
Issue Jon Snow (rumored)
Books

Ashara Dayne was a noblewoman of House Dayne and a sister of Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning. She committed suicide shortly after the end of Robert's Rebellion.

Appearance

See also: Images of Ashara Dayne

Ashara was a young, beautiful, tall and fair maiden, with haunting violet eyes.[5][6] Her long dark hair tumbled around her shoulders.[6] According to Ser Barristan Selmy, Daenerys Targaryen's eyes resemble Ashara's eyes.[6]

History

Ashara was a lady-in-waiting to Princess Elia Martell, the wife of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. She had not been long at court by the false spring of 281 AC.[6] She was present at the tourney at Harrenhal that year, where she danced with a knight of the Kingsguard, Prince Oberyn Martell, and Lord Jon Connington. After Brandon Stark approached her on behalf of his younger brother Eddard, Ashara danced with Eddard as well.[1] According to Allyria Dayne, Ashara's younger sister, Ashara and Eddard Stark fell in love at Harrenhal.[7] Ser Barristan Selmy of the Kingsguard was also in love with Ashara, although he never told her so. Barristan recalls that, had he won the tourney, he would have named Ashara his queen of love and beauty.[6] According to Barristan, Ashara was "dishonored" by a man at Harrenhal.[6] In addition, Barristan states that Ashara "looked" at "Stark" following the final tilts at the tourney, although he does not identify the Stark in question.[6]

Ashara's brother Arthur died the war, fighting during the combat at the tower of joy. Eddard traveled to Starfall to return Arthur's greatsword Dawn to House Dayne.[5] Some time after his visit, Ashara jumped from the top of the Palestone Sword, one of the towers of Starfall, into the sea.[7] Several characters have cited possible reasons for Ashara's decision to commit suicide: a broken heart,[7] because of her stillborn daughter,[6] because of a stolen child,[8] for the "man who had dishonored her at Harrenhal",[6] or due to grief over Arthur's death.[7] Her body was never found.[9]

At Winterfell, Eddard Stark's soldiers spread the tale that Ashara was the mother of Eddard's bastard son Jon Snow. When Eddard's wife, Catelyn Tully, heard these stories from her maids, she confronted Eddard, who refused to confirm or deny anything regarding Jon's mother, and subsequently silenced all talk of Ashara at Winterfell. Her name was never mentioned at the castle again.[5]

Recent Events

A Game of Thrones

Catelyn Stark recalls confronting her husband Eddard Stark years before about the whispers she had heard about Ashara being Jon Snow's mother.[5]

A Storm of Swords

When Meera Reed tells Bran Stark the story of the Knight of the Laughing Tree and the tourney at Harrenhal in 281 AC, and refers to Ashara as "a maid with laughing purple eyes".[1]

Edric Dayne tells Arya Stark about Ashara and Eddard.[7]

A Dance with Dragons

Ser Barristan Selmy recalls the tourney at Harrenhal, and regrets losing the final tilt to Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, as this prevented him from crowning Ashara as the queen of love and beauty.[6]

Quotes

Ashara Dayne, by Jena Velour.

How dare you play the noble lord with me! What do you take me for? You've a bastard of your own, I've seen him. Who was the mother, I wonder? Some Dornish peasant you raped while her holdfast burned? A whore? Or was it the grieving sister, the Lady Ashara? She threw herself into the sea, I'm told. Why was that? For the brother you slew, or the child you stole?[8]

If Jon had been born of Ashara Dayne of Starfall, as some whispered, the lady was long dead; if not, Catelyn had no clue who or where his mother might be.[10]

—thoughts of Catelyn Stark

The crannogman saw a maid with laughing purple eyes dance with a white sword, a red snake, and the lord of griffins, and lastly with the quiet wolf... but only after the wild wolf spoke to her on behalf of a brother too shy to leave his bench.[1]

Ashara Dayne, by Bella Bergolts.

Lady Ashara Dayne. It's an old tale, that one. I heard it once at Winterfell, when I was no older than you are now. I doubt there's any truth to it. But if there is, what of it? When Ned met this Dornish lady, his brother Brandon was still alive, and it was him betrothed to Lady Catelyn, so there's no stain on your father's honor. There's nought like a tourney to make the blood run hot, so maybe some words were whispered in a tent of a night, who can say? Words or kisses, maybe more, but where's the harm in that? Spring had come, or so they thought, and neither one of them was pledged.[7]

His choice would have been a young maiden not long at court, one of Elia's companions ... though compared to Ashara Dayne, the Dornish princess was a kitchen drab.[6]

—thoughts of Barristan Selmy

She died never knowing that Ser Barristan had loved her. How could she? He was a knight of the Kingsguard, sworn to celibacy. No good could have come from telling her his feelings. No good came from silence either. If I had unhorsed Rhaegar and crowned Ashara queen of love and beauty, might she have looked to me instead of Stark?[6]

—thoughts of Barristan Selmy

Family

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Lord Dayne
 
Unknown
wife
 
Arthur
 
Ashara
 
Allyria
 
 
Gerold
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Edric
 


References