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 The Elder Brother and Brienne of Tarth, by Pojypojy © | ||||
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| Titles | ||||
| Allegiances |
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| Culture | Rivermen | |||
| Born | 255 AC or 256 AC[1] (age 44)[2] | |||
| Book | A Feast for Crows (appears) | |||
| Played by | Ian McShane | |||
| TV series | Game of Thrones: Season 6 | |||
The Elder Brother is the leader of a septry on the Quiet Isle. He is reputed to have powers as a healer.[2] This elder brother's given name is unknown.
In the television adaptation Game of Thrones, the Elder Brother is merged with Meribald as Ray, and portrayed by Ian McShane.
Appearance and Character
The Elder Brother is a tall man, with a large, square head, shrewd eyes, a veiny red nose, and a heavy jaw. He shaves his head into a tonsure, but his scalp is stubbly, as is his jawline. He looks more like a knight than a holy man, and moves with the strength of a man in his prime.[2]
He used to be a drunkard, and is ashamed of his past behavior. He believes he began a second life after he "died" in the Battle of the Trident.[2]
History
The Elder Brother was born the third son of a family of knights, and his father, grandfather, and brothers were all knights. He was trained to fight from the day he was old enough to hold a wooden sword. He saw many battles, and did well in them, without disgrace. However, he had some women by rape, which he now considers shameful. When he was not fighting, he was drunk. He wished to marry a younger daughter of a petty lord, but as a third son, he had nothing to offer her but the shield, sword, and horse of his knighthood.
He fought for House Targaryen at the Battle of the Trident, serving a lord who served a lord who chose to support King Aerys II Targaryen rather than Robert Baratheon. He was shot in the thigh and the foot, and his horse was killed, but he still fought, while desperate to find another horse, as he could not afford a new one and could not be a knight without a horse. A blow from behind knocked him unconscious, and he fell into the Trident. Others thought him dead, so they stripped his armor and possessions and pushed his body into deeper waters. He floated downstream where he woke up naked on the Quiet Isle. He spent the next ten years as a penitent under a vow of silence.[2]
At some point he became the Elder Brother of the Quiet Isle, and took residence in the cave called the Hermit's Hole. He gained a reputation as a great healer.[2]
Recent Events
A Feast for Crows
Brienne of Tarth, Ser Hyle Hunt, Podrick Payne, and Septon Meribald come to the Quiet Isle and meet with the Elder Brother. When Brienne tells the Elder Brother that she is seeking Sandor Clegane, he tells them of the raid on Saltpans, and invites them to pray for the people of Saltpans and to stay for dinner at the septry. After supper, the Elder Brother has his proctor, Narbert, guide Brienne's male companions to their pallets in the cloisters, but the Elder Brother walks with Brienne to the cottages on the Isle where she will sleep.[2]
At the cottage, the Elder Brother asks Brienne asks why she is looking for Sandor Clegane at Saltpans. She explains that she is looking for "a highborn maid of three-and-ten, with a fair face and auburn hair," a description that the Elder Brother immediately recognizes as Sansa Stark. He informs Brienne that what she had heard from Timeon was incorrect, that it was actually Arya Stark whom Sandor had held captive. The Elder Brother also tells Brienne that the man she seeks is dead. He says that he had found Sandor dying by the Trident, and attempted to heal his wounds, but the Hound died in his arms. The Elder Brother says that he buried Sandor and left his Hound helm to mark his grave, which he feels was a great error as another took it to wear to raid Saltpans, and that Sandor is innocent of that crime.[2]
The Elder Brother then tells Brienne of his own life, and how it changed after he "died" in the Battle of the Trident. He asks Brienne to give up her quest to find Sansa and return home, saying that her father would rather have a living daughter than her broken shield. To this, Brienne tearfully confesses her family's sad history and her life since she left Tarth, and that she must find Sansa or die trying.[2]
After Brienne and her companions leave the Quiet Isle, Brienne thinks that the Elder Brother had at least convinced her not to look for Sansa along the Trident. She wonders if she should return Oathkeeper to Jaime Lannister and return home as the Elder Brother had urged.[3]
Quotes
He looks more like a man made to break bones than to heal one, thought the Maid of Tarth, as the Elder Brother strode across the room to embrace Septon Meribald and pat Dog.[2]
—thoughts of Brienne of Tarth
The man who raped and killed at Saltpans was not Sandor Clegane, though he may be as dangerous. The riverlands are full of such scavengers. I will not call them wolves. Wolves are nobler than that... and so are dogs, I think.[2]
—the Elder Brother, to Brienne of Tarth
Brienne: You sound as if you pity him.
Elder Brother: I did. You would have pitied him as well, if you had seen him at the end. I came upon him by the Trident, drawn by his cries of pain. He begged me for the gift of mercy, but I am sworn not to kill again.[2]—Brienne of Tarth and the Elder Brother
Brienne: It is true, then. Sandor Clegane is dead.
Elder Brother: He is at rest.[2]—Brienne of Tarth and the Elder Brother
All in all, I was a sad man. When I was not fighting, I was drunk. My life was writ in red, in blood and wine.[2]
—the Elder Brother, to Brienne of Tarth
The battle was a bloody thing. The singers would have us believe it was all Rhaegar and Robert struggling in the stream for a woman both of them claimed to love, but I assure you, other men were fighting too, and I was one.[2]
—the Elder Brother, to Brienne of Tarth
We are all born naked, so I suppose it was only fitting that I come into my second life the same way.[2]
—the Elder Brother, to Brienne of Tarth
—the Elder Brother, to Brienne of Tarth
External links
- Ray on the Wiki of Westeros
References
- ↑ See the Elder Brother (Quiet Isle) calculation.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 31, Brienne VI.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 37, Brienne VII.