Jon Snow
Jon Snow / Aragorn Telcontar (a.k.a. Strider, The White Wolf, Thorongil, Estel, Elessar, Peredhel)
The bastard son of King Eddard Stark and Lady Arwen Evenstar of Rivendell. Now a Ranger of the North.
Jon was born a mortal of the Dúnedain race as both his parents were mortals, but his mother Arwen was born an elf and chose a mortal life before Jon was conceived thus Jon is regarded as a Peredhil, a half-elven even though he does not look like an elf.
Jon's mother died giving birth to him and so Jon was raised at Kaer Invaerne alongside his true-born brother Prince Robb and his foster brother Theon with the three becoming best friends. Jon also attained several more half siblings, Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon, all of which adored Jon, much to the displesure of Queen Catelyn who despised the boy.
It was Catelyn's bitterness that always made Jon feel unwelcome and different in his own home, everyone else regarded his as a prince of Arnor in all but name, not caring for weather or not he was a bastard, but the cold stonehearted eyes of Catelyn made Jon feel he did not belong.
In the common tongue, Jon's surname is Snow, the names attributed to bastards in the north, in the days before the Andals, bastardry was a foreign concept to the free peoples of westeros but when the Andals settled and a peace treaty was signed between Arnor and the south and arrangment was made that various laws would be made compatible between the various kingdoms to settle disputes of law between them, part of this encluded marriage laws in the event that two different kingdoms wished to consolidate marriage alliances, so laws of legitimacy and bastardry were introduced in the north, making Jon a snow instead of a Stark, but in the elven tongue, he remains of the elven surname Telcontar like his family.
Throughout his youth, Jon and his sibilings would visit Rivendell where Jon spent time with his mother's family, being called Estel by his grandfather and his uncles, Estel being a nickname meaning hope, as Jon was seen as the hope that his mother's legacy would live on in him.
At the age of eight, Jon and Robb went to the Woodland Realm of King Thranduil and were taken deep into the wolfswood by the King's son Legolas. In the wolfswood, the two brothers found their direwolf companions, Robb named his Greywind while Jon who's wolf was a white haired albino was named Ghost.
Like his father before him, Jon was very fond of the grey wizard Gandalf who was in turn quite fond of Jon. The young boy even regarded Gandalf as the greatest wizard, once even saying so to the face of Saruman the White, much to the court's amusement, except for Queen Catelyn who took it as an opertunity to scold Jon for not knowing his place.
It was because of Queen Catelyn's continuously harsh treatment that when he was twelve, Jon asked his father to allow him to travel north to become a Ranger, like his uncle Benjen. King Eddard was hesitant at first, but eventually agreed and allowed his son to travel north to Kaer Morhen, taking the assumed name Thorongil to hide his identity as he did not want special treatment because of his linage and thought Estel would sound silly as the name of a ranger.
At Kaer Morhen, Jon met his instructor who would teach him to be a ranger, the old bear, Lord Commander Joer Mormont, who ordered all at the fortress to call him by his elven name, Vesemir.
The training Jon was subjected to were a series rigorous, tough, regimented trials meant to harden Jon. He learned to fight, hunt, track, live in the wilds, survive in the most brutal conditions and be unseen by the sharpest eyes. He also studied all the creatures, beasts and monsters that rangers prided themselves on hunting, Orcs being their key adversary.
Every summer, Benjen took Jon home to Kaer Invaerne where he continued his training amongst his family before returning to Kaer Morhen to spend the rest of the year in the north. Among his fellow Rangers, Jon made many friends, Pyp, Grenn and Edd among them. Eventually, Jon felt comfortable revealing his true identity as the bastard of King Eddard to his brother rangers and even began bringing Ghost with him to Kaer Morhen. When Vesemir discovered Jon was the son of the King, he nicknamed Jon as Strider, a reference to Jon's family's elven surname Telcontar, which translates to Strider.
When Jon was only sixteen, he completed his Ranger training and was free to begin traveling the lands of Arnor, scouring the wilds as a monster hunter and protector of the people of the north, often visiting Rivendell and Kaer Invaerne as well as returning to Kaer Morhen now and again.
While most of the nobles and high-borns knew Jon from Kaer Invaerne to be the King's bastard but as far as most of the people of Arnor were conserned, Jon was just a simple ranger with a wolf companion named Strider. Over the next seven years Jon would amass a reputation as a ranger, earning the moniker the white wolf due to his white direwolf companion.
Jon has travelled with many companions over the years, sometimes travelling with his uncle who is captain of fifteen rangers that scour the north for orc invaders, oher times he will travel alongside his uncles Elledan and Elrohir, Jon might also travel alongside the likes of Gandalf the Grey and quiet often Jon travels with his two unlikely companions and close friends, Legolas of the Woodland Realm and Gimli of Erebor.
Physical Description
Facial Features
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Before Jon was born, Prince Eddard and Lady Arwen fell in love when Eddard was visiting Rivendell. When Eddard first set eyes upon her he felt he had strayed into a dream. It was said by many that Arwen's maternal grandmother, Lady Galadriel was the most beautiful of all living beings in the world, but in the eyes of Eddard, the Lady of Lorien pailed in comparison to Arwen, which became one of the reasons Galadriel was so supportive of Eddard's love for Arwen when so many others were not.
Lord Elrond warned his beloved daugther that Eddard was a mortal man and while he may have been of the blood of Númenor giving him long life, eventually weather by the sword or the slow decay of time, he would die.
Arwen heeded her father's warnings of Eddard's mortality and went to her grandmother, for Galadriel was a powerful sorceress and asked if she could make Arwen mortal so that she could live, age and die with her beloved. Galadriel confirmed this and warned her grand daughter that there would be no way back if she made herself mortal, but Arwen accepted this.
When she returned to Rivendell to find Eddard waiting for her before he headed back south to Redania, Arwen told Eddard of her intent, but he begged her not to, not wishing to subject her to age and death that he was vulnerable. Eddard continued to protest but Arwen told him that she'd bind herself to him and forsake the immortal life of her people.
While Eddard still protested Arwen declared outright "I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone".
Eddard finally relented to his love, telling her that when he returned from Redania, he would ride home to Kaer Invaerne and ask his father King Rickard for his blessing to wed Arwen and then she could make herself mortal.
What Arwen did not reveal was that she had already chosen a mortal life and that last night they spent together, they concieved their son.
While Arwen stayed at Rivendell to carry her child, word reached them of the kidnapping of Princess Lyanna, the deaths of King Rickard and Prince Brandon, the army of orcs to the north and Eddard's marriage alliance to Princess Catelyn of Tameria.
When Arwen finally gave birth to her son, she was heartbroken at all that had transpired, having loved Princess Lyanna like her own sister and while she understood that Eddard married Catelyn out of duty, she respected that they could not be together for it was not in Eddard's nature to put his own wants and desries before his duties and resigned herself to the truth that Eddard would never be hers,
Dealing with the heartbreak and depression of loosing Eddard and Lyanna whom she had loved, Arwen became sickly after giving birth, her mortal body deteriorating slowly. Arwen knew she was dying and accepted it but did not regret her choice to love Eddard and become mortal nor siring her beautiful child, whom she took the liberty of giving his elven name to, Aragorn.
Arwen passed away laying in bed holding Aragorn in her arms, Galadriel and Celeborn arriving a week too late to see her and Eddard arriving two weeks after that, not knowing of Aragorn's existance or Arwen's death beforehand.
Eddard stayed at Rivendell for the funeral, the night being filled with an elven song of lament of heartbreaking beauty that moved all in Rivendell to tears. Eddard spent hours during his time in Rivendell, looking into the eyes of his newborn son, trying not to fall apart as he mourned his poor child's mother. Eddard, Lord Elrond his two sons Elledan and Elrohir, Galadriel and Celeborn mourned Arwen together and took solice in one another's company.
Eddard swore to keep Arwen's memory alive in Aragorn, giving him the name Jon as his given name.
As Eddard Stark's bastard son, Jon could not take on the name Stark unless Eddard offically legitimised him, something he did not wish to persume to do without consulting his new Queen.
The day Eddard and his men set out to return to Kaer Invaerne, Galadriel gifted Eddard with the Evenstar, a silver necklace with a white elf stone that belonged to Arwen, Galadriel begged Eddard keep it close to his heart like his memory of Arwen and when Jon was ready pass it on to him. Eddard agreed, the two embraced and Eddard left Rivendell.
Education
Through hard work and sacrifice, Jon has gained a varitey of skills and talents which have guided him through his life. He was raised in the Fortess of Kaer Invaerne where he was tutored to read and write in the seven major languages of Arnor by the court Druid Mousesack, he was taught to ride, hunt and fight by the fortress Master-at-Arms, Rodrik Cassel and was instilled with virtues and principles by his honorable father, Eddard Stark.
As a young man, Jon was taught many methods of elven healing by his grandfather, Lord Elrond, when Jon visited Rivendell. Jon also learned new methods of hunting and archery from his uncles Elladan and Elrohir.
When Jon was taken to Kaer Morhen in the far north of the Blue Mountains and learned the ways of the rangers from the Old Bear Jeor Mormont, he was subjected to rigourous trials. He was taught to surivive the coldest nights, to persevere in the face of starvation, to track for days through the subtlest tracks and clues. He was taught to wield a sword like an extension of his arm, his movements were refined to be fluid and agile and unmatched to the stardard sworsman.
Social
Religious Views
Like all the people of Arnor, Jon Snow is a man of the Valar and worships under them and the supreme deity of Eru Iluvitar. Jon knows that praying for problems to go away will not solve them and relys on his own actions to make change and instead prays for the wisdom and guidance to make the right choices and for those whom he cares about to be watched over.
Social Aptitude
Jon is regarded as solemn and guarded and sullen by most, said to be often grim and sad, with unexpected moments of levity. It is only in the company of those he regards closest like his friends and family that he shows his warmth and openess.
Jon is humble, caring, dutiful, respectful, honest, sympathetic and dedicated to the cause of the rangers, something he sees as a cause greater than himself.
Despite the extensive training, study and worldy experiences Jon has been exposed to since he was a child and the grand amount of achivements he has made despite his youth, he is aware but not prideful of the abilites he has hoaned. He never presumes his superiorty in any situation but neither does he doubt his capabilites and will do what he can to help if he sees an oppertunity but does not see himself as one who can solve every problem by himself. He is honourable but never prideful and pays no mind when he is slighted with cold words, but will respond with action when presured to, but tries to use reason initially.
In the presence of nobles, royals or well repsected people, Jon will always defult to his modesty and humility and asume himself to be inconsequential and only speak out if called upon or if something is needed to be said, not letting status trump relevance.
Relationships
History
King Eddard has always loved his son Jon, without question, condition and has loved him indistinguishably from any of his other children. When Eddard looks into his son's eyes he sees all the love he had for his beloved Arwen and takes pride in watching his son grow and evolve alongside his sibilings.
Like many in Arnor, Eddard sees Jon's bastard status as nothing more than an Andal formality that must be endured and feels no shame to have fathered his son, only shame to have failed his beloved Arwen when he abandoned her to wed Catelyn, which Eddard feels to be the reason Arwen fell ill and died.
While Eddard loves Jon, he cannot always show it, or rather must watch how he shows it in the presense of his wife Queen Catelyn who Eddard knows has always felt insulted by Jon's existance as the child of another woman. Eddard has always been forced to show a sense of distance, composure and formality towards Jon whenever Queen Catelyn is near with Jon reflecting such characteristics back at his father to keep up apperances. Despite the show of distance, Ned loves Jon with all his heart. He consideres him like a twin to Robb and gives Jon the love he deserves when he can.
While Eddard must appear distant from Jon in the presense of Queen Catelyn he adores and is grateful about how unapolegetically and fearlessly his other children love Jon, refusing call Jon anything other than their brother.
When Jon turned twelve, his father gifted him his mother's necklace, the Evenstar, passed down from Lady Galadriel to her daughter Celebrían then passed to Arwen and left to Eddard after her passing, then it became Jon's as a constant reminder and token of his mother's love.
History
Jon and Robb have been close all their lives and were nigh inseprable from childhood. It is well known that twins usally share an intense bond with one another and while Jon and Robb have different mothers, they were born only months apart and shared everything together as children.
There were times when Theon was jelous of how close Jon was with Robb. As a child, Jon always strived to be more like Robb as he always saw Robb as being better at fighting, riding, hunting, earning their father's praise and getting girls to like him than Jon was. Jon wondered why he never felt jelous or resentful towards Robb for being so much better than him, but Jon soon realised that he couldn't hate Robb because he loved him so much, everytime Robb succeeded, Jon couldn't feel jelously because he was too busy feeling proud.
There is nothing that Jon and Robb don't trust each other with and in all their years, Robb has never called Jon his bastard brother or even half-brother unless prompted to make the distinction.
