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Summary of History

CW: Implied;Sexual assault, Physical/Emotional abuse toward women/children, Suicide

Ashgate was never a place for children to be raised. Hawken’s mother knew from the moment she had gotten pregnant that this child was never going to be happy. The city was decrepit- the population was full of men akin to ravenous pigs- willing to consume and destroy anything that so much as fell within their line of sight. While she had always wished for a daughter when she lived on the beautiful coast of Rosestrand, when the war happened and the city fell- she had prayed that the child she bore was a boy.

Hawken was named after his grandfather, Lord Hawke of house Björklund. The name was meant to be sentimental for his mother- but the only reason Sigmund allowed it was because he thought there was humor in revoking the name of a ‘traitor’ he had slain. To Sigmund it was simply a reminder of his victory.

Hawken’s upbringing was a lonely one. With so few women in a predominantly male dominated city, there weren’t many kids. Certainly no kids his father would allow him to play with at least. Many of the children who were born to the whores on the docks were left with the orphanage until they were old enough to work in the mines, or labor for their fair share of resources on the docks. Sigmund was a man of the people- the living embodiment of the type of men he attracted to his coast with the promise of a new life. He was hard working, salt of the earth, and unforgiving in his pursuit for success.

In his earliest years, Hawken knew a lukewarm love from his mother, Thyra. Thyra was a trophy of conquest, a prize seized by Sigmund from the burning ruin of Rosestrand. The child she bore for her conqueror was simply a consequence of being the only daughter of house Björklund. She resented the child that was forcibly placed within her- but when he was born, she only held pity for the life she knew lay ahead of him. She would be lucky if her son was only half of the cloth his father was cut from.

Cruel, abusive and domineering were among some of Sigmund’s ‘better’ traits. Hawken, as his son- and soon, competition- was subject to constant displays of domination. It wasn’t so bad when he was still a babe, able to be carried away in the arms of his mother, and held close to her bosom.

For a time, he was safe there. But as soon as he was old enough to act of his own accord, around the age of seven or eight- his mother no longer was willing to protect him. She was dealing with Sigmunds demands for another child and the resentment returned. Why couldn’t Hawken be enough? Hadn’t she sacrificed enough to give him a perfectly good son?

Hawken was struck with hands, belts, wooden angler priests. Whatever was within reach of his father could potentially be used as a tool to ensure he knew his place. These abuses, among others both verbal and sexual in nature, were often employed on his mother as well- in sight of her son. He had seen and heard horrors no child should ever witness between two humans.

As he grew into his pre-teen years, after countless attempts to intervene, a helplessness began to develop within Hawken. More often than not, his actions only led to worse treatment of his mother and himself, leading to the cycle of abuse perpetuating itself from his mother to her son. His attempts of ‘good’ had only harmed her more, and her mounting resentment led to her lashing out.

It wasn’t always bad between him and his mother. She loved him dearly, the good days were good- but the pain and abuse thrust upon her made the days that were bad excruciating for them both.

The bad days outweighed the good tenfold, but Hawken was willing to forgive his mother. She was hurt by the same hands that had hurt him too.

The news of her second pregnancy after several false alarms had Hawken excited for a chance to have some semblance of family. He was 12 at the time, and the day that his mother shared the news with him, she took him out to celebrate. Thyra took him to the docks, out to the only restaurant in town to have lunch, and to all their favorite places around the town. It was something to look forward to- amidst the dreary grey sky that rolled overhead.

‘Robin’ was the name they agreed on together. It would work for a boy, or a girl, if he ended up getting lucky with having a baby sister.

The bluffs just to the west of the city were Hawken’s favorite place to play- to escape the clawing, cloying grasp of his father- the memories that tainted their home. That bluff was their last stop for their celebrations- There was a large tree that sat right in the middle of one of the outcroppings, with a large flat of rolling grass that bloomed with early autumn foliage... It would be the first place he showed his new sibling when they were brought into the world.

Thyra sat near the bluff’s edge to feel the wind of the ocean blow past her- watching her little Hawk run circles around the tree, seeing him smile, and pluck acorns from between its roots. It was supposed to be a good day to celebrate-

But there’s no such thing as a happy end in Ashgate.

The confusion he felt in the moment when he turned back to see his mother gone from her spot still lingers in his memory. A mere echo to the sound of the sea crashing against the shoreline with a thunderous roar of power. The visage of his mother would forever be reduced to a smear of red against a backdrop of dark, churning, waters thrashing the bluff’s edge.

She leapt that day, disappearing into the dark ocean with the remnants of her son Hawken.

The event was runious on him. Any semblance of strength Hawken had harbored was washed out to sea in the crimson seafoam that afternoon- he couldn’t recall how long he stood there looking down at the shadow of rocks below.

Sigmund’s wrath had only amplified, and now with the only person standing between himself and his father gone, Hawken only knew his own personal hell.

For as violent and terrifying his father’s anger was for the immediate aftermath- Hawken was quick to note how fast his father moved on. After a few months, it was as though nothing happened. Sigmund only needed one heir after all- and at 13, he was basically an adult, right? Hawken was treated as such regardless of the ethical answer- His mother was gone for good, and his father wasn’t about to start coddling the boy himself. His childhood ended on that bluff.

Hawken, not long after his mother’s death was shown the ropes of how to be a ‘man’. Forcibly introduced to the bars and brothels on the docks to ‘put some hair on his chest’ and give him the coping tools of Ashgate men. Emotions were no longer a viable excuse for his ‘weakness’. The memories that proceeded from that point were stale, void of connection and feeling. It was easier to not feel- it hurt less- but at the cost of being devoid of personal purpose. He was there to one day take over the family seat- to want anything else would be to invite his father’s abuse.

Growing into adulthood, Hawken- not being the active head of his home- was put to work with the rest of the oyster farmers, fishmongers and miners to earn his own wages. Sigmund did not have the money to spare to buy things for his son. Granted, that didn’t stop Sigmund from gambling, boozing and paying for prostitutes when the mood struck him- he believed thoroughly that Hawken should have to work for every coin that graced his hand. Handouts don’t exist in Ashgate - not when there were things actively falling apart in the city. Every man there has scraped by with whatever they could get from the bottom of the barrel and Hawken has fully accepted that he will do the same.

His reputation among the citizens of Ashgate is more favorable than his father’s. Unlike Sigmund, who’s known for his overly opulent personal consumption, Hawken grew up working alongside many of the men who toil in the ocean day after day. Often the only one between him and his father attending visitation at city hall, Hawken personally sits and listens through the grievances of the citizens when issues need to be dealt with on a larger scale than simply fighting it out. While he may not be the most tactful, he is a great negotiator in a community where the ‘emotion’ is stripped out of business and public life. Decisions are made on a practical and logical basis and disagreements in the rulings are often solved with physical fights. Honor rules in Ashgate, and the men that can maintain their seat of power, often do so by their physical capabilities and the trust of their peers.

Now at the prime age of 23, Hawken is overdue to wed. Sigmund managed to secure a courtship agreement between his son and one of the daughters of Lord Martivin through some cleverly worded letters. The two of them travelled to Garrison’s Watch to attend the Ball of the Decade and to finalize the arrangement in the physical presence of their ruling Lord.