Jason Hightower is a knight of House Hightower and the current Master of Laws of the Kingdom of the Iron Throne.
History[]
Born in 336 AC to Lord Norman Hightower and Elinor Costayne, Jason Hightower was everything that House Hightower could have wanted in a firstborn son. From an early age, Jason was drawn to knights and the stories they were at the center of. Having the privilege of living in Oldtown gave him plenty of opportunity to access books and scrolls detailing their exploits and ensuring that as he drifted off to sleep each night, visions of Serwyn of the Mirror Shield and Symeon Star Eyes danced in his head. It was little wonder to those around him that as he grew older, he became an expert at Riding. To those around him, it seemed that he was most comfortable in a saddle than on his own two feet.
As he grew older, Jason's relationship with his father grew more and more strained. Norman was a weak man, prone to begging others for acceptance and waffling on important decisions. After one particularly vicious argument, Norman had heard enough and shipped him off to be warded at Horn Hill without a second thought.
At Horn Hill, Jason thrived and prospered as he never had under his father. Lord Randyll gave him the stern, demanding father figure that he so craved, and young Jason relished the chance to prove himself against exacting expectations. While never gifted with a weapon, it was soon apparent that Jason had a gift for command. Though he was knighted by Lord Randyll at 18 years of age, Jason had still not been given a chance to prove himself. But that was about to change.
When the Dornish rebellion broke out in 356, Ser Jason was an unproven knight that yearned for battle. When battle caused some of the best Reach commanders and knights, including Jason's own grandfather, the Master of Ships, to perish, Jason knew that he finally had a chance to prove himself. Lord Matthos Tyrell was once again trying to push through the Prince's Pass, and his outriders had been killed by Dornish ambushers. Volunteering for the position, Jason displayed a true gift for Leadership and found a way to sneak around the Dornish, surprising them from the rear and finally allowing Lord Tyrell to pursue the Dornish and finally end the rebellion. After the war, Jason received newfound respect and admiration, save for from his own house. Wounds dealt by family are the slowest to heal, and neither Norman nor Jason was willing to begin the healing process just yet.
In order to remove some of the anger and mistrust between father and son, his mother Elinor suggested he get married. A good woman would soften the hard edges of his personality, and possibly give him empathy for his own father. For a time, she was right. Myranda Roxton gave him two beautiful twin sons, and they were both dearly treasured by their mother and father, but as she gave birth to their daughter Margaery, she died. And with her, went much of the light in Jason's life. Duty and calculation replaced joy and empathy, and while he did a splendid job as the Heir of the High Tower, he was always a brooding storm.
When King Orys declared the Second War of Reclamation, Jason jumped at the chance to leave his father, and promptly pledged his service to His Grace as a part of his army. Orys gladly accepted, and once again Ser Jason found himself commanding the outriders for a massive army. After being led on a wild goose chase by Lord Frey, Jason demanded full control of all outriders, and after being given complete command, was able to successfully scout out Frey's position, proving his prowess as a Tactician and allowing King Orys to capture his hated rival.
Although not directly a part of the climactic battle, Jason's fate would be changed soon after by news of his father's stupidity. Jealous of Jason's success, and wanting his own slice of glory, Norman Hightower saw that Highgarden was undefended and attacked by Ironborn raiders. In a foolish blind charge, Norman took a serious head wound from the haft of an axe, and was carried off the field mumbling gibberish. When Jason arrived back at the High Tower after the war, he found a much different home than he had left it. Norman Hightower had taken severe injuries on the field and he was left permanently addled for his trouble. Yet, much to Jason's chagrin, Norman refused to die. Knowing that he was in no condition to run the house, but that they could not kill him, Jason and his mother made a pact: Jason would secretly run the affairs of House Hightower, and his mother Elinor would assist him when he was away. It has worked well, for the time being, but Ser Jason knows it cannot last. Soon there will come a reckoning. For the Reach, for House Hightower, and for him.