Selara Dalt was born in 147 AC, the second child of Ser Dinias Dalt, the Knight of Lemonwood, and Lady Adeline Blackmont. She had an elder brother, Ser Blaise, and is the elder sister of Digory and Alesia. In 166 AC, as a result of her brother’s death in a skirmish with Ser Willum Gargalen, she became the heir to Lemonwood.
Smooth olive skin clearly suggests that this Dornishwoman is one of the salty type. A small, heart-shaped face is highlighted by a thin, aquiline nose, high cheekbones, and a sharp chin. Eyes the colour of honey, topped with thin black eyebrows, and full lips that can easily turn into a smile perfectly convey her personality; confident and endearing. And her face is flawlessly framed by her jet black hair—often worn in a long braid, or which flows freely down her back, beneath the waist. In terms of stature, she is a little below average, though this makes her movement no less graceful. Naturally for one of the salty types, her frame is lithe and athletic; she has a woman’s curves, and is not far off from what could be called buxom. For a woman of her size and age, her mass is of the right value—perhaps a few inches under, but by no means underweight.
As befits one who lives beneath the sweltering sun of Dorne, Selara dresses lightly. Her gown is of a flowing, light yellow silk, embroidered with small amounts of Myrish lace. A rather high neckline shows little more than the lower area beneath her neck, stopping just below her shoulders. The sleeves take a darker purple tone, similarly embroidered, with patterned lemons in style of the Dalt emblem—oversleeves of a darker purple also drape her arms, falling down to knee-length. Whilst not too extravagant, her dress can be called elegant. And very graceful, too, as it gently flows with movement, or in the wind. Occasionally, as she walks, her footwear is revealed—loose-fitting sandals, made of a fine dark brown leather, impractical at times but comfortable on her rather small feet. Jewellery is not of too high concern, it would seem. About her neck is a small necklace of a bronzed hue, from which hangs a pendant in the shape of a lemon, of the same quality.
It can be said that Selara has not much changed from her teenage years—well, aside from the obvious fact that she has matured over the past years. By any means, she has not least the sweet and polite, well-mannered, and sociable nature (she is quite the bookish sort, which may makes others think she is shy, but the truth is quite the opposite) she displays in public. Indeed, such behaviour arouses a sense of endearment to others, which draws many towards her, and brings out the best in some people. Her father has quite rightly quoted her as the “Sweetest lemon of the lot.” Oft times Selara is prone to chattering, brought about by her over-ambitiousness or excitement, but she is quick to correct her faults, which is accepted by most. Mood changes can come over her frequently enough—one moment she may be of her usual tone, the next of one more serious—but not so much as to be called capricious. Having a proper sense of right and wrong, Selara is willing to part with information if it may be for the better and is honest enough to the point that it would be a sin to not tell the truth. And whilst she would not dream of conjuring up some wicked rumour, she does at times like to play some part in investigating them, as to her it is only the right thing to do. Contributing to this is that, thanks to much time spent studying, Selara has a very sharp, intelligent mind, and it is not too difficult for her to find the answer in certain situations—as well as this, she can engage in conversations of those who are quite the bit her senior, and it does not take long to find a deeper meaning to things, if there is any.
If there is anything to lament about herself, it is that Selara can quite rightly be called gullible—the prospect of leading her to believe things that are untrue is one sought out easily enough. As already mentioned, her ambitions dominate her mind more often than not, meaning that she will perchance wander off topic whilst conversing. Anger is a slow process for Selara; it is only when she feels she or her family have been slighted in a way that she unleashes it, which is rarely.
As is the case of the majority of the Dornish, she harbours, to an extent, many ill feelings towards the northern Westerosi. Inspired by her brother, her patriotism knows few bounds, and she is, whilst not overproud, joyous of her Rhoynar heritage. To speak of those who brought war to her homeland is perhaps one of the few times when this lemon turns from sweet to sour. She has good reason for this; like many, she lost a lot of kin in Daeron’s Conquest, most notably her uncle, Ser Garyn Uller, the famed Hell-Knight. On the other hand, her feelings towards those of the embassy is mayhaps entirely dissimilar. Even if they are not of Rhoynar blood, those few have still come to Sunspear as a sign of peace and respect, and Selara feels that this is what they deserve. In fact, she would be more than happy to show her positive side around them. Only in the worst case scenarios, an example of this being mention of the war, is it a possibility that she may be provoked to anger.
Selara was born on the 22nd day of the 8th month of 147 AC, to Ser Dinias Dalt, the Knight of Lemonwood, and his wife, Lady Adeline Blackmont. At the time of her birth, she had a single elder brother, Blaise, who would one day rule in his own right as the Knight of Lemonwood. The first major event of her childhood was that, at a young age, she developed an interest in the more scholarly aspect of her studies, something that could be called unusual for a young noblewoman. She did not mind this much, however, and spent much of her time engaged in such activities. This is not to say that she did not enjoy other womanly activities. Furthermore, she got on well with her siblings, especially her brother Blaise. Another she was close to was her uncle, Galwell, perhaps even closer than her own father. In time, she would receive a younger brother, Digory, and a younger sister, Alesia.
As they go, hers was quite an eventful childhood. Growing up, she spent decent amounts of time at play with Blaise and her cousins of a similar age, running about the lemon groves as if in their own adventures. She found a second father in her uncle, Galwell, who always seemed to be there for her, a factor that would be of good use in later life. Her mother, on the other hand, seemed competent at gaining a good betrothal for her daughter. This did not work as she had expected, proved to her when she attempted to introduce her daughter to suitors during a tourney at Lemonwood—though Selara did attend, she was too shy to speak to such strangers, and at the end of the tourney she remained unbetrothed, or even without a promise of a betrothal.
Then in 157 AC, war came to Dorne, in the form of King Daeron’s Conquest. The prospect of this terrified Selara, and whilst her father, uncle, and brother went off to fight, she remained at Lemonwood with her mother and great-uncle Ser Falion, the castellan. For the first half of the year, the war had little effect on her, and no ill news of her family came to them. In spite of this, Selara spent some time praying that her luck would continue. It did, as Ser Dinias returned to Lemonwood early in the seventh month, in time for the attack on its harbour. As the war had never been so close to Selara, she was perhaps most terrified at this point.
In the meantime, however, she took a new comfort in reading and studying, and begun to spend much more time embroiled in Lemonwood’s various books and scrolls. Her education, mostly in history, geology, and astronomy, was more than expected for someone of her age and congratulated by some. But this is not to say that she did not excel in the more anticipated areas for someone of her status, even if she was quite easily distracted by the lore of a new book or scroll containing useful information just waiting to be read. Soon enough, she had discovered fair amounts of knowledge—that amount that could enable her to speak correctly enough with those quite a bit her elder. Late in 161 AC, the hostages were returned to their families, and so Selara’s fears were quelled.
And yet Selara felt that her life was still quite a bore—not because she had run out of books or scrolls to read, but because she had not had many opportunities exposed to herself. Luckily, her desires were satiated when she was asked to become a lady-in-waiting to Lady Joleta, which she graciously accepted. And so it was not long before Selara returned once more to Sunspear, quickly raising her own influence thanks to that of her Lady’s. Eventually, she did leave her service after some time, but this would set the wheels in motion for Selara’s rise in the court. And yet not all would go well for her in the next few years—for in 166 AC, her elder brother, Ser Blaise, was slain in a skirmish by Ser Willum ‘Wild Will’ Gargalen. This greatly saddened Selara, and she confined herself to her chambers for some time only to finally re-emerge with the reassurance of her uncle Galwell that the Dalts would have their revenge. Thrust into a role of leadership and responsibility, she became somewhat more serious, and focused quite a bit more on this, but it would not get in the way of her other ambitions.
22nd day, 8th month, 147 AC - Selara is born at Lemonwood, to Ser Dinias Dalt, the Knight of Lemonwood, and his wife, Lady Adeline of House Blackmont. At the time of her birth, she has one elder sibling; Blaise, a brother.
21st day, 12th month, 150 AC - Birth of her younger brother, Digory.
20th day, 10th month, 154 AC - Birth of her younger sister, Alesia.
5th day, 11th month, 156 AC - During a tourney hosted by Ser Dinias, her mother attempts to introduce Selara to possible suitors—the attempt is in vain, however, as whilst Selara does attend, she is too shy to appear in front of any of the suitors.
12th day, 4th month, 157 AC - At the outbreak of war, Ser Dinias leads a force from Lemonwood, including her uncle, Ser Galwell, and brother Blaise, a squire.
1st day, 7th month, 157 AC - Ser Dinias returns to Lemonwood, a week before the coming attack.
8th day, 7th month, 157 AC - At dawn, Lord Arryn’s fleet approaches Lemonwood with the intent of destroying its harbour. The battle only lasts an hour, but Selara does not come any closer to the war than this and for her it is the most terrifying time of any.
22nd day, 1st month, 158 AC - Ravens arrive at Lemonwood to give the news that Ser Galwell has been taken hostage, as well as Blaise, though the latter is a royal hostage to the King.
14th day, 12th month, 161 AC - Ser Galwell and Blaise return to Lemonwood, following their release by King Baelor.
29th day, 8th month, 162 AC - After some negotiations, it is decided that Selara will become lady-in-waiting to her cousin, Lady Joleta Gargalen. She travels to Sunspear to take up this position.
29th day, 1st month, 166 AC - Death of her brother, Ser Blaise, at the hands of Ser Willum ‘Wild Will’ Gargalen, during a skirmish. Selara becomes the heir to Lemonwood.
12th day, 7th month, 166 AC - At the outbreak of the conflict between the Dalts and Gargalens, Selara has to leave Lady Joleta’s service due to the fact that it may be looked down upon in court.
8th day, 1st month, 169 AC - Selara attended the ‘Boulevard of Delights’, an event celebrating her cousin Laurent’s thirty-third name day. Somewhat shocked by the main ‘attractions’ that took place, she instead contented herself by finding a place of silence to, as could be expected, be left to her books. She did, however, take part in some small games of chance.
10th day, 1st month, 169 AC - To celebrate the betrothal of Ser Sebaston Vaith and Rayne Blackmont, Selara took part in a hunt in the grassier area of Dorne. Due to the fact that she had little experience in hunting, she was entirely unsuccessful in hitting anything. However, she did attend the following feast when the party arrived back in Sunspear.
24th day, 4th month, 169 AC - Selara attended the wedding of her cousin, Lady Rayne Blackmont, to Ser Sebaston Vaith. There, she talked with her good friend Josella Mallister—however, she did not forget to wish the wedded couple well on the day (although, she did not take part in the bedding).
25th day, 4th month, 169 AC - Selara was present at the wedding tourney of Rayne Blackmont and Sebaston Vaith. It seemed to her that her brother Digory might carry the day, and most possibly crown her as the queen of love and beauty, but instead it was a bastard, and scandal soon followed. The most that she could do was make some small, petty attempt to help her Mallister friend.
18th day, 6th month, 169 AC - It is announced that Selara is betrothed to Ser Abelard Wyl, the youngest son of Lord Guerin Wyl.
4th day, 7th month, 169 AC - Selara attended the wedding of Lord Aryard Manwoody and Cyrissa Yronwood. Her gifts to the couple were, along with her brother, a pair of hunting bows made from Lemonwood’s finest timber. During the event, she also reunited with her former lady, Joleta Gargalen.
5th day, 7th month, 169 ACSelara attended the wedding tourney of Lord Aryard Manwoody and Cyrissa Yronwood.
Member of House Dalt
Heir to Lemonwood
Niece of Ser Galwell Dalt, Lord Bailiff of Sunspear.
Former lady-in-waiting to Lady Joleta Gargalen, heir to Salt Shore and Justiciar at Sunspear.
Betrothed to Ser Abelard Wyl.
Ser Dinias Dalt, the Knight of Lemonwood - Selara has had much affection from her father, which she has returned to him. Although he is of a different gender, she still looks up to him as the head of the house—which she will be, one day.
Lady Adeline Blackmont, the Lady of Lemonwood - Lady Dalt was not exactly pleased to discover her daughter’s new hobby, though it did not put her off the girl entirely. Selara knows this, too. Nonetheless, she is very affectionate to her mother, and has a lot of respect for her. Adeline is also a perfect example for Selara, as a noble lady.
{Ser Blaise Dalt}, former heir to Lemonwood - Blaise was her closest friend in her youth—even if she was not exactly his. Her elder brother looked out for her at court, and aided her in hard times. Now that he is dead, it is quite unbearable to think of those times.
Digory Dalt, squire to Ser Marius Dalt - As for both of her younger siblings, Selara cares very much for her brother Digory, and believes that he will make a great knight one day, as he is squiring for a distant cousin, Ser Marius Dalt.
Alesia Dalt - As for both of her younger siblings, Selara cares very much for her sister Alesia. She hopes that she will one day get a chance to marry to some Dornish lord or heir, as she does not have the burden of being heir to the house.
Sybelle Dalt, widow of Ser Garyn Uller - Selara has only met her aunt once or twice, and at that time she was no more than three years old. She has heard little of her from her father’s talk, or her uncle’s. However, she does know of the death of her husband and daughters, and so feels much sympathy for her.
Ser Galwell Dalt, Lord Bailiff of Sunspear - Selara is perhaps closer to her uncle than she is her father—in her youth, it was Galwell she would go to when she had hurt herself, or when she had been off on one of her ‘adventures’, to tell him all about it. He looks out for her at court, as does she, mostly to tell him of her many ideas. It is clear that there is a caring relationship between these two.
Joleta Gargalen, heir to Salt Shore and Justiciar at Sunspear - Lady Joleta took Selara on as her lady-in-waiting, and during this time the two became good friends. Unfortunately, following the outbreak of the Dalt-Gargalen feud, she had to leave her service so that they would not be looked down upon. Despite this, she is still friendly with her cousin, and would be willing to enter her service again if possible.
Ser Abelard Wyl - Selara’s betrothed, the young knight of the Boneway has treated her with much kindness and courtesy—the very reason, perhaps, that the two houses agree to negiotate a betrothal. For this, she is grateful, and is very favourably disposed towards Abelard, and shows much affection towards him.
Forthcoming.
Forthcoming.
Forthcoming.