laera snow is the bastard daughter of jerrin mormont, the second son of the current lord. it is said that her mother, gillian, and jerrin were young lovers, having met after beating back a raiding party of ironborn off the coast of bear island. they were in love, but before obligation could take jerrin from gillian, they bore a daughter. it is said that jerrin attempted to make gillian a noblewoman, but she would have none of it. she herself was not a woman of riches, and had no desire to be; she was coarse like the waves in the sea, and wild like the wolves in the wolfswood. gillian would be no one's lady. the contention between them over their futures came to split them; gillian was fine with raising laera alone, but jerrin, being a man of honour, wanted his family on bear island. as her mother tells it, it was the last time the two of them spoke. it is also said that jerrin did marry, but never sired anymore children out of the love he held for his first loves.

gillian raised laera alone and true to her northern heritage. she was a daughter of the north, with sea salt in her blood, snow in her hair, and iron for bones. like her mother, she was raised in the traditions of the warriors of the point, a sea-spear. the name was given in honour of the old ways, when fisherman speared fish and whales on their meagre fishing vessels. like all people who called sea dragon point their home, they were expected to fight and defend it from raiders; laera fancied the sword and shield. when there was no fighting to be had, laera worked alongside her mother in a harbourside tavern. it was never kept a secret who laera's father was, at least among the two of them.

the event that catapulted laera to notoriety in her humble town was the defense of it from an ironborn attack. she, along with a group of other sea-spears assisted in defending the point. rallying fighters; leading waves of attacks; defending weak points; bringing citizens to safety. the battle was particularly bloody; both devastating and violent. by the time sizeable reinforcements from bear island and stony shore arrived, the ironborn had been wiped out. for their efforts, the sea-spears, including laera, were honoured in ceremony on bear island. their boon was receiving one item of their choosing, if it could be given. laera asked for a sword, and it was her estranged father, jerrin, who gave her his. laera returned to sea dragon point, and after convalescing, indulged her restless spirit and set out to explore the lands beyond the north.

laera is beholden to the smallfolk of westeros, finding no fealty to the noblemen who may at times cause their suffering. she will aid them where she can, often in exchange for money. for lack of a better word, she is essentially a mercenary. her morals are grey at best, and there is an inherent level of criminality to her. king's landing is sort of a homebase for her, where she picks up work that will lead her out of the city; from there, she will travel wherever she's able to find work.

house of the dragon: despite the close relationship the people of sea dragon point may have had with house mormont, this proximity to nobility is not one she seeks elsewhere. she is untrusting of nobles, and will rarely offer her services honestly unless in particularly dire straits. her upbringing has made her shrewd, inflexible, and cunning which has allowed her to survive as long as she has.

by default, she is team black, but if honest consideration is given to the needs of the smallfolk, and an effort is made to earn their favour ( and hers, frankly ) and maintain their safety, she will side with whomever.

team black — laera is in king's landing during the time the gullet is blockaded. work is scarce, and she's starving. when rhaenyra sends food into blackwater bay, it's the first instance where she makes note of something of benefit at the hands of a noble. later on, when the call is set out by rhaenyra during the events of the red sowing, laera goes to dragonstone — not with the intent to claim a dragon, but to meet the woman herself, out of curiosity.

she is horrified by what transpires on dragonstone. as she wasn't in the chamber at the time of the red sowing, her attempt to flee back to king's landing is halted by the queen's guard. it's the chance laera has to meet rhaenyra face to face, and despite being terrified of meeting a similar fate, their following conversation plants minor interest in her cause. she leaves, and some days later, returns to dragonstone to seek employment under rhaenyra, provided she keep to her word of bettering king's landing ( and to a lesser extent, the realm. again, for the smallfolk! ) under her rule.

team green — siding with team green is a similar affair. she comes and goes out of king's landing regularly and after the death of jaeherys, she's locked into the city. in her criminal dealings, it's possible for her to put into contact with larys through a long string of contacts. through him, she may be exposed to the rest of the green faction. her motivations are similar, in that she will serve the crown ( unofficially, titles are something she couldn't care less about ) if the smallfolk are kept in mind.