#myrcolla

He’s a man shrouded in shame. His existence a mistake that only he had to pay for. As if he asked for it. Though most of his shame stems from his mother. Falia was more selfish than maternal. Desperate to keep her claws embedded in the man he rarely called father. She pushed duties on him that he never wanted. Trying to pin him against the only family he ever had–his sisters. Her pride more centered on what he could do rather than what he did. When his step mother finds a way to be rid of Falia, he does cry. But it’s more out of anger than grief. A weight lifted after years of pressure to be something he wasn’t. He wonders what kind of man he could have been had she been a good mother. If she took her bastard and found a life away from the suffocating castle and grim port of Sisterton. He may have been stronger, or maybe nothing at all.

Medrick Karstark was not only a father, but a mentor. A sculptor who carefully chiseled away at every edge of his son. Though the former lord of Karhold was strong, and unwilling to bed to weaker foes--his eldest only felt shame at the thought of him. A man who relied on mere manipulation to gain what he desired.One who would sell his own children if it meant the demise of the Starks. Displaying love through fists and rage rather than a warm embrace. Torrhen did not feel shame for the man he was molded into. For monsters were rarely chased away. But more ashamed that such a creature sired him. A wicked and cold thing that couldn’t love his own children the way he loved power. Blinded by the seat he inherited, and the weakened crown miles south in Winterfell. Medrick’s only love was his desires. His lack of love and strength of manipulation had pinned child against child. Each with a thirst for blood--and to torment one another. A quartet of siblings who carried knives to guard their backs and aim at the other. Had Torrhen been given another father perhaps he would be weak. Nothing more than the withered Stark king that rotted on his icy throne. Or his perception of weakness would be diverted, viewing strength as more than violence and manipulation. Shame was an emotion he rarely felt, though with Medrick it came like a flood.