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folkmore info post
Sansa Stark
role Legend
housing A small house on Luan Street
job Student, assistant at Hoot Couture
school Jewelia (university)
History
Sansa begins as a dreamy, sheltered highborn girl in Winterfell, where she excelled at everything expected of a young lady of her station. She is betrothed to the crown prince Joffrey Baratheon while her father Ned serves as King Robert Baratheon's Hand. Joffrey proves to be cruel and abusive. He has her direwolf Lady killed on the road to the capital of King's Landing, but Sansa momentarily forgives him in her desire to live a romantic fantasy and be his queen.
This changes when her father is arrested for alleging that Joffrey is illegitimate following Robert's death at the orders of his wife Cersei. Sansa is taken hostage along with much of her household, and her sister Arya manages to run away. Sansa pleads to Joffrey for her father's life, and he promises mercy. Though Cersei intends to spare Ned and send him to the Wall at the northern border of the realm, Joffrey has him executed in front of Sansa. He forces her to look at the heads of Ned and her guardian Septa Mordane, and tells her the mercy was a quick death. She attempts to push him off the ramparts, but is intercepted by Joffrey's bodyguard Sandor Clegane, himself little more than a prisoner of his house's vow to serve Cersei and Joffrey's house Lannister.
Sansa's brother Robb and her mother Cat raise an army to march on King's Landing as soon as Ned is arrested, and after his death their bannermen declare Robb King in the North. Sansa is brutally punished for this and only spared by the timely intervention of Tyrion Lannister, who has been made the new Hand of the King. She manages to convince Joffrey to spare a drunken knight instead of killing him for misbehavior at his nameday tourney, and this knight Dontos Hollard pledges his loyalty to Sansa and promises to get her home. Another ally presents himself in the form of Petyr Baelish (called Littlefinger), who had been fostered with her mother Catelyn as a child and continues to harbor strong feelings for her.
Both of Robert's younger brothers declare themselves the true king, and they effectively mount a siege against King's Landing. Sansa is caught in a resulting bread riot and once again saved by Sandor Clegane. Shortly after this the elder of the two brothers Stannis Baratheon launches a naval attack on King's Landing. Sansa is stuck inside the castle and does her best to ease the worries of the ladies of the court. The forces of King's Landing manage to win the battle with the help of House Tyrell, who had come to make an alliance with the Iron Throne after the death of Renly Baratheon, the younger of the two brothers, who they had initially declared for. Joffrey ends his betrothal with Sansa in favor of Margaery Tyrell, though she remains a hostage. Any relief she felt is dashed when Littlefinger tells her Joffrey is likely to keep her as an unwilling mistress anyway.
Back in the North, Winterfell falls to Ned's former ward Theon Greyjoy, who had been tasked with recruiting his house to an alliance with the North but is convinced to betray them by his father Balon Greyjoy, who has declared himself Kind of the Iron Islands. Sansa believes her little brothers Bran and Rickon killed in the fray, but in fact Theon had two other boys killed in their stead while they manage to escape.
The Tyrells prove to be an ally to Sansa and attempt to marry her to their heir in Highgarden, but the Lannisters discover this and marry her to Tyrion instead. Robb and Cat are killed in an ambush at a wedding, dashing Sansa's hopes of rescue. At Joffrey's wedding to Margaery Ser Dontos leads her to the harbor where a 'friend' of her mother Petyr Baelish (known as Littlefinger) is waiting to take her to the Vale. He shoots Ser Dontos with a crossbow and reveals Ser Dontos had been working for him the entire time.
Littlefinger attempts to pass her off as his illegitimate daughter Alayne Stone and later has her hair dyed brown to maintain the illusion. Her marries her aunt Lysa Arryn, who reveals that she had poisoned her late husband Jon at Littlefinger's behest and written a letter to her sister Catelyn alleging his murder, prompting Ned to take the position as Hand to investigate. She attempts to push Sansa out of the moon door to her death, but Littlefinger manages to push her out instead.
Littlefinger has Sansa promise to act as Alayne at all times, even in her own mind. She helps him pin the muder of Lysa Arryn on a singer who had been in the room with them at the time, and takes over much of the care of Lysa's son Robert 'Robin' Arryn. Littlefinger puts Robin on a dangerous drug to manage his epilepsy, and Sansa helps to ensure he is given this 'medicine.' Littlefinger reveals his plan to marry Alayne to Robin's heir Harry Hardyng so that she can use the armies of the Vale to retake the North.
They leave the Arryn's traditional seat to stay at a more comfortable altitude for the winter, and Alayne makes friends with some of the girls in their company. She organizes a tourney to choose the knights who will serve as Robin's guard. Harry is dismissive of her, so on Littlefinger's advice she imitates her friends in house Tyrell to charm him.
Iteration
Sansa arrived in Trench as Alayne Stone, not sure if she was more afraid of finding Littlefinger waiting for her or going without her protection. it helped that she was reunited with her direwolf Lady, whose care and protection became her utmost concern. she stayed in sanguine station, the inn for new characters, observing the innkeepers and guests and asking polite questions when appropriate as well as mending and tailoring the secondhand clothes that had been donated for their use. with the help of the innkeepers and other npcs she eventually found a suitable home and place of business, once her fellow Sleepers helped her repair the hole in the roof left by the weirwood growing through it, as a plot element allowed for characters to discover plants from their home worlds around the city. she quickly learned that her Paleblood was valuable and set about learning to make it into a even more valuable bloodstone, a type of magic she wasn't especially suited to but worked very diligently at throughout her time in Trench.
she soon set up shop as a dressmaker to npc performer characters and offered reduced rates for Sleepers to better ingratiate herself into the community. she was determined to make herself indispensable as she believed this was the best way to achieve security in this world; people are likely to want to protect a valuable resource.
she was shocked to discover how well people responded to her efforts, and she fell in love with the city despite the constant curses. they reminded her of Littlefinger's lessons, and was able to apply the things she'd learned there to new challenges, doing her best to determine the intentions behind them, and relying on her shared senses with Lady to see past the city's illusions and overcome unwanted monthly blood effects.
her first real test came at the end of March when she was forced to confront the ghosts of her family and those sworn to house Stark. in order to put them to rest, she promised to become Sansa Stark again, and win back the North when she could. it was some time before she was able to determine who Sansa Stark was, however. she found herself drawn into the investigation of an especially powerful necromancer, and apprenticed herself to the detective set against him. through this she was able to apply what she'd learned as a hostage and as Littlefinger's 'daughter' to a cause that she felt was befitting of a Stark of Winterfell.
as weaknesses in the city's 'soft' infrastructure and social safety net became apparent, Sansa also felt it was her duty to find opportunities to combat this. she did so by assisting her friends with their player-run charitable enterprises and schools. when her friend Allen Walker established a Sanctuary out of which to run a more thoughtful and compassionate system of catching and treating the Beasts that threatened the city, Sansa helped to oversee the day-to-day running of the former monastery that housed it. she also assisted Sakura and Sasuke Uchiha with their Wellness Center and ninjutsu dojo. eventually she and Ezra Bridger would take over the running of the Wellness Center under the banner of the Sanctuary when Sasuke and Sakura returned to the sea. through these outlets she provided free clothing to new Sleepers and locals in need, as well as leather armor and padding.
Sansa was terrified of the corruption that threatened all creatures in Trench, afraid she would become something like her canon tormentors. she studied the treatment of it in-game, and eventually she began to see parallels between the physical corruption of Trench and the more insidious corruption in Westerosi society. she became determined to treat corruption whenever possible, believing perhaps if someone had treated Lysa Arryn or Cersei Lannister for corruption in the past they might not have become the 'beasts' that she encountered. she did find it reassuring that corruption and Beasthood manifested in visible ways that could be treated through immediate intervention as well as traditional therapeutic practices, and will be somewhat nervous when this is no longer the case.
she also saw parallels between the court intrigue she was used to and the actions of the various Pthumerians in and outside of Trench. she noticed a pattern to unprecedented, violent events that resembled a coordinated assault, and was very surprised to be proven right. due to her proximity to some of the Pthumerians involved, and her ease at speaking with powerful people, she became a key player in this part of the plot, even leading an expedition outside the city despite her personal fears.
ultimately Sansa saw her own story and that of her friends reflected in the fate of Julia Sodder, the half-Pthumerian npc girl whose sacrifice created the world of Trench. she became determined to use what power she had to protect young teens and children from experiencing the trauma and manipulation she, her friends, and Julia did. she continues to be protective of, or at least concerned about, people that remind her of herself and her siblings.
Skills
- sansa studied with sasuke uchiha in order to gain control over her warg abilities. she has a talent for chakra control, which she uses to balance on uneven terrain (including walls and water), maintain her grip on unsteady mounts and objects, and increase the speed of her movements. this in turn allows her to use body flicker technique to essentially teleport short distances. she chose to focus her efforts at bettering this than on fighting techniques.
- she learned Dungeons and Dragons style magic from a friend. she knows the cantrips mending, message, and prestidigitation.
- Sansa can sing and play the harp, which she has learned to read music for. She also plays the bells in canon.
- She is an excellent dog trainer and trained her direwolf Lady before her warg abilities manifested (they have yet to do so in canon).
- She's very good at problem solving and puzzles, and is quick to figure out the 'rules' of whatever situation she finds herself in.
- She's learned in canon to read people very well. She is an expert at determining the motivation behind people's actions and behavior.
Role
physical attributes
Changing eye color (mostly shades of blue, weirwood sap red for intense feelings of fear and panic. they are normally an icy blue color and her irises disappear completely when she wargs)
Changing hair color (it turns darker when she lies)
Enhanced durability and rapid healing similar to her prior Sleeper form
non-physical qualities
Ability to sense distress (primarily mental and emotional)
Compulsion to solve problems
reasoning Sansa is a character who could potentially fit all three roles. She begins the story as an obvious legend; a dreamy preteen who responds primarily emotionally to the first book's plot. as a hostage she relies on forging alliances with anyone she can, and is defined primarily by her relationships for the rest of the series thus far. as Littlefinger's confidante and pupil, she learns to view the world through a more deliberate, logical lens; she learns to quickly identify what people want and use that to her advantage.
however, the main thrust of her character arc in Deer Country involved her discovering her own power, becoming a major player in the metaplot and community. she did this primarily by seeking out teachers and sworn swords, so I feel like there isn't much room for her to grow in the role of a familiar! in folkmore I want to have her come to terms with herself as a powerful, independent being, and learn to use her power responsibly.
Sansa is still mistrustful of her emotional judgement, suspicious of anything 'too good to be true.' in order to grow as a character, she will have to learn to trust her heart at least as much as she trusts the 'logical' way of thinking that Littlefinger taught her––fighting every battle in her mind everywhere and all the time.
in the end she rejected Littlefinger's individualism and embraced the power of the collective, putting her firmly in the camp of legends. like the Starks in the legends of old, she believes the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.
Inventory
Spoon Purchases
- Kanon's holocron (for Ezra)
Animals
- Lady, her canon direwolf (a spoon purchase from Ezra)
- Meraxes, a raven
- Silverwing, a snowy owl
- Kindness, a swan (lives near Serenity House)
- Morning, a mourning dove
- Moondancer, a mourning dove
- Sheepstealer, a Harpy Eagle
Other Rewards
- arya's coin purse and faceless men coin
- silver pendant that shields her from physical attacks
- magic lunch box that can summon any food she asks for once per day
