Character Information
Appearance: Brienne is by no means a slender and beautiful woman, as one may expect a lord’s daughter. On the contrary, she looks much more like a man than a woman. Her chest is flat, her face long and described as 'horsey', and her hands large. She is far from attractive, even ugly, and this is only heightened by a scar on her cheek which pulls the skin of her face up and together - a wound where her cheek was bitten clean off and then stitched together. She is rather large, well over six feet in height, and well muscled to boot. Many people are taken back by the sheer size of her. Her hair, yellow and straw-like, is usually bound off of her face, adding to her mannish appearance. Her eyes are rather startling, however, blue, framed by long lashes and very bright. They seem to be one of the few particularly attractive things about her.
Brienne will not often be seen in skirts or dresses; her garb will more likely be leather and mail, with steel at her hip or her shoulder.
Personality: Brienne is loyal, honourable and passionate. She is able to think upon the task at hand and do her best to continue it, even if it would be putting herself into extreme danger. Despite many not actually considering her a knight, she fits the idealistic image of how a knight should be - noble, honourable and kind - more than most in her world. As a result, she is often mocked for being stupid and slow, and not understanding how real knights are.
She is often described as stubborn, and will continue what she is doing with a dogged determination. She is good at what she does, and despite being honourable she won't shy away from taking cheap shots if it means she will survive. If a man holds back whilst fighting her, she won't stop pressing her advantage of strength and skill.
Brienne is also rather insecure, especially about her looks and her femininity. She rarely speaks them aloud, but she does seem to worry about them and what it makes others think of her. While she is dependable, she can also be driven from her path by aggressive challenges - case in point, Jaime Lannister.
History: Brienne was turned down for offers of marriage throughout most of her young life. She was often shunned: even her septa spared no soft words in telling her she was clumsy and ugly. One of the Tarth home guards taught her swordplay, however. And he taught her it well, even telling her to use the fact she was a woman to her advantage - to prey on the fact that men would try to save face when fighting her and use that to her advantage. When King Renly Baretheon started up his Rainbow Guard, however, Brienne was knighted and accepted in to it after proving herself against one of the best knights within it. She was fiercely proud and loyal to Renly, even in love with him, but when he died - assassinated by sorcery - Brienne was blamed, and fled with Catelyn Stark to deliver the prisoner Jaime Lannister to his family, who were keeping Catelyn’s daughter prisoner.
En route, they were set upon by the Brave Companions, or Bloody Mummers, and Jaime lost his hand. He also, however, kept Brienne from being raped and murdered by the men, and the two grew very slightly closer. Escaping the knights was no easy feat - Brienne was forced to fight a bear with nothing more than a stick, something which Jaime helped her with - but when they came to King's Landing all seemed well enough, though Brienne could not deliver Catelyn’s ultimatum, for her daughter, Sansa Stark, was already gone. Jaime gave Brienne a sword that was meant for him, calling it ‘Oathkeeper’, and told her to search for the two Stark girls and take them to their mother.
Brienne began her quest, losing her cheek in a fight with mad brigands posing as Sandor Clegane, who had fled King's Landing after Stannis' defeat by Tyrion. Shortly after this, she once again across lady Catelyn Stark, who, after her death, was known as Lady Stoneheart. Not willing to believe Brienne’s story, she sentenced her to death by hanging. Whether or not Brienne actually died from such a thing is not known, for it was at this point that she came to World's End.