Samwell Tarly from A Feast for Crows is the disowned son of Lord Tarly. Believing his son to not possess the proper attributes that would make him a good heir, Lord Tarly ships his son off to be one of the Black Watch, a group of men dedicated to protecting the realm's northernmost territory against paranormal entitites called the others (white walkers). Sam is best friends with Jon Snow, and assists him whenever he can. Sam, despite having taken vows of celebacy, has fallen for Craster's daughter, Gilly. Sam is overweight but very educated.