[img]http://awoiaf.westeros.org/images/thumb/7/7c/House_Hightower.png/250px-House_Hightower.png[/img]
[b]Name:[/b] House Hightower
[b]Seat:[/b] The Hightower
[b]Words:[/b] “We light the way.” (Or, as some pessimists have begun to say, “Our light is dying.”)
[b]Affiliation:[/b] The Tyrells
 
[b]Information[/b]
[hider=Description]
To say that House Hightower has seen better days would be an understatement. Their armies have been slaughtered, most of their noble line has either been found guilty of treason or killed in battle, and the lordship has fallen to a boy barely old enough to avoid a regency. Nonetheless, they still stand staunch and proud, Lords of Hightower, one of the oldest (and until recently, one of the richest and most powerful) houses in all of the Seven Kingdoms.
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[hider=History]
The Hightowers did not merely make the mistake of supporting the greens in the war, no: they had practically created the greens in the first place. Thanks to the desires of Queen Alicent Hightower to get her own son on the throne, the entire realm was thrown into chaos. Many still blame the Hightowers for the Dance of Dragons and think of them all as treasonous snakes. This is not an entirely unfounded reputation.
 
The Hightowers, even after their misfortunes, still hold sovereignty over Oldtown, as well as the lordly seat that is their namesake. These incomes should fill their coffers back up in time, but they are still sorely lacking in manpower, particularly knights.
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[hider=Members of House Hightower]
[list][*]Ormund Hightower, Former Lord of Hightower, Deceased (Died at Tumbleton)[list]
[*]Ormund’s first son, Ser Renald Hightower, Deceased (Died at Tumbleton)
[*]Ormund’s second son, [b]Otto the Younger, Lord of Hightower[/b], a man of six and ten
[*]Ormund’s third son, Leon Hightower, heir to Hightower, a boy of twelve
[*]Ormund’s fourth son, Ormund the Younger, a boy of nine[/list][/list]
[list]
[*]Ormund’s Uncle, Ser Otto Hightower, Deceased (Executed after the capture of King’s Landing)[list]
[*]Otto’s only daughter, Queen (now Lady) Alicent Hightower, currently held captive at King’s Landing for the crime of high treason
[*]Otto’s first son, Ser Gwayne Hightower, Deceased (Died in the capture of King’s Landing)
[*]Otto’s second son, Ser Tobias “Silvershield” Hightower, Commander of Hightowers’ Armies, a knight of nine and thirty
[list]
[*]Lyanne Beesbury, Tobias’ wife, Deceased (Died in childbirth)
[*]Their daughter and only child, Lyanna Hightower, a girl of three and ten[/list]
[*]Otto’s third son, Lord Ruben Hightower, Hightower’s Master of Finance, a man of two and thirty. Also called “Blacktower”.[list]
[*]His baseborn daughter by an Essos prostitute, Serala Flowers, a girl of eight
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[*]Ser Bryndon Hightower, Otto the Elder’s Cousin, Deceased (Died at Tumbleton)
[*]Ser Hobert Hightower, Otto the Elder’s Cousin, Deceased (Poisoned himself rather than betray his fellow Caltrops)
[*]Ser Ronald and Ser Ryan Croaker, two twin household knights of eight and twenty
[*]Ser Rolf Crimson-Beard, a warrior-poet from the Iron Isles and Master of Ships for House Hightower. Not actually a “ser”.[list]
[*]Rolf’s lover and the Hightowers’ former nursing maid, Sulla[/list]
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[b]Characters[/b]
[hider=Lord Otto the Younger]
[img]http://fantasy-faction.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/2013-JAN-Heroes-Mentor-of-the-Meek-by-algenpfleger-293x300.jpg[/img]
Though no more handsome than any other young lord, Otto's pristine cleanliness and lack of battlefield scars give him an overall pleasant appearance.
 
[b]Personality:[/b] A young man of six and ten, Otto is not quite the caliber of commander that his brother was, and is not taken seriously by older lords due to his age. Most claim he is “barely a man”, to the point where the mere utterance of said phrase annoys him. Otto boasts charisma and intellect beyond his young age, but lacks the wisdom and foresight that only comes with experience.
 
Though by no means a fool, Otto is easily influenced if one plays to his pride and desire to be seen as powerful a lord as his late father. He is painfully aware of House Hightower’s damaged state, though he cares far more about the opinions of others (and the affections of women) than a man in his position should. As of late, he has renewed his interest in swordplay, and has dispatched men to search for his family’s ancient Valyrian steel sword, [i]Vigilance[/i].
 
[b]Biography:[/b] Young Otto, named for his great uncle, was raised among the Hightower children by his father Lord Osmund. Being the second son of Lord Osmund Hightower, he was not able to receive the same level of grooming and specific training as his older brother.
 
That said, trips to King’s Landing were not uncommon for Ormund’s two eldest sons, given the Hightowers’ strong ties to the Targaryens after Alicent’s marriage. Renald and Otto got along famously with their Targaryen cousins. He has a distinct memory of he and his brother being reprimanded for fighting with wooden swords in the presence of the royal family, only to have Prince Daeron himself join the fun shortly after. Daeron would become his father’s squire, not to mention one of Otto the Younger’s closest friends growing up. Eventually, the trio were joined by Osmund’s third son Leon, and constantly argued and boasted about who would slay the most enemies when they first went to war together.
 
Unfortunately, when Renald, Daeron and Lord Osmund left to fight at Tumbleton, they didn’t come back. Otto and Leon were alone now. Their father was dead, their brother and best friend with him, leaving Young Otto as the Lord of Hightower and only Tobias and Ruben to take care of them. This was two years ago, and yet Otto’s grip on the lordship is still tenuous, with his own advisors undermining his authority at every turn…[/hider]
 
[hider=Ser Tobias Silvershield][img]http://filmgaze.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ironclad2.jpg[/img]
Tobias has seen nine and thirty namedays, though much like his sister, he has aged quite well. He wears the Hightower house sigil on his shield.
 
[b]Personality:[/b] Tobias "Silvershield" is an experienced knight whose honour and dedication to House Hightower and keeping the King’s Peace makes him incredibly loyal and driven. Whatever the cost, Tobias will champion his house to the bitter end. People are slow to earn his trust, but will scarce find a more staunch friend and ally once they have.
 
[b]Biography:[/b] Tobias, being Ser Otto’s son, had the privilege of studying under one of the wisest knights in all the Reach. He and Gwayne were fast learners when it came to the ways of battle, and Tobias took to rooting out bandits from Oldtown and the surrounding areas. Though it proved too costly to continue when the war broke out, Tobias created an equivalent to the City Watch known as the Silver Guard in order to root out crime, earning him the nickname “Silvershield”. He came to be revered highly by smallfolk and soldiers alike for his dedication to keeping the King’s Peace.
 
Because of his dedication to the King’s Peace, Tobias was personally opposed to his sister’s attempts to place Aegon II on the throne, as he saw it as a transgression of the realm’s laws and customs. Nonetheless, he fought alongside his his house. brothers and cousins... and of course, he was there at both Battles of Tumbleton, where he watched said brothers and cousins die.
 
With the death of Lord Ormund and Ser Otto the Elder, much of the responsibility to govern fell at least in part to Tobias, as he is currently the the eldest surviving member of House Hightower (excepting Lady Alicent, of course). He spent much of his time tutoring his cousin Otto the Younger, barely stopping to mourn the loss of his father and brother. He has been working constantly to prevent House Hightower’s collapse, and yet the only one who doesn’t seem to notice the toll it is taking on his health is Tobias himself. Tobias says defiantly that he will rest once his cousin’s lordship is secure and his sister is safe from the headman’s axe. “I will take a long, long vacation,” he has said, “And you will not see me for a year. At least.”[/hider]
 
[hider=Ruben Blacktower][img]http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2013/192/c/7/old_assassin_by_lensar-d6ct2gv.png[/img]
Ruben has seen two and thirty namedays, and looks particularly intimidating despite not being especially tall. His own personal sigil replaces the grey and white of House Hightower with red and black. (Ruben's eye is fine, but this picture was too good not to use.)
 
[b]Personality:[/b] Ruben “Blacktower”, the youngest son of the late Ser Otto Hightower, is far more bitter and malicious than his brother. He have would loved nothing more than to see his sister’s children sit the Iron Throne so that he might have his own power swell. Ambitious and cunning, Ruben stops at nothing to get what he wants. Though he can seldom be found on a battlefield, he is a highly capable duelist, using a rapier in one hand and a parrying dagger in the other as he fights. Ever graceful, even Ruben's footsteps have become silent as a whisper as a result of the mysterious training he received in the free cities.

Ruben’s lack of subtlety in matters of intrigue is often to his own detriment. He is charismatic and sly enough, but shrewd individuals will be able to easily catch on when he is up to something... though exactly [i]what[/i] he’s up to is never certain. House Hightower has found good use for him as an effective diplomat, and his negotiation skills have helped to cushion the blow of the house’s more recent misfortunes. Most agree he is far, far too successful a spymaster for someone so... blunt. A few people like Ruben well enough, but almost nobody trusts him.
 
[b]Biography:[/b] Even as a child, Ruben showed little interest in knights and chivalry, instead turning to books. Ruben read incessantly, picking up bits and pieces of information about everything under the sun from a very young age. Most of his first “schemes” typically involved stealing rare books and scrolls. Some he took from the Citadel, others from his fellow nobles, and some he even stole from the personal collections of the Targaryens themselves. He came upon rarer and rarer books as he grew older, developing deft, sticky fingers, as well as a silver tongue.

When he was twenty-three, Ruben left on business to the free cities for four years with three hundred gold dragons. When he returned, he had over four thousand gold dragons, a baseborn daughter by a Lysene prostitute, a ship of his own, and a parrying dagger made of genuine Valyrian steel. He has rarely spoken about his trip since, though his dueling skill began to excel that of every knight in House Hightower, including Tobias.

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