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House Arryn

Seat: The Eyrie
The Vale

Lady Jeyne Arryn - Maiden of the Vale

The younger half-sister of the late Queen, Aemma Targaryen, Jeyne Arryn became Warden of the East upon the death of her Lord Father, Rodrik Arryn in 100AC, she was five years old. Her mother, Wilma Royce (younger sister to Rhea Targaryen, Prince Daemon's estranged first wife), had married Rodrik in the hope she might be able to provide the aging Lord of the Vale a male heir. Aemma was Queen and destined to diee in childbirth and her daughter Rhaenyra (b. 97AC) would be heir to the Seven Kingdoms. When Jeyne was born late in 95AC, it was hoped there was plentiful time for a younger brother who might become heir to the Eyrie but despite Wilma being young and hale (just fourteen when Jeyne was born) she suddenly sickened in 98AC and passed away. Jeyne was two years old.

So it came to pass that she came to inherit the ancestral seat whilst scarce more than a babe herself. Despite this, she had sound advisors left behind by her late father and grew swiftly into her office. Patient, wise beyond her years and savvy, the Vale prospered and she was well loved. She got along well with young Princess Rhaenyra whenever occasion brought them together, just a year and a half separated the girls in age and their shared Arryn blood meant Jeyne felt a responsibility for the Princess whilst Rhaenyra seemed to listen to Jeyne a deal more than any of the females at court, including Viserys' new queen, Alicent Hightower. 

By the time her Aunt Rhea died in 115AC, advisors (now mere subjects) were keen to press upon Jeyne the idea of marriage. She was approaching her twenty-third nameday and had earned the monicker 'The Maiden of the Vale', she understood well enough that producing an heir (preferably male, though Jeyne expressed no opinion on this) was part and parcel of her duty to her office and to her name. The problem was that she simply didn't like men. Most of her court were men and she found those who weren't greybeards or sots were dullards so armed in chivalry and courtesy that she ofttimes had to bite her lip sharply to stay awake through some of their dreary monologues.

She could certainly feel pleasure of the flesh but found that the soft, porcelain caresses of Aya, a Lysene girl brought to foster at the Eyrie as a refugee from Daemon's infernal war on the Stepstones, were preferable to the notion of a man's rough, calloused hands pawing at her bare skin. Jeyne had longed for some female company in that high, lonely Citadel and would eventually raise her to the role of her personal stewardess. Aya had come to the Eyrie aged six (Jeyne was ten years her senior) and by age fourteen Lady Arryn had taken the girl into her bed. The 'search' for a husband, it seemed, was set to continue.

What she hadn't banked upon, however, was Daemon Targaryen's temerity in requesting poor Rhea's former home of Runestone for his personal seat. Here was a man who married too young and then cruelly shunned her Aunt for the rest of the marriage (and Rhea's life). He had even famously declared the Vale bored him and made scandalous accusations about the relationship her subjects had with their sheep! It gave her a real satisfaction to reject his claim and honour Rhea's nephew (her cousin) as the new Lord Royce. Daemon's reaction was predictable. He attacked and Jeyne had to call the banners to weedle him out and restore the peace. In honour of the brave men that gave their lives (including the Knight of Ninestars- a half-crippled, but brave man) Jeyne banished Daemon from the Vale forever. It was disappointing that Viserys had elected not to bestir himself to intervene in the conflict. 

It has been disappointing to see how Rhaenyra and Queen Alicent have developed such a cold enmity over the years, but Rhaenyra is Jeyne's blood- half an Arryn herself- and should any presume to supplant the Princess and steal her rightful Crown, there is little doubt where her loyalties lie. The only sticking point being that Rhaenyra has wed that infernal uncle of hers, Daemon. Now, in 129AC, Jeyne is in her thirty fourth year and winter is coming. Snows already cover the slopes of the Giant's Lance as far down as Stone (one of the Eyrie's wayhouses along the treacherous approach). 

History: 
The Arryns can trace their history right back to the purest Andal stock. Ever since Ser Artys Arryn, the Falcon knight became the first Arryn King to rule over Mountain and Vale have the Arryns held sway over the Eastern lands of Westeros. From the day Ser Artys defeated King Robar II at the battle of the Seven Stars, the household has held a storied place in the history of the Seven Kingdoms. 

When Aegon the Conqueror came, the Arryns became Wardens of the East and have staunchly stood beside the Iron Throne ever after. As well as defending Westeros from enemies across the Narrow Sea, House Arryn has kept tight controls over the savage Mountain Clans that plague the mountains of mist. 

More recently, House Arryn was honoured with the distinction of being allowed marriage into the Targaryen bloodline; Lord Rodrick Arryn offered the hand of Princess Daella Targaryen and their daughter, Lady Aemma Arryn was wed to the lately passed King Viserys I. Lady Aemma is long dead now but was mother to the Princess Rhaenyra, making Viserys' preferred heiress half Arryn herself. 

Rhaenyra's newest husband, however, her rash uncle Daemon is no friend in the Vale. His first wife Rhea died in 115AC and when he petitioned that he should inherit Rhea's ancestral home, Runestone. Not only did the current Lady Arryn forbid this, she expelled Daemon from the Vale altogether!

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House Templeton
Seat: 
Ninestars- The Vale of Arryn

Ninestars is the name of the castle that forms the seat of House Templeton. Sitting NorthEast on the Southern Edge of the Fingers, Ninestars Castle is fashioned from white-grey stone and consists of fairly short, squat battlements framed by two square towers. It lurches up from long yellow grasses with its back to the tides, ducking out of the salty winds gusting off the narrow sea. 

Of huge strategic importance, Ninestars has proven invaluable in forming a defensive fortress guarding the Fingers, whilst looking out across the Narrow Sea to its rear.

Whilst hardly the Vale’s most impressive stronghold, Ninestars’ fringe position helps to facilitate it as an administrative hub for the various farming communities in the fertile peninsula. There are comfortably upwards of 2'500 men that owe fealty to the Knight of Ninestars and it is this that has enabled each Ser Templeton to command the respect of the Lordly counterparts such as Corbray, Royce and Hunter.
The centrepoint of the castle is the Sept, or ‘temple’, after which the House is named. 

History: 
Templeton’s history dates back as far as the Andals who are credited with the building of the Temple which became a significant waycastle for those accessing the Vale by sea. Whilst not boasting ought so grandiose as a harbour or port; over generations Ninestars grew around it and the Templeton House was given Knightly status and dominion over the castle by House Arryn many centuries ago.
Essentially the first ‘Templetons’ were required to maintain the temple and keep residence of the villages clustered in the vicinity. It is rumoured that this task was oft doled out to ‘bastards’ of the Arryn House; if true, it would provide a blood-tie to the Noble House for Templeton. Certainly their allegiance to Arryn has never wavered.
As the fortifications grew, Temple-town (from whence the name derives) was the colloquial monicker given to the almalgamated villages who eventually moved to within or beside the castle grounds. The hugely popular Templeton market and annual Fair drew more and more settlers to the vicinity. In acknowledgement of the time-honoured diligence and capable management of the temple and surrounding township, ‘House Templeton’ was formerly recognised by Lord Arryn, that same evening a meteor shower purportedly featuring ‘nine falling stars’ shone across the darkening sky- giving the castle its name, and House Templeton its sigil; the yellow of the stars representing the long grasses of the vale and the black field representing the night sky.

Members of the House:
Ser Jon Templeton- Knight of Ninestars- 30 (called the blackstar colloquially)
The Widow Ninestars- Lady Allayne Templeton- 34 (Ronnel’s Widow)
Miss Birgitte Sunderland– Daughter of Lord Sunderland and a ward sent to Ninestars to secure Sunderland’s fealty in future. - 13
Kennet Nash – Master-at-Arms – 47
Yohn Cowley – Kennelmaster – 47
Maester Corbyn – A maester – 55
Harold Stone – The late Ronnel Templeton’s bastard – 17
Gawarth Templeton– Jon’s Uncle – 55

Character Sheets:
History

The second son of Ser Wyman Templeton, Jon ought to have grown up in the shadow of his older brother, Ronnel. Two years his junior, Jon and Ronnel spent everyday playing together until Ronnel was struck with a terrifying fever and brain sickness. Maester Kirwan, a young man with some radical practices, believed in ritualistic ‘bleeding’ and though painstaking, Ronnel recovered his wits though had been left perpetually weakened.

Ser Wyman took it hard and this was doubled by the death of his Wife Myrcella Templeton and their newborn daughter in the birthing bed the same year.
It was upon Jon that Wyman came to depend, the dark-haired younger boy grew strong and tall whilst his elder brother took a year to gather strength enough to rise from his chair. However, to flout tradition and promote Jon as heir to Ninestars was beyond Wyman’s comprehension. The eldest must inherit. His brother, Gawarth came to live with them to take Jon hunting and climbing, sparring and ranging whilst Wyman managed the estate and buried himself in the heavy tedium that is the day-to-day fayre of the Knight in the Vale. Meanwhile, Kennet Nash came to Ninestars to serve as Master-at-Arms. Wyman had spotted the young warrior at a Tourney near Heart’s Home and he’d been keen to accept the position which meant he had jurisdiction over a sizeable detail of men-at-arms as well as a detachment of mounted lancers numbering over one hundred.

As the boys grew to manhood, Ronnel was at least adequate with sword in hand, his triumph over his childhood illness was remarkable but a withered sword-arm and a crooked gait meant he looked absurd in the armour specifically gilded for him by the Castle Smithy. He insisted on competing alongside Wyman in a Tourney in Gulltown but was hurt early in the mellee and cruel jibes such as ‘the cripple o’ Ninestars’ were heard being heckled from the public gallery.

Wyman may or may not have heard these jeers but he was said to have stalked to his horse for the tilt enraged. It will never be known how he truly felt that day as he was unhorsed, surprisingly, by a Corbray squire and fell awkwardly, breaking his neck and killing him outright. Ronnel blamed his own disgraceful failure for his father’s death.
Despite Uncle Gawarth’s urging that Jon, and not Ronnel, should be the new Knight o Ninestars, Ronnel accepted the title and vowed that he would do credit to the role.

In truth, he was a fair and just master to the outlying communities and in the three years he served at the Family castle, produce in the Vale increased and a period of prosperity ensued.

When Lady Arryn called the banners in 115AC when Daemon Targaryen attempted to sack Runestone to win back his late wife, Rhea's ancestral seat, Jon pleaded with his brother to allow him to go in his stead. He was faster ahorse, a better sword and a stronger lance, but whilst agreeing Jon should accompany him, Ronnel insisted that it was he, as the eldest, that should ride to war in the black cape of Ninestars. Jon had his own armour, daubed with black tar and wore a yellow cape, emblazoned with a single black star; earning him the nickname Knight of the Blackstar- a joke amongst the men as Jon hadn’t been knighted but one he liked and would later adopt as an unofficial title.

Ronnel never returned from the battle. Rumours told of how Caraxes had cooked the crippled Knight with half his host, others maintained that Daemon himself had beheaded Ronnel with ease in single combat; a notion that seems unlikely. Jon would only agree that his older brother died valiantly and would speak no more on the matter.

There are rumours in the Vale that the new Knight of Ninestars was knighted with his brother’s head in his hands but this is a misnomer. There was some 45 minutes between the incidents and it wasn’t until two weeks had passed and the Silent Sisters brought Ronnel’s remains to Ninestars that Jon took up the family shield; nine yellow stars on a midnight black field. 

Personality

Make no bones about it, Jon loved his father and older brother. He vaguely remembers Ronnel’s childhood illness as a time of bewilderment and confusion and when mother died and the baby he remembers crying a lot but things moving on quickly.
He supported Ronnel’s decision to take the Knighthood and even rode to the Eyrie at his side when he formally received the Templeton ancestral title. But there are also memories that make him feel bitter; the young Corbray squire who decided to prove himself in the Joust a little too overzealously robbed him of a father and Targaryen’s beheading/Caraxes' incineration of Ronnel was a sleight he has ever found difficult to bear.

He is ambitious and relentless. Refusing to take a wife until he raises the House to a Lordship or a chronic lack of heirs demands it, he keeps Uncle Gawayne as a close advisor and sole heir to Ninestars as his father’s brother. He also has every intention of legitimizing Ronnel’s bastard, Harold Stone who was sent to foster at Ninestars after the death of his mother; a former handmaiden to Gawayne’s late wife who reputedly seduced the young Ronnel in the bleak months following Ser Wayman’s tragic death.

Jon is not quick to smile but neither is he quick to anger. Even on the bridge of Runestone, it took watching his brother slain to rile him into fury. However he is weak in the presence of Ronnel’s widow. He’d be the last to admit it to himself but the woman has a profound power over him; wed to Ronnel at 16, she soon grew frustrated with Jon’s older brother’s ‘failings’ in the bedroom; she began to bed Jon as well when he was only thirteen. Jon, to his credit, has managed to avoid siring a bastard on his conniving sister-in-law in all these years which seems to suggest the widow is barren. He is keen to foist her off on some other Knight as quickly as possible but in 17 years she has entrenched her position as the First Lady Templeton of Ninestars and it appears Jon is stuck with her. She is desperate for Jon to wed her, which would bring no opposition as in many families it is the ‘done’ thing to wed an older brother’s widow but her failure to bear a child in nigh on two decades and the appearance of Ronnel’s bastard (attesting that his seed bears fruit) has set Jon dead against the idea. Indeed, sex aside, the woman terrifies him.

Allayne Templeton (nee Waxley)
History

The Widow Allayne Templeton of Ninestars was born to Ser Ryman Waxley and Lady Daena Waxley, the fourth daughter and sixth child of a happy and lasting marriage; indeed both parents still live, well into their sixties. Allayne stood out amongst the other Waxley girls; Arda, Mowen and Bryda- more wilfull and precocious, but infinitely prettier- her raven-dark curls setting her apart from her straight-haired, mousy siblings with their high noses and brittle, high-pitched tones.

Life for Allayne was dull, never challenging and that tedium continued into her teenage years. She watched her brothers marry. Hadred, to a Meadows girl from Grassy Vale in the Reach, Haldred to a Daughter of Lord Farring in the Crownlands. Her sisters all managed to wed themselves to noble houses too; a Tarbeck, a Glover and a Hardying. All were younger sons or cousins but when a possible union to Templeton was mooted, her father was passing keen to see it done. 

Allayne knew that Templeton was merely a Knightly House, like her own, but one that commanded weight and authority surpassing some lesser Lordly houses. Ronnel Templeton had been sickly in childhood but had survived and although partially disfigured by his malady, was still heir to Ninestars and a knight in the making. He was two years her junior but she liked that. Even at sixteen she knew she could mould the boy like a Wickenden candle…

The wedding was easily as lavish as any of her sisters’, although Mowen (the wife of Donal Glover) was conspicuous in her absence. The bedding… A non-event. Ronnel had been in his cups and at 14 it had taken too grave a toll on him. It was at least a week before he managed to fulfil his husbandry duties and mount her. She had to bite her lip to stop from laughing at his crooked stance and as he spent his seed within the first minute she nearly wretched as he groped at her with his withered right arm.
After twelve months of similar disappointment, she made her way along the North passage to Jon’s bed, where she taught him how a woman ought to be loved. He was a quick learner.

She doubted Ronnel knew to where she slipped late at night. She always told him it was to the Sept at the centre of the castle and he never asked any questions. Probably delighted to have such a devout and beautiful wife; praying to the Mother for a son, not stealing to the brother for a fuck.

For Ronnel’s underperformance in the marital bed, he was a kind and witty young man, there were times when she was genuinely proud of his endeavour and commitment to overcoming his shortcomings and growing into the Knight House Templeton needed him to be. His uncle favoured John but the new Master-at-Arms, Kennet Nash was shaping her husband into a passable swordsman, although he still sat ahorse awkwardly. 

When the Tourney at Gulltown came around, Allayne was sickened to see Ronnel’s piteous early exit from a mellee nobody thought he should join, she feigned illness and returned home early. She had already left when Ser Wyman perished.

Whilst Ronnel and Jon rode to the Eyrie for her husband’s knighthood some weeks later, Allayne realised, delightedly that her moon’s blood was late by at least a week. She had little doubt that it was more likely young Jon and not the virtually impotent Ronnel who was the father, but the seed was the same stock and what Ronnel didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. She waited patiently for all the signs of impending motherhood to begin, as she’d learned from her Septa back in Wickenden. She would tell Ronnel when she began to show, but weeks and months passed with no evidence of producing the next Templeton heir, or a dutiful daughter to provide some female companionship, something Ninestars sorely lacked.

As a year went by, Ronnel became happy as a prospering Master of the surrounding lands and realisation dawned on Allayne that the mother, or the Maid, or the crone had chosen to take her womanhood from her in payment for betraying her husband time and again for his stronger, more virile younger brother.
Well the others could take the Seven! She was the Nine! Allayne abandoned what frail attachment she had with the faith and kept a stony, politic silence about her evident barren womb.

She could always blame Ronnel for the lack of a child in the years they had been wed. After all, it stood to reason that his childhood illness may have taken his seed from him, or rendered it hollow.

Jon was wise enough to spill his seed elsewhere in their illicit sessions in any case, wary of siring a bastard on his sister-in-law which he’d no doubt have to watch Ronnel raise.

Runestone changed everything. 

When Ronnel didn’t return and Ser Jon Templeton pinned her against his brother’s marriage bed and took her insistently and roughly, she realised that there was real danger her position would be broken. She was 21. She refused to go quietly into the night, her chance of raising herself in the world spent on a kindhearted but pitiful cripple; a dead one at that. She implored Jon that marriage was a natural and even expected step. They’d been lovers for five years but Jon was equal to her ambition and far less naïve; even to her charms.

He suspected something was amiss that his Sister-in-law had yet to bear a child and of course, he knew that wasn’t down solely to Ronnel.

No. Jon wanted a Lordship. He’d watched his brother shamed at Gulltown and his father killed by a mere squire. Ronnel had been slain with ease by Daemon and Jon was determined to restore some venom into the Ninestars’ reputation.

No sooner had things settled into a kind of miserable post-conflict nothingness, than two children arrived at Ninestars within months…
The first was a slap in the face. Harold Stone was a boy of 4. He was brought to Ninestars by Gawarth Templeton. He said the child was Ronnel’s bastard, sired upon his late wife’s handmaiden who had recently passed from the pox. Allayne lost it. Not that Ronnel had cheated, but that he could have performed sufficiently to beget a child, a son no less, on some pox-ridden wench when illiciting any excitement from him for her had been an increasingly futile labour.

She had her suspicions that this handmaiden had been already with child when Ronnel allegedly dishonoured his vows upon her. However Jon saw Harold as a strange blessing, a shadow of his late brother sent to restore better fortunes to the Templeton estate. Privately, she seethed and her objections to little Harold stay in the West turret near her (and Jon’s) chambers both lay were vociferous enough that it fell largely upon Gawarth to mentor the lad- as he had Jon all those years ago. 
Her anger was quelled, however, when Lord Arryn requested Jon to journey to the Eyrie once more. Upon his return, he had an infant girl; Birgitte Sunderland was the youngest child to Kevan Sunderland- Arryn had insisted Sunderland pay for his support of the rebellion by sending Birgitte to be fostered in the Vale. Templeton had been chosen and from the moment Ser Jon rode home with the gold-haired child, Allayne had found a new lease of life.

In the intervening years, Birgitte has grown into a beautiful young maiden, catching the eye of most of the men at Ninestars. Allayne remains a provocative beauty but her habit of wearing a black mourning gown embroidered with nine yellow stars ‘in memory of Ronnel’ has earned her the title of the Black Widow. 

Personality
Allayne has always sought to better herself and her ambition has ever been her driving force. She has a sense of entitlement that may be said to be entirely misplaced, but she has ever felt superior in wits, beauty and charm to her sisters and has ever strived to control her environs. Even early in her marriage to Ronnel, Ser Wyman kept a cynical eye on her- seeing the way she used age and sexuality to control his eldest son. Her power over Ser Jon remains strong; he still makes his regular conjugal visitations but infuriatingly, he has ever proven too wise to take his barren Sister-in-Law to wife.

However, Allayne has proved with Birgitte, to have a genuine capacity to be loving and considerate, although the Ward she has raised has certainly been done so in Allayne’s image.

The other side of the coin is the ever=present icy coldness with which she regards Harold. She is intelligent enough to realise Jon intends to legitimise the bastard should old Gawarth die until such a time as he should marry and have trueborn children of his own.

History
Born in 111AC in the shadow of Ninestars, Harold’s mother had been handmaiden to Gawarth Templeton’s wife until her death and the termination of Mya’s services. In honour of her leal care of the ailing Rhona Templeton, the Templeton estate provided lodgings in the surrounding town and a retention salary that saw her want for nought. By the time she left Ninestars castle, Mya was with child. All Harold knows of this is that she always told him his father was a Templeton but that he couldn’t see him. By the time he was four, his mother had sickened and died from the pox and Harold distinctly remembers Gawarth coming for him and riding him to the castle on his dappled grey mare.

Harold was treated well by the castle staff and by Ser Jon who bid the little boy call him ‘Uncle’. Only the terrifying woman in black seemed not to fawn over the young bastard. He spent much time with Gawarth, a man nearing fifty but with a strong sense of right and wrong. He spent much of his childhood in the castle courtyard; practising with sword and (as he grew stronger) with lance. He spent long summer afternoons with Yohn Cowley, the Castle kennelmaster and the pack of friendly, bright-eyed dogs which would accompany them on hunts or treks. For days at a time, Yohn, Kennet Nash- Master at Arms, and Gawarth would take Harold out into the mountains or through the Vale of Arryn on one half-baked expedition or another. He loved riding and hawking. He would implore the men of the Castle to allow him to attend tourneys or take him on visits to the Lordly houses in the Vale. 

Other than at bedtime, Harold spent his life outdoors. Anything was better than his fear of running into another witheringly hateful glare from Lady Allayne Templeton. He understood. He had been told how her husband, who’d died bravely fighting Daemon Blackfyre himself on the Redgrass Field had fallen in love with his mother, Mya. He couldn’t blame him for that; Alayne Templeton was a cold and hateful woman in Harold’s experience.

Despite arriving at Ninestars in the same period of months as Birgitte Sunderland came to foster there, Harold seldom saw the girl, four years his junior until he came of age. Then, Birgitte would oftimes be seen walking in the courtyard, with or without Lady Templeton. She loved animals and Harold showed her the dogs and they would spend afternoons together enjoying the company of one another as siblings might. 
However, of late, their friendship has been soured as Birgitte has begun to distance herself from ‘the bastard’. Words she now uses but lent her by Allayne, no doubt.
Harold has noted Birgitte’s beauty as well as any but knows his station and doesn’t want to align himself nearer to Allayne; who’d have him murdered before letting him near her precious ward. 

Harold has been approached by Ser Jon regarding the notion of being legitimised should Gawarth pass before Ser Jon marries, to secure a male heir to the Templeton line but he thinks nought of it. Whilst he would love to bear the Templeton name like his late father, the notion of losing his Great Uncle Gawarth is too painful to comprehend.

Personality

Harold is a little lacking in wit, not to comedic effect but he works hard to understand the more complex mechanics of life; he’d much sooner be out on horseback, or tending the Castle dogs with Yohn. He’s grown into a capable and dependable warrior and is genuinely well-liked (Allayne being the exception) by all at Ninestars. Maester Kirwan won’t hear a bad word said about Harold although whnever anyone likens the lad to Ronnel, the Maester only smiles faintly and returns to his duties.
Essentially, Harold is keen to help anyone, never sullen, never wan about his status as bastard born the only times he’d be known to cry as a boy were when Lady Templeton had scolded him; often as not simply for existing.

He is stubbornly loyal, almost standing as testament to his Templeton blood, and looks upon the family at Ninestars as the only family he has known and one he’d ride into the Seven Hells for.

History

Birgitte’s beginnings are sorrowful indeed. The fourth child and second daughter of Kevan and Jeyne Sunderland of Sisterton, she was unusually late in birth, born the day of the battle at Runestone. Her Mother died during the birth and the child had to be dragged from her in a grim and bloody scene. Her father was fighting on the Daemon Targaryen's side and only upon his return was his defeat in battle compounded by the news of Jeyne’s death.

He couldn’t bring himself to look upon the baby girl; leaving her care to a nursemaid of just 19.

When Lord Arryn sent for Kevan Sunderland’s son, Robett aged 8, he wept and pleaded his Lord’s men to take the unnamed infant instead. Learning of his grief they showed some leniency and took the infant, though the nursemaid was required to accompany them to provide milk; her own baby son had been stillborn and she was grateful to have the little Sunderland baby in her care.

Within days of their arrival at the Eyrie, Birgitte (still nameless of course) began to sicken. Some felt it was the altitude, not being of Arryn blood left infants prone to the sharp, thin atmosphere. So Arryn wrote to Ninestars. The Templetons had suffered the death of Ronnel at Runestone and his Widow was young and childless. Ser Jon himself came to take the baby and the Nursemaid home to the Vale.

The Nursemaid was relieved of her duties formally on Birgitte’s nameday. Allayne Templeton choosing the name of her maternal grandmother. Kevan Sunderland had still never written or any of the household appealed to visit the child. 

It mattered not, for Birgitte was a light in the darkness of Ninestars. Loved by all, her sweet, melodic voice could be heard as she ran, giggled and played in those narrow corridors and dusky towers. Allayne was a mother to her as caring, doting and loving as any little girl could have wished. She was taught of all the famous heroes and histories by Allayne, she studied the Seven and practised the faith with Maester Kirwan- who served as the Castle Septon. She had various teachers hired to school her in embroidery, or in music- she became an accomplished flautist.

As she matured she took more time to roam the castle on her own; she found she enjoyed the company of the staff and servants employed at Ninestars as well as those members of House Templeton to whom she owed so much; Ser Jon was dashing and handsome, she’d had a crush on him since she could remember and he always treated everybody fairly. She once dared speak of this to Allayne, whom she called ‘mother’ since she’d never known another. Allayne had found this highly amusing and Birgitte was quite cross that mother had taken her secret with such mirth!

Old Gawarth Templeton was gruffer but never unpleasant and Kennet Nash would always give her an apple if he saw her streaking across the courtyard.

Then there was Harold. Allayne never spoke of Harold but he had always been around. When she was ten or eleven, he’d taken her to Yohn Cowley and they’d spent the afternoon playing and looking after the dogs. After that they spent more and more time together but it was only ever in friendship. Allayne hadn’t liked it and had told Birgitte that Harold was nothing more than a bastard who lay with whores in town and that as a respectable lady it was unseemly that she should be seen with him.

So she had. Mother was right, she would help Birgitte to a noble marriage; she’d told her all about her sister’s weddings and Allayne’s own wedding to her late husband; Harold’s father, people said- but Birgitte would never mention that in front of Mother! 

Personality

Bright and energetic, Birgitte has the license of a child still but her beauty and womanly looks belie her more naïve nature. She loves to play and hear music, to read or ride. To sing, dance, dress-up like a true Lady, something she hopes to become one day soon. Recently, she has had her first blood and she blushed a hundred times that evening as Allayne explained the ways of the adult world to her. She is a delightful and bright person to know but with Mother’s help, she is becoming wise to the ways of the world; she knows, for instance, that it is Women and not the Men that have true power. She knows that she has a gift in her beauty and that, if used correctly, that gift wields greater power than any sword.

For now, however, her first instinct is still to be charming and gay; with a light and joyous temperament and an infectious propensity to submit to lively giggles when amused- which is often. Although fast becoming an object of baser desires for men she meets, Birgitte remains largely ignorant of this and tends to take people at face value, so trusting is her nature.

Birgitte can become sad when reminded of the total lack of contact her own family on Sisterton have made since her departure as a babe-in-arms, but her resolve is that she will return to the island one day with a mightly and Lordly husband in tow and show them all what they’d missed. She had a family. House Templeton were her family now.
Birgitte is aware that Ser Jon hopes to earn enough trust from Lord Arryn that House Templeton might be raised to Lordship and this idea pleases her greatly. She has always been treated as kin to the Templetons and any successes they feel she would gladly share in. Anything to please her dear, dear mother…

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Kalmar The Mediocre

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Kalmar

The Mediocre

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House Greyjoy

Seat: Pyke
The Iron Islands

Dalton Greyjoy, the Red Kraken

The eldest son of the Lord Reaver of Pyke, Dalton Greyjoy was known to be wild. He first started rowing and the age of five, and at the age of ten began reaving alongside his uncle. He became an experienced reaver, having fought in several battles, and sailed to lands such as the Basilisk Isles and Old Ghys. By the time he was fourteen, he had already claimed four 'salt wives' and owned a Valyrian steel sword named Nightfall, which had been acquired from a defeated corsair.

When he was fifteen, he watched his uncle die in battle. Dalton managed to avenge him, but not without taking a great number of wounds, emerging covered in blood, and earning the nickname 'the Red Kraken.' When his father died that same year, Dalton returned to the Iron Islands to claim the Seastone Chair, becoming Lord of the Iron Islands.

His first act was to order the expand the Iron Islands' navy - constructing longships, forging swords, and training soldiers. His reason for doing so was, in his own words: "the storm is coming."

History

The Iron Islands are located off the western coast of Westeros - more specifically, west of the Riverlands. There are thirty-one islands overall, and it is the smallest region in the Seven Kingdoms. They have a rocky landscape with poor soil, scarce natural resources, and frequent storms. They are home to the Ironborn, who are a primarily seafaring people that excels at sailing, fighting, and raiding. For thousands of years the Ironborn have raided the mainland, in order to compensate for their own lack of wealth and resources, but they do engage in trade. The Ironborn keep slaves, known as thralls, although they cannot be bought or sold, and can earn their freedom. The dominant religion in the Isles is worship of the Drowned God, and their priests are called Drowned Men. A common saying is "What is dead may never die, but rises again harder and stronger."

The Greyjoys were among the oldest and most powerful Houses in the Iron Isles, claiming to be one descended from the Grey King, a legendary figure in Ironborn history. Their house words are "We do not sow." The Greyjoys were bested only by Houses Greyiron and Goodbrother when it came to number of Kings chosen by the Kingsmoot, an ancient tradition in which the Ironborn lords and captains elected their own ruler to serve as King of the Iron Islands. The position was not hereditary, and another Kingsmoot was to be held upon when the recent King died.

Unfortunately, the tradition of the Kingsmoot would eventually be ended by the Greyirons. Eventually the Greyiron Dynasty would enter a decline after the invasion of the Andals, being replaced by the Hoares. Centuries later, King Harwyn Hardhand would go on to conquer the Riverlands, and his grandson, a tyrant known as King Harren the Black, would construct a massive castle named Harrenhal. During Aegon's Conquest, Aegon Targaryen successful managed to incite a Riverlord revolt against King Harren's rule. Aegon then used his dragon to raze Harrenhal to the ground, killing Harren, his sons, and most of his supporters.

The Ironborn lost the Riverlands, which Aegon then granted to the Tullys. Eventually Aegon would conquer the Iron Islands themselves, but would allow the conquered Ironborn to choose Vickon Greyjoy as Lord of the Iron Islands. Afterwards, the Ironborn would mainly keep to themselves, staying out of politics and no longer permitted to raid mainland Westeros.

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Prince Daemon Targaryen

Seat: Dragonstone
Crownlands

Dragonstone- Ancient Seat of House Targaryen

bio
The younger brother of King Viserys Targaryen, Daemon was ever rash and headstrong. He always loved Viserys well and served him for many years on his small council. Daemon's early life involved touring the teeming masses of humanity in Flea Bottom, where his face was familiar to every landlord, crook and whore from a young age. He was knighted on his sixteenth nameday and presented with Dark Sister his own Valyrian Steel sword. A rogue he may have been but childhood was tinged with sadness too; his younger brother, Aegon was killed in a fall from the Red Keep when only four. Daemon had teased his brother that to become a dragonrider, you had to leap from a high window and your dragon would catch you, or you would die. In all honesty, his jape may have had nought to do with the young prince's demise but it's a truth he's never spoken to anyone since and the guilt has never diminished.

Once of age, he married early. Wed to Rhea Royce, a noble House in the Vale of Arryn but he grew bored of life there and especially of her precious honour and insistance upon his being courtly and chivalrous in her presence. He made arrangements to be ever distant from her until he essentially came to pretend she didn't exist whatsoever, referring to her as his 'bronze bitch'- a mockery of the metal associated with her House's heritage. 

In the 101AC Great Council, he supported his brother, Viserys' claim to be Jaehaerys' heir. His Lord father, Baelon, was Jaehaerys' brother and heir but had died earlier that year. With Viserys as heir, Daemon was next in line to the throne. Jaehaerys duly dies two years later and Viserys came to be King in late 103AC. In a Tourney early the next year, Daemon was bested twice in combat by Ser Criston Cole. He asked Viserys as king to set aside his first marriage and grant an annulment. In this, Viserys refused so, instead, Daemon took office in Kings Landing as Master of Coin. This way, he didn't have to return to the Vale or to Rhea. He fared averagely in his new office but was still brash and had little patience for affairs of state. Ser Otto Hightower, Hand of the King begged Daemon be removed from the small council. He was tried in other roles, Master of Laws was even more tedious and he lasted half a year before Viserys appointed him Head of the City Watch.

At this, Daemon found his calling. He knew the seedy underbelly of Flea Bottom as well as any and in the prostitute, Mysaria, he found a mistress of Whispers who could find out every secret plot and scheme within the City Walls (and oft without). Naturally, he took her to his bed, a beautiful Lyseni tutored in the Seven Sighs and, as Daemon would attest, tutored very well indeed. Crime fell sharply during his tenure but, not for the first nor the last time, his mouth would land him in trouble. Ser Otto Hightower (ironically) first broached the notion that Viserys should name his daughter, and only child, Rhaenyra as his heir. Daemon, it was felt, was far too rash and hot-tempered to make a worthy King. Viserys privately agreed but hoped a son might come along and save the issue coming up at all. When a son did come, little Prince Baelon followed his mother to the grave within a day and Viserys was left bereft.

When word reached him that Prince Daemon had been heard on the Street of Sisters, drinking a mock toast to young Baelon "The Heir for a Day!" He had endured enough insult to officially declare Rhaenyra his preferred Heiress. Already the precocious little Princess could be seen at court or riding her dragon, Syrax across Blackwater Rush. Daemon fled Kings Landing enraged. 

He took Mysaria with him and absolutely annihilated her vagina back on Dragonstone. She loved it. The result was that she fell pregnant. As illegitimate as the child would be, it would be Daemon's firstborn and he presented Mysaria with a Dragon's egg and sent her to Lys where he hoped she would be beyond the King's reach. Viserys was angry and demanded the egg be returned but Mysaria's ship hit a storm and she lost the child and the egg. Or so it was reported...

Angered at his brother and this latest 'loss', Daemon set out to win a crown of his own and after Mysaria (who reached Lys seemingly unharmed) wrote of the tyranny people suffered under the Triarchy (an alliance of Tyrosh, Lys and Myr- collectively known as the 'Stepstones') he aligned his power to Lord Corlyss Velaryon's fleet and joined upon the back of his dragon Caraxes. They won a great many victories and Daemon was reunited with Mysaria after two years apart to find a two-year-old baby girl and a 2 year old baby dragon- pale and grey like morning mist. Daemon knew the beast could scarce be kept indoors for long and once word spread there was a young single mother and her babe who had their own dragon on Lys... The risk was huge, he had made plentiful enemies. He left money for Mysaria and the babe who she had named Rhaenaya and took the dragon back to Dragonstone, releasing it over Dragonmont; in all the intervening years, he (or anyone else) has scarcely seen the creature- the smallfolk giving it the monicker 'The Grey Ghost'. 

His war nearly ended in complete triumph, by 109AC he declared himself King of the Stepstones having conquered all but two islands of the Triarchy yet his fortunes would again turn for the worst and in 111AC, having been smashed by a reserve Triarchic Fleet commanded by Racallio Ryndoon, he decided he was bored of ruling over rocks and birdshit. Ryndoon discovered Mysaria and Rhaenaya's true identities and put the mother to the sword. Rhaenaya, six years old by now, was rescued by neighbours loyal to Daemon and smuggled into the care of Lord Corlyss Velaryon (who had little notion of the child's significance but, being a man of honour and sworn to Dragonstone, it was into Daemon's keeping the child returned). Rhaenaya was a beautiful little girl and had no memory of Daemon as the man who took her dragon away, if she remembered a dragon at all she showed little sign of it; save that she spent her few days with him watching the Cannibal or Sheepstealer or that little silver one sweeping out over Blackwater Bay enthralled. Little Silver one...? It couldn't be... 

Keen that his daughter's identity remained a secret and that she not bond with her lost friend anew, Daemon sent ravens to Winterfell, Casterly Rock, Highgarden, Riverrun, Storm's End and The Eyrie in the hope that they might foster a child who might make a courteous handmaiden for some highborn Lady. He said only that she was a 'refugee of war' and that she was Lyseni and called 'Aya', opting to ditch the most Targaryen part of her birthname. Each house, to his surprise, accepted the offer but no reply came quicker than the one from House Arryn. Lady Arryn was a maid of sixteen but had sent a falcon in place of a crow to expediate her response. Dubious of this haste, Daemon elected to place his trust in Jeyne Arryn, partly because her displeasure about his loud protestations about people of the Vale and his treatment of Jeyne's own Aunt Rhea Royce- the very wife he'd cruelly shunned. 

Arrangements were made and Aya has served at the Eyrie ever since; Daemon being the only soul alive to know her true identity.

That year, he tried to make peace with Viserys by presenting his brother with his King of the Narrow Sea crown at a Tourney in King's Landing. Viserys accepted this token and let Daemon keep the crown. He was reinstated to the Small Council but quickly fell into his old ways on the Street of Silk and showed only contempt for Viserys' new Queen, Alicent Hightower and her sons who pushed him ever further down the line of succession. Instead, he spent more and more time with the Princess Rhaenyra, Viserys' heiress. As legend has it, he was found abed with his own niece and faced execution for treason. Criston Cole urged the severest punishment having served as the Princess' personal guard for nigh on a decade. Viserys was persuaded instead to opt for exile for Daemon and away he slunk to continue his neverending war on the Stepstones. He definitely nailed her though and y'know what? Totally worth it.

115AC was the death of Rhea Royce, Daemon was finally a free man. She was killed in a hunting accident. Despite his loud opinions about the Vale and how it bored him, he decided that he should claim Runestone- seat of House Royce for himself in her name and began a siege on the stronghold. Lady Jeyne Arryn immediately called the banners and despite his added advantage of a dragon, the threat of Viserys himself entering the conflict (Daemon being directly in contravention of his exile) was enough for him to abandon the claim. Jeyne Arryn officially banished him from the Vale indefinitely (technically making him doubly exiled from one Kingdom and singly exiled from the rest!) 

He was, by this point, not even Prince of Dragonstone- Rhaenyra earning the seat when Viserys made her heir. He was running out of allies but in old war buddy, Corlyss Velaryon on Driftmark, he had one. His eye soon fell on Lord Corlyss' comely daughter Laena and the two were wed. Viserys had never been asked his blessing so another slight was added to the many Daemon had already inflicted upon his brother. He took her with him to tour the free cities, still unwelcome in Westeros and in 116AC, Laena gave him twin girls; Baela and Rhaena. He never revealed the existence of his bastard daughter and, given Jeyne Arryn's detestation of him, had given up on staying in touch with Rhaenaya, by now an eleven year old and almost grown to womanhood. 

Writing to Viserys to request he present the girls at Court and earn the King's Blessing was bold but Viserys conceded fatherhood would have tempered his brother and consented. Rhaenyra married Laena's brother Laenor Velaryon - meaning his niece and former lover (if only for a night) was now also his sister by marriage. Laena betrothed the twins to the eldest boys of Rhaenyra and Laenor but sadly died in 120AC finally birthing Daemon a son, who was stillborn and grossly deformed.

As ill-luck would have it 120AC was the year of the Red Spring. Laenor also died as did Harwin Strong, captain of Rhaenyra's personal guard and suspected true father of her three sons- none of whom looked like Laenor. In truth, Laenor was a gayer. He liked men and men's bottoms. Daemon paid Qarl Correy a great deal of money to court his brother-by-marriage and even more to slay him in the marketplace in Spicetown and disappear to Qarth to live out his days in luxury. Shame Qarl's galley was riddled with holes ad he never survived the voyage- sinking without a trace a little ways South of Driftmark...

The tragedies left Rhaenyra and Daemon spouseless but with an unspoken yearning to once more reengage in pelvic explosions. Making a habit of not seeking Viserys' permission if the answer was like to be 'no', Daemon wed Rhaenyra in secret and they went on to have two sons together, Aegon (named for his tragically lost little brother) and Viserys (for his ever so quite severely annoyed at him older brother and King) Disappointingly, the following seven years saw Rhaenyra grow visibly old and stout. Five kids wrecks a chick yo. And late in 128AC the Princess announced she was with child once more. 

She is currently in her eighth month of pregnancy and confined to Dragonstone with Winter officially arrived.

Princess Rhaenyra is no longer quite so bangin'

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House Caron

Seat: Nightsong
Dornish Marches

Helia Caron, Lady of the Marches, Lady of the Nightsong

Helia had been born the second eldest of House Caron - a few years behind her eldest brother Jaron. She had around five other younger sisters, whom Helia all loved and cherised. While her youngest were groomed to be ladies, Helia had managed to take in time, to practice with a bow. Whenever she wasn't learning to be a Lady - sew, cook or practice her fine voice in singing. Her bow skill improved as she grew stronger and more beautiful - in-time she would have likely matched the best archer in Westeros.

While her future would have most likely constituted as being another wife to a Marcher Lord - fate stepped in, as a rather sharp spring cold snapped and took away her brother Jaron and father. In essence, making her the Lady of the Marches and Lady of the Nightsong - in one day, at that. Under her rule, the Marcher Lords have continued their growth - their prestige and influence growing.

As Helia Caron, continued her father' legacy - that of the Long March...

History:

The Carons date back to the Age of Heroes, and they are a family known for creating warriors and singers. They claim their nightingale sigil has been in 1,000 battles. They have held Nightsong for many centuries and have guarded the western border of the domain of the Storm Kings of House Durrandon, but also once the Kingdom of the Reach - who once included western marches from Horn Hill to Nightsong. The castle that has been besieged at least 37 times in the last millenium.

Throughout their accomplishments, that Carons have been all...except a respected House in Westeros. For all their claims, they are only known in the Stormlands. Barely known as another House in the many thousands in Westeros - that all had changed under the rule of one man, Pyrak Caron. Namely the grandfather of Helia Caron - the man whom had the ambition, cunning and drive to unite the Marcher Lords under his banner - to carve out the Caron name from the Age of Heroes. 

Namely Pyrak Caron' ambition, was to slowly but surely - unite the various Lords of the Dornish Marches under his lordship. For sixty years, Pyrak Caron toiled away - through conquest, marriage, bribery and even bloodshed. Pyrak Caron subjugated or allied various Marcher Lords under his rulership. His son Merson Caron continued his work - using his four youngest daugters to finalize their hold. Finally, having meaning to their title the Lord of the Marches. In eighty years, they had gone from another House in the Dornish Marches to the second House in the Stormlands after House Baratheon.

While the death of Merson Caron and Jaron Caron had dulled their family' progress - Helia Caron continues their future. With storms gathering over the horizon - House Caron might have a chance, to complete their road to glory.

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Aegon the II 'the Elder' Targaryen

[ ⚔ ]HouseHouse Targaryen, 'The Greens'

[ ⚔ ]PersonalityAegon the Elder would never be described as the most pleasant or warm man to be around. Despite looking quite a bit like his father Aegon had none of the man's happiness and warmth being noted as a sulking boy from a young age. Aegon was known to brood often, scorning the company of his similarly aged nephews and occasionally brothers. It was not until he would discover the comfort of women that Aegon would begin to grow somewhat less broody.

He would lose his virginity early in life, by his thirteenth name day to an exotic handmaiden in the Red Keep. Aegon quickly grew promiscuous from there, known to spend time in the beds of many women. It was even rumored he had taken his sister Helaena's maiden head sometime before the pair were married. As he grew older Aegon would begin to show some of his father's vices gluttony, and laziness foremost among them. Aegon would grow to be mildly plump like his father when he was young. Not that this seemed to slow down his pursuits of pleasure in the slightest. Even after marrying his sister Aegon continues his sexual conquests with a number of paramours to his name.

Although these changes far improved Aegon's mood he could never go long with sulking. He was still bad tempered around his nephews or anyone else who annoyed him and would often scorn a lover for rather petty slights. Even at feasts amongst his brothers or other friends, he would become morose if allowed to be on his own for too long and become distracted with himself and refusing to cheer up.

Overal Aegon is not charming to be around for very long but still, has no trouble charming his way into a woman's bed who takes his fancy. The young Targaryen is far from self-centered, however, caring deeply for his children and siblings. Part of the reason he accepted Ser Criston Cole's urging to take the crown was to protect his kin from the wrathful Rhaenyra, whose hate for his mother and him was well known. With his enmity for her and her supposed bastard sons, many believe he relishes the coming opportunity to cull them. But this is not so.

Although he has never loved or even liked his nephews or Rhaenyra,
unlike Aemond he does not desperately wish to see their heads upon spikes. He keeps to himself the wish that war may be avoided,
however foolish or impossible such a hope may be.

[ ⚔ ]HistoryAegon is the first-born son and oldest child of King Visery's and Queen Allicent Hightower, the Kings second marriage. Born in 107 AC it would be two years before his sister Helaena was born and three before his first brother Aemond would be born. Before Aegon's mother was married to King Visery's he had been married to Aemma Aryn. Although their marriage was happy enough the couple was largely unable to conceive a healthy and surviving child. When Aemma Arryn died in child birth in 105 AC only one child of their union had survived, Rhaenyra Targaryen.

In the absence of a male heir other than his brother Daemon,
Viserys put forward Rhaenyra as his rightful heir. He began to groom her for leadership. Eventually, he would name her as his legal heir, ensuring Daemon would not inherit so long as Rhaenyra lived which infuriated his troublesome brother. This was the state of things by the time King Visery's re-married with Allicent Hightower. Unlike his marriage to Aemma, Allicent would quickly bear him a healthy boy named Aegon.

Despite the fact he now had a healthy male heir King Viserys refused to change his decision of making Rhaenyra his legal heir.
 Though Queen Allicent did not stop trying, often insisting her husband follow the laws laid down in 101 AC and name Aegon his legal heir. She even once suggested Rhaenyra and Aegon marry to ensure her son would inherit the throne.

Aegon and Rhaenyra, however, would have none of it. The two did not get along in the slightest, often prone to petty arguments and childish fights. Not to mention Viserys knew his wife only suggested it place her son on the throne, offending him with her selfish motivation. He quickly married Rhaenyra to Laenor Valerian, thereby ensuring the possibility of marriage between the two was not possible. Not that this bothered young Aegon, who vehemently disliked his half sister.

As time went on Aegon would be joined by three siblings, a sister named Helaena and two brothers named Aemond and Daeron. He and his siblings would grow quite close, far closer than Aegon and his brothers would ever come to their nephews. Rhaenyra's marriage to Laenor Valeryon seemed to have borne fruit in the form of three sons, Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey. However, despite having two parents of Valyrian ancestry all three had the distinctive features of Harwin Strong who many, including Aegon and his brothers, believed to be their true father. This mixed with Rhaenyra's dislike for Allicent Hightower ensured that her sons would grow to vehemently dislike their uncles and vice versa.

In an effort to stem the growing vitriol between his grandchildren and sons Viserys had the similarly aged children placed in close proximity often. They shared tutors, attended the same gathering and sat at the same tables. Unfortunately, this attempt served only to exacerbate the situation, with their hatred only growing.
Several incidents would result from this including the injuring of Prince Aemond and a disagreement nearly turned fight between Aegon himself and Jacaerys sometime later. In the end, Rhaenyra and her sons would leave to live on Dragonstone to avoid further unpleasantness with their extended family.

Although he was not born with a hatched dragon Aegon would bond with the beautiful dragon Sunfyre around his thirteenth name day,
taking quite a liking to the golden scaled dragon. Around the same time Aegon began to receive the reputation of a rather promiscuous young man and womanizer. He would bed a number of women in his youth but would not have any known bastards for some time. It is said, at some point during his years of frivolous courtship he would set his eyes upon his sister Helaena. Rumors abound that their incestuous courtship was discovered by the Queen who had them quickly married to avoid any sort of scandal, which Viserys allowed and blessed. 

His marriage with Helaena bore three healthy children, the twins Jaehaerys and Jaehaera and their infant brother Maelor. He would also father several bastards, showing that even when married it was nigh impossible for Aegon to abandon his old ways. A mere two years after Maelor's birth Aegon's father died in his sleep, and so the question of succession came. Ser Criston Cole approached Aegon with the offer of King shortly after his father's death. Although Aegon had always coveted such a position the offer gave him pause, worried for what it may mean for his family and the realm... but he was far more worried about the fate of his family should Rhaenyra and the power Hungry Daemon take charge, neither of whom looked favourable up Queen Allicent and her children. So Aegon was proclaimed King of the Seven Kingdoms, taking his Namesake Aegon the conquerors crown. Only time will now tell how his reign will be remembered but one thing is certain.

His coronation will Bring Fire. Fire and Blood.

[ ⚔ ]Family TreeFamily tree

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House Roxton

Seat: The Ring

History: The House of Roxton was never a big house, but its enemies were many. This was because of their lord at the time, Galder Roxton. Galder was an odd sort, who was notorious among his court and the courts of his neighbors, in that he had a very low opinion of his liege, the Tyrells. He did nothing to hide the fact that he despised Highgarden and wished to form his own Kingdom of the Ring. He was only lucky that due to his low rank, he was beneath their notice.

Galder eventually died of a terrible duel. They were both drunk and armed, and he was challenged by Ser Salvon Threefoot, a newly anointed knight from a landless family. They fought the most embarrassing duel in all the Seven Kingdoms, and both pierced themselves on their own blades. The title holder after Galder was decided by a simple coin flip, and Basdon Roxton succeeded. He had a child, but soon after, committed suicide. The Ring is now controlled by Frados Roxton, serving as regent for Lindsay Roxton. 

Name: Frados Roxton

Age: 44

Appearance: Frados is very tall, towering over most of his court. He is also very wide, partly because of his military training, mostly because of his affection for meals. His light brown hair, once thick on his head, has begun to recede, leaving a bald patch on the top where most can't see. His expression is often sour and grim, but softens up in the presence of his niece.

Personality and History: Frados was born to Lord Galder Roxton and Lady Lima Roxton in 85 AC. Unfortunately for him, he shared a womb with another, his twin brother Basdon. Basdon had the gall to have been born only thirty seconds before Frados, and therefore had cheated him out of what they both called their "rightful title".

The early days for both of them were uneasy, for they were both sickly as youths. The new maester at the time, Maester Sarren, had told their parents that neither of them were likely to survive the first year, if the first week. Both, miraculously, overcame the odds and grew to childhood.

The Roxton brothers were already becoming very different people. While Basdon' fate was to rule the Ring, and therefore resigned himself to endless hours of learning to make critical decisions, memorize house banners, and listen to people, Frados decided that if he couldn't be the lord of the Ring, he would become a Kingsguard. So he went down every morning to train with the squires and footmen. The one thing they had in common, though, was a love of games. They especially adored games of chance, and took the stakes very seriously.

When they were both 18, Galder was taken by the stranger, and his land and titles passed on to Basdon. His wife, grief stricken, soon followed. However, Frados had grown angry with that in the end, and challenged his brother to a duel for the seat. Quickly improvising, he proposed instead a coin flip to decide the fate of the Ring. Alas, luck was against Frados this time, and Basdon remained lord.

In time, Basdon found a match, marrying Jana, a lowborn woman, in 118 AC. Their marriage was fruitful, and soon they had a daughter, Lindsay, in 119. However, the childbirth was difficult, and Jana died of birthing fever soon after. Basdon tossed himself out of his highest tower, unable to cope with his wife's passing.

With Lindsay far too young to govern, effective control went to Frados. To this day he rules in the Ring as a regent to his niece. He has attempted to abstain from bets, but the prospect of a good gamble still makes his blood boil.

Name: Lindsay Roxton

Age: 10

Appearance: Little is remarkable about Lindsay. She is a good couple of inches taller than the average child, a mark of her father. Her hair is in light brown locks, almost yellow in the right light, a gift from her mother. She always appears intrigued by something off in the distance, which nobody else except her can see.

Personality and History: Lindsay's life has been rather tumultuous as ten year olds' lives go. Soon after her birth, her father killed himself, leaving her to the care of her uncle. He was kind enough to her, but was also always busy with something, and can only spend time with her for a few minutes at a time before he's called away by another knight or servant. She sometimes wonders if had father been alive, he would have been the same.

Her uncle would frequently tell her how lucky she was, being born late and avoiding the winter. It was a terrible cold, he said, that split walls of castles with its sheer temperature differences. She didn't really understand all the sciences of it, yet then again, she was pretty sure her uncle Frados talked in long sentences just to confuse her sometimes.

One thing Lindsay inherited from her father was her love of games. She was extraordinarily good at Korzion, and would spend lots of playing it against her uncle and whoever she could goad into playing. Most of the time, they lost. Perhaps that's why whenever she shows up anywhere anymore, board in hand, all the servants clear out of the room. When this happens, and her uncle is passed out in bed, she would just play against herself. It wasn't as fun winning then.

Maester Sarren - Maester
Ser Haraway Falhen - Castellan
Ser Coganon Rocinante - Jester
Keles of Dorne - Steward
Arillos the Plated - Commander

Note: The Ring's enemies are Wythers and Alden Keep.

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House Hightower
Seat: 
The Hightower - Oldtown

The family is ancient, existing since the dawn of days when they were petty-kings. While most scholars believe they descend from the First Men, Maester Yandel posits they descend from the seafarers and traders that settled at the top of the Whispering Sound in an earlier time, men who came to Westeros before the First Men and seem to have founded the original incarnation of Oldtown. Whatever the truth, the Hightowers resided in the ancient black stone fortress of Battle Isle at the mouth of the Honeywine before the "Hightower" of stone was built.

The Hightowers built four successive wooden beacon towers atop the fortress. The legendary King Uthor of the High Tower is said to have commissioned Bran the Builder or his son Brandon to design the fifth tower, one built entirely of stone. Uthor's sons, King Urrigon and Prince Peremore the Twisted, were integral in the foundation of the Citadel.

During these early days Oldtown was threatened and sacked many times, including by ironborn raiders, Dornishmen, and the armies of the Kings of the Reach, House Gardener of Highgarden. The Kings of the High Tower raised strong walls and higher towers to keep any further invaders out. Oldtown was not brought into the realm of the Gardeners by conquest, but by marriage, during the reigns of King Lymond Hightower and King Garland II Gardener. Lymond the Sea Lion wed the daughter of Garland, while Garland put aside his own wives to marry Lymond's daughter.

During the Andal invasion, the Hightowers and the Gardeners allied with the newcomers. Thus they were able to keep their wealth, lands and privileges. Protected by the might of Highgarden, the lords of Oldtown turned their eyes to trade and commerce and grew with every generation to become one of the richest and most powerful noble families in Westeros. The Hightowers were also one of the first great lords to accept the Faith of the Seven and thus gave their patronage to the establishment of the office of High Septon and the building of the Starry Sept as the center of the Faith. 

Members of the House:
Ser Otto Hightower- Hand of the King - Aegon II's Grandfather - 65
The Queen Mother Alicent Targaryen- 40 (Viserys’ Widow)
Gwayne Hightower– Second in Command of City Guard - 38 - Queen's brother
Lord Ormund Hightower – Commander of Hightower Army in the Reach - 45
Ser Brynden Hightower – A Knight in Lord Ormund's service – 17
Ser Hobert Hightower – A Knight in Lord Ormund's service – 29

Character Sheets:
History

Younger brother to Lord Hightower, Ser Otto was famed for his intellect, learning and wise counsel. In Aegon II, Ser Otto begins to serve as Hand to his third king, having served Jaehaerys and Viserys previously. Serving loyally at court, Otto was called into the role when Jaehaerys' wife and son (Baelon- who was serving as Hand to his father) died, leaving the King grief-stricken, ill and bedridden. Ser Otto brought his daughter, Alicent to Court to nurse the ailing King. Otto effectively ran the Kingdom until Jay-Hay finally gave up the ghost and passed into eternal sleep. Viserys kept him in the office and he became an ever prized member of the small council during his reign. 

Viserys and the Queen already had a daughter, Rhaenyra who Otto loved as though she were his own. Alicent also remained at court and she too got on well with the little princess. Ever a thorn in his side was Viserys' younger brother, Prince Daemon. More often than not, Otto's average week would involve cleaning up evidence of one of the Prince's indiscretions down in King's Landing. Once he even put a live snail up a tavern wench's bumhole and it fell to Otto to reach in the old cookie jar. Grimmer and grimmer. He quarreled with Viserys at length about Daemon and urged the King to recognise little Rhaenyra as his true heir. Daemon, Otto was certain, would make a dreadful king whereas the Princess was well-loved. 

Viserys was only moved to heed Ser Otto after moving Daemon from Master of Coin to Master of Laws to Captain of the Gold Cloaks. He seemed better suited to life on the streets but when Viserys' wife, Queen Aemma (an Arryn) died birthing the King a son and male heir and the baby died a day later, Daemon was heard mocking the boy as "Heir for a day!" on the Street of Sisters. Daemon's infernal presence at Court was finally at an end, a furious and bereaved Viserys declaring Rhaenyra his preferred heiress and not his reckless younger brother. 

Daemon left to war on the Stepstones and a time of peace and plenty followed in Kings Landing. Alicent and Viserys grew close as she helped him through his misery. Turns out she helped him through it ALL NIGHT LONG and when he declared his intention to marry Otto's daughter, everyone was generally pleased. Rhaenyra was coming into her womanhood but liked Alicent well and was grateful for her comforting Viserys through some difficult years. 

When the King and Alicent had a healthy son of their own, Aegon. Ser Otto insisted the King set Rhaenyra aside as heir and recognise Aegon in accordance with the Great Council of 101AC. Viserys reminded him that it was HE who had insisted Rhaenyra inherit rather than Daemon and after cross words, Otto was dismissed from his office as Hand and returned to Hightower in Oldtown where his brother was losing his battle against a bloody flux. 

Five years into the marriage, Daemon returned during a queer tourney that saw the beginnings of what would grow into a great schism within House Targaryen. Alicent had already borne the King three children; four year old Aegon, Two Year old Helaena and the baby Aemond. Alicent dressed in a deep green dress whilst Rhaenyra, thirteen by now and a stunning beauty, was seen to wear Targaryen black with red embellishments. This was noted because the Tourney was in honour of the King and Alicent's fifth wedding anniversary. The day would be Rhaenyra's, however, as Ser Criston Cole- wearing her favour- unhorsed every opponent, including Gwayne- Otto's youngest son and the Queen's brother in the final. From this point onward the Queen's supporters were known as Greens and the Princess' known as Blacks.

Otto was recalled to serve as Hand once more in 120AC. Alicent had borne Viserys a third son, Daeron and there had been much grief for both Green and Black factions during a tumultuous year. Lyonel Strong (who had replaced Otto as Hand) burned to death along with his son in a fire at Harrenhal. He would spend the next nine years plotting with his daughter to strengthen the Hightower position after Viserys' death. When it finally came for him in 129AC, Ser Otto and the Queen moved swiftly, not publishing any word of Viserys' demise until the High Septon had crowned Aegon as Aegon II Targaryen. No doubt Rhaenyra and her latest husband Prince Daemon (her own uncle and Otto's nemesis) would be livid. 

The Greens would be ready. 

Personality

Patient, clever and if needs be, calculating. Ser Otto always felt he had the better mental faculties to rule but being a second son it was his older brother who would inherit. Ser Otto likes order. He likes things to run smoothly and cannot abide the sort of chaos in which Prince Daemon seems to revel. War is a last resort but in his mind Aegon II is the rightful heir to the throne. He acknowledges the hypocrisy in this; it was he who urged Viserys to favour Rhaenyra in the first place. That was borne out of spite, all Daemon had a talent for was making enemies and as King? It didn't bear thinking about. 

He's proud of how high the House has risen through the industry and opportunism of himself and latterly his daughter. His Lord father and brother had to look up to him and now his nephew the newest Lord Hightower is a long ways beneath his office and that of his daughter, the Queen Mother. 

He loved Rhaenyra as a child but the day she chose to wear black to a Wedding Anniversary was the day she changed for him. She let that scumbag Daemon take her maidenhead and then set aside her Lord Husband to spawn bastards with Harwin Strong. And her latest marriage? Daemon. The man would do anything to get his hands on the Iron Throne and evidently if he can't be the King, he'll marry the future Queen. Well. Ser Otto has thwarted his old rival once again.

Alicent Targaryen (nee Hightower)
History
A fourth child of a second son, Alicent was scarce earmarked for greatness from birth. Yes she's highborn and yes House Hightower is rich, ancient and renowned but Queen of the Seven Kingdoms? Behave yourself!

"All you got's yer cunny girl!" a travelling crone told her at an Oldtown fair in her youth. The wizened old hag had told Alicent that men had their honour and their valour whereas women only had the wet heat between their legs that could get them anywhere if used correctly. Mayhaps that's why this old bitch was whispering filth to little girls in some backstreet sideshow for a copper a day. As bad as the advice sounds, Alicent remembered it and in a queer sort of way it's worked out splendidly. 

When her Uncle, Lord Hightower found her thighs wrapped around his squire's face on the night of her fourteeth nameday, she'd been packaged off to King's landing and the Squire had lost his tongue... shame, he'd used it well. King's Landing saw he back in the custody of her father, Hand of the King Ser Otto Hightower. Ser Otto made no mention of her indiscretions but swiftly urged her to serve for the King who was ailing having lost his son and wife of late. 

She soon became a welcome sight around court; favoured by many for her diligent and dutiful care of the Old King in his darkest hours. Indeed, after a great feast to honour what would turn out to be Jaehaerys I's last nameday, the dashing Prince Daemon took her to bed and mounted her harder than Caraxes. She'd cried out so many times she prayed her father didn't hear along with half the City. Small mercy he didn't get her with child. "All you got's yer cunny, girl!" The crone had promised. Worked for her! 

In the final months of Jaehaerys' life, it was his eldest living son, the kind and gentle Prince Viserys who came to spend more time with her. Viserys was all courtesy- a family man, wed to Aemma Arryn with a beautiful little daughter, Princess Rhaenyra who was forever in the presence of her dragon Syrax. Though Alicent noted how his sad eyes would often trail after her. All in good time She thought.

After the death of Jaehaerys, Alicent was kept on at court, she was close to her father and the Targaryen family were grateful for her care for him towards the end. When new King, Viserys lost his wife and son within a day of one another, Alicent was of great comfort as she'd been for Viserys' father. She'd soon taken the King between her legs but was coy enough to persuade him to make an honest woman of her, for the love he bore her father as Hand of the King. Sure enough, within a few years her lover wed her and took Alicent Hightower for his new Queen. She used her "cunny" to great effect, bearing Viserys two strong boys and, in between, a beautiful daughter in time for the fateful 5 year wedding festivities. A Tourney in Kings Landing in which she was bedecked in a rich green garment, as were her infant children and supporters. 

It was noticed that Rhaenyra, Viserys' thirteen year old daughter from his marriage to Queen Aemma, wore black of House Targaryen. The Princess of Dragonstone had clearly drawn the battlelines. Alicent was hurt, as Criston Cole dumped her little brother, Gwayne on his arse in the final tilt and Alicent was glad the day was at an end. Daemon had returned to pledge loyalty to his brother once more but the love was to be short-lived. Alicent couldn't have Daemon back on the scene; one word of their night of passion could threaten her position severely and she wouldn't put it past him to brag of his conquest just to one-up Viserys. She went to speak with Rhaenyra...

After impressing upon the Princess that women had one weapon men could never brag of, everything fell perfectly into place; with Alicent's urging still fresh in her ears all it took was a tip-off to Criston Cole and the sordid tryst between Daemon and the Princess was discovered. Viserys banished Daemon from Westeros and Rhaenyra went back to Dragonstone and was promptly married off to Laenor Velaryon once she was of age. Pleased with her work, she tried to press upon Viserys that Aegon should be rightful heir, rather than Rhaenyra. Her father Ser Otto had said as much to the King two years previous and lost his office for it. Still, stubbornly, Viserys maintained he had made his decision and that should be an end to it. 

He tried his best to foster love between his children with Alicent and Rhaenyra's brood with Laenor, though it was almost common knowledge Harwin Strong- the Captain of her personal guard was the boys' true father. Viserys abhorred this talk and had dragon eggs placed in each of Rhaenyra's boys' cribs - to many people's surprise they all hatched dragons. It was enough for the King but whispers continued ever after. Even in 120AC when Laenor, his sister, Harwin Strong and his father all perished in unrelated incidents in what came to be known as the 'Red Spring'. One benefit was that Alicent's father was recalled to resume his office as hand of the King. Any talk of heirs and heiresses was strictly off limits so for nine years, her and her father privately discussed how best to move once Viserys passed on. They kept manouvering Greens into the small council piece by piece until they were sure every key player at court was their own catspaw. 

In 129AC, the reign of Viserys Targaryen, the First of his name was at an end. Alicent locked their chamber door and moved swiftly, summoning her Father and the High Septon. Aegon was crowned before any Ravens were permitted to leave Kings Landing and here we are. 

Personality
History might paint her as grasping and scheming but she only ever acted in the interests of her family; first Hightower and later Targaryen, but her own branch of it. The Great Council of 101AC decreed that her firstborn son, Aegon should inherit ahead of his older half-sister. Male primogenesis was what had been agreed. 

Alicent loves her children and was very fond of her husband. Was it ever love? Perhaps, there were moments but the final years became a desperate wait to put into action her grand play for the crown to pass to Aegon. When Rhaenyra married Daemon she lost her final shred of respect for the Princess. That she was heavy with her and Daemon's third child at the point of Viserys' death was ideal. One fewer dragon and rider out of the game.

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House Velaryon

Driftmark - Blackwater Bay 

The Isle of Driftmark is even larger than Dragonstone and much more fertile and friendly to habitation, having been settled by House Velaryon even before the Targaryens came to Westeros. The island lies in close proximity to the west of Dragonstone and this closeness has bred close ties between the two Valryian-descended houses. The island's position means an abundance of trade as ships pass between the crownlands and the rest of the world through Blackwater Bay, and it also allows House Velaryon to both defend King's Landing from naval attack and seal off the crownlands from the sea. Being the most arable and hospitable of the islands in Blackwater Bay, the Velaryons are able to support a sizable population and have abundant forests, which provide a great amount of bodies and ships for both industry and war. 

The castle of High Tide is a large, strongly-built castle that overlooks the coast and is the current seat of House Velaryon. It was raised by the Sea Snake after his numerous and profitable eastern voyages. It is a castle that has comfortably housed a large amount of inhabitants and a large garrison. High Tide is even able to provide nesting space for dragons. It would be a daunting castle to assault, as it has a commanding view of the sea that eliminate almost all chance of a surprise attack and boasts strong walls and fortifications along with a large and well-trained, well-armed garrison. High Tide overlooks a castle town and shipyard that protect the approach to the castle and have up to a score of warships patrolling near it at all times. It is also in close proximity to the powerful fleets at anchor in Hull and Spicetown, and well within range of dragonriders from Dragonstone to fly to their aid within hours. The castle houses the numerous treasures that Lord Corlys has accumulated over the years, as well as the mythical Driftwood Throne, the ancestral throne of the Velaryons that is said to have been a gift from the Merling King to their ancestors. Corlys' famed flag ship, Sea Snake is anchored near High Tide. High Tide sees a high volume of trade and travelers, though the castle town's relative smaller size in comparison to Spicetown and Hull result in slightly less traffic. Nonetheless, as with the rest of the towns on the island, the town is continually growing in riches and size. 

The castle of Driftmark, while still a durable castle and the Velaryon's ancestral home, is somewhat smaller and more modest in comparison to the grandly decorated and vast High Tide. It was the seat of House Velaryon and is a castle that also boasts strong defenses and a strategic position overlooking the sea, but Lord Corlys moved his family to the newly built High Tide. Presently, Driftmark serves as a mustering point for the Velaryon infantry preparing for war. The ancestral seat has no ruling lord, but is currently managed by Ser Viserys Velaryon, one of Corlys' nephews. Driftmark has its own castle town and shipyard, with its own protecting flotilla and garrison that are just as well-trained and equipped at the forces at High Tide if not as numerous. Trade is not as active at Driftmark as it is at the other settlements on the island, but the castle still sees a healthy amount of traffic. It is whispered that among the Sea Snake's army is a contingent of war elephants, whom he had acquired from his voyages and bred over the years for battle, but the truth of such matters is unknown. 

Spicetown and Hull are the lifeblood of the island. While High Tide may conceal Corlys' treasures, it is from these port towns that House Velaryon extracts the majority of its wealth. Spicetown and Hull are large, booming cities that in the past generation have seen even more maritime trade and passage than the ports of King's Landing. Both towns have a large population, especially in contrast to most of the Blackwater Bay island towns, and are home to a large number of skilled craftsmen and artisans and see a vast amount of goods and travelers pass through them. The storied Targaryen and Velaryon baseborn, the dragonseeds, are also well represented in the towns of the island. Each town has strong seaward walls and trebuchets along with other fortifications in case of sea-based attack, and between Spicetown and Hull, they provide the bulk of the Dragonstone fleet, the strongest armada in the Seven Kingdoms. This armada is now gathering for war and Corlys has even begun taking the steps of hiring sellsails from the east and conscripting merchant vessels in order to boost his fleet even further. With their dragon-riding allies and enormous fleet, House Velaryon rules the eastern coast of Westeros.

The Lords of the Tides and the Masters of Driftmark, House Velaryon has a long and storied history in Westeros, especially as the oldest supporters of the Targaryen Dynasty. House Velaryon came to Westeros from Old Valyria even before the famed dragon-riders and built their seat on Driftmark, making their fortune off of maritime trade. When the Targaryens exiled themselves to Dragonstone, the Velaryons were the first to pledge fealty to the dragonriders and provided them with ships and men in exchange for their protection and strong rule. There have been many marriages between the two families over the years and the blood of the dragon runs strongly in the Velaryon line. They are the only Westerosi house besides the Targaryens themselves to ever boast of having dragon riders in the family and so many Velaryons have been the master of ships for a Targaryen king, the position is almost hereditary. The Velaryons supported Aegon the Conqueror in his conquest of Westeros and the Velaryons have been a power behind the Targaryen family ever since. 

While House Velaryon has always been influential, it was Lord Corlys, the legendary Sea Snake, who thrust the House into its present grand heights. His nine eastern voyages granted him magnificent wealth that allowed him to raise the castle of opulent seat of High Tide. The trade that Corlys encouraged lead to the raising and growth of many port towns, which made the family even wealthier, with money to rival even the Hightowers of Oldtown and the Lannisters of Casterly Rock. Over the years, Corlys built the Driftmark Fleet into a massive armada that formed the backbone of the Iron Throne's royal fleet, a fleet powerful enough to mount an assault on the Stepstones and defy the might of the Three Daughters. 

Despite the fact that the Velaryons can boast of numerous royal grandchildren and their fabulous wealth, the recent years have had their sorrows for the family. The death of Laenor and Laena Velaryon were a huge blow to the family, and there was is a widening schism in the House following the death of Corlys' eldest nephew Vaemond by the hands of Daemon Targaryen and the mutilation of several of Vaemond's close family on King Viserys' orders, following Vaemond's accusations of the bastardy of Princess Rhaenyra's and Laenor's children. The question of succession to Driftmark is murky as the recently recovered but elderly Corlys must decide on who to name as his heir, whether it be one of his supposed sons or one of his nephews, though rumors abound that Corlys has bastards living nearby in Hull. And though Corlys supports Queen Rhaenyra, there are some in his family who are sympathetic to King Aegon. House Velaryon may be rich and powerful, but this coming war will either secure their legacy and fortune or see their decline.

- Lord Corlys Velaryon, known as the Sea Snake, Lord of the Tides, Master of Driftmark, Head of House Velaryon. A distinguished man of six and seventy. 

- Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, his lady wife, daughter of the late Prince Aemon Targaryen, known as the Queen Who Never Was, rider of the she-dragon Meleys, the Red Queen. A fierce and fearless woman of five and fifty. 

- Lady Laena Velaryon, his daughter, second wife of Prince Daemon Targaryen, and rider of Vhagar. A lovely, enchanting lady. Died of childbed fever at seven and twenty. 

- Ser Laenor Velaryon, his son, first husband of Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, rider of Seasmoke. A handsome young man, murdered in a brawl at six and twenty by Ser Qarl Correy. 

- Princess Rhaena Targaryen, his granddaughter, daughter of Laena and Daemon, known as Rhaena of Pentos, currently dragonless. A beautiful maiden of three and ten. 

- Princess Baela Targaryen, his other granddaughter, twin of Rhaena, rider of Moondancer. A strong and fair maiden of three and ten. 

- Prince Jacaerys Velaryon, his grandson, son of Laenor and Rhaenyra, known as Jace, rider of Vermax. A strapping lad of five and ten, rumored to be the bastard son of Ser Harwin Strong along with his brothers Lucerys and Joffrey. 

- Prince Lucerys Velaryon, his second grandson by Leanor, known as Luke, rider of Arrax. A comely lad of four and ten. 

- Prince Joffrey Velaryon, his third and last grandson, rider of Tyraxes. A pugnacious boy of two and ten, named for Ser Joffrey Lonmouth.

- Ser Vaemond Velaryon, his eldest nephew, a handsome man of five and fifty killed by Prince Daemon in single combat. 

- Lady Valanna Velaryon, his niece and Vaemond's widow, a stern and formerly beautiful woman of three and thirty, lady-in-waiting to Queen Haelana. Face scarred by order of King Viserys. 

- Ser Matarys Velaryon, his second nephew, a strong man of four and forty, his tongue cut out by royal order, Courtier in the Red Keep. 

- Ser Gaemon Velaryon, his third nephew, an intelligent man of nine and thirty, sword hand amputated on orders of King Viserys. Courtier in the Red Keep.

- Ser Aerion Velaryon, his fourth nephew, a broad and strong man of thirty, flogged by royal order, Captain of the Pride of Driftmark of the Driftmark fleet, Master-at-Arms of High Tide. 

- Ser Viserys Velaryon, his fifth nephew, a comely young man of six and twenty, Captain of the Seahorse of the Driftmark Fleet, Castellan of Driftmark. 

- Ser Daeron Velaryon, his sixth and youngest nephew, an earnest youth of seven and ten. Household knight of Driftmark.

- Ser Baelor Velaryon, his grandnephew, Vaemond's eldest son, a demure man of five and thirty, leg broken on royal order, Captain of the Harridan of the Driftmark Fleet, and Lord Seneschal of High Tide. 

- Ser Valarr Velaryon, his grandnephew, Vaemond's second son, a bold young man of eight and twenty, eye put out by royal decree, Captain of the Bold Laughter of the Driftmark Fleet and Captain of the Velaryon Household Guard in High Tide. 

- Ser Haegon Velaryon, his grandnewphew, Vaemond's third son, a respectful and well-read young man of four and twenty, Captain of the Mermaid of the Driftmark Fleet, and Lord Treasurer of High Tide. 

- Ser Aemon Velaryon, his grandnephew, Vaemond's youngest son, a brooding young man of nine and ten. Household Knight in Driftmark. 

- Various other grandnephews, grandnieces, great-grandnephews, and great-grandnieces split in residence between the Red Keep, High Tide, and Dritftmark in various household occupations.   

- Addam of Hull, one of many rumored Velaryon bastards. Thought by some to be Corlys' son. A youth of five and ten. 

- Alyn of Hull, Addam's younger brother, a brave and strong youth of four and ten.

PoVs

Lord Corlys Velaryon, the Sea Snake, The Lord of the Tides, and the Master of Driftmark. Perhaps the greatest lord that his house has ever seen. He was named for the first Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, and he has more than lived up to his storied namesake. Corlys was a restless and ambitious man, even as a youth, and one who was deeply in love with the sea. No Westerosi alive has sailed more widely than the Sea Snake, so named for his famed ship in which he conducted his nine great expeditions to the East. Corlys saw and experienced much, he went where no Westerosi had gone before, and his journeys became the stuff of legend. His voyages also made him magnificently wealthy, and his treasures allowed him to build the splendid castle of High Tide and raise his family into the richest in the Seven Kingdoms, after he became the Lord of the House following the death of his grandfather. Under his rulership, Driftmark's ports saw even more custom than King's Landing at times, and Velaryon fleet became the most formidable naval force in the kingdoms. 

Corlys married a dragon princess, the beautiful and brave dragonrider Rhaenys, who was the only child of the Old King Jahaerys' son and heir, Prince Aemon. Corlys was the Old King's Master of Ships, as the most able admiral that Westeros had, and was beloved at court for his charming manner, good looks, and chivalry. His fame and riches made him a favorite of the smallfolk as well. He split his time between High Tide and the Red Keep. This popularity coupled with his virility made Corlys a promiscuous man as the tales would have it, and it is said that he sired many dragonseeds on his home island. His ambition was even stronger than his rumored lust however, as Corlys hoped to be the King Consort to a Queen Rhaenys, but his ambitions were curtailed when the Old King named his second son, Prince Baelon as heir. Corlys and Rhaenys would have two children, Laena and Laenor, both dragon riders, and Corlys' dream of being the power behind the Iron Throne did not cease. 

Prince Baelon died before ascending the throne and in the Great Council of 101 at Harrenhal, Corlys argued strenuously for Laenor's claim to the Iron Throne. Corlys had an impeccable reputation, was famed throughout Westeros, and had a dizzying amount of money. He charmed, bribed, and cajoled many a lord to lobby their votes, and it is rumored that he even readied the massive Velaryon fleet in preparation to press Laenor's claim by force if the vote did not go his way. But in the end, Prince Viserys, Baelon's son, was named Prince of Dragonstone and Corlys peacefully conceded and swore fealty to King Viserys when he ascended the throne. 

His loyalty to the new king soured however, after the death of Queen Aemma Arryn. Corlys wished for his daughter Laena to become Viserys' Queen. She was young, but she had Targaryen blood on both sides of her bloodline, and was a dragonrider. Many thought her to be the perfect consort for the King. But Corlys' family was spurned once more when Viserys chose Alicent Hightower as his bride. Corlys had already had something of a rivalry with House Hightower as the two families were rivals in wealth, trade, influence, and naval power. But Viserys' betrothal began Corlys' personal rivalry with the Hand of the King, Ser Otto Hightower, the father of the girl who supplanted his own daughter. This rivalry and more he shared with Prince Daemon Targaryen, one of his closest friends. Both were no friends of the Hightowers, and both were angered by the marriage. Corlys and his family shunned the wedding and instead he planned the invasion of the Stepstones with his friend Daemon, in order to break the Triarchy's hold on the Stepstones and by extension the Narrow Sea, which had disrupted trade and travel between Westeros and Essos and cut into Corlys' profits with their high tolls and piracy. 

Corlys raised his levies and assembled the most powerful fleet in Westeros while Daemon called sellswords, cutthroats, adventurers, and second sons to their cause. Daemon would lead their ground forces while Corlys would command their ships. They invaded the Stepstones and crushed them beneath their heel in a brutal and vicious campaign that saw all but two of the islands fall to their control. It was Corlys himself who crowned Daemon and named him King of the Stepstones and the Narrow Sea. Corlys persuaded the Iron Throne to financially support the small kingdom as a trade partner and buffer state against the Triarchy, and Corlys sailed home with even more plundered riches, captured ships, and martial glory. From then on he has been a fierce enemy of the Triarchy, but gained the favor of Braavos, Pentos, and even Lorath for checking the power of the Three Daughters. 

A few years later when Princess Rhaenyra, whom Corlys believed would one day be Queen, was able to be betrothed, the Sea Snake was quick to offer the hand of his son and heir, Laenor. Corlys was well aware that Laenor was fonder of the company of men, but Corlys was determined to not have his family be slighted again and was confident he could coerce Laenor into putting an heir into Rhaenyra at least. Corlys got his wish and the two were wed, but when the babe came out brown of hair and pug-nosed, rumors abounded. The official stance was that the boy, and his siblings, simply took after their Arryn grandsires, but the whispers were that the boys were sons of Ser Harwin Strong. Corlys was fond of the boys and loved them like grandsons, but was still incensed that his son had been cuckolded and that his bloodline had been usurped. These private frustrations are what led to his siring of several bastards, two of which he sent away to the town of Hull to evade his jealous wife, as the rumors would have it. 

When his old friend Daemon came to visit and got it in his head to marry Laena, Corlys was pleased. The Rogue Prince made a far better suitor than the vagabond Braavosi who had been betrothed to his daughter for nearly a decade, a fool who had squandered his family fortune and power. Corlys delayed the wedding and schemed with Daemon, who mocked the poor fool until the man called for a duel, which he lost. Laena and Daemon were wedded soon after and from their union were begat two more grandchildren, Baela and Rhaena, whom Corlys was immeasurably pleased with. 

The following years saw sorrow for Corlys and his family however. Laena, the apple of his eye and favored child, succumbed to a fever after giving birth to a deformed third child. Daemon and Corlys were united in grief, but Corlys' would be even deeper for within a few months, Laenor was stabbed to death by his lover Ser Qarl Correy. Their friendship would never be quite the same after that, for while Corlys could not be sure, he suspected that Daemon had a hand in Laenor's death, as he was soon wedded to Princess Rhaenyra. Corlys' feelings towards his ally and friend have remained torn to this day, as many would suggest. Later that year, Lord Lyonel Strong and his son Ser Harwin would be killed in a fire. Various culprits have been suggested, but some whisper that it was Corlys himself who set the flames, in a vengeful rage for the cuckolding of his now dead son. 

The deaths of both of his children led to a severe depression and illness, all of which caused a succession crisis in House Velaryon. By law, it would be his legal grandson Prince Jacaerys who would inherit. But as the boy was already in line to inherit the Iron Throne, Rhaenyra pressured Corlys to name Lucerys as the Heir of Driftmark. His wife insisted that he name his granddaughter Rhaena as heir. And worst of all, his nephew Vaemond insisted that he should be named heir, calling all of Laenor's sons bastards begat by Ser Harwin. His one time daughter-in-law was furious and Daemon killed his nephew, further driving a rift between the two old friends. Corlys may have been ambitious and even ruthless, but it was all for his family, and such in-fighting wore heavily on him. Corlys was enraged when King Viserys meted out severe punishments to his niece Visenya and several of his other nephews and grandnephews. The move tore a rift in House Velaryon and Corlys tried to make amends by taking his relatives back home, but many spurned Driftmark and the blacks and threw in with Queen Alicent and the Greens. Corlys, already in his seventh decade, grew even more ill. He never forgave Viserys and as soon as he recovered, sailed personally to King's Landing in order to resign and never saw King Viserys again, spurning King's Landing entirely and devoting his time entirely to Driftmark and Dragonstone. 

Corlys threw in completely with Princess Rhaenyra and the Blacks, and knowing that Viserys was ill and frail and not long for the world, prepared for blood to be spilled. He had never trusted the Hightowers and though Rhaenyra was still the Princess of Dragonstone, Corlys did not put it past the Greens to crown Aegon as King. He hoped it would not come to it, but the old soldier would be damned if he was caught unprepared. As such, for the past few years, the already massive Velaryon fleet had been constructing even more ships while his army recruited and drilled, ostensibly in case of the Triarchy once more threatening Westerosi sovereignty, but actually preparing for war should the Greens commit their coup. He has been continually currying favor with the other lords of Westeros and even seeking allies in the east, should the worst happen. Corlys had already had his royal ambitions blocked several times, he would not allow it again. 

Currently, Corlys and his wife and granddaughters are at court in High Tide.

The Sea Snake's youngest nephew, the newly made Knight of Driftmark is one of House Velaryon's most promising up-and-coming sons. Like all Velaryons, he is a talented mariner and is a natural at sea. Daeron is a skilled swordsman having practiced since he could hold a stick and being athletically gifted. Daeron is a handsome young man who pins back his long snow-white hair in a Volantene-inspired warrior's knot and has turquoise eyes the color of the sea, with the suntan of a lifelong sailor and the lean but strong build of a warrior. Daeron favors a bastard sword and is also a fairly accomplished archer. 

Daeron is the only son of Corlys' youngest brother Aenar and their cousin Daela. Aenar died in a clash with the Triarchy when Daeron was only a babe and it was the Sea Snake who was a father to him, taking him as a ward at High Tide and later making him his squire. Everything he learned of commanding men and the sea he learned from his uncle, one of the most gifted admirals alive, and learned swordplay from his brother Baelon. Being so far down the line of succession, Daeron learned to follow, not to rule and had no ambitions for power. Instead he wished to find glory as a captain and a warrior and to help ensure the legacy of his house. He was an idealistic, earnest youth and only wanted to be a hero like his own uncle Corlys. It was this same lack of ambition for power coupled with his family's pleas that saved him from the wrath of King Viserys, though some of his brothers and nephews were not so lucky. 

His oldest brother's death and Baelon's mutilation only cemented Daeron's conviction to not pursue his own advancement to the detriment of his family. Instead his loyalty to the Sea Snake and to House Velaryon was only reinforced. After a few more years, Corlys himself knighted Daeron after his performance in a local tourney. Daeron was part of the Household Guard and served happily, hoping for his own command and captaincy of a ship. Recently Daeron was sent to Driftmark to train the troops and levies and strengthen the defenses. He was not given a reason for the move, but not being completely ignorant of politics, suspects growing tensions between the greens and blacks. Daeron is currently stationed at Driftmark.

Alyn of Hull, younger brother of Addam, is a comely and slender youth with short silver hair and lilac eyes. He is strong and fit, having sailed on ships since he was a boy and his hands show a lifetime of labor, though he never wanted for anything as the grandson of a successful shipwright. Alyn never received formal weapons training like a lord's son, but he is skilled with a spear as he often caught fish with his brother and he was an adept marksman, having traveled on several sea voyages and needing to prepare to fight off pirates. He may not be trained with swords but he is quick on his feet and scrappy in a fight, having been in a few tussles growing up in Hull, also picking up how to use a dagger. Alyn is an intelligent, brave lad but has guile to balance out his courage. 

Despite growing up fairly comfortable, Alyn had a hard childhood, being a bastard with no known father. He had to endure the insults and derision of his peers and daydreamed about who his father could be. Doubtless his father was either a Velaryon or a Targaryen, and Alyn even fancied that the Sea Snake was his true father, looking up to the legendary captain as every boy on Driftmark did. Alyn wanted to be just like the Sea Snake, and hoped to one day join the Velaryon guard and eventually become a captain, though his grandfather wanted him to stay away from the Velaryons entirely. His mother never told him who his father was, though there were whispers around Driftmark that the Sea Snake had sent away two sons of a shipwright's daughter in order to avoid the wrath of Princess Rhaenys. 

Alyn is still living at Hull as a shipwright's apprentice, dreaming of something more. He hopes to join the Velaryon navy with his brother, as the townspeople of Hull speculate that the mobilization of the navy is due to imminent war.

Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by ethanjory

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Daeron Targaryen

[ ⚔ ]HouseTargaryen (Greens)

[ ⚔ ]ReputationSon to King Viserys Targaryen, and young brother to Aegon and Aemond
Capable with a sword, though not as skilled as his brother Aemond
Known to be one of the more talented dragon riders, though his skill hasn't been tested in war
Popular among both highborn and smallfolk for his friendliness and generosity
Also noted to be daring, clever, and handsome
Fiercely loyal to his brothers
Attracts many people to him, due to his amiable and charismatic personality
Is honorable, humble, and sees value in keeping his word
Currently a ward in Oldtown, serving as squire and cupbearer to Lord Ormund Hightower
Would prefer a peaceful end, but is ready to fight if need be

[ ⚔ ]Appearance and CharacterLike his brothers, Daeron has the coloring of the blood of the dragon, allowing none to question whether or not he's a true Targaryen. Not only his he the youngest of Viserys' sons, he's also the smallest, standing a full head shorter than his brother Aemond, however, Daeron still may find himself surpassing Aemond in height if he manages a growth spurt in the next few years. Despite being thin, Daeron is far from sickly, as he's both nimble and quick, much more so than either one of his brothers. As such, he's very physically active, partaking in footraces, sparring with swords, horse riding, and above all else, soaring through the skies on his dragon Tessarion, in which nothing else can compare. A handsome, courteous, and clever boy, Daeron is often considered the most popular of the three sons of King Viserys I Targaryen and Queen Alicent Hightower. Likewise, he could also be described as being the most gentle, honorable, and daring among his brothers, though he has constantly been relegated to growing up in their shadow, and thus has become much more accustomed to receiving orders than giving them.

Daeron has dark violet eyes, like the dragonlords of old, and they can often appear to be black in certain lighting. His eyes can give off an air of determination and steadfast resoluteness that could potentially translate into tangible actions, should the boy ever cast off the overbearing personalities of his brothers and come into his own. Still, Daeron can be both gregarious and charming, enough that he never found it particularly difficult to surround himself with friends or to gain capable allies. He's no schemer and finds it difficult to be even slightly devious, as he was never one who was ever able to tell very believable lies, and often found it far more easier to be honest instead, even if it happened to weigh heavy on the listener. His face has striking, sharp features that complement his shoulder-length silver-gold hair that he inherited from his father, lending himself to be quite popular with girls, though this doesn't stop him from being nervous around most of them. The only females that he's truly comfortable around is that of his mother, sister, and dragon, and if you were to ask Daeron which of those he likes the best, it would probably be Tessarion, without a second thought.

Even if his personality clashes with that of his brothers, there's no question that he'll remain loyal to the both of them. He values the concept of keeping his word and being honest, whereas he does possess many great ambitions, none of them are related to ever sitting the Iron Throne. For better and for worse, he has grown up with them, and they are the brothers that he knows, as opposed to the half-sister who openly despises his existence, even if it's mostly due to the ongoing actions of other people. He held no inherent hatred for his cousins other than the rivalry that was instigated by others in the very beginning. However, actions on both sides inevitably led him to place actual distance between himself and his cousins, but he would still be satisfied by a peaceful conclusion in the end, given that his place in the line of succession allows him other interests beyond those associated with the Iron Throne itself. Such concerns may seem trivial and out of place for the boy that he is, but with war coming, it will certainly become an inescapable reality.

[ ⚔ ]HistoryLate in 114 AC, Daeron was born the youngest son and child of King Viserys I Targaryen and his second wife, Queen Alicent Hightower. He was born shortly after his half-sister Rhaenyra's eldest son, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon, prompting the king to give the two babes to the same wet nurse in an attempt to prevent a similar enmity between the two boys that existed with both of their mothers. The king's hope would ultimately be in vain, as Daeron grew up as a bitter rival to Rhaenyra's children just like his older siblings, though it was less to do with his own personal disdain for his cousins, since he truly lacked any, and more a desire to emulate his brothers and others around him. While Daeron and his older siblings were forced to spend time with their cousins (i.e. attending the same feasts, and occasionally training at arms or studying with a maester together), it only proved to intensify the rivalry between them. In 120 AC, when Daeron was nearly six years of age, his brother-in-law, Ser Laenor Velaryon, died. Daeron accompanied his parents and siblings to Driftmark to attend the funeral. An altercation occurred between Prince Aemond and his cousins when he attempted to secretly tame Vhagar, ending with Aemond losing an eye to Prince Lucerys. Although Daeron hadn't been involved in the fight, he still remained an impressionable child, and the news of his brother losing an eye to his cousins only steeled himself against them, becoming a distance that he would continue to maintain to the present.

By the age of six, and shortly after the debacle at Driftmark, Daeron was given a dragon by his father, though truth be told, it would be some time before he worked up the courage to ride her. It would be the first time where he was able to work his way out of his shell and form an identity outside of being the youngest son of the king, and soon enough, he took to the skies with Tessarion. Others soon noted how strong of a bond that the two soon shared, and when they flew through the skies, nearly no one could ever hope to touch them, showing all the innate skill that Daeron possessed when it came to riding his dragon. Still, the inexperience was clearly there, especially when it came to warfare, in which neither dragon nor rider had any. It's doubtful such thoughts go through a young boy's head, with Daeron not having a care in the world whenever he flies over the Red Keep or beyond the waters of Blackwater Bay, far into the Narrow Sea. Being a dragon rider has given a boy of his age far more mobility than anyone can possibility imagine; a fact that he has fully taken advantage of. He relishes the idea of going to new places and the opportunity that has been given to him to see the world, and has been all over Westeros as a result. However, his father limited Daeron's riding to only within Westeros itself, if only for his own safety. Daeron could never fathom how he could ever be in any danger with Tessarion at his side, but if nothing else he's always been a dutiful boy, and he obeyed his father's wishes.

Beyond riding Tessarion, Daeron has inherently always been an adventurous lad, never being one to sit still and ending the day being so filthy that he was often unrecognizable. He's explored most of the Red Keep, all of its rooms, and even the hidden escape tunnels placed there by Maegor the Cruel himself, though he still has been unable to find them all. He was never against dragging other noble-born lads that were often paired with him on these adventures, forming the bonds of friendship that he's so good at. His amiability has led him to being considered the most popular of his brothers, which isn't much, given who he shares his blood with. His generosity and kindness has made him a favorite among many, along with his tendency to look for the good in people, which may make him far too trusting. He's found himself surrounded by people who are drawn to him for these very traits, and he even finds himself to be quite popular with the smallfolk, largely due to his friendliness and charisma. 

As King Viserys' health began to decline, Daeron's mother and the supporters of his elder brother Aegon began to prepare for the inevitability of his death and the actions that would need to be taken in the moments after. So it was decided, when Daeron came to be 12 years of age, that he would serve as a cupbearer and squire to Lord Ormund Hightower, his mother Alicent's cousin, in Oldtown. It was clearly machinations made by Daeron's mother and grandfather, to send Daeron away to the relative safety of the Reach, far from the capital and potential fallout that would likely ensure. Of course, the hidden meanings of such a move was wasted on a 12 year old, and Daeron was more excited to just go to Oldtown and the Hightower, in which he had only been a few times before. He's worked on many skills that are expected of a boy of his highbirth while in Oldtown, with his skill with a blade is more than capable after training for years with his brothers and the royal master-at-arms, but still remains a far cry from his brother Aemond or uncle Daemon. The same is true when it comes to being on a horse, though Daeron would be the first to tell you that he'd be much more comfortable riding Tessarion instead. Beyond his official duties as squire and cupbearer, he's managed to enjoy all the trappings that exist within Oldtown, becoming truly drunk for the first time in his thirteenth year. Daeron is in his element when he's in Oldtown, with new places to explore, so many different sights to see, and countless new friends.

With his father's death in 129 AC, such frivolities of his youth are about to come to an end, as the storm of war is about to sweep over all of Westeros. It goes without saying that Daeron is fiercely loyal to his brothers, and will defend Aegon's right to the throne to the very end, even if a small part of him knows that it was his father who had wanted Rhaenyra to succeed him instead. He would prefer a peaceful resolution to this crisis if at all possible, but even Daeron knows, as gullible as he often is, that the old wounds that are reopening will never allow that to happen. In either case, Daeron remains prepared to bring peace to Westeros, if he can find a way to do so with minimal bloodshed.

[ ⚔ ]Family TreeFamily Tree

Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Ezekiel

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A young Rhaenyra Targaryen, The Realm's Delight

Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen

Unlike most noble or royal women of Westeros, Rhaenyra was raised with the expectation of rule. The only living child by her father's first marriage, and thus his only child to be more than half-Valyrian by blood, she was named his heir by the age of eight. At the time, this snubbed Prince Daemon, the King's brother, and later his father's new wife and her sons. Charming and beautiful in her youth, Rhaenyra has been known as the realm's delight, even though she could be quick to anger and unforgiving in her grudges.

In her youth, Rhaenyra proved the epitome of a Targaryen heir, she first rode her dragon, Syrax, at the age of seven, and became her father's cupbearer only a year later, proving as charming at court as one might expect. From then on, it was rare to see the King without Princess, even after, following the death of her mother and would-be brother in childbirth, Rhaenyra was named Princess of Dragonstone.

During these years, Rhaneyra became particularly smitten with two men in general, firstly her uncle Daemon, who was always sure to bring her gifts from his travels, despite the snubbing of his inheritance that Rhaenyra represented. Ser Criston Cole, equally became a staunch ally of Rhaenyra after his admittance to the Kingsguard, when he crowned her Queen of Love and Beauty at tourney. From then on he wore her favour, and was named her personal protector. Such was her headstrong nature, Rhaneyra only considered her proposed marriage to Laenor Velaryon after her father threatened to withdraw her inheritance should she refuse, one of the only times King Viserys ever considered the notion. Despite this, their three children were dark of hair, surprising given that both Rhaenyra and Laenor were Valyrian of feature.

The most prominent of her notorious grudges has been her conflict with her step-mother, after King Viserys refused to clarify on the succession after the birth of his sons to the new queen, a previously strong relationship between Princess and Queen grew sour, resulting in the creation of two informal factions, the Greens and the Blacks, the latter for Rhaenyra, at court. In the early days of this factional conflict, the Princess seemed to have the upper hand, knights sworn for her being more successful at tourney, but that was while the King still lived.

With the deaths of the spouses of both herself and her Uncle Daemon, Rhaenyra and Prince Daemon have more recently been married, away from court and without the permission of King Viserys, this drove yet another issue between the royal brothers, but they did reconcile, no small part due to the efforts of the King's favourite daughter.

The latter, more recent marriage, has been to her uncle, Prince Daemon, and unlike their brothers, Aegon and Viserys appear the full bloom of Valyria. While still young, these continued pregnancies have had their effect on the Princess, her body growing thicker, even if she has yet to lose the innate youthfulness and beauty of the Valyrian dynasty.

When her father died, Rhaenyra was away from court, having been confined to Dragonstone for the birth of her sixth child, thus making it impossible to become involved in the immediate politicing following the death of Viserys I.

Sons
Jaecarys
Lucerys
Joffrey
Aegon
Viserys

((A little short right now, but won't be on much for the coming week, so tried to get what I could out))

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House: Targaryen (Greens) 

Bio: The Old King once said that every time a Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land. The two sides of that coin are madness and greatness. It is arguable what side Prince Aemond landed on, for he has shades of both. Aemond is incredibly bold, free-spirited, determined, cunning, and is a highly skilled warrior. But he is also deceitful, ruthless, quick to anger, slow to forgive, and can be terribly cruel. In many ways Aemond is much like his uncle Daemon, the Rogue Prince, though the two have more enmity than familial love for each other. No matter what one thinks of Prince Aemond however, none can deny that even at his young age, he will be remembered long after he is dead. 

Besides being a naturally gifted fighter, Aemond is widely known throughout the land for his bond with Vhaghar, the oldest, largest, and most powerful living dragon and one of the original beasts to have subdued Westeros. But though many lords and smallfolk may look up in awe whenever they witness Vhagar fly overhead, many more regard the Prince with dread. His replacement eye, the sapphire that took the place of his own right eye has sprouted all manner of superstition among the peasantry and nobility alike. Aemond, with his temper and inclination to cruelty, is also known to sometimes exact harsh retribution for any who offend him. The Prince, with his night-black armor chased with gold, his glinting sapphire eye, and his predatory smirk all coupled with his infamous reputation inspire a fear in high and lowborn alike when the prince passes. By all accounts, Aemond enjoys this. 

Even as a boy, Aemond was different. His birth had been enough for his uncle Daemon to be displeased with him, and his half-sister Rhaenyra had never warmed to the boy. Aemond had been to hot-tempered and willful to become truly close to either his father or mother. As such Aemond's true friends in his childhood had been his full-brothers Aegon and Daeron, and it is to his brothers that he is loyal and steadfast. For his nephews however, he had never respected or liked them, the personal emnity between his mother and his sister being passed down to their children and only growing by the year. Despite their closeness in age and the blood they shared, Aemond resented them for usurping the claims of his brothers' and once he heard of the rumors of their birth, the scorn and condemnation he had for them only grew. All the time spent with them at feasts, training at arms, and studying under the same maester had only amplified the rivalry; as the boys would take many chances to insult or cause mischief with each other, which Aemond often instigated. 

At first it was simply the rivalry of children, until Aemond left with his close family to attend his uncle-in-law, Ser Laenor Velaryon's funeral. Aemond didn't much car for Laenor, in fact he often made mock of him for his rumored proclivities, but he went all the same. He was the only one of his siblings not to have claimed a dragon and his father suggested that he might go to Dragonstone after the funeral and claim an egg or hatchling if he was "bold enough". Aemond was annoyed by this remark, resenting his lack of a dragon. Aemond wanted to make a name for himself, prove himself the blood of the dragon as a young boy who had little chance to inherit. As such he resolved to be remembered for his deeds, and to that end, he planned to claim Vhagar, the greatest dragon of them all. Vhagar would be on Driftmark as she was now without a rider, and he knew that his parents would never allow him to ride her, and would commence the task in secret. 

After the funeral, when the castle was asleep and with his heart pounding like thunder, he snuck into Vhagar's enclosure and was confronted by his three-year old nephew Joffrey. The boy yelled at him, telling him to stay away, and Aemond attempted to keep him quiet by threatening and slapping him. When that didn't work, he shoved him into a pile of dragon droppings. Aemond frantically mounted Vhagar, who accepted him, and the old dragon broke free of her chains and flew two circles before landing. It had been the happiest moment of his life. Joff however had alerted Jacaerys and Lucerys, his older brothers. The boys all fought, Aemond holding his ground as they sparred with wooden swords. In the heat of the moment, Aemond mocked his nephews and called them Strongs. Jace, understanding the comment, jumped on Aemond and the fight renewed in earnest. Aemond eventually gained the upper hand and started to savagely beat Jace, bloodying and bruising him, until Luke swiped at Aemond's face with his dagger and took out Aemond's right eye. The Kingsguard soon arrived on the scene and pulled the boys off of each other, and a maester was called to staunch Aemond's wounds. 

While Aemond still had bandages wrapped around his head, his mother Alicent called for Luke to lose an eye as penance but his father refused. Rhaenyra however demanded that Aemond be questioned sharply on where he had heard the accusation of her sons' bastardy. Viserys forced him to reveal that he had heard the rumor from his brother Aegon. The whole incident had solidified their rivalry into something that could not be easily forgotten or salvaged, and though Aemond hated them for the loss of his eye, he took no immediate revenge as he considered his claiming of Vhagar as a more than fair trade. Aemond would eventually grow into a prodigious fighter even with the loss of one eye under the tutelage of Ser Criston Cole. Aemond would turn into a comely and occasionally charming young man, even with his reputation, and he would acquire a great many hangers-on and young knights as companions, and even drew the admiration of many maidens. He would spend his days training, flying, or making merry with his cronies, all the while enjoying the courtly rivalry between the blacks and greens and engaging in petty slights and cruel games. 

Years later, with the death of his father and the ascension of his brother, a move which Aemond had long suspected, he looked forward to the opportunity to make a name for himself as war seemed sure to occur. Aemond cared little about the throne, but as long as Aegon wanted to hold it, he would fight for his brother; especially if it meant he could finally put the Strong boys in their place. Whether peace or war comes, he will follow his brother's lead, but he is intent on winning if it comes to war, and at any measure necessary. Currently, Aemond is at court in the Red Keep, eager to join the green council and help plan the defeat of Rhaenyra.

Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by SunsetWanderer

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S E R   C R I S T O N   C O L E
t h e   k i n g m a k e r

[ ⚔ ]HouseHouse Cole of the Stormlands

[ ⚔ ]Reputation
Born in 82AC.
Known as the 'Kingmaker' after recently crowing King Aegon II, persuading him to take the crown for himself.
Famous for his skill with a morning star. First gained his reputation as an exceptional fighter after defeating Prince Daemon Targaryen at the Maidenpool Tourney, in 104AC.
Appointed to the Kingsguard at the age of 23 in 105AC. He would become the Lord Commander some years later in 112AC.
Defeated Ser Harwin 'Breakbones' Strong, said by many to be the strongest man in Westeros, in a melee.
Tutored Prince Aemond Targaryen, teaching him to become a skilled swordsman.
Rumored to have once been in love with Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen.
Hedonistic. Regularly breaks his vow of celibacy without fear of repercussions.
Viewed by many as cocky, confident and arrogant. Has an ugly temper. Vulgar.

[ ⚔ ]AppearanceStanding at slightly above six foot, and with a brawny, muscular build, Criston cuts an intimidating figure. His hair is a deep brown, near black, and sits ruggedly atop his head, contributing to his rather unkempt and rogue-ish style. Popular with the common folk, and particularly the fighting men, he has attributed this popularity to his appearance, commenting that the common folk appreciate some 'grit and dirt' in their betters.

When angered, as he often can be, his cheeks turn a flush red. His dark eyes seemingly have the ability to look straight through those around him, and it is a lucky thing looks cannot kill, for his almost assuredly would.

He occasionally sports a thick beard.

[ ⚔ ]PersonalityA fan of drinking, fucking and killing, Ser Criston Cole enjoys what he calls the 'simple pleasures' of life. With the lack of a major war, Cole has made do with the frequent participation in tourneys and melees, events in which he has found great success. His defeats of Prince Daemon Targaryen and Ser Harwin Strong, who was often called the strongest man in the realm, are some of his favourite memories. Ser Criston has a particularly intense hatred towards the two men, despite Ser Harwin having since burned alive, for their respective involvements with the princess, Rhaenyra Targaryen.

Popular with the ladies of the court, Ser Cole is viewed by them to be a charming, knightly figure. What is common with such ladies, however, is that they have rarely spent much time with the Lord Commander beyond a passing glance or fleeting hello. In truth, the man is not what one would expect from a Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. A man of pleasure, he pursues his desires without shame or fear of the consequences, and is regular client of the upper-class brothels among Kings Landing. The lower establishments have come to expect Cole every now and then, too, though usually when he is in his own words, ‘bored of the stale and sterile brothels’. 

There was, however, a time when Cole ‘calmed’ in his pursuits and acted a more considerate man. Having been the sworn shield to Rhaenyra Targaryen since she was seven years old, the two had become close, though their relationship was not to last. After the return of Prince Daemon Targaryen, Ser Cole was forced to endure the torment of watching the uncle of the princess praise her beauty and win her affections through exotic gifts. It was not long until rumours of an affair between the two were whispered among the courtiers of King’s Landing, a tale that enraged Criston. Pushing for the execution of Prince Daemon, along with Lyonel Strong, King Viserys ultimately decided to exile his brother, who would return to Bloodstone. The relationship between Criston and Rhaenyra broke down entirely after these rumours, with Cole feeling spurned and betrayed, though he had never openly confessed his love for the princess. When Rhaenyra herself was wed to Laenor Velaryon, a man who Cole often mocked as a threat to all boys for his sexuality, the Lord Commander attended their wedding tourney. In it, he cracked the helm of the ‘Knight of Kisses’, the rumoured lover of Laenor, with his morning star and condemned him to a painful death that would be drawn out over six days. His rage did not end there, however, with Cole also solidly defeating Ser Harwin Strong, the new ‘sworn shield’ of the Princess Rhaenyra in the tourney.

Cole has continued to hold a strong grudge against Rhaenyra since these events and has returned to King's Landing his old self, acting as he did before the positive influence Rhaenyra had on him. 

[ ⚔ ]HistoryBorn into a house of minor nobility in the Stormlands, House Cole, the young Criston was instead raised at the seat of House Dondarrion, the house to which House Cole held fealty. His father, Tymon Cole, was the steward of Blackhaven and had managed to secure his upbringing there, as opposed to in their own, small holdings. Criston was not to be raised alongside the heirs to Blackhaven however, and instead was tutored with the sons of other notable servants to House Dondarrion. It was this association with the common folk at an early age that moulded Criston’s attitude towards them, and indeed, many would comment that he still has more in common with the peasantry than the nobility despite his swift rise in status.

Being raised at Blackhaven, Criston was lucky enough to secure regular tutorage from the Master-at-Arms, Ser Alester, when they were not educating the Dondarrion heirs. Alester was, however, more proficient with a morning star with a sword, and at the insistence of Criston, began to tutor him in the proper use of a morning star. With little else to pass the time, and a natural talent for the art, Criston developed his skills in melee and brawling with the other children. Several years after the tutorage began, Ser Alester took on Cole as his squire on his sixth nameday, the Dondarrion heirs now having come of age and been anointed as knights. Not long after he was named a squire, Ser Alester began teaching Cole with a morning star, his own weapon of choice, and was surprised by the proficiency of the boy with the weapon.

Continuing to focus his efforts on his martial ability, Cole was knighted at the tender age of sixteen. Now free to pursue his own glory, Ser Criston participated in several local tourneys through the Stormlands, defeating veteran opponents and making a respectable name for himself. With each victory, his confidence grew, and with each loss, he learned. He continued to train wherever possible outside of the tourneys themselves, still preferring to fight with the morning star, but developing considerable skill with a blade. Proving victorious in many of these tourneys across the Stormlands, Cole discovered the true prize for his success; the attention of women. Boasting to have fucked and fought his way across the Stormlands, he was never especially popular with the nobility and his fellow knights, who often said they disapproved of his ‘lesser’ behaviour.

It was not until the crowning of King Viserys I, and his tourney at Maidenpool in 104AC, that Ser Criston would gain the attention of the nobility across Westeros. Now twenty-two years of age, Cole had become an expert in combat, though had yet to properly demonstrate his skill outside of the Stormlands and he remained a relative unknown throughout the Seven Kingdoms. Entering the melee without much expectation from the onlookers, the prince Daemon Targaryen being the uncontested favourite, Cole confidently won each opponent he came up against. Soon, he found himself in the final round of the melee, against Daemon Targaryen wielding Black Sister, an intimidating valyrian steel longsword of legend. The two combatants tested the skill of one another, with Criston moving quickly with his morning star to avoid the heavy strikes of Daemon and his longsword. Deciding not to strike at the prince himself, who maintained a strong defence, Cole instead went after the longsword. Knocking Dark Sister from the hands of Prince Daemon, Ser Criston Cole emerged the victor and gained immediate fame. Handing his laurel of victory to the seven year-old princess, Rhaenyra Targaryen, Cole immediately won her favour along with the other ladies of the court, who swooned over the ‘charming knight’ who bested Daemon Targaryen. In the jousts, too, Cole proved triumphant over Daemon, this time with the favour of the young princess, as well as the Cargyll twins. Eventually, however, he would be unhorsed by Lymond Mallister. Cole jokes that he had indulged in too much celebratory wine the night before the joust with Lord Mallister, leading to his victory.

Thereafter named as the personal sworn shield to the princess, Ser Cole had felt a true knight. In this period, he relaxed his hedonistic desires, wary of bringing shame to the young Targaryen. The following year in 105AC with the passing of the famed Ryam Redwyne, Criston Cole was appointed to the Kingsguard, taking now vacant place. He continued as the personal sworn shield and champion to Rhaenyra Targaryen, and was eventually named Lord Commander of the Kingsguard in 112AC at the age of 30. Rumours that the wild Ser Cole had been ‘tamed’ by the princess were persistent throughout the court of King’s Landing with whispers that the Lord Commander was in love with Rhaenyra Targaryen, and that she may have returned his affections.

It was in the following months that the relationship between the two began to rapidly deteriorate. With the return of Cole’s old rival at the tourney, Prince Daemon, who was undoubtedly enamored with Rhaenyra, the rumours instead shifted to a romance between the uncle and his niece. The sworn shield to Rhaenyra, Cole was forced to be present during Daemon’s endless compliments and giving of gifts to the beautiful princess, desperate for her affections. It was Rhaenyra’s accepting of these affections that initially angered Cole and played on his mind. Ultimately, these affections culminated in the wide acceptance around King’s Landing that Daemon had laid with his niece. Sending Cole into a deep rage, he petitioned King Viserys to execute his brother, and found support from the Hand of the King, Lyonel Strong. The king, however, resolved to instead exile his brother, who made for Bloodstone.

The anger that Cole felt for Prince Daemon soon transferred to the very Targaryen he was sworn to, Rhaenyra. It was written that in the immediate period that followed the exile of Daemon Targaryen, Ser Criston went from being her ‘staunchest defender to her bitterest foe’. 

Soon, the princess found a new sworn shield, Ser Harwin ‘Breakbones’ Strong. Cole felt a similar resentment towards this knight, who in Cole’s mind, was a living insult toward him. Leaving King's Landing for Driftmark, Rhaenyra took her newest sworn shield, and some said lover, with her. Cole returned to his old ways not long after the princess had left, and was unashamed to bed the whores of King’s Landing. His temper after this incident is also said to have grown significantly worse.

Hearing of the tourney for the wedding of Rhaenyra to Laenor Velaryon, Cole jumped at the opportunity to attend. Now fighting with the token of Queen Alicent Hightower, a foe to Rhaenyra Targaryen, Cole soon came up against Ser Harwin Strong in the melee. Cole took great pleasure in breaking the bones of Ser ‘Breakbones’, who was often said to be the strongest man in the seven kingdoms, and later referred to him only as Ser Brokenbones. In another round of the melee, the Lord Commander came up against Ser Joffrey Lonmouth, who was widely rumoured to be the lover of Laenor Velaryon. Promising to give the ‘Knight of Kisses’ a kiss from his morning star, Ser Criston cracked the helm of his opponent and smashed his skull, fatally wounding him. Falling unconscious to never awake, he died six days later, and Cole felt some release for his rage against Rhaenyra. It was said that Laenor Velaryon never left the side of his lover, and wept greatly for his passing.

Upon the death of King Viserys, the Lord Commander urged Prince Aegon to take the crown for himself whilst his elder sister was in Dragonstone. Whatever his motives for this, likely personal as opposed to any noble ideals, the majority of the small council similarly encouraged Aegon to take the crown. The Targaryen prince refused to hear their arguments, no matter how compelling, and it was not until Ser Criston told Aegon of the likelihood that Princess Rhaenyra would have them all put to death that he accepted the crown. When the decision was made, and put before the small council, only the master of coin Lyman Beesbury opposed the idea. Cole cut his throat at the very same meeting.

Crowning King Aegon II with the crown of Aegon the Conqueror, so began the Dance of Dragons.

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House Crakehall

Seat: Crakehall, Westerlands

Lord Ralf Crakehall, The Goretusk

Ralf was the first of many quarreling siblings within the Lord family that resided, and ruled, over Crakehall and its lands. The boy was known to have a temper from a young age, beating other children bloody should they test his patience. He always won the fights. Why? He was the heir of Crakehall, and the strongest. Though, when he began training with arms and learn more of the world, his temper had calmed, somewhat. Ralf gained a sense of honour and respect for his kin and for those in battle, oft requesting to hear a story of a mighty warrior. He certainly had the family genes within him. As the teen years came to an end, the Heir had already grown a beard few of his age could compare with. Large he was as well, in both height and width of his shoulders. If there was one thing the man wasn’t, then it was pretty. Quite ugly, in fact. 

The heir had been combat-tested several times during his growth. There wasn’t much of war during those ages, but bandits there were plentifull of. The man actually got excited by the news of bandits roaming the land, requiring justice for their crimes. But as his lust for glory grew, so did his thirst for fine wine, and there was no shortage of that.

During the end of his twenties, Ralf and two of his brothers went for a hunt by the north-coast of their lands. A pack of boars had been sighted in the area by a farmer. A delightful meal that’d make, the trio thought as they scoured the woods. There was no boars to find, only screams. The horrid screams of a man in pain and wailing of women came from a road not too far from them. They investigated. A sight and stench of blood welcomed the trio, several dead from cuts and slashes from a blade. With four living standing by the small pile of dead folk. All armed and looking for trouble. Bandits or raiders no doubt. The Boars of Crakehall knew what they needed to do. 

Ralf arrived at Crakehall a day later, bloodied from top till toe and was mounted on horse. With two corpses huddled ontop of the horse, just behind where Ralf sat. That wasn’t the issue that made folks gasp as he rode past. It was the four heads that was tied onto the horse. Local bards and small-folk began calling Ralf for “Goretusk” ever since that day. Heartbroken with grief, his mother died not soon after. Ralf’s father, Roderick, abdicted from the Lordship when the sickness he had received from the Gods made him incapable of ruling. Now the old lord laid bed-sick within his tower. While the new lord, Ralf, prepares himself for lordship during a dark time, during The Dance of Dragons. 

History: 

The Crakehalls originate from Crake the Boar killer, from the Age of Heroes. House Crakehall of Crakehall is one of the primary noble houses from the Westerlands. Their seat, Crakehall, is located along the Ocean Road, at the south of the Westerlands, between the Sunset Sea and a large forest. The Crakehalls are known for their uncommon robustness. They’ve even been compared as the Northerners of the South for their ‘brutish’ looks.  Long have the men of Crakehall done battle with the reavers from the Iron Isles. A strong hate for the reavers runs deep within the population of the land, but they also fear the day when the reavers will descend upon their lands in full force. For vengeance after the actions of Ser Aubrey Crakehall, whom shortly claimed kingship to the Iron Islands after defeating King Hagon Hoare. The folk that live on Crakehall lands work upon the trades of fishing, trading and lumber from a large forest in the vicinity. For all recorded history by the Maesters of the Citadel, Crakehall have always been loyal and fierce in their loyalty for House Lannister. Where the Lannisters go, those of Crakehall follows. This goes for their allegiance to the newly coronated king, Aegon ll Targaryan.

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House Martell

Sunspear - Dorne 

Sunspear, the capital of the principality of Dorne, is the largest and most iconic settlement in Dorne. The Spear Tower and Tower of the Sun are the first sights to greet any visitor whether by land or sea, and its Winding Walls have never been breached. They are fortifications bristling with scorpions and trebuchets, and the walls have many devious traps for would-be attackers. The fortress grew around the old castle of the Sandship, the original seat of House Martell, and a formidably constructed and defended castle if not an aesthetically pleasing one. The shadow city that lies near Sunspear's walls is the closest to a true city that Dorne has and it's cramped quarters and narrow alleys further complicate any attempts at attack. Taken with the brutality, cunning, and fearlessness of Dornish fighters, Sunspear is a nigh-impregnable fortress. And it stands as a defiant symbol against the might of the Iron Throne and its' dragons. 

The shadow city is smaller than even White Harbor, but at over 20,000 inhabitants, it is the largest settlement in Dorne and one of the largest centers of trade; Planky Town is the largest trade center in Dorne and boasts about 15,000 citizens. Whereas the shadow city is a town of brick literally living in the shadow of Sunspear, Planky Town is so named because it is primarily composed of poleboats, houseboats, fishing skiffs, and barges that have been permanently anchored and lashed together, with some houses on the bank of the river. It lies on the northern side of the Greenblood at the mouth of the river and both it and the shadow city are part of House Martell's holdings. Due to their ramshackle nature however, neither settlement has extensive defenses. Sunspear has high walls, trebuchets, scorpions, and traps aplenty but the shadow city itself has no walls and little fortification. Planky Town has the hulks of old war galleys, carracks, and cogs that were salvaged and re-purposed as a wooden perimeter wall, all armed with ship-based artillery and manned by archers. Still, both towns would be difficult to assault due to famous Dornish ferocity and tenacity and the confusing sprawl of either city's layout. 

And while Dorne has not been a naval power since Nymeria burned her 10,000 ships, House Martell has taken steps in recent generations to fix the Dornish deficit in warships. Sunspear boasts a modest shipyard and now has a middling amount of dromonds to patrol the coast near the fortress. The Planky Town harbor also boasts a naval shipyard and is able to support a fleet levy somewhat more sizable than that of Sunspear, but still smaller than even the White Harbor or Gulltown fleets. Ghaston Grey, has become something of a naval base for House Martell. The small, bleak island has long been used as a prison for the vilest of prisoners in Dorne but the squat yet solidly fortified castle now also houses another portion of the Martell fleet, and it is whispered that the Martells pardon skilled pirates and corsairs to man the island's dromonds. 

Whatever the truth of these rumors, Ghaston Grey and its fleet have become a bulwark against incursion both from pirates and the Stormlands. Though tales have it that the pirate captained ships also raid the Stormlands themselves. Taken all together, the three Martell fleets would add up to an armada that would only just equal the Gulltown or White Harbor fleets, and even with all the ships from every coastal Dornish house put together, Dorne would have the smallest amount of ships in any of the Kingdoms. This is due to the scarcity of lumber in Dorne and the need for it to be imported for the most part. This has made building the Dornish fleets somewhat costly, but the Prince of Dorne feels that such a measure is vital to Dorne's continued security and has even gone so far as to hire sellsails from around the world to train his sailors and make them into a fierce fighting force.

House Nymeros Martell came about when Princess Nymeria of the Rhoynar came with her 10,000 ships and married Mors Martell, Lord of the Sandship. House Martell had been a middling house descended from Andal adventurers in a realm divided between multiple petty kings and fueding lords, and was dwarfed by several other families. However, after combining their strength together they defeated every rival and unified Dorne under their rule in Nymeria's War. Their House has reigned since, and subsequently abandoned many Andal customs in favor of Rhoynish ones. Mors Martell was styled as the Prince of Dorne rather than a king, and the rulership fell to their eldest child who was their daughter and not their son. Sunspear, particularly the Spear Tower and the Tower of the Sun, was constructed in Rhoynish fashion, and Dorne as a whole soon began to morph into a unique amalgamation of First Men, Andal, and Rhoynish culture unlike any of the other kingdoms.  

House Martell is famous for being the only royal Westerosi family to defy the might of the Targaryens. The Hoares and the Gardeners were burnt to cinders. The Durrandons faded into the Baratheons. And even the proud and storied Houses of Arryn, Stark, and Lannister bent the knee to Aegon the Conqueror. But House Martell lived up to their words. They did not bow when Queen Rhaenys asked Princess Meria Martell for their submission. They did not bend when the Iron Throne marched on Dorne, losing armies and that same queen in the process. And they did not break when King Aegon and Queen Visenya unleashed their dragons in fiery vengeance, setting Dorne ablaze. House Martell's ruthless cunning and guerrilla tactics ensured their survival and even victory even in the face of House Targaryen's overwhelming force. Dorne has remained independent from the Iron Throne to this day and the two nations have been in an uneasy peace for more than a century. While outright war hasn't erupted between Dorne and the rest of Westeros, raiders from Dorne periodically attack the Stormlands and the Reach, and the enmities between the three kingdoms are great. 

For years, House Martell has remained largely impartial in the intrigues and politics of the Iron Throne. But in recent generations, they have begun to become more active on the political stage. Princess Dorea Martell began the work of building up the Dornish fleets as it became readily apparent that naval power was essential to the welfare of a nation. She also encouraged the expansion of Planky Town and the shadow city and the stimulation of trade, mining, and salt harvesting. She had plans to implement a desert greening campaign to make Dorne bloom that was still in the conceptual stage, but she died in a storm at sea at fifty, and her vision was never completed as it was judged too impractical by her heir. 

Her son, Prince Quentyn married Tenya Drahar, daughter of a Myrish Magister and sister to the infamous Craghas Drahar. Quentyn was not as shrewd as Dorea, but quite ambitious still, when the Triarchy rose to conquer the Stepstones, Quentyn led the new Dornish fleet to help his allies conquer the isles and in so doing ensured drastically lower tolls for Dornish ships passing the Narrow Sea and a guaranteed strong trading partner. Quentyn's long-term ambition was to slowly faze out the Triarchy's control of the Stepstones and add them to his own realm, giving the Martells a huge advantage in international dealings. But this plan never came to fruition. For while Quentyn was famed as a warrior, it was his downfall as much as his glory. Quentyn loved fighting and was one of the most skilled duelists in Dorne. However he crossed blades with Lord Wyl over a perceived slight from the lord and though Quentyn mortally wounded the man, he had taken a wound from a poisoned blade and died abed in Sunspear surrounded by his family. 

As such, his eldest child, Qoren became Prince of Dorne at twelve years of age and his first act as Prince was to be betrothed to Larra Wyl in order to stop the possibility of any further reprisals from either House and knit the realm back together once more. A council of regents that included his grandfather, mother, and uncle ruled in his name, but once he came of age at sixteen he ruled ably and justly, being groomed well for rulership. He left most of the day-to-day matters to his subordinates but showed decisive leadership and political acumen when it came to greater matters of state. He continued the work of his predecessors, developing Dorne into a stronger trade power and tightening ties with the Triarchy. At nineteen, he went to war for his uncle-in-law Craghas Drahar and led the Dornish contingent in the Triarchy's war against Daemon in the Stepstones. After five years of campaigning, they finally won and ended the Kingdom of the Stepstones, and House Martell was awarded with spoils such as coin and captured ships. 

Dorne has been mostly peaceful since then, as Prince Qoren rules with a firm but just hand. Prince Qoren has fathered several children and his heir Aliandra is a precociously beautiful and charming girl that is adored throughout the realm. The future of House Martell looked bright, but recent upheavals in the rest of Westeros have cast dark clouds over their sun.

- Prince Qoren Martell, a charismatic and comely man of eight and thirty, reigning Prince of Dorne. Known as the Black Viper. 

- Princess Larra Wyl, his lady wife, a graceful and slender woman of thirty, Princess Consort of Dorne. 

- Princess Aliandra Martell, his eldest trueborn daughter, a precociously beautiful and clever girl of four and ten, heir to Dorne. 

- Prince Doran Martell, his eldest trueborn son, a boy of three and ten. His personal squire. 

- Prince Bors Martell, his second son, a boy of one and ten. 

- Princess Meria Martell, his second daughter, a girl of ten. 

- Prince Deziel Martell, his third son, a boy of eight. 

- Princess Sylva Martell, his third daughter, a girl of five. 

- Princess Tyene Martell, his youngest daughter, a babe of one. 

- Ser Lewyn Sand, his eldest bastard son, born by a water priestess' daughter of the Orphans of the Greenblood, a young man of one and twenty. Household Knight of Sunspear.

- Ser Morgan Sand, his second bastard son, born of a Myrish Magister's daughter, young man of nine and ten. Household Knight of Sunspear. 

- Elia Sand, his eldest bastard daughter, born of a female sellsail captain, a young woman of six and ten. Sworn Shield of Aliandra Martell. 

- Myles Sand, his youngest bastard son, born of a Planky Town trader's daughter, a boy of five and ten. His personal squire. 

- Dyanna Sand, his youngest bastard daughter, born of a Sunspear handmaiden, a girl of two and ten. 

- Prince Dagos of the Greenblood, his grandfather, an orphan of the Greenblood, former Prince Consort of DOrne. An old man of five and seventy.  

- Princess Tenya Drahar, his mother, sister to the infamous Craghas Drahar, former Princess Consort of Dorne. Known as the Myrmaid in her youth. A matronly woman of four and fifty. 

- Prince Dickon Martell, his eldest uncle. A man of sixty. Lord Seneschal of Sunspear. 

- Prince Nymor Martell, his youngest uncle. A man of five and fifty. Master-at-arms of Sunspear. 

- Princess Mariah Martell, his aunt. A woman of eight and forty. Lady Treasurer of Sunspear. 

- Prince Trystayne Martell, his brother. A man of five and thirty. Captain of the Guard of Sunspear. 

- Princess Meria Martell, his eldest sister. A woman of three and thirty. Spymaster of Sunspear. 

- Princess Obara Martell, his youngest sister. A woman of thirty. Justiciar of Sunspear and Chief Shariff of the Shadow City.  

- Prince Oberyn Martell, his cousin by Dickon. A man of five and thirty. Maester of Sunspear. 

- Princess Nymeria Martell, his cousin by Nymor. A woman of three and thirty. Warden of Ghaston Grey. 

- Princess Delonne Martell, his cousin by Mariah. A woman of eight and twenty. A singer of great renown, known as Delonne the Gold. 

- Various other cousins, nephews, and nieces, true born and bastard.

Qoren Martell, Prince of Dorne, the Black Viper, is the Lord of Sunspear and ruler of Dorne. Qoren is the eldest son of Quentyn Martell, the Bold Viper and Tenya Drahar, the Myrmaid. Qoren is both similar to and different from his father in many ways. Qoren is just as good a fighter, just as brave, just as strong of will. And just as fond of the world's pleasures. But it is from his mother that he learned shrewdness and cunning. His father trained him in arms and he excelled at the saber, dagger, and spear. How to command men in battle and how to ride a horse. His father even had one of his mothers' cousin brought over to teach him how to fight like a bravo, though it is the spear that is his weapon of choice. But from his uncles, aunt, and mother he learned how to rule. He would never be an adept at numbers, or a master negotiator. But even as a boy he had a firm head on leadership skills and acting decisively. His grandfather, Dagos, as one of the orphans of the Greenblood taught him some of the ancient traditions and culture of the Rhoynar and from him he learned about their true mother tongue and about their religion. And though Qoren never considered himself religious, he has a fondness in his heart for the Orphans and the Mother Rhoyne they love as well. 

Unlike his father, Qoren took his responsibilities much more seriously, and when Quentyn died, Qoren accepted them without regret or complaint. He accepted the betrothal to Lord Wyl's daughter as a necessity, and resolved even more strongly to learn from his father's mistakes and to rule well. Even though his uncles, aunt, and mother ruled in his name, he sat in at councils and meetings and was taught by example. Several young sons and daughters of nobles were brought to foster at Sunspear and he grew to be great friends with many of them, forging lasting bonds that would continue to hold Dorne together to this day. Once he became sixteen and was old enough to rule Sunspear in truth, he kept his council of regents as advisors and toured Dorne to better know his lands. His future wife soon came to foster at Sunspear, but she was still just a child, and Qoren's first romantic flame was a girl he met while travelling through the Greenblood, and the mother of his first child. Qoren had the same passions as his father, but managed to temper them so they did not interfere with his duty. 

His first few years as Prince of Dorne were peaceful but he yearned to make his mark as a truly great ruler of Dorne. Once he heard of his uncle Craghas' death, he realized what he needed to do. He had no great love for the Crabfeeder, but he was kin all the same and he knew that having King Daemon ruling the Stepstones would not be well for Dorne. So when the Triarchy called for Dorne's aid in a second wave of attack against the sellsword kingdom, the nineteen year-old Prince of Dorne led his people to war for the first time in generations. He earned his spurs in the first year of the second wave, and was knighted by his uncle on the field of battle after his daring charge broke the courage of the enemy and sent them running. He often returned home to Sunspear or toured his mothers' city of Myr during the periods while the war was relatively quiet. During one of these quiet periods he fathered his second bastard upon a Magisters' daughter, a scandal that might have strained the alliance between the two nations had Qoren been less charismatic and generous in his recompense. He fathered his third bastard on a woman pirate who was captured in battle but became a lover of his while he was away from home. It was during the years of war that he earned the name of the Black Viper; for his handsome, dark features, his cunning, fearlessness, and ruthlessness in battle, and his propensity to use poisoned weapons. 

Qoren slew the last sellsword king of the Stepstones himself and the alliance broke the kingdom for good and all. Qoren was awarded with gifts and honors from the Triarchy, a share of the looted gold and weapons, and a portion of the captured ships. Qoren took his treasures home to acclaim from his countrymen and finally married Larra. The little girl he had known had grown into a beautiful woman and their ceremony was attended by all the nobles of Dorne and several from the Triarchy. Qoren continued the work of expanding trade and industry and building Dorne into a naval power, all the while ruling fairly but firmly and fathering many heirs to Dorne and a few spares besides. All of his children learned about their Rhoynar ancestors and their culture, and Sunspear was a happy home for a large, tight-knight family. 

Qoren was happy, but news of the succession in King's Landing have caused him no small amount of unease, as he fears that whoever wins may mean ill will for Dorne.

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House Crowl

Deepdown - Skagos

Located in the North Eastern mountains of Skagos, of the three principal Skagosi Houses (Crowl, Stane in the West and Magnar in the South), it is Crowl that is the most remote. Throughout history, the Skagosi have fostered a dread reputation; a savage and wild people accused of dread practices and foul rites ranging from cannibalism to human sacrifices. Some say they are descended from the First Men, others claim they are merely Ibbenese exiles whereas some even whisper they're descended from Giants. 

The ancestral seat of House Crowl, Deepdown, is a meagre keep by Westerosi standards; boasting a low curtain wall, modest bailey with a clutch of wooden buildings within its perimeter and a squat cylindrical tower of four floors. Yet it has never fallen or even been besieged, so remote and arduous would any attempted assault prove. The seats of Stane and Magnar lie much closer to the shore and at more convenient altitudes for would be raiders or enemies. The Island of Skagos lies North East of Westeros on a latitude with the Wall and the currents and colds to which those seas are susceptible make it a formidable place to land ships, let alone to assault. Deepdown itself is better accessed from the East, via the Shivering Sea, rather than attempting to land from the Bay of Seals and face a long march East- some fifty leagues of Ice and Snow and Mountain.  

The Skagosi people have little of the 'civilised' heirs and graces of the majority of Westeros; a savage and brutal people shaped by a savage and brutal land. They have ever done what they must to survive. Few accounts of the 'Skaggs' exist because none that have visited and lived to tell of it lingered long and certainly were not of a mind to go back. Officially, the Noble Houses of Skagos are sworn to House Stark of Winterfell but in practice, the Island is left to its own affairs. Houses Stane and Magnar have ruled the Isle in centuries past but with their mountain holdfast and strong trading ties to Ibben, it was Crowl that prospered. In years before memory there were more clans that warred against one another and other families and bands hunted to extinction by their own neighbours but it was in the war against Skane, a small island North West of Skagos, that largely consolidated a shared Skagosi identity.

Even today, Skagosi boys grow up drunk on the tales of the Feast of Skane, in which Skagosi raiders united and sailed to Skane. Over a fortnight every female must have been raped half a hundred times whilst their husbands and sons roasted and were consumed before their very eyes. To feast upon an enemy was to absorb his strength and to give your seed to his wives and daughters was a sacred rite to honour the Old Gods. Ever since, Skane has been nought but a desolate rock- home to salt and birdshit. 

Some Seven-hundred years ago, Skagosi sailed again, this time on Hardhome. The settlement was comprised of wildlings and was to be the first recognised town north of the wall. They even had a maester but the Skaggs descended upon them like a storm, the Lords of Magnar and Crowl and Stane riding monstrous shaggy unicorns over the terrified free-folk and once again tasting the flesh of their victims. Hardhome, like Skane was utterly destroyed and has never been resettled. Indeed, the devastation was so great that watchers from the Night's Watch on the Wall said the fires burned so high they thought the sun was setting in the North and ashes fell over the forests and sea for half a year afterward. The first rangers that made visit to Hardhome after Skagos sacked it made report of "only nightmarish devastation where Hardhome had stood, a landscape of charred trees and burned bones, waters choked with swollen corpses and blood-chilling shrieks echoing from the cave mouths that pock the great cliff that looms above the settlement, a cliff where no living man or woman could be found"

It was Brandon XI Stark, The King in the North, who broke their power and brought Skagos under Northern control. By sacking Kingshouse (Magnar) and later Driftwood Hall (Stane), Crowl also submitted (its two great allies and one-time rivals subdued) but whether on Stark's report or no, but few of his line have ever troubled to make the trip back- Skagos essentially governs itself and is sworn to Stark in name only. This relationship became most tenuous when Torrhen Stark knelt to Aegon the Conqueror. The consensus on Skagos was largely that they swore oaths to a King, not a Lord and simply ceased sending any portion of their harvests thereafter nor responding to any summons. Short of resuming their raiding, Skagos have all but broken faith with their Liege Lords and to date, nought has been done about it.

Indeed, when the Company of the Rose formed- a collection of Northern Bannermen once loyal to Stark who fled to Essos to form a sellsword company, they thought to petition Crowl, Magnar and Stane who have since sent second sons and adventurers that might once have joined the Night's Watch eastward instead. The Company of the Rose, uniquely in the known world have since been welcome in Skagosi Holdfasts- A potentially useful port of call (though landing is still a treacherous art) for the sellswords. They always leave with full bellies and fresh recruits.

- Lord Kane Crowl, a monster of a man, standing over seven feet. Lord of Deepdown these two years since his older brother's death. Seven and Twenty

- Lady Kendra Crowl (nee Magnar) - Principal wife to Kane. Officially Lady of Deepdown - Five and Twenty - Niece to Oric Magnar, Old Lord Sigren Magnar's Grandaughter

- Hobb Crowl Younger brother of Kane - Four and Twenty (Commander of Crowl Castle Guard)

- Coratt Crowl - Grand-Uncle to Kane - Seven and Sixty

- Oric Magnar Nephew to Old Sigren Magnar- A man of fifty has served as Master-at-Arms to House Crowl since his twenties. 

- Tyene Crowl Kane's younger sister, rider of the Unicorn Black Wind, betrothed to Emmett Stane when he comes of age (He's 8). A boyish girl of sixteen.

- Myrla Crowl (nee Stane) Widow of Kane's older brother, older sister of Emmett Stane- Heir to Driftwood Hall and twin sister of Dorla - A fearsome spearwoman. Four and Twenty.

- Dorla Crowl (nee Stane) Wife to Hobb Crowl, twin sister of Myrla, elder sister of Emmett Stane. An accomplished swordswoman. Four and Twenty.

- Marga Crowl Only daughter of the late Kurrgan Crowl and Myrla Stane - Conceived at their bedding - A very morose girl of eight, betrothed to Halys Magnar (11) when she is flowered.

-Numerous squires and pages sent to learn from Oric Magnar- Though based at Deepdown, most Stane, Magnar and Crowl sons and daughters learn their art in his yard. Several staff, thralls, servants, bedslaves (for the Men & Women alike) though no male bedslaves. No maester nor septon though. The gamekeeper tends the ravens.

The middle of three brothers, Kane was ever the biggest and strongest. He surpassed Kurrgan's height and strength at nine whilst his brother had seen twelve namedays. Not as accomplished with blade in hand, however, Kane turned to the axe instead and learned much from Master-at-Arms, Oric Magnar who has an uncanny talent for discerning what type of weapon the young lads and lasses of the Skagosi Houses should favour. His Lord Father, Morrec Crowl was a six and a half foot behemoth of a man but he was lost nary ten years past when a storm smashed his fishing skiff to splinters, odd shards of driftwood washed ashore being the only indication of his plight. 

Kurrgan was quick to deploy Kane head of the Crowl Guard, a role he relished- leading daring raids on separatist clans on the island and bringing back more manflesh than the Crowls had enjoyed in generations. So the past decade has been a time of feast. The Skagosi have all but severed any ties to House Stark on the mainland and no Lord has troubled them when they do not bestir themselves to send any harvest West. Instead, through various marriages and shared bounty, Crowl, Magnar and Stane have almost become three muscled limbs of the same house- easily controlling separatist clans when the need arises and putting the smallfolk and cave-dwellers alike to purposeful use. 

At her flowering, eight years past, Kane was the preferred match for Kendra Magnar, Old Sigren's grandaughter and a renowned beauty. By rights, Kurrgan was the preferred choice but Old Sigren deemed Kane a man more befitting his Son's only daughter. Only Lord Stane offering both his twin girls to Kurrgan and younger brother Hobb eventually appeased Kurrgan though the slight was felt and he ensured he claimed the rights of First Night (a tradition whereby Lords claim the maidenheads of their smallfolk's brides on their wedding night) upon his brother's bride. Kane, to everyone's amazement, assented but his revenge came when the Stane twins arrived at Deepdown and, if tales are to be believed, fucked them both together in his brother's marital bed. 

Hobb tried to stab Kane in the eye for it at the feast and received a shattered jaw for his trouble, Kurrgan laughed so hard he spewed wine all down his red and black jerkin. "So long as it's a Crowl between their legs, what's the difference?" It is rumoured the three wives were shared between the brothers up until Kurrgan's death- although Hobb, whose speech is slurred to this day- has only ever bedded down with his wife, Dorla and gives even the thralls and bedslaves none of his time.

Whatever one makes of this queerly Skagosi approach to the sanctity of marriage, it is curious the three marriages have produced a single daughter, eight year old Marga, a very morose and plain-speaking child, in some ten years. When asked by Uncle Hobb if she thought Uncle Kane might be her true sire she replied "Well, I'm not very tall. But then mayhaps they ate the babe and kept the afterbirth." 

Kurrgan's death was as sudden and tragic as his father before him, he'd ventured into the foothills far to the island's North where the wild unicorns roam to claim The Black Wind, a midnight Black Colt with a horn thrice as long as any in living memory. He rode with Uncle Coratt, his late father's brother who said he watched the beast kick Kurrgan full in the head but the Lord kept his feet, but then the band descended upon him and he was gored to death before Coratt and the half dozen riders they'd taken chased them off with swords, axes, clubs and mauls. When they'd dragged Kurrgan's body home he had seven or eight boreholes lanced right through him. Still his heart throbbed on another hour before he breathed his last.

After the grief and the burial, Kane took Kurrgan's widow to wife alongside Kendra to honour Myrla that she should retain her role as Lady of the House (though by Westerosi custom it is now Kendra who is recognised in the role). When out hunting or fighting clansfolk, Myrla wears Kurrgan's blood (or so she claims) in an X shape upon her face- making her a dread sight to encounter, for as long as it takes her spearpoint to take your eyes. 

With two 'wives' and countless servants, thralls, bedslaves and newly-married peasant girls to enjoy, Kane seldom troubles Myrla's twin, Dorla anymore, keeping Hobb (if not Dorla) content. He is passing pleased at the news Dorla is newly with child though she bears little outward sign of the pregnancy thus far. 

Perhaps the most surprising event following Kurrgan's death in 127AC was that Kane took all of his power North in a number of raids to hunt down The Black Wind and his Band but they seemed to have migrated and little trace was found, then in the dead of night, the hour of ghosts, Tyene Crowl cantered to the castle gates astride The Black Wind. She had gone out alone, some say still asleep, and when riders returned after dusk unable to find her, Kane himself was saddling his own monstrous Unicorn Stallion, Lancebane, when she appeared in a swirl of snow and moonlight. She has ridden at the head of Hobb's Cavalry ever since.

House Crowl has ever been friends of the Company of the Rose. The Sellsword company came into being when Northern Houses (at least members of) fled to Essos in protest at Torrhen Stark's submission to Aegon the Conqueror 129 years past. For the Skaggs, this too was the beginning of a lengthy cooling of relations between the 3 noble Houses of Skagos and Winterfell and the company have often been reliant upon the Isle for new recruits where once surplus mouths might have been sent to the Wall. To this end, Deepdown's meagre Harvest Hall is familiar a hearth to the Company and with the clans offering increasingly disappointing opposition to their rule, the Roses are an ever more attractive proposition for Young Skagosi adventurers.

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House Stark

Seat: Winterfell
The North
History:

The Starks. There's hardly a house more mentioned in the tales of the North than the Starks. Brandon the Builder,founder of the House, built the Wall. Brandon the Breaker, lord commander of the Night's Watch defeated the Night's King. For millenia, the Kings of Winter have ruled the harsh unforgiving lands with an equally unforgiving resolve, conquering fellow northmen Kingdoms and repelling the invasions of Free Folk from beyond the Wall, Ironborn from the Iron Islands, and the Andal invaders from the south. However, they weren't as lucky with the Targayens. Torrhen Stark, the last King in the North, surrendered before the House of the Dragon, sparing his army of the annihilation that the dragonfires brought upon the land. For his actions, he was much resented by some, but House Stark became the Wardens of the North under the Targayen reign.

The actions the House Stark had to perform were at times like a bitter cup of medicine. Targayens have commanded the Starks in marriages of convenience with the Eyrie, as well as giving away the New Gift to the Night's Watch. And yet, the House Stark has rarely if ever been found at fault in their duty towards the Iron Throne. Starks are a pragmatic, somber lot, true to their motto. Winter is coming. And we had better be prepared for it. In recent times, the leadership under Lord Cregan Stark has allowed to enjoy a respite and fairly smooth transition between the previous Lord and Cregan himself, yet the prospect of a new Winter weighs heavily on the Warden of the North, more than perhaps the petty plots and intrigues at court...

Bio:
Cregan, the only son of the previous Lord Rickon Stark, was born in a household whose time perhaps was not its best. Burdened by the decisions of his recent ancestors, who gave up the crown of Winter to serve the Targayens, the rule of Rickon, whom he passed unto his son, was fraught by internal policing and trying to maintain the brittle links that held the north together under the Stark banner, still corroded by the assumed cowardice of King Torrhen back during Aegon's Conquest. Befitting his future as the Warden of the North, Cregan grew up under a strict education, and always strived the very best to be the lord everyone needed in the North. 

It was found soon enough however, that he was not without quirks. For once, his swordsmanship was such that his father entrusted the Valyrian sword, Ice, at an earlier age than expected, and it is said that few northmen are as skilled in combat as he is. However, the young lad did not fall in the trap of trying using his personal might to impress his subjects and foes alike, and instead dedicated himself into being ponderous. The North was a dangerous place, and if one was let astray by the heart, they could easily be killed. It is said that Cregan rarely, if ever smiled outside his loved ones, and only paid attention to the minimal courtesy and etiquette, leading to the rumours that he somehow has ice for blood, specially south of the Neck, which he rarely visited. He also weaned a black direwolf pup, whom he named Marrow, by himself, and raised it to be his companion.

He did not engage in the pleasures of socializing very often, and it was such as that when he was engaged with Arra Norrey, young Cregan was rumoured to have never seen the woman before his wedding. However, the rumours were soon dispelled when somehow, Arra Norrey made his husband smile and beam. Even though it was a convenience marriage, Cregan treated his wife kindly, and love seemed to flourish. She bore him a heir, whom he named after his late father.

Tragedy struck soon, however, as in the span of two years, he lost both of his parents, and then his wife died victim to an strange fever. The young lord of Winterfell was young only on the outside, as his mind became grim and melancholic. Furthermore, with the signs of a new, hard winter approaching and the rumours of struggle in the Iron Throne they have not helped his situation. He spends the days wishing that his enemies and problems were of flesh, so he could hack them to pieces and be done with it. But one cannot fight winter with a sword. His only highlight is perhaps, that his own father confirmed in his deathbed the existence of bastard half-sibling of his, a fact he had known for a while, and urged him to take her to Winterfell. Arsa, as she was named, has so far proven the only person to be able to lift the spirits of the ailing lord besides his son, Rickon.

Arsa was the result of a rather lustful craving of the late Lord Rickon Stark after a very frustrating visit to the swamp and Marshes of the Neck. After an unsuccessful hunt of several criminals who later were found out devoured by the lizard-lions, Rickon Stark got so inebriated that he took the maidenhead of one of the Lord Reed's daughters. After the incident, and full of regret, Rickon had no choice but to acknowledge her as bastard, and spared no funds in her education and welfaring. Lord Reed allowed Arsa to live and grow up alongside his family and the crannogmen, while at the same time, employed the stipend that Lord Stark gave into giving her a proper education. Arsa Snow, or Stoat, as she was known to the crannogmen, grew as an exotic beauty among the swamps, someone who could look good in a dress and at the same time, catch her prey even in the most confusing swamp or snowfield.

Yet, the taint of bastardry was there. Arsa was thought to be two-faced and treacherous, and it did not certainly helped that sometimes, rumours of her carrying the strange powers and being able to see through the eyes of beasts. However, the rumours were cut short, when she was called to live with Winterfell. Here she found a father she had barely known dead, and a sulking half-brother as Lord. It is said that Marrow, the direwolf of Lord Stark greeted Arsa immediately, as if she had always been part of the family. True or not, the teenager Snow bonded with her brother almost immediately, helping him in her own ways. Either using her skill as ranger, tending to his half-nephew or being a cup-bearer in feasts, she tries to paint the walls of Winterfell with the optimism that is sorely needed.

His son, Rickon Stark.
His Uncle Bennad Stark
His wife  Margaret Karstark
Benjen, Brandon and Elric Stark, cousins of Lord Cregan
Marrow, companion Direwolf of Lord Cregan.

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House Lannister

Seat: Casterly Rock

History: The Lannisters are a majestic, aloof family, sure in their strength. They can arguably trace their roots back to the figure of legends, Lann the Clever, who outmaneuvered the Casterlys and stole their keep, built atop a mountain filled with gold, right out from under them. Since then, if that had ever happened, the Lannisters, as much sons of the First Men as the Starks, ruled in the Westerlands as Kings of the Rock. This continued all through the Andal invasion, with a slight hiccup involving House Lydden, and ending with the Targaryen invasion from Dragonstone.

When Aegon Targaryen and his dragons swooped in from the east, the Lannisters had the glory of defeating the Valyrian army in open battle, but was thrown back by the combined might of the three dragons. They called that tragic battle the Field of Fire, and the Lannisters, fearing retribution on their homeland, gave up the fight. They were offered by Aegon the title of Warden, to guard the west, which they accepted, and still hold that office with pride.

Now, as conflict looms over the kingdom, threatening to boil over in all-out war that would ravage the continent, the Lannisters are faced with a difficult decision. Inner conflicts have broken out between members of the family, and there has been talk of brother killing brother within the walls of Casterly Rock. The Lord Jason Lannister is the last figure trying largely to keep his family together, for the House Lannister must stand together if they are to survive the impending Dance of the Dragons.

Name: Jason Lannister
Age: 40

Name: Johanna Lannister
Age: 44

It was by circumstance that the two met. The Westerlings, ambitious as they were, sought to press the little advantage they had over their peers by asking for a hopeful marriage prospect to the Lannisters. The Lannisters, by sheer coincidence, were themselves looking for a marriage. Jason's elder brothers had died in a sickness that threatened the castle, leaving only the twins left. This hasty match was decided on, made, and quickly followed through.

This decision turned out to be rather fortunate. Johanna, as it turns out, was quick, determined, and unforgiving to the enemies of the house. In the early years of their marriage, when she was but sixteen and Jason was but twelve, it was she who handled the many tasks of administrating the castle and its surrounding lands. She was also the one to teach Jason much of the skills of ruling, and when he took the reigns at his own sixteenth year, the two were an inseparable team. 

It was with pride, then, that their first child was born. A healthy Lannister, who was quickly proving to become the best of his two parents. A daughter followed two years later, as bright and full of energy. In those years, business was booming all throughout Lannisport, as if the gods themselves were celebrating the young children.

Disaster would swiftly strike the family, threatening to sever the ties of familial bond. A child, born of Johanna, but quite apparently not a Lannister. This was a child of bad spirit, a bawling, aggressive creature that few septas would touch. His hair taunted the family, showing that even in the happiest households could there be wanting of those outside the marriage. The relationship between Jason and Johanna quickly grew tense, with him accusing her of siring a bastard and she refusing. It was fortunate that they did not separate, but the doubts still lingered. 

Still today, however, the family has stuck together. Jason keeps the land and the children together, and Johanna still stands close at his side. Together, and only together, would House Lannister continue to sound its roar to all corners of Westeros.

Age: 24

Lannisters were notorious for their pride, and Michel most of all. His hair was golden as the sun and hung low around his face, as if shouting to all his ancestry. He walked with a swagger and talked with a sneer, as if he were already Lord of the Westerlands, or even a king. However, his pride is not completely unfounded. Michel is bright, and confident in his decisions, a capable leader to rule the Westerlands. However, he tends towards stubbornness and rashness, especially when it comes to family.

When he was born, he was celebrated at every turn. He was the golden boy, the son of the Lannisters, and apple in his parents' eyes. But when his sister came, suddenly that was all gone. His parents attention, the constant lauding of the servants as he passed, it was as if a light had gone out of the castle, moving away from him and landing on the little baby girl. He resented this sudden loss of attention then, and even well into Genna's older life, he would still resent her.

Worse still was the bastard. The Brownmane, who sauntered around the castle like he owned the place. Michel would never admit it, but he saw in that younger son all the things he didn't have. Strength, agility, skill with horse and sword, those were things Michel had found little skill in, and rather disliked. Of course, everyone loved the Brownmane better. The two of them quarreled day and night, culminating in one when he up and left, vowing blood on his own family. That night would haunt Michel nightly, filling him with fear and anger.

However, his integrity as a Lannister could never be broken. The heir to Casterly Rock is one that can never be forgotten, for better or worse.

Age: 22

Genna could never live up to the prim and proper expectations of her mother. When she was young, she would frequently visit the city, against the wishes of the family in general, and speak to the sailors working at the docks. When she returned home, day after day, covered in dried dirt and scrapes, she would have to face the ire of both her parents and the relentless mocking of her brother. Thus, her relationship to the rest of the family is rather distant, to say the least.

When she got older, her associations became in many ways less innocent. She started frequenting taverns, drinking herself into a stupor, and spending time with radical thinking visiting merchants who always have opinions on the current situation of government. Slowly, their ideals got to her, and she would find herself thinking opposite to rulings made by her father.

Because of this, and because of her history, she spent long periods of time far away from Casterly Rock. She would make frequent tours across Westeros and Essos, anything to get away from her family. This, more often than not, included Dragonstone and the Vale, and she could count many a Black as one of her friends.

When the time comes for war, she will have to make a choice that will decide her standing with her family and her liege forever.

Age: 17

Artur was branded from birth. He came from his mother's womb, thin wisps of hair clinging to his head. Chestnut hair. Brown, like that of his mother's. Rumors swirled about the circumstances of his birth, many that implicated Johanna's infidelity. Such was his childhood life, pushed around by his siblings and peers as much as they push around each other. Bastard child, they called him. Brownmane, or Shithead, if they were in poor spirit. But he knew that he was a lion. He knew his destiny.

Armed with these thoughts, he threw himself into squirehood, starting at an inordinately early age, and most would say he was a bit too eager with the sword. As early as fifteen, he almost daily picked fights with sailors twice his weight by the docks, and came home day after day, face swollen and purpling. This did little to silence the thoughts of his bastard heritage. However, by seventeen, nobody could deny his skill with the sword, and he finally achieved his knighthood from his father, if a bit begrudgingly. 

Then, on that very eve of his knighting, he gets into a quarrel with his elder brother Michel. Michel had approached him, and demanded he take his own surname, now that he had a knighthood. Artur had refused, saying he already possessed one. This led to shouts, curses, and threats. "You will never be heir!" Artur remembered shouting, as he stormed from Casterly Rock. "The Lannister heir will wield the ancestral sword of Brightroar! I will return and sully its edge with your blood!" That was the last the two brothers saw of each other. With the last of his money, Artur went to the docks, and pooling the paltry contents of his and his friend's purses, purchased a run-down little water glider, in the desperate hope that a ship like that would take them to Valyria. Valyria, where Artur's last hope of redemption lies.

Now Artur sails towards the ruins of Old Valyria, with a skeleton crew at his back, awaiting the challenges that will no doubt come his way.

Age: 12

The young one. Deathly shy, and afraid of most things. Most afraid of being married off to an older man and forgotten by her family.

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House Tully

Seat: Riverrun
Riverlands

Elmoras 'Elmo' Tully, Lord of Riverrun, Lord Paramount of the Trident

History: Elmo is the heir of Riverrun and the Paramount of the Riverlands. Having made his worth, namely fighting in the Stepstones alongside Daemon Targaryen. While being a simple soldier back then, he learned to respect Daemon' skill and swordmanship in fighting for what he thought was right. Namely cause Elmoras lived thanks to Daemon saving his life - when he had been surrounded and almost died, if it weren't for the save by Daemon Targaryen. Namely, it risked both their lives - since Daemon didn't have to save him, but had done so - due to a sense of honor.

Returning home, he later assumed duties that his grandfather Glover couldn't manage. While his grandfather had supported male heritage over that of the female line, they were split in-secret over whom would be more upto ruling after the death of the King. Elmoras supports Rhaenyra - both due to the authority of the previous King and because, he has respect for Daemon Targaryen.

Over the hundred of years, since Aegon' Conquest - the Riverlands have steadily and surely regained their strength and power, able to match and rival the other kingdoms of the South. While they are still troubled by the 'rogue crews of the Ironborn' over the years - they have managed to keep them, off their coastal regions for the past five years.

His wife happens to be the younger sister of Lord Darry - the marriage being mostly political in nature, to tie together two of the powerful Houses of the Riverlands - but slowly over time, Elmoras and Nierra Darry have come to love each other. Not to mention, Nierra has more ambition than Elmoras - since it was her idea to squire their son, Kermaes to House Blackwood, in order to strengthen their lands and unified support further. In a way to surround and cut off the growing strength of House Strong of Harrenhall.

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