[hider=House Mudd of Harrenhal]
[CENTER][color=8B4513][b][h2]House Mudd of Harrenhal[/h2][/b][/color]
[img]https://awoiaf.westeros.org/images/thumb/1/15/House_Mudd.svg/545px-House_Mudd.svg.png[/img]
[h3][i]"The Riversblood Endures"[/i][/h3]
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IibiSsUdHgw][ ♫ ][/url][/CENTER][h3]House Information[/h3][hr]
[b]Synopsis[/b]
[indent][color=gray]King's blood courses through the veins of House Mudd, for theirs is an ancient line which once reigned over the Riverlands. The Andal invasion saw them lose their crown and lands, and even threatened to wipe out their line entirely as their last descendants were reduced to exiles who roamed Essos for generations. It was only through the generosity of House Targaryen that this ancestral bloodline was saved from extinction and made into the Lords of Harrenhal. From their new seat of power, the presumed descendants of the Mudd kings have grown once more into one of the most powerful and influential families in the region, as well as some of the few lords south of the Neck to still worship the Old Gods of the First Men. Among their peers, they are known for their their martial prowess, their undying loyalty to their liege and the crown, and their devotion to the Old Gods and the traditions of the First Men. However, many among their peers perceive them as overly austere, reserved and much too domineering.[/color][/indent]
[b]Head of House[/b]
[indent][color=gray]Lady Catelyn Mudd, Marshall of the Gods Eye, Guardian of the Rivers and the Hills[/color][/indent]
[b]Seat[/b]
[indent][color=gray]Harrenhal[/color][/indent]
[b]Demesne[/b]
[indent][color=gray]From the once ruined castle of Harrenhal, the largest in the Seven Kingdoms, Mudds rule over the vast and fertile holdings that surround the Gods Eye. Though few of the houses that inhabited the region survived the War of the Five Kings, today their remnants flourish alongside many newcomers. A variety of minor lords and landed knights serve as House Mudd's loyal bannermen. Among them are the Lollistons, Vances, Strongs, Ghostrivers and Dreadflowers. In total, the Marshall of the Gods Eye can raise almost three thousand men, as well as a few hundred women and green boys.[/color][/indent]
[b]Recent History[/b]
[indent][color=gray]Once on the verge of vanishing from history, the Mudds unexpectedly found their redemption through their brave service to Queen Daenerys during her conquest of the Seven Kingdoms. Yet this redemption came at a cost. Young John Mudd, by all accounts the closest thing the diminished Mudds had to a lordly figure, had proven his mettle during the fight for the Stepstones and the Stormlands, only to die fighting the army of the dead during the Long Night. With his loss, only the much younger Lorimas Mudd remained to further their ancestral bloodline.

Born and raised in exile, knowing nothing but the life of a soldier under the Golden Company, Lorimas hardly understood the true significance of his queen's decision to make him Lord of Harrenhal. Indeed, the first years of his rule over the Gods Eye were marked by his constant need for guidance, both from his meager household and from his fellow lords. Although his presence served to diffuse tensions between Robert Arryn and Edmure Tully, his liege, it was not of much help to his broken bannermen and the smallfolk of the Gods Eye. The reconstruction of the castles and villages destroyed during the War of the Five Kings was undermined by his neglectful watch over the proceedings, and while the rest of the Riverlands recovered to some extent in the following years, Harrenhal itself continued to be a half-empty ruin.

However, despite his lacklustre performance as a ruler, Lorimas did prove himself to be a reliable battle commander and a man deeply respectful of traditions who understood what was expected of him. Although he had dabbled in the worship of the Lord of Light during his life in Essos, as the new Lord of Harrenhal he publicly worshipped the Old Gods and followed the traditions of the First Men he claimed to descend from. In line with that same sentiment, and to secure his house's position in the realm, he arranged an alliance with House Blackwood by marrying Lord Tytos' daughter, Bethany. Their union yielded four trueborn children, who he raised alongside his two natural children, born from a freed Lyseni slave he had fallen in love with and brought with him across the Narrow Sea.

Alongside his friendship with the Blackwoods, he also sought to create ties with his liege and other major houses of Westeros, with varying degrees of success. His military leadership in service of House Tully earned him the esteem of his Lord Paramount, the title of Marshall of the Gods Eye and the acknowledgement of other lords outside of the Riverlands. However, his devotion to both the Lord Paramount and the Old Gods soon earned him the scorn of the more pious and quarrelsome Seven-worshipping river lords. The Brackens derided him as an upstart and an accomplice of the Blackwoods, and others derided him and his family as unholy influences whose presence undermined the good that the Faith had been doing to heal the land.

The Lord of Harrenhal did ultimately learn to be a decent ruler, however. One who his subjects could respect if not love. This was in no small part thanks to the wisdom of his lady wife and the talents of his silver-haired bastards. A series of bountiful crops, sustained by a healthier smallfolk with lots of healthy births to replenish their numbers, gave the Gods Eye an unexpectedtly long period of prosperity and filled the once empty coffers of Harrenhal with plenty of copper, silver and, eventually, gold.

So it was that, in 331 AC, with his holdings booming, Lorimas Mudd finally undertook the enormous task of rebuilding his long downtrodden seat. With some additional gold and men from Riverrun, both as a personal favour and as a guarantee that Riverrun would one day have a truly formidable fortress to rely on, he led the first efforts to restore the ruined castle to its former glory. Fallen towers rose again, great halls were refurbished and given proper roofs, and the mews and rookeries were repopulated.

To the surprise of many, who still dreaded the Curse of Harrenhal, no great ill befell Lorimas or his family during this time. His children grew into healthy lords and ladies, all blessed with their mother's beauty and their father's skill in battle. In turn, all but the eldest of them fathered and mothered their own comely warriors who would carry his family name. The great heart tree in Harrenhal's godswood stopped bleeding, as it famously used to, from its thirteen carvings, and its branches filled with rich red leaves. Some of House Mudd's foes saw it as proof of Lorimas and his children dabbling in some manner of secret ancient witchcraft, while many who prayed to the Old Gods claimed that the castle's curse had finally been broken.

Lorimas Mudd grew old surrounded by a numerous and loving family, his troubles reduced to the occasional courtly feuds and banditry. By the time of his death, in 354 AC, he was the head of a rejuvenated family line, the ruler of a mostly peaceful and modestly prosperous land, and lord of a great castle that was, by then, only mostly ruined.

Lorimas was succeeded by Jonas, his firstborn, an honest if unremarkable man who diligently carried on with his father's work until his weak heart forced him to declare himself incapable in 356 AC. Thus began the regency and eventual lordship of Jonas' own son, the taciturn Lucas. He was man who shared his predecessors' abilities in war but not their preference for it. Instead, Lucas was a patron of singers, poets, artists and scholars. As the new Lord of Harrenhal, he turned the castle into a haven for all manner of beauty and knowledge. He continued his predecessors' reconstruction efforts while the Hall of the Hundred Hearths was decorated to match the exuberance of many greater houses. His personal library came to be known for its massive and ever growing collection of rare tomes from every corner of the known world.

Outside the walls of Harrenhal, Lucas' siblings and nephews acted as his envoys, enforcing his rule in the Gods Eye and speaking to other lords on his behalf. Meanwhile, his preoccupation with history, combined with his family's predilection for tradition, led to him taking for himself, and his successors, the title of Guardian of the Rivers and the Hills. A tribute to his house's heritage as kings, it also reaffirmed their commitment to protecting the Riverlands in House Tully's name.

In time, Lord Lucas began to take a special interest in people from far beyond the Narrow Sea, many of whom he brought into his court as his protegees and favourites. His exotic sensibilities led to ever more scandalous stories about his intimacy with the passing of the years. Nobles and smallfolk talked of him bedding strange people and inviting red priests and shadowbinders into his court to train him in the higher mysteries. Yet many still acknowledged him as a wise and kind lord, whose cautious nature translated into well-managed holdings, content subjects and a few good friends among the nobility.

In 363 AC, however, the rumours were seemingly confirmed in the eyes of the realm. Early that year, several members of the Most Devout, along with a handful of lords aligned with the Faith, formally accused Lord Lucas of witchcraft, adultery, incest and buggery. They had taken his bastard cousin Lysandro hostage, and claimed that Lucas and him were lovers who engaged in dark magical rituals in service of strange gods. Lord Lucas did not formally respond to the accusation, arguing that he did not pray to the Seven and was, therefor, exempt from the Faith's laws. Instead, he demanded his kinsman's immediate liberation and threatened to storm the sept in King's Landing, where they had imprisoned Lysandro.

The incident reignited the lingering tensions between his house and the rivals it had gained during his grandfather's rule. The ensuing weeks saw House Mudd suffer many insults, both in words and in action, including nighttime raids on his lands. Why Lucas chose not retaliate to the open aggression against his house remains a mystery, although it is known that those who raided his lands vanished in the woods not long after.

The conflict culminated two months after Lysandro' abduction, when Lord Lucas rode alone to King's Landing and demanded a trial by combat on Lysandro' behalf, with himself as his cousin's champion. The ensuing duel was a long and vicious affair. Lord Lucas continued to fight even after receiving many mortal injuries from his opponent's blade, refusing to yield even as he bled out. But in the end he prevailed, proving Lysandro' innocence, and died two days later with a freed Lysandro by his side.

Lucas Mudd's noble death left the rule of Harrenhal and the Gods Eye in the hands of his young daughter, Catelyn. The eldest of Lord Lucas' five children, she was very different from her father, and the first days of her ladyship reflected that. Nor as open-minded nor as gentle as her father, Catelyn was a hard but honourable woman with a relentless sense of justice. She stuck to the values and customs of the First Men and distanced herself from the more unorthodox interests embraced by some of her kin. Ambitious but principled, she pursued a further expansion of House Mudd's authority and prestige as heirs of the First Men, loyal bannermen of House Tully and keepers of the peace. An implacable commander, a staunch traditionalist and an inflexible diplomat, her unforgiving attitude towards slights intimidated many of her rivals while her venerable character dispelled the suspicions many still held about her house.

Lady Catelyn's rule over the Gods Eye in the decade since has left no doubt as to House Mudd's position as a respectable and imposing addition to the nobility of the Seven Kingdoms. In her hands, Harrenhal is a force to be reckoned with, and not just in the field of battle. The halls of the once dilapidated castle are filled with life once more, and noble and smallfolk alike rediscover their old ways. The Gods Eye is slowly becoming a favoured trade hub for those willing to sail up and down the Blackwater. Ever loyal to House Tully, and to the Dragon Queen who gave them a home, Lady Catelyn and her kin care for two things above all others: preserving their legacy and protecting the realm from its enemies, both within and without.[/color][/indent]
[b]Realm Relations[/b]
[indent][b]House Targaryen[/b]
[color=gray]Gratitude easily turns into loyalty, and such has been the case for House Mudd during Queen Daenerys Targaryen's long rule. Any member of their family would be proud to fight for the Queen and lay down their lives in her name, and it is unlikely that they would willingly follow any king or queen who was not of the Targaryen name. Lady Catelyn herself has been one of the Queen's most ardent supporters, a vocal opponent of her incapacitation, and one of the earliest proponents of Serenei Targaryen's coronation, should Daenerys die.[/color]

[b]House Tully[/b]
[color=gray]Upon becoming Lord of Harrenhal, one of the first things Lorimas Mudd did was publicly relinquish all ancestral claims to the Trident as a show of good faith to his new liege. Since then, every successive Lord and Lady of Harrenhal has done the same. Such is the commitment of House Mudd to serving their Lord Paramount faithfully, regardless of their heritage. Mudds and Tullys have called each other friends in childhood and brothers in arms in battle, and although they share no bonds of blood or marriage, it is an almost tacit agreement among Mudds that to go against the Tullys would be as shameful as going against their own kin.[/color]

[b]House Stark[/b]
[color=gray]The Starks and Mudds share their faith in the Old Gods and their descendance from the First Men. Despite the vast distances and differences in rank that separate them, the Mudds of Harrenhal see the Starks as companions in spirit, fellow keepers of an ancient heritage that most great houses have long forgotten.[/color]

[b]House Baratheon[/b]
[color=gray]A Targaryen loyalist to the core, Lorimas Mudd was deeply suspicious of the lords of Storm's End throughout his life, as were his son and grandson. To them, the Baratheons were likely usurpers who could one day seek to seize Daenerys' rightful throne again. However, it would seem that Catelyn Mudd does not share that sentiment when it comes to Lyonel Baratheon and his kin. It is known that the Lady of Harrenhal has a lot of respect for the Master of Laws, both as a man of virtuous character and as an adamant pursuer of justice.[/color]

[b]House Arryn[/b]
[color=gray]An ancient animosity was rekindled when Robert Arryn disputed with the Tullys over the rightful ownership of Harrenhal. To the Mudds, the Defender of the Vale and his kin are ancient threats, for they have not forgotten that the Arryns were once Andal invaders who vanquished the First Men kings and imposed their new gods upon the populace. As the self-proclaimed descendants of the Mudd kings, they see in the Vale's more modern ambitions an ages-old struggle for dominance between different peoples.[/color]

[b]House Lannister[/b]
[color=gray]WIP[/color]

[b]House Tyrell[/b]
[color=gray]WIP[/color]

[b]House Martell[/b]
[color=gray]WIP[/color]

[b]House Greyjoy[/b]
[color=gray]WIP[/color]

[b]House Blackwood[/b]
[color=gray]It was sometimes jested in inns and lordly feasts that Lorimas Mudd's children had more black than brown in them. Indeed, the following two generations of House Mudd tended to inherit the looks of their Blackwood ancestors above all others. To the Mudds, the Blackwoods are family, plain and simple. The only house which kept to the old ways after the Andal invasion, the only house that resisted the Lannister usurpers after the Red Wedding, and the first house to welcome the Mudds back to the Riverlands with open arms, the Blackwoods are loved by the Mudds, not just as brothers in blood, but as exemplars of true honour. Mudds and Blackwoods have stood and fought side by side against their mutual foes over the years, as well as against the enemies of their Lord Paramount and the Queen. Should anyone threaten her Blackwood kin, Catelyn would be the first lady in the Riverlands to march in their defense.[/color]

[b]House Velaryon[/b]
[color=gray]Lucas Mudd thought highly of Aerion Velaryon. To the then Lord of Harrenhal, the young Hand of the Queen was a remarkable and commendable servant of the Iron Throne. Had fate allowed it, he might have even pursued closer personal bonds with him. But Lucas' death was only the first in a long series of events that led to a cooling of the relations between Harrenhal and Driftmark. The Stepstones rebellion convinced Lucas' successor, the stern Catelyn, that the Velaryons were no longer reliable. As far as Catelyn is concerned, Aerion is a nuisance and likely traitor who should have spent the past decade in a dark cell, and his family is probably no different.[/color]

[b]House Hightower[/b]
[color=gray]WIP[/color][/indent]
[b]Storyline Premise[/b]
[indent][color=gray]Heritage and duty are essential virtues for the Mudds of Harrenhal, but these ideas do not always align, nor are they impervious to morally questionable attitudes. There is an inherent contradiction in their position, for more king's blood supposedly courses through their veins than through those of some great houses. Yet Lord Lorimas' legacy of unwavering loyalty to the crown has made many of his descendants modest, unambitious and unimaginative. That may be a weakness when they are faced with the looming shadow of a war of succession.

The state of affairs under Lady Catelyn reflects these troubles. She seeks closer ties with the increasingly isolationist houses of the North, yet she remains one of the Queen's most stalwart defenders and serves House Tully with no complaint. House Mudd grows larger under her watch, its power stretching beyond the Gods Eye, and its people advocate for a return to older ideals. Yet this puts her family at odds with those who adhere to the Faith and those who dare to dream of a much different world.

It is within her household, however, that this inner conflict takes its most significant form. The righteous and steely Lady of Harrenhal does not trust many of her own kin with the rule of Harrenhal, for she knows many of them to want to pursue more unorthodox and even esoteric ways to defend their family and their lands. She fears for the future of the Gods Eye under anyone outside of her inner circle. Unfortunately, after the tragic death of Lyra, her beloved daughter and heir, it is now Lady Catelyn's only remaining son, the melancholy Mychel, that stands to succeed her as Lord of Harrenhal, Marshall of the Gods Eye and Guardian of the Rivers and the Hills. And young Mychel is not at all like his mother or the rest of the Mudds.[/color][/indent]
[h3]Character Information[/h3][hr]
[hider=Mychel Sapphire][CENTER][color=0000CD][b][h2]Mychel Sapphire[/h2][/b][/color]
[img]https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/2526c7ff-69e3-430f-8827-9ba0d8d0cd38/dab8b38-1e59bfee-eaea-4e3b-bd41-c6233caf4598.jpg/v1/fill/w_696,h_1148,q_70,strp/boris_by_etopato_dab8b38-pre.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9MTY4NyIsInBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzI1MjZjN2ZmLTY5ZTMtNDMwZi04ODI3LTliYTBkOGQwY2QzOFwvZGFiOGIzOC0xZTU5YmZlZS1lYWVhLTRlM2ItYmQ0MS1jNjIzM2NhZjQ1OTguanBnIiwid2lkdGgiOiI8PTEwMjQifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6aW1hZ2Uub3BlcmF0aW9ucyJdfQ.wpYKcMwbImYVEpbVPUatx8VwYyd30vsaOCHi1qaLWiM[/img]
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOP_PPavoLA][ ♫ ][/url][/CENTER]
[b]Identity[/b][indent][color=gray]Mychel Mudd, dubbed 'Mychel Sapphire'[/color]
[/indent]
[b]Age[/b][indent][color=gray]Fifteen.[/color]
[/indent]
[b]Role[/b][indent][color=gray]Heir to Harrenhal
Squire under Carolei Tarth[/color][/indent]
[b]Characterization[/b][indent][color=gray]Tall and fair, Mychel is more sapphire than mud. It is a truth most uncomfortable to his mother, but proudly acknowledged by his Tarth cousins. He and his twin brother, Jacelyn, were born from Lady Catelyn's matrilineal union to her second husband, Endrew Tarth. A marriage of love, the influence of the Sapphire Isle was quite apparent in their progeny from the very beginning. The blue eyed boys of the Lady of Harrenhal quickly outgrew their older sister, Lyra, born from Catelyn's previous marriage to the late Mors Tallhart.

The twins were also quite remarkable in terms of their characters. Where their mother and sister were incurious, set in their ways and concerned with keeping the traditions of the ancient river lords, Mychel and Jacelyn were fascinated by tales of their Tarth ancestors' chivalry and yearned to visit their father's legendary homeland. Mychel in particular, being the more sensitive and imaginative of the two, developed a fondness for poetry and plays. He would spend entire days in the woods and fields of the Gods Eye reciting and reenacting his favourites with his twin or with their low-born second cousins, the descendants of Lorimas' bastards.

Mere months before their eleventh nameday, however, tragedy struck the Mudd household. During one of their trips into the woods, a terrible storm broke out. Mychel and Jacelyn got lost as the downpour changed the shape of the land around them, and wandered blindly in search for a way back to Harrenhal. While trying to cross a raging stream, Jacelyn slipped and his leg was impaled on the branch of a fallen tree. Unable to stop the bleeding, Mychel desperately dragged his dying twin towards what he thought would be the edge of the forest, only to find that he had led them even further astray. In his guilt and despair over dooming his brother, he lay down by Jacelyn's side and held him as he passed away, wishing that the storm would kill him as well.

A searching party under his uncles' command found him the afternoon after, alive but weak, still clinging to his twin's corpse. It took Harrenhal's maester weeks to get Mychel back in good health. The boy that came out of his chambers once he was deemed fit to walk again was a pale reflection of the cheerful child he had once been. After months of mourning, realizing that Harrenhal had soured in her son's heart, his mother decided to send him away, to serve as his aunt Carolei's squire in Tarth.

In Tarth, in the company of his sapphire kin, Mychel regained some of his lost spark, but remained prone to melancholy. Under his aunt's tutelage, he demonstrated great skill with the sword and a precocious talent for command. He also found plenty of loving friendship and comradery in his Tarth cousins. Although his passion for poetry and theatre remained, he became more and more enamored with the more tragic tales and songs, and took to writing and singing his own. Talk spread over time of how he would dress in House Tarth's colors and how his cousins had given him the name 'Mychel Sapphire', to signify their close kinship. His good character and comely looks attracted the attention of a dozen suitors, all of which he kindly rejected, preferring the company of his relatives and the smallfolk instead. Much like his grandfather Lucas, he also took an interest in gods and customs beyond those of his ancestors.

If courtly rumours are to be believed, it was his lady mother's intent to keep him in Tarth until he came of age, both for his sake and to focus on raising Lyra as her successor. After that, she would have allowed him to roam the world as he pleased. Unfortunately, whatever plans Lady Catelyn may have had were unexpectedly demolished by Lyra's death during childbirth. With her heir dead, and the resulting child stillborn, the Lady of Harrenhal had no choice but to summon her wistful son back to the Gods Eye to assume his place as her successor.

Mychel is defined by his experiences with love and loss, and that makes him value compassion far more than coldhearted duty or tradition. His sensitivity makes him quite popular with the smallfolk, of whom he is very protective, as well as a remarkable judge of character and a good ally, even if it also makes him wont to let his darkest thoughts fester within. He rejects cruelty whenever possible, however, and is not one to abuse his power or scheme from the shadows. His sense of honour and justice is more defined by his ideals than by the traditions of the First Men, and his devotion to the Old Gods has waned with the passing of the years. As for his imagination, it has made him perhaps the only Mudd in many years to think about the future of their house and the realm beyond their decades-old commitment to the Targaryens and Tullys.[/color][/indent]
[b]Attributes & Talents[/b][indent]
[b]The Marshall and the Maid[/b]
[color=gray]The blood of many great soldiers courses through Mychel's veins. From Lorimas Mudd to Brienne of Tarth, their famous legacies converged on the day of his birth, and have only been reaffirmed throughout his life. The heir to Harrenhal is strong, fast and precise with his sword. He has performed exceptionally well in his first few melees and jousts. Should he pursue knighthood, his lady aunt suspects that he could become one of the finest knights in the Seven Kingdoms.[/color]

[b]The Art of War[/b]
[color=gray]A vivid imagination, if well-cultivated, can be just as deadly in the field of battle as a robust body and a good sword arm. Mychel's innate creativity, fostered by a childhood spent memorizing intricate war poems and years of rigorous tutelage under the Lady of Tarth, has made him into a very promising tactician. What he may lack for in cold calculation, he more than makes up for in inventiveness, an aptitude which he has constantly demonstrated to his friends and family through games of [i]cyvasse[/i].[/color]

[b]Sapphires are prettier than mud[/b]
[color=gray]Mychel's delicate beauty has been spoken of, and sung about, in more than a few courts and inns. It is the first of many things that lords, ladies and smallfolk alike find bewitching about him. His allure is only heightened by his character, as people lose themselves in the soft sound of his voice while he sings or recites, or they witness his tenderness and rectitude. This comes at a cost, however, for many see in his pretty face and compassionate nature signs of an unmanly vulnerability.[/color]

[b]Wisdom of the Heart[/b]
[color=gray]It is a popular notion among some lords, those bountiful in ambition but lacking in scruples, that a man who lets himself be guided by sentiment is a gullible fool, easily manipulated and betrayed. Yet it could be just as easily argued that the right kind of sensitivity can be a weapon against treachery, a way of knowing what lies hidden in people's hearts. Mychel may not be able to know if someone is lying to him by way of a mere glance, but he can often tell the true nature of the people he meets, beyond their words and courtesies.[/color]

[b]Riversblood no more[/b]
[color=gray]Few would dare say it aloud, but there is little doubt in some that Mychel is no longer considered a 'proper' Mudd by some of his kin. His long stay in the Stormlands, and news of his fondness for his Tarth relatives, have driven some of his Mudd cousins to embrace his new name of Mychel Sapphire as a peyorative. To them, Mychel becoming Lord of Harrenhal would be tantamount to a betrayal of their bloodline. In a family as closely knit as the Mudds, such a rejection could spell disaster for their family and the Gods Eye.[/color]

[b]A Nameless Affliction[/b]
[color=gray]Some maesters have long argued that there are diseases which only affect, and are rooted in, the human spirit, and not the body. They have written of diseases of emotion, rather than simple madness, where the afflicted can perceive reality as it is, but they experience it through a dark fog of despair. Mychel's melancholia has been with him since his twin's death. Indeed, it would seem that its presence is now an intrinsic part of his nature, something that remains with him even in his moments of joy. It casts its shadow over every waking hour of his life, and often in his dreams as well.[/color]

[b]The meaning of a peach[/b]
[color=gray]It is not uncommon for young lords and squires to be curious about the pleasures of the flesh before they are bewedded. It is not uncommon for them to seek out those pleasures in the company of serving girls or whores. It is quite uncommon, however, for a young lord such as Mychel to befriend the serving girls instead of bedding them. It is uncommon for one to only visit one oddly specific brothel once, without ever mentioning to anyone but his closest friends who he bedded. It is also uncommon for the heir of a prestigious house to openly refuse several suitors, many of them from very prestigious houses of their own, without even consulting with his guardians or parents on the matter. The lords and ladies who have heard of this mystery have devised a few scandalous answers to it, but only one has been deemed believable. It is an answer which has reminded many storm lords of one of their former lieges.[/color][/indent]
[b]Immediate Family[/b][indent][color=gray]His mother, [b]Catelyn Mudd[/b]. Forty-two years old.
His father, [b]Endrew Tarth[/b]. Forty years old.
His sister, {[b]Lyra Mudd[/b]}. Died in childbirth in 379 AC at the age of twenty-three, along with her child.
His twin brother, {[b]Jacelyn Mudd[/b]}. Died in an accident in 375 AC at the age of ten.
His maternal aunts and uncles, [b]Alyssa Mudd[/b], [b]Leslyn Mudd[/b], [b]Brynden Mudd[/b] and [b]Cassandra Mudd[/b]. Forty, thirty-eight, thirty-five and thirty-four years old, respectively.
His maternal cousins by Alyssa, [b]Emphyria Mudd[/b], [b]Celia Mudd[/b] and [b]Tristan Mudd[/b]. Twenty-two, nineteen and fifteen years old, respectively.
His maternal cousins by Leslyn, [b]Lucias Mudd[/b], [b]Jon Mudd[/b], [b]Loras Mudd[/b] and [b]Aegon Mudd[/b]. Twenty-one, eighteen, fifteen and thirteen years old, respectively.
His maternal cousin by Brynden, [b]Garrett Mudd[/b]. Seventeen years old.
His maternal cousins by Cassandra, [b]Melantha Mudd[/b] and [b]Olyver Mudd[/b]. Sixteen and twelve years old, respectively.
His maternal grandmother, [b]Barbara Vance[/b]. Sixty years old.
His maternal great aunts and uncles.
His maternal second aunts and uncles.
His maternal second cousins.
His paternal aunt, [b]Carolei Tarth[/b]. Forty-nine years old.
His paternal cousins.[/color][/indent]
[b]Personal Relations[/b]
[indent][color=gray][b]Catelyn Mudd[/b] - Mychel loved and admired his mother once, but with the souring of his love for Harrenhal after Jacelyn's death, so did his love for her sour after he was sent away. The years apart and their growing differences in character have made the chasm between them grow larger, although her diligence and his caring nature have ensured that they at least share a mutual respect.
[b]Endrew Tarth[/b] - It is not only the colour of their eyes that father and son share, but also a lifelong yearning for the world outside of the Gods Eye. During his years in Tarth, Mychel kept a close correspondence with his father and eagerly awaited his every visit. Endrew, for his part, always encouraged his son's curiosity and imagination, and found joy in training him for battle before the boy was sent off to his sister.
[b]His maternal aunts and uncles[/b] - Time and distance did much to distance Lady Catelyn's siblings from her sweet Mychel. However, his uncle Brynden has kept a constant interest in the boy's martial training, having been the one to teach him his first swings as a child, and Mychel has always looked up to him. And his aunt Alyssa, an avid reader and patron of the arts like her father, is known to be fond of Mychel's songs and poems.
[b]Emphyria Mudd[/b] - There has always been something strange about Emphyria, something that, apparently, only Mychel noticed. Something about the way she looked at people, how she flattered them, how she convinced them to see things the way she did, and how easily she could lie. His eldest cousin was always charming, witty, confident and made friends with ease, but Mychel was never entirely comfortable in her company and that remains the case to this day. He has not spoken to her since he left for Tarth and she has not sent him a single letter.
[b]His other maternal cousins[/b] - The one common thread among Mychel's Mudd cousins is their stalwart dedication to the old ways and the Old Gods. To them, Mychel's long stay in Tarth, and the stories that circulate of his behavior among the storm lords, speak of someone who has abandoned proper tradition and may well be on his way to abandoning the family entirely. Such being their attitude, their behavior towards him has become more and more hostile in recent years. The one exception is Garrett, his uncle Brynden's only son, who was quite fond of both Mychel and Jacelyn when they were children and deeply mourned the loss of both.
[b]Other Mudds[/b] - Mychel's great aunts and uncles, second aunts and uncles, and second cousins were a constant presence in his childhood, although not all of them welcome. He got along quite well with Lysandro and his descendants and continued to share letters with them during his years in Tarth. With the rest of the Mudds, however, things were more complicated. His great uncle Lomas and his great aunt Dyanna were kind to him but clearly favoured his sister over him. His second uncle Horas was once a rambunctious man who always enjoyed Mychel's recitations and cheered for his childish singing in every feast, but became a boorish drunk after the untimely death of his son and never again showed any love for the other Mudd children. Those among his second cousins who were closest to his sister were respectful and welcoming, but those more aligned with his cousin Emphyria were wont to mistreat him for his delicate personality.
[b]Barbara Vance[/b] - His grandmother has always played the part of the all-loving matriarch, balancing her daughter's less forgiving nature with her caring, nurturing character. She still dotes on Mychel as much as is possible, as she does for all her grandchildren, while she tries to find him a suitable match through her network of noble widows.
[b]His Tarth kin[/b] - Tarth became his home in the years he spent as a squire under his aunt, and the ruling family of the beautiful island became his family at heart. To his aunt, Mychel is like a son. To his cousins, he is like a brother.

[b]Brus Baratheon[/b] - Over the course of his years as Lady Tarth's squire, the heir to Harrenhal came to see his visits to Storm's End as a common but much anticipated occurrence, mainly because of one of Lord Lyonel's children. Of all the people Mychel has met in the Stormlands, Ser Brus Strongstag is a clear favourite of his, given how much he openly enjoys the young Baratheon's company despite their markedly different temperaments. Some of his fondest memories are those from the days he has spent with Brus and his squire, Aemon Velaryon, drinking, fighting, singing or riding. Though Brus has a penchant for teasing him, it is clear that Mychel admires and appreciates him, and that Brus cares for him in turn.
[b]Aemon Velaryon[/b] - Where the Strongstag goes, Aemon often follows, and Mychel is glad for it. As much as he openly enjoys Brus' boisterous nature and antics, he also makes no secret about the fact that he is rather sweet on Brus' squire. Mychel has been known to be protective of him, knowing how many storm lords despise the boy for what his family did.
[b]Edmyn Tully[/b] - The just and honourable Lord Paramount of the Trident has no shortage of friends in Harrenhal, and Mychel would count himself among them. He saw enough of Edmyn growing up to appreciate his good character and share his mother's sentiment that, out of all the lords that they could have been sworn to, it is a blessing that he was the one.
[b]Felix Blackwood[/b] - The historical ties between the Mudds and the Blackwoods meant that, as a child, Mychel thought of Lord Blackwood's son as close family. Even though they were not even second cousins, Felix was honest and likeable enough that he had no trouble favouring him over some of his fellow Mudds. Jacelyn's death and Mychel's departure to Tarth, however, worked to sever that bond they shared. That does not mean that Felix and him do not still have some things in common. For one, although Mychel is not fond of gambling or drinking, their shared interest in tourneys and swordsmanship, and their shared lack of interest in lordship, has encouraged them to keep a sparse but amiable correspondence.
[b]Cassandra Blackwood[/b] - When the Mudd twins were children, their mother floated the idea of promising one of them to Lord Blackwood's prodigious daughter. In her mind, enough generations had passed since Lorimas Mudd' marriage to Bethany Blackwood that it was time to renew the blood tie shared by their houses. Both Mychel and Jacelyn liked Cassandra well enough, specially the latter, but that betrothal never came to fruition. Jacelyn's death and Mychel's ensuing melancholia deterred their mother from pressing the matter. Ever since then, Mychel has only really known of Cassandra through her brother's correspondence.
[b]William Stark[/b] - 
[b]Loreon Lannister[/b] - It would be difficult for any squire not to feel some admiration for a knight as skilled and gallant as the heir to Casterly Rock. Though they are no more than acquaintances, Mychel sees in Loreon a good man and an exemplary fighter, someone he could aspire to be like someday. On the few occasions where they have met, Loreon has reciprocated Mychel's admiration and shown interest in his potential to become a fine knight in his own right.[/color][/indent]
[/hider]
[hider=Emphyria Mudd][CENTER][color=8B4513][b][h2]Emphyria Mudd[/h2][/b][/color]
[img]https://media.kg-portal.ru/images/prideandprejudice/prideandprejudice_74.jpg[/img][/CENTER]
[b]Identity[/b][indent][color=gray]Emphyria Mudd[/color]
[/indent]
[b]Age[/b][indent][color=gray]Twenty-two.[/color]
[/indent]
[b]Role[/b][indent][color=gray]Wife to Lucion Lannister
Third in the line of succession for Harrenhal[/color][/indent]
[b]Characterization[/b][indent][color=gray]WIP[/color][/indent]
[b]Attributes & Talents[/b][indent]
[b]A towering intellect[/b]
[color=gray]No one can deny that Emphyria Mudd has been blessed with a remarkable acumen, unmatched by the rest of her kin. Despite her young age, she is an undisputed genius whose understanding of the world far surpasses that of many lords and ladies. A lifetime of voracious study has made her well-versed in statesmanship, philosophy, alchemy and history. Even if she is not a prodigy in any specific vocation, she has the capacity to amass and comprehend all manner of knowledge.[/color]

[b]A proper lady[/b]
[color=gray]In a house as concerned with tradition as hers, it is expected of young ladies to learn what is necessary to have a successful life in court or as a lady-in-waiting for a greater house. In the eyes of those who know her, Emphyria is competent, if not particularly noteworthy, when it comes to such matters. Most people find her respectful, well-mannered demeanour appealing enough, which earns her an ever growing number of friends outside of Harrenhal.[/color][/indent]
[hider=Secret Traits & Talents][indent]
[b]A Dark Mind[/b]
[color=gray]Maesters have yet to devise a word that can describe the peculiar nature of people like Emphyria Mudd. Beneath her courteous, demure exterior lies something that is not madness, lacking in the fearful delusions that destroyed men like the Mad King, Aerys II, but could not be called sanity either. Emphyria has no empathy for others, nor is she capable of remorse. She is ruthless, manipulative, cynical and ambitious to a terrifying degree. To her, most people are like tools, usable and disposable, and almost no life has more value than her thirst for knowledge and status. What principles and scruples she does hold only exist because she understands that they are expected of her, not because going against them would offend her inexistent moral values. And if she must torture or murder those who stand in her way to success, she will do so with frightening creativity.[/color][/indent][/hider]
[b]Personal Relations[/b]
[indent][color=gray][b]Catelyn Mudd[/b] - 
[b]Mychel Mudd[/b] - 
[b]Tytos Lannister[/b] - 
[b]Lucion Lannister[/b] - 
[b]Loreon Lannister[/b] - [/color][/indent][/hider][/hider]