Danvers — Roleplayer Guild

House Information

Synopsis
An ancient house in Westeros, the Blackwoods of Raventree Hall are descended from first men and once ruled as kings of most of the Wolfswood in the North, before being driven out by the winter kings of house Stark. In the Age of Heroes they ruled as lesser kings of the Riverlands and developed a feud with the Brackens that would follow them through the ages. The Blackwoods went on to fight against the Andal invaders and even after their defeat refused to take the Seven as their gods, being one of the only families south of the Neck to still worship the Old Gods. Due to their constant fighting with House Bracken, their power and influence lessened over the years, eventually becoming bannerman to House Tully of Riverrun. Like many in the Riverlands, they suffered great losses during the War of the Five Kings and have since been trying to quietly rebuild their power. 
  
Head of House
Lord Harald Blackwood 

Seat
Raventree Hall

Demesne
Raventree Hall is located within Blackwood vale, a broad, fertile valley north of the Red Fork and west of the Blue Fork in the riverlands. There have been no woods in it for several thousand years, as the oaks were cleared for homes, mills and holdfasts. The vale primarily consists of fields, farms and orchards. Raventree Hall itself is located just North of Riverrun, near the coast of Ironman’s bay.

Recent history
Throughout the years the Blackwoods have managed to rebuild their military forces and allow the vale to regrow & flourish. Ongoing squabbles with the Brackens have prevented them from looking outwards from the Riverlands, however they have managed to reclaim most the land that was previously lost to them, namely Woodhedge, Crossbow Ridge and Lord’s Mill. 

Until the birth of Lord Harald, the eldest of four siblings, it would seem that House Blackwood was forever destined for petty arguments and age-old grudges. At 19 years of age, two years after he inherited Raventree Hall, Harald married Roana Bracken, in a surprising attempt at mending the rift between the two families. But Felix had barely even been born before the two houses were at each others throats once more, which unfortunately for Roana has led her to be forever at the mercy of her families teasing about her Bracken ancestry. 

Not driven by ambition, but by loyalty and duty, Harald has seen once more to strengthen his ties with the great houses. Although Blackwood Vale had suffered greatly during the War of the Five Kings, this period of history only served to entrench their loyalty to not only the Tullys, but also the Starks. While the rest of the Westeros looks South to Kings Landing and Queen Daenerys, the Blackwoods have been looking North, seemingly wanting to secure a deeper alliance with the Starks. Currently they see no issue with the Targaryen’s ruling over the iron throne and maintain a degree of a neutrality to the house. 

Realm relations
TBD

Storyline premise
Aside from the usual petty squabbles with the Brackens, the Blackwoods have remained quietly observing from the sidelines during Queen Daenerys’ reign. Although old-fashioned in their ways, they raised little issue with the new law of inheritance (though it is worth pointing out that they have yet to have a female inherit). Having regrown both their lands and army, they are still one of the stronger houses in the Riverlands…though as of yet it would appear that Lord Harald has used this for little more than looking after his own family. 

Ever the loyalists, House Blackwood still retains their strong ties with the Tullys. However, the War of the Five Kings only served to remind them of their kinship to the Stark family and they have made it known on more than one occasion, that if the Starks were to ask for their help, they would be willing to answer. More than ever, they seem to be harking back to their Northern roots, despite still being firmly planted below the Neck.

Character Information



Identity
Felix Blackwood (Ser)

Age
20

Characterisation
In stark contrast to his sister, Felix is amiable and warm. He wears his heart on his sleeve, which often garners him favour with others as  his willingness to open up only makes them trust him more. Easy to get along with, and a damned good drinking partner if he doesn’t say so himself, he has a knack for making allies. He tends to get caught up in the moment and doesn’t consider the consequences of his actions, which has caused a tendency for him to land himself into troublesome situations. Although by no means unintelligent, even he would admit that his strengths lie more in the physical pursuits, rather than in plotting and scheming. It would be a rare sight to see Felix pouring over books or coming up with detailed plans.   

Most of his youth has been spent hunting, drinking and attending tourneys. It is only in the past year that Felix has begun to set his sights on the Queensguard. Somewhat squandered recently, he always had a natural talent for both sword and horse. Although his father is happy to see him finally take a more serious direction in life, he is disappointed at his lack of want to be a Lord and carry on the Blackwood line. This revelation has also garnered much protest from Cassandra, who under the new laws set about by Queen Deanerys, would become Lady of their house. 

The eldest of five siblings, Felix has been particularly close to Cassandra throughout their childhood and they share a great degree of fondness for one another. Harald Blackwood often says that they are like two sides of the same coin and does admit that it is a strange picture to see them apart for an extended period. Although such whispering are strictly kept within the household, there are rumours amongst the servants that perhaps they are a little too close.

Attributes and talents
A dicey history
Although probably not viewed by many as a strength, Felix prides himself on both his drinking and gambling abilities. Though it may have gotten him into trouble in the past, it also garners him favour with the common-folk and his generally well liked by them because of this. 

Bullseye
As fitting for any young noble, Felix was brought up learning many of the important arts including sword-fight and archery. Gifted with a weirwood bow as a boy, he has particular skill in archery and likes to insist, that even drunk, he’s one of the best shots in the Riverlands. 

Place your bets
He enjoys and thrives in anything related to tourneys, be it archery, melees, axe-throwing etc. Despite his pleads over the years, Harald Blackwood has yet to hold a tourney at Raventree Hall, insisting that it is a frivolity that would take them years to pay off. 

Sibling love
Being the two eldest children, and with a significant age gap between themselves and Samson, Felix & Cassandra were always inseparably close throughout their childhood. The Blackwoods have always been a close and loving family, but in their case, it’s rumoured to having been taken a bit too far...

Immediate Family
Lord Harald Blackwood – Father, aged 43
Lady Roana Blackwood (formerly Bracken) – Mother, aged 40
Cassandra Blackwood – Sister, aged 18
Samson Blackwood – Brother, aged 11
Tobias Blackwood – Brother, aged 5
Mathilde Blackwood – Sister, aged 2

Personal Relations
Describe notable (PC) characters they know, why they know them, and what their opinion of said character is.



Identity
Cassandra Blackwood 

Age
18

Characterisation
Intelligent and strong-willed, Cassandra is a spitting image of her father. The two not only share a calm demeanor but a natural aptitude for diplomacy. With her brother exhibiting a clear disdain for Lordship, Cass has instead been taken under her fathers wing and will often sit in on his meetings. Although she also does not seek to play the role of a leader, she is a natural fit for an advisor, something which is quickly becoming apparent even despite her young age and inexperience. She has a sound knowledge of the Blackwood lands and people, and is even becoming a dab hand at dealing with the occassional Bracken fallouts. 

However, many often misjudge the young Blackwood and assume she must be shy or timid, for she does not speak freely. Although by no means reserved, Cassandra does prefer to keep her thoughts to herself and instead chooses only to talk when she really has something to say. Only her brother Felix seems to be able to get her to converse openly. It is because of this that she is generally viewed by many as detached and a little peculiar. 

With a clever mind and easy sensibilities, one would think she would be a sure fit for Lady of the House. Yet her character is not one inclined to openness towards others and without a nudge (or rather a shove) from her family, she would be generally disinclined to get to know anyone outside of her own small circle of acquaintances. In true Blackwood fashion, to those who she does pledge herself, she will be loyal…but the struggle would be in getting there in the first place. 

The young Blackwood was not always this way though. As a young child she was like any other and could make friends with ease. Yet when the girl was only seven years old, whilst visiting the nearby town of Fairmarket, a terrible accident occured. No-one can remember how or why Cassandra had wandered off from the main party but she was found washed up, face down in the shallows of the river, by one of the serving girls. To this day, it is still not clear what happened and Cassandra herself can not remember 2 days either side of the event. But since then Cass became increasingly more detached from the world, tending to seek solitude over company, and silence over words. 

Attributes and talents

Birds of a feather
Although she has not been trained in the art, Cassandra seems to have a natural affinity with ravens, likely because of the sheer numbers who still flock to Raventree Hall. She appears to be able to tell many of them apart from one another and has even trained some of the more intelligent ones to speak the odd word. 

Drawing
She has a natural skill in both drawing and writing. When her father allows her to sit in on his meetings, he will often instruct her to take notes as her legibility is better than most. 

Green dreams
TBD - (???)

Immediate Family
Lord Harald Blackwood – Father, aged 43
Lady Roana Blackwood (formerly Bracken) – Mother, aged 40
Felix Blackwood – Brother, aged 20
Samson Blackwood – Brother, aged 11
Tobias Blackwood – Brother, aged 5
Mathilde Blackwood – Sister, aged 2

Personal Relations
Describe notable (PC) characters they know, why they know them, and what their opinion of said character is.
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