A Song of Ice and Fire: Tourney at Ashford Previews

[Ide Samai]

Our love is forbidden

[Soshi Bantu]

So the Maester's Conclave event doesn't really offer exact tangible rewards, but more long term narrative stuff? So in a way, it is a bit independent from the regular going ons?

Correct; think of it as the end of game votes for Hollow Throne, but specifically targeting what the Maesters are doing going forward.

Hope it offers the reward of justifying buying the Maester benefit, if one is deemed eligible to join the Conclave meeting.

[Kakita Nanami]

So the Maester's Conclave event doesn't really offer exact tangible rewards, but more long term narrative stuff? So in a way, it is a bit independent from the regular going ons?

Correct; think of it as the end of game votes for Hollow Throne, but specifically targeting what the Maesters are doing going forward.

Hope it offers the reward of justifying buying the Maester benefit, if one is deemed eligible to join the Conclave meeting.

As per the Maester benefit, you aren't required to have the benefit to be a maester.

[Kakita Nanami]

House Terrick
Vassals of House Tully :: “Soaring Ever Higher”


HISTORY
In the days of the long forgotten past, the Cape of Eagles rested in the hands of the ironborn. With the pressure of the Andal pushing westward, the ironborn found themselves pushed back to the sea when a knight known as the Silver Eagle, Erreg Mallister, led a large forces of Andals up the Green Fork of the Trident and pushed into the Cape. Although the losses were great, the ironborn were banished from the Cape of Eagles and House Mallister was formed as Erreg made his seat at what would become the town of Seagard. In order to ensure that the Ironborn would never retake the land, Erreg ordered the construction of watch posts along the Cape of Eagles and granted each to a brother or cousin under his banner.

In time, one such watchpost would become known as Hawkspray for the birds that dwelled on the cliffs below it and the spray the crashing of waves upon the cliff caused. While his distant cousin, the Lord Petyr Mallister, rose up against the Storm Kings, the Mallister of Hawkspray decided that the time had come to break free of the yoke of Seagard. Declaring his allegiance directly to the Storm King, he became the Lord Mallister of Hawkspray, claiming all the land on the Cape of Eagles that the Mallisters had held to be his. When King Petyr was slain and the Storm Kings brought Seagard back into the fold, the claim of the Mallisters of Hawkspray was properly recognized by their king.

For countless years, the two Houses Mallister were fiercely competitive with one another while remaining vigilant against the Ironborn. During the days of Aegon’s Conquest, however, House Mallister of Hawkspray fell into the decline; with most of his sons slain during the war, the Lord of Hawkspray was left with only a daughter as an heir. The Lord Mallister of Seagard saw this as his chance and moved to petition the new king to grant him the lands of Hawkspray when the time came. The Mallister of Hawkspray, however, was a crafty fellow; refusing to let his lands fall to his family’s ancient rivals, he made a deal with an Ironborn petty lord who had long troubled the Houses Mallister. Thus, the daughter heir of the Mallisters of Hawkspray married the raider Terrick; the Mallisters of Hawkspray ceased to exist and House Terrick of Hawkspray was born.

Although having an Ironborn lord, the newly reformed house maintained its Andal traditions and so rode the line between two worlds. To the Ironborn, the Terricks were traitors, having abandoned the Old Way, and thus open for raiding from what might have otherwise been their allies. To the Andal houses, they were tainted by the impure touch of the ironborn blood (though most conveniently ignored the mixing their own families had done) and treated the Terricks as lesser for the taint in their blood.

For their part, the Terricks were stoutly loyal to the Targaryen kings and queens. Whenever any would rise against the throne, the Terricks would be amongst the first lords to raise their banners to ride to the aid of the king.

Their mixed heritage, however, would come back to haunt them in the second century; despite having a decent military, it soon became impossible to secure their land from increasing number of Ironborn raids. To help protect his land, the Lord Terrick had to make concessions to his neighbours, the Freys – and, perhaps the more difficult to accept alliance, the Mallisters. Although what the Terricks asked of their new allies was not very taxing to the larger and more prosperous houses, the Freys and Mallisters have both made the most of the situation, constantly reminding the Terricks what they have (and continue) to do for them.

The current lord, Joseth Terrick, chafes under the thumb of his neighbours and looks to find new allies – ones who will demand less of his family – beyond the Green Fork. Lord Joseth has grand dreams and designs for his family – and hopes to one day be able to use his family’s ancient blood ties to lay claim to Seagard itself.

HOLDINGS
Hawkspray, the seat of House Terrick, is an ancient tower clinging to crumbling cliffs that overlooks Ironman’s Bay. Once a watchtower for the ancient branch of the Mallisters that became the Terricks, Hawkspray is named for the birds that nest in the cliffs below the tower. It still maintains the practical aesthetic of its original purpose with the Terricks spending their limited wealth elsewhere. While it’s position makes it fairly defensible, it has also made it practically impossible to construct a castle town, leaving the Terricks isolated from their people.

Being a cadet branch of the Mallisters gave the Terricks gave them a decent footing politically in the Riverlands, one that the lords of Terrick have managed to maintain over the years even while being stuck in the shadows of their more prolific neighbours. Lord Joseth, however, seeks to use his large family to increase the reach of the Terricks, hoping to one day break free of that shadow.

The lands of the Terricks are a long stretch of coast along the Cape of Eagles. Spotted with fishing villages along the coasts and lumbering villages inland, the land is decently populated despite the storms that often break on the cape from the Sunset Sea. While mostly defensible from land (and shielded by the lands of the Freys and the Mallisters), the cape is unfortunately open to attack from the sea.

Because of this, the lands furthest from Hawkspray are plagued by raids from the Iron Islands with the more crafty Ironborn lords demanding tribute in exchange for bypassing the Terrick lands when it comes time to raid (though Lord Terrick believes many of them still raid under different banners). On the positive side, however, this has led to a downside in regular banditry as few are willing to risk the wrath of the Ironborn and the forces of the Terricks.

And the forces of the Terrick are fairly sizable; the lords of Terrick have long ensured their military was sizable and, despite some losses during the Blackfyre Rebellion, the current generation of Terricks is no different. However, whereas previous generations raised their armies only during war, Lord Joseth maintains the army for the purpose of defending the lands closest to Hawpsray. He looks to eventually expand further to be able to protect the rest of his people but obligations to the Mallisters and Frey keep him from developing a larger army.

The Terrick lands aren’t particularly wealthy; most resources gathered within are consumed within the lands. The few extras are often taken by marauding Ironborn or used to rebuild after raids. While Lord Joseth has grand plans for his family, he also recognizes the limitations placed upon him by the family’s lands and so seeks alternative methods of bringing fresh coin to the house’s coffers.

LORD JOSETH TERRICK

Ostensibly the son of Desmond Terrick and his wife, Wylla, the truth behind Joseth’s birth is much more muddled. During a tour of their lands, the Terrick family came under attack by an Ironborn raiding party; the attack saw the death of both of Desmond’s first two children and the capture of Wylla by the raiders. Left injured by the attack, Lord Terrick was unable to launch any kind of rescue attempt. Enter the Mallisters: the silver eagles of Seagard offered to strike back for the Terricks; lost in his grief, Desmond accepted. Some months later, the Mallisters returned to Hawkspray with a heavily pregnant Wylla. Some months later, Wylla gave birth to a healthy baby boy; despite the questionable parentage of the child, Desmond accepted the boy as his.

Now middle aged, Joseth Terrick would not be mistaken for Lord Desmond any day. A towering and imposing man with hair gone prematurely grey, Joseth is a prolific knight, having lead the House Terrick forces during the Blackfyre Rebellion for the Targaryens in his father’s place. Wielding an oddly designed one-and-a-half hander taken from the body of a marauding Ironborn raider, Joseth was a terror both on the battlefield and in the grand melee at tourneys.

Married to Manon Frey, a cousin of the current Lord Frey, Joseth has had seven children: six girls – Rowena, Wylla, Joyeuse, Walda, Shirei, and Ryella – and one son – Desmond. Although it has left the line of succession unstable, with only a single male heir, it has presented Joseth the ability to freely marry his daughters off for political gain. While he looks beyond his neighbours for possible prospects, he readies his son to one day take the lordship, already including him in many of the decisions of the day-to-day running of the house.

As with many Terricks in the past, Joseth is an avid falconer. Aside from his sword, Joseth’s prized possession is a saker that he hand raised from hatchling to full grown hunting bird. Neither the bird nor his sword are ever very far from the Terrick lord, even on trips far from the relative safety of Hawkspray.

PREGENERATED CHARACTERS
Desmond Terrick
Second youngest child to Lord Joseth, Desmond is a scrawny boy of ten and the heir to the legacy of the Terrick family. Accompanied everywhere he goes by an equally scrawny hound named Walder (named after one of his cousins from the Freys, he can’t remember which), the young lord is just beginning to truly understand the massive weight that his father is placing upon his shoulders.

Rowena Terrick
Eldest daughter and first born of Lord Joseth, Rowena is almost past what most would consider marriageable age. Where most would despair, Rowena has instead embraced the role given to her by her father: with her position as eldest daughter, she would be the most valuable piece in her father’s plan. Since recognizing her place, she’s made a game of enticing the noble lords who have come to vie for her hand – and takes a certain perverse pleasure in leading on Joseth Mallister.

Maester Elwyn
Maester Elwyn is a young man, barely old enough to have his chain, but still an expert in the fields of medicine and, strangely, warfare. An avid history buff, Elwyn is discouraged with his placement at Hawkspray, being so far, as he says, from anything that matters, but loyally serves Lord Terrick all the same. With his help, the villages nearest Hawkspray have been fortified against the Ironborn but, as he says, there are always improvements to be made.

Erreg the Pale
The current master of arms of Hawkspray, Erreg was trained from his youth by Lord Joseth in numerous forms of combat; it been said that, had Erreg been noble born, he might have even been made a knight. Originating from one of the small villages on Terrick lands, rumours abound about Erreg’s parentage; there is no small number who whisper that he might be Lord Joseth’s unacknowledged bastard.

Ser Joseth Mallister
Once Lord Joseth’s page and squire, Joseth Mallister chose to remain in Hawkspray after his knighting despite his family’s attempt to have him returns to Seagard. Instead, he stays close to his namesake, attempting to convince him to allow him to marry his eldest daughter, Rowena. Thus far, Lord Joseth had repeatedly spurned his requests – but the Mallister is nothing if not persistent.

[Kitsu Takashi]

House Terrick!

\o/

Thank you, Game Master! *prepares to enlist in the glorious Terrick army*

If anyone's keeping track, especially since I'm not on Discord: I think my top character choice at this point is a landed knight sworn to House Terrick. Though if someone really wants to play Rowena, I could be persuaded to take Ser Joseth Mallister.

[Soshi Bantu]

Another house with a pregen Maester.

Options are slowly dwindling...

[Kakita Nanami]

Another house with a pregen Maester.

Options are slowly dwindling...

As I've said in Discord a couple times when asked (though apparently neglected to put in the FAQs), all the houses are going to have pregen Maesters attached but only the one in Kellington (because of his somewhat unique place within the house compared to others) and Forrester (because he's not here and back home with the lord) are set in stone.

[Ide Amaya]

Another house with a pregen Maester.

Options are slowly dwindling...

Do you have to the the maester specifically of the six houses? Could you attach yourself to someone playing a landed knight as their maester?

[Ide Samai]

Another house with a pregen Maester.

Options are slowly dwindling...

As I've said in Discord a couple times when asked (though apparently neglected to put in the FAQs), all the houses are going to have pregen Maesters attached but only the one in Kellington (because of his somewhat unique place within the house compared to others) and Forrester (because he's not here and back home with the lord) are set in stone.

Does Wydman have a Measter pregen?

[Kakita Nanami]

Another house with a pregen Maester.

Options are slowly dwindling...

As I've said in Discord a couple times when asked (though apparently neglected to put in the FAQs), all the houses are going to have pregen Maesters attached but only the one in Kellington (because of his somewhat unique place within the house compared to others) and Forrester (because he's not here and back home with the lord) are set in stone.

Does Wydman have a Measter pregen?

They do not have a maester at all.

Dunn, Algood, and Terrick all have wobble room on their maesters.

[Shinjo Kemuri]

I think I want the boy. To play, I mean. That could be a lot of fun.

[Ide Samai]

Hm, liking the Wydman heir, Forrester warrior and Ser Jamos Caffaren the most so far.

[Soshi Bantu]

Another house with a pregen Maester.

Options are slowly dwindling...

Do you have to the the maester specifically of the six houses? Could you attach yourself to someone playing a landed knight as their maester?

I think independent of the houses and there for the conclave is firming into primary concept.

[Kakita Nanami]

All right, firming up schedule a little bit more:

Previews will continue over the next few days.
The forums will open on August 17th/18th (leaning more the evening of the 17th).
Character Submissions will open 00:01 EDT on Monday, August 21st.

I'll make sure I'm freely available on the 19th and 20th to assist with character building for those who choose not to go the pregenerated character route, but I will (most likely) be out the evening of the 21st, freely available the evening of the 22nd, and out the evening of the 23rd.

Unless we hit a major hiccough last minute, Tourney at Ashford will open on Thursday, August 24th and run through late September.

[Ichiro Daisuke]

*salutes*

Looks good!