Tourney at Ashford Preview Compilation Thread

[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.

[Kakita Nanami]

House Dunn
Vassals of House Tyrell :: “Until Mountains Fall”


HISTORY
The history of conflict between Dorne and the so-called marcher lords of the Seven Kingdoms goes back countless generations. Even in the days before the Kingdom of the Reach was truly a kingdom, feuds and conflicts broke out along what, increasingly, became a hard cultural divide. It is from these conflicts that the house that is today called the Dunns arose.

The exact origins of House Dunn are unknown today; some say the house is descended from the commander of an Andal commander who held the Dornish at the Silver Hills for days, allowing the Reachmen army time to arrive, while others say their origin, instead, lies with one of the Andal adventurers that came south during the Invasion. Whatever the truth, it’s clear that House Dunn is one of the eldest of the marcher houses.

Along with several other houses arrayed along the Dornish Marches that border onto the Red Mountains, the Dunns are part of a series of treaties with the other lords of the Reach; through them, those houses provide men and gold to the Reach marcher lords. With those men and gold, the marcher lords were to defend the realm against incursions from the south. The Dunns, in particular, chose to style themselves after the Night’s Watch of the north with their lord taking on the title Lord Commander. In time, even other houses outside the Reach began to contribute to the defense of the realm in this manner.

Such preparations were well tested during the days after Aegon’s Conquest; with tensions at an all-time high between the two powers, the Dunns were forced to often defend the land from roaming bands of Dornishmen from the Red Mountains. Although never specifically proven, it’s rumoured that a number of Lord Commanders of the Silver Hills even ordered preemptive attacks across the border in order to either take land or simply incite the Dornish to attack.

During the days of Aegon IV, the Dunns were especially tested. The young and recently come-to-power Lord Commander Thaddeus Dunn sought to gain great power for the Dunns. Making use of the king’s distaste that the Dornish remained separate from his rule, the Lord Commander led several raids across the border flying the flags of the nearby House Caron.

Such, however, soon proved folly; while a capable fighter, the Lord Commander found himself outnumbered and surrounded on the shores of the Torentine. During the conflict, Thaddeus Dunn suffered a grievous injury, losing the lower half of his right leg. It was only due to the timely intervention of another force from the marches that saw the badly beaten Dunn force retrieved. Although his life was saved, Lord Commander Dunn would never fight on the lines again.

Soon, however, it seemed the purpose of the Dunns would fade; during the early days of Daeron II’s reign, Dorne came to a proper peace agreement with the Iron Throne. Although Princess Daenerys is married to Maron Martell, Lord Thaddeus believed it was only a matter of time before Dorne stabbed them in the back and resumed their attacks. But as year after year ticked by, Lord Thaddeus found himself proven wrong – permanently, it seemed, when Prince Baelor the Breakspear marched out of Dorne at the head of a twenty-five thousand man strong Dornish army to bring to bear against the treasonous Blackfyre rebels.

In the years since, the Dunns have slowly begun to lose their respect from the rest of the land and, recently, even monies from treaties older than Westeros itself have begun to dry up as other lords realize that Dorne has finally become a true part of the Seven Kingdoms. Many blame Lord Thaddeus’ insistence that the Dornish cannot be trusted and that they will, soon, show their true colours for the Dunn’s failure to adapt to the changing political landscape of Westeros.
It will soon be time for the Dunns to change – or disappear into the dust of history.

HOLDINGS
While officially the seat of the Dunns has no given name, the fortress that stretches beneath the Silver Hills is known to many others in Westeros as The Burrow. A small fortress protrudes above ground on a hill to provide a watchpost looking south toward Dorne while well-dug and maintained tunnels beneath the surface serve as the primary living space for the Dunn household. Although no exorbitantly wealthy, the Dunns maintain a small hold of trophies from their victories against Dornish invaders – including an ancient spear they claim once belong to the warrior queen Nymeria.

As part of the defence line against Dornish incursion, the Dunns were held in high regard by their neighbours in the Reach and in Westeros as a whole. While the peace with Dorne and its slowly assimilation into the Seven Kingdoms as whole, however, the Dunns have slowly slipped from the place they once had due a lack of adaptation to the new political climate.

The lands of the Dunn rest along the edge of the Silver Hills, stretching for trackless miles of borderland between those hills and the plains of the Reach – almost all of it empty land aside from the small farming communities that dot the landscape. The Silver Hills somewhat unique position gives them borders with both the Stormlands and Dorne – and the military presence kept by the Dunns on their land occasionally gives rise to skirmishes with their neighbours in the Stormlands, House Caron.

Large, mostly empty land, however, gives rise to large areas where, despite its size, the Dunn military doesn’t patrol. As such, numerous lairs of bandits have crept up in old abandoned villages and ruins, allowing them to prey on the outlying villages during harsh times. The majority of the population, then, crowds into a few small villages and a reasonably sized town overlooked by the Burrow – a town that, for the most part, exists to serve the military forces housed nearby.

The Dunns are not a particularly wealthy family with most of their funds coming from old mutual defense treaties that require the other houses of the Reach to support the marcher lords. These funds, along with a minor supply of iron from a meager mine dug into the Silver Hills, have allowed the Dunns to keep an arm a sizable military force – though with Dorne now a part of the Seven Kingdoms, Lord Thaddeus fears other lords may question they need for those treaties.

LORD COMMANDER THADDEUS DUNN

Lord Commander Thaddeus Dunn, Protector of the Silver Hills, is a corpulent fellow; wounded in action during the final days of conflict with the Dornish, Thaddeus’ tendency towards mass consumption of food combined with his lack of activity have caused him to grow to prodigious size. Once a great soldier – but poor tactician – it was his overconfidence in the days after assuming his lordship that saw him missing half of a leg and forever kept from the battlefield.

Despite this, Thaddeus is a man who recognizes that any day now could be his last; in his growing age, his old war wounds pain him still and so he indulges in all the pleasures of life he can – and not just food. It’s rumoured that, over the last half decade, he’s spawned nearly two dozen baseborn children – though, of course, he denies any of them are his.

A widower with five legitimate children – two sons, Kevan and Hervey, and three daughters, Maera, Rhaenys, and Lydia – Thaddeus is a man now obsessed with seeing treachery everywhere. While that paranoia served him well during his early days, others now realize it may in fact be holding the house back as he refuses to treat with any of his former Dornish enemies and sees any other marcher lords who have made deals with them to be traitors to Westeros who are plotting to take his family’s land – an irony, given his one-time plan to seize control of Nightsong from the Carrons. One day, Lord Thaddeus insists, the Dornish will once again turn upon the Westerosi.

PREGENERATED CHARACTERS
Kevan Dunn
Heir to the Burrow, Kevan Dunn is a boisterous, good-natured young man with a penchant for chasing peasant girls. Although still a squire, Kevan has been promised by his father to be knighted before the turn of the year – a promise he doesn’t particularly believe his father will hold to. Instead, he seeks favor with other knights in his father’s employ, hoping one will eventually agree to knight him.

Maera Dunn
The eldest Dunn daughter, Maera was shaped by her family’s proximity to Dorne from a young age; here, in the Marches, even the women are taught to defend themselves with weapons to some degree and, with some childhood pestering, she has even learned to ride as a soldier might from Gerrod. Now approaching the age of 16, she knows her father plans to find a husband for her; it is her intention that she will only marry someone who appeals to her and she intends to make sure her father knows that well.

Ser Robar Redding
Third son of the Lord Donnel Redding, Robar is sworn to serve the Dunns as part of his family’s obligations to the protection of the Dornish Marches. As one of the younger knights – few of whom have actually experienced real battle – he’s often derided by many of the Dunn’s veteran soldiers for his glorious ideals of combat. Still, he doesn’t relent and hopes to win honors for himself and his family at Ashford.

Ser Steffon Fossoway
Nephew to Lady Dunn, Steffon Fossoway has been staying for a number of months at the Burrow to help foster further relations with the Dunns. With his cousin and squire, Raymun, Steffon has been preparing for the tourneys that were inevitable come the spring. It is at his behest that Lord Dunn has sent a contingent to Ashford – where Steffon hopes to win a place as champion and the honors it would bring him.

Gerrod the Grey
A veteran of the last battles fought against Dorne, Gerrod is master of horses at the Burrow. While nearing his fiftieth year, Gerrod is a still a feisty man with a gruff soldier’s bearing. It’s very obvious from watching him at work, however, that he cares deeply for the horses he keeps – something that can be attested to by a number of knights who’d felt his wrath after working their mounts too hard.