Lord Aaron Royce

[Sam]

First

Character's Name: Lord Aaron Royce
Character's Titles: the Lord of the Eyrie and Warden of the East, the Lord Protector of Horn Hill
Character's Age: 29 (b. 547)
Character's Nationality: First Man (Valeman)

Character's Skills:
Grandmaster Swordsman
Grandmaster¹ Horseman
Master Battle Commander
Master¹ Greendreamer
Master² Intrigue
Master⁵ Lancer
Expert Woodsman
Noteworthy¹ Marksman
Noteworthy Tracker
Apprentice Stealth
Apprentice¹ Falconer
Novice Dancer
Novice¹ Skinchanger
Novice² Religion
Beginner Torturer
Beginner¹ Charm

Character's Skill Increases:
Ominous Dreams, 571; Making Home Away From Home, 572; Negotiating Over Rabbit, 572;
A Picnic in the Reach, 572; Unexpected Advice Sometimes Pays Off, 572; Horse Brothers, 573;
Midnight Ride, 573; Training in the Reach, 574; Last Minute Training in the Limp, 574;
Birthing Vigil, 574; Queen's Coronation Tourney Joust, 574;

Character's Siblings:
Ser Selwyn Stone, Age 31; the Knight of the Bloody Gate
Lady Anya (nee. Royce) Redwyne, Age 29; the Lady of the Arbor
Lord Armand Royce, Age 28; the Lord of Duskendale
Alayne Royce, Age 22

Character's Children:
Joanna Royce, Age 3
Simon Royce, Age 2; the Heir to the Eyrie and Lord of Horn Hill

Character's Personal History: Aaron Royce was born the first son of Lord Brynden of the Eyrie, descended from the famous Aranya Royce who was killed rescuing King Rodrick from invaders in 526. Aaron was a smart boy, with a sharp wit and a sharper sword, who spent much of his youth roaming the mountains around the Eyrie, learning to live off the land and survive in harsh climes.

While he could never match his father on horseback, though, to be fair, few men could match Lord Brynden's skill ahorse, Aaron grew up to be a prodigious swordsman and general, fighting clansmen in the Mountains of the Moon and learning the ways of war. He is a decent tracker and is moderately skilled at moving through the woods unseen and unheard. At five and ten he had a dream that woke him up screaming in the night, and he immediately rode out of the Eyrie and was not seen for an entire moon's turn before he came back. He has since learned to somewhat trust and interpret his dreams, that have a tendency to provide insights about events that have not yet come to pass.

When the Cult moved against the Lords of the realm, and the Others invaded, Aaron rode to war leading the warriors of his father's house, while the elderly Lord Brynden remained in to guard the Vale. He fought the unnatural invaders all the way up the continent, however he took several serious wounds in a battle south of the Wall; so when Queen Saella's forces marched up to the Wall for the final battle, Ser Aaron was forced to remain abed. He has since healed and has taken his valemen on a march to Winterfel, to rendezvous with the survivors from beyond the Wall, from the small holdfast near Karhold where he healed. He is not known to be particularly devout, either to his mother's Faith of the Seven, or his father's belief in the Old Gods.

As a youth, Aaron squired for Prince Selwyn Baratheon, learning from his elder cousin while his brother Armand, who was the heir to Duskendale, squired under Lord Robert Hightower of the Reach, who was descended from a Royce cousin. Like their father before them, both are staunchly loyal to the Baratheon Dynasty; he does not truly believe that a foreign woman can rule, especially having heard rumors of crippled dragons and dissension before her army even re-entered Westeros. Ser Aaron's personal banner is the bronze and Runes of House Royce, with a rearing black stallion interposed in the center.

His son and heir, Simon Royce, was born in early 574, just before the Queen's Coronation. A year later, Aaron's father was murdered in the Red Keep, and the Queen’s household propagated the lie that he was under arrest in her absence. Aaron raised his banners in response, and when the truth came out, it was already too late for peace.

Character's Physical Description: Aaron is a tall man standing two meters tall and densely muscled. He was raised in the harsh mountains of the Vale where even heirs to castles have heavy work to do. His hair is brown, worn generally short, though it has grown out since he has been on campaign. He is neither particularly handsome, nor ugly, with a rather forgettable face over which he wears a beard that has not been cut in months, since he learned of his father’s murder in the Red Keep. His eyes are a light green and he has a large scar running across his neck from a battle wound. He has another scar, two feet long stretching from his chest down across the inside of his right leg from the wound that very nearly killed him.

Character's Reputation: He is known in the Vale as an excellent hunter and swordsman, though he was always eclipsed by his father's skill on horseback. He rarely bothered with jousting and tournaments, preferring to fight Clansmen in the mountains of the Vale. A few smoky rumors spread in the Vale about his methods of extracting information from imprisoned clansmen, but when the war started they inexplicably stopped spreading. During the Queen's coronation tournament he acquitted himself well, though in each event he was defeated shortly before the final bout.

[Sam]

Second

Character's Name: Ser Selwyn Stone
Character's Age: 31 (b. 545)
Character's Nationality: First Man (Valeman)

Character's Skills:
Master Swordsman
Master¹ Lancer
Master¹ Horseman
Noteworthy Ambusher
Noteworthy Battle Commander
Noteworthy¹ Marksman
Apprentice Espionage
Novice Intrigue
Novice Siegecraft
Beginner Greendreamer
Beginner Skinchanger

Character's Skill Increases:
Ominous Dreams, 571; Last Minute Training in the Limp, 574;

Character's Personal History: The identity of Selwyn's mother was always shrouded in mystery by his father; one day Brynden merely returned to the Vale with an infant boy who he claimed as his own and named after his father. Selwyn knows who his mother was, having been told so by Lord Brynden, but it is doubtful that anyone else does. He grew up in the Eyrie serving as a page, then a squire, then a knight in Lord Brynden's household, before he was appointed to be the Knight of the Bloody Gate in his twenty-third year. Six months later, the Others invaded and the realm all went to hell. Selwyn originally remained in the Vale with his father, fighting the invaders, but eventually he joined King Selwyn's army and fought with the Army of Ever Night all the way through Westeros, up past the wall to finally throw back the Others once and for all.

Character's Physical Description: Selwyn Stone is an averagely tall man, standing a few inches over six feet. He's built thickly, with coal black hair and ice blue eyes; he was thought by many to be a bastard of King Rodrick's, but Lord Brynden Royce always claimed to be his father.

Character's Reputation: He has only the reputation of being a skilled knight; before the war he was the Knight of the Bloody Gate for a short time, and served his post with honor and ability.

[Sam]

Followers

Lord Armand Royce, the Lord of Duskendale
Follower's Age: 28 (b. 548)
Follower's Nationality: First Man (Valeman)
Follower's Personal History: Ser Armand Royce was born a year after his elder brother, so he never stood to inherit the Eyrie and his father's titles, but he was always understood the be the heir to Duskendale, which Lord Brynden had inherited through his mother, Lady Aranya, who whom the city was awarded when the last male Rykker had died out. Armand squired for his relative, Lord Robert Hightower, and spent much time in the Reach as a child even going so far as to forge two maester's links before he abandoned the Citadel's pursuits. He is a moderately skilled knight, and he remained behind in the Vale with Lord Brynden when King Selwyn and his brother rode north against the Others.
Follower's Physical Description: Armand is not as tall as his father or brother, but is built thickly like a knight of the Reach, where he learned to fight. His hair is brown and he keeps it closely cropped, going clean-shaven more often than not. His eyes are a hazel green, shadowed under heavy brows.
Follower's Reputation: Ser Armand is not well known, but he is a competent fighter and a skilled administrator who is known to staunchly support the Baratheon dynasty, though his opinions on the new Targaryen dynasty are not well known.
Follower Skills: Horsemanship, Lance, Stewardship

[Sam]

The Deceased

Ser Peytr Redwyne, the Lord Protector of Runestone
Follower's Age: 26 (b. 548 d. 574)
Follower's Nationality: Andal (Reachman)
Follower's Personal History: Peytr was born the second son of his father, Lord Paxter Redwyne, the greatest admiral in the Reach. He was born within a week of his cousin, Simon Tarly, whose mother was sister to Lord Paxter. While his older brother was taught the ways of seaborne command, Peytr was sent to Horn Hill to be fostered at a young age, where he would eventually be trained in the ways of the sword. He squired for Lord Samuel Tarly and was raised very close with Simon. Petyr returned to the Arbor after earning his spurs in Lord Robert Hightower's wedding tournament in 564 and spent the next three years studying the ways of the sea under his father and brother. He proved to be a fantastic sailor and navigator, and had the showings of being a great sea commander, albeit being a young and headstrong man. He is not quite his brother's equal at commanding a ship, but he is a far better swordsman, and jouster. When their father was murdered in 567, Peytr's older brother assumed the Lordship, as well as command of the Flagship of the Arbor Fleet, the Grapes of Wrath. Peytr commands a beautiful warship called the Valkyrie that was captured from a westerman during the Blackwood wars in 522, but the fantastic design of the vessel has remained true over the years. Four ballistae are mounted on rotating platforms, allowing each of them to fire meter-long steel lances in any direction. He cultivated a friendship with Ser Aaron Royce on the northern campaign, and since returning south he has arranged to marry Lady Aranya Royce, making him the de facto Lord of Runestone.
Follower's Physical Description: Peytr is a tall man, standing well over six feet, with auburn hair that falls in lazy curls down to his shoulders. His eyes are a salty grey and he has a thin scar running down from the corner of his left eye, to his upper lip, the legacy of a thwarted pirate attack in 566.
Follower's Skills: Naval Command, Sword, Lance
Killed accidentally by Edmure Dawnrose in the Queen's Coronation Tourney

Ser Ryam Flowers
Follower's Age: 49 (b. 527 d. 576)
Follower's Nationality: Andal (Reachman)
Follower's Personal History: Ryam was born under very strange circumstances. His father was never known to him or anyone else, and his mother died shortly after his birth very suspiciously. She was in training to become a septa in King's Landing when she became pregnant, and when Ryam was born she sent him to be raised at her family's estate in the Far Reach. House Hutcheson was a minor knightly house, sworn to Stoatsheart, and his mother was found dead in King's Landing several months later. She never told anyone who the father was, and Ryam's uncle Ser Radek was killed by Lannister troops while investigating her death. When he was raised as a page in that household, although he looked like no other reachman, with golden hair and blue eyes. He squired for Lord Cyrus Varner, showing decent skill with the sword, but far better skills in the areas of information gathering and moving around unnoticed. He was knighted by Lord Samuel Tarly shortly before the Trial of Seven, where Cyrus Varner was killed, and so he has served the Lord of Horn Hill since. He served at Horn Hill for many years, and when Lord Samuel was murdered Ryam served his sons as loyally as he had served their father, although when the armies marched north Ryam stayed behind as one of the sworn shields to Lady Eleanor, Samuel's daughter. Since she married Ser Aaron Royce, Ryam has come with her to the capital where he currently resides.
Follower's Physical Description: He looked very unlike a Reachman, in his youth possessing golden hair, and light piercing blue eyes. He is an average height and build, decently muscled from training at arms but not as heavily built as most knights who devote their lives to physical fitness. His golden hair has now become streaked with silver, though he is still fit and strong, and as skilled with a blade as he was when he was young.
Follower's Skills: Sword, Espionage, Stealth
Killed by Ser Cleos Whent in the Battle of Horn Hill

Ser Danwell Costayne
Follower's Age: 45 (b. 531 d. 576)
Follower's Nationality: Andal (Reachman)
Follower's Personal History: Ser Danwell Costayne was born of a minor branch of his family's House, so after earning his spurs he entered the service of Lord Samuel Tarly as the Master-of-Horse in Horn Hill. He is a decent warrior, but a fantastic horseman and liked to boast that the children of Lord Samuel Tarlys' skills on horseback are due solely to his tutelage, which is not an entirely untrue statement. When he rode north with Lord Tarly it was discovered that he was a great scout and decent general, so his abilities were relied on heavily by his superiors and more than once saved the Far Reach army from being flanked by a subversive attack. Since Lord Simon Tarly was murdered, Danwell has faithfully served his sister, the Lady Eleanor.
Follower's Physical Description: Danwell is an uncommonly tall man, standing almost seven feet tall, but he is stick-thin and his skin has the brown weathered look of a man who spends much of his time outside being exposed to the elements.
Follower's Skills: Battle Command, Horsemanship, Scouting
Killed in battle at Horn Hill

Lady Eleanor Tarly, the Lady of Horn Hill
Follower's Age: 23 (b. 553 d. 576)
Follower's Nationality: Andal (Reachwoman)
Follower's Personal History: Lady Eleanor Tarly was always tall for a girl, and when she was young her father feared he would not be able to find a good husband for her due as women that were taller than men were inevitably shied away from when it came to marriages. When the realm erupted into chaos, she was shipped with her mother and kinswomen to the Arbor, while the Lords of the Reach mobilized their armies to fight the invaders. One by one the lords were killed, Lord Simon Tarly being the last to die, murdered in the north under suspicious circumstances. When the Ironborn attacked, seeking to gobble up all they could in the absence of the realm's men, Eleanor was lucky enough to escape the Arbor with Danyella Hightower, though her mother sacrificed her freedom so the two young women could escape. They went into hiding in the Reach, and when the war ended Eleanor returned to Horn Hill to learn that her brothers were all dead and she was the last remaining member of her House, save her mother who was imprisoned and eventually murdered by the Ironborn. When Ser Aaron Royce came to seek her hand, she fell in love with him as quickly as he did with her, and the two were married shortly thereafter. She has since given Aaron a daughter, Joanna, and a son, Simon.
Follower's Physical Description: Eleanor stands at an even six foot, but by seventeen she had grown into her body, developing into a beautiful woman with the deep brown hair of her kinsmen, though it she tends to wear it flowing voluminously down her back, ending just above a well-curved backside. Her eyes are a piercing green and a young-looking dimpled face which she knows she can use to get things that she desires. She is a skilled horserider and archer, and enjoys the same pursuits of hawking and riding as her husband.
Follower Skills: Horseriding, Persuasion, Longbow
Murdered by Simon Smallwood after the Fall of Horn Hill