Discord Name: Bronzy#1946
Name and House: Oswin Arryn
Age: 38
Cultural Group: Andal (Valeman)
Appearance: We can't expect the Seven to do all the work.
Gift(s): Leadership
Skill(s): Engineer(e), Riding
Negative Trait: N/A
Starting Title(s): Lord of the Bloody Gate, Lord of the Vale, The Mad Falcon
Starting Location: Seagard
Alternate Characters: Daeron Martell, Ser Roose Snow, Ser Samwell Yew
~~
Biography
"...He had a smile that could mend a broken heart, and the three of them together lit up the Eyrie with their laughter, but the Dragon befell them, and the flames burned out any joy he carried with him..." ~ Penned by Lymond, Maester for the Bloody Gate, (374AC)
--
Early Life;
In 337AC, at but two-and-one, Godric Arryn held aloft his squalling newborn; the first of his three children, and the heir to his seat. Hardly an hour later his brother would follow; the Lady of the Vale had birthed twins. Bright-eyed and curious, there was little that didn't hold the child's attention, and seldom was he a silent presence. During a feast to mark the babe's first name-day, though Godric presumed the child would be bothered by the noise, he found, to his relative relief, that Oswin thrived in amongst the noise; always laughing.
Only two years later, the First War of Reclamation would break out across the continent, and Godric Arryn would call his banners to march with his King. He would remain absent for the majority of the War, and would return with another boy under his arm; the young son of his good friend, Ser Creighton Hunter, who had fallen in battle. The boy, but five years old, would be well-cared for, Godric Arryn's last promise to his dead friend.
The laughter was a trait that would not leave him as he matured. Though earnestly erudite, with great importance placed in their lessons, the twins would seldom pass up an opportunity to play tricks on their Maester, the fresh-faced Lymond, who had only a short time ago completed his chain and had been dispatched to the Eyrie much by accident. Shortly after both boys turned but eight years old, their parents welcomed another child into the world; Mya Arryn was born petite and quiet, a softer child to be true, but possessed of the same dirty-blonde hair, the same bright blue eyes, and quickly, once it was explained to them, did the Twin Falcons take to their new roles as her protectors. With his twin a constant companion, the two would come to be know quickly as a mischievous duo about their Father's seat. One was rarely seen without the other close in tow. On one occasion their mother remarked; "It is when you see one alone that you must be particularly vigilant, for surely there is something afoot."
Often Lymond was forced to bathe himself, to change his robe, during the day, as the Twin Falcons' most treasured trick was a tarring and feathering, much to the young Maester's irritation.
As all three children grew and their bond strengthened Myranda and Godric sat relieved, confident in the knowledge that when the Stranger came for them, their offspring had one another. And though there were no secrets between the three of them, as the eldest Oswin was oft summoned to private lessons with his Father; wherein the sire would highlight the importance of keeping family safe, of the lengths one should go to in order to protect one's own blood. Godric's own brother had drowned in their youth, you see; an event which the Lord of the Vale never truly left behind him, thus the reasoning behind his lessons. Oswin took his Father's words to heart, and before he slept each night he would utter a quiet prayer to the Seven; he would stand the line of defence between his family and any harm the world would seek to do to them, he would bear this burden gladly, for they were his kin, and the Seven had seen fit to put him first in line.
He was just nine years of age.
He would apply himself to his martial training with diligence and though he was not altogether fond of the clash of arms, he excelled, reminding himself that the horrors of the world would not care a whit whether Oswin enjoyed battle or not, only if he was proficient in it. Osgood, his elder brother the one he looked up to, took to it with similar abandon, quickly surpassing Oswin, though he'd not claim as much, and never would believe those who told him so.
Oswin and Osgood were knighted at one-and-six by the Knight they squired beneath, so named Ser Dywen Sunderland, who had been fostered along-side their Father, widely regarded to be the best swordsman alive in the Vale, who had been offered position of Captain-Commander of Mountain and Vale thrice, and thrice refused. They knew him as a good-natured man; near middle-aged but not so old that he could not best men half his age. After this, both Oswin and Osgood were attached to the Knights of the Vale. Before they left the Eyrie, their sister bestowed upon them pendants fashioned in the shape of the Arryn Falcon, so that they would not forget who they were upon the road. It was oft claimed that Mya Arryn has ever been a voice of reason, and the only one the Twins would truly heed. Their rangings would take them far and wide, across the length and breadth of the Kingdom of Winter. The Twin Falcons got their first glimpse of the world beyond the Vale; they'd see the banks of the Trident swell and burst after weeks of heavy rainfall, they'd see the snow-dusted walls of Winterfell; they'd march up toward the Wall, catching sight of the thing from afar. The Knights of the Vale stood pious and true, led by Ser Robin Arryn, and were often making their rounds to ensure the protection of the smallfolk.
They would march with Knights for nigh on two years, until word found them from the Eyrie following on from the Tourney at the Twins in 355AC, hosted by Lord Osmund Frey, bearing grim tidings.
Lord Protector of the Vale;
The letter arrived affixed to a raven, coal-dark and silent. It detailed that their Father had fallen from his horse and struck his head. Godric Arryn had hit his head, and as of yet was unresponsive, but alive. With haste the Knights made their journey back to the Eyrie, though the Twins rode ahead in a small force; accompanied by Ser Harlan Hunter - whom Godric Arryn had given a place in his household those years past - and Ser Josmyn Belmore, with a dozen Knights. They rode hard, nary a thought given to sparing the horses, and though it was an uncertain time, the Twins had one another, thus their spirits were kept in tact. They laughed as loudly as they had before the news had reached them. Less often, perhaps, but as loudly.
No sooner had they crossed the border into the Vale than they were set upon. Though Ser Harlan had cautioned them, had warned of the threat of the Mountain Clans, the Twins attention was taken up mostly by their Father's condition. The final decision fell to Oswin, who ordered they ride through the night. Night brings with it reduced visibility, thus they couldn't quite glimpse the trap until the moment before they stumbled into it. Trees were felled, blocking the escape for Ser Harlan, Ser Josmyn, and Oswin. In the midst of the chaos, an arrow took Ser Harlan's horse in the neck and the two went down. Ser Belmore and Oswin drew their swords, guiding their mounts to take up a defensive around Ser Harlan, while Osgood, who had been a tad behind with the other dozen Knights, searched for a way around the blockage. Figures poured forth from inky darkness, weapons held aloft, and though the three Knights cut down a score of them, they were eventually overwhelmed. Their appearance marked them clearly as Knights of the Vale, and as such they were dragged away as hostages instead of killed outright, while the Osgood and the other Knights were left behind.
They would be taken to a camp deeper in the woods, tied to wooden posts set into the ground. Their weapons and their armour would be stripped from them, and they would be left to suffer in the chill. Nigh on a week they sat there, imprisoned; at one point their captors began to hammer nails into the legs of Ser Belmore, who had refused to hold his tongue and cursed his captors where the chance arose. They began at his thighs, and took particular delight in the sound his kneecaps made when split apart, as well as the strangled shriek given by the man.
Ser Harlan said little, Oswin little and less. There was naught to say. Oswin would not shy from the fact that had he not commanded them to ride as hard they would surely be in a much different position. Back at the Eyrie, doubtless. Through the ordeal, Oswin marked it as odd that these men talked properly, not as he'd expected the Mountain Clansmen to sound. He noticed, too, that their weaponry - they carried no swords, only clubs and hatchets - was of a high quality. He out it to the back of his mind. They had looted well previously, mayhaps.
On the dawn of the eighth day since their capture, the forest came alive with confusion. Osgood Arryn swept thundered through the camp, a dozen Valeman Knights at his back, at such a pace that the Clansmen had little time to react. It did not take long for the slaughter to come to an end. The leader of the lot they saved for Oswin, but the heir to the Vale gave that pleasure instead to Ser Belmore, who took great delight in hammering nails into the man's skull. He did not die right away, but the act certainly broke his mind apart.
Acting on his previous unease with the situation, Oswin ordered the camp searched for any evidence of foul play. They found as much in a locked box, the key to which they found around the leader's neck. Inside, correspondence was discovered between Ser Robin Arryn - their Uncle - and the man who'd led those who'd abducted the three Knights. They detailed a plot to remove Oswin and Osgood from play, so that Robin might name himself as Lord Protector of the Vale. *"A good thing I did not seek him out, as I'd thought to do."* Osgood had remarked.
Oswin, enraged by his Uncle's treachery, rode with Ser Harlan, Ser Belmore, his brother, and their dozen Knights. It took them a further fortnight to reach the Eyrie, whereupon they were greeted with surprise and shock. The Keeper of the Gates of the Moon - Ser Roland Longthorpe - informed them that Robin Arryn occupied the Eyrie, and enjoyed the office of Lord Protector. The Eyrie entire had thought the Twin Falcon's lost.
Dirty, bloodied, the party were unperturbed by this. Oswin had the evidence, after all, and once the plot was revealed to them, the Knights of the Vale would surely turn their backs on their Commander. And so they ascended to the High Hall, where the Twins had played their tricks as boys, to confront their Uncle. If Ser Robin was surprised to see them, he did not show it. He played his part well, there could be few mummers skilled enough to deliver a performance as earnest as his appeared, and yet it would not save him. Confusion broke out as Oswin spoke of their ordeal; in front of his Mother, his Sister, the Eyrie's household, and the Knights of the Vale. Oswin passed the letters around the Hall, and one-by-one the room turned against Robin Arryn, who, to his credit, did not try to flee his punishment. The Knights of the Vale took great pleasure in securing the traitor.
The title of Lord Protector was promptly stripped from Ser Robin, and bestowed upon Oswin. His first act in office was to declare his Uncle a traitor to the Vale, to sentence Ser Robin to death. Though he requested to be beheaded, his request was denied, and Oswin had him thrown from the Moon Door.
At last, the Heir to the Vale had returned, and the traitor had been rooted out. He embraced his Mother and his Sister, and together they visited Godric Arryn, who remained comatose. At least, though, the Eyrie was secured.
Aftermath;
With the future of the Vale unclear, Oswin set to work as best he could as Lord Protector. He called for his Father's Council and together they worked to tackle issues that had mounted during the absence of any real leadership. Osgood Arryn was named Commander of the Knights of the Vale, Ser Harlan Hunter was granted the position of Knight of the Gate, and Ser Belmore would be cared for by Maester Lymond. In time he'd made a full recovery, though when cold weather bit he'd complain of discomfort in his legs. It would do little to stop him returning to active service, acting as Osgood Arryn's Second.
Oswin Arryn would act as a more than competent Lord Protector for three months, at which point Godric Arryn awoke; though the Lord of the Vale would never walk quite right again, and he would take ill more than he had done before, the need for a Lord Protector came to an end, thus Oswin could breathe a sigh of relief. He took a rest period of half a month, after which point he would embark upon a procession of the Kingdom of Winter, through the Vale, the Riverlands, the North, and across to the Iron Islands. He'd be Lord of the Vale, come a day, and Godric advised it would be better to know those of noble birth in the Kingdom. For four years he'd tour the Kingdom, Ser Harlan Hunter volunteering to guard him along the way, stopping in to treat with various Lords and Ladies, to strike up bonds, and offered to lend a hand where he could.
He would strike up a particular friendship with the Lord Harlaw, and again at Riverrun, whereupon he agreed with Lord Tully that his sister be betrothed to Robb Tully. So, too, would he meet his wife. And though she was not of the highest birth, he fell in love with her all the same. They married quickly, and produced a child in 358AC, a boy they named Leowyn.
Godric Arryn Passes;
Oswin Arryn's procession through the Kingdom of Winter came to a close early in the Three-Hundred-and-Fifty-Ninth Year since Aegon's Conquest, by way of raven from the Eyrie. His Father required his presence back in the Vale, at his side. Departing at once, Oswin and Ser Harlan travelled by ship from White Harbour, and then over land until he reached the Eyrie. They made good time, and though Oswin feared dark news, he found his Father well enough. He had missed him, was all, and for two months Oswin remained at the Eyrie with his Father, catching up with his Sister, his Mother, and, for a brief time, his Brother, who had grown well into his role as Captain-Commander of Mountain and Vale.
Suddenly, in the night, Godric Arryn would pass in his sleep. He went peacefully, after a night drinking Arbor Red with his wife and three children, and his two grandchildren. None had any inclination to believe it would occur, as he seemed right as ever, but his fall those years ago had taken it's toll on him, and he had lasted as long as he could.
The Lord and the Ladies of the Kingdom of Winter were invited to a funeral for the Lord of the Vale; an honourable man and honest man.
Oswin was named Lord of the Vale at two-and-two, journeying to Winterfell soon after to pledge his fealty to King Osric Stark.
Intervening Years;
The Vale enjoyed relative peace during the period between Godric Arryn's death and the War for the Vale, which would occur in 368AC. Oswin endeavoured to raise his son as Godric had raised Oswin himself. He and Anya would produce another child, with plans for a third, to give Leowyn the same sort of family dynamic he'd enjoyed. He would not realise it at the time, but these years would stand to be the best of his life. The Eyrie was a place of warmth, of laughter and merriment. The sun never seemed to set, and when it did, the nights came alive; The High Hall graced with all manner of mummery, with every decent bard that wandered through the Eyrie. Anya Arryn stood a big lover of the arts, and so often bestowed patronage on those she believed to have a talent.
In 365AC the Arryns journeyed to Riverrun, where his sister would marry Robb Tully, which they had arranged some years before. He struck up a particularly good relationship with Lord Robb, which would make it even more of a hurt when it would later sour.
At a point he was named to King Osric Stark's Council, where he served faithfully, though the guilt would eat at him each day.
The War for the Vale;
Oswin sat on Osric Stark's Council when the news reached them; the Targaryen's had landed in the Vale, with twenty-five thousand swords at their back. He had left Anya and his children in the Eyrie, thus when he approached King Osric he would push for immediate action. Armies amassed at both Moat Cailin and White Harbour, though with each day Oswin's fear for his people grew. Oswin argued that he be allowed to take a portion of men ahead of the main Hosts, as an expeditionary force, but this was refused by King Osric. As they waited for the mobilisation, Riverlords led by Lord Tully, Lord Egen of Harrnehal, Lord Frey of Darry, and Lord Mooton formed a blockade at the western slopes of the Mountains of the Moon. Lord Tully informed his troops they would not march in without direct orders from King Stark. Lord Egen was enraged, claiming Tully and Stark were condemning the Vale.
King Targaryen landed in the courtyard of The Eyrie with a dragon and two dozen of his best soldiers. The history of the boy who flew was lost to the meagre garrison, and was slaughtered even as they rose from their beds at the roar of a dragon. The impregnable castle was taken at the cost of only three soldiers. In celebration of his victory, King Targaryen threw Myranda Arryn from the Moon Door.
For two years they waged war on the Dragon, and for every fortnight they persisted, another of Oswin's kin was dropped from the Moon Door. King Targaryen took great measures to ensure it was known wide which of them he'd dropped on each occasion. They began with distant relations; cousins of cousins, and so on, and as they ran out of them they began to drop closer relations. Oswin broke down when he heard that his nephew and his niece had suffered such a fate, and again when word reached him that his youngest child had gone, too. Godric Arryn had made him promise to look after his kin. It was a promise he had broken. More were dropped, until only Leowyn remained.
Osgood was cut down in battle. Reports detail how the younger Twin died securing the retreat of what remained of the Knights of the Vale. Hid body was cut into four pieces, which were then nailed up across captured towns. The loss of his brother would push Oswin further to breaking point.
He remembers little from this time. Only that rage drove him onward, that rage kept him together in one functioning piece.
A mad gamble was devised; Four members of the Company of the Cat arrived to the Eyrie with a bound Lord Arryn. Targaryen told his final followers, ten guards and King Lannister to rest easy, they departed at dawn. Martell retreated from Runestone in the night.
Yet it was a ruse.
The ruse would not work, however, as the Targaryen King would slip through their fingers, and as the enemy mounted their dragon and took to the skies, before it departed in earnest, the Eyrie was bathed in dragonfire.
The Mad Falcon;
For ten days he lay there, burned beyond recognition. He prayed to the Seven for an end to it. Every inch of him was awash with pain, stronger still was the pain he carried with him in his mind, in the knowledge that he'd failed to protect his family. He did not eat. He did not drink.
Ten days. An eternity. Until King Osric Stark discovered him; half-starved and fully mad.
He remembers little of the next while. His recovery was long, arduous, and even once he could move from his bed he knew he would never again be the man he had been before. There would be little rest, however, as Lord Tully brought grave news; the Second War of Reclamation had begun. Graver still, his son yet lived, now a prisoner of those who had decimated his House.
The Second War of Reclamation;
Oswin would dally. The events of the War for the Vale still occupied the forefront of his mind. He heard naught but screams, visual and audio hallucinations were rife, and he could not hold his sword. For a while he did nothing; he believed he would yet die from his injuries. Lord Royce took control, mustering a Valeman force and taking the fight to the Southerners.
When he finally did march to action and linked up with Tully's host, Oswin found that Lord Robb Tully had little love for him, unsurprisingly. Striking up a friendship with the man seemed a different life ago, however, and Oswin still stood troubled from the destruction of the Eyrie.
After the Battle of the Red Fork, Oswin would knight Osric Grafton. An act that took him back to the days before the War for the Vale. Some would remark that he might have even smiled, but only for a moment, and it was not the same smile he had once worn.
After his eventual capture along-side Lord Frey, Oswin hoped for the end. When it was announced to him that Osric Stark deigned to do battle again, Oswin gave a mad laugh; surely they'd stick to their word and take his head from his shoulders.
The Mad Falcon was in for no such luck. The South stayed its hand, and the North wore them down, resulting in him regaining his freedom. He returned to the Vale, taking up residence at the Bloody Gate, alongside his friend, Ser Harlan Hunter.
After the War/ Recent Events;
After the war, Quentin Egen was named Captain-Commander of Mountain and Vale, agreeing to aid Oswin in exchange for a betrothal between Leowyn Arryn and Egen's daughter. Lord Osric Grafton was named Minister of Mint and Coin for the Vale, due to his exceptional skill.
Oswin refused to sit idle. The sword was once what he relied on, but he could not trust it to carry him anymore. The Mad Falcon's mind was still sharp even as it was in shattered pieces, and with his networks of spies and informations dried up, he turned to more direct strategy. He went over the siege of castles hundreds of times, imagining each time that it was that of King Targaryen.
More recently, he travelled North, toward Winterfell, to attend the funeral of Prince Barthogan Stark. On his way back to the Bloody Gate after the honouring of the fallen Prince, he heard of his summons to Seagard. Wasting no time and having the forethought to obey his liege, Oswin made for the land of river lords.
~~
NPC's;
Ser Harlan Hunter - Knight of the Gate/ Friend; Archetype - Cavalry General
Ser Josmyn Belmore - Sworn Sword; Archetype - Warrior(Swords)
Maester Lymond - Maester; Archetype - Medic
Orson - Archetype - Executioner
Orlos - A Meereense man; Archetype - Warrior(Swords)
Family Tree;
http://www.familyecho.com/?p=START&c=7nj2coyd89&f=384939772450360898
Bio-Timeline;
337AC - Oswin is born
353AC - Knighted, alongside his brother
355AC - Attends Tourney at the Twins; Godric Arryn falls from his horse; Oswin is captured on orders from his Uncle Robin, who seeks to become Lord Protector of the Vale' Gordic awakens; Oswin begins procession of the Kingdom of Winter
359AC - Godric dies, Oswin becomes Lord of the Vale
365AC - Mya Arryn married to Robb Tully
368AC - War for the Vale begins
370AC - Burned by dragonfire; Second War of Reclamation begins
372AC - Oswin is captured alongside Lord Frey
375AC - Oswin travels to Winterfell for the funeral of Barthogan Stark
Submitted March 29, 2019 at 09:56PM by BronzyBro https://ift.tt/2uIrQa1
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