A History of the House Darkfish {AGoT AAR}

[Crossl3ones]

Got his foot on the mainland, as it were.

A lordship at last. Didnt think I would still be doing a backstory for Edwyn at this point, but we are so close to being at the present start date. Thanks for the comment, it is greatly appreciated.

Very interesting. Love the lore behind the name of the holding and that sigil is very cool. Well done, looking forward to more!

lol hope it was believeable. I found the lordship of what was House Kanet to be expendable. All credit of the sigil goes to AGoT developers, it did inspire me. Thanks for tagging along on this!

Quite liking this setup so far. The Darkfish cadet line's got some potential to shake things up.

I hope so too, my only dread is that the others or white walkers ruin everything if the realm isnt whole by that point. Thank you for reading!

 

[Vidcund]

Oh wow! I love this a lot! Your writing style is fantastic. I love the pseudo-Fire and Blood take on it. I'm hanging on your every word!

 

[Crossl3ones]

Oh wow! I love this a lot! Your writing style is fantastic. I love the pseudo-Fire and Blood take on it. I'm hanging on your every word!

Now thats high praise, thank you for giving this a chance! Hope I do the style somewhat justice.

 

[Crossl3ones]

-=An Early Test of Tenure=-
By Archmaester Deacon

Lord Edwyn Darkfish {291 A.C ~ 299 A.C}​

With having come to the end of the prologue depicting House Darkfishs first Lord's rise to prominence, I find it in good conscience to acknowledge the vague detail of the two previous segments before we advance further into the history of the Darkfishs. With most of what we know of Lord Edwyn's early life having been drawn from written accounts depicting broad, unconfirmed speculation and obscure documents that mention Edwyn only in passing, I can now confidently state that we are able to put this tedious style of recounting history behind us as we push forward to a point in Darkfish history that can be recounted from a plethora of documents which hold a greater sense of vivid detail than any other previously referenced regarding events concerning the House Darkfish.

With this declared, we resume where we last ended in 291 A.C when Edwyn was made Lord of Sea Breach and the first of his own House. With a retinue of Tully Household guard riding with him from Riverrun, Edwyn arrived at his demesne to little fanfare, in truth, it is by the writings of Sea Breach's Maester that we are made evidently aware of the disgruntled subjects Edwyn was made Lord over. Having been largely forgotten throughout the years as the bloodlines of their liege perished one after, many of the people dwelling within the borders of Sea Breach's demesne cared little for those they perceived as highborn, to the local peasantry, those of highborn heritage were a selfish lot who were far to preoccupied with concerns of making their own coffers plush with gold dragons rather than the well being of their people.

Although it is said Edwyn was motivated to prove to the locals he was not whom they thought him to be, he made little success in convincing them otherwise during his initial months as their overlord. Often disregarded by them or outright ignored, it wasn't long before the new Lord of Sea Breach realized he was not making any breakthroughs to endear himself to his subjects, a dejected Edwyn was then said to have turned heavily reliant on his Maester's advice in relation to matters of governance. Having been a young Maester fresh from the Citadel once I mineself, I can profess there is many topics and matters we are formidable in, but as any good Maester knows, he must know his limitations. The Maester of Sea Breach being such a Maester of which I speak appeared to have acknowledged his limitations when in one of his scribed personal accounts he states he had advised Lord Edwyn to form an advisory council in which to help guide the green Lord on all matters the concerned his Lordship.

By mid 292 A.C, after much deliberation and consideration, it was found in several uncovered missives that Lord Edwyn was said to have assembled his council with a host of men and women who hailed from the Lordship of Sea Breach themselves. Despite the names of most of these first council members having been lost, it is by this action on Lord Edwyn's part that I must credit to the turnaround of relations he had with his subjects, having seemingly corroded their suspicions of him, the years to come often record tale of Edwyn garnering the favour of his subjects. Heeding his people's concerns and the plights they faced, financial accounts of the Lordship of Sea Breach show considerable reinvestment of the demesnes collected taxes back into the Lordship, evidence of this is shown in the eighty-five gold dragons Lord Edwyn spent in constructing peasant farms.

While the early years of Edwyn's tenure at Sea Breach serve to showcase a man set with a sharp mind, and a keen ability at being savvy in both local governance and financial expenditures, Edwyn's first true test as a Lord came in the year 299 A.C, a single year after the passing of Lord Paramount Jon Arryn of the Vale, and King Robert Baratheon who had succumb to a fatal blow from a boar he had been attempting to hunt in the Crownlands. Though to pick up Edwyn's history in this year, we must first learn the events that had played out the year prior to truly understand how Edwyn was made to be in such dire position as the test he faced in 299 A.C.

A portrait commissioned post-humously of Lord Paramount Jon Arryn in 298 A.C​

In order to understand this 'test', we shall start this segment of the tome with coverage of a time set shortly after King Robert had been returned to the capital, his gut injured from his confrontation with the wild boar that had gored him. As the King lay bedridden and confined to his quarters as the Grand Maester in service to him attempted to remedy his wound, the King's acting Hand -as his previous Hand, Jon Arryn had passed- and aged old friend from childhood, the Lord Paramount of the North, Eddard Stark became center to a troubling disagreement between himself and that of House Lannister after his Lady-wife had captured King Robert's goodbrother, the dwarf of Casterly Rock, Tyrion Lannister.

A portrait of Tyrion 'The Imp' Lannister in 298 A.C​

With Tyrion's seizing attributed to Lady Catelyn's unproven allegation that her son Brandon had been victim of an attempted assassination to which she proclaimed Tyrion had given the orders, it was the belief of Lord Stark's wife that Tyrion had been hoping to silence their son once and for all after having discovered some grave plot at Winterfell when King Robert had taken a royal progress there in recruitment of Eddard earlier that year to replace his recently deceased Hand, Lord Jon Arryn and to which royal progress that Tyrion and his elder siblings were company of and her son Brandon had suffered an initial crippling injury he had survived. It is with these events surrounding the youngest son of the Lord Paramount of the Westerlands, Tywin Lannister that I proclaim to you mine dearest reader that Edwyn's test begins to take shape.

A portrait of Lord Paramount Eddard Stark in 298 A.C​

Though as this remains 'A History of the House Darkfish' we shall retain our focus of events as they pertain to Lord Edwyn who in 298 A.C bore witness to the lands under the protection of his Uncle, Lord Paramount Hoster's bannermen being ravaged and reaped at the hands of one of Lord Paramount Tywin Lannister's own bannermen, the infamous monstrosity of a knight those at the time called the 'Mountain that Rides', Ser Gregor Clegane. Though this pillaging would later be uncovered to have been orchestrated by Lord Tywin as a ploy to lure Eddard Stark into capture rather than a reckless act of outlaw behaviour on 'The Mountain's' part, the truth of Tywin's ploy was to have a captured Eddard Stark in order to gain leverage when negotiating the release of his son Tyrion.

A portrait of Ser Gregor 'The Mountain that Rides' Clegane in 298 A.C​

However, as the knowledge of this would not be discovered in time to have been of any use to an aged Lord Paramount Hoster Tully who was unaware of such ploy, and had been informed by his scouts of an assembled force from the Westerlands that seemingly sat poised to strike at the Trident for reasons the old Lord Paramount could only fathom to have derived from Tyrion Lannister's abduction at the hands of his daughter and Edwyn's cousin, Lady Catelyn. Taking the Westerlands posturing on his border as an intent to wage war, Lord Hoster put out a call for his banners to gather in preemptive defence of the Riverlands should the Lannister's opt to strike, among those to heed Hoster's call, Lord Edwyn raised his levys, as small as they were.

While the amassed hosts from the Riverlands and Westerlands faced off at their shared border, events in the capital would push these two forces to collide after it was proclaimed to the realm that King Robert had perished, and shortly thereafter, his Hand, Lord Eddard Stark declared the King's heir was found not to have been born from Robert's seed. What followed these events included a brief struggle of arms within the Red Keep of King's Landing in which Lord Eddard attempted to seize power from the boy-King, Joffrey and his mother, the now Dowager-Queen Cersei so as to turn the Throne over to a rightful heir of King Robert. Despite having what can only be assumed as a belief that he had the upper hand when he launched his assault, the Warden of the North was thwarted in his attempt and imprisoned on crimes of treason. In response to Lord Eddard's apprehension, his eldest son, Robb Stark described in the works of Winterfell's Maester at the time as being enraged at learning of the news regarding his father called his banners to war.

A portrait of King Joffrey Baratheon in 298 A.C​

With the North now perceived as a threat as they set off marching South, and the Riverlands assumed to rally to the Northern cause given their close bond through the shared blood that came from Lady Catelyn and Lord Eddard's marriage, carnage soon ensued as the forces mustered along the Riverlands-Westerland border met in battle. Sadly to some, this battle on the border would result in a striking victory for the Westerlands, an even more sombre realization was that the battle on the border was to be but the first of a series of bouts in which the forces of the Riverlands were delivered decisive defeats. Among these skirmishes and battles of which I speak I find it worthy of note to mention Lord Edwyn had partaken in these engagements, and in his dire frustration at having to bear the taste of consecutive losses, its believed Edwyn took the reality of his situation too heart and formed his House words during his retreat back to Riverrun, these words being as we are well aware 'Tread Carefully'.

A portrait of Ser Edmure Tully in 298 A.C​

Arriving at Riverrun a battered and mangled force, Lord Edwyn and the surviving Lords of the previous skirmishes joined forces with an amassed army under the command of his cousin and Uncle's heir, Ser Edmure Tully. With Lord Hoster beginning to grow ill, it was by Hoster's order that his son take leadership over the Trident's armies. What was to come outside the walls of Riverrun was to be seemingly the men of the Trident's last stand to halt the Westerlanders advance, as expected of men devoted to the faith of the Seven, the forces under Ser Edmure bravely met those of the Lannister's who fell under the command of the famed Kingslayer, Jaime Lannister. Again, as earlier battles showed, the forces of the Riverlands were no match for that of the Westerlands as they suffered once again another crippling defeat, this time, however, the defeat was felt much deeper as Ser Edmure and a host of other notable Lord's had been taken prisoner. As the Trident seemed upon the teetering edge of absolute defeat, Lord Edwyn and the Lord of Raventree Hall, Tytos Blackwood who had miraculously managed to evade capture rallied a small contingent of men back into Riverrun in which to man its defence.

A portrait of Lord Tytos Blackwood in 298 A.C​

Holding out as siege was laid on the keep he had spent the years of his youth, Lord Edwyn was noted to have shown unyielding courage in the face of outnumbering odds, yet it must be known his survival was only guaranteed when Lord Robb Stark and his Northern Army descended on the Lannister's after being granted passage through the Twins with a promise to marry the daughter of Lord Walder Frey. In his advance to lift the siege of Riverrun, the young wolf, Robb Stark managed to capture the Kingslayer after the Kingsguard knight had been leading a small raiding party against the forces loyal to the Tully's. With Jaime Lannister's capture this provided the North with a replacement of leverage as some months prior, the Kingslayer's younger brother Tyrion had managed to free himself from the confines of Robb's mother, Catelyn Tully.

A portrait of Ser Jaime 'The Kingslayer' Lannister while in captivity in 299 A.C​

Following Ser Jaime Lannister's captivity, the engagement now often referred to as the 'Battle of the Camps' occurred when Robb Stark and his Northern host aided by a force under the command of Lord Jason Mallister and Lord Edwyn's own father, Ser Brynden Tully, lifted the siege of Riverrun and sent the remnants of the Lannister force retracing their steps back to the Westerlands. While victory in regards to the faction Lord Edwyn had supported is of greater importance, I find it necessary to make mention of another Lannister Army under the command of Tywin Lannister himself was still set elsewhere in the lands of the Trident. As joyous as the result of the battle surely was for House Stark and its allies on that fateful day outside the walls of Riverrun on fields in which the keep overlooked, it could be said it was the enitre opposite of emotion for Lord Edwyn who had sustained a grievous wound to his leg during the heat of battle, a wound while assured to him by Maesters serving the camp was not life-threatening, Lord Edwyn was left barely able to hobble on one good leg and entirely unable to ride a mount.

An artists rendering of Robb Stark's host driving the forces of the Westerlands back in 299 A.C​

With a depleted levy and significant injury, Lord Edwyn was instructed by his cousin, Ser Edmure to whom sat above Edwyn in the hierarchy of command to return to Sea Breach and see his wound mended, his second purpose being to raise fresh troops to reform the levy under his banner. Though disgruntled at having been made to do so, Lord Edwyn departed Riverrun a broken man whose own personal Maester even recorded Edwyn Darkfish appeared resigned to a depressed state, though unbeknownst to the two, it would be Ser Edmure's command that would be Lord Edwyn's one saving grace as future events at the Twins, the seat of House Frey would undoubtedly prove.

 

[TheAnguishedOne]

Ah, the stage is all but set now. Can't wait to see how you start directly influencing the war once we reach the proper start.

 

[stnylan]

Chaos is, as is said, a ladder. One just has to climb it and not fall...

 

[Crossl3ones]

Ah, the stage is all but set now. Can't wait to see how you start directly influencing the war once we reach the proper start.

Me too lol, I need to go back and edit this one at some point as I feel its in dire need of it, but I am so close to my present start I'm trying to rush to it. Thank you for commenting!

Chaos is, as is said, a ladder. One just has to climb it and not fall...

And hopefully not fall to hard hahah

 

[Chinchillax]

Lets see where this takes Edwyn! Looking forward to how this all unfolds for House Darkfish.

 

[Crossl3ones]

Lets see where this takes Edwyn! Looking forward to how this all unfolds for House Darkfish.

Its been a bit of a longtime coming, but I am excited for the future of the House. I have high hopes lol.