Post by Father on Sept 17, 2017 14:09:05 GMT 1
Location: North and East of Goldegrove
While claiming ancestry to Brandon the Builder, a founding before the coming of the Andals and a prominent role in the battle for the Dawn, House Starkwood keeps their godswood mostly as a symbol of their past, long since having turned to worship of the seven. The Starkwoods were once masters of the northern Reach, though the Cranes would displace them from the region around Red Lake, they held firm against all further waves of Andal invaders, but eventual peace with the Gardeners forced them to bend the knee and allow free passage to those who sought to preach the faith of the seven, little by little worship of the old gods gave way, until only the Weirwoods with carved faces remains, some of the few left unburnt this far south.
The Starkwoods are renowned for their sense of honor, and equally so their reluctance to take sides or make promises that might prove difficult to keep, they were loyal to the Gardeners for millennia and stood with them until the field of fire. They did not support the faith militant, though they scarcely acted against them either. During the dance of dragons, they kept their word to King Viserys and declared for Rhaenyra. Today, Lord Ulbert will not suffer the mere suggestion that King Daeron is not the rightful Lord of the Seven Kingdoms to be voiced under his roof.
Lord Ulbert's holdings are vast, second only to those of Highgarden in the Reach, but much of it is sparsely populated woodland, the forces and resources at his command are relatively modest, but his woodmen are fierce and have traditionally supplied many fine outriders. Starkwood is not the home of many knights, as Andal traditions besides the faith have been slow to take hold, and many of the other Reachmen consider them backwards and superstitious. They do however produce many fine hunters and craftsmen, exporting Timber and furs down the Mander. His attention has, by necessity, been focused on his own domains, following the long reign of his father, Lord Brandon, spanning five kings from Aegon III to Daeron II. A man not fondly remembered by his scions, much too eager to please the king, his actions involves the ruinous construction of a grand sept, thrice as large as needed to fit Starkwood's flock, all in a bid to please King Baelor, he also had his son and heir, the present Lord Ulbert, marry Allyria Dayne to help the king strengthen the newly forged peace with Dorne, an ill-advised move if one pays the opinions of the Reach on such unions any heed, rumor has it that the king needed to arrange a good marriage for her after Prince Aegon (the later King Aegon IV) had taken one too many liberties. His deeds went from ill-advised to disastrous under the reign of King Aegon IV, going so far as to bring his niece to court in the hope of making her one of the king's mistresses, while this proved unsuccessful, she and the other offers pleased him enough to make Lord Brandon his master of laws, some suggesting that the king sought to profit from the stellar Starkwood reputation for honor, less polite voices indicating that the king stole it.
House Starkwood in the game:
Honor before reason some might say, the Starkwoods would retort with reason first, then honor to the last. They are slow to give their word, but when they do, they keep it no matter the cost. A reputation that grants them respect and trust that they have built their standing in the Reach upon. As Lord Ulbert's father once gave his oath to King Daeron reaffirming his loyalty (something all lords are expected to do when presenting themselves at court, almost all do, including some who are known to favor another), the Starkwoods will stand among the supporters of the blood, and everyone knows it. However, Ser Aerion Flowers, if properly motivated, could become the rallying symbol for the side of fire. Starkwood is home to those who feel more in common with the first men than the Andals, and while much more blood of the latter flows in their veins, they retain much of their old traditions. The seven may have supplanted the old gods, but the somewhat lax piety of the people and it's penchant for old superstitions have made more than one septon write disapprovingly to the Starry Sept.
While claiming ancestry to Brandon the Builder, a founding before the coming of the Andals and a prominent role in the battle for the Dawn, House Starkwood keeps their godswood mostly as a symbol of their past, long since having turned to worship of the seven. The Starkwoods were once masters of the northern Reach, though the Cranes would displace them from the region around Red Lake, they held firm against all further waves of Andal invaders, but eventual peace with the Gardeners forced them to bend the knee and allow free passage to those who sought to preach the faith of the seven, little by little worship of the old gods gave way, until only the Weirwoods with carved faces remains, some of the few left unburnt this far south.
The Starkwoods are renowned for their sense of honor, and equally so their reluctance to take sides or make promises that might prove difficult to keep, they were loyal to the Gardeners for millennia and stood with them until the field of fire. They did not support the faith militant, though they scarcely acted against them either. During the dance of dragons, they kept their word to King Viserys and declared for Rhaenyra. Today, Lord Ulbert will not suffer the mere suggestion that King Daeron is not the rightful Lord of the Seven Kingdoms to be voiced under his roof.
Lord Ulbert's holdings are vast, second only to those of Highgarden in the Reach, but much of it is sparsely populated woodland, the forces and resources at his command are relatively modest, but his woodmen are fierce and have traditionally supplied many fine outriders. Starkwood is not the home of many knights, as Andal traditions besides the faith have been slow to take hold, and many of the other Reachmen consider them backwards and superstitious. They do however produce many fine hunters and craftsmen, exporting Timber and furs down the Mander. His attention has, by necessity, been focused on his own domains, following the long reign of his father, Lord Brandon, spanning five kings from Aegon III to Daeron II. A man not fondly remembered by his scions, much too eager to please the king, his actions involves the ruinous construction of a grand sept, thrice as large as needed to fit Starkwood's flock, all in a bid to please King Baelor, he also had his son and heir, the present Lord Ulbert, marry Allyria Dayne to help the king strengthen the newly forged peace with Dorne, an ill-advised move if one pays the opinions of the Reach on such unions any heed, rumor has it that the king needed to arrange a good marriage for her after Prince Aegon (the later King Aegon IV) had taken one too many liberties. His deeds went from ill-advised to disastrous under the reign of King Aegon IV, going so far as to bring his niece to court in the hope of making her one of the king's mistresses, while this proved unsuccessful, she and the other offers pleased him enough to make Lord Brandon his master of laws, some suggesting that the king sought to profit from the stellar Starkwood reputation for honor, less polite voices indicating that the king stole it.
House Starkwood in the game:
Honor before reason some might say, the Starkwoods would retort with reason first, then honor to the last. They are slow to give their word, but when they do, they keep it no matter the cost. A reputation that grants them respect and trust that they have built their standing in the Reach upon. As Lord Ulbert's father once gave his oath to King Daeron reaffirming his loyalty (something all lords are expected to do when presenting themselves at court, almost all do, including some who are known to favor another), the Starkwoods will stand among the supporters of the blood, and everyone knows it. However, Ser Aerion Flowers, if properly motivated, could become the rallying symbol for the side of fire. Starkwood is home to those who feel more in common with the first men than the Andals, and while much more blood of the latter flows in their veins, they retain much of their old traditions. The seven may have supplanted the old gods, but the somewhat lax piety of the people and it's penchant for old superstitions have made more than one septon write disapprovingly to the Starry Sept.
