Council of 508AE

The Council of 508AE was a gathering of Western lords, bannermen, knights, retainers and financiers to decide upon the next Lord of House Blackthorne following the death of the imcumbent patriarch, Lamorak. This was because Lamorak's only son Galahad had died before his father, and he had no other apparent male heir; the line of succession was contested hotly by the Lord's daughters, his uncle, and a third figure within the Household. There were several candidates voted upon to assume control of the House, listed here in order of closeness to succession;
* Evaine Blackthorne was the eldest living child of Lamorak, and one of the She-Griffins Three. She had become a war leader of some renown over the long conflict with Brecilidia, and was supported by her mother the Widow Blackthorne as well as her younger sister Isolde and Ygraine. Aside from her gender she was seen as young, inexperienced, hot-headed and impetuous; many of the bannermen were not eager to see her take the lordship, as she was thirsty for Elven blood and it was feared she would only make the war worse.
* Larton Blackthorne was the uncle of Lamorak and the brother of the previous lord, Gerold. He had been serving as Hand of the House for many years, and was respected for his wisdom in matters of governance. However, he was also a quiet man, prone to spells of sickness, and had never earned a knighthood--causing him to be seen as weak. He was also quite old by the time of the council at 65 years with no wife and no heirs, and so the bannermen did not favor him.
* Hawley Blackthorne, another uncle, had been running a cadet branch of the family from the Whiteoak Plains for several years by the time of the council. He was content with his lot and formally passed on the opportunity to succeed his nephew at the council. After this his family took the name Hawthorne (from "Hawley's Blackthornes") to distinguish themselves as a separate family to the main branch.
* Morgyn Blackthorne was the secondborn son of Gerold's youngest brother Edric Blackthorne, who had died in a hunting accident long ago. A grizzled veteran of the brecilidian wars, he had no interest in taking leadership and also passed on the opporunity.
* The final contender was Allister Blackthorne. He was the grandson of Edric's elder son Guyard, who had died months before. Allister was a banker and financier as well as a knight. He promised the bannermen great riches and strong decisive leadership; and was a man, besides. The council agreed unanimously and the young man was made Lord.
The decision outraged some of the other candidates; the She-Griffins Three took their mother and immediately departed Stormrise Isle in a lather, while Larton muttered feeble protestations. Evaine would dip in and out of Blackthorne politics for the rest of her life, but Larton died only a year later in 509AE after spending a month coughing up blood. Allister and his line would go on to lead the family forward.