House Darklyn

## House Darklyn of Duskendale

House Darkwood

**House Darklyn of Duskendale** is a prominent Crownlander House that rules the town of Duskendale and it's surrounding lands from the Dun Fort. Sworn directly to the Red Keep, the Darklyns have served House Targaryen loyally since Aegon's Conquest, and have proved themselves to be valuable multiple times.

Now headed by Lord Robert Darklyn, of six and twenty, House Darklyn has seen another resurgence over the past few decades, despite the ravage inflicted by dragonblight and Maegor's Breath.

## History

### Early Darklyns

The Darklyns had been petty kings of the First Men during the Age of Heroes. Their closest allies were their bannermen of House Hollard, who served them loyally and provided brides three times for the Darklyn kings of old. The Darklyns claimed the mouth of the Blackwater Rush during the Hundred Kingdoms. The petty kings of Duskendale were once conquered by the Storm King Monfryd the Mighty.

During the Andal invasion, the Darklyns forced Togarion Bar Emmon to flee from the northern shore of the Blackwater to Massey's Hook. Even after their small realm was swallowed up by larger Andal kingdoms, the Darklyns' power sometimes reached as far as Crackclaw Point

### Lords of Duskendale

During Aegon's Conquest, Aegon I Targaryen and his bastard half-brother Orys Baratheon defeated the Darklyns of Duskendale and the Mootons of Maidenpool in Aegon's first test. The Darklyns bent the knee to the Targaryens and served their new kings as the Lords of Duskendale. Ser Robin Darklyn, called Darkrobin, was among the first seven knights of the Kingsguard.

When Prince Aegon Targaryen warred against King Maegor I Targaryen, Ser Davos Darklyn of the Kingsguard led five thousand men from King's Landing in support of the king during the Battle Beneath the Gods Eye. Davos was slain during the battle by Lord Qarl Corbray. Davos' aged father, Lord Mercyl Darklyn, was slain when Ser Joffrey Doggett ordered Warrior's Sons to hunt Maegor's Loyalists.

### Lord Gawen and Lady Genavene

After the death of Lord Mercyl, his eldest son and heir, Gawen, became Lord of Duskendale. Gawen was far from a pleasant person, but he did care for the future of his Hosue and of his children, and constantly worked to better it. When the Justiciars were properly formed in 60 AC, Gawen's brother, Ser Ronnel, would serve as it's first Lord Justiciar.

The Duskendale Incident and subsequent death of his oldest son, Orson, in 64 AC deeply upset Lord Gawen, and left House Darklyn with a female heir: his daughter Genavene. Genavene had already been married to Ser Trevas Celtigar, and upon hearing of what had transpired, they both travelled back to Duskendale. Lord Darklyn's youngest daughter, Mereya, was betrothed to Prince Aemon Targaryen as a form of reparations for the death of his son.

Gawen would pass of dragonblight himself only three years after, leaving Genavene as Lady of Duskendale. Though she had not been able to get with child over the past several years with her husband, this would change in 69 AC, when Tristifier was born. Her family continued to get bigger as time went on, with Arys, Shireen, Criston, Elyanna, and Matthos all being born in the span of nine years. Like her father, Genavene sought the absolute best for her kids, but despite her attempts to be different from her father, she still found herself distant from her kids at times.

### The Stranger's Touch

When the Dornish invaded in the War of the Setting Sun, the Iron Throne was ill-met by surprise. Preparing a counter-offensive led by Lord Galladon Strong in 102 AC, Ser Tristifier was asked to join him. Together, the forces of the Iron Throne rode south to the Stormlands, meeting the Dornish host alongside the Stormlanders at the battle of Crow's Nest. Colliding with the enemy forces, it was reported that Ser Tristifier's horse caught a Dornish lance, collapsing under him, only for the knights of his own command to ride over him.

When news of Tristifier's death reached Duskendale, Genavene was distraught. Ordering a month of mourning, the Lady of Duskendale began to withdraw from courtly matters more and more over the coming moons, taking her eldest child's demise deeply.

Perhaps it was of surprise to no one when her health began to decline, and she passed away not a year later at the age of five and sixty, leaving her grandchild Jon as the new Lord of Duskendale at eighteen.

Hastily wed to Reina Grafton as arranged by his uncle Arys, young Lord Jon's rule would quickly be solidified as an able, if unextraordinary reign where the events that accompanied it were anything but. With the memory of his fallen father and Orson in mind, Jon was keen on keeping the King's Peace where he could, and when his sons Robert and Lucamore were born in 104 and 110 AC respectively, he vowed to never let any of his children fall into harm's way, and instructed that they be kept under watch and tutelage as much as possible.

Disaster struck Duskendale a third time in 113 AC upon Genavene's 10th anniversary when the sept of Duskendale caught fire, killing Arys, his children, and near a dozen more attendants as people crowded at the building's exit when the roof collapsed. The fire would soon consume half the district around it, killing over two score people before it was finally settled. The cause was indeterminable according to Lord Darklyn's maester and uncle, leading to speculations of sabotage, wrath of the gods, or even Lady Genavene's ghost coming back to punish those who benefitted from her death.

No matter the truth, these events would come to haunt Jon for the rest of his life, and any attempts at quelling the rumours of a "curse" were thwarted by various unfortunate incidents affecting the Darklyn family. Criston's boat was captured by pirates of the Stepstone in 117 AC on his way back from the Citadel with books, while his brother Matthos would die only five years later, choking on a chicken bone. This was followed by various smaller incidents and injuries that would eventually culminate in Lord Jon's own death in the 9th moon of 129 AC when he and his wife took ill and passed within days of one another.

Orphaned, plagued by the superstitious, and nearly alone, Robert ascended the seat of Duskendale dour and angry.