Jory Redwater

**Jory Redwater** is a principal bannermen and War Time Hand of the King to House Brightflame of King's Landing. Serving House Brightflame since they have arrived in Westeros.

## Appearance and Character

Ser Jory is a kind man. His low birth helped shape him into a humble man, who cares little and less about what blood flows in your veins or what House you claim descent from. The war of Northern Independence and the sack of the Riverlands has made him detest war, and the game of thrones in general, and only fights with the Brightflames because he know's they'll bring stability to the Realm when the dust clears.

## History

### Early Life

Jory Redwater was the oldest child of Alyn, born in a village in the Riverlands to a Blacksmith. He had a younger sister called Jannia. Due to the hardtime of the family, Tytos Blackwood, Lord of Raventree Hall was in need of a blacksmith, hiring Alyn as the official blacksmith of Raventree Hall, saving the family from bankruptcy.

His son, Jory, now a strong young lad of one-and-ten, took to the training yard and squaring off against his fellow children, planning to become a guardsman to support his family. There, he quickly dominated the other lowborn boys, moving on to face the noblemen's sons at three-and-ten. The Master-at-Arms, a kindly, but strict, man by the name of Ser Myles Shawney saw potential in young Jory. The man took him as his squire, a rare honor for lowborn boys, and one that Jory was determined to live up to.

### Robert's Rebellion

About three years into his training, a war broke out between Robert Baratheon and the Mad King Aerys. The Riverlands were indirectly bound to the Baratheon cause by marriage to his allies, Ned Stark and Jon Arryn, and as such, raised their swords in support of the Stag, Ser Myles' and Jory's among them. At the Battle of the Bells, Jory was in the back of the army, but he would get his first taste of comment at the Battle of the Trident. There, Ser Myles was struck down by Prince Lewyn Martell of the Kingsguard. Though Lyn Corbray got to the Dornish bastard first, Jory took his revenge on five men twice his age, a Darry, a Mooton, a Rykker, a Grafton, and a Rosby, as well as many lowborn men whose names he never knew.

For his deeds, he was Knighted by Robert Baratheon himself, taking the name Redwater for the bloody river he knelt in. He was granted the keep of some minor Landed Knight who had remained loyal to the Targaryens in the war, and died out as a result. In the aftermath of the battle, he, quite literally, stumbled across one of the rubies of Rhaegar's breastplate, deciding to keep the gem as a family heirloom of sorts, and renaming his keep after it.

### House Redwater

His father, Alyn, now an old man, retired to Ruby Keep, dying peacefully shortly after, content in the knowledge that his son and his family would go on to do great things. According to Riverman culture, his body was launched into the Red Fork in a boat, Ser Jory setting it alight with a flaming arrow.

Despite the loss, Jory knew that he needed to move on. Over time, under his diligent rule, many smallfolk flocked to the keep, forming a small fishing village around it. Though it was nothing compared to Gulltown or Maidenpool, or even Saltpans or Fairmarket, it was still a pleasant community. One day, a nobleman from the Vale on his coming of age tour visited Ruby Keep to rest for the night on his trip, and there, he and Jannia, Ser Jory's sister, fell in love. Both begged to be able to wed each other, and far be it from Jory to deny them their happiness. The man, a younger son of Lord Triston Sunderland of the Three Sisters, took up residence in Ruby Keep, not particularly liking his father or any of his brothers. The man exited Ser Jory's young cousin, Robin Redwater, the son of Hosteen, with tales of Mountain Clansmen and pirates from the Stepstones, and the young boy soon asked to be Jory's squire. Seeing his potential, as Ser Myles once did for him, he agreed.

The boy was energetic and aggressive, traits that were matched by his weapon of choice, a two-handed greatsword almost as tall as he was. Seeing his lack of defense, Ser Jory decided to gift him a fine suit of plate armor to protect him for his sixteenth nameday. It was one of his own father's last works, a beautiful thing emblazoned with House Redwater's sigil. Ser Jory had long since outgrown it, but it was just Robin's size. The lad was overjoyed. As he neared his eighteenth nameday, Robin was nearly ready to be Knighted.

### War of the Five Kings

Unfortunately, tragedy struck for the house. While away on a hunt in the nearby woods, a favourite hobby of his, Jory's keep was attacked by the Mountain That Rides, Gregor Clegane. The fishing village was completely gone, razed to ashes, and the tower itself was a burnt out husk, the roof and upper half of the walls having caved in. It had been looted of everything valuable, including the ruby he had taken from the Trident. No survivors were found, Robin being presumed dead.

Ser Jory, confused and enraged, went to Riverrun to demand justice. There, he found Robb Stark. Ser Jory had been in the dark on his journey to Riverrun, but Tytos Blackwood was quick to catch him up. Catelyn Tully, daughter of the old Lord Hoster Tully, had seized Tyrion Lannister for attempting to murder her son Bran, and, in retaliation, the Lannisters had began sacking the Riverlands, and Ruby Keep was one of many targets. King Robert was dead, gored to death by a boar, and so was the Hand, Eddard Stark. In retaliation, Robb Stark, his eldest son, went to war, earning the support of the Tullys by breaking the siege of Riverrun, and now called himself King in the North. Worse, the Riverlords had named him King of the Trident, too. With little other choice, Jory bent the knee to the Young Wolf, and rode to war against the Lannisters.

The next months were hell. Beset upon from west, south, and east, the war was over before it began. The Crownlander Lords charged north, taking the entire south side of the Trident in a week and encroaching on Stone Hedge and Harrenhal, while the Westermen began assaulting Pinkmaiden and Acorn Hall. To make matters worse, Theon Greyjoy, King Robb's long time friend, betrayed him, bringing his Ironborn kin down on Seagard. First, we attempted to save Stone Hedge, but before we could get there, it had fallen, and we, receiving word of Theon's betrayal, raced south to defend Seagard, but we were to late, and Victarion Greyjoy, it's new "Lord" pushed us back. We attempted to regroup at Riverrun, only to find that Tywin Lannister had taken it and executed Lord Hoster. The new Lord of the Riverlands, Edmure, got himself captured attempting to retake it, and with no other option left, Robb Stark gathered his supporters and fled. The Ironborn were assaulting the Twins from the west, so we fled through Lord Harroway's Town. Walder Frey, stubborn as ever, refused to leave his castle, and died for it when it fell. Anywhere between a dozen and a hundred Freys died that day, and the remainder were scattered across the Realm. Jory was alive, if just barely, but he had been scarred by the carnage he had seen inflicted upon his homeland. The only good thing to come out of the Fall of the Riverlands, as it was called, was him finding his wife and love, the young Lady Beth Cassel.

As many Riverlords did, Ser Jory married a Northern girl to secure an alliance, but the marriage would become far more than a simple political move. When Robb Stark began rallying his troops for an attack, Ser Jory and his wife were convinced that he must be insane, and began plotting to escape the North. Since neutrality wasn't much of an option in these turbulent times, they began sending letters to the man they intended to support. This man, obviously, was Baelor Brightflame, a promising man claiming descent from Aerion Brightflame.

### Service to the Dragon

At the next opportunity, Jory and Beth fled with their followers, making for White Harbor, and taking a ship to the neutral Sisters. Visiting his sister and good-brother, who had made it back to the Sisters before the war, Jory then took a ship to Dragonstone, to swear fealty to the man who he believed could heal the Realm.

At Dragonstone, he bent the knee to King Baelor, and, like Myles Shawney had done all those years ago, he saw potential in him. Bidding him to rise, Baelor announced that he had been looking for a skilled, loyal man to lead his infantry, which he called "the Dragon's Claw", and that Jory was that man. He didn't know what was more ridiculous, the amount of trust Baelor had in him, or his feathered helm. Jory had grown up knowing deep inside that he was a burden on his family, that his father would sacrifice meals so that he and his sister could eat, and had you told him then that he would grow up to become the Wartime Hand of the King to the greatest King the Realm would ever know, or even that he would ever become something more than a burden, he would've laughed until he cried, little knowing what awaited him...