House Hewett

Master of Oakenshield Castle

Defender of the Mander

House Chester

**House Hewett of Oakenshield** is one of the principal houses in the Reach, ruling over the other lords of the Shield Islands as their liege. Making their seat in Lord Hewett's Town on the island of Oakenshield, the Hewetts have a long history of being involved with and propagating trade, but their foremost duty is defending the Mander against any and all naval threats. As Shield Lords, they possess a strong martial tradition, though their reputation of caution and ceremony is equally distinguished.

Taking an iron-studded oaken shield upon a blue and white field for their sigil, the Hewetts claim descent from Owen Oakenshield through his supposed son Henly the Hewer, thus dating their roots back to the Age of Heroes. Regardless of the truth of these claims, it cannot be denied that House Hewett has existed for as long as anyone can remember.

Members of House Hewett frequently lean towards having darker-brown hair, blue-grey eyes and softer facial features.

The current Lord of Oakenshield is Lord Desmond Hewett.

## History

### Age of Heroes

Like many of the principal Houses of the Reach, House Hewett's roots lies in the Age of Heroes, claiming direct descent of Garth Greenhand through Owen Oakenshield and his alleged offspring, Henly the Hewer. Some state that Henly was Owen's firstborn child, whilst others claim that he is a more distant descendant, or perhaps unrelated at all, having instead been landed on the then-called Misty Islands and wed to a Gardener Princess for his services to Highgarden.

By the very nature of this period, little and less is known about House Hewett during the age of Heroes, only that they existed and likely ruled peacefully as vassals of the Gardeners can be accurately established. Tales persist of legendary members of the house, however, speaking of heroes like Helicent the Hawkeyed, Heward Seatamer and Branston the Brave committing improbable deeds worthy of etching their names into the annals of history.

### Age of a Hundred Kingdoms

House Hewett continued serving the Gardeners of Highgarden faithfully for countless generations, with the lords of Oakenshield living out their lives ruling over humble fisherfolk.

This changed when the Ironborn arrived in mass, tempted by the riches of the Reach. Establishing themselves upon the Misty Islands, the reavers slew and enthralled all the men and captured the women for their own carnal pleasures. It was only by a stroke of luck that Lord Hewett and his thirdborn son had been away on business in the mainland, for their ancient seat of Hewerfort was put to the torch and razed with most of their family still within.

Without people and a home, the surviving Hewetts were made to request hospitality from their kings, which the Gardeners offered freely. From that point on, it is said that Lord Hewett sailed back to his homeland three times with the intention of reclaiming his ancestral lands, but thrice was he rebuffed, and on the third he never returned.

Numerous similar attempts were made in the following centuries, but it wasn't until the reign of Garth the Goldenhand that the Ironborn were driven back into the sea, thus restoring their lands after generations in exile. But what the people of the Misty Islands had built was gone, and the people slaughtered or carried off. To make amends, and to ensure the safety of *all* the Reach, King Garth persuaded his fiercest warriors to resettle the islands under the restored Hewett rule and that of men who'd proven themselves in battle, offering riches and special dispensations, and proclaimed the archipelago to be his shield against any and all threats of the sea. Hence, the Misty Islands came to be known as the Shield Islands, and a new, sturdier keep was raised upon the highest hill on the southern coast of Oakenshield so that the Hewett Lords could fulfill their new duties by watching over the mouth of the Mander.

### The Dragon and the Stag

When dragons took to the skies of Westeros, the men of the Shields were among those who joined King Mern IX Gardener and the men of the West in the great host assembled beneath the walls of Goldengrove. Together, Lord Bennifer Hewett and his two sons marched towards the plains of the Blackwater Rush, baring witness to the dragons of Targaryens with their own eyes.

In the ensuing battle, Lord Hewett was among the lucky to survive, but not without witnessing his eldest son and heir burn alongside King Mern and all his kin in what would become known as the infamous Field of Fire. Rather than to seek out revenge, however, it is said that Lord Bennifer locked himself up in his keep, wasting away before dying a few years after Aegon I's coronation.

During the Dance of the Dragons, House Hewett declared for the Greens, fighting against their fellow Shield Lords of House Grimm.

Years later, during the tail end of Robert's Rebellion, war found its way to the Mander's waters when the Ironborn under Quellon Greyjoy declared for Robert Baratheon and attacked the Crown-aligned fleet of the Shields. Twelve ships were sunk or captured that day, with the Ironborn coming out on top, but not without suffering their own losses, the most noticeable of which was Lord Quellon himself dying at sea. Despite this pyrrhic victory, the war was still lost for the Shields when Lord Tywin Lannister sacked King's Landing and King Aerys died at the hands of the Kingslayer, Ser Jaime Lannister of the Kingsguard.

But the Shields would face Ironborn harassment twice in as many decades. The War of the Five Kings came, and the Lords of the Shields remained true to Highgarden, sending a portion of their men to assist the Tyrells in their campaign east. Most remained in the Reach, however, for their first and foremost duty was defending the Mander. This decision proved wise when ships of the Iron Isles were sighted off the coast of Greenshield, and quickly as the Shields' fleet assembled to give pursuit when the longships sailed up the Mander.

Sadly, this proved to be a simple ruse, for while the ships of the Shields were gone, Euron Greyjoy and his men attacked the islands from the west, using the rising sun to camoflage their arrival. Greyshield, Southshield and Greenshield all fell quickly to the forces of the Ironborn, whilst Oakenshield did not last much longer itself. Having captured the wealthiest island, Euron Greyjoy settled into Oakenshield Castle as his brother Victarion sailed to face the returning Shields fleet.

Caught between two enemy fleets, the Lords of the Shields were gravely defeated, and what few ships that managed to evade the sea-wolves fled for Highgarden to remobilize under the command of Lord Serry and Ser Gawen Hewett, nephew of Lord Hewett.

The subsequent feast was a mark of shame for House Hewett's history. Tied to a chair and gagged by a radish, Lord Humfrey Hewett was made to watch as his wife and daughters served the Ironborn warriors naked, later being made to do unspeakable acts that would haunt the lord for the rest of his short life, not outliving the cruel festivities in his own castle. His bastard daughter, Falia Flowers, defied her family by embracing King Euron, becoming his paramour and later pregnant with his child. Deluded by the ironman's false promises, she maintained the belief that he would claim her for his salt-wife and that her sons would be princes, ignoring Aeron Damphair's warnings of what his brother was capable.

As prophesied, Falia soon met her own end when she was tied to the prow of Euron's ship, the *Silence*, with her tongue and clothes removed. Her life would be sacrificed as part of the Crowseye's cruel scheme to sway the storms and winds in his own favour in the upcoming naval battle off the coast of Oldtown.

Word soon reached Highgarden of Lord Hewett's death, and Ser Gawen was furious. Demanding a quick response of vengeance, he set out with the remaining Hewett fleet to meet with Garlan Tyrell and aid him in gathering enough ships to carry an army to the Shields and retake them. This came to fruition within moons, when together with Lord Serry and Garlan the Gallant, the forces of the Reach arrived upon the shores of Oakenshield and the other Shields and drove out the Ironborn like Garth the Goldenhand had two thousand years prior.

Of Lord Humfrey's daughters, two were pregnant, one dead and the youngest one missing entirely, never to be found again. The eldest, Helicent, would later fling herself from the highest tower of Oakenshield Castle to her death, whilst her younger sister died in childbirth, giving life to a bastard who would die at the age of seven-and-ten in far-Essos, serving one of the sellsword companies in exile. With no remaining children, Gawen was affirmed as Lord of Oakenshield and given due honours for his contributions in the war.

## Household

#### Court of Oakenshield

* Steward - Tristan Trueword
* Castellan - Manford
* Maester - Maester Kyndall
* Captain of the Guard - Lyndon Breakiron
* Master-at-Arms - Ser Erryk Lilycroft
* Chief Gaoler - Dungeon Pate
* Septon - Septon Pate
* Stablemaster - Robett
* Kennelmaster - Henly
* Blacksmith - Arryk
* Court Fool - Twinkletoes