Brynden Vance

## Lord of Wayfarer's Rest

Lord **Brynden Vance** is the Lord of Wayfarer's Rest and the head of House Vance of Wayfarer's Rest.

## Biography

Born in 337 AC, Brynden was the second son of Lord Tristifer and Lady Jonella Vance. His older brother, Armistead, was born with a clubfoot, and could not learn to fight. Brynden was therefore trained from an early age to be a knight, while Armistead learned the inner workings of his House.

When he was 8, Brynden was sent to the Vale to foster with House Hunter. He distinguished himself with a sword early on, and became friends with Jon Hunter, heir to Longbow Hall. The two would spend days on hunts, and Brynden learned how to track game through the foothills and find his way back home with the sun and stars as his guide.

Brynden's knightly training was interrupted in 353 AC, when he received news that his brother had died of a fever. He rushed back to Wayfarer's Rest, and was thrust into his role as the heir apparent. He married his brother's betrothed, Alys Smallwood, and became Lord of Wayfarer's Rest a year later when his father fell ill and lost his sanity. His last act as Lord was to appoint his son as his successor. Aside from the lordship, Brynden inherited Red Sorrow, his ancestral castle-forged bastard sword.

A year after his marriage, Brynden and Alys had a daughter, whom they named Catelyn after the famous Lady Stark. He was called by King Edderion II Stark to fight in the War of the Burning Brand. He answered the call, leaving his wife in charge of the preparations for Winter. She was up to the task, due to her exceptional skill at governing a household, and Wayfarer's Rest and its smallfolk were well-prepared when the snows came. Brynden went south and fought with distinction against the Bandit King Arrec. At one point, he split his forces, giving the majority over to his uncle Ser Cerwyn, while he and his old friend Jon Hunter led a small party into the hills to keep them from attacking the main Northern host.

When Brynden returned home, he found that the preparations for Winter were complete. His second child ans heir, Jason, was born in 359 AC. 5 years later, Brynden received a letter from Ser Lucias Blackflower, captain of the Blackwater Guard at Stoney Sept. Bandits, including a few leftovers from the War of the Burning Brand, were smuggling men and arms into the North. Blackflower remembered Brynden for his ability to move unseen through the forests during the war, and asked that he help remove the smugglers from the lands around Stoney Sept. Brynden had been laid up in Wayfarer's Rest all winter, so he jumped at the chance to fight again.

He and Ser Cerwyn took 300 men south, and, over the course of three years, rooted out the smugglers. Knowing that none of the outlaws would ever present themselves in force, the Vances used their own underhanded tactics against them. By sending men to infiltrate the camps, Brynden and Cerwyn learned the smugglers' tactics and plans, and ambushed them along their transport routes. Cerwyn was wounded in the final battle at the smugglers' main camp, and he lost the ability to speak. Even so, Brynden invited him to replace his old steward at Wayfarer's Rest, who had died during the winter. Ser Cerwyn was well-suited to the job despite his muteness. He communicated through written orders to his squire, who read them aloud. As of 370 AC, Brynden lives in relative peace at Wayfarer's Rest.

## Family

* Lord Brynden Vance (337)
* His wife, Lady Alys Smallwood (339)
	+ His daughter, Catelyn Vance (355)
	+ His son, Jason Vance (357)

* His brother, Armistead Vance, deceased (336)

* His sister, Alysanne Vance (339)
* His uncle, Ser Cerwyn Vance (319)
	+ His twin cousins, Ser Walder and Ser Hoster (348)

## Household

* Alys Smallwood
	+ Gift: Administration
	+ Negative Trait: N/A
* Ser Cerwyn Vance
	+ Gift: Martially Adept
	+ Negative Trait: Mute, from a wounded throat
* Maester Orys
	+ Gift: Benevolence
	+ Negative Trait: Maimed in the left leg, from a riding accident