Lyman Crane

The firstborn son of Alliser Crane, Lyman is the current Lord of Red Lake, having just inherited this status after the death of his Lord Grandfather, Parmen Crane.

## Appearance and Character

Lyman is a sometimes ruthless, but duty-bound person, who loves to study military strategy, as well as partake in martial pursuits such as jousting and hunting. He hates sycophants and dishonest people in general, but would treat them with respect unless they gave him a reason not to.

## History

The firstborn son of Alliser Crane, would-be heir to Red Lake, Lyman was prepared from a young age to rule his grandfather's holdings. Theirs was a militaristic family, and much of Lyman's time was spent learning to handle weapons and ride horses.

His biggest passion, however, was strategy, and as soon as he became old enough to read, Lyman began taking many trips to Oldtown, in order to learn directly from the maesters all that he could about historic battles from the past. This kind of knowledge proved useful, and it wasn't long until Lyman became a great strategist, at least when compared to other boys his age.

As he grew older, Lyman and his grandfather began to argue and bicker, as the Lord of Red Lake often took drastic, brutal measures to ensure the peace in his lands, something that Lyman despised. When he tried to ask his father, Alliser, for help, the man began to visibly stammer and quickly changed the subject. This made Lyman despise cowardice, and avoid his father, who, until that point, he considered to be a kind, brave man.

To make matters worse, his relationship with Alyn Crane, his brother, also began souring as the years went by, partially due to the fact that Lyman was encouraged by his father and grandfather (as well as many of his friends) to distrust his brother as a potential claimant to Red Lake.

Both these factors primed Lyman to leave his home for a number of years, and serve as a squire to a Reachman knight in King's Landing, to avoid the troubles of his family. Lyman would always say this was the best time of his life, spending all day riding and learning with the best soldiers Westeros could produce. His knowledge of tactics improved by a gigantic margin as a result, and it was in the capital that he first met Helaena Targaryen, a woman to whom he would eventually develop strong feelings, and shower her with praises and gifts, including a suit of armor, that she wore during the melee in Storm's End.

Lyman only came back home after his father, Alliser, went to fight in the Rosegold Rebellion, as he would now be the Regent of Red Lake, due to the fact that his grandfather's failing health had confined the old man to his bed a few years ago. Alliser would eventually die defending Bitterbridge, leaving his eldest son as the heir to Red Lake.

As Regent, Lyman wasted no time getting rid of Parmen's old Council - something his father had been too afraid to do while the old Lord was alive. He replaced the men of dubious morals his grandfather had surrounded himself with by others, that he considered more trustworthy. For a time, all was well... until Parmen, probably delirious, called Alyn back home.

Alyn had left Red Lake a few years prior, getting himself into some massive debts as he travelled the Gods knew where, and now the old Lord had promised to take a massive loan in order to pay off all his grandson's troubles, supposedly to make ammends for his sins before meeting the Gods.

Parmen's decision was almost immediately overruled by his Regent, Lyman, however, who considered the whole idea terrible. He did allow for Alyn to return, however, and promised to find a way to settle his many debts, but without damaging Red Lake or its subjects in the process.

Soon after making contact with his entranged grandson, Parmen passed away, leaving Lyman the offical head of the house. What happens next remains to be seen.

## Recent Events

### To Tame a Dragon

In order to find the means necessary to repay Alyn's outstanding debts, Lyman headed to the place he'd spent most of his time as a squire in: King's Landing. There, he would consult with countless moneylenders and bankers, learning the proper way to deal with the middle Crane's economic issues. But not all was work: the Lord of Red Lake also reunited with Helaena Targaryen during this period, though his treatment of her had changed. Where once he'd talked to her as most would, with excessive amounts of deference and politeness, he instead boldly declared his interest, after ramming her arm with his shield during a sparring match, and started to challenge and tease her as much as he could, both with words, as well as touches.

To his surprise, the more carefree approach worked, and soon the two were lovers, even going so far as to publicly share a kiss in the King's feast. They would hardly leave each other's side after that, and when Viserys Targaryen decided to go on a hunt, the Lord of Red Lake was one of the nobles invited to come along, courtesy of his new lover.

### Indiscretions in the Woods

During the Hunt, Lyman and Helaena would eventually be noticed by the King, who'd once had an affair with his cousin, which led the two Targaryens to get into an argument. After the incident, however, Lyman comforted Helaena, and they both agreed to find a way to remain together, either as a married couple or as lovers. After this point, their relationship essentially became public, with neither of them doing much to hide it. The King himself was already aware, after all.

### Our Children Will Rule the Skies

Soon after their return from the hunt, the princess convinced Lyman to help her try hatching dragon eggs, an endeavour he was more than happy to participate in. To that effect, the pair enlisted the help of Aelyx of Volantis, a Red Priest in the capital, who would quickly become one of Lyman's drinking companions, with the Lord being highly amused and somewhat impressed with the man's skills, as well as his honest demeanour.

It was around that time that Gwayne Tyrell was arrested for treason, and Helaena used that as a way to request the King that she be married to Lyman, to show the Reach the Crown still had ties to it. To Lyman's surprise and delight, Viserys accepted. Though a lot of blood would have to be spilled before the marriage could happen.

### The Plucking

After the murder of Rickard Rowan's brother in retaliation for the arrest of Gwayne Tyrell, Lyman momentarily parted from Helaena's company and joined forces with the rest of the Northmarch Houses to fight off a force sent from Highgarden to take Goldengrove. The two armies crashed in Dosk, a little village near the Osgrey keep of Standfast.

Even though they were heavily outnumbered, the enemy host still decided to attack the men of the Northmarch. In the ensuing battle, Lyman distinguished himself by quickly annihilating the opposing Tyrell flank. So efficient and ferocious were the men under his command that the enemy did not have the opportunity to regroup and attempt a counter, and instead the ones that survived simply surrendered.

A few days later, he and Harlen Tyrell teamed up to convince the captured prisioners to defect from the service of Highgarden and fight for the Northmarch instead. The Lord of Red Lake had promised that those who accepted would be granted lands to settle, but those who didn't would regret their decision. Moved not only by Lyman's commanding voice but also by Harlen's rousing speech, more than a thousand men would accept the offer, most of which were sent away to rest and settle the Northmarch, while a small contingent was handed over to Harlen.

About a hundred and twenty men did not accept the offer, however, and Lyman followed through with his promise of making them regret their decision: he - and a few of his most skilled men - hacked away the right hands of each of the Highgarden soldiers, before sending them in little boats down the Mander, all the way to Highgarden, as a warning to the enemies of the Northmarch and the Iron Throne.

## Family

http://www.familyecho.com/?p=RNBY1&c=sr76e1a881&f=970032667495479446