Falyse Tudbury

House Baratheon

House Tyrell of King's Landing

## Appearance and Character

The blood of House Baratheon is strong, even in bastards.  Falyse resembles her mother, Angelica Storm, and as such, she sports the same pitch black hair, falling in neatly maintained waves across her shoulders and to the middle of her back.  However, she did not inherit the distinctive blue eyes of House Baratheon.  Befitting a Lady of Brownstone, her wide, round, oppressively innocent eyes are a mixture of light and dark brown, a tortoiseshell pattern common among members of House Tudbury.  These colors suggest a hidden complexity otherwise disguised by her seemingly guileless appearance.  Indeed, soft, rounded cheeks, full lips, wide eyes, and a snub little nose make it tremendously easy for Falyse to portray herself as an ingenue.  Her body is also endearingly delicate and youthful, slender and largely bereft of fat and muscle - though the underlying cause betrays her true character.  Relentlessly engaged in her duties or lost in thought, she often neglects her meals, filling her stomach with naught more than tea and bread.  Without Ser Royce’s insistence that she take care of herself, she could very well collapse from hunger or exhaustion.

To a stranger, Falyse may seem painfully naive and innocent, a true devout of the Maiden.  In truth, however, her guileless appearance is a coy facade.  She is relentlessly driven, ruthlessly pragmatic, and subtly scathing.  Of course, her outwardly subdued, retiring demeanor is not entirely fabricated.  When not otherwise occupied with her ever-expanding duties, Falyse enjoys lounging with tea and biscuits, trading gossip with friends, knitting, and playing games of chance and strategy, though only if no money is at stake.  She also enjoys sailing and swimming.  If not for her responsibilities, she would be quite lazy.

## History

In the third moon of 364 AC, Angelica Storm, bastard daughter of Gowen Baratheon and wife of Lord Gawen Tudbury, gave birth to her first and only child, Falyse.  She was born not in Brownstone, nor on the isle of Maid Monty, but in Weeping Town.  Her parents were living with their distant cousins, a family of merchants descended from Falyse's great-great-great-uncle, Ser Tommen Tudbury, and her great-great-grandmother, Meera Merlyn of Pebbleton Tower.  Lady Meera was originally married to Falyse's great-great-grandfather, Lord Terrence Tudbury, but remarried after he died fighting for Stannis in the War of the Five Kings.  That conflict exacted a tremendous toll on House Tudbury, as did the many others that transpired in century since Rhaegar Targaryen kidnapped Lyanna Stark.

Lord Eldon Tudbury, Falyse's great-great-great-grandfather, was the first to perish, dying at the Battle of the Trident, fighting for his liege and future king, Robert Baratheon.  The rebellion cost House Tudbury their lord, as well as a fair few good men and a considerable amount of gold.  Lord Eldon was succeeded by his son, Terrence, who struggled to recoup these losses.

In his adolescence, Lord Terrence helped quell the Greyjoy Rebellion, fighting under Stannis Baratheon, Lord of Dragonstone and Master of Ships.  Stannis earned his respect in this conflict, and in turn, his loyalty.  It was this loyalty that ultimately cost him his life.  Though House Tudbury declared for Renly Baratheon at first, following the lead of their liege family, House Estermont, Terrence eagerly shifted allegiance to Stannis as soon as Renly died.  He fought earnestly and ably for his would-be king, until one day, he was assigned to protect young Edric Storm.  His liege, Andrey Estermont, was to be the boy's guardian in exile, and his vassal was a natural choice to accompany him.  Yet, Terrence remained loyal to Stannis, and so, he schemed to betray the mission.  Alas, he failed and was slain by Ser Gerald Gower.  His men inevitably met their doom as well, vanishing alongside Stannis in the Far North.

Meanwhile, another prospective king, Aegon Targaryen, invaded the Stormlands through Cape Wrath.  Brownstone was conquered early in his campaign.  Ser Titus Tudbury, Terrence's younger brother, died defending his home from a foreign invader, who then plundered his family's coffers to fund his armies.  At home and abroad, an already diminished House Tudbury sustained profound losses.

By the time Terrence's son and heir, Willem, reached adulthood, House Tudbury was still impoverished.  Winter had made recovery slow for the few who remained on Maid Monty.  Exercising sagely restraint, Willem did not engage when House Targaryen returned to ravage the Stormlands once more, preserving his resources and protecting his family.  Yet, that invasion claimed his life nonetheless.  With a wife from House Swann and a goodbrother from House Lonmouth, Willem was obliged to join the men of the Marches when they were ordered to quell the Yronwood Rebellion instigated by the Targaryens.  He died, leaving a withering Brownstone once again to a child.

Lord Harlan Tudbury, Willem's heir and only child, was fortunate enough to live for forty years.  Yet, his death was as violent as that of his forefathers.  As a boy, he was accidentally blinded by his cousin, Stannis, who shoved him during a quarrel over his qualifications as lord.  Stannis' sister, Elinor, served as his scribe and guide thenceforth, and the two became extremely close.  He never pressed her to marry, sheltering her from offers so she could live as she pleased.  So she did, until one day, when the Bastards of the Tide sacked Weeping Town.  She and her longtime companion, Cerissa Storm, were visiting family there.  They were raped and kidnapped along with countless others.  Subsequently, Harlan became obsessed with recovering Elinor.  He paid the pirates an exorbitant ransom, but they reneged on their deal, opting to keep the gold and sell Elinor into slavery anyway.  For the next two years, Harlan accumulated a tremendous debt hiring spies to track down his cousin.  Numerous pirates and slavers were tortured to death in the dungeon beneath Brownstone.  Eventually, he was able to locate Elinor and purchase her, at great expense, though Cerissa was long gone, having bitten off her tongue shortly after her capture.  His relief was indescribable, and he never regretted the choices he made, even when the debt collectors arrived.  They stormed Brownstone and carved their way through the keep, intending to murder Harlan and pillage Maid Monty for all it was worth.  They succeeded in the former, but not the latter, slaughtered by the garrison.  The debt was erased, but Brownstone was still left bankrupt, ruled by a boy of ten.

Believing that House Tudbury needed to find acclaim in battle to be restored to its former glory, Lord Gladden Tudbury, the older of Harlan's two sons, lead his men to fight in the Reach during the War of White and Gold.  His death earned him no recognition, and he died without ever being knighted.  And so, his younger brother, Gawen, became Lord of Brownstone, the latest in a long line of boy lords presiding over a dwindling, destitute demesne.

That was why Lord Gawen was married to a bastard, and that was why he and Lady Angelica were living in Weeping Town.  He hoped to accumulate wealth by working with his mercantile kin, which he would then use to restore his homeland.  Yet, his share of the revenue was not enough to achieve that goal.  Although he was earning more than he needed to support himself, his wife, and his daughter, Falyse would have been a woman grown by the time he had saved enough to completely rejuvenate Brownstone.  He became impatient and desperate and began to gamble.  Angelica disapproved of this reckless course of action, but Gawen did not heed his wife's reproach.  He sent her back to Brownstone to live with his mother, Seryse Penrose, ensuring that Falyse would be their only child.

There were times at which gambling proved to be profitable for Lord Gawen, but such vices were unfortunately addictive.  By the time Falyse was eight years old, he had accumulated an salvageable amount of debt, and he had defaulted on multiple payments.  Royce, a local hired thug, confronted Gawen, pressuring him to pay.  Gawen explained that he did not have enough money, but that he was certain his luck was improving.  Royce did not humor this argument.  He asked if Gawen possessed anything of value, and recalled that he had a daughter.  The mere suggestion that he exchange Falyse to pay his debts sent Gawen into a rage, which promptly resulted in his death.  Royce crushed Gawen's throat and the Lord of Brownstone choked on his own blood.

Young Falyse was unfortunately present for all of this, but she was not a silent bystander.  Screeching, she rushed Royce and stabbed him in the leg, puncturing him twice before being disarmed by a swift kick to the chest.  Royce was presented with a choice, to either kill the girl for hurting him or to hand her off to a nearby bordello in order to pay off some of Gawen's debt.  Yet, in Falyse he saw himself as a boy, eyes brimming with rage and pain and ruthless, feral determination.  Guilt gripped him and he felt compelled to repent.  He returned Falyse's knife to her, dropped to his knees, and bared his neck, offering her his life.  She accepted, but did not draw blood.

From that point onward, Royce of Weeping Town was Lady Falyse's sworn protector.  His life was hers.  With his aid, they saved enough money to book passage to Brownstone, where Falyse was reunited with her mother.  She did not remain on Maid Monty for long, however.  Angelica promptly wrote to her kin in Storm's End, and they were welcomed as wards of House Baratheon.  Angelica ensured that Falyse would enjoy safety and comfort for the rest of her childhood.

At Storm's End, Falyse enjoyed a peaceful, pleasant upbringing.  She was at times mocked for being overly studious and unwilling to partake in mischief, for having a bastard for a mother, and for her relative poverty, but otherwise, she was largely accepted by her peers.

At age eleven, it was decided that Falyse was old enough to serve as a lady-in-waiting.  Maris Tarth, Lady of Storm's End, thereby took her into her tutelage, for which Falyse remains eternally grateful.  To Falyse, Maris was, and is, the ideal lady.  She was genial and considerate, yet also proud and shrewd, with the wherewithal and force of personality required to regularly rule on her lord husband’s behalf.  With Maris as her role model, grim-faced little Falyse blossomed into the woman she is today: a polite, passive, plaintive young maiden who channels her cunning and vicious determination into carefully calculated conversation and the subtlest of cutting remarks.

Not every exchange was a battle of words and wits, however.  Although she allowed herself to be vulnerable around noone besides her mother and Royce, she did make a few friends during her time at Storm's End.  Conversation with them came easily and without consequence.

At age four and ten, Falyse bid farewell to Royce and many of the other men she knew, as foreign invaders once again stormed the shores of Westeros.  She remained in Storm’s End for the duration of the War of the Last Dragon, continuing to serve Lady Maris.  During this time, she was joined by Jocelyn Lonmouth, who became a fast friend.

When Royce returned at the end of the war, he was a knight, and he was not alone.  He was accompanied by a Myrish girl named Naemyra, one year younger than Falyse.  She had come to Westeros as a healer, but during a frantic retreat, her purported allies abandoned her to the enemy.  The Westerosi soldiers who found her attempted to rape her, but Royce intervened.  He gave them an ultimatum: allow Naemyra to tend to their wounds, or receive fresh ones from him.  They begrudgingly complied and Naemyra travelled with Royce for the remainder of the war.

With peace restored to the realm, Falyse, then a woman grown, saw fit to finally claim her birthright.  Accompanied by her sworn knight, Ser Royce, her new handmaiden and personal herbalist, Maenyra, and her mother, Angelica, she returned to Brownstone and relieved her grandmother, Seryse Penrose, of her duties as regent.  The task ahead was sure to be arduous, but Falyse was as determined as ever.  It was her duty, and her destiny, to revive her homeland.

In 382 AC, Falyse discovered that her mother and Ser Royce were having an affair. She granted Ser Royce a small piece of land and named him Ser Royce Fairhart, Knight of Fairbank. She then compelled the two to marry.

## Recent Events

**383 AC, 1st moon:** Falyse travels by sea to Tarth, visiting House Tarth en route to King's Landing. She is accompanied by Ser Royce, her mother, and Naemyra.

## Timeline

**364 AC:** Falyse Tudbury is born to Lord Gawen Tudbury and Lady Angelica Storm.  She has her father’s tortoiseshell eyes and her mother’s raven black hair.

**366 AC:** Frustrated with his income working for his cousins, the Tudburies of Weeping Town, Lord Gawen Tudbury turns to gambling.  His wife does not approve.  He sends her back to Brownstone.  He keeps Falyse with him.

**372 AC:** A debt collector, Royce of Weeping Town, confronts Gawen.  A tussle ensues.  Gawen dies.  Falyse witnesses the murder and attempts to avenge her father.  Royce disarms the girl easily, but does not kill her.  Repentant, Royce kneels before Falyse and offers her his life.  She takes his offer and names him her sworn protector.  A few moons later, Falyse is reunited with her mother.  Together, they travel to Storm’s End, where they are welcomed and hosted by Angelica’s Baratheon kinsmen.

**375 AC:** Lady Falyse Tudbury becomes a lady-in-waiting to Lady Maris Baratheon nee Tarth.  They get along well.  Falyse admires her greatly.

**381 AC:** Following the conclusion of the War of the Last Dragon, Lady Falyse Tudbury returns home to Brownstone.  There is much to be rebuilt.

**382 AC:** Lady Falyse grants her sworn protector, Ser Royce, a small piece of land and names him Ser Royce Fairhart, Knight of Fairbank. She compels him to wed her mother.