Areo Lashare

Areo Lashare is the Archon of Tyrosh and Captain of the *Vigilant Moon.* He has ruled in Tyrosh for the past four years, and looks to tighten Tyrosh's defences.

## Biography

Areo Lashare was born to Tregar Lashare and his wife, Salyssa Saan, in the three-hundred and forty-third year after what the Westerosi call “Aegon’s Conquest”, while the rains lashed Tyrosh. The day of his birth, it had been raining for five days beforehand, and it rained for three more days thereafter. Areo was near ten days old when he had his first taste of the beautiful Tyroshi sunlight, for it took over a week for the clouds to pass, the rains having left some three days beforehand. Such a storm was unheard of in the city, and while the bards would sing tales of the brutality of the downpour, they all would miss one minute detail; that the babe in the rain would one day rule over all of Tyrosh.

The House of Lashare is old and prestigious, and their lands run far throughout Tyrosh. The family own much of the land of the island upon which Tyrosh is built, and with it a number of fishing villages, towns and a small mine that has consistently produced tin and copper for nearly two centuries. This ore is processed and sold to the blacksmiths and forge-owners of the city for production. Amongst those families with a hand in the slave trade, the Lashares are known for their dramatic dedication to seeking out new populations to exploit*.* Often the head of the house is given a moniker by their subjects; Areo’s father was called ‘Tregar the Turtle’, by account of his rarely being seen without plate and mail, and Areo’s grandfather was named ‘Belicho the Lecher’. Areo has been referred to as ‘The Lion of Lashare’ on account of his ferocity, of his roaring laughter.

The spear, the shield. The brush and the canvas. The song and the dance. Areo’s education was immense, expensive, but befitting the boy whose family groomed him to one day lead a campaign for the Archon’s colours. He was taught all manner of things, from how to sew fishing nets as the paupers did in the villages his family owned to the art of elucidating one’s point under the gaze of the court. The boy was taught to ride a horse and command formations of men, and the boy was taught to dance & sing & host great feasts. Finally, the lad was taught the tongue of the Westerosi, for his father had believed that “it is best to understand your enemy’s tongue”.

It was in his twenty-first year that the Archon of Tyrosh (unknowingly Areo’s predecessor) declared that they would sail for the liberation of the Stepstones, and it was the young son of House Lashare that commanded a warship known as the *Vailant Moon*. The Valiant Moon led the assault on both Felstrong and Highwatch, her captain personally leading the rush on Highwatch’s solitary tower. Throughout the entire climb, the pirates rained arrows upon the oncoming Tyroshi, but through Areo’s disciplined marshalling of his troops and their shields, they made it to the flimsy gates with minor losses and began to sack the fort.

While two captains nearly forced Tyrosh into war (one of them being Areo’s brother Malenhor), the heroic actions of Areo had earned him great respect throughout the ancient city. It was easy for his advisors to snowball this newfound fame into a winning campaign, when the Archon passed of a fever some seven years later; within the moon Areo had been lauded with the Archon’s colours and robe. Tyrosh had a new leader, one who had lead them to victory in the past, one who they could look up to as their representative and *champion*.

Areo’s policies were nothing if not indicative of the time in which he grew up; harshening taxation on goods with Westeros (accidentally causing a lot of trade to head north through Pentos and Myr), rearming the people of Tyrosh and drilling the army beyond their usual means (though Tyrosh suffers a lack of manpower), and establishing new, important trade deals with Volantis and Lys. Tyrosh stands on the edge of the knife; while united behind their Archon, the people of Tyrosh face persecution at the hands of the Iron Throne, Pentos and Myr.

Only their Captain, their Archon, will guide them to greatness.