Loras Hightower

Voice of Oldtown

Defender of the Citadel

Beacon of the South

Loras Hightower, commonly called ‘Loras Goldheart’, is the current Lord of the Hightower and the Port, Voice of Oldtown, Defender of the Citadel, and Beacon of the South. He became the head of House Hightower at just 2 years old and groomed meticulously for rule. He is famous for his ability to govern despite his young age. Loras is famously attractive but has suspiciously never been seen romantically with a woman. He is the eldest son of Lord Lucas Hightower and Lady Cassandra Baratheon.

## Appearance and Personality

When Loras is brought up in conversation, his good looks are commonly mentioned early on. He is an amalgamation of noble features that combine to a visage that is pleasing and enticing in its coldness. He keeps his face and sharp jaw youthfully shaved. He keeps his dark Baratheon hair cut short and quaffed atop his head. He has smooth pink lips that he uses as part of nonverbal communication and noticeable eyes of blueish grey, themselves an expression of his lineage. Strong are the stormy features of the Baratheons in much of his appearance and coloration though his lithe, athletic build favors the Hightowers.

Loras wears a youthful face that rarely looks pleased though those that know him acknowledge that he is actually quite friendly despite this. He is quiet and calculating much like his father, but has a warmth to him that makes people speaking to him feel comfortable and heard. He uses his alluring looks and personality to convince people to open up to him all while typically remaining rather silent. Those that know him remark that the aura of warmth and understanding that the young Hightower exudes brings out deep secrets from people all with little speaking from Loras.

When he does speak, the young lord is described as having a silvery and somewhat smoky voice. He is pleasant to listen to, his voice being another source of allure for those around him. He speaks as someone well educated and with a lovely Reach accent.

Despite his appearance and allure, Loras is never seen romantically engaged with women, much the opposite of his brother. At the parties he loves to throw, he usually sits atop the dais, wine in hand with crossed legs observing and smiling lightly at what he sees. He typically lets company seek him out, seeming to take particular pleasure in the many handsome men that join him for hushed conversations and light, subtle exchanges both visual and physical.

Thanks to the upbringing of his bastion of a mother, Loras is an extremely disciplined and meticulous person. Everything he does appears choreographed, every movement deliberate as if planned months before and rehearsed for hours on end. He greatly enjoys governing his holdings and is rarely happier than when he is locked in his solar atop the Hightower looking out over his city and ensuring that it properly functions. He wears quills down faster than most, near constantly writing something be it correspondence, movement orders, or scheduling for the port.

Loras has a refined and curated taste. His wealth allows for significant indulgence though he is careful to avoid overindulging, which he sees as gluttonous. He loves sweet red wines with a light alcohol content, preferring to keep his senses so as not to lose control or ability to act should the need arise. He is also fond of plays and routinely invites acting troupes the world over to perform at his parties. He is also a regular attendee at the shows held for the smallfolk in Oldtown where he sits among the people though always within sight of his guard detail. He typically covers the cost of attendance for all at the show he is seeing. Loras has a small group of close friends that he keeps near him much of the time. They are a mix of men and women from the noble families of the Reach and Stormlands, as well as members of well to do families in Oldtown, true to Loras’ egalitarian nature.

Loras has a famous love of art and an attraction to all things new. As such, he has invested heavily in artisans and artisans that are working to enrich the look of the Hightower and Oldtown itself. He gives generously to the Citadel to ensure that their research is well funded and regularly hosts symposium in the Hightower where the greatest minds in the realm may gather to debate and exchange ideas. He has an impressive collection of paintings and sculptures as well that he keeps in the halls and galleries of the Hightower. Some of his most recent projects have been to bring artists into the Hightower to carve ornate moldings into the white stone and paint frescos throughout the Tower, specifically in the reception and great halls. Together, the works of art painted on the expansive walls of the reception hall and great hall tell the history of the Hightowers and the Reach from the Dawn of Days to the Crowning of Aegon the Conqueror.

He dresses richly in true Reachman fashion. He wears fine silken tunics with inlaid cloth of gold; he prefers greys, blacks, and blues that pop with gold and accentuate his skin, eyes, and lips. In colder years, he will wear a light, brown wolf skin cloak over his shoulders.

## History

### Birth and Early Life

Loras was born in 104 AC to Lady Cassandra Baratheon and Lord Lucas Hightower. His birth cleared up some uncertainty about the succession at the Hightower as he replaced Lord Lucas’ brother, Leo, in the line of succession. Leo had little desire for the post and was pleased to be able to continue his lackadaisical, indulgent lifestyle.

The first few months of Loras’ life were dominated by the fallout of the war between the Stormlands and Dorne. The Hightowers, as part of the marriage agreement, sailed their ships to Dorne to supplement those of the Baratheons. Additionally, 4,500 Hightower soldiers were brought to Dorne to fight alongside the Stormlanders. When the war ended, the Hightower-Baratheon alliance was sealed by marriage at Storm’s End and the new family made for Oldtown. Nine moons after their union, Cassandra Baratheon gave birth to the future Lord of the Port.

Lord Lucas was tender with the newborn baby and often held the boy when he cried, breaking with what some would consider traditional parental roles especially among the nobility. He had a livery collar made for the boy just before he was born. That collar, an ornate gold chain inlaid with large red gems with the Tower of House Hightower hanging from its end, remains a regular part of Loras’s more formal attire and one of his most cherished possessions.

A few months after Loras was born, his mother gave birth to his brother Liam. The two shared wetnurses and grew very close from a very young age and remain so to this day. It was clear from a young age that Liam was far different from his brother; Loras was far more timid and quiet than Liam, who strove to be the center of attention at all times. The two often thought of creative ways to annoy their mother. Cassandra, though a strict and at times distant mother, was a good sport about her boy’s harassment and still recounts the stories of the lordling’s escapades to friends.

Tragedy struck the family in 106 AC when Lord Lucas Hightower was killed in a freak accident while surveying some new construction in Oldtown. A worker were carving crenelations on the new building when his scaffolding shook, sending him careening to the ground. In a rare lack of thought for the typically cautious lord, Lucas went to the man’s side to see if he was seriously injured. Just as he knelt beside the man, the crenelation that he was working on broke free. The multi hundred pound rock fell flat atop the two men, killing both instantly. In an instant, Loras Hightower assumed his father’s place. A two year old boy was now one of the most powerful people in all of Westeros.

In the ensuing chaos, Lady Cassandra Baratheon quickly and decisively took control of House Hightower, effectively silencing the voices of those within the family that sought to disinherit the children of Lord Lucas in favor of one of the late lord’s siblings. Cassandra’s early actions made her son’s claims entirely indisputable and saw the lesser branches of House Hightower removed from the ancestral keep, relegated to manses in Oldtown where they are out of sight and mind. Most have died off aside from Lord Leo, who is perfectly content with the drinking and whoring that he endlessly enjoys. Where once had been lesser Hightowers, now came lesser, loyal Reachmen sent to ward or otherwise serve the Hightowers. A few Stormlanders would also be brought in to serve in junior positions, allowing her to keep watch over her new officials while formally honoring them above her countrymen.

### The Young Lord

Immediately after the death of his father, Loras’ education in governance began. Lady Cassandra would bring the child to meetings with advisors despite his lack of understanding simply to make him comfortable in the environment. The young Loras would toddle from lap to lap as the meeting went on, inviting himself to sit on the knee of anyone present. When they were old enough to begin learning, Cassandra sought the best tutors for her children, especially Loras who was set to learning about trade, stewarding, and rulership. The boy took to his studies like a fish to water, thriving in the embrace of books and learning rather than being constantly ogled at by every visitor. He had a natural aptitude for writing and learned his letters and numbers very quickly. Where he excelled in reading and writing, he sorely lacked martial skill. He was not fond of swordplay and greatly disliked the dust and mud knocked up in a scruff. When he was old enough to know he could refuse, he tried it. He was met by his mother, who insisted he spend hours in the yard training. Her insistence did little to make Loras a better fighter but it did help the boy’s body develop into the trimmed athletic frame that he now has. He still makes it a point to engage in some physical activity everyday to avoid developing gout and other ailments.

Lady Cassandra kept the boys at arm’s length at best. She maintained a strict distance from her children in their childhood, hoping to instill in them a sense of self reliance and responsibility for their actions. Unlike most highborn children, Loras and Liam did not have whipping boys to be punished for their misbehavior. The lordlings took the lashings for themselves under the cold, watchful eye of their mother. Lady Cassandra even maintained a physical distance from her boys once they grew past the toddler years. Unlike previous rulers that kept their families in the lord’s apartments at the second to highest floor of the Hightower, Lady Cassandra took the lord’s apartments for herself and relegated the boys to the floor below when they began their education. She imposed strict punishments at attempts to enter the floor without invitation. When she addressed the boys, she did so either standing above them or seated behind a desk while the boys stood, the way a nobleman would address a lowborn messenger. It was in these teachings that Loras learned to respect authority and developed a sensitivity for those that he would one day speak to as lord.

Lady Cassandra faced a series of challenges throughout her regency beginning with a fire in the artisan’s quarter of Oldtown. While the damage was minimal, the economic fallout of the event led to riots. Rather than risk a spread of the violence, the city watch used harsh treatment to put down the potential insurrection. To placate the survivors, Lady Cassandra implemented charitable measures to feed workers that lost jobs and ensure they were dressed. The city watch was supplemented with Hightower troops and guard presence was increased throughout the city to ensure the streets remained silent. Lady Cassandra also lowered the taxes of the craftsmen for seven years to aid in their recovery.

Visits by members of House Tyrell to Oldtown were frequent and the Lords Paramount of the Reach were regular guests of the Hightowers. It was during these visits that Loras developed a friendship with the young Lucien, who he called Luce. The two were alike in many ways and shared  a number of interests. As they developed, both boys realized they were interested in the same sex, Loras, though, greatly favored men and showed no interest in women. The more confident Hightower boy embraced his sexuality far more than the young Tyrell. He found excitement in the subtlety and secrecy involved with loving men. When Loras was just ten and two, he shared a brief kiss with Lucien, his first. Ever since, Loras has had a soft spot for his friend and regularly playfully hints at his desire to be intimate with Lucien, enjoying the way that Luce blushes at his advances. Indeed, this was the beginning of a lifetime of secretive affairs that the alluring and mysterious Lord of the Hightower engages in with various noblemen from throughout the realm.

Around the time of his youthful sexual explorations, Loras was also brought into the rule of his holdings in earnest. Years of learning and observing was finally put to use under the watchful eye of his mother. Her investment had paid off, the boy was a natural leader. He deftly engaged in administration that men decades his senior struggled with. The first major test of the new lord came in 115 AC when the Ironborn launched an attack on ships in the Redwyne Strait under the guise of fighting Cobbler Rebels. The outraged Hightowers offer an ultimatum to the Ironborn: either the goods taken are returned and the Ironborn swear to never attack ships in the strait without express permission from the Hightowers or the Hightowers will rally their own banners along with the Baratheons and Tyrells to launch a full scale assault on the Iron Islands. The Islanders acquiesced to the demands and relations since have been relatively calm. The young Lord Loras was lauded for his awareness of his allies but it was his mother who was key to the success.

It was around this time that Lady Cassandra began removing the distance between herself and her sons, bringing them up to her level both physically and emotionally. She began by having the boys’ rooms relocated to the floor of the lords’ apartments, though she retained the lord’s personal chambers. She also began to share private meals with them in the solar of the lord’s family. This was the first time since they were toddlers that the boys ate with their mother. Additionally, she would share glasses of wine with them to remove the sober facade that she had presented to them for years. For the first time in their lives, she acted as a normal mother at least in private.The Hightowers continue to share a meal together each night unless they are otherwise engaged.

In 117 AC, Loras was challenged yet again by a series of violent riots in Oldtown inspired by the Cobblers. The boy, at just three and two, oversaw much of the reclamation of the city. As befits a boy just beginning to swell with testosterone, he ordered his men to offer no quarter to those that attacked them. After days of fighting, the rebellion was quelled. The ringleaders were publicly executed in the central square by burning. Like had been done in the rebellion in the Riverlands and Westerlands, lay participants were granted leniency. Loras took his mother’s advice and personally attended the funerals of noncombatants and soldiers that had been killed in the rioting and comforted the grieving families. He was seen hugging crying wives and husbands and talking to children that had lost parents. He shared his experience of having lost his own father at such a young age with the children. He ordered increased funding to the city’s orphanages and engaged in extensive charitable spending to feed his people and help them get back on their feet. Tales of his actions and his “heart of gold” following the rebellion spread amongst his people who bestowed upon him the nickname “Loras the Golden Hearted” which gradually shortened over time to the name he wears proudly today, Loras Goldheart. So proud and touched by the name given him, Loras recreated his personal arms to incorporate the Goldheart name by halving the Hightower sigil of the Hightower and placing on the left hand side a field of golden hearts on a black field, black and gold being the colors of his maternal family.

### Lordship

When he was four and ten, Loras Hightower’s regency ended and he was granted complete rule of his lands. He, of course, retained his mother as a principal advisor to assist him in the oversight of his vast holdings. After he was ordained by the septon as lord, the private transfer of rulership began. Lady Cassandra took her son by the arm and walked with him to the highest point in the Hightower, the lord’s private study. Loras had only been brought there for official business and discipline in the past. To him, this was his mother’s room. Lady Cassandra opened the door herself and held it for him before waving her arm to the seat behind the desk. “Take it,” he remembers her saying, “it’s yours.” Loras sat down at the desk, overwhelmed by the emotions of the moment. Standing across the table from him, his mother respectfully addressed him as Lord of Oldtown and the Hightower. Later that day, she ordered her things removed from the lord’s chambers and Loras’ brought to replace them. She now resides in his former room on the floor of the lord’s family’s apartments.

Loras’ first act as Lord Hightower was to continue his younger brother’s education to prepare him to take on the role of Lord Admiral of the newly coined Grey Fleet. Hightower control of the entirety of the Redwyne Strait was uncontested and Loras expanded on the mandate set by his mother to expand their fleet to ensure their primacy remained without contest.

In addition to the expansion of the Fleet, Loras ordered restrictions on services at brothels and taverns be loosened which led to a boom in entertainment spending throughout the city at the cost of angering the faith. The city watch was set to greater patrols to ensure security for patrons as well as to discourage attacks by would be religious enforcers.

House Hightower has prospered under Loras’ rule and the economy of Oldtown has exploded. Loras celebrates their success with lavish parties to which the entirety of the Reach is invited. The Hightower lordlings share a love for expensive parties and tourneys and spare no expense to ensure the events are memorable and unique. Loras also patronizes the arts in Oldtown which has made the city a center for culture and enlightenment in the Reach and Westeros at large. The average citizen has access to their choice of plays each night at the cost of just one copper a person. So deep is his love of art that Loras was quoted as saying “It is the greatest privilege ever given a man to see the beauty that has flowered here.”

## META

### Skills

* CHA: Silver Tongue

* STA: Commerce, Awareness

* EDU: Finances