House Arryn

**House Arryn**, is one of the Great Houses of Westeros, and is the principal noble house in The Vale of Arryn. Their main seat is The Eyrie, which is considered impregnable. House Arryn has at least one other holding, their winter castle at the Gates of the Moon, which was once their main seat. Both of these fortifications sit astride the Giant's Lance, the tallest mountain in The Vale, the Gates of the Moon at its foot, The Eyrie at its top. The Arryn sigil is a sky-blue falcon soaring upwards, outlined against a white moon on a sky-blue field, and their words are "*As High as Honor*".

## **History:**

### **Kings of Mountain and Vale:**

The Arryns are considered to come from the oldest and purest line of Andal nobility, which they say reaches back to Andalos and possibly Hugor of the Hill.

When King Robar II Royce began to unite the First Men and defeat some of the petty Andal kings during the Andal invasion, the Andals of The Vale united behind Ser Artys Arryn, the Falcon Knight, a native Valeman esteemed amongst his peers as the finest warrior of his day. Robar was slain in the Battle of the Seven Stars, possibly by Artys, and the First Men houses who remained bent the knee and swore fealty to Artys Arryn, the First of His Name, new-crowned King of Mountain and Vale. From that day, the Vale became known as the Vale of Arryn. Songs of the Vale conflate Artys with the legendary Winged Knight, who is said to have slain the Griffin King atop the Giant's Lance. The First Men who did not accept Artys as their king were forced into the Mountains of the Moon, becoming the Vale mountain clans.

The Arryns initially lived at the Gates of the Moon, but over generations they constructed The Eyrie. They often used The Eyrie as a summer pleasure palace, descending to the Gates of the Moon before winter made The Eyrie inaccessible.

The Arryn kings added Pebble, the Paps, and the Witch Isle to their realm. They battled with the Stark Kings of Winter over the Three Sisters in the War Across the Water, which featured King Osgood Arryn and his son and successor, Oswin the Talon, who burned the Wolf's Den. There were bloody battles wherein the Arryn fleet turned back slavers from Volantis, ironborn reavers, and pirates from the Stepstones and the Basilisk Isles. The legendary Lady Alyssa Arryn gave her name to Alyssa's Tears, a waterfall on the Giant's Lance, when she did not shed a tear for her murdered husband, brothers and children.

### **Aegon's Conquest:**

During Aegon's Conquest the Arryn and Targaryen fleets fought in a battle in the waters off Gulltown, which resulted in the destruction of the Targaryen fleet and the death of its commanding officer, Daemon Velaryon. Visenya Targaryen, on her dragon Vhagar, burned the Arryn fleet in response. Since both fleets were destroyed, the battle was considered a tactical draw, but a strategic defeat for the Targaryens as they were unable to take Gulltown. For House Arryn the trouble did not end there, since the Sistermen on the Three Sisters revolted after the destruction of the Arryn fleet.

Later in Aegon's Conquest, Visenya was charged with subduing the Vale. Sharra Arryn, Queen Regent of the Vale, ruling in the name of her son, the boy-king Ronnel Arryn, amassed the Vale's army at The Bloody Gate. Visenya, however, flew on Vhagar to the courtyard of The Eyrie to obtain the surrender of The Vale of Arryn. When Sharra returned to The Eyrie she found her son sitting on Visenya's lap asking if he could ride the dragon with her. Once Sharra yielded and bent the knee, Ronnel twice flew with Visenya and Vhagar. The Arryns have since remained Defenders of The Vale and Wardens of the East for The Iron Throne.

## **Family:**

* Lord Jon Arryn, Lord of The Eyrie, Defender of The Vale, Warden of the East.
	+ Lady {Jeyne Royce}, Jon's first wife. She died in childbed.
	+ Lady {Rowena Arryn}, Jon's second wife and his cousin. She died of a winter chill, childless.
	+ Lady Lysa Arryn, from House Tully, the mother of his child, Jon's third wife.
		- Robert Arryn, Jon's only child, also called *"Sweet robin"*, his heir. He is a sickly boy, many doubting if he will live long enough to become Lord of The Vale.

* Ser {Ronnel Arryn}, Jon's brother. Former keeper of the Gates of the Moon. He died of a bad belly.
	+ Ser {Elbert Arryn}, Ronnel's son. He was killed on the orders of King Aerys II Targaryen. Heir to The Vale at the time of his death.

* {Alys Arryn}, Jon's sister. Married Ser {Elys Waynwood}. Together they had eight daughters and one son.
	+ Ser {Elys Waynwood}. Married {Alys Arryn}, Together they had eight daughters and one son.
		- Ser Harold Hardyng, often called Harry the Heir and sometimes the Young Falcon, the grandson of Alys Arryn. He is the heir presumptive of Robert Arryn and would ascend to rule of the Vale as "Harrold Arryn" should Jon Arryn and Robert Arryn die without issue.

* Ser Denys Arryn, known as *"the Darling of the Vale"*, married a distant cousin who descended from the main Arryn branch.