House Arryn

**House Arryn of the Eyrie** 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, but they have many other holdings, including 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 against a white moon on a sky-blue field, and their words are *As High as Honor.* Usually marrying other Andal nobles, House Arryn has the oldest and purest line of Andal nobility. The Arryn kings proudly traced their lineage to Andalos, with some claiming descent from Hugor of the Hill.

## History

Please see the official wiki page for more details.

### **The Fall of the Stag**

Lord Jon Arryn was one of the first to raise his banners in support of the rebels. He had fostered the would-be Usurper and Lord Eddard Stark while they were young. Despite the Lord’s advanced age, being six-and-sixty at the outset of the ill-fated rebellion, he was swayed by his own greed and arrogance, accepting promises of offices and power in return for raising the first of the rebel’s troops. One of the first battles of the war took place between the loyalist forces of House Grafton, as they valiantly held the defence of Gulltown against the onslaught of House Arryn’s men, ultimately succumbing to sheer force of numbers, and gaining the rebels one of their only significant victories in the war.

Lord Arryn continued to command his forces south, joining with the forces of the other traitors, Lords Hoster Tully, Eddard Stark, and the Usurper himself, Robert Baratheon. Their armies gathered on the banks of the Green Fork and began the march south on the Kingsguard, to the fateful battle at the Hartford. During the battle, the Usurper fell before the blade of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, and his forces scattered north into the Riverlands, hoping to retreat and regroup. Though many of his Bannermen petitioned for a peaceful resolution and a return home, Lord Arryn instead remained adamant that he must remain loyal to the rebels, and joined the remaining leaders in Fairmarket, where they were placed under siege by Ser Barristan Selmy of the Kingsguard. Threatened by the presence of the Ironborn to the west in Riverrun and Seagard, and the approaching Royalists from the south, Fairmarket became the last standpoint for the rebel forces. It was Lord Arryn who began fortifications of the town, though ultimately they served to extend the siege for only a matter of days.

Ser Denys Arryn, a nephew of Lord Jon’s, had been captured during the Battle of the Bells, left for dead by his kinsmen; he no longer held any love for his traitorous liege, and offered a compromise, his life for Jon Arryn’s. Under cover of night Ser Denys was moved to Fairmarket and infiltrated the Arryn camps. He was able to convince Lord Jon to abandon the rebel’s cause and escape the town in disguise. Rather than lead Lord Jon to the Eyrie, he was lead into a waiting ambush set by loyal Targaryen soldiers. Jon Arryn was arrested on the spot, and Ser Denys was given the leniency of a life serving the realm at the Wall.

Jon Arryn was tried for treason on the steps of the Great Sept of Bealor, along with his co-conspirators, Lords Tully and Stark. Before both gods and men was Jon Arryn brought to justice, though it was not by the headsman’s axe that such justice was brought, but by the gods themselves, as Jon Arryn collapsed and died before the gathered crowd.

### **Reign of Lord Oswin Arryn**

Ser Denys Arryn’s son, Oswin Arryn was betrothed to Lady Marsa Grafton for her father’s loyalty during the rebellion. Following the massive losses of members of House Arryn of Gulltown during Robert's Uprising, the Graftons were also gifted with a large portion of their holdings, resulting in a majority ownership of Gulltown. Though he was given the position at the age of fifteen, he was deemed unready to rule. For the first two years of his rule, a council of Vale Lords was decided upon to rule in his stead. Lords Royce, Waynwood and Belmore were appointed, though refused the role; as such, Lord Grafton’s younger brother, Warryn, took up the mantle of Lord Steward of the Vale, and performed his duty admirably until Lord Arryn’s 19th nameday, after the boy was deemed fit to rule.

Lord Oswin’s rule was a prosperous one, as he proved himself a loyal vassal, unlike his predecessor. Despite the peace and prosperity that Lord Oswin attempted to bring to the Vale, his time as Lord Paramount was marred by both the Rebellion of the Sisters and an uprising of the Mountain Clans that culminated in the Burning of the Bloody Gate.

### **A Sisterly Dispute**

In the year 301, tensions flared between Lord Oswin Arryn and Lord Triston Sunderland of The Three Sisters. Though reports of the time are inconsistent, it seemed that Lord Triston refused to oust a band of raiders that had taken shelter on his isles, despite the fact that they had just sailed from raiding along the Coldwater river, taking many prizes and causing great damage to the lands and innocents that made their home nearby. Lord Triston saw the request as a slight, and left the Eyrie in a storm. Lord Oswin made it clear that no banditry would be tolerated in his lands, and began posting high bounties for not only the raiders, but some of Lord Sunderland’s less reputable friends and allies as well, declaring them no better than pirates.

Lord Sunderland was a proud man, and refused to take such measures sitting down, he instead opened his harbours to any and all traders, legitimate or not, and closed off all contact with the Eyrie. This series of escalations carried on for over seven months, with Lord Arryn posting higher bounties, and Lord Sunderland going as far as to offer protection with his own ships to pirates and smugglers alike. Eventually the clash came to a head when Lord Arryn’s second son, Matthos, was killed in a battle with pirates. Lord Arryn flew into a rage and called for vengeance against Lord Sunderland, who denied his men had anything to do with the battle. Though it cannot be sure that Lord Sunderland’s men were involved, given the climate at the time it could easily be guessed that there were indeed Sistermen present, though to what extent they would participate in such a battle against House Arryn is open to speculation.

Lord Sunderland continued to protest his innocence. When called to court to answer for his crimes, the Lord responded by raising his banners and fleets and declaring an intention to go back to the days of Petty Kings on the Three Sisters. Intent that he could finish this rebellion himself, Lord Arryn refused help from young Lord Robb Stark, and wrote to his bannermen, who quickly rallied to defend their fallen friend on the northern shore of the Vale, where the Sistermen would be. The fighting was bloody and hard fought, but justice eventually prevailed, and Lord Sunderland answered for his crimes.

### **The Burned Gate**

The mountain clans in the Vale had been slowly and quietly rallying support and gaining in strength. While the people were usually scattered into smaller tribes and clans, not dissimilar to the wildlings found North of the Wall, they had found a common ground following a man who claimed to be the son of a falcon. According to the man, known by his followers as Benjicot the Burned, his mother was the daughter of Lady Alys Arryn, who had been carried off by Burned Men some years before. Whether his claim was legitimate or not is up for debate, what is more certain is how effective it was in garnering support. While Lord Oswin was busy fighting off the Sistermen, Benjicot lead his followers to the Bloody Gate; according to survivors of the battle, he claimed that it was an oppression of the people’s right to move freely, and lead his people in an assault  on the gate. Though initially confident, the defenders were quickly overrun by the sheer number of attackers. True to their name, the Burning Men set the bloody gate ablaze, with both watchtowers turned to tinder, and the stone left charred and scorched. Before the gate was overrun The Knight of the Gate, Ser Lyn Corbray, reportedly sent hundreds of ravens forth from the gate, though few escaped the blazing inferno that engulfed the towers.

Upon hearing of this attack, Lord Arryn quickly marched his armies south to reinforce the Gate and relieve the wounded of their post. While he and the majority of his army rested at the mountain pass. His eldest son, Ser Hugh Arryn, took a party of 20 men and stumbled upon Benjicot and a party similarly sized. Ser Hugh and Benjicot immediately engaged one another in single combat, neither man would escape the fight, Ser Hugh falling to the monstrous blows of the clansman, while Benjicot was dispensed with by Ser Hugh’s squire, who was later knighted for his brave actions.

Broken by the loss of both his eldest sons in such a short time, Lord Oswin Arryn retreated to the Eyrie and lived the rest of his reign as a recluse.

## Family Tree

* Lord Jon Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie,
* His sister, Lady Alys Arryn = Lord Elys Waynwood
	+ Their daughter = Ser Denys Arryn
		- Oswic Arryn, Lord of the Vale. (b. 283 AC-d. 364 AC) = Lady Marsa Grafton, Lady of the Vale. (b. 304 AC-d. 354 AC)
			* Waltyr Arryn, Lord of the Vale. (b. 334 AC-d. 369 AC)
			* Clayton Arryn, Lord of the Vale (b. 337 AC- present) = Lady Gwyn Corbray, Lady of the Vale (b. 339 AC- present)
				+ Arthur Arryn, Heir to the Vale (b. 356 AC- present) = Lady Elinor Hightower (b.357 AC - preasent)
				+ Rose Arryn, Scion of House Arryn (b. 356 AC- present)
				+ Alayne Arryn, Scion of House Arryn (b. 358 AC- present)
				+ Lucas Arryn, Scion of House Arryn (b. 361 AC- present)