Ferris Fossoway

Rhea Fossoway

Ferris Fossoway is the firstborn son of Lord Titus Fossoway, along with his twin brother Forley. He is the current Lord of Cider Hall. He is seven and ten, born 81 AC.

## **Appearance and Character**

Tall for his age, Ferris looks down on most of his family members. He is slim but muscular, due to his years of Bow practice. He has straight brown hair, reaching his shoulders, unlike his twin Forley whose hair is short and curly. His eyes are small and brown, with sharp eyebrows above them. Like his father, he prefers not to wear lordly outfits. His father always wore armor at court while Ferris prefers wearing a loose leather tunic.

Ferris's personality is more complicated than most think. At first glance, he seems happy and cheerful, but in the inside, he's grim and lonely. His complicated history with his grandfather and brother and the loss of his caring father has made him more dependent on his friends rather than his family.

## **History**

### **Early Life**

Ferris and Forley were born in Cider Hall on 81 AC to Titus Fossoway and Serra Rowan who always cared for them. When they were 5, their sister Jeyne was born, which shifted their parents' attention to her for a while. That left the two of them mostly alone together. The two of them would "fight" with wooden swords which would usually end up with Forley unintentionally beating Ferris bloody. Titus realized Ferris had no skill with a sword so he decided to switch his focus to archery.

#### **Training With Ser Martyn**

It took one raven from the son of Lord Tytos Fossoway for ser Martyn Ambrose, a scion of House Ambrose, to rush to the aid of Ferris. Ser Martyn was a knight and an experienced archer, who became the new Master at Arms of Cider Hall with the convenient passing of the old Master at Arms shortly before ser Martyn arrived. Ser Martyn started teaching young Ferris, who was 7 at the time, how to use a bow. After training for just a week, Ser Martyn quickly realized Ferris' talent with a bow. Their constant training transformed Ferris into an expert with a bow, but it also left Forley alone most of the time, straining his relationship with Ferris even more.

#### **Squiring for Lord Tytos**

Despite the unwillingness of Titus, Lord Tytos Fossoway decided to take young Forley and Ferris as squires at the age of nine. Lord Tytos, a stubborn man, thought that archery was for cowards, so he decided he would teach Ferris how to properly weird a sword. At the beginning, it looked like squiring for lord Tytos would mend the relationship between Ferris and Forley, but it only got worse when Tytos ordered Forley to help teach Ferris use a sword, which again ended up with Forley beating Ferris bloody several times.

### **The Rosegold Rebellion**

When war broke out between The Reach and The Crown, Lord Tytos was forced to join the Tyrells. Tytos gathered his army and got ready to march into battle. He decided to take both his squires, who were two and ten at the time, despite Titus' refusal to send his sons. In the end, Tytos decided to only take Ferris to secure the future of his household, which saddened Ferris because he thought his family saw him as "expendable"

#### **Battle of Blueburn**

When the Stormlanders moved downriver towards Longtable, Lord Fossoway marched towards them to meet them at the Blueburn, with the combined forces of Houses Merryweather and Ashford. Ferris rode behind them all with his bow, shooting at people who he thought was the enemy. His training with Ser Martyn had paid off as he counted more than twenty confirmed kills at the age of only two and ten. But in the end, the battle was lost and they all retreated until reinforcements arrived.

#### **The Slaughter of Bitterbridge**

Lord Tytos and Ferris met the Stormlanders again in Bitterbridge, but this time the Crowns forces were also there. They fought long and hard, and there were many casualties. Ferris was tasked with shooting down people as they were trying to climb down the wall. When King Viserys joined the fight on the second day, the Kingsguard and their squires came with him. That was when Lord Tytos spotted a 15-year-old Targaryen on the battlefield and decided he was an easy target who could earn him a fortune if King Gwayne won the war. What Tytos didn't know was that Daeron wasn't just a 15-year-old Targaryen, but the squire of Lord Commander Aethan Velaryon. Ferris watched as his grandfather charged at Daeron Targaryen. It would be the last time he saw him. Ferris still had nightmares of when Aethan hacked his grandfather's head off with one clean blow.

### **The aftermath of the Rebellion**

When the news of Tytos Fossoways death reached Cider Hall, Titus went mad. Fearing for his sons' life, he left Cider Hall at once and rushed to Bitterbridge. For his relief, Ferris was alive but traumatized. After the battle, he didn't talk to anyone for more than a year. When Forley left Cider Hall to squire for Lord Osgrey, Ferris stayed in Cider Hall to squire for his father. The death of Lord Tytos soon reached the unwanted heir, Eustace Fossoway, who was in Essos at the time. The people hated Eustace as he was known for drinking, whoring and even raping. Rumors from Essos were that his children weren't even legitimate but Eustace claimed they were and his wife died in childbirth. Myles Fossoway, Tytos' brother and the Castellan of Cider Hall urged Titus to become the acting Lord of Cider Hall until Eustace arrived. When Titus agreed, the folk cheered him and chanted his name as Lord of Cider Hall.

Titus, now the Lord of Cider Hall, still couldn't get his son to speak. Many tried, but the trauma Ferris had was too much for a kid of three and ten. But one person stood out. Addam the Apple was different. He was a lowborn apple farmer at the age of three and twenty. Nobody thought he had any skills to make Ferris talk., but he proved them all wrong. Ferris noticed that he was the only person so far that was actually trying to get Ferris to talk and not try and earn a reward from Titus. Most people tried two or three times and gave up, but Addam didn't. He visited Ferris every day and talked and sang with him. Eventually, he became good friends with Ferris, and Ferris felt happier around him. The happiness he had slowly beat the trauma and soon, he started to talk again, but there was still a grimness in him.

#### **The Unwanted Heir**

When Eustace arrived in Cider Hall, he was welcomed cold and poorly. None of his family came to the gates to greet him, Luthor Fossoway, the Captain of Guards almost didn't let him in the castle, he was even booed by the folk. When Eustace came face to face with Titus to claim his seat, to his shock Titus refused. This angered Eustace as he was the rightful heir, but Titus didn't give up the seat. Most of his family and the people were behind Titus and they cheered his name when he made the decision. Titus claimed Eustace was not fit for ruling, as he wasn't even in Cider Hall most of his life. He even pointed out that his heirs weren't even confirmed to be legitimate. This deeply angered Eustace, causing him to storm out the castle with his uncle Jon Fossoway and his two bastards, and 1/4 of the Fossoway army who supported him rather than Titus.

#### **The Fruit Trade**

After Tytos died, the apple trade of the Fossoways started to fail. Titus was always good at fighting, but he had no experience in economics. Myles tried his best to keep the trade alive but he was almost failing. Ferris realized this and decided to lend out a helping hand. At the age of four and ten, with his good friend Addam, he traveled around the reach meeting new buyers and securing trade deals. During his journey, he met many lords and ladies, made lots of new friends, and also learned a great deal from merchants about making lots of profit.

### **The Fall of Titus**

#### **The Rotting Apple**

In 96AC, Lord Titus Fossoway fell sick. Maester Geor claimed he never saw any sickness like that. Maesters and healers came to Cider Hall from all around the Reach but none could cure him. Some believed it was Dragonblight, while some believed it was poison from Eustace, but whatever it was, Titus was slowly rotting in his bed. As Titus got worse and worse, Ferris became more depressed. Almost a year later since he got sick, Lord Titus Fossoway died in his bed in 97 AC.

#### **The Funeral**

The Funeral was a complete disaster. Jon Fossoway arrived a day before, and Lady Megga and a dozen of Yew men arrived shortly after, but Jon being a drunk, beat some of those men saying they were "Golden Dogs". It took almost 7 men to put Jon down and kick him out of Cider Hall. After the funeral, it was time for Myles to read the will, and Ferris was shocked. Titus had decided his heir would be Ferris and not Forley. Forley was furious, and with a sudden fit of rage, he tried to attack Ferris, but the guards intervened. Forley then killed one of the guards and wounded 2 more, then hopped on his horse and ran away, never to be seen again.

## **Recent Events**

Since Ferris' took the seat of Cider Hall, the castle was mostly peaceful. No incidents have happened, the economy of the castle was never better, and the castle folk was happy. Even though Ferris was rarely seen in public, the people were satisfied with him. It looked like Ferris would have a peaceful time as a Lord.

## **Household**

Castellan - Ser Myles Fossoway

Master-at-arms - Ser Martyn Ambrose

Maester - Maester Geor

Captain of Guards - Luthor Fossoway

Steward - Dudley Snow