Eldon Piper

Marla Piper (25)

Forrest Piper (24)

Lord Eldon Piper is the second-born son of Lord Robin Piper and Cyrenna Piper. A brash and arrogant man, he became known throughout the realm for his prowess in combat, even making a name for himself in Myr for a short time. After the death of his father and older brother, Lord Robin Piper and Ser Harwood Piper, he found himself the ruling Lord of Pinkmaiden. He now works to build up his lordship alongside his younger brother, Forrest.

### Appearance and Character

Eldon stands moderately tall and is built of lean muscle due to the vigorous training that he commits himself to. While hints of red can still be seen in his hair, his mother's Toyne blood can be seen as well through his hazel eyes and darker hair color. He often dresses in black tunics as opposed to his house colors as he views wearing one's banner as naive and foolish in times of both peace and war; he would much rather simply be another face in the crowd.

In terms of Eldon's personality, Eldon gradually became known for his boisterous antics from a very young age. His older brother, Harwood, excelled greatly at nearly any task that he was given, and made a habit of displaying his greatness to his siblings. Although their mother would take him aside and scold him mildly, his father did not ever seem to mind it. Because of this, Eldon found that misbehavior was the only manner in which he could receive any sort of attention and found himself in less than ideal situations throughout his upbringing.

### History

Born inside of Pinkmaiden Castle in 69 AC, Eldon was merely the second of seven siblings that his parents would bring into the world. He spent the first ten years of his life being a general annoyance to his siblings, especially Harwood, and attempting to "explore" the exciting world that he would always gaze out at longingly. During a feast held for the realm, he took a particular liking to the Peacock sigil of House Serretts of Silverhill. Running in between the different areas of the feast, Eldon left behind all decorum and found himself laughing and playing with the children of Lord Otho Serrett, especially Daryn and Oscar. Because of this taking place, their father decided it to be the perfect opportunity to push Eldon onto another family. This was only more emphasized by Lord Piper when he heard of the strict nature in which Lord Otho Serrett did pretty much everything.

It was at Silverhill that Eldon was trained in swordsmanship as well as commanding those in times of war, and he find a fierce rival in Daryn Serrett. The heir to Silverhill treated much of his family as Harwood treated the rest of the Pipers. This rivalry pushed Eldon to become more adept at his sparring skills while Daryn became more familiar with the art of warfare. Endless hours of sparring against both Daryn as well as other knights left Eldon with a keen eye for exploiting weaknesses in an enemy's defenses; a tactic that he often utilized in order to introduce any foe to the ground scrambling after being disarmed. That being considered, this rivalry also finally allowed Eldon to feel connected to someone else in the forms of Victaria and Oscar Serrett. Both members of the family in which he served as a ward felt the neglect of love from their father, and became good friends of Eldon on nights where Daryn and Otto were spending their nights with nobility. In a strange way, Eldon became an older brother figure to Oscar. His constant antics attempting to break the sober-faced "winter child" of the ridicule and neglect that he faced by those that shared his same blood.

A few moons before his seventeenth nameday, the solemn maester of House Serrett shuffled into his cramped quarters and handed him a short missive. His brother was to be wed to Selyse Bywater, and a tourney would be held in their honor. Eldon was invited to come and stay back at Pinkmaiden to participate in the tourney in order to assess whether or not he had become the man that Robin wanted him to be. Eldon wished Oscar and Victaria the best wishes and invited them to come. An invitation that Otto would sadly decline on their behalf. At the tourney, he displayed his expertise swordsmanship, much to the dismay and awe of Harwood. For some reason, it took this display for his father and older brother to finally recognize him; recognition that Eldon was not able to wholly accept, but he appreciated it nonetheless.

Coming in second place at his first tourney, his father appointed him a scout commander and knighted him at the feast held after the event. It was also after this event that he first laid eyes on his beloved, Sarra Vance. With one look, his heart was hers to command, and they maintained a mischievous tryst while also courting one another. It was two years later that they would wed, and she would give birth to their first child, Kylar Piper. A mere year later, she would fall ill with Grover Piper. A chill having taken her, she gave birth in constant pain and passed out unconscious throughout her delivery of the sickly boy. It was only after an hour of her not waking back up that the handmaidens realized she had died of exhaustion just after giving birth. Not a week later, he read the missive that told him of his sister, Lynora Piper, had passed away while at Atranta. Two losses that Eldon thought himself not strong enough to take both hit him harder than he could have ever prepared himself for.

Despite his attempts to comfort, Lord Robin was not able to convince the son he had given up all those years ago that things would turn out alright, and this led Eldon to follow a dream that he had always held. A dream of exploration. Through a small missive left to his skilled steward of a brother, Forrest, Eldon rode east to Maidenpool and used a sizable amount of Pinkmaiden's treasury to sail for Myr. A city that had been fabled to him throughout his childhood. There, he bought a small hovel and began to learn his way around the city and sold his sword for whatever noble may have needed protection. Jobs connected to contacts and before he knew it, he found himself working under another man from his home. After three months of protecting petty lords seeking trade deals, he began to lead men under Albar Vance, and quickly worked his way up the ranks; even to the point where his own son, Accalon, became another rival of his. It was also in Myr that he began to learn the technique of weaving daggers into one's combat. Small strikes that could debilitate an enemy if done correctly. His second-in-command became a close friend as well. Qosh hailed from the scummy underbelly of Myr and mainly dispatched those that the various magisters found troublesome. Through months of training, Qosh passed on his main method of killing them quickly, and Eldon seemed to be a natural at utilizing poisons against any who would stand against them in Myr.

On the evening of the eleventh moon in 92 AC, Eldon was leading men under the orders of Albar and Accalon. Eldon, in his haste to dispatch the vagabonds on the outskirts of town, ignored the advice of Accalon and charged directly into the den of vipers thinking them to not be a threat. Despite his prowess, the ambush was more than Qosh as well as any of his other men could take. It seemed that the vagabonds had actually been sellswords in the employ of an opposing magister vying for influence in the region. Rumors of them being simply primarily thieves had simply been the product of his subversion. Once again, Eldon turned his back and decided that facing the lessons of his failures was a burden too weighty for him to ever bear. Having barely escaped with his life and knowing he had failed his commander, he set sail back to King's Landing in the hopes that he might fight respite back home amongst the family that he had forsaken.

Upon landing in the capital, Eldon received the grave news of the King's comments toward the realm and could feel the tension of the Rosegold building. When he arrived home, he was imprisoned by his father in a passionate rage. The family argued for seven days and seven nights while Forrest sent little Kylar and Grover to meet their neglectful father in his cell. It was only after Eldon asked to play outside with his children that Cyrenna convinced Robin to allow Eldon freedom to father his children. But times of peace would not last for long, and Eldon knew he had to protect his family that had forgiven him for so much. During the initial stages of the Rosegold Rebellion, he found himself a sworn sword in the employ of his liege at Riverrun. In the midst of the night, he would stare out and wonder what ever became of the Serretts, knowing fully that he might have to stand against Daryn or even worse...Oscar if they ever marched so far north.

It was only later that he would come to know that it was not the Serretts, but a Lannister that had cut down both his father as well as his older brother in the Battle of Tumbler's Fall; a memory that burned itself into his mind since that very night. Despite the loss and grief, Eldon made his way back to Pinkmaiden and worked alongside his sisters and brother to fortify and defend their home from any Western advance. And soon after, news came that peace had been restored. The deaths of his father and his brother, both men that he had never been able to truly reconnect with, took place simply because of a drunken king's comments. These truths burrowed themselves within his heart, and continue to motivate him to this very day as he leads the remaining members of his family toward more influence, power, wealth, and protection. Still seemingly a stranger to his many siblings, he enjoys spending time with the sisters that he barely spent any precious moments with throughout his upbringing. Ambivalent in most of his actions, Eldon seeks to use his skills both to bring his House more prestige and to bolster the influence of the Riverlands over its enemies.

### Family Tree

http://www.familyecho.com/?p=START&c=smyhm9yyz7&f=165458493399838980