Illan Irnys

Illan Irnys was a Tyroshi merchant and nobleman most famous for his membership to the organisation remembered infamously as the Band of Nine.

## History

The Irnys family has called Tyrosh its home for centuries, prospering off trade of slaves with Volantis and the cities of Slaver’s Bay, as well as fine velvets from the Lorathi. With such wealth, the family had grown broad, all vying for control of the family’s more lucrative assets. Born to the cousin of the main branch of the family, Illan undeniably possessed the ambition that had allowed the Irnyses to prosper, and quickly sought to make a name for himself. Things did not play out exactly as the Tyroshi hoped however, for he found himself quickly in competition with members of his own family, all seeking the same renown and respect.

Giving up on his attempts at licit trading, Illan instead turned to criminal activities to further his own interests, although with a level of covertness that allowed him to maintain his place within the family’s manses. Such actions brought Illan, now a young nobleman, into contact with Salazor Saan, who was busy creating a reputation for himself as a prolific and fearsome Pirate-Lord elsewhere in the Stepstones.

An agreement was quickly reached between the pair. Salazor would raid vessels bound for Tyrosh, seizing their cargo and provisions. Through Illan’s networks, the items would then be smuggled into the city, then sold up prices to undercut his competitors, facilitated by the lack of import tax paid on the goods. Illan’s growing wealth was noticed soon enough by those around him, and whilst he had always enjoyed a certain quality of lifestyle, his lavish spending was notably disproportionate to that of a lesser scion. Illan managed to avoid discussion of the topic for a few moons, but eventually found himself exposed when his sister Serenei ordered a patrol of City Watchmen to tail him one evening.

Caught red-handed overseeing the smuggling of goods from Lys and Volantis, Illan fled the city that evening aboard his recently purchased private vessel, bound for the Disputed Lands. For a time, he resided in the walled town of Achissa, posing as a Myrish merchant whilst all the while continuing to dabble in illicit activities. In 258AA, he was contacted by Salazor Saan once more, who spoke of a meeting taking place in Volantis for those of ambition and vigour, seeking to better themselves in a grand manner. Meeting with the Pirate-Lord, Illan Irnys attended the gathering, and became one of the Nine.

In the months afterwards, Irnys invested much of what remained of his personal wealth into the hiring of sellswords, knowing them would prove necessary for the first stage of their scheme. With aid from the Nightowl of Norvos and Maegon Targaryen, Illan managed to take control of Achissa, and owing to his familiarity with the walled town, was chosen to act as its custodian and ruler. Irnys would rule over it for the best part of a year, the attack on Achissa providing the distraction necessary to allow the Band of Nine to strike at the relatively undefended city of Lys, claiming it for themselves.

When the Lyseni army returned from a campaign in the Stepstones to defend the town of Achissa, Illan Irnys called to his associates for aid, but found his pleas falling on deaf ears. With the Lyseni army locked into a siege, the rest of the Band of Nine found themselves free to continue their expansion through the Disputed Lands, ignoring their once ally. Betrayed and abandoned, Illan Irnys and his sellsword army held out for another half a year before finally breaking. As a measure of good will, the Lyseni general Telyr Ostyris decided to deliver Illan Irnys back to his Tyroshi family for judgement, but the defeated nobleman took his own life with poison before arriving back in his birth-city.