Denys Mallister

**Lord Denys Mallister** is the lord of Seagard.

Lymond Mallister

Patrek Mallister

Catelyn Mallister

Desmond Mallister

Baldric Rivers

## Appearance and Character

Fierce grey-blue eyes that are as stormy as the sea.

## History

Born the eldest son of Petyr Mallister and Sabitha Vypren in the 51st year since Aegon Targaryen’s conquest of the Seven Kingdoms, Denys Mallister’s path in life stood clear as day to everyone present at his grandsire’s court. The heir to Seagard was groomed for lordship from the day he could walk and talk.

A negligent father with a reputation for tall tales and excessive feasting already by the time of Denys’s birth, Petyr rarely remained at Seagard for more than a month, instead traveling the realm in his unending pursuit of companionship and camaraderie, taking a new wife mere years after the death of Wylla. In his place was his own father, the benevolent Lord Dontos - who had assumed lordship during the reign of Aegon the Conqueror - and Petyr’s younger brother, Ser Kennet Mallister, a dutiful man that was more of a father to Petyr’s children than Petyr himself. Together, uncle and grandsire helped tutor the young Denys, bringing him along for court hearings, sparring together in the courtyard, and hunting in the Mallister woods along the Cape of Eagles during the day, whilst sharing tales of past heroes and warriors of House Mallister in the evenings.

As bellicose and absent that the heir to Seagard had been, some perhaps considered it a small mercy when news reached Seagard of Petyr’s demise during a feast. The cause of death? A fishbone lodged in the knight’s throat, choking him before lord and maester alike, forced to suffer an agonizing and - in the eyes of the Mallisters, anyway - ultimately disgraceful death. Denys was twelve when his father died, and though he did not show it at the time, he grieved the loss of Petyr long and hard, joined by his grandsire and siblings.

Now without father and mother, the fledgling heir thrust himself into his duties of squirehood, turning outwardly stoic whilst his father’s death festered within. The years passed by without much event, and adolescence turned to manhood. Denys was knighted at the age of seven-and-ten in front of a small gathering of friends and family members. It was at this ceremony that Lord Dontos bestowed upon Denys the blade which his father had worn but never truly used, Fate.

Newly knighted, and the proud owner of Valyrian Steel, Denys departed his ancient home, to explore the Riverlands and beyond. For two years he did this, visiting neighbouring lords that had once hosted his late father, and more distant keeps as well, traveling as far as Blackhaven and Tyrosh. During these years, he attended feasts, participated in tourneys and melees, all in a vain attempt to understand what had driven his father to act as he did... to no avail. But the journey was not without a loss, as he returned home with experience and vigour.

From the North, the Dustins had sent one of their own to ward under Denys’s grandsire. Old as the old lord was, it fell upon Denys and uncle Kennet to teach the boy, named Warren, how to wield a sword and dress a horse, to hunt and to fasten armour. The knight without a father had taken a squire-that-was-no-squire into his care, and for some years, that was enough to bring him peace.

In late 72 AC, two years later, Lord Dontos announced his intentions of betrothing Denys to Josella Royce as part of efforts of bringing the Vale and Riverlands together through marriage. It was unexpected news, since many had presumed that Denys would take the daughter of some great river lord as his bride, but the old Lord was adamant on his decision, and half a year later, the two houses joined together as one in an elaborate wedding that saw visitors from all over the Riverlands, and then a few from further lands still.

Almost a year later, in early 74 AC, the lady Josella gave birth to a pair of twins, a boy and a girl, but these fortuitous news would not last. The boy, Jon, died a mere fortnight later, whilst his sister, Joanna, remained sickly for years afterwards before seemingly growing strong in her teens. Josella threatened to join their fallen son, but by the graces of the gods and the maester’s touch, she persevered, though not without her scars. The laborious childbirth left her hysterical for months, shifting between fits of apathy and maniacal crying before recovering.

Whilst his wife was battling with her own demons within the confines of Seagard, Denys was battling the ones without. Reavers of the independent Iron Islands were harrying the coasts along the Ironman’s Bay, and trading ships frequently departed Seagard’s port to never again be seen. The ships that did return often spoke of sighting longships in the horizon, sometimes solitary, sometimes enmass. Men would be sent out, only to find the iron scourge gone with the wind, leaving only grieving widows and dead husbands behind, their daughters and son carried off to the Iron Islands as salt-wives and thralls.

In 77 AC, Josella gave birth yet again, and this time, the ensuing boy survived. Naming him Lymond for Denys’s great grandsire that had rebelled against the Hoare Kings alongside House Tully, Denys vowed to keep his newborn child safe from the terrible fate which seemed to have befallen the male members of the House in recent years.

Staying true to his promise, Denys kept Lymond under close guard, rarely allowing his son to leave his sight for more than a short while, insisting on hiring tutors from far and wide to provide his eventual heir with a proper education without risking giving him up to the Ironborn or whims of the gods. The rare instances that they left Seagard, it was with the company of warriors and knights, even for journeys within Mallister lands. Denys was visiting his mother’s family at Goldsnest with his eldest children when news arrived from Seagard notifying him of his father’s passing.

Old and frail, the man had collapsed during dinner, only to die mere hours later. Denys was now Lord of Seagard, and his beloved son could no longer stay home if he wished to bring the River Lords closer to the Mallisters. Sending Lymond away to squire among the Tullys, Denys’s focus turned towards the Ironborn in their entirety. The reavers who had attacked innocent smallfolk were still at large, and his every attempt at stopping them had thus far failed. Proud as Mallisters often were, these strings of defeats gnawed at the new lord’s mind for years, prompting him to ride out to villages and hamlets alongside his men and Piper squire, only to arrive too late, at best watching as the longships disappeared into the sea.

While Denys was experiencing perceived defeat after defeat on the field, he would frequently return home to face a different sort of defeat - that of family. Lord Dontos had long been the stabilizing factor of the Mallister clan, ruling as its patriarch for over six decades before dying, and with his passing, relations had begun to sour. Denys had always been on strained terms with his bastard brother, Baldric, whose shameful origins and improper behaviour lent itself towards frequent conflict. In his absence, Baldric had taken up many of the duties of ruling Seagard, even when it was their brother Perwyn who had been named castellan. Despite this, Perwyn saw little issue with Baldric’s interventions, leaving Denys to deal with the matter when he returned.

If his quarrels with Baldric had been the sole blight in Denys’s life, he might not have soured and become the cynical man he was today, but alas, the gods rarely blessed him with good fortune. His sister, Alicent, had been wed off to the Lord of Stone Hedge, and his daughter Joanna was soon, too, lost to him when she wed Lucas Tully. The man who spent most of his time trying to protect his family and ancestral home too often came home to find said family gone, squiring or marrying in the keeps of others. The quarrels became more violent, and the patrols more frequent as Denys sought to escape the keep which he ruled, and it was perhaps thanks to this that he finally found what he had spent the better part of a decade hunting for.

A fisherman, on the road to Seagard with dire news, encountered Lord Denys and his men. The sails of Greyjoy were sighted in the horizon, headed for the man’s village, and they were ill equipped to face them. This was the first encounter in years that the Mallister men had news of an ironborn attack before it had transpired.

Wasting no time, the Mallister forces made for the village with haste, and they arrived just in time to flank the Ironborn reavers. The ensuing battle was bloody beyond belief. The initial wave of knights charging into the scattered masses of ironmen killed many, but the reavers were quick to mobilize and strike back, using the homes of rivermen as cover to defend themselves against cavalry. Denys fought at the fray, Fate in hand as he cut down the men who had harassed his people for years. The gods rarely blessed him, but this was their greatest yet. In the midst of the chaotic battlefield, the Lord Mallister chanced upon Lord Veron Greyjoy, and their blades clashed together. Denys was durable and experienced, but the younger Veron was ferocious and strong, and their combat lasted an eternity in Denys’s mind before the surrounding battle broke them apart.

Despite his attempts to find the Greyjoy and end his menace once and for all, the Ironborn retreated back to their ships minutes later, carrying of with whatever loot and women they could find, but also their wounded. Denys’s men cherished the day as a victory, for Greyjoy ceased to touch Mallister coastland after that day, targeting ships since, but the Lord of Seagard considered the battle just another defeat. The day was won, but too many had died that day, and all the ones before.

Thus Lord Mallister’s vigil continued, remaining at Seagard even when the Rosegold Rebellion occurred. Fearing that the Isles would capitalize upon the weakness of the Riverlands, he sent the Crown a token force instead, keeping most of his men in Mallister lands, keeping watch for Ironborn and Westermen thinking to ambush the Riverlands from the coasts.

In the years since, Denys has kept to himself, rarely leaving his post so that he might stand ready to defend his people, a shadow of his former self.

## Family

Lord **Denys Mallister**, b. 51 AC, 10th Moon

m. Lady Josella Royce, b. 47 AC, 7th Moon

* Joanna Mallister, b. 74 AC, 1st Moon, married to Lucas Tully
* Ser Simon Mallister, b. 77 AC, 4th Moon, heir, betrothed to Serena Blackwood

* Patrek Mallister, b. 79 AC, 6th Moon, married to Perianne Darry
	+ Rosamund Darry, b. 97 AC, 3rd Moon

* Catelyn Mallister, b. 80 AC, 6th Moon, married to Lyle Farman

* Desmond Lannister, b. 82 AC, 8th Moon

Ser Perwyn Mallister, b. 54 AC, 9th Moon, wed to Tyanna Wayn

* Ser Armond Mallister, b. 78 AC, 4th Moon, married to Mira Glover
	+ Minisa Mallister

* Danelle Mallister, b. 80 AC, 11th Moon, Lady-in-Waiting to Lady Agnes Tully

* Henrietta Mallister, b. 81 AC, 12th Moon, married to Davos Dondarrion.

Lady Mother Alicent Mallister, b. 63 AC, 2nd Moon, widow of Lord Benedict Bracken

Ser Baldric Rivers, b. 61 AC, 4th Moon, exiled

## Household Members/NPCs

**Court of Seagard**

* Castellan: Perwyn Mallister
* Steward: Quenton Terrick
* Captain of the Guard: Ser Robert Strydar
* Master-at-Arms: Ser Walton Rivers
* Maester: Ottyn
* Septon: Cedrik
* Stablemaster: Pate the Horseman
* Kennelmaster: Bryn
* Blacksmith: Haldor
* Chief Gaoler: Erryk
* Court fool: Tattletale

**Town of Seagard**

* Warden of the Booming Tower: Ben Boomer
* Captain of the Town watch: Orson Bigglestone
* Master of the Port: Portly Pate