Balon Celtigar

Merianne Celtigar

Colmar Celtigar

**Balon Celtigar** is the Lord of Claw Isle, ruling since his father's passing in 89 AC. Born his father's second son, he was neither destined nor wanted for succession; as a young man he was best known for his debauchery and insolence. At the end of several tragic years, however, Balon emerged as the most capable Celtigar since the three who served on the Small Council.

Well-versed in commerce, swordplay and most of all the sea, Lord Balon has spent the last several years pulling his island out from decades of stagnation. Intent on securing a better future for his heirs, he has resolved to forfeit the failed endeavors of his forefathers and chart a new course for Claw Isle.

## Appearance and Character

Only in recent years has Balon Celtigar lived up to his naturally severe appearance. Light brown hair has dulled, darkened and receded over the last decade and wrinkles have begun to encroach beneath striking green eyes. Despite the inevitable recurrence of stubble along his jaw, he otherwise keeps a tidy appearance, favoring modest but dignified attire. A practiced warrior and seafarer, his lean physique still retains much of its musculature, though this too has begun to fade with age.

As a young man Balon was known for his impulsive propensities toward drinking, whoring, and wandering from port to port in an aimless search for thrills. Though such behaviors are long behind him, he still occasionally leans into his old reputation, believing that first impressions can never be changed. Energetic yet patient, the same idleness that once compelled foolish endeavors now gives way to a tireless schedule of lordly duties.

Despite an occasional propensity for provocative remarks, Balon is ultimately an agreeable man, always ready to share a drink and a conversation with those who would sooner have his head. Much as he enjoys the company of others, however, Lord Celtigar cares little for how he is perceived. Seldom does he boast of his many accomplishments; Balon is content with the more tangible fruits of his labor.

## History

### The Father

Balon's father, Victor - himself the son of a Hand of the King - grew up in the shadow of Lord Edwell's prominence and spent the rest of his years trying in vain to fill his shoes. An ultimately mediocre ruler, Victor became the first Celtigar lord since the Conquest to never receive an appointment to the Small Council. With little to leverage but his house’s unique origins, Lord Victor maintained his family’s stature by emphasizing a diluted bloodline. He gave his children names that evoked old Valyria, and further imposed his pretensions on their education - though only his firstborn son became fluent in High Valyrian. Narrowly set on advancing his house through royal recognition, he would always commit his entire fleet and levy to the crown’s defense, even when the king requested only half.

Despite his mediocrity and pretension, he was well-liked and well-known throughout eastern Westeros. To the high lords of the realm, Victor Celtigar was an easy friend and an entertaining storyteller - but to his sons, his presence was substantially colder. Victor pushed them toward his conception of greatness, intending for them to restore his house’s glory where his own efforts had failed. Only his firstborn, Damon, was receptive to his father’s strict discipline and overbearing expectations; Balon and Corlys grew resentful.

### The Second Son

If Damon Celtigar was everything Lord Victor wanted in a son, Balon was everything he had hoped to avoid. As a small child, he was sickly, timid, and slow to learn - and though Balon proved to be quite the opposite of the aforementioned by his tenth nameday, Victor’s opinion of the boy had long since been cemented. Intent on restoring his line to the glory of its distant Valyrian ancestors, Lord Victor was loathe to have his own child disgrace the family name.

His early adolescence was spent striving to prove his worth; alongside his younger brother Corlys, he tirelessly studied swords, ships and statesmanship. By sixteen, he was more talented in these three fields than his eldest brother - but this was not enough to outshine ‘Damon the Dashing.’ Their respective fates seemed to be precluded by 74 AC, when Damon won the melee at a grand tournament in Lannisport. Balon came to realize that his best efforts would always be in vain, and resigned himself to an aimless and careless lifestyle.

The formerly frail second son quickly gained a reputation for decadence and promiscuity, inadvertently paving the way for his first true position of authority. To keep Balon’s embarrassing antics away from his court, Victor placed him in command of a household trading ship. As a captain, Balon excelled - and during his visits to Gulltown and King’s Landing, he found an array of amusements unknown to his humble island home.

### Cutting Teeth

This fledgling career at sea was briefly interrupted by the Hook Uprising in 78 AC, during which House Celtigar’s forces were deployed to Crackclaw Point. The death of their seniormost knight left Balon little choice but to personally command his house’s men, despite his youth and inexperience. Though he proved capable during subsequent skirmishes, his first proper battle ended with a costly defeat.

In truth, Balon was seldom satisfied by his short-lived affairs and drunken stupors. The birth of his bastard daughter compelled him to reckon with the consequences of his actions, and he began by acknowledging the newborn girl and bringing her back to Claw Isle. Never one to turn away his own kin, Lord Victor allowed the child to stay - but his disdain for his second son was only further exacerbated.

After Corlys was named to the Kingsguard in 81 AC, Balon found himself lacking in companionship at Claw Isle. He turned not to indiscriminate promiscuity but instead to Roslin, a lowborn lover from Maidenpool with whom he shared a genuine romance - and later an illegitimate daughter. Though he had learned to be more careful from this experience, another accident occurred in 83 AC. Ser Corlys urgently invited him to visit King’s Landing, and when Balon returned he presented his second bastard, Adrian Waters.

Once again Victor did not forbid the child’s presence, but once again their animosity deepened. The Lord of Claw Isle ceased to entertain any notion of arranging a marriage for Balon, believing that his son’s antics could only ever offend a bride’s family.

Corlys' admission to the Kingsguard was precisely the royal recognition that Lord Victor had long sought, but his contentment was cut short by tragedy in 86 AC. Two years prior Damon’s beloved wife, Minisa Royce, perished after giving birth to a daughter, leaving the heir to Claw Isle with neither a wife nor a son. In this, however, Victor saw an opportunity - he could give his descendants the blood of Valyria.

Victor wrote to several merchant lords in Lys in search of a bride, and after a long wait he at last received an offer. As the only Celtigar fluent in High Valyrian, the bridegroom himself was sent to negotiate - but corsairs raided his ship along the way, and the heir to Claw Isle was slain amidst the chaos.

### Unlikely and Unwanted

The animosity between Victor and Balon only deepened after Damon's death. The aging patriarch’s hopes had been shattered; his rightful heir was now his least favorite son. Not even Balon's surprise victory at a joust held in honor of Genavene Darklyn was enough to reduce Lord Victor's contempt. Though he entertained the idea of disinheriting his son he was too devastated by his loss to perform even the most menial of duties. For the last three years of his life, Lord Victor Celtigar left his house’s affairs in the hands of the son he despised; he died crippled, half-blind and embittered.

Balon succeeded his father in 89 AC, but he remained elusive and detached in the first few years of his rule, relying on the assistance of his castellan and uncle, Quincy Celtigar. It was the death of his mother in 92 AC that prompted him to take his duties more seriously, and the death of Quincy a year later that placed the burden of rule entirely on his shoulders.

Through his increasingly close acquaintance to her father, Lord Harry, Balon was wed to Marry Darry in 93 AC, shortly before the outbreak of the Rosegold Rebellion. Balon's participation was diligent but hardly notable, with his fleet of twenty warships supplanting the royal fleet . At home, his ill repute quickly washed away; within the next few years Balon decidedly reversed the stagnation of his father’s rule, bringing to Claw Isle a level of growth it had not experienced in decades. During the same period he sired two healthy, legitimate children, stabilizing the house’s line of succession.

Lord Balon has become mature, confident, and responsible where he was once reckless and uncertain, though at times he still leans into his fading notoriety. He has made peace with the memory of his father, whose legacy he intends to advance - though perhaps not in the manner that the late Lord Victor had imagined.

## Recent Events

Lord Celtigar prepares to leave for King's Landing, where he and several of his kin will attend Balerion's funeral.

## Family

### House Celtigar

* Crispian Celtigar, Lord of Claw Isle and Master of Coin b. 45 BC d. 6 AC
* m. Ravella Sunglass b. 43 BC d. 24 AC
	+ Alton Celtigar, Lord of Claw Isle and Master of Coin b. 22 BC d. 17 AC
	+ m. Margaery Chyttering b. 21 BC d. 53 AC
		- Edwell Celtigar, Lord of Claw Isle and Hand of the King b. 3 AC d. 59 AC
		- m. Anya Meadows b. 10 AC d. 72 AC
			* Victor Celtigar, Lord of Claw Isle b. 32 AC d. 89 AC
			* m. Ella Serrett b. 35 AC d. 92 AC
				+ Damon Celtigar, Heir to Claw Isle b. 56 AC d. 86 AC
				+ m. Minisa Royce b. 54 AC d. 84 AC
					- Valena Celtigar b. 77 AC
					- Gael Celtigar b. 80 AC
					- Serala Celtigar b. 84 AC
				+ **Balon Celtigar**, Lord of Claw Isle b. 60 AC
				+ w. Roslin of Maidenpool b. 57 AC
					- Elinor Waters b. 79 AC
				+ w. unidentified King's Landing woman
					- Adrian Waters b. 83 AC
				+ m. Marry Darry b. 73 AC
					- Merianne Celtigar b. 94 AC
					- Colmar Celtigar b. 96 AC
				+ Corlys Celtigar, Knight of the Kingsguard b. 61 AC
			* Prunella Celtigar b. 34 AC
			* m. Uther Peake, Lord of Starpike, Dunstonbury and Whitegrove
				+ House Peake
			* Prudence Celtigar b. 34 AC
			* m. Lord Grafton, Lord of Gulltown
				+ House Grafton
			* Trevas Celtigar b. 37 AC
			* m. Genavene Darklyn, Lady of Duskendale b. 37 AC
				+ House Darklyn
			* Quincy Celtigar b. 39 AC d. 93 AC
			* m. Catelyn Harte b. 43 AC
				+ Arthur Celtigar b. 67 AC
				+ m. Argella Tudbury b. 66 AC
					- Medgar Celtigar b. 89 AC
					- Myranda Celtigar b. 94 AC
				+ Janos Celtigar b. 71 AC
				+ Desmera Celtigar b. 74 AC