Donnahal Uthelhain

Donnahal is the Chieftain of the Clan Redsmith and the self proclaimed Griffin King of the Hill. Donnahal currently resides in the Mountains of the Moon where he rules over his clan, as well as many others within his sphere of influence. In his younger days, he intended to reunite the Mountains Clans under the Griffin Banner and retake the Vale Proper from the Andals, but in recent times, he has expressed his desire to make peace with the Lord of the Eyrie.

## Appearance and Character

Donnahal is a man of large stature and fits his frame. He has the dark-reddish flowing hair of a Mountain highlander, and a short beard with the same color. Upon his head, Donnahal bears the Feathered Helm, the reputed crown of the Griffin King, further cementing his authority amongst the other Clans. When going into war or small raids into the Vale Proper, Donnahal is armed with his claymore, longsword, and shield, and armored in stolen Castle-forged chainmail augmented by a bronze disc-plate inscribed with runes of old.

Described as a strong, charismatic ruler who drew others close to him, keeping his rule cohesive, to many in the Mountains of the Moon, he represents a hope that one day they may leave their exile and return to the lands they once called home. Donnahal, while a kind ruler, is in no way naive, and punishes wrongdoings accordingly.

Unlike most Chieftains, Donnahal has some education in statecraft, recognizing it's need in keeping the fledgeling confederacy whole, and allowing him to plan accordingly. He has a good mind for strategy and knows the mountains like the back of his hand, allowing him to utilize the terrain with ease.

## History

### Early Life | 344 AC - 368 AC

Donnahal was born in the year 344 AC to Chieftain Aeril Uthelhain of Clan Redsmith, hailing from a line who claimed descent from the Griffin King, and to Cadha Losgadh, daughter of the Chieftain of the Burned Men. He was born just after dusk after a painful delivery, long after the Sun had hidden behind the peaks of the Mountain of the Moon, and if rumors are to be believed, the lone cry of a dying falcon heralded his birth into the Realms of the Living.

He was raised by his parents until he turned of age, living in ignorance as the War of the Burned Men destroyed his maternal family, being taught the ways of chieftainship; how to rule, how to lead, how to fight, and that was life for him before his ten-and-eighth nameday. And, as all young men of the Clans did when they came of age, he set out to prove himself worthy to succeed his father in chieftainship.

Joining a small raiding party, Donnahal journeyed down the Mountains of the Moon for the first time and beheld the lands of the Vale Proper with his own eyes. After several successful raids, he deigned to remain in the lowlands in obscurity, wanting to learn all he could of the 'hated Andals' he had been told time and time again had robbed his people of home and hearth and slaughtered his kin to a babe. And observe the Andals he did, all the while working odd labour work for coin needed to live amongst them. Whatever his initial thoughts were upon first sighting the fertile fields of the Vale Proper were soured by the resident Andals themselves, and he quickly came to loath them as they were loathed in the mountains.

When he was two-ten he made his way to Runestone, seeking to understand the Andal way of warfare before returning to the mountains. Through sheer skill and a smidgen of luck (several Roycemen had been killed in a recent raid) Donnahal managed to secure himself a spot as a man-at-arms for the Royces of Runestone. He remained there for several more years, learning the ways of war through Royce veteran-men-at-arms and through books, which he slowly managed to decrypt bit by bit whilst learning to read, untill 367 AC. Having deemed the knowledge he gained sufficient, Donnahal stole off into the night, taking with him a castle-forged longsword, a mail hauberk, and a fine steed, along with as many books as he could whisk away within reason. Despite having to dodge Roycemen sent after him, Donnahal successfully returned to the Mountains of the Moon in the year 368 AC, quickly disappearing into the rocky highlands as he made for home.

### Rise of the Griffin King | 368 AC - 377 AC

However, halfway to the Redsmith oppidum, Donnahal, for one reason or other, took a detour down a hidden path that he had never encountered before, despite knowing the mountains as well as any clansmen. Journeying through it, he arrived at a long-abandoned grove bordering a hill, upon which was a Weirwood tree. Below the branches and between the roots, to his surprise, were two items; the Feathered Helm of the Griffin King, and a claymore. Baffled as to what such a sign could mean, he marked the path in his mind, took the items, and returned home, to the joy of the Redsmiths. Upon seeing the Feathered Helm in his possession, however, his father pulled him aside to remind him of their lineage, going so far as to claim him "favored by the gods," for why else would they leave the Feathered Helm for him to find?

Accepting his father's council, Donnahal slowly eased into the role of Chieftain of the Redsmiths as his father slowly gave him room to do so, until the day Aeril stepped down and confirming Donnahal as Chief of the Redsmiths, before kneeling before him and proclaiming him 'Griffin's Blood' and King of the Hill. Seeing a golden opportunity to unite his people and lead them away from the barren mountains, Donnahal accepted the title, and soon after his inauguration, he set about contacting other, smaller clans and the remnants of the Burned Men, offering them shelter and protection should they agree to fall under his sphere influence. Many, upon seeing the helm upon his head, agreed near-instantly, and soon Donnahal found himself leading the largest (and only) confederacy in the Mountains of the Moon, by default becoming the dominant power among the clans.

As the power he wielded grew, others began to take notice, and many a dispute were brought to him by other Chieftains and clans for him to preside over, and through this he gained many allies among them, making it easier to pull several more small tribes into his fledgling kingdom, and by the year 377 AC, his sphere of influence encompassed one-fourth of the Mountains of the Moon.

### War of the Last Dragon and Aftermath | 378 AC - 383 AC

His incomplete plans of the uniting the clans were put on hold, however, with the outbreak of the War of the Last Dragon. With stories of Drogon the Dread having returned, and news of several 'Fields of Fire' spreading rapidly across Westeros, Donnahal decided to shift his focus into making sure his confederacy could defend itself. Calling every Clansman in his confederacy from the age of ten-and-eight up to fifty-and-two, the Redsmith Chief set about drilling them in Andal warfare and arming them as best as he could. Those with chainmail and other steel armor and weapons would make up the 'heavy infantry' segment of the reunified armies of the Griffin King, while those who did not would armor themselves in any way they could and arm themselves with mandatory spears and shields as more flexible skirmishers.

Having done this, he ordered several stone and wooden 'forts' built at key intervals in the lower mountains to be held as actual defensive positions against enemies. Two clans, one of which, the Stone Crows, were opposed to this, and sent warriors to set the incomplete forts ablaze. However, this only played into Donnahal's hands as he quickly split and deployed his army to defend them, and annihilated their warbands before serious damage was done. With his army successfully bloodied with victory, moral was high in the Kingdom of the Hill, and Donnahal was content to wait for the Dragons to come to them.

That was not to be, however. With Daena's defeat in the Dragonfall, House Targaryen was rendered extinct once and for all, and the war was ended without a single drop of Essosi blood stepping foot in the mountains. And while the rest of Westeros emerged weary and tired, the fledging Kingdom of the Hill emerged stronger than ever.

The year is now 383 AC, and the Mountain Clans of the Moon have begun the process of unification under the Griffin Banner, and rumor has it that Chief Donnahal and several retainers and ally Chieftains have journeyed to the Sacred Hill, supposedly where the Griffin Kings are crowned...