Ravos Drumm

Ravos Drumm is the Ironborn Lord of Old Wyk, infamous for his seizure of the Citadel in 381AC.

## Biography

Ravos Drumm was born the first son of Harras “The Gravehand” and Yara Drumm, in 364 AC. Followed minutes after by Wex, his twin, both boys had the average lives of Ironborn. Hunting, fishing, training. Harras Drumm wished quickly for his boys to learn their ways, and so he rose them accordingly. Soon would follow the birth of Elia and Harlon, their younger siblings.

Roland Baelish would visit the island of Old Wyk, shortly after the subjugation. A brass move it was, Harras Drumm could not harm him, for he was a Prince. He heard the man out, and even his anger turned to mere condescension with time. Until Roland impregnated Gisella, sister of Harras. He wished to kill the man, truly, but they were blood now. And so he raised Targon Pyke as his own.

Upon Ravos’ fifteenth nameday, he was given a “vision of the sea” as he changed into the skin of a fish, while they were catching their daily meal. Passing out upon their boat, his father determined that it was a sign, and consulted the Drowned Priests of Old Wyk.

The men with seaweed in their beards determined Ravos to be of chosen birth. Harras and them came to an agreement, for Ravos to be raised and trained north of their castle, along the river. Bringing Ravos down to the shore aside Nagga’s Hill, they drowned him then, and declared him reborn in the full splendor of their god.

His training under the priests would be one of adversity and cruelty. They showed no mercy in instilling upon Ravos the ways of the Drowned One, at first allowing him to wear only a seaweed garb woven by his own hands. Lord Drumm and the priests declared that Ravos would have nothing that he could not win himself, and so he survived with what he could scavenge from the riverbed and shore. He would sail alone, to feed himself, a regimen overseen by the Drowned Priests.

He was not allowed to continue his education as a child, and so never learned to read or write. The words of the Driftwood Scrolls were spoken to him until he memorized them, and could recite them upon request. In some short time, they would show him how to craft a small hovel, from the dried sands and muds of Old Wyk.

In time, they would see a greater truth as to who he was. When in from the sea he brought a squid, it sought to escape him. Being commanded to retrieve it upon threat of force, his eyes glossed over once more and he changed into it’s skin. He watched with the squid’s eyes as one of the priests struck him, and he returned to his body, and the squid came with. Some of those who witnessed it had heard of the tales of the skinchangers, and marked Ravos as one immediately.

From this, they declared something profound upon Old Wyk. Ravos may be allowed to kill his fellow Ironborn, in order to follow the ways of their people. The death must be fair, and accepted, but the island had no shortage of fools wishing to break a young man. Yet the priests had made this training his mission, and so he did not falter. Soon he came to gain spoils that were rightfully his, such as armor and weapons.

Their final omen came when Ravos fished from the sea the youngest brother of House Greyjoy, Robyn. Ravos brought the skeletal boy to his mud hovel and fed him, and Harras gave him quarter until Lord Greyjoy could be reached. The two quickly developed a friendship, Robyn visiting Ravos often, where his family had never been allowed to.

Shortly following this, the priests brought Ravos to the shore with a collection of hook-shaped shards of seastone, and pierced them into his flesh. Declaring this a purification of the boy’s body, they washed the hooks with flasks of saltwater, while chanting sacred words of the Drowned God. They attached them to poles and drew the ropes taut, until the pain became unbearable. He changed into the skin of Saltskin, the highest of the priests, and cut himself down before both men would collapse from agony.

Ravos survived the ordeal, but Saltskin did not. Once the blessed of their order, the priests now declared Ravos the Drowning One, an accursed failure of his people. Robyn Greyjoy vouched for the boy, however, and so Ravos was enthralled to him.

Returning to Pyke, Ravos would find himself sleeping by the shores, and denying the gifts of the Greyjoys. He would come to know each of them in time, but for now he only sought the company of Robyn, who taught him more of skinchanging and himself. Robyn was blessed as well - with the gift of sight, of green dreams. He told him of how their past had been written already, and how their future was as well.

Roland Baelish visited Pyke once more, this time to collect his bastard son Targon. He spoke more to Ravos than he had before - explained how talented the boy was, to have come so far. Roland told Ravos that within him was a mind that few possessed, and explained to him how his own family had risen high through their founder’s tenure as Master of Coin. Roland remarked, however, that spies were the greatest weapon that a man could fight with.

Soon after came news of the Rebellion, and Harras Drumm’s own visit to Pyke. Ravos would be leading their fleet, in his name. The drowned god had cast upon him a sickness, for his failures, and their house must be restored to honor by his firstborn, in a war that he could no longer fight.

Robyn and Ravos travelled south with Lord Harras, to the Reach. When they arrived, they took the city of Oldtown. For his efforts, Ravos was named the *Lord of the Citadel*, and given charge to hold it. He made his new home within the chambers of an old Archmaester, and soon made a practice of bringing the books Robyn had informed him were dedicated to foreign gods to the docks. There, he would dump them into the sea, while Lord Greyjoy was reaving the lands outside.

Word soon came again that they would move, this time for Highgarden. There the armies of the Ironborn intercepted the Hightower host, and killed their lord. His brother and heir were taken hostage, much to Ravos’ quiet frustration. He took it upon himself to pay the guards to allow him to murder the heir, and paid them again to frame the brother. The man was hung by Lord Greyjoy, having been declared guilty of the crime.

When they returned to Oldtown, Robyn showed growing interest in a girl named Jeyne. She had been ordered there by her liege, and taken prisoner within the Citadel. She had a longing for freedom - and upon learning of the magic of the Ironborn, begged to return with them. Ravos agreed, taking the woman as a salt wife only in name.

Before leaving, Ravos had thought to rid himself of his brother Wex. The man was not like him, nor had the visions of Robyn, yet had none of the Iron of his people. And so he convinced him to become a maester, to give up any claim on Old Wyk, lest the seas bring him an early death. Wex agreed, and would stay behind, when they departed.

Word came for them to regroup with Harras at the Shields, and they finished their rebellion with a return to Pyke. With a new salt wife in tow, Ravos began to question his feelings - and found a far better companion in Robyn Greyjoy instead, as he had for so long. There was a tension between the two, after Jeyne’s arrival, that was rectified upon a visit to Robyn’s chambers. After that, Ravos no longer slept by the sea, but with Robyn. Jeyne accepted this, having not come to the Islands for love, and played her part in crafting the story.

Jeyne has been a quiet thing, however, much like his feelings for Robyn. And so when Helya Goodbrother arrived on Pyke, seeking to court him, he refused her. He could not blame her, for she did not know he had a salt wife, but tales were told of her ire when it was discovered.

Time came for Ravos to find a more meaningful way to support House Greyjoy, and Ironborn independence. He would see them as Kings once again, if the drowned god be good, and so he must play the game of thrones as well. Following his role in the rebellion, Harras had released him of his service to House Greyjoy, and he sought to earn his keep.

He began this by using the gold he had claimed from Oldtown, and paying the sailors and children of Pyke. His network had grown small, at first, but with some help from Robyn it flourished. From both their islands and the sailors of the greenlands came those who were glad to trade their knowledge for coin.

Soon came strange and foreboding news - Helya Goodbrother had returned to Great Wyk with his brother Wex in hand, and the two were married. Ravos disregarded the news, writing it off as petty jealousy or disturbing obsession.

Finally, news of rebels that had sprung up within the Islands. Ravos learned of these things from Harras, and began paying men to set fire to their ships in the dead of night. Yet it had not been enough, and when Ravos heard word of men heading to take the Shields, he informed his liege immediately. Robyn chose to stay home, and Ravos left the Islands once more.

As they conquered the rebellious Ironborn and casualties were taken on both sides, Harras and Ravos met with Leo Tyrell. It was in this time that Harras betrothed his sister to Leo, and Ravos bedded the younger brother of the lord, Lucas Tyrell. The Ironborn returned home shortly after.

Auspiciously came the death of his lord father, Harras “the Gravehand”, making Ravos Lord of House Drumm and Old Wyk. His spying efforts became focused upon his own home, as adrift from it as he was. He learned words of dissent, of grudges held from a distance. For the first time since the priests, Ravos returned home to claim his lordship, delegating much of his reading of letters to Jeyne.

The Ironborn were once more gathered at the Reach, for the wedding of Tyrell and Greyjoy. Leo attended, as well as Robyn, Harras, and Jon Stark, and Lucas (whom Ravos had made point to avoid). When his men who had traveled with Ravos reported to him talk of a plot against Lord Tyrell’s life, he informed him, sparing him a traitorous death. What proved fruitful was the reaction of Lord Tyrell, who executed them without mercy.

Returning finally to the Iron Islands, Ravos has now been summoned to King’s Landing, to help secure the future of House Greyjoy.

## Timeline

* 364 AC: Born to Harras and Yara Drumm
* 372 AC: The visit of Roland Baelish to Old Wyk, birth of Targon Pyke, bastard of Gisella Drumm
* 377 AC: Ravos is sent to live with the drowned priests of Old Wyk, after having visions of the sea, and begins his training under them
* 380 AC: Robyn washes up on the shore near Nagga’s Hill, and after skinchanging into a priest named Saltskin, Ravos finds himself enthralled to the young Greyjoy. He is also visited once more by Roland Baelish.
* 381 AC: Called to fight in the rebellion under Lord Greyjoy in place of his father, Ravos helps to take Oldtown and the Citadel, killing the Heir of the Hightower in the process and framing his brother
* 384 AC: Ravos returns to Pyke with Jeyne Ashford and begins his private relationship with Robyn Greyjoy
* 385 AC: Ravos turns down the offer of marriage from Helya Goodbrother
* 386 AC: Ravos begins paying spies with the gold he had plundered from Oldtown, both on Pyke and beyond. With this comes news of the return of his brother Wex. Finally the Skirmish of the Shields.
* 387 AC: Ravos becomes Lord of Old Wyk, and travels to Highgarden for the wedding of Leo Tyrell.
* 390 AC: The tournament at King’s Landing is announced, and Ravos travels there with Robyn

## Supporting Archetypes

* Elia Drumm, 19 - Reaver - Born the child of Harras Drumm, Elia has a complex relationship with her family - she grew up with the legends of Ravos’ training upon her lips and gained an admiration that disregarded Harlon’s grievances. She has missed Ravos greatly, and comes into conflict with Harlon over what she views as ruining their chance to reconnect. She is Iron through and through, and was sent south by Harras Drumm during Brynden’s Rebellion to defend her brothers.

* Harlon Drumm, Heir of Old Wyk, 18 - Ship Captain - Born the second son of Harras Drumm, Theomore took a role in the administration of House Drumm both during Ravos’ time with the drowned priests and Brynden’s Rebellion. He resents Ravos for this, for not being around while their father was ill and instead chasing glory, and even more so for pushing Wex to become a maester.
* Jeyne Ashford, Salt Wife of the Reach, 25 - Medic - Having absconded with Ravos during his occupation of Oldtown for the Islands, Jeyne is a girl of the Reach seeking to learn the ways of the sea. Never truly having a taste for the monotony of a lady’s life, she seeks the freedom of the Ironborn, and dreams of commanding her own ship. Though she is a foreigner among a people who hold no value upon her, she hopes to lend her knowledge of the Greenlanders and her assistance with many of Ravos’ lordly duties in order to carve a place from the rocks of her new home.
* Yara Drumm, Widow of the Gravehand, 44 - Executioner - The now widowed lady of Old Wyk seeks to keep her family from drifting apart, following the death of Harras “The Gravehand” Drumm. Having lost one of her children to the Maesters of Oldtown and another to her own Drowned Priests, she must find a way to survive the coming times without losing her kin in the process.
* Euron Pyke, Bastard of the Islands - Warrior: Axes
* Animals: Robyn the Walrus, Sunset the Seal, and Cunt the Cat