Edgar Fowler

Yorick Fowler

Sylva Fowler †

Lord Edgar Fowler was the Lord of Skyreach and Warden of the Prince's Pass, a position he held since his childhood, until his death in 98 AC.

## Appearance and Character

Once too, Lord Fowler had been a knight, a Dornish knight, with all the radiance of one - Tall, brown and laughing.

Time proved a stronger enemy than all his wars, bending him until he could no longer walk without a cane, which he rarely does. Even his eyes seem to be losing some of their edges.

He bears a bitter personal hatred towards the Reach that has grown beyond the traditional feuds of the regions, having seen Skyreach taken and his family captured by Reachmen during the Third Dornish War, only further inflamed by House Fowler's humiliating defeat thirty years later, which left two of his grandchildren slain. The bitterness also extended to their liege, the Targaryens, who he also holds accountable for the death of his uncle (Lord Aron, d.12 A.C.) and the two burnings of Skyreach.

Neither is he much better disposed to his own countrymen, viewing younger (which, considering his own age, all) lords with condescension. Some respect is reserved for his liege, though not without patronisation either. Held in special regard is House Yronwood. Edgar saw it his personal responsibility to maintain if not a feud, then at least a rivalry with the second foremost house in Dorne, a situation which he hopes to change, in favour of perhaps another Stony Dornish family.

Nowadays, he spends most of the time in his solar, leaving much of the day-to-day affairs of Skyreach to his heir and steward, Morgan Fowler, while he himself worked on the more delicate bits of lordship.

## History

### Regency (22 A.C. – 30 A.C.)

In 14 A.C., a year following the end of the First Dornish War, young Lord Davos would receive his first and only child. A decade of war with dragons which left Skyreach burned twice and his lords father and brother slain had taken its toll on Davos. What little memories Edgar has of his father and the accounts he heard growing up spoke of an exhausted man, grey before even turning thirty. He was never meant to be a lord, but he did his best, rebuilding the ruins of Prince's Pass from what little was left.

And he paid the price for his labours, suffering a heart failure when his sole heir was but eight.

For the entirety of Edgar's regency, there were fears for the extinction of House Fowler while distant cousins watched on. His heir would be a Blackmont perhaps, through his grandfather's sister, or mayhaps Manwoody, by relations to some distant cousin-thrice-removed.

### Warden of the Prince's Pass (30 A.C. – 61 A.C.)

The most part of Edgar's early reign was in relative peace as Dorne recovered from the First Dornish War. The famines made a great many honest men into bandits, striking out at nearby lands (and especially the marches). They did not seem to be more than the occasional nuisance, most willing to settle back down with promises of land, and the rest too ragged and disorderly to face actual knights or inflict any substantial damage on the holdings they may visit.

With aid from House Manwoody, an outpost was established at the mouth of the Passes, named 'Prince's Watch', where the men of the two houses may better survey the lands they guard.

The uneasy tranquillity would not last, and by 36 A.C. there were rumours of an outlaw band, large and growing, led by a man who called himself the 'Vulture King'. Seeing that the man had no interest in the lands of the Stony Dornish and later declaring his desire of vengeance for Dorne's sufferings two decades ago - a sentiment Edgar shared - little action was taken against the group. By 37 A.C. smallfolk and even knights were openly crossing the Red Mountains to join the brigand.

When news of Wyl pledging its support and no action from Sunspear, Skyreach hesitated over throwing in its lot, for Edgar's grandfather and uncle were still remembered fondly. Prudently, Edgar chose to wait, and soon news of the Battle of Stonehelm arrived. The only action the knights of House Fowler would see in the Second Dornish War was the enthusiastic arrests and subsequent punishing of trespassing and over-eager 'vulture hunters'.

When news of the new plague arrived in Dorne, a quarantine zone was established for the very men that brought them at the Prince's Watch. By the time Deria Martell called for full closure of Dorne's borders several moons later, near four scores of men had been interned at the watchtower and half a dozen more buried.

### The Third Dornish War (61 A.C. – 63 A.C.)

Understandably, Edgar was much more hesitant to commit to this second Vulture King's cause. Though not actively pursuing the outlaw, neither did Skyreach do more than guard its lands and the pass, watching with some satisfaction as the lands of the Marches were pillaged.

The entry of Stormlanders and Reachmen into the mountains were uncontested under an unspoken agreement between the three regions. It came as a surprise when the Reach armies swarmed down the Prince's Pass to assault Kingsgrave. Manwoody's stubborn defence brought time for Edgar's two grandsons to bet southeast towards the Greenblood accompanied by their pregnant mother and aunt while Skyreach prepared for a siege.

While dozens of Reachmen died from the hostile surroundings, hundreds more of their fellows swarmed down the Prince's Pass. Of especial note was Lord Amaury Peake's death by a stone in his folly to lead an assault against the castle. Ultimately Skyreach was taken in a sudden storm that left near a thousand dead at its walls. Edgar and his two sons were taken to Starpike as prisoners (a third son, Yorick, was earning his last chain at the Citadel). His last child and only daughter (and favourite), Sylva managed to escape through a postern door in the ensuing chaos.

Imprisoned in his own castle - which now served as the chief command post for all the invaders - Edgar grew bitter, brooding over the lack of response from Sunspear (save encouragements to hold out for longer), not knowing that the host had received news of the fall of Skyreach on its way to relieve the castle.

House Fowler was released in 63 A.C. in exchange for Reachmen nobility captured in the Battle of Starfall. Despite the victory for Dorne, the devastation was felt nowhere as heavily as in Skyreach, its lands razed and holdings pillaged. Hardest of all was the discovery of Lady Sylva Fowler's body, recognisable only by her blonde hair, the rest savaged by men and beasts and the elements.

The following days saw Edgar retreating to the Sky Tower, feverous for half that time and refusing to eat nought save bread and water the other half. Morgan Fowler, Lord Edgar's heir and steward would take up full governance of the keep and its lands for the remainder of 63 A.C.

### Aftermath (64 A.C. – 82 A.C.)

By the next year, Edgar was much diminished, his hair silvering at an alarming pace while he grew frail from his diet. The maester and the septon were dismissed without a word when sent in, and while he allowed a few words for his son (Ser Ryon having left for the Riverlands again as soon as the family was ransomed), topics besides the basic management of the castle were never mentioned.

Therefore, he managed to surprise all when he burst into the hall during dinnertime, taking the high seat while gregariously entering the conversations near him while the more sensitive topics were prudently hushed down.

The war had shown Edgar the vulnerability of Skyreach's position. While his pride required a certain coolness towards dealing with his liege (which was only thawed recently following a granddaughter, Nymeria Fowler's marriage to Gerris Martell), he recognised the benefits that may be brought with alliances with the rest of Dorne. The crowning achievement was the marriage between Nymor Fowler and the eldest daughter of Lord Yorick Yronwood's brother, whose son would later succeed as Bloodroyal, hereby granting a connection (and a claim) to the foremost family of Dorne.

Changed most of all, was his disposition towards the Reach. What was once mistrust turned to open hatred. Outlaws were supplied to attack the Reach, heavy tariffs were introduced, and many a traveller were fined for no better reason than where they made their home or hung for petty crimes. Meanwhile, though, Edgar dreamed of retribution for his beloved daughter.

### The Fourth Dornish War (83 A.C.)

Raids into the marches were fairly common even during peacetime, and Yronwood's first incursions were scarce noticed in Skyreach. It attracted more attention when it soon became apparent that the other warden's ambitions stretched beyond mere livestock from Stormlander peasants and a moon after a force was assembled at the Boneway, the banners of Skyreach were called, soon joined by more men from Kingsgrave.

   Neither of his sons showed too much support for his plan though nor did they protest. And just as the eastern host began their siege of Blackhaven, Ser Ryon Fowler led near three thousand through the Prince's Pass. A siege was staged around Nightsong, raiding Caron villages in an effort to prevent a force from massing while under the command of Edgar's three grandsons, Ser Mors, Ser Nymor and Ser Yoren, the knights of the Pass rode into the Reach, pillaging and burning the lands of Norridge and Peake.

They were to withdraw once the Tyrells were roused, but Mors had overextended, and his riders were caught between Lord Gwayne Tyrell's army and Peake's forces. His brother, Yoren was slain in single combat by Lord Tyrell himself, and a week later Mors was chased down by Ser Pykewood Peake as he tried to manoeuvre the remnants of the raiders back to Nightsong. Nymor Fowler rejoined his uncle with scarce a third of what the three brothers set out with.

With the Reachmen approaching fast from the west, Ryon was forced to give a brief but bloody battle beneath the walls of Nightsong before melting south into the Red Mountains. Within the Prince's Pass itself, however, they met (with equal surprise on both sides) Ser Gareth Tyrell's army. Disheartened by the prospect of facing another host larger than themselves, retreat broke into a rout.

Not half of what set out from Skyreach returned, and those ragged, most bearing some wound or other. Edgar and his family had barely enough time to mourn their losses when news of Kingsgrave's fall reached them. Letters were sent to House Fowler's allies as the Reach host approached. Drafts were issues and the harvest taken as Skyreach prepared for its second siege in two decades.

Its friends proved more supportive this time around. Scarce a moon later, led by Lord Symon Dayne, a host of Stony and Sandy Dornishmen arrived from the west and south, dealing a heavy blow at the Tyrell army while Nymor led the defenders to sortie, eager to avenge his brothers. For the remainder of the war in the Western Campaign, the Reachmen and Dornish managed an uneasy stalemate on the two banks of the river.

While Edgar would have greatly wished to launch an attack, the Fowler levies were greatly reduced and could hardly succeed against the Reachmen, now reinforced by Lord Gwayne. There was also a general sense of regret on his part, for having supported the war which led to the death of two of his grandsons.

Prince Nymor's involvement in securing a peace was a surprise to him, who grudgingly had to admit that the young man's achievement in that aspect was impressive, securing more-or-less a white peace after an agression that ended so poorly on the houses of the passes. It was enough for him to be much reconciled with House Martell and agree to the fostering of his orphanned great-grandsons Vorian and Myles at Sunspear.

### Later Days (84 A.C. – )

Edgar was an old man, slow to forgive and slower to forget, retaining grievances and slights that may have been performed by another man's fathers. His two wars with the north and those of his own father have taught him that alone, that militarily, Skyreach could not hope to withstand against the full might of the rose.

But perhaps, there may be other ways to go.

## Family Tree

* ***Ferris Fowler, d.10 AC***
	+ ***Garrison Fowler, d.12 AC***
	+ ***Davos Fowler, d.22 AC***
		- **Edgar Fowler, b.14 AC**
			* Morgan Fowler, b.35 AC
				+ *Mors Fowler, b.56 AC, d.83 AC*
				+ *m. Meria Vaith, d.79 AC*
					- Vorian Fowler, b.76 AC
					- Myles Fowler, b.79 AC
				+ *Nymor Fowler, b.57 AC, d.86 AC*
				+ m. Perianne Yronwood, b.59 AC
					- Nymeria Fowler, b.78 AC
					- m. Gerris Martell, b.73 AC
					- William Fowler, b.85 AC
				+ *Yoren Fwler, b.62 AC, d.83 AC*
			* Ryon Fowler, b.37 AC
				+ Cedric Fowler, b.63 AC
				+ **m. Alys Allyrion, b.58 AC**
				+ Ashira Fowler, b.65 AC
				+ m. Anders Allyrion, b.64 AC
			* *Dorea Fowler, b.38 AC, d.75 AC*
			* ***m. Davos Dayne, d.78 AC***
			* Yorick Fowler, b.40 AC
			* *Sylva Fowler, b.43 AC, d. 62AC*
		- Casella Fowler, b.20 AC
		- **m. Drazenko Dalt, b.19 AC**

**Bold**: Ruling Lord / Lady of a House

*Italics*: Dead