Eirik Royce

Eirik is the current Lord of Runestone and (unbeknowest to all but a few) self-proclaimed Bronze King in the Vale. Playing the part of a loyal Vassal Lord to Artys Arryn, Eirik plots for the day where he can proudly don the Bronzerune and proclaim the Vale his.

## Appearance and Character

Eirik stands at about 5’9 and weighs around 220 pounds. He is a man with the frame of a warrior He has the light flowing hair of a Mountain highlander, and a beard with the same hue. When in the privacy and safety of his keep, Eirik wears upon his head the Bronzerune, the bronze circlet crown of the old Bronze Kings, though he is careful to never wear it in the presence of all but the most trusted of men. When going into war, Eirik is armed with his claymore, longsword, and shield, and armored in the Royce runic armor, passed down from one generation to the other since the Age of Heroes.

To many, Eirik is a strong, capable ruler, keeping the peace in his land and cracking down on any who would disrupt it, and he is well loved by the Runestone smallfolk.

While, to most of the Vale Lords, Eirik is a loyal vassal to the Arryns of the Eyrie, in reality, the truth could not be more opposite. Just like his father before him, Eirik has worked tirelessly to bring about the end of the Arryn paramountcy of the Vale and return rule to the Kings of the First Men. To this end, he has long since perfected his art of deceit, having put up and proven the front of the loyal vassal Lord time and time again in his successful attempts to covers his tracks. However, soon the time will come that such deceit will no longer be necessary. With the Vale being increasingly torn asunder politically due to the unrest with the Iron Throne and the approaching Targaryen King in the East, and the Arryns to caught up in the squabbles to truly pay attention to their domain, the time has come to put his plans into motion...

## History

Eirik was born in the year 161 AC to Lord Connoadh of House Royce, hailing from a line older than even the Arryns, and to Imogen of the Stone Crows, daughter of the hill tribe chief. The marriage itself, while out of love, was also the product of nearly a decade of subtle planning and political maneuvering between the Royces of Runestone and the Mountain Clans of the Moon. He was born just before dawn after a relatively quick delivery, just as the sun began to crest the horizon, and before long, his parents held him as he wailed.

The future Lord of Runestone was, until the age of ten, raised by his parents in the Royce keep, until the time came to introduce him to his family in the mountains, and off he was sent to secretly foster with Clan Redsmith. It was there that he met his cousin, Donnahal, and quickly, the two became as close as brothers. They trained together, ate together, and when the time came, even raided together.

Of course, that time came to an end five years later, and Eirik departed back to the keep that would be his, bidding his cousin's family farewell, and returning to Runestone, Donnahal in tow.

From there, he would spend the next few years learning how to rule under the tutelage of his father, and, in turn, teaching what he knew to his cousin, until the time came that Eirik would ascend to the Bronzeseat of Runestone. This went on until the War of the Crossing broke out, and Donnahal was suddenly summoned back to the mountains by his father. Bidding his cousin farewell, Donnahal left Runestone, and Eirik would not know why until news of the clansmen armed and armored in steel raiding the lowlands reached his keep.

When the hostilities had ended, however, and Eirik returned to the mountain to check on his relations, he found the clans had united under the crown of the Griffin King, Donnahal, and was quickly informed that since returning and discovering that the warriors now had steel, his cousin had set out to train them in the Andal ways of warfare, preparing for the day when all their plans could come to fruition.

Having learned this, Eirik bid his cousin patience before returning home and continuing with his own plots, gaining allies both within the First Men houses of the Vale and others outside it, at least, until Darklyn's Rebellion tore the Vale asunder. It would have been the most opportunistic time to enact their plans-- however, the Mountain Clans had not yet been sufficiently trained to Donnahal's satisfaction, and Eirik's friends outside the Vale were too embroiled in their own battles to begin. So, when the Arryns called their banners, Eirik and his father, playing the part of loyal vassals, raised Runestone's own banners to join them, though the Royce men did not join in the defeat at the Battle of Snakewood. Joining up with the Arryn host, they bolstered their Liege Lord's numbers, and once more, they set out to destroy the rebels.

Then came the Battle of Coldwater Burn, where his father fell in battle, and one of his cousins from House Royce of the Gates slew Ser Boros Cobary in battle ending the conflict that had plagued them. With the war one and the Vale's neutrality declared, Lord Eirik Royce returned home to wait and plot.

But now the time for plotting has come to an end. With the Targaryen King approaching from the East and the Vale once more fracturing under civil unrest, the time for action has come. The carnyxs will blow, the clansmen will descend, and once more will House Royce claim their rightful place as the Bronze Kings in the Vale.