Horton Belmore

Horton in 98 AC

Freya Belmore

Alys Belmore

Dunstn Belmore

Lord Horton Belmore, Lord of Strongsong. Eldest son of Andar Belmore. Warden of the Mountains.

## Appearance and Character

Appearance

A tall man, stooped from the weight of loss and sorrow. He had grown gaunt following the death of his son and heir, sallow cheeks and brittle hair that had gone grey before it's time. Most of the strength of his youth had left him in these later years, causing his prowess at arms to fade as the weight of middle age piled on him. His nose is a web of broken veins, showing his ever growing alcoholism. A long scar traced from his right ear down under his jawline

Character

Once a proud young man held in the hearts of many common and highborn alike, Lord Horton Belmore had since gone cold. Turning to drink as solace more and more often as the shadows seemingly jumped at him from around every corner, his retainers had learned to fear as they had once loved him. He had grown paranoid following the Struggle For Strongsong, seeing a watch pyre on every rise or hearing a warhorn at the coming of every dawn. He quaffs sweetsleep every night to help him not wake as he is plagued with the haunting night terrors of his lost sisters.

## History

Youth

Horton Belmore was born in 52 AC to Lord Andar Belmore, the first of six children. He spent the majority of his childhood at the Eryie, squiring under Lord Gunthor Arryn. He made friends with the two sons of Lord Gunthor, making their deaths so much more hurtful in the years coming. He found himself doted upon by a number of courtiers currying the favor of the heir apparent of Strongsong and thrived under it. He lived to be complimented, loving the attention that was given to him. It was here, under the tutelage of his Lord Paramount and Master at Arms, that he first showed the prowess at arms that would soon dub him Bell Breaker by the common and highborn alike. Upon his sixteenth nameday, Horton was dubbed by Gunthor Arryn as a knight and returned to Strongsong. He was met by four of his five siblings, the youngest of his siblings would not be born for another two years.

Early Incursions of The Clansmen

Strongsong, nestled under the cliffs of a mountain and surrounded by freshwater lakes, found itself one of the most susceptible to incursions by the mountain clans. A particular rivalry with the Crowned Men, near the castle of Crown Crag, sparked early in Ser Horton’s return to his father’s castle. Lord Andar had long been considered a weak and ineffectual ruler, so the two eldest sons took the men into their own hands. Word of a village being raided not two days ride from the castle infuriated young Ser Horton into action. With Benedict Belmore, his fifteen year old brother and squire, as well as a contingent of soldiers from House Egen, Ser Horton led a small host into the mountains to root the Crowned Men out once and for all.

Whereas many knights and lords would find only death in the high reaches of the mountains, Ser Horton prevailed. Following half a hundred goat tracks for more than a year, the combined strength of the army soon fell upon the Crowned Men in a vale after passing the highest peak of Mount Ramidus. The battle was short and bloody, not much of a fight rather a slaughter. The mountain clansmen were weak from the constant press of Ser Horton’s forces, hardly a night’s sleep for them in a moon’s turn. Feeling the heat of victory, Ser Horton took a mountain clansman as a fool, hacking off his hands and ripping out his tongue. The fool would serve Ser Horton until present time. He was called Harry the Hairy.

War for the Mountains of the Moon

When Lord Andar Belmore received his call to arms by the Arryns, he had sent in his place three sons. In those days, Ser Horton had been skilled in arms far beyond his peers. He would train with every knight while on the march, sometimes three at a time. He excelled at swordplay and was a born commander having learned from the best warriors in the Vale during his time at court. Accompanied by Ser Benedict Belmore and Little Dunstan Belmore, his two younger brothers, he rode into war eagerly. He would soon find that war was not what the songs made it seem like.

The three sons held witness at the Red Parlay, Ser Horton on Lord Gunthor’s right hand. His Lord seemed different following the murders of his two sons, a pain that Ser Horton still felt himself. As the clansmen took their seats around the table and the first curses were spoke, Ser Horton held his tongue. His hand grasped the hilt of his sword from under the table, knuckles white with anticipation. As lord gunthor gave the signal and dozens of clansmen fell to a volley of arrows, Ser Horton and his brothers sprung to the protection of their leige lord. Not particularly an honorable man, the slaughter did not sit right with Ser Horton. He would not speak ill of Gunthor’s decision though, the men were savages after all. And they had taken the valiant sons who he had once been so close with.

The Three Bells

Sons of a principal bannerman, The Three Bells were given places of high honor in battlefield. Ser Dunstan, the youngest and most skilled warrior that House Belmore boasted, stayed near Lord Gunthor Arryn in order to see him safely through the war. Ser Horton and Benedict found themselves in the van, leading troops from House Belmore along half a dozen other high lords or lordlings. Only having one taste of true battle in the past, he did not really know what to expect. The Slaughter of the Villages is the main battle The Three Bells fought for House Arryn before retiring to their keep.

It was more along the lines of slaughter as many a battle in the war with the mountain clans were. Battle was bloody, fought man to man in great masses of flailing bodies. The scent of copper and fouling breeches caked the air, choking any breath of freshness the combatants wished to have. Ser Horton lost count of how many men he slew that day, only that his mail was drenched in blood around his sword arm by the time victory was achieved. It would be considered one of his hardest days, though the hardest was yet to come.

The Struggle for Strongsong

The Struggle for Strongsong is a name that encompasses two stages of a bloody event. The Struggle is remembered as the third of the Four Grave Atrocities of the War for the Mountains of the Moon, and is the only Grave Atrocity to be committed at the hands of the Clansmen.

The first stage of the Struggle, being the infiltration and capture of Strongsong by the Clansmen. With the second stage being the recapture of Strongsong at the hands of the then late Lord Belmore's three sons, and the accompanying Belmore, Hersy and Egen troops with them.

An Exert from the Writings of Maester Yorwyck's Work, "The War for the Mountains of the Moon".

With a delivery of food and supplies came the infiltration. A handful of Clansmen, no more than ten, had infiltrated the caravan into Strongsong, having threatened the lives of the traders and forcing them to get them inside the walls, for elsewhere they held their wives and daughters hostage.

And so, once inside, the Clansmen waited until the wee hours of the morn, and then struck so. The Clansmen struck open the gates of Strongsong, waved a flaming torch in the sky, and some five thousand savages charged through the gates of Strongsong to a blood-curdling war cry.

The fighting was anything but fierce. Strongsong had but a garrison of two-hundred and fifty men. They were swiftly butchered, along with any other man, and women too old for breeding, found inside the castle.

Lord Andar Belmore himself was crisped by flame and then strung up in the main courtyard for all to see. The savages most enjoyed their butchery. And so, for more than a half moon, Strongsong remained in the hands of Conn of the Sons of the Mist, and Donn of the Sons of the Tree.

But of course, eventually, word reached the host of Lord Gunthor Arryn. At the time, the host was readying to march toward Coldwater Burn, for there had been most disturbing word of attacks in the region, and understandably so, for Lord Gunthor and his host had earlier forced the Clansfolk from their mountains, pursued them into the valley of the Newkeep, Longwake, and Shatterlance, so it was only natural that the Clansmen would continue their retreat east.

Understanding the urgency of the situation and the dire symbol that Strongsong in Clansmen hands was, Lord Gunthor ordered Sers Horton, Dunstan, and Benedict Belmore lead a combined host of Belmore, Hersy, and Egen men to retake Strongsong. Their march was swift, and they arrived at Strongsong within the week, while Lord Gunthor and the remainder of his host departed for Coldwater Burn.

Upon arrival, the Belmores three found the castle manned by drunk and tired Clansmen, who were most evidently enjoying the women of Strongsong a little more than is good for a man. Waiting for nightfall, the Belmores struck. They knew where the castle was strongest, and where it was weakest, and so their attack was as a needle, precise, and lethal.

The fighting dragged all through the night, with many a man falling on both sides. But the Belmores had blockaded the gates at the earliest instant, forcing all to remain within the castle. They were intent on butchering the Clansmen. And so they did. Some five thousand Clansmen died that night. Yet so too did the majority of the combined Belmore, Hersy, and Egen host.

The Belmores would not return to the war after the Struggle for Strongsong, instead opting to stay and ensure their castle was reinforced, repaired, and stayed theirs. They tried to convince the Hersys and Egens to stay with them, but they were not for it, and instead opted to return to the First Great Host.

In the aftermath of the Struggle for Strongsong, the military might of House Belmore was drastically reduced due to a combination of the killing of all within Strongsong, save Lord Belmore's three daughters and the other young women present, as well as the cost of forcefully taking back the castle from the Clansmen.

Further still, Lord Andar Belmore's three daughters have not to this day ever been seen again, as they were carried off nigh instantly after the castle was taken.

Being wounded in the battle, the now Lord, Horton Belmore was confined to a sick bed for two moons. When he would eventually emerge from his apartments he would find Ser Benedict having taken the command as castellan. Lord Horton kissed his brother’s brow and thanked him for his help, then promptly sent him and Ser Dunstan into the field again. The would not go far, patrolling the reaches of House Belmore’s land against the clansmen. Lord Horton would never recover from his wounds, causing him to forever remain sickly or bedridden. His scar would end up a nasty shade of grey-green, tracing his jawline from the ear.

## Family Tree

http://www.familyecho.com/?p=NQTX0&c=kccq5gsp90&f=413414905169152763