The High Septon

**The Tenacious One** is the High Septon, and the head of the Unionist faction within the Faith of the Seven. He has called the Great Council of Harrenhal in 298AA, and remains an ally of Andar II Arryn.

## Biography

The man who would eventually become the High Septon was born Guyard Grimm in 232 A.A., the second son of the lord's third son. He was five when the Ironborn sailed to war. He was thrown onto the deck of a longship while his father, Ser Valarr, fought a desperate last stand to hold the docks. Though he wished dearly to join his father in this death-and-glory last stand, the knights of House Grimm forbade it. And so Guyard sailed away as his father, surrounded by the bodies of Shield Islanders and Ironmen alike, at last fell to the Ironborn.

His father's desperate last stand was the seminal moment of young Guyard's youth. It crystallized his contempt for the Ironborn, who had come to his home and cut down his father, and their vile sea cult. When the Redwyne smashed the Ironborn on Oakenshield, liberating House Hewett and clearing the path to throw the Ironborn out of the other Shield Islands, he was overjoyed.

Guyard, being so far down the line of succession and of precious little use in the rebuilding of Greyshield, was sent off to the sept. He took to his studies with zeal, for even in his youth he had been taken with the notion of spreading the light of the Seven to those places that were yet shrouded in darkness. And if it so happened that doing so meant killing every single one of the Ironborn, well, that was a price that Guyard was all too happy to pay.

Having taken his oaths in 252 A.A., Septon Guyard was sent forth from Oldtown to a land rife with heretics: the North. He was a Shield Islander and now he found himself in the vast forests of the North, as far from the sea as he had ever been in his life. Whereas in the South he had been of the dominant faith, here he was an outlier, an interloper. Lord Whitehill would ultimately break the King's Peace a few years later, and eventually lose his head for it. In the North, Septon Guyard spoke at length and with great vigor on the nature of the Seven. His sympathizers described his sermons as \*\*authoritative\*\*, while his detractors described them as bombastic. He was not the man to restrain Whitehill's ambitions and, when the Starks rode forth to restore order, he did not counsel his lord to bow his head and beg forgiveness.

Septon Guyard was recalled in 256 A.A. after news of Lord Whitehill's death reached Oldtown. The Most Devout did not censure him, but decided that Whitehill required a different sort of septon -- one who was more inclined towards interfaith harmony and understanding. Septon Guyard was left to cool his heels in Oldtown. And it was in Oldtown that Septon Guyard's thoughts turned towards the Faith and what was wrong with it. He wrote prolificly, debated maesters and septons alike on esoteric subjects, and used the time between his assignments to build support.

In 257 A.A., Septon Zachary of the Most Devout passed in his sleep. Septon Ygon was recalled from White Harbor and elevated to that lofty office. Septon Guyard, having heard that Septon Ygon was a master at cyvasse, challenged the Most Devout to a game. Septon Guyard lost badly, but the two men traded stories of their time in the North. They spoke of the Faith in that foreign land, of how it differed between the coastal lands pledged to House Manderly and the deep forests pledged to Whitehill, who was in turn sworn to men who worshipped the Old Gods. After a few more lopsided matches, the two septons might have called one another friend.

In 258 A.A., Septon Ygon and Septa Janei summoned Septon Guyard and informed him that he would be sent to serve as Septon of Gulltown. Septon Guyard was surprised by this ruling, for he understood the post to be one typically reserved for senior members of the clergy. Septon Ygon informed him that the Most Devout believed he could do good work there. And so Septon Guyard, spurred on by the trust placed in him by the Most Devout, threw himself into his work.

He reached Gulltown by boat three moons later. He would serve as Septon of Gulltown longer than he would hold any other office. In that time he came to love the Valemen with their unshakeable faith in the Seven. He visited every keep and city in that land and many, many villages besides. He sailed the salt seas with Sistermen, learned to shoot bow and arrow with the Hunters, and earned a rudimentary understanding of shipbuilding with the Melcolms, climbed the winding paths to the Eyrie and earned blisters for his trouble, plunged into the frigid river at Strong Song on a dare, and learned how to swing a \*\*warhammer\*\* in Runestone. When his recall came in mid 275 A.A., Septon Guyard was unhappy in the extreme. But still, he said his farewells and took ship back to Oldtown.

He arrived at the end of 275 A.A., where he was greeted with news that Septon Manfred had passed from his injuries after falling from a horse. Septon Manfred's replacement was Septon Archibald, a curmudgeonly old man that had previously served as Septon of Highgarden. And so Septon Guyard found himself assigned to Highgarden, seat of a king. He and Otto II did not frequently see eye to eye, once remarking to a colleague that Otto "corrects" his sermons. Septon Guyard's tenure would last through Otto's death, the entire reign of Edmund II, and three years into the reign of Garth XIV. In 283 A.A., with the death of Septon Benedict, his allies amongst the Most Devout saw fit to raise him to their ranks. As his first official act, he went to High Hermitage to officiate the wedding of Cedric Dayne and Lyra Hightower, spending three moons in the High Kingdom.

It was only now, with the insight provided by being one of the Most Devout, that Septon Guyard began to understand how fractious and disunited the Faith had become. There were dozens of entrenched cliques, forcing the Most Devout to tiptoe through the tulips lest they invite the anger of septons that have the ears of powerful men. Septon Guyard began to investigate the matter and, at length, determined that all these ills could be traced back to the current High Septon, who had allowed heresy to fester within his own house. Septon Guyard was incensed. Septons in the Westerlands were increasingly for sale, saying whatever would appease their masters. The Septon of Yronwood had written in terms that were similarly alarming.

Septon Guyard made to shore up the defenses of the Faith. He did not use his power as one of the Most Devout to castigate those who broke ranks with the Faith, but instead gave sermons on the wrongness of positions they adopted. In the past, such sermons might have gone unnoticed, but these were delivered in the Starry Sept. They were the first steps of Septon Guyard's campaign.

And then the Ironborn kicked his feet out from under him in 285 A.A. King Cotter's Reaving came at the least opportune time for the Faith. And the High Septon, horrified by the arrival of Drumm men just west of Oldtown, fled. The inroads that Septon Guyard made against the heretics collapsed. And this might have bothered him, but Septon Guyard was suddenly reminded of a time so long ago when he watched Drumm men cut down his father. He knew that his Faith needed him, especially in the absence of its titular leader, but there was a debt that needed to be repaid. And thanks to the training he received from Lord Royce, Septon Guyard had the tools and the knowledge needed to repay that debt. And so he went to war.

Septon Guyard took as many of the Faith Militant as would follow him and rode forth to retrieve the High Septon, prompting a brief but violent skirmish in the southern Reach with the Drumm men. It quickly became apparent that the countryside had all but been surrendered to Drumm and the hundred men he had with him would not be enough to cut his way through to Highgarden. And so, with a few dozen dead Ironborn left to feed the soil of the Reach, Septon Guyard returned to Oldtown.

When Houses Hightower and Florent went to war, Septon Guyard went with them. On the eve before the great battle on the west bank of the Honeywine, Septon Guyard delivered a sermon to a great many of the Warrior's Sons and men of Houses Florent and Hightower. He thought back to the death of his father at the hands of House Drumm, so long ago, and used the grief of that seminal moment of his life to drive his sermon. He spoke of the horrors the Ironborn inflicted upon the Reach, of the atrocities brought about by their worship of a heathen god, and of the Father's stern judgement of those who shirked their duty in the face of such evil.

Septon Guyard slew a number of men that day -- and the stories would always say it was seven, the holiest of numbers, that he sent back to their wretched god. He was wounded twice and more than once he watched one of the Warrior's Sons die so that he could live. And when the battle was won, and the Reachmen held the field, he was overjoyed. The great lords did more to shape the course of that battle than he ever could, but he did as he was able. After all, did the Faith not ask that every man and woman render unto the Seven that which they were able?

When Septon Guyard returned to the Starry Sept, all covered in bandages and with robes stained red, he was greeted with news: the High Septon had not reappeared. He and his escort had vanished from the road to Highgarden and none could find them. The Most Devout had convened in the absence of the High Septon and set to arguing amongst themselves over what to do. Septon Guyard thought it was obvious: elect a new High Septon.

This declaration was met with stunned silence.

Septon Archibald broke the silence: "and who among us will lead?"

"Look to he who already leads us!" Septa Hostella pronounced, pointing at Septon Guyard. Her declaration met with backing from Septons Ygon and Leo, Septas Melara and Liane.

Septa Lollys equivocated, saying they should not be too hasty. Septon Cleos said that King Tyran Lannister had done well in his region and ought to be elevated as a High Septon. And when Septa Aelinor agreed, Septon Guyard knew all was lost. Heresy had at last seeped into the High Septon's own house while he stood idle.

When the matter was put to a vote, Septon Guyard earned eleven of fourteen votes. He surrendered his name, the last thing that bound him to House Grimm, assumed the mantle of High Septon. He immediately began to delivery sermons speaking of heresy and of orthodoxy, of honor and impiety, of truth and injustice. The message he sent was clear: there would be no idleness on the part of the new High Septon. His supporters declared him to be righteous and tenacious; his detractors declared him to be \*\*intimidating\*\* and quarrelsome.

Matters came to a head in 291 A.A. The High Septon had recalled a Septon Theomar from the West. Septon Theomar stood accused of heresy and apostasy, of proclaiming that King Tyran Lannister was the rightful High Septon. One septon and three knights of the Warrior's Son stood to give evidence in support of the claim; Septon Theomar made no effort to deny it. The High Septon had Septon Theomar stripped of his frock and forced to make the Walk of Shame from the Starry Sept to the city gates, there to be left on his own without even clothes on his back. He was declared anathema to the Faith. Two more Septons would follow suit in the coming moons before the trial of Septon Harron was interrupted by the arrival of the Ironborn under banners bearing the bone hand sigil of House Drumm.

The High Septon's first thought was to fight. And so he gathered such members of the Faith Militant as the Oldtown chapter had available and lent his warhammer to the defense of the city. It would prove inadequate. Oldtown was falling and, though he wanted little more than to kill as many Ironborn as possible, the High Septon was forced to retreat. The retreat turned into a rout and a great many of the Faith Militant in Oldtown were slain in defense of their leader.

With the Reach in chaos, and the West no better, the High Septon knew he had to relocate to somewhere further afield than even Highgarden. He thought of Storm's End, but the Durrandons were always only one step removed from heresy at the best of times. It also didn't help that he had defrocked one septon from the Stormlands and was going to do the same to Septon Harron if not for the sudden arrival of the Ironborn. And so he turned to the Vale.

By the time he arrived in the Vale, the conflict that would come to be known as the War of the Trident was in full swing. It was an orgy of violence, every fractious kingdom of Westeros fighting it out, sometimes all at the same time. The Ironborn were thrown back, true, but the land was in such chaos that the High Septon and the Most Devout could not return home. And by the end of the war it was simply too late.

The heretics had used the distraction of the war and the loss of the Starry Sept to embrace schism. Septon Cleos, and those who shared similar views, felt that the Faith and the Crown were inextricably linked, that the king of a secular realm was also the lord of the same ecclesiastic realm. They were simpering dogs and their arguments were ill-reasoned, but men like Lannister, Baratheon, and Yronwood suffered them because their words were convenient.

Septon Archibald and Septa Lollys, meanwhile, advocated something different: that the Seven were not the seven faces of a single god but rather the seven faces of seven different gods. The idea was anathema to the Faith, but they produced “Avatars” of the Seven who supposedly embodied these traits. And they found, much to the High Septon’s chagrin, support in the form of his home in the Reach, and perhaps as far afield as Dorne.

Only the Arryns truly kept the Faith. Andar proved to be a steadfast ally of the High Septon, even when so much of the realm fell into heresy. Much of the Trident kept faith as well, and the Darklyns besides. The man formerly known as Guyard Grimm was immensely pleased at this, for it gave him a point from which to begin his purge of the evils of heresy.

From the Eyrie, high above the corruption of the world, the High Septon wrote letters. It seemed as though he was personally responsible for the tanning of six goat hides every day. The letters poured forth and, in them, his thoughts on questions of heresy and his exhortations of various septons and septas to speak against the evils of heresy.

“A man who commits evil has killed his soul, but the heretic -- the liar -- has killed as many souls as he has seduced,” he wrote in a letter to a septon that strove to break ranks with Septon Cleos.

Septon Archibald wrote in response to one of the High Septon’s letters: “You wrote, ‘you must destroy all who speak falsehood.’ But who are these people who speak falsehood?"

"The bloodthirsty and the deceitful the Seven abhor,” the High Septon wrote back. “Every heretic is bloodthirsty, for every day he spills the blood of souls. Every heretic is deceitful, for his every word deliberately misrepresents the Laws of the Seven."

Septon Archibald declined to reply to that last letter.

And in that time in the Eyrie, the High Septon made an attempt to be more compassionate in his teachings, thinking that perhaps his harshness had exacerbated the schism. When one Septon wrote to him of whispers that the King of Yronwood had burned "wicked men," the High Septon wrote back: "If the wicked perish, there is no chance for their repentance. The Seven do not say that the wicked shall perish, but that the way of the wicked vanishes, that is, wickedness itself shall perish. Not the wicked, but wickness itself; not the man who was wicked will perish, but while he is repenting, wickness vanishes."

A Septa Olene, serving as governess for one of the Western Houses, wrote to the High Septon, asking why he had defrocked and cast out those who had diverted from the path. She cited his more recent teaches on urging repentance, and so the High Septon was forced to explain both.

The High Septon wrote back in response: "In the Parable of Queen Sarella, the titular queen attends the sept. While praying and beseeching the Father for guidance on the punishment she is to levy upon a wicked man in her prisons, the Father appears before her and speaks: 'For their many sins, cast them off from their many wickednesses.' The meaning here is clear: do not let them go on living in their many sins. But Queen Sarella knows that these men are so thoroughly wicked that they do not want to give up their evil schemes, that they will go on adding sin to sin and heaping up their sins daily. And for that reason she casts them out of her city, so that they are deprived of their means to be wicked in her lands. And so I cast them out from the Faith, so that they would be deprived of their means to be wicked in the Faith."

Despite the High Septon’s efforts towards reconciliation with the errant factions of the Most Devout were proving ineffective. It was quickly becoming apparent than the likes of Septon Archibald and Septa Lollys were never going to return to the fold. They had patrons in lofty places of power and now had access to all the luxuries and wealth of that power. And so the High Septon’s patience began to grind away beneath the scorn or silence that met his letters to those foremost heretics. It would take something big, something drastic, to break the backs of these heretics.

But now they had names. “Dominionists” and “Divisionists.” And so what had been heresy was now schism, the single greatest threat to any sort of organized religion. And while there were diehards in those camps, and fanatical “Unionists” like the High Septon himself, it was dangerous to consider the Dominionists aligned. The likes of Septon Archibald and Septon Harron, who had survived the fall of Oldtown, might be described as Dominionists, but the former was declared for Tyrion Lannister and the latter for Durran Durrandon. They were as oil and water to one another, just as they were anathema to the Faith.

And \*that\* was the weakness that the High Septon sought now to break. For too long he had thought of Lannister, Durrandon, and Yronwood as some sort of singular Counter-Faith. But they weren't. No, they were separate factions within the Dominionist camp, as distinct from one another as vultures from crows. The High Septon didn’t have to break all of them at once: he need only break one, and then turn his attention to the next.

Shortly after this revelation, while the High Septon was stewing on where to begin his campaign, it occurred to him that the best way to get to these kings, great and petty, would be a face-to-face, not some letter that came winging on dark wings in the night. Between this and the long-running issues facing the Riverlands, the High Septon reached a conclusion that, in retrospect, seemed all to obvious: call all the powers of the Realm to Harrenhal to resolve the succession of House Fletcher. And so he sent ravens winging off to those kings who had involved themselves so heavily in the affairs of the Riverlands, advising him of his plan to host a great conference in Harrenhal.

The High Septon prayed it would go well. If it didn’t, it might well mean internecine warfare between the schismatic sects.

## Timeline

232 A.A. - Guyard Grimm is born.

238 A.A. - The Ironborn invade the Shield Islands. Guyard’s father, Ser Valarr, is slain in a rearguard action.

252 A.A. - Guyard takes his oaths, becoming a septon. He is sent to the territories of House Whitehill.

256 A.A. - Following Whitehill’s disastrous rebellion, Septon Guyard is recalled.

258 A.A. - Septon Guyard is sent to serve as Septon of Gulltown.

275 A.A. - Septon Guyard is recalled from Gulltown. He is sent to Highgarden.

283 A.A. - Septon Guyard is recalled from Highgarden and elevated to the Most Devout. He goes to officiate the wedding in High Hermitage between Cedric Dayne and Nyra Hightower.

285 A.A. - King Cotter’s War. Septon Guyard participates in the fighting. When he returns, he finds that the High Septon has gone missing and is presumed dead. He is elected the new High Septon and begins a crackdown on heresy amongst the clergy.

291 A.A. - The War of the Trident is a year old. Oldtown is sacked and the High Septon, along with the Most Devout, are driven from the city. They reach the Eyrie safely, but the members of the Most Devout inclined towards heresy take this opportunity to abandon their High Septon.

292 A.A. - As the war winds down, the High Septon embarks upon a campaign aimed at diplomacy and reconciliation. He meets with mixed results.

298 A.A. - The High Septon calls for the Council of Harrenhal.