Walder Butterwell

Alyce Butterwell

Walder Butterwell

A portly man of below average height, time has weathered the Lord of Whitewalls like a strong tide against the side of a cliff. Years of drinking only the finest of his own brews has left his face with a reddish hue, a fact that is all the more noticeable due to the few white hairs that still cling to his head, making the lack of hair on the rest of his crown all the more apparent. The lower half of his face, on the other hand, is almost completely hidden by a short and unkempt beard of pure snow, hiding both the wrinkles upon the lower half of his face, and his lips, which have long since been stained white due to overconsumption of his secret pleasure.

## **Biography**

Though Butterwell could neither claim to be the oldest, nor the proudest house upon the river Trident, the fertile lands that surround the great marble fortress of Whitewalls have long been home to some of the most remarkable people in the Riverlands. Walder Butterwell was not one such remarkable man. Born under the eleventh moon of the year 248 AA, to Lord Humfrey Butterwell, and his wife, a Paege of Paege Keep, Walder’s birth had been a difficult one for his mother. He had been a large babe, both big of stature and big of bone, and his delivery was a complicated affair, requiring the expertise of several dozen midwives and physicians. When he finally came into this world, he was said to weigh almost twice the size of the average babe, though Lord Humfrey would often claim that his son’s immense size would be of great use to him when he became a renowned warrior, and that his boy would go on to become the greatest knight the Riverlands had ever seen. He was wrong on both accounts.

Although Walder would, at his father’s insistence, try his hand at swordplay and marksmanship, to middling success, his true passion lay with the extravagance of court life ( Courtly ). He would learn to paint and to dance, and became skilled in the art of poetry. Under the tutelage of a local bard, he even became proficient at the lute, and could play multiple different songs upon the request. He was not a soldier, but he was happy, and Lord Humfrey, who had always been a family man, would not stand in the way of his son’s joy.

Age did little to help shape Walder into a fighter. Whilst he had been born large, he stopped growing fairly early, and by the time he was six and ten, the other boys his age would tower over him by nearly a head’s length. It seemed that the only part of him that continued to develop was his girth, for as he continued to waste away his days feasting and making merry with his father’s court, he began to develop a rather rotund figure.

His insatiable appetite did not stop at food however, and Walder would soon discover his love for fine wines ( Drinkmaster ). House Butterwell is said to grow the finest wines outside of the Arbor, Walder would dispute that claim. Having tasted both the wines of the Reach, and those of the Riverlands, he could say with confidence which was of the better quality, and it would not be uncommon to find Walder in heated debates with nobles, courtiers and merchants regarding the superior brew. It was during one of these debates that Walder would meet his wife.

Bellenora of Pentos was the daughter of a wealthy wine merchant from the free cities, who Walder met during a trip to Maidenpool to oversee the shipment of Butterwell wines abroad ( Mercantilist ). Though he was unable to convince her father to part with his coin, he was able to convince her to be his bride, and they were wed in the year 268 AA.

Four children would result of the union: two boys and two girls, though as is often the case with noble children, it was the Walder’s heir that received the most attention. Clement Butterwell was everything that his father was not, he was large, but adorned with great muscle rather than fat, and many of his physical characteristics came from his mother, rather than his short and pudgy father. Walder would spend years shaping his son to be the man that he wished he had been, bringing in only the best to train and educate his boy. Clement’s charm grew to such a degree that he was even able to secure himself a place in Harrenhal as a knight in service to the Fletcher King. Walder could not be more proud of his son.

Then tragedy struck.

In 290 AA, the Princes of the Trident, Justyn and Tommen Fletcher rode out to defend the Riverlands from the forces of House Harlaw, with five hundred knights at their back, among them, Ser Clement Butterwell. None of those men would return alive.

Little time would be given for Walder to grieve, for following the death of her last two heirs, the Kingdom of the Trident began to shatter. Cousin fought cousin as the Riverlands tore itself apart. At first, Walder would keep House Butterwell out of such conflicts, reasoning that it mattered little who sat at Harrenhal as long as the wine and milk that made him rich continued to flow, however as foreign invaders began to circle like vultures, and cries of cowardice began to emerge, House Butterwell had little choice but to act.

With Clement died House Butterwell’s only true military leader, and as such, it would be Walder himself who would be given the command of House Butterwell’s forces. Fate would not be kind to the soldiers of Whitewalls, for the Butterwell army would arrive to reinforce that of House Darry in the north, just as it became apparent that the armies of the Riverlands would be no match for those of the Vale. Already, many defeats had been dealt by House Arryn, and the Butterwell soldiers did little to help in this regard. The Riverlords would soon be forced to retreat back to the Twins.

It was during this retreat that Walder Butterwell would have his fate sealed.

An ambush by Vale forces caused Walder to be separated from his men, and more importantly separated from his horse. He attempted to find them again, though to little avail, and he avowed to make his own way to the Twins on foot. Unfortunately for him, in times of war, the roads were far from safe. It was a group of brigands who found Walder Butterwell, and once they discovered that he was of noble origin, they were far from eager to send him on his way. If there was one thing that House Butterwell possessed in excess, it was gold, and the bandits intended to sell him back to his family for a ransom. They caged him up and began to escort him back to Whitewalls.

Unfortunately for him, Walder was far from the ideal prisoner, and attempted to escape captivity on numerous occasions, he never got very far. At first, his captors would merely starve him for his disobedience, taking pleasure in seeing the fat man squirm, though after a close call, when Walder was able to disarm one of his captors and turn his sword on his comrades, more drastic actions were taken. In order to ensure that he remained in one place, nails were embedded into the hands of Lord Walder Butterwell, leaving him permanently stuck to the walls of his makeshift prison until his captors decided to relieve him. The pain was almost unbearable, and until they finally reached their destination, Walder would scream each night.

Upon arriving at the castle of Whitewalls, Walder’s captors would see themselves well paid for the return of Lord Butterwell, and sent safely on their way. Unfortunately for them, this safety was short lived, for upon his recovery, Lord Walder would personally send out dogs looking for them, and once they were found had them dragged back to Whitewalls tied to the back of a horse, before having them hanged from the walls of the castle.

The worst damage had already been done. Upon inspection, the maester confirmed that Lord Walder’s hands had been damaged beyond repair, and that it would be best to remove them entirely, lest the wounds fester, or an infection emerge ( Maimed ). At first Walder would fight and scream at the idea, though eventually he would concede, if nothing else then to end the undying pain that his hands felt every waking moment. From this moment on, he was a changed man.

The only thing that would give Walder solace was milk of the poppy, which at first he was given merely to help him sleep, then he began taking regularly just to get by. This was his lowest moment, and he tried everything to make his life normal once more. He had fake hands crafted out of iron and steel that would be fastened to his stumps, he had Septons pray every day and night that the gods might take back what they had done, he even once had a ‘warlock’ imported in, from across the Narrow Sea, to cast a spell upon his hands (though when it became apparent that the man was a fraud, he was promptly burnt.) Nothing worked.

Acceptance came slow, but it still came. Walder finally realised that he would never again be able to do all that he had once done, but there was still things he *could* do. He had no hands, but he still had his tongue. It is in these recent years that Walder Butterwell had truly began to emerge from his shell, with the Riverlands in chaos, and various factions vying for power, Butterwell has come to understand that words can be just as powerful as swords, and began to devote himself to that idea ( Diplomat ).

## **Timeline**

248 AA: Born to Lord Humfrey Butterwell and Lady Marianne Paege.

268 AA: Married Bellenora of Pentos.

269 AA: Clement Butterwell is born.

272 AA: Agnes Butterewell is born.

275 AA: Alyce Butterwell is born.

276 AA: Lord Humfrey Butterwell passes away after suffering from a heart attack.

278 AA; Walder Butterwell (the Younger) is born.

288 AA: Clement Butterwell is married.

289 AA: Celia Butterwell is born to Clement Butterwell and his wife.

290 AA: Clement Butterwell is killed alongside the Fletcher Princes.

291 AA: Walder Butterwell rides out to war, is captured by brigands, and loses both of his hands.

## **Family Tree**

http://www.familyecho.com/?p=F8HG8&c=5x359puiez&f=153550309822329383

## **Supporting Characters**

Walder Butterwell (the Younger) - Hunter

Agnes Butterwell - Medic

Alyce Butterwell - Negotiator

Maester Manfryd - Maester

Ser Arthur (Manservant) - Warrior