Runceford Redwyne

Runceford Redwyne is the Lord of the Arbor.

He is the eldest son of Cleyton Redwyne and Clarice Redwyne, and grandson to Luthor Redwyne and Bethany Redwyne. His siblings are Braxton, Leona, and Desmera.

He is widowed of Ellyn Redwyne, who did not long survive the last of the three children she bore him (Paxter, Allerie, and the stillborn Gilbert).

## Appearance and Character

Runceford ended up inheriting most of the lamentable physical characteristics from his recent forbears, but thankfully little of their lamentable characteristics. He is a short man, with brown hair cropped short to mitigate premature balding, and sharp brown eyes to match.

Though never a man of great ambition, charisma, or pomp, Runceford nonetheless displays great purpose--a single-minded man who works to restore the integrity of the once-honored house with a calm, reassuring, stalwart air. In short, he is everything one could hope for in a partner, and little of what one seeks from a lover.

## History

### Birth and Early Childhood

The birth of Runceford Redwyne, heir to the Arbor, was met with no small amount of hope for the future, nor a shallow level of resentment for the predicaments and failures of the previous generation of Redwynes. As the smallfolk of the Arbor held their breath to see what kind of person would rule the futures of their children and grandchildren, Runceford's parents were discovering their heir was, by all accounts, a polite and pleasant boy, if in most ways unremarkable.

He responded well to his caretakers, and showed great imagination in play as he grew. It wasn't until about his 7th nameday when they noticed he had begun to develop a kind of seemingly inherent respectability, as he did everything expected of him, in the way it was expected of him. It was joined shortly after with the slow decay of his sense of play, which became subdued under a blanket of melancholy.

Whether this new mood was a result of siblings being born and taking attention away from him or a similar childish response to his young life was unknown by most. But one person, the wife of the knight he was page to, earned his trust, and through conversations at many luncheons, she picked up a few themes that filled his thoughts. Complaints of not being appreciated by his parents, stories of great knights, and many questions about his aunts, uncles, grandparents, ironborn, and the king.

### Middle Childhood

When it came time to squire, Runceford's weakness as a swordsman, and his inability to marshal the kind of strength or salt necessary to fight his fellows became a sore point for the Lord of the Arbor. When swords didn't take they tried archery, riding, even siegecraft. But the training did nothing to improve the heir's abilities. So it was that Cleyton took him upon the sea. It was a long shot, as Runceford had never once displayed any interest in sailing, and they discovered experience didn't change his view.

Moon after moon they tried to get him to take a personal interest in knighthood, but as the moons turned to years, it was obvious knighthood, at least an honest one, was not in his future. It was one of the garrison commanders who first brought Runceford's interest in tactics and command to the Lord and Lady's attention. The boy had been spending time with the commander, pelting him with questions about battles he'd heard about from the Maester, or books he'd read provided by the same. There was something truly insightful about the way Runceford approached them. He had no interest in valor, song, or flowered prose. He wanted to know why battles ended the way they did--why men lost, and why they won.

Cleyton did not at first believe the report. "Why should the boy who cannot swing a sword, ride a steed, or tie a knot aboard their ships be interested in command?" he asked his man-at-arms in charge of the garrison.

"I asked his lordship myself, my lord," the commander replied. "He said, 'Knighthood never helped my family stop the Ironborn on land or sea; nor the king from taking their heads.' I told the rascal to speak better of his family, but it was well answered at that. He has a keen eye, my lord, and I would teach him, with your leave."

The commander did not have Lord Redwyne's leave, but he definitely had his lord's attention. Cleyton made a deal with young Runceford, that if he worked hard on his martial training, he would allow his heir to spend time learning tactics with the commanders of his keep. What the boy lacked in talent he mitigated with effort, and after a year two things stood out. First, the men who didn't take his abilities seriously took his diligence and commitment to be worthy of respect. Second, according to the Maester, Runceford was good with numbers, and could get even better with an education at the Citadel. A month later, Runceford sailed for Oldtown, a lad of one and ten.

### Late Childhood

What Cleyton suspected to be the boy's hobby, turned out to be his primary interest. Runceford did excel in mathematics and economics, but he spent most of his time attending history and warcraft lectures about the many wars and battles fought up to and through the Conquest. There were even a few awkward months spent in lectures concerning the more recent Rosegold Rebellion and that of his own family. Even with his own family’s history, Runceford did not shy away from pursuing the truth of the hard realities of the choices, circumstances, and commanders that led to victory, and defeat, for those involved.

It wasn’t long, however, before a common factor came up in all of these discussions that he had not before considered—the importance of gold, a discovery which excited him as much as it surprised him. He wondered all along if that was the reason his father was so eager to encourage his natural ability with numbers, for his father’s brilliance was no secret, and the connection between gold and war was an obvious one to those who knew it by experience.

He poured his heart and soul into all his studies after that. He was by no means the smartest student, but few worked harder, longer, or more efficiently. He became a favorite of a few maesters for his attitude toward and passion for learning, a boy who want afraid to work when he couldn’t rely on talent. As he got closer to them, the reasons for his vigor and unrelenting queries was made clear. More than anything, more than building wealth, military power, or getting his name in one of the Citadel’s books, Runceford Redwyne wanted to prevent his island from ever being raided, attacked, or sacked by anyone, ever. And if anyone did, he wanted to burn in their minds the deepest regret possible over the day they decided attacking the Arbor a good idea.

### A Man Grown

Two links, a political marriage, and several children later, Runceford considered himself one of the luckiest men around. The gold and iron links he carried with pride, well-earned symbols of his work. The marriage, which would have been a disaster with the wrong woman, was a fine match. The lady in question above all desired family and security, and there was no better man than Runceford to provide these, and no better place than the Arbor to have them.

After his wife became pregnant with their third child, the heir to the Arbor left for the Citadel once more, this time focusing his research on a very specific branch of warcraft - the design, development, and deployment of defensive and offensive contructs. He was very near finishing his task, and making preparations to sell his apartment in Oldtown to make the final move back to the Arbor, when an urgent message reached him that his wife was experiencing a difficult pregnancy, and was deteriorating. Runceford left at once for home, only to find his wife and his second son no longer lived.

It was a year later that Runceford's father died after a hard fight against a chill, and his son Paxter replaced him as heir. Runceford Redwyne, nine-and-twenty, widowed Lord of the Arbor, already covered by a black pall from the passing of his wife and child, did little over the next year but maintain the Arbor, and that with the help of his advisors. One thing of note he did, however, was task someone to find one of his cousins, who had married a Braavosi merchant, and was living there across the Narrow Sea. They arrived just in time to fulfill the purpose of bringing them to the Arbor - he wanted family close for his children now their mother and grandfather had gone, and the pair, unable to have children of their own, were more than happy to oblige.

## Family

* Ser Luthor Redwyne (d. AC 93)
* m. Bethany Tarly (d. AC 102)
	+ Alysanne --- (nee Redwyne)
	+ *m. --- ---*
	+ Ser Franklyn Redwyne (d. AC 99)
	+ **Ser Cleyton Redwyne (d. AC 129)**
	+ *m. Clarice Redwyne (nee ---)*
		- **Runceford Redwyne**
		- *m. Ellyn Redwyne (nee ---) (d. AC 128)*
			* Paxter Redwyne (9)
			* Alerie Redwyne (7)
			* Gilbert Redwyne (d. AC 128)
	+ Ser Eustace Redwyne
* Ser Garlan Redwyne
* *m. Alicent Florent (d. AC 78)*
	+ Arwyn Redwyne
	+ *m. Allaquo of Braavos*

## Quotes

> Lord Runceford was indeed the lord that the Arbor needed at this time in its history. Hells, at this rate he may well be remembered as the greatest lord that island had ever seen. Cool, calculating, aware. Loras greatly respected the man’s caution. It reminded him, strikingly, of the stories that he had heard of his father. *-- Loras Hightower, AC 130*
>
>

## Household Members

Bethany Redwyne (nee Tarly) -- Grandmother

Arwyn Redwyne -- Cousin, once removed

*m. Allaquo of Braavos* *-- Cousin, once removed*

Paxter Redwyne -- Heir

Alerie Redwyne -- Daughter

## Meta

**Attribute:** Diligent

**Skills:** Marshalling (MAR), Skirmishing (MAR), Fortification (STA), Finances (EDU), Military Engineering (EDU)

**Mastery:** Field Commander

**Tiers:**