Chapter Text
During the unremarkable reign of King Aenys, Tarth was ruled by the Evenstar, Lord Ethelred Tarth, a lord of renowned bravery, forbearance and kindness who, in his youth, had fought under his father in the armies of Aegon the Conqueror, seeing battles against Storm King Argilac, the Ironborn and the Dornish. Tarth was arguably second only to House Baratheon as the most majestic house in the Stormlands. Not entirely a lofty title given how harsh and unwelcoming the Stormlands could be. But Tarth was unlike much of the Stormlands, a beautiful isle full of lakes, waterfalls, soaring pale mountains, high meadows and tranquil vales, blanketed by mist and rolling sea, the single sanctuary in the notorious Shipbreaker Bay, with Storm’s End just west of it and to the south, Cape Wrath and the Rainwood.
Lord Ethelred possessed the solid, chiselled features noted among the Tarths; tall with strong shoulders, a wide chest and powerful limbs; a square chin with a slight cleft, a head of flaxen hair that danced in the wind and bright blue eyes that reflected the sky and sea between the Sapphire Isle. In his advanced age, he grew a full and bristly beard and his title of the Evenstar granted him permission to wear an ancestral headband of silver and rose-brass centred with a sapphire. He was a frank and unpretentious man of modest tastes and would often wear plain blue robes, a rose-pink sash across his chest to cover his sword-belt and trappings of leather with little finery under a greatcloak depicting the Tarth colours; quartered red and blue with the yellow sun on red and the silver moon on blue.
Tarth took its loyalty to the king most seriously. The Evenstars had first bent the knee to the Targaryens when Rhaenys Targaryen flew with Caraxes to destroy a pirate fleet approaching Tarth, saving the island and all its inhabitants from slaughter and slavery. Rhaenys often visited Tarth and arranged betrothals for Ethelred’s sisters, Brenda, Lynesse and Esme, with members of Houses Corbray, Hightower and Harlaw which helped cement her brother-husband’s peace across the Seven Kingdoms as well as elevate the influence of House Tarth and the respect and envy others had for them. While Ethelred outlived all his sisters, his good-sires never failed to show respect to the Evenstars. Ethelred’s younger brother, Ser Gwydion, was a peerless knight of the realm known as ‘Bluehelm’ who joined the Kingsguard in the late years of King Aegon’s reign, serving Aegon and Aenys faithfully until dying of his wounds sustained facing the rebels of Harren the Red at Harrenhal. His many squires rose to become knights of great renown.
As House Tarth grew in fortune, it fast overwhelmed the authority of the other Houses on Tarth. The Sapphire Isle is large but not so great as to sustain more than one or two houses of prominence. Tarth’s elevation meant that the other three houses, Loonwood, Biddle and Mandrake were practically unheard of outside the island. The period in which House Tarth surpassed its rivals on the island, leading to many of these lords and sires leaving Tarth to find work either in the harbours of the Stormlands or to the east, became known as ‘The Tarth Eclipse’, appropriately named given the Sun and Moon that made Tarth’s crest.
While Lord Ethelred had no doubt benefitted from the King’s favour, he took effort never to presume upon it. He did his best to do right by the people of Tarth, the Stormlands and as much of Westeros as his authority would reach. After the death of Aegon the Conqueror, Lord Ethelred was appointed Master of Laws on King Aenys I’s Small Council. Sadly while he was considered well-suited for the role, the King did not warm to his counsel. While Aenys acknowledged his wisdom and loyalty, Ethelred’s frank, candid manner and loud, booming voice would even leave the King feeling intimidated and unnerved and he tended not to hear whatever Ethelred was saying, so uncomfortable with the way he was saying it.
To help get his point across, Ethelred often turned to his close colleague and earnest friend, Brandon Brax, who served as a deputy to the Master of Laws, overseeing the office of the Master of Pleas in the King’s Court. While the reign of Aenys the Weak was marked with strife and degradation, Tarth itself remained well-governed and Lord Ethelred possessed a fine reputation in King’s Landing. While not as prominent as the Velaryons, Hightowers, Celtigars or Darklyns, the Tarths nonetheless became oft-spoken names in the capital.
Lord Ethelred’s wife was Lady Maud Wylde of the Rain House, daughter of Lord Mordred Wylde who’d been one of the leading members of the ‘Cape Wrath Conclave’, a gathering of eastern-Stormlanders who agreed to submit to Targaryen rule without protest if Aegon and his sisters cleared Cape Wrath of its pirate threat which the last Storm King Argilac had neglected. Lady Maud and Lord Ethelred enjoyed a happy marriage and over time, she gave him five children. Thanks to the favour House Tarth now had with the Targaryens, lofty prospects were ensured for all of them.
Ethelred’s eldest son, Aldos, was known as a skilled, gallant and rangy knight, a very able rider and a charismatic commander. Eventually, Aldos was taken into the Silver Guard, the bodyguard of the heir to the throne, Prince Aegon, Aenys’s eldest son. According to records, Aldos Tarth saw battle in the Vale against the armies of the rebel Jonos Arryn, against the scattered Ironborn remnants of Harren the Red and against pirates of the Stepstones, always beside his good-sires. His wife was Lyria Velaryon, daughter of Laerion Velaryon, a cousin of Queen Alyssa. Aldos spent much of his time beside his wife and his good-brother, Landor, as they sought out and destroyed threats to the King’s peace across Westeros. He and Lyria soon had children of their own; four daughters, Beryl, Jolene, Steffany and Clarys. All of them bore more of the typical Velaryon features, very dark skin, round smooth faces and wiry builds but their hair was somewhat more blonde than Valyrian silver and their purple eyes were said to be just a little more blue than their Targaryen cousins.
His second son, Accolon, was married to Larissa Velaryon, Lyria’s twin, both of whom served in the household of Queen Alyssa, Larissa as a lady-in-waiting and Accolon as a sworn knight. It was said the two weren’t as close as Aldos was to Lyria as Larissa had always been a great deal closer to her cousin, Rhaena Targaryen. As such, Accolon spent much of his time with his elder brother and the Velaryons, doing battle with the king’s enemies across the eastern shores as well as various outlaw groups around the Crownlands and Stormlands. Nonetheless, Accolon was known to be firm, considerate and wise, well-liked by the smallfolk and his men-at-arms. Over time, Larissa did give Accolon a daughter, Claryssa, a quiet, bookish girl who resembled her mother greatly.
His eldest daughter, Bellena, was married to Ser Harys Horpe, a skilled and pious knight known as ‘Death’s Head Harry’ but kind and gentle in peacetime. While she spent the first few years of her marriage at House Horpe’s home of the Dustfort, the two travelled the Stormlands a great deal. Harys had squired for Ser Damon Morrigen and the two often stayed at his seat of Crow’s Nest but were also welcome at Storm’s End, Griffin’s Roost, Stonehelm, Bronzegate, Felwood, Mistwood, Grandview and even as far as Castamont in the Westerlands, home of Harys’s brother-in-arms, Ser Joffrey Doggett. Bellena was a renowned beauty with an enviable figure and a white-gold cascade of hair and it was often joked that she helped Harys maintain his piety by bedding him seven times every night (Some even claimed he earned the name ‘Death’s Head’ not from the Horpe arms of moths but from how exhausted he looked every morning). Unsurprisingly, by the middle of Aenys’s reign, the couple already had four children with a fifth on the way.
His youngest daughter, Lynora, was lady-in-waiting to her cousin, Lady Ceryse Hightower, engaged to Prince Maegor, brother to the King. Ceryse’s uncle, Ser Marsil Hightower, had married Lynesse Tarth who had since died of a summer sickness. While a good twenty-years older, Ceryse always considered Lynora a dear and trusted confidante. Lynora shared the position with her childhood-friend, Lady Elinor Costayne, engaged to Ser Theo Bolling, son of Lord Baston Bolling of Salamander Sound, on the inlet south of Storm’s End, not far from her home of Tarth. Elinor’s father, Gulliver Costayne, had escorted Lynesse Tarth to be wed in Oldtown years ago and Theo Bolling had been a squire to her uncle Gwydion, as such both had always been welcome at Evenstar Hall. Lynora was known as a merry soul, laughter-loving and full of mirth and paired well against Elinor who was shier and more mild-mannered. While still unmarried by the time she arrived with Lady Ceryse at King’s Landing, she drew the eye of the rugged Ser Casper Buckwell, son of Lord Oryon. It was said the two would often be found in the less-frequented corridors of the Red Keep in each other’s arms.
His youngest son, Elfred, was a squire for Lord Godwyn Connington of Griffin’s Roost, one of Ethelred’s oldest and closest friends and a lord of celebrated character. Elfred was a robust and swift-witted soul sometimes jokily called ‘The Terror of Tarth’, he was a merry boy who enjoyed sails, swords and singing. He was already skilled with the sword before his ninth name-day and sought to one day serve in the Silver Guard beside Aldos.
But the story of his third son, Elsyn, shaped Tarth in the storm to come. Growing up, Elsyn shared the rugged physique of his family but possessed a certain awkwardness and somewhat meek manner. While not incapable of swordwork and squiring he gravitated more towards scholarly matters, and it was generally assumed he would one day enter the Citadel, closely counselled by Evenstar Hall’s Maester, Ronan of Blackhaven, a candid and prudent man who’d served Ethelred and his family for over forty years. In his fourteenth summer, Elsyn had his chambers converted into a study and connected them with a tertiary solar of Tarth where both the great Sapphire Lake and the mist-dappled mountains that split the isle could be seen clearly, spending much of his time painting the unique scenery as well as focussed illustrations of the various flowers and insects in the area.
Elsyn would take long, leisurely walks to clear his head and find space and time to think and on one such walk around Sapphire Lake, shortly before his twenty-first name-day, he chanced upon a common girl, around nineteen-summers-old, gathering water.
The name the girl went by was Gwenys, the daughter of a marble-cutter. She was exceptionally tall, a full-head taller than the Tarths who were themselves known for their stature, and she was astonishingly beautiful. Her face was described as ‘precise, as if her own father had carved it with expert care from his own marble’ with a dainty button nose, a slightly squarish chin and jaw, a high brow, warm full lips and a white, even smile. She grew her golden hair short and her shoulders were smooth but strong, her chest full and her hips wide. Her arms and legs were used to manual work but the palms of her hands and the soles of her feet were still smooth and well-looked after. Her eyes were teal, wide and bright and possessed of a glint. Looking into them, one could easily be carried away.
As she was at least two feet taller than any girl of her age, Gwenys had grown up with the idea that she was abnormal and lived a generally secluded life, shying away from crowds and gatherings. Young Elsyn, however, had come upon her by chance and was entranced by her unique aura. He offered to help her with the water, though he found the task somewhat harder than he assumed, and the two talked and jested the way up to the well near her father’s house. He explained what he did as a pastime and asked her if she would permit him to paint a portrait of her, telling her that she was more than welcome to keep the finished piece. More than a little heartened, Gwenys accepted and was brought to Elsyn’s study. As Gwenys posed and Elsyn painted, the two would often chat, play music, eat meals or treats together and enjoy each other’s company. After a time, Gwenys suggested she be painted nude which Elsyn bashfully but happily agreed to. The sight of her body captivated Elsyn and Gwenys pointed out he may spill his paints in his shaky state and to protect his fine clothing, he in turn should paint nude. So the portrait was made, the two bathed together and finally made love for the first time.
The following day, Elsyn brought Gwenys to his father’s hall at lunch and announced his intention to marry her. Lord Ethelred was surprised by his son’s declaration but after some consideration, approved of it. It was not the first unusual pairing Tarth had seen, Ethelred’s late cousin, Aldred, had married a Myrish woman, Odaelya Shallahar, and their wild and wayward daughter, Vynessa, was Captain of her own ship, The Noonday Queen. Gwenys addressed Lord Ethelred with absolute courtesy and the Evenstar could see that this was a woman of honour and clear virtue.
Elsyn’s mother was happy that he’d finally found interest in marriage whatever the case and his brothers, sisters, kinsmen and friends were heartily encouraging of the match between their shy, secluded brother and this wondrous figure of a woman. Gwenys’s courteous but unpretentious ways soon made her very popular in Evenfall, her prospective-good-mother swiftly grew very fond of her and the children of Aldos and Lyria took to calling her their ‘Giant Auntie Gwen’. She was also one of the few people who ingratiated herself with their wild cousin Vynessa on the rare occasions she showed herself in Evenfall. Gwenys’s humble background and modest tastes made Vynessa feel less detached from her kin and she even invited Gwenys and Elsyn to an engagement celebration at The Heaving Helmsman, the harbour tavern she and her crew frequented. In 40AC, the two lovers were married in a ceremony where all of Tarth and many nobles of the Stormlands were welcome.
It was perhaps the last time Ethelred’s family would know peace.
The next year, the Faith Militant rose all over Westeros in defiance of Aenys’s decision to wed his son Aegon to his daughter Rhaena, a decision Ethelred himself had fiercely urged against. A devout man, Ethelred Tarth was one of the few lords of the king who the Faith Militant were willing to speak with but he could not promise that House Targaryen would give up their traditions of sibling-marriage nor could he promise that the Poor Fellows would put down their blades and let the lords of the realm travel the road unmolested. As the Poor Fellows stormed the Red Keep, Ethelred helped shield the royal family as they left for Dragonstone, his second son Accolon beside them. As the rioters swarmed, Ethelred drew his sword and prepared to meet his end but a knight on horseback shouted over the crowd and demanded they disperse for now as the king and his blood were gone from the city and Lord Ethelred had done nothing to offend them or the seven. The knight speaking reason was Ser Harys Horpe, Ethelred’s good-son who had taken up arms with the faith. After some murmured dissent, the Poor Fellows parted and Lord Ethelred was allowed to leave King’s Landing, making plans to head home for Tarth.
By the following year, King Aenys was dead having suffered a nervous attack at Crakehall, and King Maegor, First of his Name, had returned to Westeros. Many lords of Westeros, all of them men Ethelred had long been suspicious of, lent him their banners. As Maegor begun a brutal counter-rebellion against the Faith Militant, the Red Dragon banner of House Targaryen was commonly joined by the Castle Ablaze of House Harroway, the Seagoat of House Belgrave, the Sprouting Skull of House Hemlock, the Great White Shark of House Rankenfell, the Red Stallion of Bracken, the Pierced Heart of Staedmon, the Hanged Man of Trant, the Blue Wolf of Howler, the Fine Fat Sow of Farrow, the Skeletal Horse of Ossing, the Rhino of Byrne, the Oil-Streams of Bush, the Behemoth of Bourney, the Silver Ape of Norwyck, the Scarecrow of Crayne and the Pikefish of Torrent, alongside the bizarre banners of sellswords brought with him from the Free Cities where he’d spent his exile, picked out by his paramour, the sinister Lady Tyanna.
Concerned by the noted absence of the Sun and Moon of House Tarth among the banners of the King’s men, Dowager-Queen Visenya flew her dragon to Tarth carrying a message from her son that King’s Landing had been put to order and that Lord Ethelred was to re-assume his position as Master of Laws. She also informed him that his daughter, Bellena was a prisoner in the Red Keep, arrested after her husband, Harys Horpe, fell in Maegor’s Trial By Seven while Queen Ceryse was in Oldtown with Lynora with her, protesting against Maegor taking a second wife from the upstart House Harroway.
Terrified, Ethelred Tarth went to King’s Landing and helped manage the Small Council for a time, while there assuring Maegor and Visenya that Bellena had been innocent of any treason and comforting his widowed daughter when he was able. Ethelred’s only friend on the council was the ailing Aethan Velaryon, the Lord of Driftmark and the Master-of-Ships. Ethelred considered the Hand-of-the-King Lucas Harroway a grasping crook, the Master-of-Coin Alton Butterwell a blundering oaf and had nothing but scorn and suspicion for Maegor’s second wife, Queen Alys Harroway and Maegor’s Mistress Tyanna, though he did have a reasonably amiable relationship with the Queen’s sisters, Jeyne and Hanna. Brandon Brax had also been called back to the court, deathly quiet and terrified, knowing that both his wife and eldest son, sympathised with the Faith Militant.
Dowager-Queen Visenya was suspicious of Tarth and Brax but nonetheless acknowledged their skill, advising her son to keep them alive and on the council where they could be both useful and observed. But both Alys Harroway and Tyanna of the Tower worked to encourage the King that Tarth was not to be trusted. Desperate to avoid his daughter’s death and his household’s sacking, Ethelred weakly conceded to every treaty and form that was presented to him. For a while, his reputation among the lords and smallfolk soured as a result until in the Faith Militant began to gather again in the Reach and Riverlands. One of the leaders of the Faith Militant, the valorous Ser Joffrey Doggett the Red Dog of the Hills, sent a letter declaring that he wished to speak with Ethelred Tarth to discuss the terms of the rebellion, declaring him the only half-way pious man on the Small Council. This, unfortunately, stoked Maegor’s suspicions and instead of sending Tarth to speak with his enemies, he saw an enemy in Tarth himself.
Both Ethelred and his daughter Bellena were dragged to the Black Cells and tortured all through the day and night into revealing names of lords and knights associated with the Faith Militant. It is not known if either Tarth gave any names, many maesters and singers insist that both Tarths held their tongues despite the unspeakable torments visited upon them. During this time, Aethan Velaryon petitioned the king to release Tarth and his daughter, swearing that he had always been loyal. Maegor ordered him to return with proof or not at all. Aethan Velaryon retired to his study and was found dead two days later. The official report written by Lady Tyanna claimed the man had died of a ‘weak heart’, a tragic condition that may be hereditary, urging the rest of House Velaryon to refrain from similarly unwise or outspoken behaviour for fear they may suffer the same ‘illness’.
The following morning, both Tarths were brought to the castle grounds and burned to death by Maegor’s dragon, Balerion the Black Dread, Ethelred holding his daughter close to comfort her before the end. Lord Brandon Brax and several other members of Aenys’s court and council also died the same way.
A spark was lit in Tarth. Overwhelmed by grief and fury, Ethelred’s eldest sons, Aldos and Accolon, declared Tarth for Aenys’s son, Prince Aegon. Beside their Velaryon wives, they went with a small Stormlander Host, joining up with their youngest brother Elfred who was still squiring for Lord Godwyn Connington, another ally of Aegon. Aldos left Tarth in the charge of Elsyn and Gwenys if they failed to return.
The Tarths were friends, colleagues and blood-relations to many who stood with Prince Aegon; from the twin sons of Brenda Tarth and Gawen Corbray, Qarl and Calvyn; to the noble Lord Connington and his two eldest sons, Balfor and Kelvyn, the Tarbeck Brothers, Lord Alyn and Ser Arcos; Ser Tyler Hill, the Bastard of Casterly Rock; the golden-whiskered Lord Dudley Westerling; Lord Fredrick Farman and his eldest son, Ser Farwood; Lord Jon Piper and his valiant sister Melony; the gallant Lords Sedgewyck Broome and Peremore Parren and the eccentric Nigel Turnberry, known as the ‘Smasher’; Lord Myles Smallwood and his son Wallace, the hero of Acorn Hall; the persevering Lord Ronnel Vance and the mysterious Ser Willam Whistler; the ailing Lord Heston Charlton and the taciturn Lords Abner Roote and Bernard Paege; even a Northman, Ser Denys Snow, natural son of the late Lord Petyr Dustin of Barrowtown; but astonishingly, a contingent of Faith Militant rode to lend Prince Aegon aid, provided he would do right by the Seven were he to prevail. While not sanctioned by the High Septon or many of the other leaders, this Chapter had been sent by Ser Joffrey Doggett and led by Lord Brandon Brax’s eldest son, Ser Alador the Awakened, who brought with him half-a-hundred Warrior’s Sons.
And beneath the God’s Eye, Aegon the Uncrowned, astride his dragon Quicksilver, fought Maegor the Cruel who rode Balerion the Black Dragon, dwarfing the young prince and after a brief duel, slew his nephew and the dragon he rode. Many heroes under the fallen prince’s banner fell beside him that day.
Aldos Tarth himself was cut down by Ser Davos Darklyn of Maegor’s Kingsguard. Singers say that Davos held Aldos as he lay dying, apologising to his fallen Brother-Kingsguard Gwydion Bluehelm for spilling the blood of his kin before meeting Qarl Corbray, son of Gwydion’s sister, Brenda Tarth, who slew Ser Davos in turn. Lyria rushed to her husband’s side but was shot half-a-dozen times by Harroway crossbows, crawling to Aldos’s body and holding his hand before she died.
Elfred Tarth was slain by one of Maegor’s fiercest knights, Ser Borcas Belgrave, often called ‘Maegor’s Mad Bull’, who was soon afterwards beheaded by Godwyn Connington. Godwyn Connington was then stabbed to death by spearmen as he searched for the fallen Prince Aegon’s body.
Ser Landor Velaryon, good-brother to Aldos and Accolon, fell facing off against two of Maegor’s Kingsguard, Ser Maladon Moore or Treadlightly and Ser Symond Crayne of Scarecrow Hall.
Larissa Velaryon and Accolon Tarth fled down the Blackwater beside Balfor and Kelvyn, reaching the Stormlands and meeting with Ser Addam Morrigen who volunteered to escort them to Cape Wrath. However, they were ambushed on the road by Simeon Lothston and Malora Trant alongside the lords of Houses Howler and Ossing. Lord Howler slew Ser Balfor and Lord Ossing killed Addam Morrigen while Accolon and Larissa were captured.
Aldos and Lyria’s daughters were smuggled out of Driftmark to be fostered at Sealion Tower, but Landor's son, Vael Velaryon, was captured and brought to King’s Landing. The children of Bellena Tarth and Harys Horpe had already been smuggled to Mistwood for their safety.
At this time, Oldtown and House Hightower had already surrendered to Maegor and Ceryse appeared to reconcile with her estranged husband. Lynora Tarth stood by her Queen, hoping she would not reveal her presence and quietly praying for the Seven to show mercy on those lost. Elinor Costayne kept her company through this difficult time.
Lady Maud Wylde grew gravely ill at the news and died within the week. The Lordship of Tarth passed to Elsyn with Gwenys the only one he had left with him. Dreading the sight of dragons appearing on the horizon to carry Maegor’s punishment, Elsyn went for days without sleep.
At last, Maester Ronan brought his young lord a confidential letter written by Tors Bulwer, an old childhood friend of his who had since married Elayne, daughter of Lord Godwyn. Together with his good-brother, Kyle, he was assembling Stormlander lords and knights opposed to Maegor, hinting that their secret benefactor was none other than Lord Rogar Baratheon of Storm’s End, the Lord Paramount of the Stormlands. Ships from all over Cape Wrath appeared at Tarth bringing weapons and artillery in the event of Maegor’s dragons or fleet. Elsyn’s knowledge of history had given him some insight on warfare and strategy though he looked to Maester Ronan and the master-at-arms, Ser Alectrys Herston, for proper procedure. At all times, Gwenys was there to encourage or calm him whenever he needed.
By the following year, there was shocking news from many fronts. The Queen’s family of House Harroway had not only fallen but had been entirely destroyed, the Dowager-Queen Visenya had died on Dragonstone and Aenys’s widow, Alyssa Velaryon, had fled Maegor’s grasp with her two youngest children, taking the famed Valryian Steel Sword Dark Sister with them. Elsyn Tarth began a clandestine operation of relaying messages in the hopes that Alyssa would find refuge in Tarth and perhaps rouse the Stormlands to declare against Maegor entirely with House Velaryon’s dragons beside them.
Adding to this was news that Elsyn found even more joyous. Gwenys joined him in his solar one evening and happily informed him that she was pregnant with his child and that both experts she’d spoke to (Maester Ronan and Madame Mhori, a Lengii medicine woman who resided near The Heaving Helmsman) were certain that it was a son.
A celebration was held in Tarth the following morning as they raised a toast for Queen Alyssa and Lady Gwenys.
Unknown to them, however, Tarth would soon be the scene of a most treacherous event.