House Greymane

House Greymane
Power Level	Lord House
Kingdom of Loyalty	Kingdom of Lucerne
House Banner
Coat of Arms	A Wolf's Head clasped overtop a shield with two candles to light the way.
Words	"The Pack Survives where the individual fades."
Vital statistics
Founder	Unknown Founder during the Driving Tide
Current Leader	Genn Greymane
Current Heir	Liam Greymane
Date of Founding	Placeholder
Headquarters	Hillsbrad
Level of Control
Level of Control	Control the city of Hillsbrad as well as large tracts of land outside the city.
Loyal Houses	House Crowley House Godfrey
Demographics
Race	Human
Ethnicity	Vandal

House Greymane is a large Vandal House in the Kingdom of Lucerne that stands as the Arch Lord Household of the Grand State of the Westerlands from their seat in Hillsbrad. The House in in a position of controlling the Yarl position of Hillsbrad, and has grown to be quite influencial throughout the Kingdom. All of this has been accomplished despite the family suffering from a disease which turns them into a kind of werewolf. The family could not ever seem to shake the affliction and no matter who they partner with the offspring of their unions always is born with disease. With the hope of ending their curse over, they have embraced it through the use of medition, and the acceptance that they need to be able to control the disease.

House Greymane's sigil is their personal heraldry clasped onto a shield of which holds up the skull of a wolf. The wolf's head is obviously their personal demon in which they suffer from the degenative disease which leaves them part wolf for periods of time. The words of House Greymane are "The Pack survives, where the individual fades." and this is an omen to both their Worgen way of living and the fact that they honor loyalty, and trust much higher then many other houses, and this is supposed to be a foundation in the way they move forward.

House Greymane rose to prominence during the days that followed the Driving Tide, and this followed a dark time for the family as they were stuck in Denmark for some time after they couldn't pay the fees the Germans were being forced to pay during the Great Migration. Following the victory of the humans during this conflict the members of House Greymane moved westward where they created a small farming home in the foothills of what today is Hillsbrad. During this time they were attacked and nearly killed by a group of mysterious men that had been hunting a man that they had allowed to stay with them. Following this they were infected with the Worgen curse which turned them into a wolflike hybrid of humans, and meant that they had a severe weakeness when it came to the rest of the valley that was extremely superstitious. Despite these weakenesses they would also gain greatly and there home would become the centerpiece for the town of Hillsbrad which they would take control of. They would survive the Fall of Tree Hill without much damage luckily, but they found themselves seperated from the rest of the valley of Lucerne due to the fact that communication had desintigrated because of the actions of the leader of House Lovie in the form of BIll Lovie. During the Plague they would be damaged heavily by their supposed involvement in the Plague, and following this they would remain in isolation until the prince of Lucerne went on his Journey and they became heavily involved in his rise to prominence. Genn Greymane came to believe that William Lovie III. was an honorable king and in complete rejection to the advise of everyone in the family would travel to Lucerne where he told William of the condition they suffered from. William would accept their condition but would make sure to point out that the Greymane's musn't advance the population of Worgen lest he be forced to intervene, and thus the king had made sure their numbers would remain low.

History

Early History

“Our ancestors supported House Lovie and it ended up getting us command of this entire Grand State. Never question the rewards that come with loyalty.”

— Liam Greymane

The House is originally made up of a tribe of Vandals that entered The Empire during the Great Migration. They were able to enter Denmark during the Great Migration after selling valuable family heirlooms in order to pay the fees the Teutons demanded to pass Copenhagen, and following this they were too poor to make their way further south. They like many others did not like the strict and religious behavior of The Empire and thus planned constantly to continue moving southward, but found their lack of funds to be a massive problem. Eventually their movements took them to the small town of Forks, where they lived for several generations.

Driving Tide

With theDriving Tide , the majority of the family moved westward from Forks, and begin settling the farming region. It is unknown what happened to the elements that remained in Forks but it is assumed they died off.

Worgen

It is believed by the House, and their legends that during their time farming in the present day Hillsbrad region, that they were approached by a man. This man is said to have wanted to stay with the family for a time so that he could hide from some men that were hunting him. The family offered him protection for almost two weeks until one day a group of grey hooded men arrived at their farm and said they knew the man was there and they wanted him. The leader of the Greymane's at the time is said to have rejected this and so they killed him on the spot. With his death the mysterious man came out of hiding but was now a wolf standing on its back legs. The man proceeded to kill all the grey hooded men, and then before he left he is said to have bitten all the members of House Greymane in his bloodlust. His love for the Greymane's saved the House but it doomed them all to the curse of the Wolf.

Hillsbrad

Main Article : Hillsbrad

With their House now suffering from the Curse of the Worgen the family would have chosen to remain isolated on their farm, but the expansion of the Kingdom of Lucerne during the time of William Lovie meant that the area where their farm was became very close, and eventually inside of the new town of Hillsbrad. The family's curse allowed them to have a drastic increase in strength, and endurance which meant a lot of their endevors were increasingly skilled. Members of their House took control over the military of Hillsbrad, and in this position they would have no idea what was coming with the Fall of Tree Hill.

The First Lucernian Purge

Main Article : First Lucernian Purge

The Unspoken Civil War This is the price of betraying your king. Look at this man and understand the fate of anyone who thinks they may turn against the Dragon.

“He had been in that damn library without exiting for nearly a week before we left for the tournament, and it showed in his state of mind.” — Carlisle Cullen Following James Lovie's Suicide Attempt that ended in failure there were several high profile people imprisoned in the form of Catherine Bell, and Eddard Starke but for most this was seen as something that must be based in truth and thus outside of House Starke who petitioned heavily for the release of Eddard Starke there was little outcry to these imprisonments. As the Starke's made official requests for Eddard's release it was Vhloraz that was gaining a control over James that allowed him to give commands to the leadership of the Circle of Magi, and then lock himself within the Sky Tower so that when James regained control he couldn't stop what had been ordered. There would be three events that led to the eventual Purge with the first being after James Lovie traveled southward to Gulltown and hosted the fated Tournament of 5110 in Gulltown. The tournament itself went off without much a hitch, but after several of the fated knights of James Lovie lost James became openly hostile to everyone that wasn`t his sole remaining knight at the tournament in James Nighting. As the tournament went on and as all the Arch Lords of the land were there he begin shouting and acting as if insane during the dinner before the final bout of the tournament. Surrounded by loyalists to him in the Nighting`s, Jestifes, and Scorpians no one dared speak as he continued to scream, but the effects of this were terrible on his Lords who lost complete faith in him. It was only when Carlisle Cullen tricked James into leaving under the lie that William was nearby would James Lovie stumble out of the dining hall and carried by his sworn knights pass out in his room. “Halys was a good man, and for his entire life he had lived an honorable life undeserving of the end he met. James needed to pay for what happened that day, and if I was the only one brave enough to do it then so be it.” — Walter Jackson Despite the horrible ranting by James he demanded the tournament continue, and all did this as they were loyal and Carlisle had worked hard to say that the king was just exhausted. At the final joust James Nighting was defeated by Halys Forend of whom was a knight of House Jackson, and following this victory it was Halys that attended a celebration in his honor and while this happy event was going on it was Aelflynn that overheard Carlisle Cullen talking with Lord Walter Jackson about a betrothal between William Lovie III. and Walter's daughter Eadwin Jackson II. and this caused jealousy from the Magi Aelfwynn Turnidlon who would use her abilities to sneak into the room where James asleep. Sneaking into the room she woke him and gave him visions that told him that Halys Forend was a sexual predator who was planning on using his winnings to buy children for his sick pleasure. Overcome with anger over this James who was still high on opioids would give power over to Vhloraz who would agree to stop Halys. James Lovie now being controlled by Vhloraz would break out of his room and travel to where Hayls was celebrating and while everyone bowed before their king James Lovie would walk up to him and decapitate the man. Causing screaming amongst the crowd as his family watched him die the place went crazy and as the crowd begin to get angry it was Carlisle that called in the knights of House Lovie who under the command of James Nighting reacted violently. Dozens of Smallfolk were killed during the riot as the violent Nighting`s unleashed rage on those they felt insolent enough to riot in the presence of the king. Outside of the smallfolk the hedge knights family were rounded up as well and executed alongside several of the other noblemen who had dared to speak out against the violence. Watching all of this transpire from behind the stands was Walter Jackson of whom stood beside his old friend Tywin Lannister of whom also watched the King go mad. Looking at each other they both then left the tournament as everyone had been commanded to leave. Rise of the Rebellion “I knew what was right and I knew what was wrong. If I sat by and let him continue that was wrong. That evil could not be allowed to fester on the world. As I looked at the young baby that my wife had just brought into the world I couldn`t bare the thought of him living in a kingdom that was a wasteland of morals. Sometimes you had to take a stand even when it was dangerous.” — Walter Jackson Following the disastrous tournament most of the Lords went back to their holdings and tried to return to life as usual, but the simply fact was that all knew their king was mad. Of those who didn't sit idle was Walter Jackson and Charlie Swan of whom at this point aligned together but also had very different goals in mind for the rebellion that they were discussing. For Charles Swan the goal was the removal of James by any means necessary including his death, while for Walter he wanted to amass a force so that he could be given time to complete his work on the Hungering Mirror. Walter, Charles, and the leaders of this early rebel group met together in Forks several times and begin forming the first elements of the Rebels in Lucerne. Staying very silent about their leanings the two would expand themselves, and found huge support amongst the Lords of the north, and the Reach. Noble Family Loyalty Motivation House Jackson Yellow Dragons Walter would be the original founder of the rebellion and then begin construction of the Hungering Mirror which would fail but nearly destroyed Vhloraz. House Nighting Red Dragons House Nighting would be the major elements of the forces of James Lovie and supported him fully. House Reinmann Yellow Dragons House Reinmann would be one of the early major elements of the yellow Dragons. House Swan Yellow Dragons House Swan provided support to the Starke's as they went back to Lucerne to launch the operation to get Eddard Starke out of Lucerne. House Starke Yellow Dragons House Starke would spark the actual Purge when they infiltrated the capital and recaptured Eddard Starke from his imprisonment at the capital. House Jestife Red Dragons House Jestife would be the major elements of the forces of James Lovie and supported him fully. House Jestife Red Dragons House Jestife would be the major elements of the forces of James Lovie and supported him fully. House Scorpian Red Dragons House Scorpian and especially Maron Scorpian became dire hard loyalists and stayed constantly near James as one of the few he trusted. The Tyrells became a serious supporter hoping as they always did to gain more power and perhaps their own Arch Lord position if they were able to take James from the throne and replace him with his son. As the rebellion itself was growing in strength the sanity of James Lovie was decline to newer levels as he had now pushed away most of the more controlled members of his council leaving him with an increasingly Nighting, and Jestife dominated council. Escape of Eddard Starke March on Nunendorf Main Article : Siege of Nunedorf “You come here with the idea that I have betrayed you. I have never betrayed you. I would never betray you. Today you kill a friend.” — Leofrich Nune III. With idea that House Nune had Stragglers Following Leofrich escaping the destruction he hid with different farming families before eventually fleeing into the forest where he kept his daughter and nephew alive through hunting small game and picking mushrooms. This went on for several weeks with Leofrich coming to live within an old, abandoned watchtower, and while it was a tough life, he was able to stay alive and keep his family alive. This ended with the arrival of a search party led by Horton Jestife who surrounded the watchtower but to his surprise it was Horton that let them go telling them to leave the area and never come back. Following the sacking of Nunendorf it was Horton that went on the move searching for survivors of the massacre and during this he became overcome by his conflicting emotions and when his force discovered Leofrich Nune III. hiding in the forest with his daughter and nephew it was Horton that allowed him to flee. Violence Spreads “He had been unleashed. The lies of that monster were going to kill us all.” — Carlisle Cullen Following the destruction of almost the entirety of House Nune it was the army of James that moved northward towards Halendorf where he planned to confront House Hale of whom had been implicated by House Nune. The army arrived at Halendorf where the cities defenses had been raised following being warned by a merchant who had seen the fires of Nunendorf. With Halendorf defended it was King James Lovie II. that commanded House Hale come out and meet with him to discuss the accusations made against them. Tarnide himself would not go out, and instead sent his son Tarnide Hale II. out to meet with the king and hoped the sending of his heir and war companion would calm down the very angry king. Instead of causing him to calm down seeing the Landsgrave and Guildmaster Tarnide Hale not exit the castle made James more paranoid. As Tarnide the younger and his wife came outside they were also joined by Tarnide's sister Lisbeth as they attempted to show a united front. Arriving at the camp they were shocked to not be given a chance to speak and instead were placed in the stockade outside the army camp where they were placed in full view of the castle. At this point it was Tarnide the elder that made his second mistake when instead of immediately agreeing to the request of James to meet with him he delayed things believing his councilors that this was a bluff to attempt to kill him, but that he would never hurt his son who James was friends with. “It's my father. He has decided that James is without saving. I fought him for some time Carlisle I really did but honestly. James is gone. We as his friends have to realize that before everyone else. He died in France.” — Tarnide Hale II. As the days past it was James that lost control of himself and Vhloraz would take over and in control of the situation he would go outside and pushing past his companions he would travel to the stockades. Having his army blast horns for several minutes it was the Halendorf defenders that came to the walls including Tarnide the elder. As the army and the defenders watched it was Vhloraz that decapitated both Tarnide and his wife to the horror of the defenders including the leadership and most especially a devastated Tarnide the elder. Following this it was Vhloraz that had control retaken by James who was rushed back to his tent by Kieth and his other companions, and then fell into what basically amounted to a coma. With James incapacitated it was Kieth that took charge of the siege and wanting to end things as quickly as possible he would once again demand to meet with Tarnide Hale who this time met with the army. Meeting together it was Kieth that made it clear that Halendorf would be sacked if a deal was not made to ensure that House Hale was loyal, and after a discussion it was decided that both Jasper, and Rosalie Hale would become wards of House Lovie thus leaving the new heir of House Hale in Jasper as a hostage of James. Carlisle's near Turn “I cannot do this anymore Walter. I have to make this right. I can't have all this blood on my soul.” — Carlisle Cullen The violence of Halendorf had in the mind of the Red Dragons ended the rebellion but for several prominent members of the government they came to believe that James could no longer be saved from himself. One of these government officials was Carlisle Cullen. What had happened throughout the previous months had finally pushed Carlisle to the point he couldn’t accept the things he was being asked to do. This break for Carlisle had led to starting to talk with Walter Jackson and these discussions would at first not go far as Walter did not believe that Carlisle was an honest broker. During these early talks Walter refused to admit his role in the rebellion and although Carlisle believed Walter was a rebel, he attempted to gain his trust by leaking information to Walter. Following the leaking of detailed orders with the stamp of James Lovie II. from Carlisle to Walter, it was Walter that went against his own gut feeling and revealed to Carlisle his involvement in the rebellion. With Carlisle now being brought in it was Walter and him that begin plotting to assassinate James who they believed was on the verge of losing control completely of his mind to the demon within. Going to the Lannisters “We all warned him that Tywin Lannister could not be trusted, but all he could remember was the boy he knew back in the academy. He should have known that boy died when he burned Castamere during his rebellion.” — Mace Tyrell II. The movement reached its end following attempting to gain the support of House Lannister when he contacted Tywin Lannister. Walter had known Tywin as a child and when he knew him back then he believed he knew Tywin to be an honorable man who would know what the right thing to do was and what the wrong thing was. When Walter first told the other rebels what he planned to do they all were combined in telling Walter that he should not tell Tywin as Tywin was not trustworthy, and they didn't need his sort of person involved in the rebellion. Walter was arrogant in his belief that he could convince Tywin so he ignored the rest of them and traveled to Stormwind where he met first with Brandon Starke who was on board with the action but with the imprisonment of his brother and lord of House Starke he was not willing to actually commit forces to the fight for fear of the king responding by killing Eddard Starke. Once he was done talking to Brandon he met with Tywin and the two talked for some time before Walter believed that he had turned Tywin to his way of thinking. Tywin said goodbye and told Walter that House Lannister was fully behind the plan, and that he would rally his banner houses when the time was right. And thus Walter left Stormwind believing that he had completed his dream of seeing the madness of King James Lovie removed. Tywin Lannister was best friends with Walter Jackson for many years, but in that final moment when he had to choose he chose family, and betrayed the only friend he had ever had. “I took me until I had no family left that loved me to realize William, that I made the wrong choice. I caused the deaths of thousands because I was afraid for my family. I see now that all I did was push us further into isolation and that is a threat greater then any mad king.” — Tywin Lannister to William Lovie III. The moment that Walter left the room Tywin ordered his guard to call Cersei and Jamie to him. When his children arrived he told them to take the children, and to find their brother and leave for Lannistane. Once there they were to make sure that none entered the city as he was about to tell the king about a rebellion and knowing the king there was going to be a lot of violence and he didn't want his family or the banner houses damaged by it. Jamie wondered out loud to him whether or not it might be more prudent to assist the rebels since the king was mad, but Tywin simply reminded him of what they had done to their rebels and said there was a high price to pay for rebellion. Following this Tywin left Stormwind and traveled to Lucerne where he immediately was given audience with King James Lovie. The Greymane's “I'm sorry for what happened back there. You might hear that and think me a liar. It’s the truth though. I saw your sister and everything else just faded away. I wouldn’t be allowed to have her if your grandfather was there. He had to go away. Your grandmother and brother were just casualties of that. In a way you might blame your grandfather for what happened.” — Loreon Lannister As Tywin entered the city it was only a day after that another party arrived in the form of Darius Greymane, his wife, daughter, and several grandchildren who came to Lucerne inside a carriage. Sitting beside his sister Alisson, and brother Hektor he listens as his grandfather Darius jokes lovingly with his grandmother Tara. As they enter the city its Bravin that is amazed at the size of the city, and as they travel through Lucernian Proper they make there way into Lucerne Hold passing through the fortress of Theiner they enter the more prosperous area of Lucerne making there way to the Palace of Lucerne. Entering the palace grounds, they are taken by guards to the Citadel of William Lovie I. where they are to wait to be met by a government official. They don’t have to wait at the citadel long before they are met by the Konsular Loreon Lannister of whom treats them kindly and as Darius tells him how he wants to have his grandchildren and daughter set up in the capital working for the government or a noble family its Loreon that agrees to help process this request. Loreon leaves and an excited Darius goes to walk the gardens with Tara leaving behind Olivia to watch Bravin and his siblings. The chapter ends with Bravin and his family entering the king’s throne to meet with King James Lovie II. and ceremonially accept their positions in the capital. Arriving inside the room its Bravin that notices the large contingent of men at arms inside the room and his grandfather must as well because he puts his arms out to protect them but before he can say anything he is struck in the chest by an arrow. Betrayal of Tywin “Had Tywin waited another ten minutes I had planned on ending his life. I was going to assassinate my former best friend. Had I of acted quicker how many lives would have been saved. When I think of that its difficult to just get up in the morning let alone accept the person that I've become.” — Carlisle Cullen As Tywin Lannister approached Lucerne Carlisle Cullen had come to the decision that he was going to join the rebels, and the way he would do it was by assassinating James Lovie before any violence could happen. As Carlisle prepared for this Tywin entered the Keep. House Greymane had the extremely unlucky time of having several of their members in the Lucerne Palace when Tywin told James Lovie about the rebellion. James was so enraged at the news that when he remembered that House Greymane member Darius Greymane was waiting so that his family could meet their king. James in his enraged state turned to Tywin Lannister and asked him whether House Greymane could be involved and in that moment Tywin remembered the anger he had towards Archibold Greymane about the way he had treated Tywin's father. In that moment Tywin lied and told James that House Greymane had been involved. With this lie James left the throne room with his personal guard and as Darius and his family bowed before there king James raised his sword and started slashing at Darius while his guard killed the rest of the family. Its said that James slashed at Darius for so long that there was nothing left of him but a bloody mess on the ground. Bravin would accompany his family to the capital where his grandfather planned to meet with the king and swear himself personally to the king while also hopefully gaining service for his daughter, and grandchildren in the royal court. Following a successful meeting with Kieth Schwartz it was the Greymane group that was brought to the keep to meet with the king where it was agreed that several of his daughter, and grandchildren would enter the royal families Palatine, and Malatine ranks but before this could happen they became the target of Tywin Lannister who manipulated the situation and caused the entire group outside of Bravin and Olivia to be killed by the king and his men. Bravin would be sent back to Hillsbrad with a note that this was the consequence of turning on the royal family, while Olivia would be taken into imprisonment by the Circle of Magi as a result of her turning into a Worgen during the killing and thus revealing herself. Death of the Rebellion “The sudden speed at which everything in my life was destroyed left me without the time necessary to understand the scope of everything. My wife lay butchered in the other room as all I could do was resist the man holding a bag over my head and pulling me out of the house. I could only pray to god that somehow one of my children had survived the destruction of my life.” — Walter Jackson House Jackson was painted very early on as the ringleader of the rebellion and for this reason their destruction was made to be paramount but also James wanted to know the true extent of the movement and for this reason the operation had to make sure that they captured Walter Jackson alive so that he could be tortured for information. It was decided that assassins from Ravenholdt would join members of House Nighting, and House Jestife in the destroying the rebels completely and utterly. Brandon Von Gruger would accompany the dark and twisted Terrorblade alongside some fifty men at arms from House Nighting of whom had been commanded to destroy House Jackson completely outside of the Patriarch of whom was to be captured alive. Brandon had killed innocent's before but something about the way in which this was going didn't sit well in his stomach. When they captured Walter, one of the assassins went back into the house in the pretests of making sure everyone was dead. When the assassin Brandon Von Gruger entered the room where Josh's mother had been killed he found Joshua rubbing his mother's back trying to get her to wake up. The assassin in this moment moved to the child, and whispered for him to be very quiet if he wanted to live. The assassin then proceeded to put the child behind him attached to a rope, and hidden behind his cloak. This was how Joshua traveled to Lucerne, and when they arrived the assassin brought him to the steps of the Lucerne orphanage and left him there. During the attack on Bredgooden it was also Benjamin Heard that was captured, and this was a surprise as he was not someone being targeted. The young Benjamin was visiting Bredgooden with his family to spend time with his friend Francis Jackson and thus was captured instead of killed and while his family was kept locked within the house they were staying it was Benjamin that was tortured by Nighting men. During this torture it was Benjamin that revealed the fact that his father Hektor had sworn himself to the Yellow Dragons, and this revelation shocked (Nighting Man) leading to the eventual attack on House Heard. Benjamin would swear himself to the Red Dragons and sent his son Mikael Heard to Lucerne with the Nighting men as a means of ensuring his loyalty while Benjamin, his wife and daughters were sent to Castle Cullen to remain as hostages until the rest of their family had been dealt with. Survival of Joshua Jackson “I had to watch him to make sure everything went alright. There would have been no point to everything that I did if they discovered him alive later. He had to live. He just had to live.” — Brandon Von Gruger Brandon stayed with Joshua for two weeks in order to make sure that he wasn't going to be attacked or found out about. He knew though eventually Joshua would be discovered and when this happened he knew the assassins would be forced to attack him again in order to not fail their mission. Destruction of House Heard In his recklessness James almost commanded the death of the mother of his future grandson. “For a guy who spoke everyday about how much he loved me, and how much he prided himself off looking after me. He sure went to great measures to kill the girl that would give him his first grandchild.” — William Lovie III. In the same way that House Jackson had become a major leader of the rebellion in the Crownlands it was House Heard under Hektor Heard that had joined the rebellion. Following the collapse of House Jackson it was the Red Dragon forces that moved next against House Heard moving there army to near Arryndale. At the time several of the sons of House Heard were located in Lucerne as they were serving inside the actual guard of Lucerne. The heir to the throne of House Heard in Martin Heard, along with his brother Telvin Heard were located in Lucerne and they were both summoned to their commanders office where when they entered they were attacked by the guards inside and killed. Their bodies were hung from the rafters of the Lucerne wall. As the purge in Lucerne continued the Circle launched an attack on the Heard apartment in Lucerne killing the families and servants of Telvin, and Martin before hanging there bodies outside the entrance of Lucerne alongside Martin and Telvin. The army that arrived at Arryndale negotiated with House Arryn and during this negotiation it was Byron Arryn that was manipulated into allowing the Red Dragon force to pass the city without warning House Heard. Byron believed that the Red Dragon force was going to take Hektor Heard into custody and then leave the area, but in truth they were planning to kill the entire family. Arriving at Heard Hold the Red Dragons would surround the hold fast and village before charging inside without warning or notice. Releasing Prisoners “For a guy who spoke everyday about how much he loved me, and how much he prided himself off looking after me. He sure went to great measures to kill the girl that would give him his first grandchild.” — William Lovie III. Throughout the events of the rebellion it was Catherine Bell that remained imprisoned within Lucerne and with the killings now spreading both families of the imprisoned became desperate to have them released. With the rebellion destroyed with House Jackson and the others it was Brandon Starke that arrived at Lucerne and swore and oath of loyalty to James Lovie and with Eddard also swearing the oath James Lovie prepared the release of Catherine but before he would fully release him he demanded a hostage which he got when they agreed to send their young sister Lyanna Starke to Lucerne where she would be held as a hostage in order to maintain their loyalty. Final Flames “Hundreds of Nobles Died in a few nights of murder and chaos. The King was meant to protect not to destroy.” — Carlisle Cullen Following the departure of Tywin Lannister, it was Nedrick Baratheon who was the Patriarch of the house at the time went to Lucerne with his daughter Reinhilda Baratheon and his son Edward and hoped to make the point of the rebels known to James Lovie. His arrival though was misunderstood by James Lovie and instead of seeing it as the peace offering that it was he saw the coming of Nedrick and his children as a hostile act, and had the three executed in the main square of Lucerne. Look at the world father. You were born into this land. You grew up here. These people swore their lives to you. How could you have done all of this? Look at everything you have done. You destroyed a city. Killed hundreds of good men out of fear. Is this how you want to be remembered father. Is this the world you want to leave behind? I know you were a good person once. Don't end it all here. Don't do this. For me father. For everything I supposedly mean to you. Don't do this. "Understand that this was nothing more then a warning. Don't involve yourself in rebellions again or you'll find it won't matter how much money you control I'll just take it all. You better understand what happened her because if this has to be explained again there won't be any of you alive to tell me that they understand." "I understand." "Who is your king?" "You are My Grace." "Excellent." In Northern Lucerne where the smallfolk had turned on the authority with gusto it was the actions of House Scorpian and House Jestife that sealed the ending of the Plague. Rounding up hundreds of rebels supporters through the use of traitors within their ranks they would execute hundreds in penguin courts held in the forests. Eventually they just targeted whoever they wanted and after weeks of this they had killed thousands across the north. Sack of Sawyer Hold “My father had sent us to stay with our mothers family for the summer. While we were away the Knights of Targ attacked my families home. Killed almost the entire family.” — Peyton Sawyer As the final moments of the ceasefire got close it was the Knights of Targ that led by Aeron Dalanis III. that would make a move south of their borders against House Sawyer. Aeron would get permission from the Circle of Magi to deal with House Sawyer who they lied was a member of the rebellion, and the Circle would give them three days to deal with House Sawyer before the ceasefire took place. Taking a force of several hundred from Dalnariat they would arrive at Sawyer Hold where they would attack the hold during the night. The defenders were overwhelmed by the sudden and surprise nature of the attack and the Knights of Targ got inside the hold but the inner holdfast was locked by the defenders. As the Knights of Targ prepared to break inside it was Robbin Sawyer that betrayed his family when he arranged with Maehagel Raenralis to keep his family safe in exchange for opening the gatehouse. During the next day Robbin would open the gate allowing the Knights inside the holdfast and following this it was him and his family that were allowed to leave safely but the the knights then sacked the holdfast. During this sack they took almost everything of value from the hold, but above that they would also kill many members of the family with the only survivors of the family being Robbin Sawyer who had already betrayed his family during the initial assault for safety, and the children of Thomas Sawyer who were away from the holdfast at the time of the attack. Another unlikely survivor was Marcel Sawyer who survived by hiding in a secret shelter in the holdfast where he would stay hidden for three days eventually coming out when the Knights of Targ had left the holdfast.

Fall of Tree Hill

Main Article :First Battle of Tree Hill

The Badger Rebellion

Main Article : The Badger Rebellion

The Badger Rebellion You ever wonder how Tree Hill fell Franklin. You ever question how so many Orcs could just walk blindly across this kingdom and not a soul saw them. Maybe its time to start asking questions.

“After Tree Hill Sophia, nothing made sence. Why had the Orcs failed to complete the task? The orcs were meant to destroy Tree Hill, and then from there ransack southern Lucerne and hopefully damaging if not destroying Forks. When that went to hell I was forced to destabilize the region in other ways.” — Bill Lovie to Sophia Lovie Following the destruction of Tree Hill, it was the continued attempt by Bill Lovie to further destabilize the region and unable to understand why the Orcs hadn't destroyed Tree Hill completely and unable to meet with them he begin going back to his old trickery of creating bandits and using them to attack his own people. The Badgers of Lucerne were one of the many banditry groups he created, and they were especially dangerous as Bill Lovie sent Kieth Schwartz specifically to lead them, and he was a truly dangerous man and this was only made more dangerous by Kieth bringing his nephew Harry Schwartz, and fellow Circle of Magi member and demented psychopath Tobin Aven to act as commanders for him. Outside of this main leadership James Lovie also sent Luthor Clune who would be commanded to move against the principality of Limca using his family connections to have them support bandit movement against House Brent at Marburg. The Badgers were able to quickly gather forces through bribery, and intimidation of the small villages south of Castle Garfield, and from there begin raiding merchants and noblemen all across the province of Northern Hillsbrad. During this initial time the Badgers were able to turn Edmund Frotenhood to their side with the promise that he would gain the lands of House Tollsen following his siding with them, and desperate to remove his hated brother he would agree to assist them placing a powerful noble on the side of the Badgers. At first it fell under the responsibility of House Garfeild to deal with this problem and they went about this by calling in nearly all of their personal forces, and vassal forces and moving into the smaller villages searching for the Badgers. This would have great effect as they were able to find their way to the Badgers main hideout in the hills where they would attack it and kill many members of the Badgers, but unknown to them was the fact that the Badgers had been tipped off about the attack and most had fled including Kieth Schwartz westward where they were finding the work of Luthor Clune was going very well with the forces of House Haushka standing behind the Badgers. “We all had heard how the Garfield's were dealing with a bandit problem, and we were all overjoyed that we heard they had destroyed the bandits after sieging their camp. Then to hear that Jedyon, and his mother were dead and a castle taken by the bandits led to a massive counter assault by the vengeful Hillsbrad forces.” — Liam Greymane Now realizing that House Garfield was an immediate threat to their movements the Badgers under the command of Kieth Schwartz would prepare to capture Castle Tollsen that was the seat of the small House Tollsen. Supported by his protection at Limca by the forces of House Haushka it was Kieth would use deception, and bribery once again to to bring about the capture of Rosomund Garfield, of whom he believed that once he captured her he could cause a chain reaction which would lead to all out war in the region. Sending a new arrival to his forces in the form of Fredrik Gurse to capture her from her home, he would march his forces to the site of Castle Tollsen where they would wait for Fredrik Gurse to capture Rosomund Garfield. Fredik Gurse was able to get within the walls of Castle Garfield and during the night kidnapped Rosomund of whom he quickly took during the night riding his horse ragged to Castle Tollsen hours away, and when he arrived he would be shocked by the reaction of the Badger leadership. With his prize in hand Kieth Schwartz would execute her without much consideration and quickly after and left her broken body at the edge of the road into Castle Tollsen where he knew the Garfield loyalists of House Tollsen would be quick to report this murder. Lord Gregor Tollsen's men would discover her body the next day and the loyal Gregor Tollsen would do what was believed he would do when he sent his eldest son Rymen Tollsen, and his wife Esla Tollsen to Castle Garfield where he would tell the Garfields about the murder of Rosomund Garfield. This led to Jeydon Garfield the heir to the house, and the leader of their forces to travel to Castle Tollsen with a small force of men to retrieve his mother and find out what had happened to her at the same time. On the march to Castle Tollsen Jeydon would be ambushed on the road into the castle by Tobin Aven and killed. All of the men with Jeydon were killed outside of his wife Anrea of whom had accompanied her husband but her fate was worse as she would be raped by several of the bandits following the ambush, and then in this emotionally destroyed state she was forced to watch as the bandits took on the identity of the Garfield men as their clothes were taken, and the Badgers preparaed to use them to infiltrate Castle Tollsen. The group now dressed as House Garfield would come to the front gate and using Anrea as a vocal member of the group the Tollsens would allow them inside, and once the portcullis were raised to let them in the group would kill the guards within their reach before taking control of the gatehouse, and making signals for the main force Inside the castle they allowed in the rest of the bandits and took control of the castle, with little to no resistance. Once in control of Castle Tollsen they would strap Gregor Tollsen to a pole in the center of the main courtyard and he would be forced to watch as the bandits put much of the castle to the sword including one of Lord Gregor's sons. As if this was not enough they would burn down the ancient Tollsen Tree which spread smoke high into the air, and would bring about the attention of Rymen, and Elsa Tollsen of whom had went to the estate of House Frotenhood following their telling of House Garfield of the death of Rosomund Garfield. Seeing the smoke Rymen and Elsa would lead their small detachment of Tollsen forces alongside the forces of House Frotenhood led by Galbert Frotenhood, and his two sons Edmund Frotenhood, and Franzal Frotenhood of whom as a force would move towards Castle Tollsen. Counter Attack “I'm not sure what their endgame was. Did they not know that the moment they attacked that castle the entire state would be moving against them? Did they not know that several hundred bandits was going to be no match for thousands of loyal Lucernian soldiers? I guess what do I care why they acted like idiots.” — Liam Greymane With the fall of Castle Tollsen the entire forces of House Greymane were aware of the attack, and Liam Greymane would lead the charge to eradicate the Badgers. Calling for all the vassals of which were many tens thousands of men at arms and thousands of knights was not needed so he called on House Crowley, and several other houses to travel with him and deal with the bandits. As the army was growing Frank Brent would send his son Franklin Brent to join the army as Frank was best friends with Gregor Tollsen, and Franklin Brent would immediately answer this call with his force of Unwashed of whom Frank hoped that due to his involvement in the conflict Franklin would come to better understand the rigors of combat. The army camped south of Tollsen a month after the castle had fallen, and by this time the area around it and the southern section of Northern Hillsbrad was in flames from the work of the Bandits. House Garfield had made attempts to stop them now under the command of Andrew Garfield, but the Badgers had begun force-ably recruiting men from the villages, and had armed most of Castle Tollsen into their forces, and were using hostages to maintain their loyalty if needed. Finding themselves up against a little more then a thousand troops the forces of Liam Greymane spent another two weeks waiting for reinforcements from House Lerman of whom unexpectaly were sent northward to assist with the action. Dexter Hill, and Franklin Brent led their personal forces first in the vanguard and would be used as a lure for a large group of bandits that was burning across the province. The lure worked and they were brought into battle where they were overwhelmed by the entire army of Greymane of which now moved into a siege of Castle Tollsen. “The Battle of Castle Tollsen was quick due to the fact that there was no actual battle. The Badgers didn't actually want to fight, they simply were cowards playing at the edges of society. There first taste of real fighting had been a bitter one.” — Franklin Brent As the Badgers were sieged in Castle Tollsen, they were damaged as a single man stood on the tallest tower and used Magi to torment the siegers with whispering in their minds causing many to be unable to sleep, and others to be forced to leave the battle completely. When this did not end the siege though Kieth Schwartz understood clearly he couldn't hold, and talks were starting amongst the forced men fighting for him that they should storm the dungeons and regain their hostages of which would allow them to turn on the Badgers. With this happening, Kieth Schartz would send some two hundred men of his forces (mainly the forced members of his forces) outside of the castle and he begin planning a full scale retreat. As this happened the two hundred men sent out of the castle would begin infighting as the Bandits were bullied by the forced members, and this led to some sixty of the two hundred (all of the true bandits) heading westward trying to retreat away from the siege. Seeing this Franklin Brent, and Dexter Hill would lead a charge of their forces into the sixty, while Liam moved the main army to attempt to stop a full retreat. Franklin Brent's Unwashed would wipe out the sixty bandits, while Dexter Hill killed many of the outriders that were retreating from the broken force. Liam reached the castle to late to stop the retreat, and Kieth Schwarts was able to pull out of Castle Tollsen with some two hundred men, while the remainder of the loyal Bandits were dead during the revolt that had taken place within the castle. “I told you the truth back in Hillsbrad Lord Brent. I told you the truth and it is up to you whether you choose to believe me and the facts I bring to the table. I'm not forcing anything. Believe what you will.” — Dexter Hill With the Badgers at Tollsen defeated with their number mainly dead, and a small amount retreating westward with Kieth Schwartz, the threat was seen as all but gone. Liam would send the Lerman's after the retreating forces, while he led the main army into Castle Tollsen where he planned to spend several weeks rebuilding what was lost, and adding what he could to the area. Dexter Hill, and Franklin Brent would meet on the battlefield, and Dexter learned that Kieth Schwartz was leading the Badgers, and told this information to Franklin Brent of whom didn't fully believe him yet, but begin to seriously suspect Bill Lovie of nefarious actions, and also begin to further trust Dexter Hill. Logan Lerman, his two brothers, and his father would lead the Lerman forces into a fake chase of the Badgers, and Logan and his younger brother were shocked when they stopped their forces to camp, and were met while camped by the remaining Badgers. Logan, and Krandell Lerman attempted to fight them, but they were laughed at by both their older brother Faedra Lerman, and their father and after they started the Badgers also started laughing. Seeing this turn of events the brothers came to understand that they were working together with the badgers and that all the violence that had been done they had basically supported. Several dead bodies were passed across, and a mass grave was shown to Logan of which would be identified in case they needed to as the place they buried the remaining Badgers. One of the badgers a younger looking man introduced himself to Logan as James Nighting II. and had been sent by his family and revealed to Logan that despite his families prominent position they had become dire hard supporters of the Bill Lovie led regime. Look at the world father. You were born into this land. You grew up here. These people swore their lives to you. How could you have done all of this? Look at everything you have done. You destroyed a city. Killed hundreds of good men out of fear. Is this how you want to be remembered father. Is this the world you want to leave behind? I know you were a good person once. Don't end it all here. Don't do this. For me father. For everything I supposedly mean to you. Don't do this. I pulled my sword out of the poor man infront of me and collected myself around the rest of my men. A quick look told me we had lost very few if anyone in the charge, but looking to Edric Maul I knew my anwser would come quicker. "Edric what were our losses?" "Simon took an arrow to the face, and Tohmen was slashed on the neck." Only two casualties wasn't terrible considering how many of them we had just overrun, but as I looked out onto the field and saw how many were in retreat I knew this was just the beggining."Probably more injuries, but we won't know that until after the battle Milord." As he spoke I spotted the personal banner of Dexter on the hill before us, and knew I wanted to have a chat with Dexter about what was the next plan for the complete defeat of the Badgers. "Thank you Edric."He bowed his bloodied face at me and I turned towards the rest of my men. "Follow me men." As quickly as I said it I could hear the men trotting behind me as I made my way towards Dexter Hill of whom was stopped on a hill nearbye watching the retreat of the Badgers. Nearing him several of his men rode up the hill ahead of us, and spoke to him, of which the conversation was still going as I finally reached Dexter. "A cousin of the man identified him." "That will make for an interesting story. Where is this cousin now?" "He was struck down by an arrow, but with his dying words he told me Milord." "Then I suppose this information shall remain with us." "What information shall remain with you Dexter?" I wanted to trust Dexter. He had never given me reason to think he was a liar, but the simple fact was that everyone I met made a special point to tell me not to trust him, and that had unfortunatly seeped into my thinking. "Look out at the retreating Badgers Frank. Do you see the man carrying the banner? "  "Yes. I see him." "Beside him is the man leading the Badgers." "It seems obvious that the commander would be near the banner. What sort of..." "Yes this would be obvious Franklin, but its the identity of the man that is interesting. I have learned from a dying man that the man leading the Badgers was none other then Kieth Schwartz." "I do not know that name." "Kieth Schwarts is the best friend of our glorious king my friend." "How could that be." There had never been any real truth to Dexter's story that our King had been the cause of the destruction of Tree Hill, but if his best friend was truly here then that would be damning. "I have a feeling that the anwser to that question is further truth to what I told you of Tree Hill." "But it just doesn't make any sense. Why would the King of Lucerne go to such lengths to destroy his own land." I saw briefly a look of disapointment across Dexter's face as I once again resisted what he was telling me. "I told you the truth back in Hillsbrad Lord Brent. I told you the truth and it is up to you whether you choose to believe me and the facts I bring to the table. I'm not forcing anything. Believe what you will." With that he waved at his men, and they went riding down the hill towards the main force now entering the castle. I didn't know what to think right now, but I know that my father would have a better understanding of what was going on in the world. After speaking with Krandell for some time he believed that he had also convinsed his brother that despite it being morally wrong they had no choice due to the oaths they had sworn to always serve and honor their lord and their king. Spending weeks riding around basically pretending to fight against the badgers Logan and his brother Krendall would stay very close keeping eachother company and this continues until the end of the Badger Rebellion when his father leads the Lerman forces back to Castle Tollsen which shows major signs of improvement under Liam Greymane and it is here that the Lucernian forces meet to discuss next steps. Siege of Limca “You think you had anything to do with the support you got here Franklin? It was all Karyl.” — Coyle Ordos Following the discoveries it was Franklin Brent IV. that travels to Marburg with Karyl Reyne where he meets with the leadership of the city in the form of his father and his fathers vassals and attempts to convince them that the bandits are funded by the king James Lovie and to give him more forces so that he might attack. Franklin stays several days in Marberg waiting for the arrival of House Ordos of whom is sending delegates there at the request of his father so that House Ordos can hear of what is happening, and while waiting he continues attempting to convinse them further about his designs. Franklin's cousin Kyle Darkwood arrives in the town by chance and Franklin attempts to convinse him to come with him to Limca but Kyle is cold to the idea telling Franklin how little there is to gain by going against the king in whatever violent attept he is making. After Kyle Darkwood leaves Franklin is disapointed in his continues failures and returns to his room where he finds Karyl waiting for him and not wanting her to see him down he barks orders at her which in his head he is disgusted at himself for the way he speaks to her but he feels a growing desire to touch her which scares him. “My father said I was brilliant. My father always said I could talk the most charismatic man into giving me the coat off his back. Had my father lied about who I was? Was I notas great as he had said I was?” — Franklin Brent IV. Sleeping for several hours he leaves the room to go and find his father but is stopped by lord Deitrik Greentail of whom tells him that he has had a change of heart from his earlier refusal to assist Franklin and will send his son Estmar Greentail with a force of one thousand to support Franklin's movement and at this news Franklin feels better and goes to see Kyle but before he can its his sister Fiona who tells him that House Ordos has arrived at the city. Meeting with Coyle the day after Coyle agreed to allow House Brent to intervene its Coyle that lets slip to him that Karyl Reyne has been also moving in behind him and furthering his points to those he speaks, and Kyle Darkwood insults Franklin over the fact that he hasn't actually been convinsing anyone but actually it was Karyl. Furious at Karyl he storms to find her but she remains calm and tells him that she is his wife and she will do anything to help him, and she attempts to be physically intimate with him, but we discover that he is unable to touch her due to severe distress she touches him. Karyl attempts to console him as he breaks down as he was shown to be so weak, but he won't let her and he leaves her alone, and gathers his men. Following this Franklin Brent marches at the head of the force from Marburg he has been able to gather northwards towards the town of Limca where Dexter Hill has told him the remaining forces of the Badgers have gathered under the command of Kieth Schwartz. Meeting with the force of Dexter Hill outside of Limca he discovers the army of Limca having gathered outside the walls and sends out a scout with a white flag which leads to a meeting between the forces of Franklin and the forces of House Haushka. Meeting with Lord Swen Haushka and his brother Ottkar Haushka he and Dexter are finally vindicated when they discover that Kieth Schwartz stands with them openly revealing his presence among the army of House Haushka. Following the discussion the forces of Franklin Brent place the town under siege while the forces of House Haushka launch attempts to break the siege but are repulsed through the work of Dexter Hill whose cavalry push back any attempt to break the siege. Karyl Reyne arrives at the siege camp several weeks into the siege and Franklin is suprised when he is quite excited to see her, and for a moment he wants to reach out and touch her but before he can he is overcome by his fears and pulls back. Karyl and Franklin spend time in his tent where they discuss what has happened during the weeks of the siege and Karyl gives him advise of what he should do advising him to turn Swen Haushka against Kieth Schwartz through trickery and trusting her advise Franklin raises a white flag bringing the two sides to discussion. Meeting with the leaders of the Limca rebels including Kieth Schwartz its Franklin who is prepared to use the advise given to him by Karyl but as they speak Franklin mentions in passing that William Lovie III. is at Forks and Kieth stops the entire debate immediately. Demanding more information on this Franklin says that once the Siege of Limca is over he has been asked to travel to Hillsbrad to join the meeting with House Greymane and the Grand State of the Westerlands where their decision on whether to support William will be made. Kieth without warning orders Lord Swent Haushka to stand down and surrender, but forces favorable terms for House Haushka and the Principality of Limca stating that in return for this favorable term then House Haushka will support the prince at Forks. As the terms are agreed over its Kieth who asks to speak to Franklin separately and unable to get Elsa Tollsen to not go with him she joins them for this final talk, and going far enough into the field that no one can hear them Kieth tells them the truth of the Badger Rebellion. Elsa is held back by Franklin as she tries to kill Kieth for clearly being responsible for the death of most of her family, and then without apology or any attempt at gaining forgiveness Kieth wishes them good luck and to tell the prince what he has told them, and then he pulls out a rock and disappears into nothing. Returning to the remaining rebels they accept the surrender of House Haushka on the terms agreed upon and following this Swen gives Franklin information on the location of a Badger hideout and then has his son Ottkar join with Franklin alongside several hundred Haushka troops. Badger Hideout Main Article : Assault on the Badger Hideout outside Limca “You are coming with me Tobin. You tell the truth and I'll let you go. I promise.” — Franklin Brent IV. Following this information the forces of Franklin Brent move towards the location given to them by Swen and traveling the road he talks things over with Ottkar who does a good job at explaining why they did what they did in supporting the King. Arriving at the hideout they would surround the entire camp with their forces while Franklin, and Ottkar moved in on the hideout with an elite force of a hundred knights. Entering the camp the Badgers led by Harry Schwartz would attempt to surrender, and a discussion opened up about accepting their surrender, but when it seemed like they were going to allow them to live it was Ser Poliver of Brent that discovered the imprisoned Edmund Frotenhood and removed the coverings from his mouth. Allowed to speak Edmund would reveal the depths of violence committed on the orders of Harry Schwartz and the other badgers in the camp and unable to talk his way out of it Franklin would execute Harry on the spot. The remainder of the badgers in the camp were also executed with only Edmund being taken prisoner back to Hillsbrad where he would be tried and decided what his fate would be. Among the rescued prisoners was Esla Tollsen of whom would be offered assistance in returning to Castle Tollsen and her family but instead rejected this and took a horse alone heading to her childhood home of Highgarden. Tobin Aven would be taken prisoner during the assault on the hideout and taken back by Franklin Brent to Hillsbrad in order to testify as to what the actions of James Lovie had been. Final Meeting “My brother what our father says is wrong. We are wrong. I will let Lord Greymane the truth of this and I shall accept whatever punishment I must. I cannot. I will not accept to be on the wrong side of what is right. I cannot.” — Krandell Lerman During this meeting Logan is once again impressed by Liam Greymane and after the meeting ends he is approached in private by his brother who reveals that he will be telling Liam about what actually happened and concerned that this action will lead to the imprisonment of his entire family he goes to his father and tells him what is going to happen and at his words his father quickly has his brother imprisoned and sent back to the Lerman seat of Lehaven. The chapter ends with Logan having betrayed his brother now in an extremely emotionally devastated state but returns with his father to Lehaven where he is overjoyed to see his uncle Wren again of whom is the man that Logan sees as his true father and the man he knows will tell him the truth of everything.

The Journey

Main Article : The Journey

The Meeting of the Western Lords My father made sure I knew three things going into that meeting. Firstly I was to be as rude to the Greymane`s as I could. Secondly I was to try and talk to the Brents and get a dialogue going between our two houses. Finally I was to make it extremely clear that we would under no circumstances assist William. Well at least I talked to Franklin Brent.

Hillsbrad Meeting “My father made sure I knew three things going into that meeting. Firstly I was to be as rude to the Greymane`s as I could. Secondly I was to try and talk to the Brents and get a dialogue going between our two houses. Finally I was to make it extremely clear that we would under no circumstances assist William. Well at least I talked to Franklin Brent.” — Demi Snow With William Lovie III. leaving Lucerne for the event that would become later known as The Journey the rest of the Kingdom became increasingly positive about his actions, but also throughout the Valley of Lucerne there was significant discussion on what to do as the previous time someone had moved against Bill Lovie it had resulted in The Plague. In the city of Hillsbrad the Arch Lord in House Greymane would call an assembly of all of his vassals of which included every major house in western Hillsbrad without exception and without ability for the houses to decline invitation. Arriving in Hillsbrad the meetings began with Genn Greymane talking of the continued consequences of them allowing the current King to wield unending power, and that their only chance of survival was to find this William Lovie III. and help him achieve victory. Vincent Godfrey would openly support King Bill Lovie and said as a warning to all those around that the last time anyone tried to resist him they were destroyed in The Plague. Franklin Brent would stand on the other side openly speaking of supporting William , and these two would continue to argue for minutes as other lords stepped in siding with their respective lords, and this continued for some time. As the arguing continued it was Franklin Brent III. that would arrive and brought his prison Tobin Aven into the meeting and with the support tilting against William at this time his testimony would be of great importance. Tobin Aven that would testify as to what he had been ordered to do and this greatly changed the mood of the meeting, and allowed Demi Snow to stand up and state that her family was one hundred percent behind William and was going to send forces to assist him immediately, and this information shocked the other houses as everyone had assumed that they were not going to do anything like they always did. Still without her Lord father`s support she would during the meeting commit to sending one hundred men immediately with the larger force being sent by the Greymane`s and after this promise there was little that her father could do to turn against it. As a part of the meeting it was Tobin Aven that was imprisoned within Greymane Estate and would be held there while he awaited trial from William Lovie III. as due to the information he had it was deemed that only William could decide his fate. Look at the world father. You were born into this land. You grew up here. These people swore their lives to you. How could you have done all of this? Look at everything you have done. You destroyed a city. Killed hundreds of good men out of fear. Is this how you want to be remembered father. Is this the world you want to leave behind? I know you were a good person once. Don't end it all here. Don't do this. For me father. For everything I supposedly mean to you. Don't do this. Entering the hall early allowed me time to think about what I planned to do. I had come to the understanding sometime during the trip here that there was no way I could ever return to the Crowley Estates, or Crowley Hold or else I was dead. My brother would eventually get his wish and be left alone without my father, and when that happened his madness would be unleashed. Andrew entered shortly after I did, and I felt terrible as he smiled at me so enthusiastically. I loved him, surely I did, but today my main purpose for him was manipulation, and that made me feel lower then ever. Slowly the other lords entered the hall. The lithe Gregor Voner entered flanked by several of his vassals including his son Duncan of whom always had the same emotioneless look of his father, and as they entered they squatted on the seat to my right. Gregor Voner had always been friendly with our house, and my father always told me to be as nice to him as possible as he hated the Godfreys. Apparently when Gregor was young his little sister had been raped and murdered, and the only person that appeared to be guilty was Groevin Godfrey and he too escaped justice after winning and killing Gregor`s older brother Aron in a duel. The Godfrey`s had after this exiled Groevin, but this was followed by insults from the Godfrey`s which basically have created a distinct hatred between the two houses. "Lady Hill how is your father?" "My father is well Lord Voner. He sends you his regards, and apologizes that his sickness leaves him unable to come to the meeting." "Your father is one of few men I can count on my hands who stood beside me when I demanded the damn Godfey's pay for what they did." His hand clenched into a fist and I saw him exchange glances with his son before continuing. "I apologize Lady Hill for my outburst." "Nothing to apoligize for Lord Godfrey." Seeing the hate was still strong I knew I would just need to spark the flames a little bit to keep him on my side. "What Groevin Godfrey did to your family was a crime of the greatest magnitude. My family remains behind you in that feeling." "Thank you for the words Lady Hill." He moved closer to me whispering in my ear. "Just know Demi that your position will be our position." He pulled back a bit looking at me in the eyes. "I assume that your father sent you with the authority to negotiate for the family?" It was said as if it wasn't a question but I knew that it was. Either way the question was in the open and I could see that Lord Brennard Fladen, and Cayle Benden were listening in now wanting to hear the response. The two men were my fathers closest banner man and I felt stupid for not noticing their arrival, as they must have sat down to my left while I was talking to Gregor. "My father has given me permission to negotiate for House Crowley today Lord Voner" A smile crossed his face, and I looked towards Brennard, and Cayle and watched them bow their heads at me as well realizing that I was for all intensive purposes their Lord at the table. "Well then, as I said we stand beside your family and whatever decision you have come here with we will join you." "House Fladen stands with you as well Milady." "House Bended as well Demi." I heard Duncan huff at Cayle not calling me a more proper name, but all this did was elisit a smile from Cayle. I wouldn't blame Duncan for being annoyed with the language, but he couldn't know how close Cayle and I had gotten over the years. It wasn't often that you found a lord of similar age to myself, and for this reason above many of the others he was someone I had always gravitated towards. When Leyton Mountain entered being escorted by his heir Baelor and his frightening looking daughter Malora. I had heard that she and Leyton spent nearly all of their days locked away in their hightower, and from the looks of her she hadn`t seen the outside world very much of late. Franklin Brent entered flanked by his little wife Karyl Reyne of whom held onto him as if he was the last thing in ths world. Franklin brought in tow with him Benjemin, and Dennis Ordos of which I along with everyone else in the room found beyond hilarious. Dennis had long been the Lord of House Ordos, but the wealth possessed by House Brent always meant that the kind of diplomatic insults that might doom another vassal were simply ignored for fear of what House Brent might do. The final Lords to enter were Laehera Rholler, Vincent Godfrey, and Kieth Darkwood of whom waited at the door and when the four Greymane gaurds walked in holding the door I knew we were in for Genn Greymane. Held to his feet by Liam Greymane the Elderly Lord of Hillsbrad was seated at the Arch Lord table and when he raised his hand to speak the meeting would begin. ``My Lords...``Liam whispered to him briefly, and he continued.``My Lords, and Ladies I thank you all for arriving so promptly.`` The ever present grovelling begin with Kieth Darkwood of whom bowed his head from the table and thanked Genn for his hospitality of which when Genn did not anwser or look it was clear he hadn`t heard and so Liam said the your welcomes necessary.  Genn appeared to enter some kind of trance, and when this happened Liam moved himself away from his father as if to avert people`s eyes and begin speaking`` My honored Lords and Ladies we are here today to speak of the direction that the lands of Hillsbrad shall move in when it comes to the issue of William Lovie III. I, alongside my family have come to the conclusion that we shall support the young prince in his endeavors. I do not come here commanding the support of our vassals, instead I ask that we all make a decision and let it be known that all were heard.`` Liam sat back down beside his father of whom he put his hand onto the top of his fathers hand before raising his other hand to direct others to speak. Vincent Godfrey spoke first. ``I may offer but one small issue. While I do not disagree that what we have heard of this young prince is at least more promising then his father, I do wish to point out that others have attempted to move against Bill and they now sit in shallow graves.`` ``That is no reason not to support William. We all must die at some point, so why not die supporting the rightful king.`` Franklin spoke with a conviction and a admiration that was promising when it came to my hope that the Greymane`s would get much support. ``The fanaticism of youth is something that brings about its own host of dangers young Brent.`` Osbert Konie the vassal of Godfrey spoke in support of his liege. It was interesting to see the Kronies sitting with Vincent Godfrey while the Godfrey`s other vassal in the Voner`s was on the other side of the table. Clearly the long history of conflict between the two houses was alive and well. Franklin made the right choice when he ignored the attempted goading by Osbert. ``I come with the words of my father and thus all of House Brent behind me that we shall support the crown prince William Lovie III. Any who do not also follow the prince I beg to ask you one question. How can you accept a king that murders your family? Just a few short years ago he murdered hundreds in targeted assassinations. Our Liege Lord lost many members of his family for doing nothing more then what everyone at this table should be jumping at doing.`` Franklin`s words were met by smacks on the table of support by many of the Lords at the table. ``You speak as if you understand the world so greatly child. You have been alive for less summers then anyone at this table and yet you speak for all of us now.`` ``I speak for my liege Lord Genn Greymane, who has led us wisely and justly for years and was forced to endure the deaths of so much of his family for just asking questions.`` He looked around the table at each person before continuing. ``Lord Godfrey I think you forget to much that you are the vassal of House Greymane.`` "I do not forget my oaths at all. It is the fact that I do not forget my oaths that gives me pause disobeying the commands of the King of the Valley. You say the King is insane, and perhaps you are right, but does that give you the right to turn away from him?" Support for The Journey William Lovie III. Bill Lovie Only Verbal Support Genn Greymane Demi Hill Franklin Brent Andrew Garfield Benjamin Ordos Gregor Voner Kieth Darkwood Wolf Braxton Vincent Godfrey Leyton Mountain Darius Crowley Dennis Ordos Laehera Rholler With the support of House Crowley the movement of some of the houses would change as all the Crowley loyalists quickly jumped on board with this plan as most had wanted to do this but didn't due to their belief that Vincent Godfrey would never have supported this. “I realized that I wasn`t going to be able to return home to my father after what I had done, so I had to make another choice. As the meeting broke up I went immediatly to Andrew Garfield and stayed near him. He would protect me from all the dangerous things.” — Demi Snow Demi Snow following the ending of the meeting would take to staying near Andrew Garfield of whom accompanied her back to her families estate. Spending some time there getting the one hundred men she had promiced she would leave shortly after and return with Andrew to the assembling party outside of the eastern gate. By this point hours later her father learned of what she had done, and left the Crowley castle hours west of Hillsbrad and attempted to return to Hillsbrad. Demi realizing that her father was going to do something like that left with the hundred men of House Crowley ahead of the main Hillsbrad force heading for Forks. Demi Hill Marries “I love my father. He was a brilliant, and just man. He was a man that would suport, and love me when it came to almost anything that I did. So did I feel bad when I betrayed him. Of course I did. But I had to live in this world. If I stayed in Hillsbrad with my brother and my father, I was going to die. There wasn`t anything he could do to stop that.” — Demi Snow Following the arrival of the Hillsbrad force in Forks Demi Snow would continue with the next step of her plan when she handed a letter of forged consent of marriage to Andrew`s father Harron Garfield of whom knew that his son desperately wanted to marry Demi, and knew that the match was perfect for his house so he jumped at the opportunity. Realizing that she couldn`t return unmarried or else her father would put an end to her scheming she persuaded Andrew and his father to have the ceremony in Forks so that she could truly be a part of their family during The Journey. Following her persuasion the marriage happened with the large Dragon Temple of Forks and Demi Snow became Demi Garfield and was now protected so she believed from the actions of her brother Dexter.

Battle of Hillsbrad

Main Article : Battle of Hillsbrad

Liam Greymane and House Greymane had not taken part in the first part of the Journey as they had been involved in a small battle against a marauding Orc force that often split off from the army in Tree Hill. The Battle itself was long simply because the Orcs were led by a suprisingly intelligent Orc that refused to engage in a battle that didn't favor his troops. Eventually the Orcs lack of knowledge of the land led him to be ambushed outside of the northern end of the Lucerne river dangerously near the Temple of the Dragon, and during the ambush the entire Orc force was destroyed.

Second Battle of Tree Hill Today my brothers we right a terrible wrong in the history of this kingdom. We all know what happened here, and there isn't a thing that we could do to take it back. We may not be able to change what happened, but right here and right now united together we can make sure the people of Tree Hill are finally given the rescue they have long deserved. Today don't fight for vengeance. Don't fight for revenge. Fight to save the lives of the innocent. Fight so that a betrayed city may finally awaken.

Second Battle of Tree Hill Main Article : Second Battle of Tree Hill The armies of the alliance would land around all sides of Tree Hill intent on retaking the lost city. “For a warrior waiting years for something to happen, he didn't seem to care much that the army he was waiting to arrive got destroyed.” — Saiden Scarlet As the Lucernian/Gondorian/High Forest alliance destroyed the Orcs that had held the Gondor siege of Minas Ithil for many years immediate plan became the movement of portions of this army towards the besieged city of Tree Hill. Jurden over the decade of the siege had become obsessed with maintaining his own power, and had basically become uninterested in actually ending the siege through conventional means. Alongside this he also had a growing belief that the humans were completely useless and for all of these reasons Jurden Hardaxe made no effort to double his scouts or anything that might have assisted him in stopping the coming ambush. And if all of this added up wasn't enough he was also still being whispered to by Morrigan who was telling him that the crisis was the other Orcs in the area. Following the gathering of the forces of the alliance in the area they would organize themselves into seven main armies. The 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 7th armies would travel towards the port of Klausburg. Landing at Klausburg they would meet with the local leadership there and made their decisions on the direction of there forces. The 1st, 3rd and Fourth would move up the Oakheart River and land near Castle Prennig where they would move from there towards Tree Hill. The 7th army would be sent up the Bresklo River where it would land at the ruins of Glendt Hold. The seventh army would be joined in this campaign by forces mobilized from House Brentfurd as well as House Winklebock. The 2nd army would land at Vinterbold Hold north of Tree Hill and joined by forces from the area they would prepare to move to Castle Interbold and then to the north side of Tree Hill. The 5th army led by the Westerlands Arch Lord would land at Castle Hackenholt where they would move against Tree Hill from the west. The final army in the 6th army would be formed from the southern vassals of the Stormlands and led by House Crane they would move themselves to the city of Leiblinshire where they would attack towards Tree Hill form the south. Army Name Leaders of Army Prominent Noble Families Size of Forces First Army William Lovie III. Marcel Lovie II. Christopher Bell House Lovie House Shephard House Faraday 49,000 Light Infantry 15,000 Heavy Infantry 4,000 Light Infantry 1,000 Heavy Cavalry Second Army Charles Swan Hedrik Clegane III. Mildred Gleckourd House Swan House Clegane House Kohne 49,000 Light Infantry 15,000 Heavy Infantry 4,000 Light Infantry 1,000 Heavy Cavalry Third Army Eddard Starke Dickon Tarly Robert Baratheon Jamie Lannister Tyrek Lannister Hanzal Reyne House Starke House Baratheon House Tarly House Lannister House Reyne 28,600 Light Infantry 7,000 Heavy Infantry 6,000 Light Cavalry 4,000 Heavy Cavalry Fourth Army Tari-Aragorn Elessar II. House Elessar 8,600 Men at arms 1200 Knights Fifth Army Liam Greymane II. Andrew Garfield Dennis Ordos Franklin Brent IV. House Greymane House Brent House Crowley House Darkmore 43,000 Light Infantry 8,000 Heavy Infantry 12,000 Light Cavalry 4,000 Heavy Cavalry Sixth Army Natalie Highport Robin Highport Atharid Grondahl Orival Crane House Highport House Crane 17,000 Light Infantry 500 Knights Seventh Army Timone Swift House Swift 27,000 Light Infantry 3,000 Heavy Cavalry The arrival of the vast armies of William Lovie III. would have major effects on those forces already around the Stormlands. The first major effect was following the news of victory at Minus Ithil. House Guntbold who had been named the Arch Lord of the Stormlands following the collapse of Tree Hill realized that with the goals of William becoming clear they were going to have to pick a side in the coming conflict. It was Lothar Guntbold that would push his nephew Edric Guntbold who was at the time the Arch Lord of the Stormlands to see the error of the side they had picked and to call a council of House Guntbold. Following this call it was Lothar that left Guntbold Hold to return to Lucerne and be at the side of his friend James Lovie II. The council would be attended by all members of House Guntbold except for Winfred Guntbold, and his wife Ophellia who remained at Klausburg but sent their son Winfred Guntbold II. to act in his stead. At this meeting it was decided that House Guntbold would change sides to William Lovie III. and would send both Winfred Guntbold II. and Athilda Guntbold to William Lovie III. to open this dialogue. The pair would take a ship from Guntbold Hold and travel along the rivers of the Valley of Lucerne where they would eventually stop at Vindale Hold which they knew would be the eventual crossing point of the armies of William in their move back west. When the fleet of William arrived Vindale Hold it was Athilda and Winfred that would meet with the leadership of the army revealing details of the area. “For a warrior waiting years for something to happen, he didn't seem to care much that the army he was waiting to arrive got destroyed.” — Saiden Scarlet The night was spent with Athilda meeting with William, and members of the Shadow Council and it was during this meeting that Edward Cullen discovered her Magi abilities and confronted her on why she did not reveal this before meeting with the prince. Telling them her fear of reprisals she was forgiven by the group and continued to tell them about the situation in the Stormlands. Athilda would let the group know that the Guntbolds were willing to assist William despite what was a top-down command from King James Lovie II. to not assist his army in the movement against Tree Hill, but she wanted assurances that the Guntbolds would not be punished following the campaign. Needing more forces, and not wanting resistance from human forces as they moved against Tree Hill it was William that made the decision to agree to this arrangement. With this agreement in place, it was Winfred Guntbold II. that would travel back to Guntbold Hold with the Guntbold ship to tell the Guntbold leadership about the agreement. Athilda would remain behind in part as a hostage of sorts but her good impression on the Shadow Council had led to her joining them as an advisor of sorts. Clearing the South “Three kingdoms working together for the common good. It was inspiring to finally have a king I could believe in. For my entire life I have followed a king who while he may have been good once, I don't think I even remember that. From this moment forward son I will die to protect William Lovie III.” — Eddard Starke Clearing the West Clearing the North Clearing the East Retaking the Capital Leven Martell arrived on the field only a day before the battle would happen with a large force of House Martell and her father's writing of support. “The closer we got to night the more I came to understand that the world would be much different after I liberated Tree Hill. Without a single doubt in my mind I now understood that my father had done this. My father was responsible for all of the wrongs in Lucerne, and once this happened there would be no more quests to keep me from the simple fact that he had to die. My father had to die for what had happened here.” — William Lovie III. Waiting for the night to come William would be able to watch for the first and last time the Orcs setting off their massive drums and horns in order to force the defenders to be unable to sleep during the night and thus exhausted during the day. Hearing this many among the attacking army grew even more angry at the fact that the defenders had been forced to endure this for all this time without anyone helping them. William would spend the night with Leven, Jasper, Emmett, and Edward as the Shadow Council as they were not openly to each other calling themselves spent a few last hours with each other before they all knew everything was going to change. Finding themselves greeted throughout the night by every lord who not wanted to speak to William they couldn't help but see how different things had become for the naive group. During one of these meetings he would talk with Charles Swan who by this point he was beginning to view as a father of sorts, and discussing with him his relationship with Isabella he would bring up the idea of a betrothal. Charles was happy about this and agreed on the spot, and following this agreement it was Charles and William that would meet together with many of the remaining nobles and this betrothal was brought up during many of these meetings thus spreading word of its agreement. The Orcs by this point had no contact with their scouts, and yet they still remained completely unaware. Morrigan would at this point make her final step towards sealing the fate of Jurden Hardaxe when she would convince Jurden to host a large party for his Orcs which made them all drunk and even less prepared. The Massacre “I hope they felt in their final moments all the pain of those who they had so cowardly killed years before, and tormented for years since. I hope they face an eternity of pain an anguish for what they have done.” — Charlie Swan As the night neared the Orcs would begin their party and the loud noise would alert the alliance that this was underway, and also awake most of the defenders of Tree Hill of whom were prepared for what many believed was the final attack. The party continued, and the alliance moved itself completely into position against the now scout less Orcish force, and pushed in many places all the way against the wall with the entire Orcish force within the city itself or dead outside. The night came and the army would move on their predetermined signal of which moved everything forward. The infiltration of House Scarlet into the under tunnels of the city begin as Saiden Scarlet led a large force of hundreds into the tunnels in the goal of reaching the estate of House James and once the attack was underway they would spring upon the already ambushed Orcs. From the west the forces of House Greymane, and House Ordos would move themselves through the broken shattered western gate and encountered hundreds of Orcs in differing stages of drunkenness and the fighting wouldn't spark any concerns from the Orcs as it was all believed still to be a part of the party. Seeing the ambush was underway it was at this moment that Morrigan finally ended the charade and came upon Jurden while he was standing in his residence. “Sometimes Brooke you play the long game. You see if you lie to someone for so long he eventually believes that it is truth. For how could anyone keep up a lie for as long as you do. Once they no longer believe you lie, they believe everything that you say. You can whisper the most dangerous of things to them, and they will drink everything you give. Then finally when the moment is complete you may spring. Spring the final trap on the fool who allowed himself to die.” — Morrigan Aftermath “Its one thing Leven to win this battle. Once we win this battle, because I believe we will. Once that happens the time to return home is upon us. You know what we will find in Lucerne. You know what victory here means. It means the death of my father.” — William Lovie III. The battle would end with the complete destruction of the Orc army and the liberation of Tree Hill. When the armies of Lucerne and Gondor entered the remains of Tree Hill, they found the sad remnants of a once truly mighty city. Food, aid and supplies were rushed to the city, but before the true rebuild could begin Andrew Lovie would take the reigns of the King of Lucerne following a duel with his father.

Control of Hillsbrad

When Andrew Lovie and his

Coming clean to the King of the Valley

With their decision to began to expand their worgen into other members of Hillsbrad the patriarch of the House brought the House together and told them that he was going to come clean to William. There was horror amongst the House, and the loyalists, but Archibold was insistent that William would accept them.

Meeting the King of the Valley

As a Lord of Lucerne it wasn't difficult for Archibold to gain an audiance with the King, and when he finally was able to talk to Andrew the two met in the Kings Keep.

Archibold told him of how he was a Worgen and that everyone else in his House were Worgen, and also several loyal members of the House. He made sure William knew they were Dragon Worshippers still, and extremely loyal to the Kingdom. Archibold was shocked when William chuckled before getting up and reaching his hand out. William's quote when Archibold returned was framed and is used as one of their sayings.

"Your loyalty to the Kingdom is the only thing that matters to me. Turn into a wolf as many times as you want, just make sure your town just keeps growing."

-William Lovie III.

William did make sure Archibold understood that noone outside of House Greymane

First Battle of Castle Stragnarax

Main Article : Battle of Castle Stragnarax

Battle of Castle Stragnarax Everyone was moving on Westbridge when the monsters came to our doors. We were horribly outnumbered, but we had strength of our own. I would be damned if I let these monsters beat us.

“The construction crews of the Order of the Grey Dragon still lined the streets, and nearly seventy percent of the towers were incomplete when we got news that the Orcs were crossing the line and heading towards us.” — Thomas Brent Castle Stragnarax was designed as the center of the western defenses of Lucerne, alongside the rebuilt Eyes, and the castles of Dragonhorn, and and it was during the period following the Invasion of Westbridge that its purpose and defences would be tested for the first time. Following the end of the invasion and with the armies of Lucerne retrurning to the valley after victory the Eyes caught sight of a large force of Orcs moving towards Castle Stragnarax. Commander Lothar Wornwayne would realize the severity of the coming attack, and thus The Eyes immediatly sent ravens and a single scout to Castle Stragnarax. Learning of the attack the defenders under the command of Thomas Brent would send out dozens of scouts and runners to the surrounding region both warning them of the coming attack, and also requesting immediate assistance at the castle.  The two main places that they sent requests for assistance were to Hilsbrad and House Greymane, as well as from the nearer forces of House Ordos and its vassals from Marburg. Alongside this it was Karyl Reyne the loyal wife to Franklin Brent that went to work when she travelled to Castle Greentail to convinse Lord Deitrik Greentail to lend his forces to the defence of Castle Stragnarax. At her words Deitrik Greentail would once again lend his support to Franklin Brent during the Battle of Castle Stragnarax but this time his infatuation with Karyl Reyne would become a problem when her convincing set him over the edge and he tried to rape her only stopped by the arrival of his son Estmar Greentail who stopped him from raping Karyl. Stopping this Estmar would take Karyl alongside the Greentail forces and she was able to force him to promise to her that he would never say a word of what had happened to Franklin and he agreed despite his growing friendship with Franklin Brent. Alongside these two though the very powerful House Mountain would be sent word, and while they were not expected they would eventually prove to be one of the most steadfast comers into the conflict. “We knew we could never hold them off, but every Orc we killed with an arrow was one less the defenders would have to deal with.” — Lothar Wornwayne For his own part Lothar Wornwayne was forced to deal with the Orcs overruning the Eyes, and this forced him to recall many of his troops into the cave systems they had long set up. Lothar would send word to his second in command Rolly Reyne of whom would be commanded to follow as closely as humanly possible to the forces of the Orcs, and find out as much as possible about their numbers, while the rest of the Rangers either defended themselves or in the case of Lothar prepared to make the rest of the journey for the Orcs as miserable as he possibly could. Lucernian Forces Strength Castle Stragnarax The defenders of the castle were swelled to some 5,500 men and held very few women and children as they had been cleared from the castle. The castle itself was nearing fully completed but the southern and northern approach did not contain the proper defences that were meant to be in place, but the main gate was a killing zone. House Ordos House Ordos would send some eleven thousand troops of mainly cavalry led by Franklin Brent, and Kieth, and Jamie Darkwood, as well as four thousand troops from House Greentail led by Estmar Greentail. House Greymane House Greymane sent some eight thousand of split cavalry and infantry to the defence but only three thousand would arrive in time to do anything. House Mountain House Mountain sent some four thousand men at arms, and cavalry of whom would arrive a day before the second attack. House Darkmore and House Darkwood House Mountain sent some four thousand men at arms, and cavalry of whom would arrive a day before the second attac Others The Order of the Violet Dragon commited all of their available forces that were in Lucerne as the castle was their headquarters The Order of the Blue Dragon had several Magi in the vicinity of which   Alann Roil, and Brann Voil would lead these forces to great effect during the Battle. The Rangers of the Eyes had some four hundred men of whom caused horrible damage to the Orcish Horde over the course of the week they travelled towards Castle Stragnarax The Order of the Red Dragon sent ten Griffins to assist in scouting of the Orcish forces but they didn't arrive in time to greatly assist in this task. The Knights of the Summerwall had some sixty Knights, and four hundred men at arms and formed an elite guard at the main gate. “Hundreds flowed into the gates of the castle, and from these our defenders swelled. We prepared as best we could for what we believed was our deaths. When the Orcs arrived they would find a well defended Castle that was not going to die easily.” — Blake Dinton With the Orcs incoming the defenses were prepared and all troops were called in from the villages and farms nearby. This swelled the defenders of Castle Strangarax to a force of some 5,500 men at arms along with the twelve training members of the Order of the Violet Dragon that had remained in Castle Stragnarax under the command of Benjamin Bradfoot. The castle itself was commanded by Thomas Brent but his percieved inexperiance meant that he left the defence of the city to his honor gaurd commanders and Benjamin Bradfoot, along with the council of his military force. One of the other premier commanders of the castle was the recently arrived Edric Summerwall, and his Knights of the Summerwall of whom had been commanded to move themselves from their previous home in Forks to Castle Stragnarax where they would be the official Knightly Order of the castle. The Plan for the defence consisted of holding on for as long as they possibly could while they waited for the army of Hillsbrad to arrive and relieve them, alongside the rest of House Brent coming as well. As the Battle reached the point that everyone knew it was going happen they would drain the women, old, and young from the town and they would make there way eastward towards Marburg of which was the closest nearbye town. As the old, women, and children were withdrawn, and in their place came wagon after wagon of supplies from the surrounding region they knew there preperation was about to end as the Orcs were nearly at the castle. Fionna Brent would be one of the few women that didn't leave the Battle and she would lead a contingent of Dragon Priests of whom preached the power of Glaurung and tried to raise the moral of the forces. Knowing how long they had before the attack the defenders would send out some two hundred cavalry of whom were tasked with further scouting the incoming Orcs and giving them some extra amount of knowledge when they would attack. In Hohenstein the leadership of House Mountain would make the decision to assist Castle Stragnarax after Baelor Mountain stated that he believed this would help to uplift them in the eyes of Lucerne, and specifically the King in Lucerne of whom was not exactly shy about his distain for those who sat on the sidelines. As the furthest away of those who cold come to the aid of Castle Stragnarax, there assistence unknown by most and they were going to arrive later then the others anyway. By this point Franklin Brent would marshal his personal knightly order, and while he did this his father would gather the forces of House Brent, of whom would meet with House Ordos outside of Marburg and prepare themselves to also assist Castle Stragnarax. Franklin Brent would lead his forces seperate from his father Frank, as he was still unwilling to forgive his father for being passed over, and while making the trip the sickly Frank Brent would be forced to return to the Brent Seat and thus left command to Franklin. The Knights of the Gilded Fell would also mount themselves and leave their seat at White Hill led by Desmond Hill and make their way southward, and their location meant that they would arrive hours before the Orcish army did and they were thus able to enter the castle before the Orcs blocked the routes in. One of the final arrivals was the unexpected forces of House Darkmore, and House Darkwood of whom had been meeting in the Darkwood of seat of “The eyes had done their part for sure. Rangers of the western approach had caused casulties to the Orcish horde, while we knew every piece of strength they had coming at us.” — Baelor Mountain While the scouts did this it the Rangers of the Eyes were continueing to harass the Orcish Hordeas they moved eastward. Special attention was paid by the Rangers to the dozen or so Gronn that had accompanied the Orcish army. As the Orcs continued to move they lost four of the Gronn to hit and run attacks as the Rangers used hidden caves and cliff tops to rain arrows down on the Orcish army while retreating once they had done the damage they could. Lothar Wornwayne was constantly harrassing the Orcish force, and this only increased in intensity when he and Rolly Reyne finally met up days away from Castle Stragnarax, and in a join ambush during the night they killed some four hundred Orcs before they were forced to retreat southward and into Dragonhorn while the Orc army had finally reached the outskirts of the Castle Stragnarax. The Orcs Arrive Orcs had once again overrun the western border, but this time there numbers had been detailed by the scouts of the west, and their movement carefully tacked. “The first sign of the Orcs was the massive stream of screaming and shouting that came from them. They were definetly not going for stealth because they just wandered into the open and those stragglers were shot by our archers, while the remainder of the army chopped down trees in the forest.” — Benjamin Bradfoot It was nearly two weeks after the Raven fortold of the coming Orcs they arrived west of the castle and begin chopping down the trees that were there to use to construct ladders, and siege towers. The Orcs spent an entire day doing this and as they worked the defenders of the towers were firing long range balista shots at them which were able to destory one of the towers before it was able to be used the following day. Also during this day the Orcs attempted to push forward siege machines in order to batter holes in the walls but they discovered the accurasy of the balistas was extreme as each siege machine pushed forward was destoryed in turn with only a few shots getting off and dowing little damage to the wall. When the final batch of catapults were brought up defended by large trenches and by blocks of wood meant to shield from the Balistas it was Alann, and Bran Voil that had the entire Order of the Blue Dragon force set the field ablaze destroying the remaining catapults and hundreds of Orcs manning the trenches, shiels, and catapults. “Arriving at the castle it was nearly completely surrounded with only the southern wall not having a massive crowd of Orcs miling about.” — Franklin Brent As the day wore on the forces of Franklin Brent arrived at the Battle, and he would make his forces move towards the southern wall where he arrayed against the large southern Orc host. Sending word into the castle that they had arrived, this would greatly uplift the defenders moral who knew they were in some amount of trouble. Franklin constructed a series of trenches lined with anti-cavalry poles of which he planned to retreat into in case the Orcs sent an army to deal with his forces. After spending all of the energy constructing the siege machines they found that the catapults and such were destroyed the moment they got into range, with only a few actually able to launch a real shot at the walls. The Orcs were forced to place more forces in the southern end as the arrival of Franklin Brent meant they were now threatened by somone outside the walls and the mainly cavalry force was of great danger to them. Without any hope of launching their catapults the Orcs would move their forces forward and their seige towers that had been hidden would be pushed forward for the first attack. The First Attack “An undesiplioned mess. Sometimes numbers can make up for mistakes in leadership, but there has to be even a semblence of leadership for that logic to work.” — Thomas Brent With their seige machines set up the Orcs attacked in a vast wave of upwards of 25,000 of which the vast majority attacked the main gate while some 7,000 attacked the southern section defended by Marbrand Keep. The northern wall also had some two thousand Orcs attack it but these were extremely disorganized and the least of the problems of the Castle. Outside of the seven thousand sent towards the southern wall four thousand Orcs were sent against the army of Franklin Brent in order to keep them away from the fighting. Mainly Worgs this force would chase Franklin's forces into the trenches they had constructed, and suffered many casualties to this traps before fighting broke out between the two forces. Franklin Brent was forced to battle against a large Orc of which had killed two other men, and finally reaching the Orc he and the Orc dueled for several minutes until he shot the Orc with a hand crossbow he was finally able to reach off his back. Staggered by the shot the Orc would be sliced across the chest fatally by Franklin as he attempted to pull the crossbow from his neck. Following the large Orc's death the other Worgs became less threatening but there numbers still meant that Franklin could not advance agains the southern forces and aid the defenders. As the Orcs advanced they were devestated by the massive array of archer, and balista fire by the time they reached the wall they had lost significant numbers.  Attack on the Main Gate “If a wall is forty feet high and your ladder is twenty feet tall, I really don't see the value of even bringing the ladder. ” — Thomas Brent The attack on the main gate went disastrously with all four of the Siege towers destroyed, and with the huge array of archers present the Orcs that massed on the ground trying to get up the ladders were caught in a killing zone and lost huge numbers before the Orcs retreated leaving behind the ruins of much of their force alongside the destroyed siege towers. The Balistas that sat on the towers continued to destroy anything that even resembled a battering ram, and because of the hoardings all along the wall the few Orcish archers that were on the ground found very few targets, and the few they did were unable to be struck because of the hoarding. Along the main gate though despite this horrifying aray of weapons the Orcs did manage to get several of their number onto the walls where the Knights of the Gilded Fell under the command of Orival Black would stand in the breaks and kill them as they climbed over the walls. The Magi of the Order of the Blue Dragon had been completely concentrated along this defence and had been responsible for two of the towers going down as they lit them on fire using spells. Attack on the Tower of James the Vigilant “When I got word that we lost control of the Tower of James I felt my first trickle of fear into my heart. I thought for a brief moment of the deaths of the entire castle, and in that moment I nearly paused. Benjamin grabbed my arm as if he knew what I was feeling, and with that I shook my head and ordered the counter assault on the tower. ” — Thomas Brent The Orcs attacked the three areas and it was only at the tower of James the Vigilant that they had any real success. The Orcs were able to keep their seige tower alive in this section and with its survival they were able to mass over the wall, and this caused the beggining of an intense fight over the tower. The Orcs slowly pushed them back into the tower, and forced the defenders to lock the gates into the tower, and block them outside. The Orcs attemtped to break through the gate, and during this time the Orcs begin to take fire from the inner wall as they were free to fire on them now that the defenders were gone. As they took heavy casualties they found themselves unable to break into the tower itself, and begin spreading throughout the walls of the western walls to the point that they attempted to break into the main forces at the main tower itself. During this time Thomas Brent would order the main reserve forces sneaking out through the more southern tower and behind the Orcs of whom were busy sprawling all over the walls. Now behind their lines the relief force set the siege tower alight and then was able to get back through the tower with minimal casualties. As the siege tower burned down the Orcs found their reinforcements ended and they were slowly wittled away at by the massive number of archers all along the James Towers. The final holdouts were to be dealt with personally by Benjamin Bradfoot of whom was directed to the castle under the command of Thomas Brent of whom was worried over the prospect of Orcs within the walls. Attack on Marbrand Keep “The goal was to get them to cross the wall so when they did we weren't exactly worried that they had climbed the walls.” — Domeric Marbrand Marbrand Keep was defended by Domeric Marbrand of whom defended the large keep with some three hundred men, while the main wall was defended by another three hunded. The men on the walls were designed to hit them with as many arrow barrages as they could, but the moment the Orcs manned the walls the force was to enter the heavily fortified gates and make their way into the keep. The Orcs would attack with some two thousand forces against the wall, and at first for the Orcs the Attack on Marbrand keep went well at first with the Orcs able to climb over the walls after suffering some three hundred losses to the defenders on the walls. With the ladders against the walls the defenders retreated into the towers and through the tunnels allowing the Orcs to get into the actual castle but once there the design plan went into affect with the Orcs now stuck in no mans land with no ability to get over the next defences. The Orcs attempted to follow the retreating defenders through the tunnels into Mabrand Keep but discovered the tunnels filled with nearly twenty feet deep gates that would be nearly impossible to break through without Magi, or some sort of explosive. The Orcs then attempted to charge across the field but the defenders of the keep were able to fire acurate shots into them and caused horrible casulties against them. By this point the Orcs were in panic, but begin to run past the Keep and into the city proper where the nearly five hundred remaining Orcs were confronted by a force led by Thomas Brent himself. Leading his most elite troops they would battle against the Orcs and defeat them causing them to retreat back as they came, and they were basically anihilated with very few returning to camp. The Second Attack “Nearly all our reinforcements were now in the area, and their commander was so bloodthirsty by this point he just charged at the southern wall with his full force.” — Thomas Brent The Orc army was still massive but it had suffered heavy casualties accomplishing nothing the first day, and in even worse news for the Orcish army was the fact that the reinforcements of the defenders had begun to arrive in heavy numbers. The full army of House Mountain led by Baelor Mountain had arrived alongside the forces of House Garfield and they were camped northwest of the battle moving in behind the Orc forces. Andrew Garfield would lead the forces of House Garfield into the fray as he was joined by several of his loyal retainers including Edmund Frotenhood, Esla Tollsen, and several other important knights of the region north of Hillsbrad. House Greymane had now joined the army of Franklin Brent bringing the southern army to more then ten thousand, and that number grew throughout the day as the southern vassals came north and more of the army filtered in. Realizing the main gate was a killing zone he didn't have the force to take down the Orc commander would move nearly his entire force to the southern wall of which caused most of the defenders to shift to the same wall. With this in motion the relief armies would move into place, and House Mountain was nearly completely behind them and was actually destroying the reargaurd of the Orc army as the Orcs attacked the Tower of James the Vigilant. “The doomed charge of a doomed army.” — Franklin Brent The Orcs charged the walls using three new siege towers and were this time unable to get any to the walls as the casulties of the previous attack, and the heavily increased defender numbers meant the three new towers took far too long to reach the walls. Stuck again with no towers the ladders went up and a great amount of fighting went all along the walls as the Orcs massed onto the ramparts. The defenders were hard up to resist, but as the battle reached a turning point the Orcs begin screaming as the forces of Franklin Brent, and Liam Greymane's army of House Greymane smashed into their rear. The commander of the Orcs would die during the inital assault, and as mass panic spread amongst the Orcs they begin retreating despite still outnumbering the human attackers, and nearly overwhelming the defenders at the tower. As they retreated westward they came directly in the path of the army of House Mountain and were cut down in their hundreds as the Mountain forces had entered the previously constructed Orc trenches and were in a great defence position. Total Victory “I had defeated their army on the field, but as I entered the castle I found my brother was the hero. People were crying out his name, and he was truly beloved. I knew then and there that I was done here, and I would have to chart my own path somewhere else.” — Franklin Brent With the Orcish army completely routed and on top of this most of the army had been destroyed in the field leaving the remaining elements to move westward where they were chased down by the cavalry force of House Greymane, and House Ordos and thus the victory was completed. Damage was heavy in the James the Vigilant region of the castle, but elsewhere the losses and damage was nearly non-existence but hours were spent burning the bodies of the Orcs so that they would not send out spores and cause a real problem for the humans of the area. With the clean up beginning the relief armies would camp, while the leadership all met within the castle. Thomas Brent was by this point hailed as a hero and became known as Thomas "The Orc Killer" in honor for what people saw as his great victory, and this was in spite of the two larger armies led by the Mountains, and Franklin Brent moving in and being the true changer of the battle. The story of the battle that had not been seen through the eyes of Franklin Brent were told at dinner, and the next day the armies prepared to return home. Franklin and Thomas would say one last goodbye as Franklin told his brother that he was going to take forces and lead expansion in the Westerlands alongside House Arryn. The two brothers who had constantly battled eachother for position understood that Franklin was accepting defeat and they hugged goodbye knowing they would probably not be meeting any time soon. The Rise of Lucerne I saw the destruction of the world, and knew I had to stop it. There was nothing left to do but become bigger then everyone else. The Empire was never going to be the beacon the world needed it to be. Westros was on fire. The Bretonians had reached for the stars and been burned. And the old shadow of Numeron was fading far too quickly. It was left to us in Lucerne to change the fate of all those who wished to reject darkness. We were the last hope for a world who had long since given up on believing. I had been trained alongside the noble elite in the Lucernian Academy for a year, and during this time I had specialized in siege warfare. That was the problem with the Orcs. I was trained to fight against diciplined troops using strategies, but the Orcs just flew out of the forest in this massive wave. They had a level of shock value to them but in the chaos they were seemingly charging at random. Easy pickings for the methodic fire from the walls. I looked out over the rampart and saw them running about in the field out of range of all our firepower outside of the Balistas, and I was still taken back by their numbers. I could see the towers being pushed forward, and I heard Benjamin, and Orival Black barking out commands for the archers to prepare. They were coming, and this would be the moment of either our salvation or our death. As I watched them pushing the towers forward, and watched as the first tower went up in flames I couldn't help but feel better. The second tower burned with the fire of Brann Voil of whom stood chanting on the top of the tower, and yet again even as they moved forward I couldn't help but harbor a growing level of optimism. The saddest part of the charge was the fact that they had four siege towers, and then a huge number of ladders which they didn't realize till they reached the walls weren't tall enough to reach them. Watching the army run around at the base of the wall after ninety percent of their ladders weren't tall enough was one of the most shocking sights I've ever seen. Death of Judith Krebs Judith would follow Franklin into the Battle of Castle Stragnarax but it was during this conflict that she finally came face to face with her long time nemisis from the Circle of Magi in the form of Hartmut Ehrenfeld and the two would duel outside the castle but despite Franklin coming to her aid she was killed and Hartmut once again escaped.

Funeral of Genn Greymane

See Also : Genn Greymane

“Shortly following our Invasion of Westbridge and the death of...of the women...well when I returned I learned my loyal vassal Genn Greymane was dead. Some funerals you miss. His wasn't one of them.”

— William Lovie III.

With the Invasion of Westbridge a complete victory the army of Lucerne begin trickling back and when they arrived they learned of the death of Genn Greymane of whom at his very old age had finally died. The Funeral would be attended by many in the Kingdom including the King himself of whom travelled to Hillsbrad with his two sons, sister, and cousin Emma. Arriving in Hillsbrad the funeral was also a moment to hand over the reigns of Hillsbrad, and the Arch Lord position that it held to Liam Greymane of whom had also been a loyal vassal of William during the Journey. Following the funeral Hillsbrad would host a tournament in his honor, and in honor of the new Arch Lord Liam Greymane in the form of the Hillsbrad Tournament of 5133. During this tournament the fighters were decided by Liam to all be unlanded peasents of whom would be knighted following the tournament. The tournament brought many colorful men to the city, and in the end the top three were all knighted as a show of honor to their determination. Before leaving the city Liam Greymane did discuss the recent Battle at Castle Stragnarax, and William would openly state that the defences needed to be stronger, and that no expenses were to be spared in defending the west.

Noteable Members

Family Members

• Archibold Greymane. Died during the battle of Lyons
  • † Archibold Greymane II.. Drown after giving up on life following his brothers death
    • Heike Greymane
      • Walden Greymane
        • Anke Greymane
          • Anke Greymane II.
          • Archibold Greymane III.
      • Rodney Greymane
        • Jennifer Greymane
          • Rodney Greymane II.
          • Andrea Greymane
  • † Genn Greymane. Died of a heart attack
    • Mia Greymane
      • Liam Greymane
        • Marsha Greymane
          • Liam Greymane II.
          • Lisa Greymane
            • Garlan Tyrell
              • Leonette Tyrell
              • Luthor Tyrell
      • Tess Greymane
  • † Darius Greymane. Died during the Plague
    • † Tara Greymane. Died during the Plague
      • Bravin Greymane
        • Michelle Greymane (Michelle Plaup)
          • Emily Greymane
      • † Alisson Greymane. Died during the Plague
      • † Hecktor Greymane. Died during the Plague
• † Lysa Greymane. Died of Old Age
  • Viktor Greymane
    • Aimee Greymane
      • Jon Greymane
      • Robb Greymane
      • Liara Greymane
  • Clarke Greymane

Other Noteables

• (Ser) Goran of Hillsbrad
• Ser Tobin of Hillsbrad

Vassel Houses

Name	Title	Seat	Lord
House Crowley	Grand Lord	Cronely	Darius Crowley
House Godfrey	Grand Lord	Godfrey Castle	Vincent Godfrey
House Ordos	Grand Lord
House Mountain	Grand Duke	Kiel
House Garfield	Grand Lord	Castle Garfield	Crispian Garfield
House Braxton	Baron	Hillsbrad	Wolf Braxton
House Darkmore	Arch Duke	Duskenvale	Amantha Darkmore
House Steimle	Landsgrave	Castle Steimle	Harald Steimle