House Blackreyne

Banner: A Black Stallion with black dragon wings on a silver field.

Motto: Iron and Blood

Founder: Daravon Blackreyne

Titles: The Trident King (Formerly), Warlord of the Isles, High Reaver of Arnor.

Seats

Arnor- located on the Island of Bloodstone in the Stepstones

Roon- located on Great Wyk in the Iron Islands

Oldstones- located on the Isle of Faces in the Riverlands (Formerly)

Holdings

The Stepstones: Bloodstone, Tyrosh, (the rest from Largest to smallest), Tombstone, Horseshoe Isle, Firestone, Gemstone, Keystone, Ramstone, Saathstone, Sunstone, Gallows Isle, Blackstone, Greystone, Redstone, Bluestone, Yellowstone

The Iron Islands: Great Wyk, Harlaw, Pyke, Orkmont, Blacktyde, Saltcliffe, Old Wyk. Lonely Light is used as a prison, no house resides there.

Cadet branch: House Reyne, House Justinian

Ancestral Weapon: Fury

Bannermen

The Stepstones: House Saan of Tombstone, House Adarys of Tyrosh, House Qhoqua of Horseshoe Isle, House Lashare of Firestone, House Xhore of Gemstone, House Ryndoon of Keystone, House Otherys of Sunstone, House Shepherd of Ramstone, House Mazor of Saathstone, House Uhoris of Gallows Isle, House Naharis of Blackstone, House Rhegan of Greystone, House Plumm of Redstone, House Toraq of Bluestone, House Pate of Yellowstone.

The Iron Islands: House Thenn of Great Wyk, House Hornfoot of Harlaw, House Nightrun of Pyke, House Caverns of Orkmont, House Shorefrost of Blacktyde, House Riverice of Saltcliffe. The Giants and the Children of the Forest dwell on Old Wyk.

House Blackreyne is a powerful family from the continent of Sothoros. They are a warlike house that dedicates it life to the concept. War has always been a part of human history. But until House Blackreyne is was never an art. Blackreynes are part of a people known as Arnorians. They are locked in a long and bitter feud with House Whitehall of the Eridans. Blackreynes are known for their skill in arms and ruthlessly cunning minds. Members of this house tend to be powerfully built with jet black hair and silvery eyes. But their crowning symbol is a winged hybrid creature called a Thestral

Religion and Customs

The Dieties the Arnorians worship are known as the Titan Triumvirate. These Titans each representing the three most important aspects of Arnorian life. Typhus the Titan of the Sea and Storms, Bellicore the Titan of War and Death, and Merssan the Titan of Commerce and Industry. The Triumvirate fight the malevolent counterparts called The Triad Gods. Shivas, the God of Destruction, Illues the God of Plagues, and Vadus the God of Chaos. Despite this Arnorians are not a pious people, in fact, they despise religious fanaticism. Their holy scriptures have little when it comes to laws. Those are saved for man to make. They merely state to honour the Titans and pay your dues. Arnorians believe that those that have proven themselves shall join the Great Host the Triumvirate. This Great Host shall battle the monsters of the Triad in the final battle known as Apokalyx.

Marriages are closely regulated. Any marriage that is to happen needs to have consent from both parties. There must be no more than a 5 year age difference between the couple and they must be 16 years or older. Unlike most houses who marry for political purposes. Arnorians are free to marry whomever they please, whether they be highborn or commoner.

Arnorians are encouraged to have many children, as a result, adultery is quite commonly practised by both genders. Birthing a child is considered a great honour in since they are doing a service to the state. Incest was a complex manner. Those between siblings and cousins were allowed as long as it was consensual. But other incestuous pairings such as parent and child were intolerable. Bastards are given most of the same opportunities as trueborn children save for inheritance.

Every Blackreyne male also had to go through their own rite of passage. During this time a convict that had been set loose in Mount Coradomus. Mount Coradomus has a vast network of caves running all over it. The caves twist and turn like a maze and made it easy to get lost. Every Blackreyne boy had to hunt down and kill the convict before the convict is able to escape. If the convict does get out, then the boy has failed. If he failed then he would be passed over in the line of Succession. Both are armed and this is done at the age of 12.

Women in Arnorian culture were given a great deal of freedom in court. Being treated as equal to men even being given a voice on important matters. Given seats of power, Ownership of things such as a ship or a business.

The Blackreynes also have a unique line of secession. In House Blackreyne, the title immediately goes to the eldest male of the family. Most often this meant that the brother comes before the son. The reason for this is brothers share the same blood, sons share only half. This also ensures that no child ever sits on the throne of Arnor.

Every person has a purpose. Arnorians are keen to tell people. If you don't have work, you are given work. In time everyone serves the state one way or another. Unlike the rest of the seven kingdoms, Feudalism is nonexistent. The only houses that exist are the ones that govern an island or a territory on the mainland.

Military

As a warrior cult and a seafaring people, much time is put into making their people the into skilled sailors and fighters. All the houses have control of their workforce, but all warriors answer only to House Blackreyne.

From birth, all males are inspected then determined whether they will be a worker or a soldier. The fittest become warriors, those with any imperfections become workers. Regardless both workers and soldiers have one thing in common, their ability to sail.

All those chosen to be warriors undergo a harsh and intense decade of training starting from the time they are 8 years old. as they get older the training becomes more and more intense. The training often got to the point where bones cracked and blood flowed. Yet it never got fatal. If a cadet died under a trainer's eye, the trainer was punished severely.

The recruits were taught not to feel fear, pain, or any emotion that may hamper their ability to fight. They were also taught to control their sexual urges. These were meant to instil in their minds a code. 'Kill those who attack you, ignore those who don't. Do not Rape, do not steal and do not flee from battle.'

The end result is a disciplined and deadly fighting force. Capable of marching for long periods of time without tiring and could receive great injuries without showing any sign of distress.

The recruits then make a decision as to which branch of the military they wished to be in. The Blackreynes had three types of warriors, Horse archers, Heavy infantry and Foot archers.

Heavy Infantry wears a breastplate with shoulder guards, greaves, vambraces, and a Barbute helmet all made of steel. They use the trident, a round shield, a short sword and a warhammer due to its effectiveness against armour.

Archers wear scale armour and use the recurve bow and duo swords. Blackreyne archers are the finest in Westeros. Able to stay accurate up to 240 meters. Archery is a major factor in the Blackreyne military. Archers usually outnumber heavy units 2 to 1.

Workers and hardly left out in this manner. Nor are women. The Blackreynes believe that everyone should be able to defend themselves. As well as being taught to work their respective positions. Arnorian workers were trained to use the very tools they work with to fight. Miners, for example, were taught the way of the pickaxe, masons and smiths the hammer, fishermen the net and trident, woodcutters the axe, cooks the cleaver and farmers the scythe. To this end, any job can be turned into an effective fighting style. They are hardly a match for a Blackreyne warrior due to the lack of intense training. But they can beat back any brigand foolish enough to think them easy prey.

Women were also taught how to fight. Their style is the dagger dance. As women were usually physically inferior to men. They were instead trained to be quick and precise. Women go through the vigorous daily exercise for according to the Blackreynes. Tough women breed tough men. Some women become warriors and these form another part of the Blackreyne military, the Valkerans.

Economy

What the Iron Islands and the Stepstones lack in gold and soil, they more than made up for in sea products. House Blackreyne has exploited this to the fullest of their abilities. They have one of the busiest seafood markets on the western coast. All seafood is provided by the Oceanic Harvesting fleet. Hundreds of Carracks using diving bells hunt and gather every form of vegetation and sea creature that is edible. The Arnorians have thus become completely sustained by the oceans of the world. House Blackreyne often loan the services of their soldiers to their allied houses (for a price of course). Another source of income is their criminal solution system. The other kingdoms pay the Blackreynes to take in their criminals to do with as they please.

Law and Justice

Arnorians have the strictest code of justice in Westeros. In their mind, the idea is to make the penalty for crime so terrifying that it becomes unthinkable to commit them. Rape is considered among the vilest of crimes and so results in the maximum punishment, Impalement. Murderers are fed alive to predatory animals, thieves lose a whole leg. Thus far these brutal but effective methods are working. Trials are usually overseen by three judges each one represents a Titan. If a man is being convicted then the judges are men. If it's a woman than the judges are women. Unlike men, women are given a far less severe penalty. Usually it involves 4 lashes to the back for thievery and imprisonment for murder.

As in the rest of Westeros, the Guest Right is a sacred law. If a man breaks the Guest Right, He and every male relative of age will be impaled as an example. So far no one has done so.

Arnor

Arnor is House Blackreynes seat of power in the Stepstones. Arnor is set between two cliffs in a mountain cluster. These mountains guarded the fortress on three sides. Leaving only the northern side open to attack. Arnor is divided into two parts, The Curtain Wall, and The Stronghold.

The first part of Arnor is the great curtain wall. The wall is 200 feet high 4,000 feet long and 80 feet thick. It is made of rammed earth between two frames of solid stone. It is laid out in a series of triangular shaped juts designed for deflecting projectiles. The wall has a second level about twenty feet higher than the main level, the main level has ballistas and the second level has catapults. Guard towers line the wall each one armed with a catapult. The wall is protected by a deep ditch wide and deep enough to swallow a siege tower. The drawbridge that spans the bridge is a seesaw design with a counterweight one end. This allows for the case if the chain is cut the drawbridge stays closed. Behind the drawbridge are four iron portcullises directly in front of the main gate. The main gate is four feet thick made of oak between two sheets of steel. Two pentagon shaped towers flank the gate and the gatehouse acts as the command tower of the wall. Behind the wall are four stone stairways that lead to the top of the walls. Also, there are numerous trebuchets

Behind the wall is the Stronghold itself. Here is where the cliffs are at their narrowest and the terrain at it's steepest. A stairway leads from the final gate from the curtain wall to the main gate of the stronghold. The Stronghold is made up of an inner ward and the Keep. The Inner Ward consists of a wall 100 feet high and 40 feet thick. The gatehouse is flanked by two Pentagon shaped towers and two larger drum shaped towers

The Keep is an 800-foot high drum-shaped structure. Every 200 feet the Keep narrows. It is large enough to house the Throne room, great hall, barracks, stables, storehouse, library, armoury, smithy, kennels, kitchens, guesthouses and the crypts. The only way into the keep is through the bend. The bend is a structure connects the keep to the cliff behind it. It has two gatehouses, a real one to the right and a false entrance on the left. An attacker must enter the gatehouse then make a u turn towards the Keep's main gate. Both the Gate of the Inner ward and the keep consists of double doors and a portcullis.

Torturer's Deep

In the southern coast of Bloodstone is the Capitol city of the Stepstones, Torturer's Deep. Once a minor harbor, the Blackreynes transformed it into a fortified port city. Able to harbour a thousand ships and home to about 400,000 people, Torturer's Deep is as large if not larger than Lannisport. The Deep is crescent-shaped and built in layers. allowing them to easily expand should it get crowded. Due to its location in the narrow sea, many ships pass through Torturer's Deep and earns them a steady income from those who wish to pass the Stepstones. The location allows them to control sea trade and shipping from the free cities to the ports and harbors in Dorne and the western coast of Westeros. Like all Blackreyne settlements, Torturer's Deep is fortified. With double walls lined with towers catapults and ballistas, Torturer's Deep is well prepared for any assault.

The Thestral

The Thestral was created by the Blackreynes to combat the wild dragons of Sothoros. The Offspring of a horse and a dragon, Thestrals are tough, fearless and aggressive. Due to their ancestry, Thestrals are invulnerable to fire and their black hides are resistant to most human weapons. Thestrals weapons are the thumb spikes on their wings and their maws spit lightning. Thestrals have dragon-like wings, a lizard-like tail and instead of a horse's mane, a single spiny ridge runs along the back of the neck. Instead of hooves, Thestrals have clawed feet. Thestrals are carnivorous and reproduce by laying eggs. These eggs will only hatch when struck by lightning.

Historical members

Daravon Blackreyne - Founder of the House

Boromir Blackreyne - Led the Exodus out of Sothoryos

Garalir Blackreyne - Boromir's brother, Steward to the Vault

Deren Reyne - Boromir's Eldest Bastard

Orlan Blackreyne - Brought the Arbor into their fold

Caedus Blackreyne - Slew Artys Arryn at the Battle of the Moon

Jerricoe Blackreyne - Became the first Trident King

Balthezar Blackreyne - Razed Andalos along with Theon Stark

Cella Blackreyne - Married Benedict Rivers and founded House Justinian

Derethor Blackreyne - Fought Tyrion II Lannister in the Western War

Titus Blackreyne - Ended the Western War

Nyra Blackreyne - Led the Blackreynes in the Sister War

Waldorf Blackreyne - Arnor's worst ruler to ever exist

Barrigan and Galivan Blackreyne - Waldorfs twin younger brothers slain in the Teague Uprising

Roger Blackreyne - Waldorf's second youngest brother, usurped him and went on to win the Teague Uprising

Theodred Blackreyne - Roger's younger brother

Braveon Blackreyne - Founder of Braavos

Lucifer Blackreyne - Eldest grandson of Braveon, creator of Lucifer's Law

Licinia Blackreyne - Granddaughter of Braveon

Marion Blackreyne - Youngest child of Braveon

Jaedus Blackreyne - Considered one of the greatest Blackreyne Kings. Led a great slave rebellion in Essos.

Dev Blackreyne - Mastermind of the Dragon Hunt