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 ''"Erich… son of Monfryd. I pity him, Hagen of Yore. For all I have said of the sons of Durran - I do not wish him ill. He is cursed, I think - to have been born an ordinary man with an extraordinary burden. But I would think he was too sorely beset to trouble with you."''
 ''- The Andal Invasions<ref name="Hagen7">Strategy Roleplay Experience. (2025). ''CK3 AGOT Multiplayer RP - The Andal Invasions - Order of Peremore - The Stormlands: Part 7'' [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18cHTQ-tESo</ref>''

[[File:Erich VII Durrandon - Erich the Unready.png|thumb|Erich the Unready]]

'''Erich VII [[House Durrandon|Durrandon]]''' (3841 A.H.-43 A.I.), known as '''Erich the Unready''', was the first [[The Stormlands|Storm King]] at the beginning of the [[Coming of the Andals]]. He ascended the Storm Throne in 3867 A.H. When the [[Andals]] began migrating to Westeros en masse, Erich famously ignored them to focus on his war to retake the [[The Stormlands#The Hook|Hook]] from [[Justin Milk-Eye]] [[House Massey|Massey]], and to defend against a [[Dorne|Dornish]] invasion by [[Olyvar I Yronwood|Olyvar I]] [[House Yronwood|Yronwood]], and was named "the Unready<ref>George R.R. Martin. (2014). ''The World of Ice and Fire''. London: HarperVoyager. p.225</ref>.

== History ==

Erich was born the eldest and only son of [[Monfryd IV Durrandon]] and Alerie [[House Gardener|Gardener]], daughter of [[Garth_VII_Gardener|Garth VII Gardener]] of the [[The Reach|Reach]], near the end of the [[Age of Heroes]] in 3841 A.H. 

As a prince, Erich became a competent and tested commander, leading armies and breaking raids from Dorne and the [[Blackwater]], and was hailed as the successor that would break the Stormlands' streak of failing and controversial kings, most notably his great-grandfather [[Durwald I Durrandon|Durwald the Fat]] and grandfather [[Ronard the Bastard]]. He would have his first child at sixteen, fathering a boy named Durran with a commoner whom he took back to Storm's End, but he never spoke of the mother. 

Monfryd IV would die at the relatively young age of forty-seven of a failing heart, and Erich would be crowned as Erich VII in 3867 A.H. at twenty-nine. For the early years of his reign Erich would be relatively successful, reintegrating parts of the Stormlands his ancestors had lost, most notably the [[The Stormlands#Eastern Marches|Eastern Marches]] who he entered into the first many wars against the [[House Yronwood|Yronwoods]] to reclaim. But as his reign continued the challenges brought to the kingdom by his forebears was too great an obstacle to overcome for Erich, and though he tried his armies dwindled, his treasury wasted away, and even his vassals stopped taking his commands as seriously as they did before. 

As the Age of Heroes came to an end and the first decades of the [[Coming of the Andals|Andal Invasions]] came upon the Stormlands, several disasters occured in quick succession that destabilised the entire kingdom and diminished Erich's power significantly. The most significant was the secession of the [[The Stormlands#The Hook|Hook]] led by [[Justin Milk-Eye]] [[House Massey|Massey]] who plunged the Stormlands into a civil war. Erich warred with the Milk-Eye to retake the Hook back, but failed. In the wake of the failure, [[House Evenstar]] and [[House Wylde]] abruptly stopped paying tribute to Erich, the latter of which was under attack by an [[Andals|Andal]] invading force, and the other thought to be bewitched by the [[Green Queen]], neither of which Erich had the troops to respond to. 

At the same time, minor Andal adventurers began to land in and near the Stormlands, threatening his vassals. News of Andal conquests from the [[First Men]] in the [[Mountain and Vale]] would reach him, but overwhelmed by his own problems, Erich ignored the invasion to focus on his own problems. Years later, Olyvar I Yronwood would lead an invasion force against the Stormlands, intending to expand his domain north into the Eastern Marches.

Between 31-32 A.I. Erich would [[The March on the Slayne|march on the Slayne]] intent on reintegrating the region back into the Stormlands, establishing [[House Slayne]] as the Magnar over all of the houses along the river Slayne and sworn to the Durrandons.

His son, Durran, would die before him at 54. Erich would follow soon after, and would be succeeded by his grandson [[Qarlton II Durrandon]].

== Trivia ==

* Erich the Unready is only the third 'Erich' of [[House Durrandon]] that is known of, the others being his ancestors [[Erich III Durrandon|Erich the Sailmaker]] and Erich Kin-Killer. The histories of the five Storm Kings named Erich that preceded him are lost.
* Erich's sister, Rowan Durrandon, would marry Ludd [[House Konugtun|Konugtun]], Lord of Griffin's Roost, in his reign.

== References ==

[[Category:Characters|Erich VII Durrandon]]
[[Category:The Stormlands|Erich VII Durrandon]]