House Manderly

House Manderly are a House of First Men origin from the Reach. Their seat is Dustonbury.

Arms of House Manderly. Words: ‘No Currents Mightier’

History

First Century A.I.

Long before the Kingdom of the Reach and the rule of House Gardener, the Manderlys wore crowns of their own and feuded bitterly with the Peakes. King Gwayne III “the Fat” Gardener ended that blood-letting in the Age of Heroes when he persuaded both rivals to bend the knee and accept his judgment without battle.

Since that pact the Manderlys have stood amongst Highgarden’s foremost bannermen, even intertwining their line with Gardener blood on occasion. Where the Manderlys stand apart from several of the great vassals of Highgarden, however, is that they do not claim descent from any of the legendary children of Garth Greenhand. Even their sometimes friends and sometimes bitter rivals the Peakes claim they are the seed of Florys the Fox.

Tensions with the Peakes remained constant. They deepened when Princess Talla Gardener, who despised the Peakes, married Desmond Manderly, tying the Manderlys more closely to the royal house. In the years that followed, Lord Desmond clashed with neighbors such as House Rowan, and though King Galayn Gardener restrained him, his son Gunthor later allowed Gunnar Peake to strike. In 97 A.I. the Peakes sacked Dunstonbury, Raymund Manderly died in captivity, and a young Garland Manderly was taken as hostage.

Second Century A.I.

After Desmond’s death, his daughter Aly Manderly and her husband Garmund assumed rule, with Aly exercising real power. During the civil war following the death of King Gunthor Gardener in 120 A.I., Aly supported the “White” faction of House Gardener, while Josua Peake and the “Green” faction opposed her. The Manderlys were defeated, Garland Manderly was sacrificed, and Garmund was captured and executed.

In 130 A.I., Aly and her son Matthew rose again in rebellion against Josua Peake, striking at Starpike and Ashford. Though fierce, the fighting ended in another Peake victory, with heavy losses on both sides. Josua’s heir Omer Peake fell in the war, as did Imry Manderly, Matthew’s son. Aly remained the dominant force in her house until her death in 138 A.I., after which Matthew succeeded her.

By the mid-2nd century A.I., House Manderly had been humbled by repeated defeats and loss of kin, yet remained an enduring marcher house of the Reach, bound in bitter rivalry with the Peakes.

Aly Manderly's son and heir, Matthew "the Maimed Merman" earned his nickname having lost his sword arm during the clash with Peake forces at Ashford Castle, upon trying to save his 2nd son Imry. After his mother's passing, he strived to show unquestioned loyalty to Garth "the Green". This saw Manderly forces ride out together with the Greenhand and the Oakheart forces to defend the northern territories from invasion from The Rock, which ended as a loss due to the overwhelming force of Andal knights fielded by the Lannister, Risley and Vypren armies. One keep was lost in the peace deal. Matthew passed away in his chambers not long after.

The next Magnar of Dunstonbury and the Roseroad was Matthew's first son, Tanton Manderly. His first act as Magnar was the creation of the Merguard. After King Garth's unfortunate death at the tournament in Ashford, and Gwayne's coronation he oversaw the return of half of the lands stripped from House Manderly after the war of the White and Green, namely the keep of Sagecrown. Garth vowed to return the keep of Florynn as well, but King Gwayne wasn't sure of Manderly loyalty yet. The Manderlys should show their loyalty soon. Coming in to reinforce Gardener troops, Dunstonbury's men were vital in repelling an ironborn raid led by the Greyjoys on the northern Reach, after the reavers had sailed up the Mander.

In his twilight years, Tanton focused his time and efforts on building a vineyard in Dunstonbury, with knowledge and seeds provided by the Cafferens and the vintners of the Garden Coast, famed for their Pyment, a mix of mead and wine. This led to his son Wilfryd essentially taking over the duties of Magnar at only 16 years of age. Betrothed to Alyna Crane, daughter of the Lord of Red Lake, Wilfryd was skilled in diplomacy, similar to his grandfather Matthew.

Tragedy struck House Manderly during the winter of 163 A.I., when Magnar Tanton Manderly drowned in a flood of the Mander before any “Merman’s Gold” wine could ever be made. And in an even crueler twist of fate, only a few months later during the spring of 164 A.I., Magnar Wilfryd’s life was cut short by a servant’s blade, which was ruled as a tragic accident.

With no other sons, Tanton’s line had ended, and the Manderly lands passed to Eddison Manderly“White Eye”, a half-blind but shrewd manipulator, wed to Olenna Crane, a skinchanger of Greene Gardener’s blood. Eddison and his brother Bayard were the only adult men of their house after Wilfryd’s death. Their father, Cleyton, one of Tanton's younger brothers, had been sent to the Wall years earlier after slaying Tanton’s daughter Ormana in a fit of madness.

Magnar Eddison's early goals were simple: honor Tanton's legacy by finishing the construction of Dunstonbury's vineyard, and securing House Manderly's future. Within a few years the first casks of Merman’s Gold were traded throughout the Reach, and the gods blessed the Magnar with three sons and three daughters.

Eddison also took part in "The First Kingdom's" war against the Kingdom of Duskendale (The First Kingdom was a temporary union between the kingdoms of the Reach and the Stormlands). The combined forces of The Reach and The Stormlands under King Gwayne Gardener and Storm Queen Elenei Durrandon's command quickly overwhelmed the Darklyn King's army, forcing them to surrender and pay tribute before the Dun Fort was sieged.

After his firstborn son Garland passed eleven summers, Eddison sent him south to be fostered and educated in stewardship by the Lord Clifford Cafferen of the Garden Coast—the same man who had gifted Tanton the seeds that birthed Dunstonbury’s vineyard. At Beachcastle, Garland learned administration, trade, and the Andalic tongue, as well as reading and writing. Ser Sefton Cafferen, Clifford’s eldest son, instructed him in swordsmanship, while Clifford’s daughter Norella shared both his lessons and his heart, their marriage arranged in time.

Garland returned home to Dunstonbury at sixteen years of age, now a skinchanger like his mother, yet also a knight of the Seven, having taken vows in Beachcastle’s sept in a moment of desperation while struggling to master his skinchanging ability. Eddison and Olenna were shocked. Dunstonbury could not forsake the Old Gods, and they urged Garland to lay aside his knighthood and the Andal faith. He eventually agreed, though secretly he still held respect for the Seven.

When word reached Beachcastle, Ser Sefton Cafferen rode north to Dunstonbury, outraged that Garland had cast aside both Faith and the title granted to him. Tensions escalated until Ser Sefton, a little tipsy from the "Merman's Gold" wine served to him, demanded a duel to settle both honor and the question of Norella’s marriage. Garland accepted, on the condition they fight with wooden swords. If Cafferen won, the young Manderly would have to forget about Norella completely; if Garland prevailed, the marriage could go ahead as planned. The two met in Dunstonbury's courtyard, and in the end, Ser Sefton was knocked down. The student had beaten his master, and the marriage stood. ‎ Years later, when the Great Reaving of Oldtown began, Magnar Eddison was content to sit in his keep, already sixty years of age and well past his prime. Garland, however, wanted to prove himself and answered the call for aid: He raised the Manderly men-at-arms and rode south, where they joined with the Gardener, Hightower and Cafferen armies. The Reachmen bled at the gates and in the streets of Oldtown, and many Reachmen fell.

In the following years, Garland, ever ambitious, turned his gaze to the Manderfields: five keeps north of the Roseroad. Once ruled by minor Magnars, three had fallen to House Fording of Stonebridge through conquest. Eddison, true to his nature, kept the peace. But Garland envisioned unity, a single banner flying over all five keeps: that of House Manderly. At Highgarden, he sought King Gwayne’s blessing to raise Dunstonbury's levies and strike at House Fording, but he was swiftly denied. Yet the king, in his wisdom, decreed that the two keeps that had remained unclaimed by Fording should bend the knee to Manderly instead. Houses Justway of Daisyfield and Greentower of Windflower (distant cousins to the Hightowers of Oldtown that still keep the old faith) swore fealty as Garland's war was set aside, at least for as long as King Gwayne Gardener drew breath.

In early 197 A.I., Eddison Manderly died in his bed at four-and-sixty years of age. He had begun his rule as Magnar amid tragedy and uncertainty, but left behind a house secure in its lands, its line, and its purpose. Now it was up to Magnar Garland Manderly to carry the Merman's legacy forward.

Notable Members of House Manderly

• Lord Marlon Manderly – Lord of Dunstonbury and Marshal of the Mander under the rule of King Gwayne IV 'the Gods Fearing' Gardener during the Andal Invasions.

• Desmond 'the weak Mermaid' Manderly - Lord of Dunstonbury and Marshal of the Mander under the rule of King Galayn Gardener during the Andal Invasions. He was once married to Princess Talla 'Crazyhand' Gardner.

• Aly Manderly - Lady of Dunstonbury under the rule of King Galayn Gardener during the Andal Invasions.