House Peake
House Peake are a House of First Men origin from the Reach. Their seat is Starpike.
History
Rising from the stony uplands where the Red Mountains bleed into the Reach, the Peakes have long stood among the marcher lords charged with guarding the Reachs southern frontier. Alongside the Tarlys and Dunns, they ride hard into the passes to blunt Dornish incursions and raid in reprisal whenever they steal into the green realm. Generations of border war have forged a proud, hard-edged lineage famed for sword-skill and iron discipline.
Legends root their bloodline deep in the Age of Heroes: singers claim that Florys the Fox, one of Garth Greenhand’s wily daughters, kept three husbands, and one of the sons she bore founded House Peake. [1]
During the early Gardener rule the Peakes wore crowns of their own, but they bent the knee peacefully when King Gwayne III “the Fat” Gardener settled a bitter feud between them and the Manderlys. Gwayne’s judgement ended open war, yet the rivalry with House Manderly endured: each house still swears the Reach is too small for the other. [2]
The ancient feud had flared anew under Lord Gunnar Peake, a scarred veteran of many forays into Dorne. One-eyed and uncompromising, Gunnar vows to uproot the “upstart” Manderlys once and for all; rumor says he will march the length of the Mander if that is what it takes to see Dunstonbury in ruins. His daughter Syldia married Mern Gardener, while Marlon Manderlys oldest son married Talla Gardner. This made the feud even worse.
In the Seven Years' War House Peake was the main reason for the first won battles of the Reach. After the death of Gunnar Peake, the fortune of the forces of the Reach changed.
Notable Members of House Peake
- Lord Gunnar Peake – Lord of Starpike and Commander of the Marches under the rule of King Gwayne IV 'the Gods Fearing' Gardener during the Andal Invasions.
- Gunnar Peake – Lord of Starpike under the rule of King Galayn Gardener during the Andal Invasions.