u/FixationOfTheDay

No shit, "the Bold." Ousted the Tyrells and now has claimed the Iron Throne (against Targs with dragons) all in one lifetime. Never even heard of this family before, though admittedly I don't f with the Reach much.

I don't have a hook or anything on JT, nor did I have to bribe him, he was just super eager to kill his son in law.

Trouble brewing tho cuz I'm betrothed to Aemma Arryn and I'm obviously a Vassal of the Vale, so we'll see how that all goes over.

Looked away for five seconds and Rhaegar is dead to Bobby B, but Bobby and Ned both got executed by Aerys and to add insult to injury, he married Lyanna. She survived the tower of Joy and Jon is living at court with his sister aunt Dany.

ETA: Def the worst timeline. Aerys nuked KL with wildfyre. Bobby decided to still go ahead and usurp baby Aegon, then married Lysa Tully and killed Jon Arryn in a duel.

Had a lot of fun with this even just as a creative writing project. As I played, I kept a record like the one pictured, except it was waaaaay longer. But there was so much good stuff, I wanted to record that too, so I ended up channeling the maesters and turned it into a proper bio. Even then I left stuff out that I had noted.

STEFFON HEARTHHART, THE CHAINBREAKER

Born Steffon Wensington (26th Day of the Ninth Moon, 233 A.C. – 29th Day of the Twelfth Moon, 320 A.C.).

Few men have risen so far from such humble beginnings as Steffon Hearthhart, known to history as the Chainbreaker. Born with neither lands nor title, he spent much of his youth wandering the Seven Kingdoms as a hedge knight. In time he came to lead the company known as the White Harts, earning a reputation for courage, martial skill, and an uncommon ability to inspire loyalty amongst both highborn and lowborn alike.

His first taste of great renown came during the War of the Ninepenny Kings, where he distinguished himself at the Battle of Flowering Hill. Yet unlike many men who achieved glory in that war, Steffon returned not to a castle or inheritance but to the roads of Westeros. For nearly three decades he wandered as a knight-adventurer, selling his sword to kings, lords, and captains, fighting in campaigns from the Stormlands to the Disputed Lands and winning distinction in tourneys and battles throughout the realm.

In 270 A.C. he married Tara of House Septwood. Though he fathered children by other women during his long life, all accounts agree that Lady Tara remained the great love of his life. Their marriage endured for more than forty years and produced a vast lineage that would eventually spread throughout the Seven Kingdoms.

The turning point of Steffon's life came in 287 A.C. Following a successful campaign in the Westerlands and his service at the Battle of Harvestbury, Lord Tywin Lannister granted him the Lordship of Coldmoat. For many men this would have marked the culmination of a life's ambitions. For the new Lord Steffon it was merely the beginning.

From Coldmoat he founded House Hearthhart, adopting as his sigil a white hart before flame and taking for his words, "The Flame is Gone, the Fire Remains." The house he founded rose from obscurity to prominence within a single lifetime, an achievement rarely matched in the history of Westeros.

By then Steffon had made himself a renowned warrior, a celebrated captain, and a lord in his own right. Yet he remained determined that House Hearthhart should stand alongside the great houses of the realm in every respect. Rather than inherit a Valyrian steel sword, he resolved to win one through his own efforts. To that end he sponsored an expedition into the smoking ruins of Valyria itself. Against all expectation, the venture returned bearing a Valyrian steel blade. He named the sword Remnant, and it became the foremost treasure of House Hearthhart.

As lord, Steffon remained first and foremost a warrior. He fought in many of the defining conflicts of his age, including the Second Disputed Lands Campaign, the Northmarch War, and the Lion-Rose Wars. At Harvestbury, Stonecliffe, Maidenpool, Ashemark, and Maid's Hill he won victories that entered the songs of the realm. Unlike many commanders who directed battles from afar, Steffon was renowned for personally leading cavalry charges. Even in extreme old age, whilst suffering from cancer and later the loss of an eye, he continued to ride at the head of his men. Such was his reputation that kings, lords paramount, and great lords alike regularly sought his counsel and military command through the many great alliances he had forged through marriage pacts.

Indeed, his fame grew so great that legends sprang up around his deeds even during his own lifetime. The tales known as The Three Victories of Steffon and The Captain of the Stag spread throughout Westeros and beyond. Though embellished by singers, they reflected a genuine truth: Steffon possessed not only martial prowess but remarkable cunning and force of personality.

A proud Stormlander by birth, Steffon nevertheless devoted himself fully to his adopted lands. He traveled widely throughout the Reach and Westerlands, often keeping learned companions and envoys close at hand so that he might better understand the people under his rule. In time his subjects adopted many of his customs even as he embraced aspects of theirs. From this blending emerged the Hartlander culture, which spread steadily throughout his domains. So influential did it become that even Lord Tyrion Lannister, a friend of Steffon's since youth, adopted many Hartlander customs at court in Casterly Rock, from whence they spread still further.

Perhaps nowhere was Steffon's character more evident than in his treatment of his bastard son Mars. Having himself risen from obscurity through merit rather than birth, Steffon held little regard for those who judged men solely by lineage. He legitimized Mars, secured his betrothal to Princess Aerea Targaryen, and vowed to establish him amongst the great lords of the realm. Many dismissed the ambition as impossible. In time Steffon proved them wrong.

His later years were among his most remarkable. During the conflicts remembered as the Judgments, he secured the blessing of the Faith and overthrew both Raymun Mooton, called the Wicked, and Sumner Marbrand, called the Evil. Through these victories he added Maidenpool and Ashemark to the sphere of House Hearthhart and established Mars as Lord of Maidenpool, creating a powerful cadet branch of his house.

Yet triumph was accompanied by sorrow. Mathany, his lover and the mother of his son Mars, died in 312 A.C. That same year, King Rhaegar Targaryen, counted amongst his closest companions, drowned unexpectedly. Most devastating of all was the death of his Lady Tara in 315 A.C. After more than four decades together, she passed peacefully in her sleep. Contemporaries wrote that a shadow fell over Steffon thereafter. His memory began to fail, and age weighed heavily upon him, though neither infirmity, grief, nor disease succeeded in keeping him from the saddle, or the battlefield.

Soon afterward came the struggle remembered as the Hartland Question. The conflict placed Steffon in an unenviable position. Through his daughter Leona, who had been wed to Luthor Tyrell, heir to Highgarden, his descendants would one day sit amongst the rulers of the Reach. Yet Steffon had long counted Lord Tyrion Lannister amongst his closest companions and remained bound to him by oath and loyalty. When Lord Paramount Mace Tyrell sought to restore Coldmoat to direct Reach authority, Steffon chose to stand with his liege.

At the Battle of Maid's Hill, fighting beside his heir Damon, he defeated a host that outnumbered his own five to one and secured a victory that ensured the independence and continued rise of House Hearthhart. In the aftermath, Coldmoat was elevated to a high lordship, confirming what many had already come to believe: that House Hearthhart had become one of the foremost powers of western Westeros.

For many lords such an achievement would have been a fitting final chapter. Steffon instead embarked upon one last great endeavor. Turning eastward, he launched the wars later remembered as the Chainbreaker Crusade. Carrying his banners into the Stepstones and Tyrosh, he fought against slavers, pirates, and tyrants, seeking the liberation of those held in bondage. The crusade ended in victory and permanently attached to him the name by which history remembers him: Steffon Hearthhart, the Chainbreaker.

Yet even after the Chainbreaker Crusade, Steffon's wars were not wholly at an end. Though the first Hartland Question had been settled, a second dispute with Mace Tyrell had already begun. Once more the old lord took the field, as friends and kin found themselves divided by competing loyalties. For Steffon, the struggle was no longer merely over borders or feudal obligations, but over the future of the Hartlands he had spent a lifetime building.

Whilst still commanding his armies, word reached him that his son Damon had at last been blessed with a grandson and heir. Steffon departed the host and returned home to witness the child's birth. The boy was named Lucifer Hearthhart.

It is said that Lord Steffon lived only long enough to hold his grandson in his arms. Having seen the future of his house secured, the old lord passed from this world at the age of seven-and-eighty, as one flame guttered and another was kindled.

"The Flame is Gone, the Fire Remains.”

Idk if this is technically an AAR, but wanted to share a current analysis of my run.

Ser Steffon Wensington started as a landless adventurer, Captain of the White Harts. My original plan was to revive Durrandon, but at some point during a war either with or against Lord Tywin Lannister (I was doing a lot of war ok sorry), a slew of pop ups came up just as I was clicking elsewhere and thanks to the lag I clicked Accept without knowing what I'd accepted. Apparently, I had accepted the Lordship of Coldmoat, with Tywin as my liege.

When I was young, I fathered a bastard who I had hidden in camp (far right). At 25, I married my soulmate, Tara Sand, who had somehow been raised to nobility before we met and taken the house Septwood. We had a slew of daughters. In that time I took a couple other lovers, namely Mathany (second from right), who later gave me my son Mars, a handsome, herculean boy I have great plans for. My first and trueborn son might not be as impressive physically, but he's an excellent heir.

I called in lots of favors to get my kids hooked up, and am quite proud of their marriages. My third daughter to an Oldflowers knight, fourth to a Baratheon knight, fifth to Tyrion Lannister's younger brother (Jaime died of a seizure?) so I'm considering maybe doing some shenanigans to the Lannister line of succession. He was also my squire and I granted him one of my counties. My heir is married to a Connington girl. But I called in the biggest favor to get one of my youngest girls married to Luthor Tyrell, firstborn son of Mace Tyrell and heir to Highgarden. All of these matches were made while I was still landless.

So yeah, super chaotic run, but its been so fun so far.

Bonus points to anyone that recognizes the motto. "Hearthhart" was the generated name when I created the new cadet branch, and I really fucked with it, so I added the flames. Then when trying to come up with a motto I realized its a perfect nod to my favorite band.

Rhaegar just killed Jaime at a tourney though so now is Cleos' chance

Playing as a custom Inheritance Cycle inspired dynasty. Started Landless, stole a dragon egg, hatched it, eloped with Dany, Viserys (Dany's ex) is now married to Arya Stark, I end up taking Dragonstone from him. King Bobby tries to take it back, when all the sudden that war is invalidated and I find out that apparently Robb was working to take the throne, which he succesfully accomplished. Not sure how he even has a claim or what.

ETA: currently at his coronation, he has only lord Swann as a detractor. no love/loyalty amongst the Baratheon brothers once again I guess but also Robb the GOAT.

How scandalous