Erasmus Rykker

Introduction - Lord Erasmus Rykker, the Scythe of the Narrow Sea, is the current head of House Rykker and the Lord of Duskendale. A brilliant scholar, engineer, and commander whose life has taken him from noble-born Maester-in-training to Queen Visaera I Targaryen's Master of Ships and a Lord in his own right, Lord Rykker is renowned for his clinical attitude and groundbreaking work.

Appearance and Character
He is quite tall, yet thin in a wiry manner that belies his strength -- not just of his body, but especially that of his mind. His eyes are a cold, piercing blue, beginning to grow somewhat pallid and washed-out. Erasmus's hair is a dark brown-reddish color, streaked with grey at the temples and kept short. His skin was once pale from too much time in a library studying under the Maesters of House Rykker and other Houses of the Crownlands and beyond, though that changed to a deeper tan after his served duty aboard the warship  Broken Spear.

His face is that of a nobleman turned ascetic, with high, prominent cheekbones and regal features, grown grimmer-carved and more hollow as he grew older. His appearance overall is hardly unattractive, and he has grown to pay more attention to it as he pays more attention to the world of politics and the courts. He is primarily right-handed, though he is also capable in the use of his left.

Timeline
370 AC -- Jasper Rykker is born to Theodor and Cathrin Rykker as their first child.

379 AC -- Erasmus Rykker is born to Theodor and Cathrin Rykker as their second child.

384 AC -- Erasmus begins his studies under the Maester of his House, quickly outpacing almost every other child his age whether noble-born or otherwise.

390 AC -- Lord Theodor Rykker is killed in a hunting accident when the boar turns upon him and his party, fatally goring the elder Lord. Jasper Rykker succeeds Theodor as Head of House Rykker.

395 AC -- Erasmus Rykker, having seemingly devoured everything the region's Maesters and the collected works of the Citadel could teach him, finally accepts a commission to serve upon the raider interceptor Broken Spear.

402 AC -- Lord Jasper Rykker is poisoned by a jealous suitor of the woman he was courting, dying a week after the initial incident. Erasmus Rykker resigns his commission to succeed Jasper as Head of House Rykker.

403 AC -- Ambitious research projects are begun under the auspices of the new Lord, including research into lightweight yet hard ceramics, precise but robust mechanical mechanisms, and other technology. During this period, Erasmus Rykker studies directly with the craftsmen and blacksmiths working on the construction of these projects.

407 AC -- The first of these grander projects is completed. The "Lance" is a weapon capable of focusing sunlight itself into a deadly beam through its mirrored array of silver mirrors, carving through sailcloth and burning flesh.

407 AC -- Erasmus commands the Royal fleet of 130 sail to Gulltown during the Mummer's War, negotiating the return of the Graftons to the bosom of the Crown.

408 AC -- Lord Rykker is appointed to the Small Council of Visaera I Targaryen as her Master of Ships, and proves to be thoroughly dedicated to the position, launching almost immediately into a program of modernization of naval craft, review of naval tactics and strategies, and a thorough analysis of naval culture to create a cohesive unit between sailors and their often more noble-born commanders.

410 AC -- Where previously the Realm appeared to have been content to tolerate them, Erasmus cracks down sharply upon the activities of House Sunderland, embarking on a number of interdiction and anti-piracy operations that had lead to some private criticism of being overly heavy-handed. However, after a series of letters and negotiations, Milanna Sunderland eventually agrees to cease her piracy -- or, as it would turn out, keep it low and out of the gaze of the Crown.

411 AC -- As a result of the negotiations the previous year, Erasmus marries Eva Sunderland, forming an alliance of sorts between House Rykker and House Sunderland. Reportedly, their relationship is remarkably cold for a good year, beginning to grow warmer in 412-413 AC. Erasmus's affection for the late Leyla Hightower remains a guarded secret.

414 AC: Erasmus and Eva's first child and male heir of the house, Asher Rykker, is born. In the same year, Erasmus's mother Cathrin Rykker passes away.

415 AC: The couple's second child, Garrick Rykker, is born.

417 AC: Lord Rykker resigns from the Small Council, reportedly to focus on his family and research after nine years of diligent service. However, it is instead to undertake an expedition that he had been performing years of research and careful preparation for. This expedition was to travel to the Lost Land of the Doom of Valyria, and once more set foot upon where even Targaryen kings and queens had never been.

Sailing from Duskendale to Pentos with a hand-picked crew, Erasmus riverboated his supplies down to Volantis, after a short road trip to Ghoyan Drohe. From Volantis, Erasmus sailed through the Summer Sea to the tip of the Doom, landing on the continent and pressing in towards Valyria.

Moons later, Lord Erasmus Rykker returned, the only man proven to return from the Doom of Valyria alive, bearing the the Valyrian steel blade he had christened the Last Word within his hands, and a cargo hold filled with priceless artifacts and tomes -- though ultimately, very few survived the perilous journey. However, the damage to his lungs that the Doom had left him with persisted until almost well into 418 AC.

418 AC: Finally, their third child and first daughter, Helaena Rykker, is born, soon after Erasmus returns from Valyria.

Recent Events
N/A

Family
Lord Theodor Rykker, father, deceased

Lady Cathrin Rykker, mother, deceased

Lord Jasper Rykker, older brother, deceased

Lady Eva Rykker, neé Sunderland, wife

Asher Rykker, son

Garrick Rykker, son

Helaena Rykker, daughter

Household Members / NPC's
Shipmaster Isaiah Varan

Maester Vaenys