Walys Mooton

Walys Mooton is the eldest child of Arryk Mooton and his wife, Ermesande Bywater. He is the second cousin of Myles Mooton: his grandfather was brother to Hendry Mooton, Myles' grandfather. He is betrothed to Alerie Pyne, although they have only met rarely. Walys has rarely traveled outside of the locale in which he lives. This stems from not being important enough to represent House Mooton at events, but also the responsibilities he has within Maidenpool himself. To show that he is not of the ruling branch, his arms lack the tressure or.

Appearance & Character
In a crowd of noblemen, Walys Mooton is not the one that will draw your initial gaze, nor likely the second or third. Of fairly plain appearance upon initial inspection, when looked at closer there are certain things that stand out. His hair, for instance, has a lustre to it that goes some way to compensate for the common colour. Equally, his teeth are pearly and white, in contrast to many that are seen, and they are also all present & correct.

Whilst not of the ruling branch, Walys is still a Mooton, and as a result has benefited from the education that one expects of a nobleman. This means a strong body from hours in the training ring, and riding at the quintain. It also means the study of the various works endorsed by the Order of Maesters, along with whichever local texts passed down through the years are most useful in the times in which they live. Walys proved to have martial skill, but lacks the confidence to make him a truly formidable opponent. When it came to book keeping and poetry, he has talent, certainly, but is by no means exceptional.

As a person, Walys tends to be quite quiet around those with whom he is unfamiliar. Having lived in Maidenpool for so long, however, he has rapport with many of the citizens of the town, who feel he is more approachable due to his distance from the ruling branch by birth. Whilst largely jovial, and fond of small japes & word play, he does from bouts of melancholy. Much like most of the Mooton men descended from Dickon Tarly, he possesses a formidable temper when roused. Fortunately, that is rare.

Early Life
Walys Mooton was born in the year 384 to Ser Arryk Mooton and his wife Lady Ermesande Bywater. He was their eldest child, and their only son to survive infancy. Perhaps there were other children, but the only other to survive infancy was his younger sister Alerie.

Ever the dutiful son, Walys didn't take to carousing in the town as other noble sons did. Instead, he found pleasure in training, reading and doing small jobs around the castle. As he grew older, the scope of these jobs increased, and served as a good medium of introduction to the people of Maidenpool.

The Hammer Uprising
Only four when the events known as the "Hammer Uprising" took place, Walys was barely involved in the events that transpired during these times. Perhaps the only thing that he remembered was the new scars that his father acquired, helping to put down the assault on the Mooton Keep.

The Great Famine
This was not the best of times for Walys' family. Whilst both he, his parents and one of his sisters survived, the rest of his siblings perished. Their names are forgotten now, for the grief that they all felt, and indeed guilt, was overwhelming. Whilst Walys had been erring towards the taller side of things, after this he would be but a smidge above average. That was a small price to pay, compared to many.

The War of the Three Thieves
Ser Arryk and his son-squire were not in the first wave send after the Battle of Splinters. Instead, they served as trainers and quartermasters for the the waves that followed. In the latter capacity they moved forward as the Westerosi gained the upper hand, one amongst many on Sunstone, and then the others as the grind moved inexorably on. It was during this time that he slew his first man, during a raid attempting to delay the next inevitable assault. It was at this time that he first saw dragons: they filled him with both awe and dread.

The Scarlet Winter
Having suffered so much in the Great Famine, the Scarlet Winter proved lenient on the Walys and his immediate family, with no one suffering anything worse than a mild winter's flu. Not so for their kin, however, with his parents being particularly saddened by the passing of Ser Androw, who they had seen grow from a babe to the formidable man that he had become.

405 Onwards
In the year 406, Walys visited the Claw. It had always been, and still somewhat is, a place of mystery to the Andal houses that border it. Before the Conquest, both the Mootons and Stauntons had tried to claim the Claw for their own, yet had bogged down in the swamps and pine forests the proliferated the region.

It was during this circuit that he met Alerie Pyne, and gained his knighthood.

407-408
Ser Walys did not attend the Tourney of the Red Comet at Harrenhal, instead preferring to spend time with his betrothed in and around House Mooton's lands.

He was amongst the knights assembled at Maidenpool after new of Landon Tully's attainder, Damion Tully's legitimisation and the death of Berena Tully was received by Lord Desmond Mooton. Whilst Lord Desmond would have been content to let others deal with the mess, such was the depth of feeling of his son and heir Ser Myles, that he decided to send men to Riverrun to aide in the dispossession of Landon. However, given the degree of investment that Ser Myles had in the matter, the assembled knights thought it would be wiser for someone else to command the force. After a good deal of debate, Ser Walys Mooton was chosen, and experienced sub commanders were chosen to compensate for the young man's inexperience.

Thus, half the levies of Mooton, Hawick and Cox marched on Riverrun. Before that castle's walls they joined forces with the newly annointed Lord Damion Tully, and the Lords Vance of Harrenhal and Wayfarer's Rest, along with the force of Westermen there.

Once Riverrun opened its gates to its new lord, Walys was invited to dine with Damion, and Lord Vance of Wayfarer's Rest. There, they talked about the future, and what Lord Damion intended to do. Walys agreed that the vision that was set forth by Lord Damion.

The Rivermen marched from Riverrun, to the Ruby Ford, where the Valemen army was ready and waiting. What followed would be the only major battle of the Mummer's War. Walys lead the Mooton, Cox and Hawick men in this encounter, which he survived whole.

408-418
Soon after the peace that followed the end of the Mummer's War, Walys married his betrothed, Alerie Pyne, in the 5th month 408 at Riverrun. A child was born nine months later: a girl who lacked her right forearm. Despite this, Alicent, as she was named, was loved dearly by her parents. She proved to be a highly intelligent child.

One particularly important person that he would meet during his stay at Riverrun during the peace was the sister of the Lord Paramount, Alys Tully. The two got on, but given Alys recent history, it was simply a polite, cordial friendship. It would grow during Alys' visit to Maidenpool, along with a milder friendship with Myles Mooton himself.

That would change later, however. Alys fell in love with one Alyssa Darry. Naturally, the two women could not have children, and Alyssa was rather firm in her desire for some. So it was that Walys was approached in 410 on the matter in the hope that he would assist the two. After much thought on the matter, and consultation with his wife, he agreed to help the two. The couplings resulted in two children, and a friendship with Alyssa Darry as well as with Alys Rivers.

Lord Myles was not best pleased with this turn of events, for as much as he loved both his cousin and Alys Tully, he could not view the children as anything but a stain upon his house. He could do nothing against his liege's sister, but neither could he unofficially exile Walys to Essos, as his father might have done had this happened a generation prior. Instead, in 414 AC Walys was sent to the Three Sisters to talk to Milanna Sunderland, Lady of those islands, and a woman who had played her part in saving the Saltpans from fire and the sword. Things only happened slowly, in a large part due to the insular nature of the Sistermen, and also suspicion at one who had been on the opposite side of the war. Whilst the House that he represented had neither the numbers of Velaryon and Manderly, nor the political influence of Rykker and Connington, the fact that they had the only ships in the Riverlands on the east coast gave them clout. It also gave them a presence in the Bay of Crabs. Presumably, it was these two factors that lead to House Sunderland accepting House Mooton into the Eastern Sea Alliance.

Afterwards, went back to Maidenpool, been there since aside from visits to his natural children at Riverrun. During Myles' recent absense, he shared the burdens of the Lordship with Myles' wife, Alys Mooton nee Mallister. With the return of Myles from the Gates of the Moon, Walys resumed his normal duties.

Recent Events
To be seen.

Family Members

 * Arryk Mooton
 * m. Ermesande Bywater
 * Walys Mooton (b.384)
 * m. Alerie Pyne (b.385)
 * Alicent Mooton (b.409)
 * Eleanor Mooton (b.411)
 * Roslyn Mooton (b.413)
 * Manfryd Mooton (b.416)
 * Bethany Mooton (b.418)
 * w. Alyssa Darry (b.388)
 * Jon Rivers (b.411)
 * Willow Rivers (b.413)
 * Alerie Mooton (b.394)
 * m. Damion Blackwood (b.388)
 * Agnes Blackwood (b.413)
 * Lenore Blackwood (b.414)
 * Melissa Blackwood (b.417)