Lenore Blackwood

'''Lenore Blackwood was one of the most controversial figures of Aenar I’s court in King’s Landing. Born to Lord Blackwood and his wife in 339 A.C., the lovely Lenore would go on to capture the heart of the delicate Prince Aenys. After their marriage she did much to advance and secure her husband’s position. Though as clever as she was beautiful, the young Lenore was a mercurial courtesan whose desires were as wanton as the woman was oft portrayed in her later life.

Lenore was a force of nature, but her machinations often put her in opposition to the king’s wife, Queen Patrice, and Aenys’ own brother, Prince Viserys. Eventually her reach went beyond her grasp, and Lenore found herself stripped of all she held dear. When left bereft of her marriage, she was tried and executed by the King’s command.

Appearance and Character
Lenore was a dark beauty, appropriate for one that so harkens to the days of the First Men. Her hair was dark, near black complemented by sumptuous, earthy brown eyes. At court she was often displayed in an array of contrasting colors. Her sense of style was so infectious that many of the other ladies often emulated her from White Harbor to Oldtown.

Many, many things could be said about Lenore Blackwood and her image. She was willful, tempestuous, mercurial, clever and had more than a flair for the dramatic. Many attributes the latter to her inevitable fall. For all her subtleties, Lenore never could quite turn down the grand gesture. An odd flamboyance, and pushing of the boundaries that allowed her rivals to best her in the end.

Early Life
Lenore was born in 339 A.C. at Raventree Hall to Lord Blackwood and his wife. It is widely reported that she was born quite late in the evening on the cusp of the Witching Hour. The truth of this has never been confirmed, and likely is suborned by the reputation Lenore garnered in later life. Nevertheless, she was a healthy babe and the first daughter born to her parents.

Little is known of her early upbringing, but it is safe to say that she was brought up in a manner common to young girls of her birth. Like all of House Blackwood she was not brought up in the Faith of the Seven, but rather kept to the Old gods. When she began to blossom into womanhood, however, it was apparent that Lenore would prove to belong to anything but the status quo.

There are many tales from the area about Raventree Hall that report the many adventures of Lord Blackwood’s “wayward daughter”. Indeed, she was known to be a fair rider, and disliked dithering in her father’s keep. Even at this age she had begun to cultivate a certain pugnacious reputation among both the high lords and smallfolk.

The Tourney at Harrenhal
During the Mead Summer, and on the coattails of the grand Blackwater Tourney that took place some years before, ravens flew out from Harrenhal to invite lord and ladies from across the land to join House Vance in celebrating the life of the late Lord Peremore. Lord Blackwood was more than pleased to bring his sons, but at first had no intention of taking his daughter. It was a great opportunity, of course. Still, there was a fear that the rambunctious scion of House Blackwood could well get herself into a spot of trouble.

Lenore had always been a persuasive, and some might say manipulative youth. She knew well how to play her father. In the end the young lady was given leave to attend the Tourney with him, and her brothers. She was quite popular, as many might have expected. It became apparent that the errant daughter of Raventree Hall had learned more than her fair share of the courtly manner. Moreover, what might have once been regarded as a boyish feature now only seemed to heighten her allure.

Within a week of their arrival there was more than one who had their eye upon her. Unfortunately for her father, whom had hoped to wed her to the heir of Harrenhal, and for these would-be suitors, Lenore had already set her sights on another. The Royals had arrived only shortly after, and it did not take long for Lenore to contrive a meeting with the Prince of Dragonstone, Aenys Targaryen.

With the help of Prince Aenys’ great mentor and friend, Crispian Celtigar, the two spent quite some time together outside the notice of many courtiers in attendance. Aenys was quite besotted by such this enchanting young woman, and her charms were more than enough to bring him into her thrall. No hint was given to this foundation of their relationship.

At Tourney’s end when the champion sought to crown Lenore as the Queen of Love and Beauty she rebuffed him. A bold gesture that proved a great feat in introducing her to many of the potentates of the kingdom. Some were impressed by such gumption, and others appalled. No matter their opinion, there were none who would soon forget. Least of all her Prince.

The Royal Tour of 360 A.C.
Lord Blackwood’s plans to wed Lenore to Lord Vance’s heir were for naught, but in truth it took little for the woman to convince her father of the greater prospect Prince Aenys might prove to be. It was a slow affair, but the two kept in great contact. Aenys, who was never a man of great will, even managed to stay his father’s plans to cement plans to wed him to a Lannister of Casterly Rock. When the time came for the royal family to once more take a tour of their kingdoms, a tradition Aenar had started near the beginning of his reign, the Prince once more showed his own gumption in persuading his father to begin their progress in the Riverlands.

Aenar relented, and so their tour began. It had been five years since the Tourney at Harrenhal, but Lenore had carefully nursed her ambition. When the Royals arrived at Riverrun, the Blackwoods were among the high lords in attendance. Others, such as their rival House Bracken, had partaken of the Tour at Harrenhal. For several nights they feasted and spoke of the great bounty the Riverlands had enjoyed during the last, long summer.

At one of the more sumptuous banquets, Prince Aenys announced that he wished to take the lovely Lenore to wife. A surprising, and even bold, gesture by a prince who was so often eclipsed by others at court. Aenar had still hoped to see his son wed to a scion of Casterly Rock, but in the end approved of the match. It was not the first time House Blackwood would have given a fair maid to the Targaryens.

Lenore and her father then accompanied the King on the rest of their journey while Aenar tasked his Small Council with preparing a ceremony for their return to King’s Landing. In order to keep the peace with the Westerlands, and honor their old allies as he desired, Aenar arranged the betrothal between the young Gwynesse Lannister to his second son, Viserys.

Upon the royal tour’s end, and with more than a few of the great lords in attendance, Prince Aenys and Lenore were wed in the Great Sept of Baelor. Afterwards, to the chagrin of some few of the Court, including Queen Patrice, they also held a smaller service in the Red Keep’s godswood at the young woman’s insistence. There began their star-crossed, but ill-fated union.

Firebrand
From the time she first stepped foot in King’s Landing, Lenore was the talk of the Court. Her sense of style, her charms, and her spirited airs were more than enough to see her begin to garner the fame appropriate for a princess of her kind. She was likewise noted for the eccentric company she was sometimes given to keep. Most notably a wise woman who had accompanied her since she left Raventree Hall. Many of the bards in the capital often said she was fashioned for song.

While her courtly airs were sufficient to garner herself an ample amount of recognition, Lenore never saw solely to her own image. With every contact and she cultivated she likewise sought to cement Aenys’ position at court. He was Prince of Dragonstone by right of his birth, but his influence paled in comparison to that of greater potentates, including his younger brother Prince Viserys.

In her endeavors Lenore found more than a little success. A fact that garnered her rivals in the Queen, and Prince Viserys alike. Whether or not Lenore underestimated these two is a matter of debate. Throughout the years she showed more than her fair share of defiance in their regard, particularly to the former. The austere Patrice was the very antithesis of Lenore, and so their mutual antagonism was known, from time to time, to take on a more personal flair.

The zenith of her influence came when it became apparent she was with child in the latter moons of 364 A.C. A fortuitous circumstance that coincided with the disgrace of the Queen’s brother, Uthor Hightower, whom had failed in a diplomatic mission to the Free Cities that resulted in his dismissal as the King’s Hand. Despite Viserys, and his young wife’s attempts to place her uncle in the seat, the post was eventually given to Aenys’ old mentor, Lord Crispian Celtigar.

In 365 A.C. the Prince and Princess welcomed their first and only child, whom they named Maegor. It is a generally accepted fact that the chosen name was meant as Lenore’s commentary on the troubles in the Faith, and moreover as a slight to Queen Patrice. It was not the subtlest ignominy, but Lenore ever had a flair for the dramatic.

The Witch of Dragonstone
Shortly after Prince Maegor’s birth, Prince Aenys and Lenore left the capital for Dragonstone. They had rarely taken up residence in the ancestral seat since their marriage half a decade before. Lenore had grown tired of life in the Keep, and there was just enough of the arcane to capture her interest. After their arrival, it is said that Lenore went on a curious series of escapades throughout the island. During which she found the pitch-black dragon egg that would then be placed in her son’s crib by royal decree.

Their absence from court was welcome respite to the two, but Crispian Celtigar proved less than able to combat the twin influences of Prince Viserys and the Queen. Viserys, by Aenar’s leave, had been given a place upon the Small Council as the Master of Whisperers. Rumors about Lenore began to crop up here and there among the smallfolk, and certain scions that were known associates of the Queen.

They spoke of Lenore’s dabbling in dark arts, and blood magic. Some even said she was a skinchanger who took the form of a great black raven to curse her rivals, and foes. A bard, whom some later claimed had been under the influence of Prince Viserys and his wife, even wrote the tragic ballad of the Witch of Dragonstone. A song that became so popular that it became pervasive outside the capital in Lannisport and Oldtown.

These jabs and japes did much to slowly chip away at Lenore’s image. Aenys was great angered by the slander against his wife, but very often Lenore would cool that temper. Still, she was less than effective in counteracting the damage done. A fact she no doubt realized when another, far more dangerous rumor began to circulate. There were many whom said Maegor favored the Hand, rather than their Prince, though never too loudly.

The royal couple might have weathered even this dark rumor, until Prince Viserys was taken ill. His maester claimed it was poison, and it was then time for Aenar himself to intervene. The King was always aware of his court, so filled with its intrigues, but more often than not adopted an aloof air to it until it began to emanate to some greater effect. There was an exhaustive investigation, and at its end the wise woman in Lenore’s entourage was taken to the black cells. The beginning of the end for Aenys’ bride most fair.

The Wise Woman's Tale
There was no trial for the wise woman, and indeed there were none who saw her in the light of day thereafter. In what must have been the most fantastic means of torture, the aged crone let loose a bevy of names, and associates. Over the years there had been many suspicious occurrences in and around the court and King’s Landing. No more than was usual, but in that particular climate, quite poignant.

A series of trials did take place, and eventually even Crispian Celtigar was brought into the fray. The patience of Prince Viserys and Lady Gwynesse was rewarded when her uncle, Ser Loren Lannister, was named Hand of the King in Lord Celtigar’s stead. It was to this scion of the Rock that King Aenar charged with overseeing the trials alongside the Grand Maester, Selwyn and his Master of Laws.

Lord Crispian was a veteran of the Court, but he was not quite ready for what came to him. Like Lenore he, too, had underestimated the ability of Prince Viserys and Queen Patrice. There were a bevy of servants, one a maid who had long served Lenore, who claimed to have seen more than one nightly tryst between Lord Crispian and their mistress.

Annulment
After this revelation, Aenar conferred with his advisors and reached out to the High Septon. None may know what was spoken of between them. The Queen herself departed King’s Landing on a mission to Oldtown, and many suspected the reason why. The great conflict of the Faith that had occurred in the preceding decades had left a tenuous situation. It was not as it had been before, when it was all too easy for the royals to puppet the Most Devout.

In the end, however, Aenar was given his wish. By both royal decree and sacred writ, the bond of marriage between Prince Aenys and Lenore was severed. It was as if they had never been married, and so their son, whose parentage had been called into question, was stricken of his name. If they were not wed, then Maegor had no rights to their royal name.

Lenore had long been placed into custody within Maegor’s Holdfast, and Aenys kept from her by his father’s titanic will. She was allowed contact with no one save those of the King’s own household, whose reputations were beyond reproach.

Trial and Execution
Her trial was a swift one, and this time overseen with far greater authority by the king himself. He did not sit as her judge, as was his right, but instead against tasked his selected magistrates to do so in his stead. Nevertheless, this time he remained for the proceedings, and oversaw them in all but name. Lenore was allowed little defense, but was permitted to speak. Wherein she gave a passionate speech about her son, the young Maegor. Clearly resigned to her fate, her time in seclusion had seen her thoughts turn to the boy who should have one day been king.

There were no truly grand standing witnesses. Each gave their testimony, and all of the high drama that had pervaded the Hand’s trail withered before the eyes of the king. None can say what he thought of the affair, for as ever his expressions were neutral. There is little doubt, however, that it was by his will that Ser Loren Lannister pronounced her execution. Despite the alleged entreaties of the Queen Mother, Olenna Tyrell.  Whom it was said favored exile.

The execution itself was not a public one as was announced during her trial. Nor was she burned for her heretical ways, as was likewise pronounced. By royal decree she was taken to the bowels of the Red Keep and beheaded. Only the Small Council was in attendance. This marked the end of Lenore’s tumultuous tenure as a royal bride, and for many years thereafter cast a pall over the city. Eventually, as a result, Prince Aenys committed suicide at Dragonstone.