Alannys Harlaw

Alannys Harlaw is the youngest child and only daughter born to Harmund Harlaw, late Master of the Tower of Glimmering, and his rock wife, Larra Stonetree. As the closest living relative of the recently deceased Lord Qhorwyn Harlaw, she inherited the titles to the Ten Towers and the Island of Harlaw.

The vassal lords sworn to her House yet question her ability as Lady Regnant, but she enjoys popularity with the common folk of the island, and likewise with the captains and crewmen of her fleet, who regard her as a talented seafarer and warrior.

Alannys is the captain of the longship Winter Reaper, and she is the current wielder of her family's Valyrian Steel longsword, Nightfall.

Appearance and Character
Pale of complexion and dark of hair, with nearly pitch-black eyes adorning her elegantly sharp visage, Alannys stands out as a rare beauty amongst the Ironborn. She doesn't appear intimidating, nor is she particularly tall and imposing, but her short stature and lithe frame shadow a martially trained, athletic body, and her meticulous, pragmatic nature, which lies hidden behind a pleasant façade, lends the Lady Harlaw a charismatic presence that instils both respect and fear in those that know and follow her.

Whether she's clad in her armour on the field, or an elegant gown at a feast, Alannys' appearance remains one of controversy, yet which only serves to emphasize the grace and nobility she naturally possesses.

Early Life
Alannys was born in the early summer year of 388 AC at the Tower of Glimmering, a mere ten Moons after her mother had delivered a stillborn. Due to that and Lady Larra's frail condition, Maester Gevin had predicted possible complicacies, but the mother gave birth to a healthy and strong daughter without difficulties during the process, and both of them were ready to leave bed following a few weeks of rest.

The first four years of her life were quiet and uneventful, and her parents planned to raise her in line with the standards of a true Westerosi lady in hopes of finding her a match from the mainland when she'd come of age. At the time, the Iron Islands had been enjoying peace for two decades past the Half-Blood Incursion, and the Harlaws were among the houses that sought to better relationships with the other kingdoms of the Realm. Then everything changed.

Westeros was a troubled enough place on its own, and when The Great Famine struck in the wake of a series of peasant revolts and failing crops, the Iron Islands felt the suffering it brought second-to-none. Alannys was no older than five then, and whilst she could barely understand the weight of the events happening around her, she remembers how the rations became thinner with each passing day at the Ten Towers, seeing the children of servants fell ill and starve to death, and watching dozens of longships sail out from the harbour when the hunger grew unbearable.

Hundreds of sailors rallied under Greyjoy banners to raid the western shores and southern vessels for grain, and tens of thousands were saved from starvation as a result, but the breaking of the King's peace was followed by swift and brutal retaliation. A longship for each tower, they said, was put to the torch, with all of their captains and crews subsequently executed. The Harlaw flagship Silent Storm, captained by Lord Harmund, the father of Alannys and two sons, was one of them.

Lessons
Alannys was never particularly close with her older brothers, and the hardships they had to endure together did little to remedy that. They were several years between them in the first place, and with their father dead and Lord Qhorwyn having no children of his own, the latter took Harron under his wing to groom the boy into the next Lord of Harlaw, sent Goren to be fostered by another Ironborn lord, and left Alannys in the care of their grieving mother, whose company was alienating at best.

The girl longed for attention, and above all, connections, - and as sad as it was, her mother was the last person to provide either. Despite living there for years, she didn't feel welcome in the Ten Towers, so she either retreated to the library to bury herself in books for hours, or sneaked out to roam the island and befriend the locals to remedy her loneliness. She found herself easily getting along with the common folk and the servants at court, and the first she had considered a true friend was Maester Gevin, the youngest brother of her late grandfather, who helped her with her studies and was always happy to talk about the various subjects she'd read about.

It became evident where did the girl's interests lie, and although she allowed her mother to mould her behaviour through lessons in etiquette and the feminine activities a lady was expected to excel at, it were Maester Gevin's lectures in history, strategy, and seafaring that offered her the knowledge she desired. Alannys couldn't defy her own nature, however, and she didn't excel at anything ladylike beyond the superficial, nor did she want to. Inspired by historical figures such as Nymeria of the Rhoynar and Asha Greyjoy, she aspired to become a leader and warrior, to see the world and fight for her people.

Her mistake was announcing her plans to her mother during a frustrating fight that resulted from her refusal to do embroidery. Infuriated, Lady Larra told Alannys that she'd rather see her married off to a Codd than let her meet the same fate Harmund and most Harlaw men did, and she outright forbade her daughter to train with the master-at-arms or anyone in the vicinity of the Ten Towers so long she lived. Still, as clear as her mother's words were, they wouldn't stop the young reaver-wannabe.

A Girl's First Crew
She was crafty as a child, so if she couldn't train with the master-at-arms, she observed him train her brother and the soldiers of the garrison, then picked up a wooden stick and did her best to imitate the techniques and moves she had memorized. Other than hitting makeshift targets on her own, she also invited a couple boys and girls of her age from nearby villages to practice swordsmanship with, and eventually, she had built a small fellowship for herself over the course of a few moons.

Her most notable companions were Triston, a salt son of House Volmark with a few years of martial training of his own, Dorna, a thrall's daughter with considerable physical strength, and the siblings Cotter and Robin from a fisherman's family. Perhaps they differed in their motivations and long-term goals, but they had all shared the ambition of elevating themselves as warriors and adopting a true Ironborn reaver's life. Alannys called them her first crew, and they meant the foundation of her power.

They trained rigorously and sparred each other daily, experimenting with various arms and finding their own preferences over time as well. The stronger ones like Triston and Dorna excelled at melee, while others picked up bows to fire at their targets from a distance. Alannys improved a lot with the sword too, but she ultimately honed her intelligence and guile as her chief weapons. She was a guiding force that pushed everyone towards betterment, settled disputes when needed be, and forged the purpose that would drive them.

She quickly proved to be a natural leader, and even the boys weren't reluctant to accept her as the head of their small group. Her assertiveness was matched with the ability to sympathize, her decisiveness with an openness to the ideas of others, and the balance of these traits inspired loyalty and trust in those that came to know and follow her. What seemed to be children's play at the beginning, was really a case of hitting two birds with one stone for Alannys. She learned how to fight and she began to grasp the responsibilities of leadership, and upon entering adolescence, the biggest challenge ahead was putting her skills to test.

Her crew only lacked a ship, but in the wake of an unexpected disaster, they made it aboard one.

Tidings of War
In the latter half of 399 AC, vessels returned to Harlaw from the Stepstones, and the news they brought left many devastated. Harron Harlaw, who left three years prior to command Lord Harlaw's fleet against the Three Kings, died into the wounds he had suffered in single combat aboard his own vessel and lost the sword Nightfall to the man who bested him; the infamous commander of the Lost Legion, Kaelon Rogare. The young heir was liked by his soldiers, his talent for strategy and stewardship made his uncle proud, and even the vassal lords thought he'd become a great ruler one day.

His death was felt, yet no one was struck by it as much as his mother. In a hysteric fit, Lady Larra called Lord Qhorwyn the murderer of her husband and son, and subsequently retreated to the Widow's Tower, refusing to see anyone but her daughter while she mourned. It was her wish to confine Alannys to the same wing of the holdfast to keep her close and out of harm's way, but little did she know that the girl was already several steps ahead of her, and she had no intentions of staying.

As the war in the East raged on, the Crown had requested another thirty longships from the Iron Islands in lieu of the ones lost, and Alannys, who saw this as her chance to get a taste of reaving, was determined to get herself and her crew aboard one of those vessels. She sold a number of her gowns and pieces of silver jewellery to be able to afford an average soldier's equipment for herself and four others, and she had her friends ask around in the docks if any of the longships could use more crewman. Within a few days, they had everything they needed from helmets and hauberks to axes and swords, and Triston had managed to secure oars for all of them on the Salty Whale, a longship captained by the old raider Dykk Whalebane. They were ready to sail out, but whether they were ready for war was yet to be seen.

First Blood
The longships departed the Iron Islands in the Twelfth Moon of 399 AC, and it took them between three and four weeks until they had reached the Stepstones. Alannys was thrilled throughout the entire journey, eagerly searching the horizon every day for the sights she had heard so much about. She could lay eyes on the mighty Casterly Rock, the Hightower of Oldtown and the beautiful green islands of the Reach, and the magnificent palace of Sunspear crowning the Dornish coast. The unknown perceived from so close yet still afar made her forget that she was hundreds of leagues away from home, the realization of which hit her at once when she entered the fray.

Sailing up the Narrow Sea to join with the Iron Fleet berthed at Greenstone, a large contingent of pirate and mercenary vessels ambushed them south-west of Bloodstone, crushing five longships in the initial attack and forcing the rest to flee to the Broken Arm of Dorne. But as the enemy followed them to shore in large numbers, the Ironborn retaliated and a bloody battle ensued in the wet sand. Alannys stood in the backlines with sword and shield in her hands as she watched the fight unfold, and the realness of it was beyond what she had expected. War was a disgusting, chaotic mess; men were slain in front of her in the dozens and the sight of them falling in the most grotesque ways imaginable made her nauseous. Her heart raced, and for the first time in her life, she was truly afraid.

When one of the pirates came charging at her with an arakh, she completely froze, unable to even lift her shield for defence, and had it not been for Dorna, she would have fallen right then and there. The massive girl born to a thrall tore a hole in the Essosi's head with a well-aimed throw of her axe, saving her liege's life. Alannys was reminded then that she wasn't alone in this, and it gave her the strength she had needed; the next blade that came her way was met with the wood of her shield, and with a swift counter-attack that surprised even her, she took her assaulter's life only a few seconds after she had almost lost her own.

Meanwhile, the encounter around her had gone as could be expected: the Ironborn overpowered the pirate forces on shore, and the battle was taken to sea again, this time decidedly favouring the former. Most of the crews manning the war-galleys were disintegrated, so the longships had no difficulty breaking through the blockade the pirates had set up, and with a few vessels captured too, they made it to their destination.

Zero to Hero
For the remainder of the war, the Ironborn fleet's primary objectives had been to patrol the Summer Sea for any merchant ships that could potentially feed supplies to the enemy and to eliminate mercenary reinforcements before they could join the pirate kings' armada. They fought several battles ranging from smaller skirmishes and raids to larger engagements at sea, and simultaneously filled the shallow hulls of their longships with precious loot from the unlucky that got in their way.

In the two years since their departure, Alannys and her fellow young reavers had mastered the various tactics of Ironborn such as the use of grappling hooks and the boarding of larger vessels under the guidance of their elders, and as they matured, they had proven to be formidable Ironborn warriors in their own right. During an organized raid to root out pirate supporters hiding in settlements along the coast of the Disputed Lands, Alannys had also demonstrated her ability as a battlefield commander, which elevated her position higher than she expected. The three crews under Dykk Whalebane's command were attacked by a group of mercenaries at the hour of the wolf.

With most of them scattered in the small township looting and raping, the Ironborn were caught off-guard, and whilst many were killed within minutes and a few of them took to running, it was the then fourteen-year-old Alannys, who seized the opportunity to act. Louder than ever before, she called the soldiers nearest to her into formation, standing up in a shield wall with some thirty men to halt the mercenaries on the main road, and sent her quickest crewmates to alarm the rest of the Ironborn. Attacking them at night was certainly a smart move, but underestimating their ability to respond was a mistake, especially for a second time.

Hundred and twenty reavers were up in arms to answer the imminent threat, but they had to regroup first. They couldn't have known whether the mercenaries outnumbered them or otherwise, so the only sensible choice to Alannys was to feint retreat to their longships and fight off the mercenaries from there, - or row out if need be. Her plan was adhered to and the bulk of the Ironborn forces made it to the docks, allowing them to utilize their full strength. Turning about and getting into formation again, they advanced on the mercenaries and fired crossbows bolts between tactical openings, and pushed their broken lines back into the streets, where the fight would be concluded at once.

They had fought for several hours, and despite being outnumbered two to one, the Ironborn had repelled the assault by dawn, with most of the mercenaries lying defeated, many taken as hostages, and the cravened ones scared away. In the aftermath, Captain Dykk named Alannys as his first mate and commander of troops to reward for her role in bringing about victory, and the Harlaw scion was more than ready to undertake the task, especially after learning who sent these goons on them.

An Old Enemy
During the interrogation of the captured leader of the mercenaries, she had learned that his company was hired on behalf of the Lost Legion to disrupt smaller Ironborn raiding parties on land, and that the man who paid them, a certain Captain Jovarro, was loading his fleet in Lys with weapons and supplies intended for Daarius Ormollen in the Stepstones. The details spilt by the man were concerning the very least, and they immediately returned to the Iron Fleet's command to inform the Lord Captain about the fresh developments. Alannys was an odd sight amongst venerated captains from all across the Iron Islands, but as a commander herself, she would claim a voice on the war council regardless.

She proposed to send fifty of the Ironborn vessels to intercept Captain Jovarro's fleet before it got the chance to deliver the supplies and more fighting men to serve the Three Kings' cause. Her plan was to lure the Legion's ships into a chase with a contingent of twenty longships and then flank them from two directions with the remaining thirty between the rocky islands of the Stepstones. Reluctantly, the council gave its consent, but granted the squadron's command to an older and more experienced captain, - not that it mattered to Alannys. She was a realist at heart, who never expected to receive more than she merited for, and so long she was going to partake in the ambush, she would remain content.

What she remained silent about was her personal involvement in the matter. The mercenary her crew had questioned also told something about 'recognizing the man by his sword with the moonstone pommel ', and if her intuition was correct, she had possibly found Nightfall, the ancestral blade of House Harlaw lost by Harron half a decade ago. Apparently that Rogare filth had gifted the sword away - or lost it to gamble for all she knew, - but reclaiming it would have been a good bloody start in serving justice for her brother either way.

Nightfall
The Iron Fleet split up in the next week, with its larger half joining the Royal and Redwyne fleets to prepare for the King's assault on Sunstone, and the squadron of fifty sailing south-east according to the plan. Jovarro's fleet showed up on the horizon in two days' time, numbering roughly two dozen war-galleys and accompanying merchant cogs, and they took the bait. After making the initial strike, the chase commenced and from there it took about two hours of back-and-forth firing until the Legion's sails were lured into the intended trap. The Lysene galleys possessed the superior firepower with spitfires and catapults mounted on their decks, but the longships had the superior manoeuvrability and sailors.

Swiftly closing in on the enemy vessels, the Ironborn used scorpions to force their crews to cover and grappling hooks to board them. When it came to endurance and speed few could compare to the Ironborn, and Alannys' strategy utilized those qualities to their fullest; combined with proper coordination and tactics, they hit the Lost Legion like an ungodly storm. About a fifth of the longships caught fire or got crushed, but the fight was taken to the enemy decks so quickly that it almost seemed like a fair trade-off. And that was where the real battle had begun.

The legionnaires, tough bastards they were, had provided quite the challenge to their ironmen opponents. Alannys had the chance to meet them in combat as soon as she boarded their flagship with fifty reavers at her back, and they fought unlike any of the mercenaries she had come across thus far. They were relentless and precise, almost making her believe that they were motivated by much more than gold. She slew two of them before she spotted Jovarro himself in the fray, recognizing the man by the stolen longsword Nightfall in his hand. The Captain of the Lost Legion was cutting through her men with the Valyrian Steel blade as if he was in a trance, yet that did not discourage her. Without a second thought, she engaged him.

Chaos having ruled the deck, it was impossible to tell which side was winning, and her companions had her back by keeping the mercenaries around her occupied as she took on their captain in single combat. Alannys' skill and youthful prowess placed her on an almost equal footing with Jovarro, and some might say that duelling aboard a ship had even benefitted the young Ironborn over her more experienced opponent. Whatever were the odds, she wanted that sword back, and perhaps it was her willingness to go unorthodox lengths to reclaim it that eventually gave her the upper hand, and ultimately, victory.

Although her footwork and ability to counter had been remarkable throughout the fight, one misstep was enough to let Jovarro overcome her defences and knock her over. At that point, Alannys still had the chance to get up and continue the swordplay, but she had something far more daring on her mind. Rolling onto her back on the floor, she tossed her shield at him to provide a momentary distraction and tripped him with her legs, and as her move caught him off-guard, she got up in the same motion and thrust her sword into Jovarro's side and through his lungs. As the man fell on his knees, Alannys tore Nightfall from his hand and finished him by slitting his throat with the pristine steel.

So had it been, that the second Harlaw to face the Lost Legion defeated one of her captains and forced dozens of her ranks into surrender. On that day, she had paid the iron price for what was rightfully hers.

The Winter Reaper
Following the battle of Sunstone and the fall of Grey Gallows, the War of the Three Thieves had concluded with a decisive Westerosi victory. Little was there left to kill and plunder, and after six years of fighting for the Crown, the Ironborn were tired as well. Alannys could have pursued what remained of the Lost Legion to the edge of the world to finish what she'd started, but she too had found the notion of sailing back home more appealing. She missed the rains, the wet, jagged rocks, the bellowing of the sea as its waves crashed against the cliffs beneath the Ten Towers, and she missed her people. Even that insufferable mother of hers, who no doubt was going to give her a proper scolding.

The war had taken too long though, and the peoples of Westeros barely got a chance to have some respite before winter came. The first snow had already fallen in the Iron Islands when Alannys returned to Harlaw, and remembering the Great Famine all too well, she grew concerned for the Islanders. She was ready to meet the consequences of having left without permission, but as there were many to praise her achievements to Lord Qhorwyn, her uncle was willing to look past her unruliness and reward her even for retrieving the House's ancestral blade. Daring as ever, she asked for fifteen new longships to be constructed in the design of the larger war-compatible vessels in use by the Iron Fleet.

She explained that her plan was to keep the island's population fed during the winter years by hoarding grain, and the ships were required to raid the Summer Isles and the various merchant vessels sailing the Summer Sea, either for grain directly or the gems and gold to buy more-. She had a way with words, and her expert reasoning paired with promises of wealth and glory had proven enough to convince her uncle. The Lord of Harlaw commissioned his best shipwrights to build the vessels - from the finest oak timber available, - and in the Fourth Moon of 403 AC, the new warships were ready to sail. Alannys promptly assumed command, and after crewing all fifteen of them with a hundred good reavers each, she led them on their virgin voyage.

While the green lands of Westeros were veiled in white, the south where summer ruled eternal was ripe for pillage, and the first year alone had brought astounding success. Well acquainted with the sails of the free cities and those from further east, Alannys could determine which vessel to hit at sea and whether it was worth it to engage larger fleets with near-perfect precision. And not forgetting about her people in Harlaw for a moment, she sent back a pair of ships packed full of cargo at every second turn of the Moon. To proceed as planned, she also ordered one of her captains to hire merchants in Oldtown and Vinetown, who would trade the various luxury goods they had looted for grain and other provisions.

Her black sails had become infamous from the Stepstones to Qarth, and as soon as it was advisable to avoid the ire of Essosi powers, Alannys turned her attention to the Summer Isles. She had waylaid swan ships from time to time when the odds favoured her, but her interests ultimately lied in the treasures the islands had to offer. Not stopping at fishing villages and coastal towns, she had often pushed inland to storm the palaces of highborn and steal the most precious gems hoarded by their residents. The local rulers wanted her out of their lands, and after nice words failed, they employed an old enemy of hers to throw her back into the sea.

The Lost Legion had been on her trail since she robbed a small flotilla belonging to the Rogare Bank blind, and in the Summer Island, they finally caught up. For the most part, Alannys had kept the mercenaries busy through a series of smaller and bigger skirmishes as she harried the region with her reavers, and she would rarely risk an open battle to push her personal vendetta.

Recent Events
N/A

Family
Family Tree
 * Lord Erich Harlaw, Lord of Harlaw d. 390 AC
 * m. Lady Rheya Drumm d. 365 AC
 * Lord Qhorwyn Harlaw, Lord of Harlaw d. 407 AC
 * m. Lady Hylda Blacktyde d. 403 AC
 * No Issues
 * Lord Harmund Harlaw d. 394 AC
 * m. Lady Larra Stonetree b. 367 AC
 * Harron Harlaw d. 396 AC
 * Goren Harlaw d. 406
 * m. Rona Kenning b. 387 AC
 * No Issues
 * Lady Alannys Harlaw, Lady of Harlaw b. 388 AC
 * Theon Pyke b. 406 AC

Household

 * Ronel Kenning - Castellan of the Ten Towers
 * Maester Gevin - Maester of the Ten Towers
 * Genna - Steward
 * Gunthor - Master-at-Arms
 * Othgar - Drowned Priest of Harlaw
 * Triston Volmark - Captain of the Guard