Robert Swann

Robert Swann is the current Lord of Stonehelm. He is the first-born child and son of the late-Lord Donnel Swann and Lady Olenna Swann neé Peake.

Early Life
Born in 381 AC, Robert Swann is the firstborn of Donnel and Olenna's eventual family nest of four children.

As a child, Robert chose to devour books in Stonehelm's library rather than cross swords in the training yards. He read over every page that could be laid bare and then many times more always hungering for more. Lord Donnel indulged his son's scholarly proclivity by instructing Stonehelm's Maester to keep in regular communication with the Citadel in requesting more books to constantly stock the castle's library.

Tales such as those that described the alabaster white walls surrounding Lys and obsidian stone slabs of Asshai structures were what drew Robert to first begin studying architecture and its myriad of subsequent disciplines.

Eventually, Robert moved onto studies of martial designs such as assaulting siege engines and defensive fortifications. He is known to wander the top of the walls of Stonehelm with an open book in one hand and note out loud to himself of where improvements could be made.

In one corner of the castle, Robert keeps a personal workshop for researching new creations. He is always on the look-out to hire individuals that share similar interests to come work for him.

War of the Three Thieves
In 396 AC, at the mere age of ten and five, Robert participated in the War of the Three Thieves as commander of the Swann forces under the Baratheon banner. Rather than simply crafting designs within the confines of the workshop, the war granted Robert the opportunity to actually create and test his creations firsthand. In those six years, Robert experienced both failures and successes in his inventions, but more importantly gained a more intimate understanding of martial craftsmanship.

As Lord Axell Connington was commander of the Stormlander forces, Robert spent many months fighting by the side of his friend and goodbrother forging even closer bonds with the Griffin Lord. In the midst of war, Robert witnessed the true martial prowess of various figures on both sides. In the idle moments of sailing to the next battle, Robert spent them sketching new engines of war having been inspired by those he saw.

During the Battle of the Gulf when Daarius' forces engaged the combined fleets of the North, Vale, Crownlands, and Stormlands, Robert was saved from an otherwise fatal sword swing from a Stepstone soldier by Lord Robar Caron of Nightsong. Swearing a debt to the lord, Robert would later send his only son and heir to ward and squire under Lord Robar.

Following the war, Lord Axell Connington led a force against the Seryse Baratheon to which Robert joined the former's endeavor. The Swann Lord would not stand for the slander set upon Seryse onto Axell as he had himself witnessed the Griffin Lord's leadership during the War of the Three Thieves and knew the lies in Seryse's words.

As the Swann Lord
His rise to the lordship of Stonehelm was thrust upon him unexpectedly following his father's fever-borne death during the Scarlet Winter in 404 AC. In the latter half of the Scarlet Winter, Stonehelm saw a blanket of snow descend near daily upon the surrounding rocky outcrops of Swann domain. The airs of the land had a constant prickling chill to them that pecked like daggers at those who dared to expose any skin to the relentless winds.

Lord Donnel had become ill with an already weakened health as he had taken his daughter Corenna's suicide in 403 AC quite hard. Corenna had been wife to Ser Galladon Tarth during the time of her death, and bearing that in mind, Donnel regretted betrothing his daughter to the Evenfall knight. This sharp despair drove Robert's father to slowly refuse meals as the old lord's appetite diminished with every passing day, and it was in this deteriorated condition that the fever caught ahold of Donnel to drain the rest of his life.

As Robert took the mantle of Stonehelm's primary administrator as its Lord in 404 AC, his brother Ser Gulian was appointed Master-at-Arms of the castle and oversees the training of Swann soldiers and maintains Stonehelm's army. The Dowager Lady Olenna serves as a close advisor on all matters to Robert even to this day.

Eat, Pray, Love
With Johanna's descent into fully embracing the role of a R'hollor red priestess, so too did Robert delve deeper into becoming a renowned architect. Leaving his children and Stonehelm under the care of the Dowager Lady Olenna and a few close Stormlander houses, the Swann Lord traveled east to the Free Cities in 407 AC.

Sailing a galley from the Stonehelm navy, Waverider, Robert began his voyage in Braavos and traveled down the Essosi coast stopping in Pentos, Myr, Lys, and finally ending the trip in Volantis. While some lords may have kept a stipend for fine wines during such travels, Robert kept quite a large stipend for purchasing notebooks. After three years of leisure in foreign lands, the Swann Lord wrote in nearly half a thousand journals that held his drawings and designs.

Given the kaleidoscopic range of religions in the Free Cities and Essos-at-large, Robert made certain to visit as many temples and sites as time allowed. He returned to Stonehelm towards the middle of 410 AC.

As Bob the Builder
One of his current projects includes designing and constructing the Red Temple in Griffin's Roost with Johanna. While Robert does not share the same faith as his wife, the opportunity to create such a religious site was not lost on him. In hopes to be better inspired of how to design the Red Temple, Robert traveled to King's Landing on multiple occasions visiting the capital's own Red Temple that eventually finished construction in 416 AC.

He frequently travels between Stonehelm and Griffin's Roost to oversee progress on the project. While he is away from the castle, the Dowager Lady Olenna and Ser Gulian govern on Robert's behalf.

Another of Robert's projects, albeit he had a much smaller hand, was the expansion of Summerhall. Under the generous invitation of Princess Rhaenys Targaryen in 411 AC, the Swann Lord traveled to her lands to observe and occasionally provided suggestions for the renovation project. Using the various designs and styles learned from his Essosi travels, Robert allocated only the finest elegance and opulence within his proposals to the Princess.

With the completion of Summerhall's expansion, Robert looks forward to the upcoming grand tourney with an eager heart where the Targaryen holding will be unveiled to the rest of the realm.

Members of House Swann
Link to Swann Family Tree.
 * 💀 Lord Donnel Swann (41) 💀 - b. 363 AC | d. 404 AC
 * m. Olenna Swann neé Peake (58) - b. 360 AC
 * Lord Robert Swann (37) - b. 381 AC
 * m. Johanna Swann neé Connington (32) - b. 386 AC
 * m. Corenna Dondarrion neé Swann (16) to Ser Manfred Dondarrion - b. 402 AC
 * Balon Dondarrion (0) - b. 418
 * Cassenna Swann (15) - b. 403 AC
 * Clifford Swann (12) - b. 406
 * m. 💀 Corenna Tarth neé Swann (20) 💀 to Ser Galladon Tarth - b. 383 AC | d. 403 AC
 * Endrew Tarth (18) - b. 400
 * Selwyn Tarth (16) - b. 402
 * Ser Gulian Swann (34) - b. 384
 * m. Daena Swann neé Wylde (36) - b. 382
 * m. Gwenyth Caron neé Swann (30) to Ser Coran Caron - b. 388 AC
 * m. Jeyne Connington neé Swann (43) to Ser Criston Connington - b. 375 AC