Arthur Hightower

Arthur Hightower is the current Lord of House Hightower and the Hightower, and Oldtown, subsequently possessing the titles of, the Lord of the Hightower, the Lord of the Port, Voice of Oldtown, Defender of the Citadel, and Beacon of the South. He succeeded to the titles as a boy no older than three years, when his Lord Father, Leyton Hightower, was killed in a joust by Aemon Dayne. Consequently, Arthur spent most of his youth in the capital, King’s Landing, as a constant of the Royal Court. He is the firstborn son to be birthed from the marriage of Leyton Hightower and Aelora Velaryon.

Appearance and Character
Arthur is a man of pleasant looks, and a generally kind and humble demeanor. From his parents, which, is not precisely known, he inherited his blonde hair, and from his mother, his blue-green eyes. Unlike his late Lord father, he is not the tall muscular hero that was drawn forth from children’s tales, but is instead a man of more moderate appearance, as he has always dedicated his time elsewhere, notably to his studies and satisfaction of his curiosities.

Whilst Arthur has never been a man to take vigorously to martial pursuits, and truthfully rather disdains tourneys, having adamantly refused to partake in them all his life, he has by no means taken to fat and lazy, but instead possesses the physique of one whom does engage in occasional but regular sport and physical activity.

Moreover, Arthur’s demeanor, while naturally kind, humble, and open to interaction, can at times, although these occasions are rare, turn to a great ire that will not dissipate until the situation has been deemed dealt with and the crime accounted for in Arthur’s mind. Yet, as great as the ire may be, there is still a notable aspect of control evident in the Lord’s features and make, with there being a distinct absence of physical outbursts, with the ire’s most evident aspect being the very out of character raise of voice.

Furthermore, while Arthur is not a passionately religious man, he is most definitely religious, as is to be expected of the Lord of the Hightower. Moreover, his zealotry for the Seven and against the occult and the more dark aspects of the arcane became quite evident to the world in 433 A.C. when he saw to the routing out of "the cult of Oldtown" and uncomprisingly saw to the executions of a number of his own kin, vassals, and subjects, sparing only one; his cousin, Olyvar Hightower.

415 - 423 A.C. The First Days
The first few years of Arthur Hightower’s life were little more than the beginning of what was to become the last time he would see the Hightower and Oldtown until the later half of 431 A.C. From the earliest of ages, Arthur was to be separated from his elder sister, Alys Hightower, his two younger brothers, Addam Hightower, and Leyton Hightower, and his last living parent, Aelora Hightower, and kept so for nigh the entirety of his youth.

424 - 425 A.C. Alone in the Capital
The early years of Arthur’s time in the Capital would at first prove mundane. While the youth quite evidently mourned the absence of his mother, as any would, with time, such lessened in concurrence with the steady fade of her from his memories, and they swelling number of new memories that were so borne without her presence. Most of the young Lord of Oldtown’s formative years would come to be guided by Septas and Septons, Maesters, and the occasional tutor of rank of note, but for the most part was a revolving door of those tasked with keeping the boy’s mind entertained in the short-term.

Yet, there would be but a single tutor who would stand out amidst all the rest, if simply for the skill with a blade that the man possessed. Ser Sybassion Spicer, a Knight of the Kingsguard, for whom the young Arthur would come to squire would teach the boy as best he could the ways of the blade, bow, and lance, as well as all else that was expected. But alas, Arthur would never blossom in these fields much more than what one would consider to be a strikingly average skillset.

While much had been taken from Arthur in the name of reconciliation between that of his House and that of the House Dayne, as a young lad, he was still very much unable to completely comprehend why this was happening to him, why he could not be home, and with his family. Although, even yet, as the days passed, and turned to weeks, and then to months, and years, the notion of family began to gradually change for Arthur, as he began to feel as if he could choose those who he called family.

426 - 432 A.C. Wealth and Status Beholds Likeminded Kin
So as time went on, Arthur became fast friends with the likes of the the young Princes Baelor Targaryen, and Daemon Targaryen, and the equally so, Lord Vorian Dayne, and a swathe of noble offspring alike. The earliest years in the Capital were the easiest of those to be for Arthur Hightower, for with age, came the responsibility to choose sides and take stance that would service the rest of the young Hightower's life.

Arthur however, would not remain a child forever. With the passage of time came events that the young Lord would come to witness first hand, or if not so closely, the aftermath was swift enough that it mattered not. In what came in the years after to feel as if it was all but a single year, within a decade Visaera I passed from this life, the realm was struck with a winter the likes of which Arthur’s generation had not ever seen, and the glorious affair that was the Springtide did occur.

While the first two of those events were dreary affairs for the realm, and only sought to break the iron mold Visaera had placed upon it, the wedding of the future King, Prince Aegon Targaryen to his sister, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen was an event revered by all, or at least, so it seemed from Arthur’s privileged position within the Royal Court. Now three and ten years, all this made sense to Arthur’s mind, the power, the titles, the positions, the bowing, the marriage, but still, a part of him, small as it was, wondered how Oldtown fared, how his siblings were, Alys, Addam, and 'Little' Leyton, and if his mother missed him so, for he found it hard to miss her in any context more than ‘she is my mother’. Aelora Hightower was to Arthur, her first born son, a woman unknown, and a mother long forgotten from memory. If it were not for the letters, and the talk of his family and the supposed life he was to one day assume in Oldtown with his intended, the Princess Naerys, it would have been wholly possibly for Arthur to think himself a lesser member of the House Targaryen.

The next three years proved fortuitous for Arthur, as he seemed to find himself more in this time, and come to meet with the things he enjoyed, and slowly wriggle away from more martial pursuits, at which he was strikingly average. Yet, even from in King’s Landing, Arthur began to hear of his young brother’s incredible wit and skill with the practice sword, even at such a young age. Once the talk of Addam began in the letters sent by his mother, he soon stopped reading them, instead allowing them to pile up, before feeding them to the fire one after the other.

Yet, when the King had his son take a second wife in Visenya Silvermoon, and in doing so, wed the baseborn daughter of a Lysene whore, Arthur Hightower, now six and ten, was enraged. This was not right. By the laws of both Gods and Men, this was not right. To take a second wife, while the first still lived.. No. Yet, as much as the Lord of the Hightower desired to leave the Capital above all else, such would have been too obviously an act of blatant disrespect, and so, the Lord of Oldtown was forced to endure this court of mockery and concubine worship for nigh on another year. But alas, once all the time he could force himself to stomach had passed, never had there been a faster ship to leave harbour than the one Arthur Hightower left upon.

Main Article: The Hightower Affair
The Hightower Affair was to become a most striking occurence of events revolving around the Hightowers and Oldtown in the year of 433 A.C. The Affair would see the revelation, arrests, trials, and burnings of some twenty-seven declared cultists and heretics, eight of whom were named Hightower, and notably, a Lannister bastard.

The event would serve to bring much of both fame and infamy to the Lord Arthur Hightower, with some remarking that he had made himself a kinslayer by seeing to the executions of his kinsmen and kinswomen, yet in contrast, were vastly more prominent the voices of those supporting the Lord for his actions, notably those organisations of the Faith within Oldtown, and the Maesters, as their orders had both been infected by this plague.

434 A.C. - 438 A.C. Rebuilding, One Brick at a Time
And so, with the routing of the Cult of Oldtown, and even though the Bleeding was still alive, albeit a dying beast, a pleasant peace was drawn back over the Hightower and the streets of Oldtown. In this time did finally come the chance for rest, for entertainment, and for enjoyment of life. For Arthur, his future was very much still his future, and his betrothed was half a world away, with years between them.

As Lord of the Hightower, Arthur would ensure peace returned in full, whilst also encouraging the Faith within Oldtown to focus its efforts to greater affect upon the wealthier portion of the population. Yet most so of all, he would see the boons of trade return to his harbour in full, and the taxes of the treacherous Houses Bulwer, Cuy, and Costayne raised, so as to pay for the loss of coin and income that was incurred during their acts of treachery. By Arthur's Law, would these Houses pay for the suffering of his city, his family, his people, and more.

Yet as a brother, the years of his return to Oldtown, would not prove as prosperous. Second sons were always a problem, and the late Lord Leyton's was no different. Steadily did a rivalry of sorts, a disdain, and a complete lack of tolerance grow between the two brothers Arthur and Addam. Some within the Hightower assumed it had been borne of Arthur's execution of the man Addam had considered a father; Dorian Hightower, as well as that of the executions of the other Hightowers. Meanwhile others thought it to be the result of Addam's less than amicable personality, coupled with his seeming inability to fail at any such task he took to, from swordplay to study.

So when in 435 A.C., Ser Addam Hightower was named a Knight of the Kingsguard, more within the Hightower than just Arthur did rejoice, for it meant an end to the cold war front between the two brothers, or at least an inability for it to be active, they hoped. Alas, when Addam came to his older brother to ask for their family sword, Vigilance, when he was so named to the Kingsguard, for Arthur was most certainly not to use it, the Lord of the Hightower readily denied his brother such a privilege, quite clearly out of spite toward him, and instead sent him on his way with little more than ordinary steel.

While as Arthur, he would find himself amidst two discrete affairs throughout the years. With daughters of wealthy merchant families of Oldtown, Arthur would make to enjoy his time quite so, despite the discrete behaviour with which he did so. Yet, no matter how long said affairs prospered, they would always remain so. For ever-looming was obligation and the duties that came with such, and for Arthur Hightower, his greatest obligation of all was named Naerys Targaryen.

Notable Accomplishments
432 A.C. 433 A.C.
 * Led a Hightower host from Oldtown and around his lands, cleansing them of any remaining Warsmiths.
 * Led the routing out of "the Cult of Oldtown" as well as the judicial proceedings against the accused.

Recent Events
438 A.C.
 * Oldtown and the Hightower prepare for the arrival of the Royal Family, as well as the Lords and Ladies of the Realm, both High and Low, as the Lord Arthur's wedding draws near.

Family

 * Liana Hightower, b. 353 A.C. d. --- A.C.
 * m. Gareth Tyrell, b. --- A.C. d. --- A.C.
 * House Tyrell
 * Lucifer Hightower, Lord of the Hightower, b. 356 A.C. d. 417 A.C.
 * m. Lynora Lannister, Lady of the Hightower, b. 370 A.C. d. 424 A.C.
 * Leyton Hightower, Lord of the Hightower, b. 387 A.C. d. 418 A.C.
 * m. Aelora Velaryon, Lady of the Hightower, b. 394 A.C.
 * Alys Hightower, b. 413 A.C.
 * Arthur Hightower, Lord of the Hightower, b. 415 A.C.
 * Addam Hightower, Knight of the Kingsguard, b. 417 A.C.
 * Leyton Hightower, b. 419 A.C.
 * Alicent Hightower, b. 388 A.C. d. 399 A.C.
 * Elinor Hightower, b. 404 A.C.
 * m. Errec Baratheon, b. --- A.C.
 * House Baratheon
 * Erron Hightower, b. 363 A.C. d. 433 A.C.
 * m. Dacey Vyrwell, b. 366 A.C. d. 417 A.C.
 * Cassana Hightower, b. 391 A.C.
 * m. Martyn Mullendore, b. --- A.C.
 * House Mullendore
 * Cissa Hightower, b. --- A.C. d. --- A.C.
 * m. Alan Tarly, b. --- A.C. d. --- A.C.
 * House Tarly
 * Leysel Hightower, Lady of Runestone, b. 367 A.C. d. --- A.C.
 * m. Reynard Royce, Lord of Runestone, b. --- A.C. d. --- A.C.
 * House Royce
 * Bryndon Hightower, b. 370 A.C. d. 433 A.C.
 * m. Denyse Hewett, b. --- A.C. d. --- A.C.
 * Dorian Hightower, b. 389 A.C. d. 433 A.C.
 * m. Arianne Dayne, b. 396 A.C. d. 418 A.C.
 * Olyvar Hightower, b. 412 A.C.
 * m. Ellara Roxton, b. 412 A.C.
 * Olymer Hightower, b. 430 A.C.
 * Lynesse Hightower, b.432 A.C.
 * Gerold Hightower, b. 435 A.C.
 * Samwell Hightower, b. 415 A.C.
 * Triston Hightower, b. 418 A.C. d. 418 A.C.