Olyvar Blackwood

Olyvar Blackwood is the current Lord of Raventree Hall. He is the secondborn son of the late Lord Dorian Blackwood, and his wife, Lady Alysanne Blackwood. Olyvar only succeeded to the title after the untimely death of his elder brother, the late Lord Damion Blackwood. As of 408 A.C., Olyvar has been married to Lady Dacey Stark, with their son, Lucas Blackwood, being his heir.

Appearance Character
Olyvar Blackwood was not a noble child raised with the vigor of an heir, nor the ambition of a claimant, nor for that matter, the desire for power that has haunted oh so many second sons throughout Westerosi history.

For the most part, Olyvar was a quiet and unassuming child. He gave his parents little reason to be concerned over him, and so oft did his best to remain out of the way when his other siblings caused drama and chaos.

The future and unsuspecting Lord of Raventree Hall would not begin to gradually come into his own and grow emboldened in himself until his days in the Vale, where he was fostered by Lord Alaric Arryn, and came to squire for the man as he grew.

In his twenty-eighth year, the Lord of Raventree Hall possesses a tangled mess of raven black curls atop his head, with an accompanying beard. Much akin to so many Blackwoods before him, his eyes are a grey-blue. While Olyvar is clearly no great hulk of a man or even a skilled warrior, he does still possess a well-trained and toned body.

391 A.C. The Raven in the Nest
Olyvar Blackwood's early days were spent within the walls of Raventree Hall, playing with his siblings, taking enjoyment in literature, and seeing the surrounding lands belonging to his family. From a young age, the unknowing future Lord was raised with stories of Blackwoods and Brackens, of Gods older than the earth beneath his feet itself, and of the dragonlords who flew so high above.

While Olyvar certainly possesed a liking for outside activities on occassion, he was so more often found with a book or a map or any sort of literature the Maester had provided him. Many a time, servants and kin alike within the walls of Raventree Hall entered a room only to realise Olyvar was in there some time later, for it would be the sound of turning a loud page, or closing a book, or adjusting whatever lay before him, that would trigger their attention to fall upon him. Olyvar Blackwood was a remarkably quiet child, with visitors to Raventree Hall oft times believing the boy knew not how to speak, for he would say naught in their presence.

398 A.C. The Raven Spreads its Wings
Come the seventh year of Olyvar's life, he would be sent to be raised in the court of the Arryns, and squire under the Lord Alaric Arryn. While Olyvar never developed a penchant for the martial pursuits, and oft time was far worse than the other squires and boys of his age, he never seemed to care much, instead taking a far greater liking for matters of state and governance, as well as near anything he could read that he find even partially interesting.

During Olyvar's third year in the Vale, his nighttime reading habits became so troublesome that the Maester went so far as to bring the issue to the Lord Arryn, proclaiming that Olyvar would "ruin his eyes" with all the reading by candlelight. Such only forced Olyvar to continue moreso in secret, avoiding the prying eyes of others by reading beneath the sheets in his chambers as much as he could.

While the rest of the Blackwood's years in the Vale proved largely uneventful, save for a few select experiences and interactions that drew upon the boy's curiousities, he woud have a rather ordinary upbringing by noble standards.

407 A.C. The Raven Finds Flight
Now of age, a man of sixteen years, Olyvar was eager to prove himself. As much as he had never been a fighter, nor a lover of martial pursuits, he was so very alike to other boys his age when it came to this. He wanted to don armour, take hold of a sword and shield, and slay some foes and claim glory. Mayhaps then people would have found another to chide about their lack of skill with a sword, and with a spear, and with a mace, and with a lance, and with a bow, and with every other weapon in the armoury.

Yet, by the time the Vale forces came to see conflict, if one can even call ten thousand men screaming their lungs out as they were roasted like chickens, conflict, Olyvar had been sent off by his Lord and mentor, Alaric Arryn, and had been parlaying with other Riverlords on his behalf. When the news of Alaric and the ten thousand's death reached him, Olyvar was shocked. He thought it such a foolish death, and where had Maegor been? The man who was his very own kin. The only positive that would come from this war was the self-imposed exile of Lyle Bracken. No matter how the day was coloured, it was always a good one when a Bracken suffered.

Olyvar Blackwood, who in many ways had seen the Vale, and Eyrie, as his proper home, found himself bereft of the place, and ordered back to Raventree Hall by his Lord Father. As was his duty, he complied. He would only hear about the ascension of the man whom had been as an elder brother to him, Osric Arryn, the late Lord Alaric's son and heir. At least Osric was not stripped of his rightful titles, as the Black Queen did to so many other Lords Paramount.

The next few years were the most complex, with Olyvar being forced to readjust to life in the Riverlands. So oft his Father harped on about marriage. Marriage, marriage, marriage. It seemed never ending to Olyvar, and it most certainly was for his Lord Father, Dorian Blackwood. Yet, no matter how hard Olyvar tried to make his father happy, courting the daughters and sisters of Riverlords, he never truly found himself pleased with any of them, and could never move passed the thought that his real father had been a pile of blackened cinders and would never wake again. Alas, soon enough, Dorian Blackwood joined Alaric Arryn in the next life.

408 A.C. The Raven is Unexpectedly Crowned
Death seemed to be becoming a theme of Olyvar's life. He was only seventeen, and already, he was the Lord of Raventree Hall. His father, dead, his elder brother, dead. Now, Olyvar sat the seat of Raventree Hall, and as was steadily becoming the custom of this usurper, Lords loyal to the Targaryen born of Blackwood were dethroned, while others were forced to take up marriages and the like with Houses whom had been loyal to Visaera and her brood. In the case of Blackwood and Olyvar, that was Lady Dacey Stark.

While Olyvar was undoubtedly pleased with the bride he found himself with, he was at first quite hesitant toward her, seeing as she was indeed from a House that had supported the foes of both himself and his kin, adopted and otherwise. Alas, gradually, the two began to grow close, notably as within the walls of Raventree Hall, they were both foreigners to some extent. While Olyvar had been born here, he had spent his formative years elsewhere, away in the Vale, in the Eyrie, with Alaric, and Osric, and everything else such a life entailed, while Dacey Stark had been raised in the far and isolated North, and Winterfell.

409 A.C. The Raven Grows
The next years remained peaceful for Olyvar and House Blackwood. The years would come to see the growth of the House, with the birth of Olyvar and Dacey's three children; Lucas, Berena, and Sybelle. The years would also see Olyvar grow from the young man who had felt as if he had lost a family, into a capable Lord, with a voice and mission of his own.

418 A.C. The Raven Remains Watchful
With winter fast approaching, Olyvar elected not to attend the festivities at Summerhall, not only because of the fact that snows were already falling at the Fork, but also because it seemed every Riverlord and lady alike had decided to abandon their lands, and surely at least one must remain to safeguard it all. Not to mention, Olyvar had no great passion for Tournies.

Recent Events

 * Olyvar chose not to attend the Tourney at Summerhall as the winter snows had already begun to fall in the Riverlands.

Family

 * Dorian Blackwood, Lord of Raventree Hall, b. 370 AC d. 407 AC
 * m. Alysanne Blackwood, b. 371
 * Damion Blackwood, Lord of Raventree Hall, b. 388 AC d. 408 AC
 * Olyvar Blackwood, Lord of Raventree Hall, b. 391 AC
 * m. Dacey Blackwood née Stark, Lady of Raventree Hall, b. 391 AC
 * Lucas Blackwood, Heir to Raventree Hall b. 410 AC
 * Berena Blackwood, b. 412 AC
 * Sybelle Blackwood, b. 414 AC
 * Ambrose Blackwood, b. 392 AC
 * Roslin Blackwood, b. 394 AC
 * Symon Blackwood, b. 396 AC