Garlan Tyrell

Lord Garlan Tyrell (born 409 AC) is the eldest son of Gareth Tyrell and Lord of Highgarden. He served as a commander in his father's army during the Second Hammer Uprising and distinguished himself as a competent knight and tactician.

Appearance and Character
Garlan, having been groomed for lordship from a young age, has a stately bearing accentuated by an opulent wardrobe and manicured appearance. Possessing many of his mother's features, well-trimmed locks of dark brown hair and chestnut eyes give the man the staple Tyrell look that is common for members of the noble house. Like his father, Garlan has an athletic build built up over years of training and physical conditioning.

While both his parents were known for their modesty and traditional wardrobes, Garlan embraces the trending styles of the day with attire that displays the wealth and power of his house. This mentality is further displayed with the man's armor which is equally as decorated and intended as a status symbol.

Garlan possesses an even temperament and is publicly gregarious and outgoing. In private, the man is reserved and will often spend time with his children or digging through an ancient tome from Highgarden's library. Despite this, there is an intensity to the man seeded in a frustration and desire to succeed his father who he is forced to conduct the day to day administration of the realm in place of.

Early Life
Garlan was born in 409 AC to Lord Gareth Tyrell and Lady Leona Tyrell within the walls of Highgarden. From an early age, Garlan was tutored and groomed to one day succeed his father as Lord of Highgarden and Warden of the South.

A thin boy in his youth, Garlan struggled at first with the physical demands of training for knighthood, first as a page and later as a squire for his lord father. It was only with an intense training regimen and a desire to not disappoint his demanding and critical father that he was able to improve his strength and fitness. Like most of his brothers, he trained with two-handed swords in the hope that he would one day also inherit the ancestral Valyrian steel sword of House Gardener, Ivy, from his father.

As a young boy and during his early teenage years, Garlan trained alongside his brothers and his father's other squire, Jaime Rosby, with whom he had a friendly rivalry with that would later develop into a lasting friendship.

The Blue Winter
During the Blue Winter, Garlan felt for the first time the effects of famine and what a long winter could do to a realm. Growing up he had been tutored on past winters of legend and note but no amount of study had prepared him for the reality of what he experienced.

Despite diligent preparation by his lord father and the lords of the realm to outlast the winter, Garlan still witnessed entire villages wiped out either by starvation or extreme cold. Banditry became a pressing issue and during his seventeenth year, Garlan was tasked by his lord father to root out a particularly brutal band of brigands that had been raiding villages to the south of Highgarden.

With a small band of soldiers at his side, including his brother Alester Tyrell, he was able to use wit to flush out the bandits from the cave they were hiding in and, upon drawing them out into an open field, killing them all with volleys of arrows and a brief melee to finish off any survivors. The stolen provisions were returned to the villages and in recognition of the successful mission, Garlan was knighted by his father.

While many lords struggled to feed even their own households, Highgarden itself was well-stocked and could feed its inhabitants for several years. Despite this, and as a precaution, Highgarden rationed its meals and Garlan ate simply for three years until the land began to thaw and winter came to an end.

Family Matters
In 431 AC, Garlan was betrothed to and married Florys Redwyne, daughter of Lord Ryam Redwyne. The next year the couple had a child, Lorent, the first of three sons. Their marriage, much like many political marriages for the nobility, was defined by a polite respect for each other. While not distant, the two possessed enough differences to keep themselves occupied without the other's constant presence.

The Reach's recovery from the Blue Winter was quick but not without its difficulties. Garlan, as the executor of his father's commands, led the efforts to return the Reach to its previous stability and prosperity. As a skilled administrator, the man was able to leverage the wealth of House Tyrell to maximize the efficiency by which farms and villages were rebuilt and repopulated and trade routes re-established.

It was during this time that the rivalry between Garlan and his brother, Alester, began to grow into something more serious. Garlan basked in the laurels and honors placed upon him for his successes and accomplishments while Alester, relegated to the status of head of the household guard, became jealous of his older brother and grew to resent him. From that point forward, Garlan and Alester competed for their father's approval and maneuvered to be the favorite at court.

The Second Hammer Uprising
When the Second Hammer Uprising broke out in 432 AC, Garlan remained with the Tyrell host in Highgarden as his lord father listened to counselors and advisers on how to best handle the growing situation. After news reached Highgarden that Lord Joseth Ashford and Lord Ormund Caswell had pledged themselves to Ser Duncan, Garlan proposed placing a significant number of troops in major towns within the Reach still loyal to the Crown to prevent any other lords from casting their lot with the Warsmiths. During the Battle of Bitterbridge, Garlan fought alongside his brothers and the Royal Host as the forces combined to retake the city of Bitterbridge from Warsmith control. It was the man's first true battle and, as part of the vanguard, he saw some of the bloodiest fighting. Within minutes his warhorse was felled by a Warsmith arrow and he was forced to fight on foot with other knights from his detachment.

When the king fell from the sky, Garlan felt an anger rise up in him that was echoed by those around him. Driven by rage, he led his men and cut through the Warsmith lines showing no mercy. From behind and in the midst of his own melee, he could hear his father give the command that no quarter was to be given to those within the walls and Garlan gave none.

After the battle, Garlan continued to ride with the Tyrell host which joined with the remaining troops of House Rowan. Together, a successful campaign was led to rid the Northmarch of the Warsmiths under the command of Ser Randyll Fossoway during which Garlan continued to distinguish himself as a competent knight and commander.

When his lord father received a request for aid from Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen to assist her and her Golden Company detachment in retaking Ashford, Garlan rode south with the army. He fought in Ashford and watched as Rhaenyra felled Ser Duncan with the assistance of Ser Addam Hightower. With their leader dead, Garlan readied himself for the difficult tasks that were yet to come.

Four Year Winter
Garlan, along with most of his family, was present in 435 AC for the coronation of King Aegon VII Targaryen in King's Landing. It was a joyous occasion that all knew would soon end and give way to the usual politicking and maneuvering that was common with the succession of a new king. His father lauded Queen Rhaenyra for her contributions during the war, comparing her to Visaera, but Garlan did not share his father's unquestioned praise. While he could not deny the results, he thought the woman to be rash, prone to violence, and too quick to risk the lives of her own troops.

After the coronation, Garlan remained in King's Landing as an observer to the trials held by Aegon VII and his queens. His views of Rhaenyra were only reinforced as she proved to be a cold scion of justice advocating for harsh punishment and no mercy. Visenya, on the other hand, garnered his respect by taking a more temperate and merciful approach to the proceedings.

During the Highgarden Tribunal, Garlan assisted his lord father in the proceedings, often advocating for a more merciful approach but his suggestions fell on deaf ears. His father, a colder man after the death of his wife, ignored Garlan's suggestions and in every case took the position of the harshest punishment available, only being overruled by the other appointed magistrates.

Present Day
Garlan continues to oversee the day-to-day affairs of the Reach and assist his father in the execution of his duties. As an adviser and de facto castellan of Highgarden, Garlan is often forced to act as the more temperate and measured voice in the court. As his father's mental health continues to deteriorate, Garlan finds himself in an increasingly precarious situation: How to keep the Reach on a path towards peace and prosperity without overstepping his authority and invoking the unmatched temper of his lord father.

Family
See: House Tyrell