House Darry

House Darry is one of the principal houses of the Riverlands, sworn to House Tully, and founded during the Age of Heroes, before the Andal Invasion. While never kings, they were always influential vassals, renowned for their loyalty.

Their sigil is a plowman in black on brown, representing their duty to all of their subjects. Their words are "Loyal Above All".

Prior to 300 AC
(All information taken from awoiaf.westeros.org and written in my own words. All credit for research goes to them.)

House Darry was created thousands of years ago, before the Andal conquest of the Riverlands. They were one of just five first men kingdoms to survive the Invasion, despite losing their entire male line against House Vypren. For thousands of years they served whoever ruled their land loyally, be they a Mudd, a Teague, a Justman or even a Durrandon or Hoare.

After the Conquest, they served the Targaryens, steadily gaining power and influence, acquiring most of House Harroway's lands. During the Dance they had their castle burned, and lost two Lords within a year. However their loyalty gained Darry more than it lost; by the reign of the Mad King there was a Darry in the Kingsguard, and another as Master of Arms in the Red Keep.

During Robert's Rebellion, they lost all they gained and more, as Lord Darry, three of his sons and their Kingsguard were slain on the Trident, with Ser Willem Darry escorting the remaining royals into exile. They lost half their lands, as well as their lordship, and nearly all of their power. With the deaths of Ser Raymun Darry and his son during the War of the Five Kings, House Darry was extinguished in the male line, with his sisters Mariya and Jeyne the only surviving members of the house; both over thirty and both married to minor Freys, with inexperienced children.

After the Red Wedding, the Darry lands were given to the pious Lancel Lannister, and he was married to the wanton Amerei "Gatehouse Ami" Frey, eldest daughter of Mariya Darry, in order to secure local support. Their marriage was annulled within months, leaving Mariya as the de facto holder of the lordship. After Lancel's departure laws were changed enabling greater smallfolk representation, as well as punishment for knights and vassals that abused their smallfolk. To further assist in governing the region, Amerei and Marissa began to be educated as heirs, including in use of arms and military tactics. Following Aegon's landing in the Stormlands, every member of the community from farmers to Mariya herself were required to train in weapons several times a week, resulting in a relatively skilled and large peasant levy.

The Second War of Conquest
Following the rescue of Edmure Tully from capture, House Darry was one of the many houses to swear them fealty. While claiming that they were being loyal to the true ruler of the Riverlands, it was rumoured that the support was given due to their treatment by House Frey, with Lady Mariya's abusive and unlamented husband, and Amerei's two forced weddings and public humiliation via annulment. To secure the alliance, all members of the household signed a declaration of war in blood, as well as a condemnation of the Red Wedding. To further prevent any treachery against House Tully, Marissa was wed to Patrek Mallister, one of Lord Edmure's closest friends, and heir to Seagard. In exchange, Lady Mariya was given the lordship, and her two daughters at Darry given her name. The area suffered harshly during the War of Conquest; Darry was situated on the Crossroads, and too open and vulnerable for the Brotherhood to defend adequately, and while the peasantry became more and more loyal throughout the war, they were ill trained and unequipped to deal with their foes, despite the benefits offered by the House in return for loyalty. In addition, Tristan Rivers of the Golden Company also claimed Darry decent as a bastard of Ser Willem, and had his own claim. While the two claims supporting Aegon were reunited (with Tristan marrying Amerei Darry and gaining Golden Company support), much of the countryside was set alight by pro-Lannister forces attempting to force Jeyne Darry's claim on the lordship.

The darkest day of the war was the final day of the second moon, in 301 AC. The main army defending Darry was lured over the Trident by a small diversionary force, leaving only a small force to hold the castle itself. The main Lannister army of two thousand men then torched anything that could be set alight, before sieging Castle Darry itself. Desperate fighting ensued, but the castle fell in less than a day, and the was garrison killed to a man, as a lesson to those who would go against their family, and support the Tully claim. Most of the twenty Freys brought to Darry after Lancel was given the lordship were hanged off the castle walls or fed to dogs, with the servants and defenders forced into the Plowman's Keep and then burned alive. Lady Mariya Darry was tortured and beheaded by her own sister, and the rest of the castle set alight.

It was almost a week until Tristan Rivers returned with his army, to a ruined castle and a lordship that had no wealth or castle attached. Even so, he took the title of Lord Tristan Darry, and gathered up the remaining peasantry for an assault on the Lannister forces, as well as sending ravens to Marissa at Seagard and Edmure at Riverrun, asking for aid and informing them of the terrible crime. The slowest half of the force was left with Lady Amerei at the ruined castle to begin rebuilding, while the faster infantry and all the cavalry sped north, catching the slow-moving Lannister army just before they forded the Trident. A bloodbath ensued for both sides; the Lannisters were completely unprepared for an assault, but Lord Tristan had brought barely seven hundred men against eighteen hundred survivors of the Darry campaign.

The Lannister army was engaged immediately and forced against the river, unable to use their superior numbers to break out against the more maneuverable cavalry. The battle lasted almost a day, with neither side giving quarter, with over two thousand men on both sides either dead, dying or drowned. The Lannister army had been slaughtered almost to a man, with less than a hundred escaping, and over half the Golden Company men were dead on the field, but the battle was won. The highborn captives were taken to Darry, where Jeyne Darry was hanged by her niece outside the ruined walls, and her sons gelded and sent to the Wall, though it is said that it was only Amerei's personal intervention that saved them from being sold into slavery.

The battles in the area continued throughout the year, with higher and higher casualties. After the Bleeding of the Twins concluded, the attacks grew more unified and numerous. More than once, the lands up to Castle Darry itself were taken, and the castle was little more than a ruin by the time that the first dragon appeared in the sky above the Riverlands. At the end of the war, thousands lay dead, with even women and children taking up arms in the latter stages of the conflict, fighting together regardless of prior loyalty or status. Out of the twenty-two highborn living at Darry at the start of the conflict, four remained alive. Lady Amerei had lost her right arm at the elbow, and Lord Tristan had a wound on his back that refused to heal. But House Darry, against the odds, had survived the war.

Dual Lordship (302-305 AC)
After the war, the couple were given the lordship in the ruined castle, both inheriting equal rights to forestall any future conflict; Ami had the loyalty of the smallfolk levies and riverlords, as well as the superior claim, but Tristan was male, in addition to having a small portion of the Golden Company, and Crown support. The two immediately attempted to fix the ruined fiefdom, but progress was slow, and during 302 AC the famines in the region were so bad that people were dying in the streets, and Darry went even further into debt buying basic supplies to prevent total anarchy.

However, over the next few years the situation markedly improved. The castle began to be rebuilt, trade increased and by 304 AC most of the countryside had recovered from the disasters of the previous five years and a small town had sprung up around what would become Castle Darry. The couple also began to fall in love, with Ami staying loyal to her lover for the first time in her life, even as his health deteriorated.

-not all of this will make sense sorry i typed it at 2am blame me if you want

Lords/Ladies of Darry
Tommorow do relations
 * Lady Mariya Darry (259-301, Lady Darry 300-301)
 * Lord Tristan Rivers (274-303, dual rule 301-305)
 * Lady Amerei "Gatehouse Ami" Darry (281-364, dual rule 301-305, Lady Darry 305-364)
 * Lady Mariya Darry (307-379, Lady Darry 364-379)
 * Lord Raymun Darry (329-388, Lord Darry 379-388)
 * Lord Davos Darry (347-405, Lord Darry 388-405)
 * Lord Harrold Darry (366-, Lord Darry 405-)