Luthor Lefford

Luthor Lefford is the Lord of the Golden Tooth and the head of House Lefford. A widower, Luthor was formerly married to Lady Melara Lefford, née Hawthorne. Their marriage spawned three sons: Lucas, Loreon, and Lymond.

Appearance
Gaunt and hollow-cheeked, Luthor Lefford’s haggard face is one that the years have truly worn down. Eyes that once shone brightly are now sunken and tired. His lips are thin, his nose aquiline. Fine wrinkles haunt his features.

Once upon a time, in his youth, the Lord of the Golden Tooth was known amongst the Ladies of the West as a relatively handsome man. Now, in his fifty-seventh year, he has come to resemble more a cadaver than a Casanova.

Age truly has been a cruel and fickle mistress to him. Still, at least he can give thanks to the Seven that they have seen it fit to grant him a full head of hair.

For now, at least.

The Early Years: 382 - 402 AC
Luthor was born into a period of calm and prosperity within the Westerlands. As the tumultuous 4th Century After the Conquest drew to a close, the guiding hand of House Lannister ensured that the people of the West were well-cared for despite the ravages of war and famine that plagued the wider Realm.

Despite this, Luthor did not enjoy a happy or quiet childhood. Tragedy struck at the Lefford family when he was merely 8, as his mother and father were caught up in the riots that struck Lannisport during The Hammer Uprising. Both were burned alive in their manse before order could be restored, two of the small number of casualties caused by the uprising in the Westerlands. From as early as he can remember, then, has Luthor held the coveted title of Lord of the Golden Tooth.

And yet, during the years of his minority the real power at the Tooth was shared between a trusted council of three men. Ormund Lefford, a brother to Luthor's father, stood foremost amongst them. Ser Harbert Hamell, the Keep's Castellan and a sworn-sword of House Lefford, helped govern alongside him. Maester Porther formed the last of the triumvirate. From each of these three did Luthor learn what it meant to be Lord of the Golden Tooth, and the responsibilities that came with his powerful title. Porther taught him of his House's proud and noble history, and their undying loyalty to House Lannister; Harbert taught him how to command troops into battle; Ormund, most importantly, taught him how to manipulate men and events from the shadows.

On the advent of the the War of the Three Thieves, Luthor reached his maturity. He quickly choose to leave his three trusted councilors in control of the Tooth, whilst he himself joined the armies of the Realm for the various battles across the Stepstones. Long-held dreams of seeing conflict and glorious battle drew him faraway from his home to the East. Though he excelled at commanding the men under his command, this desire to see action and adventure would quickly fade from the young Lefford. The slaughter and suffering he witnessed washed away any foolish eagerness for battle that he had previously felt. At the War's end in 402 AC he happily returned to the Tooth, a changed man.

Peace, and War: 402 - 408 AC
The Golden Tooth continued to prosper, despite the harshness of the Scarlet Winter. Her many mines remained open, and Luthor made sure to give as much aid to his people as possible. This could not have been done without the help and relief made available by House Lannister, of course.

Without parents to find him a wife, Luthor could take his pick of the many eligible young women scattered across the Westerlands. Eventually, the young Lord settled on Melara Hawthorne. The pair had known one another for many years beforehand, her father having been a close friend of Luthor's father. The match - to a Great Lord of the West no less - was more than Melara's parents could ever have dared hope for, and so they eagerly accepted the engagement. The hedge-knight, a man by the name of Addam Hardheart, to whom Melara had been betrothed to was hurriedly and ignominiously dismissed without a second-thought. After an appropriate period of courting, Luthor and Melara were married in 405 AC. Their marriage was as harmonious as any could be.

When war once again seized the Realm in 408 AC, Luthor reluctantly - but obediently as ever - answered the call of his liege-lord, Loreon Lannister. The defenses of the Tooth were made ready, and the banners of House Lefford were summoned. Lord Lefford was ordered to join the Lord Marshal of the West on his invasion of the Riverlands, helping to secure Riverrun for Queen Visaera in the process. Thankfully, the Westermen saw little combat, and the crisis quickly abated with the death of the would-be usurper in Dorne.

A Family Man: 409-420 AC
Again, once peace had returned to the Realm, Luthor happily returned to his homelands on the West's border with the Riverlands. He sought no greater influence at the Golden Court of the Rock or at King's Landing. Instead, all he desired was a family of his own. Then, at long last, what he and his wife had prayed for since their union occurred: Melara fell pregnant in 414 AC. She would give birth to a healthy boy, Lucas. Two more would follow in relatively quick succession. Loreon, named after the famed Lord of Casterly Rock, was born in 416 AC, and Lymond was born in 419 AC.

With his usual unfaltering diligence, Lord Lefford continued to rule over the Tooth in relative harmony. The death of his uncle and mentor, Ormund, was hard to bear - but the man had taught Luthor all he knew, and his passing was commemorated across the lands of House Lefford. Luthor quickly inherited the network of spies and informants that Ormond had tended to, taking up the reins of a not in the least bit negligible underground empire.

His Lady Wife had been enamored with the flora and fauna of her woodland home as a girl, and it was for her sake that Luthor ordered the construction of a expansive new complex of gardens - both within the confines of the Tooth itself, and nestled around the surrounding craggy mountains. In time, Luthor too would come to enjoy caring for the myriad of different exotic plants the pair maintained together, finding peace in the verdant plots they tended to. Some of these beautiful flowers, herbs and weeds could have the most intriguing of uses, he also readily discovered...

Death in Paradise: 421-432 AC
As the second decade of the 5th Century wore on, it quickly became clear to Luthor that some shadowy figure sought to ruin House Lefford from within. Chaos stalked his lands, intent on his destruction. But who was this figure?

At first, a number storehouses and barns were found torched, seemingly at random across Lefford lands. Luthor paid no mind to these: accidents happened, after all. When entire fields worth of animals were found slaughtered, it was packs of wolves who were blamed. But when a shepherd was found feathered with arrows, this theory was quickly dismissed.

More murders followed in rapid succession. A family of five was found burnt alive outside their cottage a week later. A travelling merchant on his way to Lannisport was discovered dismembered, not more than a league from the Tooth itself. Then, when a stable-boy was found strangled within the walls of his own castle, Luthor immediately put the entire keep on high alert.

His sons were sent away to live with their mother's family for the time being. Melara was given a personal guard detail to watch over her. Luthor quickly turned to the network of contacts that he had inherited from his Uncle Ormund, and had then spent the past few decades cultivating, for answers. None were forthcoming: nobody knew what scourge plagued his lands.

That was until the very faintest of rumours reached his ears, concerning a name he had long since forgotten. Addam Hardheart. This man, to whom Melara had formerly been betrothed to before she had chosen to marry Luthor, had been spotted in one of the nearby alehouses. Spiteful and full of malice, Luthor's sources informed him that it was he who had been plotting his revenge for all these years - not only against House Lefford, but Melara too.

Bounties were quickly placed on Addam's head, but it was too late. One morning, as Luthor returned from a routine patrol of the neighbouring area, the Golden Tooth would awake to a grisly sight. Melara and her two guardsmen were found brutally murdered within the Keep's Great Hall. The death of the woman to whom he was devoted to crushed Lord Lefford utterly. The castle was shut to all who wished to enter or leave it, and search parties ransacked every corner of the keep for weeks on end.

Addam was not found.

The Bleeding: 432-435 AC
Had House Lefford not already bled enough?

Luthor thought so. When the bloody civil war that has come to be known as the Three Banner War erupted across the Westerlands, House Lefford was in no state to intervene in the defense of her liege lords. Despite her position as principal guardians of the West's eastern borders, and as one of House Lannister's chief bannermen, no great armies bearing Lefford banners marched out from the Golden Tooth during the conflict.

Instead, Lord Luthor mourned. The death of his much-loved wife left him but a shade of his former self. Bitterness and melancholy overwhelmed what once was a joyous soul. Much of his anger and disappointment was directed towards his sons, none of whom he considered worthy of the Lefford name. His heir, Lucas, could do nothing but brawl and drink all day long with the common soldiery. Loreon, he who had been named after that illustrious Lord of the Rock, was so gluttonous and fat that he could no longer mount a horse. And Lymond, pious and austere, wished for nothing more than to abandon his name and family to become a wandering Septon.

Eventually, however, Luthor's hand was forced and he was drawn into action. Reports of marauding bandits, likely deserters from the various armies that swarmed across the Westerlands, had been steadily increasing during the final months of 434 AC. Even stranger reports reached him too, from his more shadowy sources: that Addam remained at large in the mountainous area around the Tooth. Still, when news reached the grieving Lord of House Lefford that an entire village had been sacked just a few days ride from his own Keep, enough was enough.

With what paltry forces that he could quickly muster from his castle garrison, Luthor set out to seek and destroy these brigands himself - along with his talented young nephew, Myles. It took less than a week to find where the filth had chosen to hide themselves away. Luthor's now vast network of spies had eyes and ears across the Westerlands, after all. It quickly became apparent, however, that the twenty men Luthor had brought with him would not be enough to deal with the nine dozen or so bandits who formed this band.

So, Luthor hatched another plan.

From a local brewery a dozen large casks of fine honeyed ale were purchased, mounted onto carts, and then seemingly abandoned not far from the lair - lying in plain sight for the bandits to find and retrieve for the enjoyment of their comrades. And enjoy them they did, for a few hours. Until they all fell into a deep slumber. The quantities of Sweetsleep that Luthor had sprinkled into each keg had done the required job perfectly. Too much, and the bandits would have died a painless death. That would not have been fitting for such lowly scum.

Especially when young Myles discovered the identity of one of their leaders: Addam Hardheart.

When the thugs awoke the next morning, they were already in chains. The Golden Tooth would witness a man hung every day for the next hundred or so days. Addam would live to see each one die as he hung from an iron cage swinging from the inner walls of the Tooth. Only as the very last of his companions was executed was he brought down from his gibbet, and beheaded.

Slowly, Luthor recovered his strength, and rediscovered his purpose.

Recent Events
Still to come...

Family

 * Luthor Lefford, Lord of the Golden Tooth, b.382 AC.
 * Melara Lefford née Hawthorne, Lady of the Golden Tooth, b.384 AC d.431 AC. Wife.
 * Ser Lucas Lefford, b.414 AC. Son and Heir.
 * Loreon Lefford, b.416 AC. Son.
 * Lymond Lefford, b.419 AC. Son.
 * Horas Lefford, b. 385 AC. Brother.
 * Ser Myles Lefford, b.412 AC. Nephew.
 * Jeyne Lefford, b. 416 AC. Niece.
 * Ormond Lefford, b.356 AC d.417 AC. Uncle.

Household Members

 * Castellan: Ser Jasper Hawthorne.
 * Maester: Jaime.
 * Master-at-Arms: Ser Imry.
 * Steward: Gulian the Goat.
 * Captain of the Guard: Ser Myles Lefford.