Rohanne Vypren is the wife of the late Lord Laswell Vance, the mother to Lord Theowyn Vance of Atranta, Lord Bryndemere Vance of Harrenhal, Ser Byron Vance, and Victaria Vance, and the former Lady of Atranta. Now living at Atranta with her eldest son, she still retains the infamous beauty she was known for in her youth, despite the grief of recent years that has left her fragile and less of a driven personality.
Appearance and Character[]
Though Rohanne is somewhat of a local legend for her beauty, her silky, fiery blonde hair is what has stood the greatest test of time, and is still the most immediate reason for her fame. She has aged quite well, and looks deceptively younger than she truly is, thanks in part to her rigid, defined features, with high cheekbones, a long, straight nose, and a sharp chin and jawline. Her large, wet-looking honey colored eyes are dominant in first impressions, second only to her ever growing tresses. Though she smiled much in her youth, her beauty has lost it's warmth, and taken on a keen austerity, making her look far more melancholy. Although most women gain weight with age and pregnancy, she seems to be in a continual state of loosing weight, and becomes more and more thin with each passing year. She has freckles all along her cheeks and collarbone.
Preferring brighter, more flamboyant colors, Rohanne still dresses as though she were twenty years younger than she truly is. She is usually overdressed, clad in dramatically cut, revealing gowns and dresses, with plunging necklines and long, hanging sleeves. She is never without a fair lord's ransom in jewelry, most of which are gifts from Laswell over the years.
Rohanne is a traditional lady at heart. She was raised all her life for the role she played in her husband's rule, and her son's rule, and now that she is displaced in both power and emotional anchorage, a certain feeling of being lost has taken control of her life, especially after the death of her son, Byron. Unlike her daughter by law Cassana, she is not prone to fits of weeping or tears. In spite of the kindness and happiness of her younger years, she has never been a particularly attached person; cool, rational, and stable, Rohanne served as the guiding light and foundation for the household of Atranta under her husband's rule, the ice to Laswell's fire. As of the last year, however, this feeling of purposelessness has begun to fade for her as her firstborn, Theowyn, has had a newborn child with his own wife, Rhialta, and she now devotes herself to doting on and helping raise her grandchildren. Even in the darkest of times, she has always been a stoic figure at Atranta, and has a strong sense of morality, believing it to be unfitting for a highborn lady to allow such melancholy to cripple her. Ever a busybody, she has always been physically and mentally active, and remains so to this day. She loves infants and children, and is especially keen on raising them, and is a very affectionate mother, both to her own children, and to others that she comes across.
Recent Events[]
With the births of her grandson and granddaughter to Theowyn, Rohanne has become more and more energetic and active once more, and refuses to spend a waking moment away from them, constantly fawning on and doting on the pair, much to the chagrin of their mother, Rhialta. She plans on attending the Tourney at Harrenhal in the 11th moon of 439 AC.
Background[]
Rohanne Vypren was born early in the year 390 AC to her father and mother, the Lady and Lord of Vypren's Pond. Their first child, she was proceeded by three younger brothers; Jonos, Maric, and Colmar.
Little and less is publicly known about her childhood, as it was as any childhood ought to be; unremarkable. She was a happy girl, growing up, and became a happy adult, if muted in her joy by virtue of her quiet-yet-assertive nature. Rohanne still remembers her childhood quite fondly, having enjoyed playing in the various ponds and streams around her home with her little brothers.
Rohanne dressed and acted quite tomboyish before her marriage, having grown up with three brothers. When in public, however, she molded herself to fit her parents expectations as a noble lady, two sides of the same coin.
The Fairest of Them All[]
As Rohanne grew older, her remarkable beauty became more and more noticeable, and more and more commented on, as her father was happy to show her off to all the lords and ladies of the Riverlands, resulting in many sending proposals of marriage to her father, most of which were declined or hand-waved until she fully came into adulthood, at the age of eight and ten.
There was one that managed to catch his eye, however; an offer from the Lord of Atranta, Davos Vance, for his second son, Laswell Vance, who had been knighted at the age of five and ten for his exceptional skill at arms. After he went on to begin his career as a tourney knight, already gaining public attention, Rohanne herself fell hopelessly smitten with the idea of marrying into such gallantry, much to her father's surprise. Despite his wishes to wed her for political power, he ended up relenting to her increasingly often and vehement pleading, and he accepted the offer, on the condition they wait until the two were both full grown before the wedding took place. They were betrothed to one another for one year before wedding at Atranta.
A Wedding in Black and White[]
In the year 413 AC Laswell Vance and his betrothed, Rohanne Vypren, were finally wedded together in the fields they had spent their youth wandering together. The wedding was a small, quiet affair, with naught but the families of the bride and groom in attendance. The wedding landed without a hitch, and within two moon's turns Rohanne was found to be with child as a result of their bedding ceremony. By that point, Laswell had become known outside of just the Riverlands.
Laswell had toured all the seats of power and luxury of the Realm in the tourney circuit, establishing his reputation as the infamous Blue Drake, particularly popular amongst the smallfolk for his tendency to allow his blade to speak for him. The title would come to eventually cause him to change his own personal heraldry to the Vance sigil, but with blue dragons quartered rather than emerald ones. Upon hearing the news his wife was with child, however, he did not return just yet to Atranta; he wished to come back only once he had proven himself to be worthy of being a father. He did write letters to her every night before he closed his eyes, however, a tale he would later regale his children with alongside his exploits in the most lavish tourneys around the Realm.
Rohanne's unhappiness during Laswell's travels was made quite plain in numerous ways during the course of the year.
Rohanne, however, had a much less glory-filled experience, home alone at Atranta, with only her enigmatic mother-by-law and her bedridden father-by-law to keep her company. Margot Rivers never made for good conversation, though, and generally kept to herself, while Lord Davos remained in his bed almost the entire year she spent there alone with health issues, which left Rohanne feeling stricken with love-longing and indignation that her fairly tale romance was already making a dramatic shift in direction from what she had desired.
Thankfully, Laswell's sudden mad race to glory and fame lasted little over a year. He returned to both good and bad tidings; though his lord father had died a mere moon's turn before Laswell had returned to Atranta, their marriage had already begun bearing fruits, in the form of their first of three sons and one daughter; Theowyn. Grateful for her healthy babe, and her husband's return, Rohanne's temporary depression quickly faded away, and became nothing more than an irritating and slightly comical memory.
The Great Rift[]
The ensuing period of time was known as "The Great Rift" as denoted by the maesters of Atranta, though it was anything but. At the dawn of the year of 414, Margot Rivers returned to Harrenhal for a time, where she was welcomed with open arms by her long-lost childhood companion, Lord Perceon Vance, who was more than happy to have her return to the first place she had called home. Although Perceon invited Laswell and Rohanne to bring their newborn and stay with him for a time, they elected instead to house within her own father's walls at Vypren's Pond. And it was there that they lived a quiet life for just over five years.
Despite the seething rage that Laswell lived with on his conscience, his marriage with Rohanne thrived in the following years, as while at her girlhood home, they had another three children; two sons; Bryndemere Vance and Byron Vance, and a shockingly large, fussy little girl, Victaria Vance. With frequent visits to Harrenhal in order to ensure the children were acquainted with their mother, their family grew close in those tense years away from Atranta. Despite it all, though, Laswell only grew angrier and guiltier with time, holding onto the grief of his father's death, and the newfound hatred of his older brother, whom he had always looked up to as a boy. Meanwhile, Rohanne grew slightly distant from her husband, profoundly confused and unhappy with the newfound rage in her husband's heart, instead devoting all of her time and energy to raising their children. Despite her gladness at her return home, she could tell it was a blight on House Vypren's reputation, and it hurt her father's pride immensely, also driving a rift between her and her parents. In 419 AC, however, one month after his disappearance, she recieved a raven telling her they could return to Atranta. She still doesn't know what truly happened there to this day, and of all the truths to remain hidden, she considers herself glad to be in the dark on those events.
Trouble in Paradise[]
The return to Atranta was a great relief overall, especially with Laswell's sudden ascension to Lord of House Vance. She was now the Lady of Atranta, and her children would be it's future rulers. The knowledge that her family wouldn't just be layabouts of a second son gave her great pride and joy, which she channeled into making sure her sons and daughter were ready to take on the world when the time came. Despite her love for all her children, one ended up receiving a particularly uneven amount of affection from Rohanne, however, as he began to grow older and older; her second son, Bryndemere.
The irony of his situation entirely lost on her, she felt a sense of regret for him, that he would have to grow up like Laswell, with no clear direction in mind. Even more worrying, the boy was already beginning to prove he would be no warrior; he preferred plotting mean jokes on other children than playing with them, and would usually outright refuse to pickup a sword unless threatened with a beating by Laswell. As he got older, she began investing more and more in him, which was brought to a cruel and sudden end when he was sent to Wayfarer's Rest, much to Rohanne's chagrin. Not all seven hells could contain her ire when she and Laswell had the first of their two titanic fights, with shouts and slamming ringing all throughout the keep for a stretch of two moons in the year 426 AC.