House Barnell

House Barnell
"Never Falter"
Liege: House Stark

Located near the Green Fork at the northern end of the Trident, House Barnell rules from the supposedly cursed fortress of Castle Grenward. A young house founded during Robert’s Rebellion and loyal to House Stark, House Barnell struggles to find its fortune with little more than a strong arm to its name.

House Barnell is a young house, not even twenty years old. Born out of the Usurper’s War, it has claimed the last lands of a dying house to rise to nobility. Now its future lies in uncertain territory as two brothers contest to inherit their father’s title, although neither has a fully legitimate claim.

Until the Battle of the Trident, Ser Tomas Barnell had been a lowly hedge knight of little remark aside from his skill with mace and shield. Tomas’s father, Ser Garret, had likewise been a hedge knight who was ever reminding Tomas of their poverty and common station. From a young age, Tomas was determined to earn his family the full honor and wealth of a noble title. When his father was slain chasing bandits while in service to the Tallharts of Torrhen’s Square, Tomas took up his father’s arms and armor to find his long desired noble title.

His chance came during the Battle of the Trident, during which Tomas Barnell fought alongside the Stark forces aiding the Baratheon cause. During the battle Tomas inadvertently saved the life of Eddard Stark by taking a spear meant for the Lord of Winterfell. He was rewarded for his luck with a choice assignment in the wake of the battle; among the dead was Lord Ollier Darry, a loyalist lord with a relatively poor holding that represented the closest fortified position to the battlefield. Along with a number of Stark bannermen, Tomas Barnell was dispatched to take the castle so it could be used to house the wounded from the battle. The castle was easily taken due to the fact that Lord Darry had taken all but a token force with him to battle.

Soon after, Eddard Stark marched south to King’s Landing and Storm’s End, leaving most of the wounded at Castle Grenward to catch up in the weeks to come. Eventually Tomas Barnell was left in charge with a handful of soldiers to hold Castle Grenward and to care for the remaining wounded. Tomas Barnell sat out the rest of the war in Castle Grenward, and the smallfolk of the region say he did a much better job seeing to their security and wellbeing than the deceased Lord Darry. With Darry dead without an heir, his house vastly weakened by Robert’s Rebellion, and Tomas Barnell doing a sufficient job controlling the territory, Tomas was elevated to a lord following the conclusion of the war. Finally he had obtained his goal: owning land as Lord Barnell, lord of Castle Grenward and a bannerman sworn to House Stark.

Unfortunately this windfall did not come without tragedy. Sonya, the smallfolk woman Lord Barnell had been involved with for many years, died of fever soon after he was awarded his title. Sonya had already borne Lord Barnell a son, Garret Snow, fourteen years before, but Garret had been born out of wedlock—Tomas, often traveling in service to various lords, had not even known of the child until the boy turned three. Some smallfolk suspect there was foul play in Sonya’s death. Lord Barnell faced widespread pressure to marry according to his new station; that pressure eventually led to his marriage to Alianna Frey, one of the many grandchildren of Lord Walder Frey and herself a widower with a son. Lord Frey considered her to have little political use due to persistent rumors that the woman carried a curse, so marrying her to a fledgling lord seemed little sacrifice and would place the new Lord Barnell in debt to House Frey. While the Lord and Lady Barnell are cordial in their relationship, no one would mistake it for anything more than friendship. Lady Barnell’s son Daveth never saw the same love and attention from his step-father that his step-brother Garret did. Between having a bastard as the favored heir and rumors of curses House Barnell has created no end of gossip among the locals. Combined with Lord Barnell’s low birth, these blemishes have made them social pariahs in the Trident.

While Lord Barnell is an outcast in matters of intrigue, his personal skill in battle and as a leader of men does him much credit. He earned glory for his young house during the Greyjoy Rebellion, leading his personal guard, the Company of the Morningstar, on battles to take Botley Castle and Pyke itself. During his time away the neighboring lords learned that Lady Barnell was no wilting flower; she and the remaining soldiers in her service fought off a bandit gang that was foolish enough to attack her and her escort while she was out riding. By the time Lord Barnell returned from putting down the rebellion, House Barnell had cemented its reputation as a militant house that values martial prowess and cunning, even if it is a little deficient in the courtly arts.

More recently strife has entered the halls of Castle Grenward as Daveth Barnell has reached eighteen years of age and the question of which son will inherit has become an immediate concern. Tomas favors Garret, while Alianna favors Daveth, and Garret is technically a bastard even if he is a recognized one. This is further complicated by the fact Garret has no interest in succeeding his father, having little skill in managing lands or dispensing justice, while Daveth is far more skilled in such matters. The whole issue would be settled by a child of Lord and Lady Barnell, but so far their limited attempts at producing an heir have proved fruitless. Lord Barnell has no male siblings to serve as his heir, so it seems he is stuck with a reckless bastard and a weakling scholar. While House Barnell is not bound in familial love, it is bound in loyalty and friendship, but is that stronger than a father’s pride?