Discord Name: The Changamire #4668

Name and Clan: Donnahal of the Redsmiths

Age: 39

Cultural Group: First Men | Mountain Clans of the Moon

Appearance: Can Be Found Here

Trait: Strong

Skill(s): Tactician, Footwork, One-Handed Swords, Shields, Logistician

Talent(s): Skilled Orator, Clan Champion, Mountain Raider

Negative Trait: None

Starting Title(s): Griffin King of the Hill (contested), Chieftain of the Redsmiths, the Fendunbroch

Starting Location: Mountains of the Moon, the Vale of Arryn

Alternate Characters: None

Biography

Born to the union of a Chieftain of the Redmiths and a daughter of the Stone Crows, and heralded by the screech of a dying falcon... Donnahal was the culmination of many an accord between five clans of the Hill Tribes, the last vestiges of the true First Men of the Vale.

One of the many traits that the First Men of the Vale shared with their Northern kin was that they, unlike the Andals of the lowlands, did not easily forget, not truly. Histories might fade into legends, and legends to myths, but they were never forgotten, never cast aside. The Mountain Clans of the Moon remembered when it was they who lived in the fertile valleys of the Vale, and the Redsmiths remembered when they were ruled those valleys with a just hand. Such a memory was not one quashed easily, even when the Redsmiths came close to annihilation several times through the centuries, either from rival clans or the roving bands of Andal Knights. So, when, at last, the Redsmiths reached stability, they began to scheme and plot-- planning for a day that would come to fruition with the birth of the . With relations to several of the major Mountain Clans, Donnahal inherited a confederacy as his birthright, awaiting a guiding hand to mold it.

For that, however, he would need to grow, and that Donnahal did. A babe turned to a boy, and a boy to a youth, all the while learning under the tutelage of his father and the wisdom of his mother. He learned the histories of his people. The dialects of the clans. The differing practices of the weir-praise. The art of the night raid. The language of the sword. All of this Donnahal took in well, and he grew.

Then came the time when he was sent away from the Redsmith oppidum, to foster amongst the Milk Snakes as per an agreement made long before his birth. It was there that he found the girl that would one day be his wife, Gudrid. And upon binding his hand to hers and securing the Milk Snakes as allies, he returned home with his newly-betrothed and wed her beneath a weirwood.

Donnahal would continue to learn the ways of chieftainship under his father's tutelage, spending the next seven years visiting various oppidai of familial and friendly clans, strengthening the bonds between them and slowly forming the core of a fledgling Kingdom of the Hill. Occasionally, he joined the raiding parties that descended into the Lowlands, taking great interest in the goings of the Vale. Often times, he would lead attacks against clans that sought his harm, becoming well known for his inspiring words and warcries, as well as his cunning in battle, for none have dueled against him and lived to tell the tale.

When not raiding the lowlands, the Chieftain spent much time sitting behind a stone-slab desk, pondering on how to keep his confederation alive and well, organizing shipments of stolen food delivered where and when needed, as well as ensuring the Redsmiths maintained their hegemony in the mountains.

However, in recent times, word as entered the land that the descendants of the Dragonlords have begun to encroach upon the shores of Westeros, and the Mountains of the Moon, wary of yet more Essosi invaders, look for a leader to rule them...

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Timeline

• 63 AD: Donnahal is born to Duncann of the Redsmiths, and his wife Cahda, formerly of the Stone Crows.
• 63-74 AD: Donnahal is raised by his loving parents, growing to learn the ways and histories of the people he will one day rule.
• 75-79 AD: As per an agreement between the Redsmiths and the Milk Brothers, a ten-and-one Duncan is sent to foster with them for five years to chose a prospective wife.
• 80 AD: Gudrid of the Milk Snakes is betrothed to Duncan. The two return to the Gryphon hillfort and are promptly betrothed and wed at the ages of six-and-ten.
• 81-88 AD: Donnahal when not learning how to rule the highlands under his father's tutelage, spends the next seven years visiting various oppidai of familial and friendly clans, strengthening the bonds between them and slowly forming the core of a fledging confederacy of hill tribes. Occasionally, he joined the raiding parties that descended into the Lowlands, taking great interest in the goings of the Vale...
• 88 AD: Donnahal is elevated to chieftainship.
• 98 AD: The firstborn of Duncan and Gudrid is born into the world, and she is named Brunhild.
• 102 AD: Raiders from the lowlands have brought word of yet another potential Essosi invasion from the seas, and Donnahal begins to prepare accordingly...

Family Tree

Link