Olyver Yronwood

Ser Olyver Yronwood was an aging Westerosi knight, a well-known tournament champion, and a Dornish exile serving as the current Master-of-Arms for House Greenmont. During the First Blackfyre Rebellion, Ser Olyver was one of three knights that served under Daemon Blackfyre's unofficial Kingsguard, often referred to as the Blackguard. During the war against the Targaryans, Ser Olyver gained notoriety under the moniker "The Black Lance", a name that has stuck with him in the years since Daemon was defeated.

Though he spoke of it rarely, it is well-known in the Reach that Olyver was the true heir to House Yronwood. House Yronwood is the second most influential house in Dorne, a long-time rival to House Martell and ally to House Greenmont in the Reach.

Ser Olyver was played by Don.

Appearance and Character
Olyver was a tall and thin man, with taut, wiry muscles, calloused hands, and leathery skin from having spent many years in the sun. While most Yronwoods are marked by their sunny blonde hair and deep blue eyes, Olyver had black hair and light, seafoam green eyes. His short, dark hair and slightly unkempt beard were peppered with a few streaks of grey. His sharp, severe facial features were softened by dimples when he smiled, which he was known to do does often and with a gentle ease.

He often wore a dark-hued, silk sherwanis, fitted pants, a tan shoulder-cape, and a red headscarf. He was striking in armor, known for his unique black copper scalemail and black turban helmet with red trim. The style of his armor and weapons were recognizably Dornish, but their colors belonged specifically to House Yronwood's ancient order of knights, the Brotherhood of the Bloodroyal.

History
Olyver Yronwood was the eldest Yronwood in his generation, born in 143 AC, 55 years prior to the events in After the Fyre. He was raised to be a Lord, as capable of dealing with court politics as well as he could ride or fight with spear and halberd. Olyver never showed much aptitude for court or politics in his youth, but his prowess as a fighter was well known by his sixteenth birthday, shortly after the Conquest of Dorne, when he killed his first man -- a brutish hedge knight serving House Tyrell named Ser Ellis.

A few years later, when Olyver was a hot-blooded young man, he killed Micah Martell, the eldest brother to Maron Martell and Myriah Martell, in a duel. The slaying was revenge for Micah having killed Olyver’s younger brother Christofer in a similar duel. To avoid risking a civil war in Dorne between the Martells and Yronwoods, the Prince of Dorne and Otto Yronwood, Olyver's father, came to a private agreement. Olyver was sent away in exile, warned by both men that if he ever stepped foot in Dorne again, he would be murdered.

While his brothers, sisters and mother mourned the loss of Olyver, heir to their family and the Warden of Stone Way, Otto Yronwood was pleased to see him go; the head of the house was a superstitious man, who believed Olyver's dark features and brazen atheism were signs that he was a curse to House Yronwood.

An Exiled Hedge Knight
In 166 AC, 32 years prior to the events of After the Fyre, Olyver was sent north with only his armor, weapons, and horse. He made his way as a hedge knight in The Reach under the monicker Ser Olyver "Wolf", competing in tourneys with mixed success and serving a number of Marcher Lords. He was easily recognized on the field, in his black, dornish armor. Compared to other Westerosi knights, he was remarkably quick, and a masterful horseman.

In 168 AC, Olyver won his first tourney in the joust, a large and grand affair at Highgarden. After several easy victories, he won a notable tilt against another skilled hedge knight, Ser Dorrick, when Dorrick was wounded and yielded before the third run. At the end of the tilt, Olyver swore to Ser Dorrick to sell back the man's armor and horse for two gold dragons, as a show of kinship from one hedge knight to another.

In the championship tilt, he went toe-to-toe with one of the greatest riders of a generation, Lady Sanah Mormont, the "Fang of Bear Island." In three runs at each other, each of the fighters broke three lances apiece against their opponent's body. In the third run, however, both riders disregarded personal safety to ride half-raised in the saddle; Lady Sanah unhorsed Ser Olyver, severely wounding him and proving herself superior in the joust. Olyver took the championship tilt to ground by calling for his halberd, and in a short and brutal melee, he stunned the crowd with his determined comeback. Olyver defeated Lady Sanah to win the tournament, but praised her honor and great skill before the gathered spectators.

After winning, Ser Olyver met Lord Lucos Greenmont and Lady Alyse Greenmont for the first time, when he crowned Lady Alyse the tourney's Queen of Love and Beauty. He revealed himself as Ser Olyver Yronwood, the infamous Dorne-in-Exile, to the noblemen gathered, much to the dismay of many. However, the Lord and Lady Greenmont instead showed favor to the bold young knight, and the tourney winnings and notoriety allowed Olyver to start to build a new identity, and a new destiny, for himself.

By 171 AC, Ser Olyver's reputation as a deadly knight, and as a dornishman willing to fight other dornishmen when necessary, became well known throughout The Reach. Three years after his previous tourney victory, he won another large tournament by besting Lord Lucos Greenmont in both the joust and in the Grand Melee. Afterwards, he became a sworn sword to House Greenmont and a dear friend to Lord Lucos. While in service to House Greenmont, he taught riding and history lessons to the children of the Greenmont family.

The First Blackfyre Rebellion
In 193 AC, five years prior to the events of After the Fyre, Ser Olyver was a surprise entry to another major tournament after many years of not competing. He won his third tourney championship easily that day, and was thereafter summoned by Daemon Blackfyre to hear a private offer. After twenty years of close service to House Greenmont, Olyver accepted whatever it was that Daemon offered him in secret, and was anointed as one of the bastard Targaryan's honored Blackguards, alongside legendary warriors Aegon Rivers (also known as "Bittersteel"), Ser Quentyn Ball, and Ser Gormon Peake. Less than a year later, the First Blackfyre Rebellion began, and the Seven Kingdoms were thrust into civil war.

In 196 AC, during the Battle of Redgrass Field, Olyver fought shoulder-to-shoulder with Bittersteel against the Bloodraven. However, he became gravely injured when he abandoned the line in a failed attempt to rescue Rylon Greenmont. After the battle, Marzia Greenmont cared for him at their ancestral home. It took Olyver over a year to recover, wherein he swore his allegiance once more to House Greenmont, helping to care for a very sick Lord Lucos, and acting as Master-of-Arms.

A year after the battle of Redgrass Field, Olyver began training a new army for House Greenmont, teaching them to ride and fight in the Dornish tradition, with spear and halberd. During this time, a raven arrived to Fox Hollow, and he learned that his estranged father has become senile and frail, and that the new Warden of the Stone Way will likely be Olyver’s younger brother, Horatio Yronwood, also known as "Horace the Horrible". Since then, there have been whispers that Olyver will abandon the Reach, break his exile, and return to Dorne to claim the Yronwood seat.

Events of After the Fyre
In 198 AC, at the start of the events of After the Fyre, Olyver traveled with a small band of Greenmont men, guarding Mara Greenmont on their journey to Old Oak, where she married Alester Oakheart. Though there was to be a grand tournament to be held at Old Oak in celebration of the marriage, Olyver at first claimed that he was too old to compete against younger knights, and that his tournament days are behind him. That changed after he learned of the death of Lord Lucos Greenmont, when his estranged brother Ser Horatio Yronwood insulted him at Lady Mara's wedding feast; Olyver promised to see his brother on the lists of the tournament.

Ser Olyver, despite his age, was nearly flawless as he bested a field of much younger knights to face his brother in the championship round of the tournament at Old Oak. The two brothers seemed evenly matched during the joust for several passes. On the third pass, Ser Olyver jousted with a red-and-black tourney lance that offended many Targaryan loyalists in the crowd for its display of the rebel Blackfyre's colors. At last, both Ser Olyver and Ser Horatio were unseated -- but Ser Horatio cheated by targeting Ser Olyver's neck with his lance and nearly killing him.

Despite the wound, Ser Olyver stayed in his saddle a few moments longer than his younger brother, winning the tournament. After the tourney, Ser Horatio took up a poisoned spear and attacked Ser Olyver. Olyver, despite his jousting wound, defeated his brother and spared his life, though he was poisoned by Horatio's spear. Before collapsing and being taken into the care of maesters, Ser Olyver crowned Lady Mara The Queen of Love and Beauty, his token for winning the tournament in her honor. And so Olyver became a four-time tourney champion at the unheard of age of 55.

After the tournament, Ser Olyver recovered from Horatio's poison and returned to find Fox Hollow increasing the Greenmont military to deal with the threat of bandits under the command of a Vulture King. He reconnected with Ser Alfred Wyld, and informed the young upjumped knight of a great secret: Alfred was the bastard son of Lord Lucos Greenmont.

Unable to convince Ser Alfred to seek legitimization to become the Lord of House Greenmont, Ser Olyver then turned to the pregnant Lady Marzia Greenmont. After several long discussions about Lord Lucos and the future of House Greenmont, Lady Marzia also rebuked the idea of her marrying Alfred and supporting his legitimization. Just when it seemed as though Marzia and Olyver would part ways, he proposed she marry him, support his claim to House Yronwood, and he would in turn support her claim to House Greenmont. Marzia accepted Olyver's proposal.

The next morning, Lord Olyver took twenty of his best men to go find and rescue his Godsdaughter, the young Lady Myria Greenmont, who had been kidnapped by Lord Edmyn Blackmont. Olyver swore on his life to not return to Fox Hollow without his Godsdaughter, and then rode out to cut off Lord Blackmont's return from Summerhall, choosing the foothills of the Dornish border northeast of House Blackmont to set his ambush. Olyver hunted Blackmont into Dorne and tracked him down to Vulture's Roost, where Blackmont had taken on the mantle of the Vulture King, leader of an army of well-trained soldiers-turned-bandit. Olyver convinced Blackmont to allow him to leave with Myria and her companion Daera, and the three of them left to seek asylum at Castle Yronwood while the rest of the Greenmont army returned to Fox Hollow.

During the travel to Castle Yronwood, Myria and Olyver caught up on lost times and their father/daughter bond was reforged. Upon reaching Yronwood, Olyver was surprised to be greeted so kindly by his aging parents, who welcomed him back from exile and took in Myria under the guise of Olyver's illegitimate daughter "Cassella Sand". Their few weeks together in Castle Yronwood was largely restful and full of laughter, as they shared stories, dancing lessons, and good Dornish food and music. Eventually, Olyver convinced his mother, who still harbored resentment against him for his years spent in the Reach, to allow him to lead the Yronwood armies to march upon Vulture's Roost. Olyver's plan was to take Lord Blackmont alive and force him to help clear Myria's name by testifying to Prince Maekar Targaryan that he had kidnapped the girl against her will. When Olyver rode away to lead his armies west, Myria stayed behind. During their goodbyes, Olyver promised to return soon and gave an old wooden music box to Myria, who in turn gave him a silver locket that he wore beneath his armor, close to his heart.

The Battle of Vulture's Roost proved more complicated and bloody than Olyver ever expected. After a failed parlay with Lord Alester Oakheart, commander of a number of armies from the Reach that had also arrived to capture Lord Blackmont, Olyver marched early on the ruined tower to ensure that Blackmont would be his. Before his forces could breach Vulture Roost's gate, however, the Oakheart and Peake armies attacked the Yronwood army from behind, driven by years of anti-Dornish resentment.

Despite being caught between a hammer and an anvil, Olyver led the Yronwood forces to victory, fending off the Reacher armies long enough to take Vulture's Roost. Olyver defeated Blackmont and captured him, but was badly wounded in his gut by a dirty blade wielded by Blackmont himself. After the battle, Lord Gormund Peake, Lord Tarly, and Lord Alester Oakheart argued over who would claim Lord Blackmont as a prisoner. While Olyver seemed to win the argument after it was made clear by an arriving messenger that Prince Maekar declared the Reacher host an illegal army. Despite the accord, when Olyver went to take Blackmont from his old friend, Lord Gormund Peake, Peake threw Blackmont from the top of the tower to his death and attempted to kill Olyver. Despite his wounds, Olyver bested Peake in single combat and slew him for his treachery.

After the battle, Olyver sent his armies back to Castle Yronwood and ordered his knight, Ser Francis Yronwood II, to take personal care of Myria until he returned. Olyver hid away with the Greenmont army and returned to Fox Hollow. There, he was secreted through the keep to see Marzia. Marzia and another nurse helped to tend to Olyver's wound, which had turned sour and terribly infected. During his time at Fox Hollow, he and Marzia traded stories of all that had happened since he left the house in search of Myria. Together, they attended the Festival of Lanterns and a Feast in honor of their house guests, Lord Costayne, Lord Alester Oakheart, and Marzia's parents, Lord and Lady Crane.

Death
During the seven-course meal, Olyver announced publicly that he and Marzia were to be wed in the Dornish tradition, so that she would rule House Greenmont while he took over as Lord of House Yronwood. During the toast, Lord Alester stormed out of the hall. Marzia excused herself from the hall and was quickly followed by Lady Mara Oakheart. Alester returned several minutes later with thirty Oakheart and Tarly knights, breaking the sacred Guest Rite by killing a handful of Greenmont guards. Alester ordered Olyver to give himself up to be taken to Highgarden and tried for the murder of Lord Peake, but Olyver refused until he was certain that Marzia and her child were safe.

Lord Alester ordered his thirty knights to charge Olyver and the dozen Greenmont guards in the hall. Despite his infected wounds and being unarmored, Olyver cut down seven knights himself during the melee with only a halberd. Eventually, Olyver became overwhelmed and run through by Alester's sword. Pinned to the wall, Olyver shattered Alester's ankle with a blow and staggered away from the fight to search for Marzia.

Olyver found Marzia just outside of the banquet hall, screaming for the knights to stop their attack. Olyver then collapsed into Marzia's arms. With his dying breath, he embraced her and said, "Call the men. Do not let them get away with it!"

After Olyver's fierce last stand, the Greenmont guard rallied and drove the knights back from Fox Hollow, but Lord Alester Oakheart and Lady Mara were both able to escape and flee the valley on horseback.

Relationships with the People of House Greenmont
Olyver was a fixture in the lives of House Greenmont for a long time. Notably, he and Lord Lucos Greenmont were long-time companions. There were several rumors regarding the nature of their friendship, including whispers of their having a secret affair, and that Olyver left the service of House Greenmont to take up the banner of Daemon Blackfyre after a lover's spat. As proof of this scandal, gossip mongers will often point to the fact that Olyver and Lady Alyse Blackmont, Lord Lucos's Dornish wife, were barely ever seen speaking to each other or acknowledging one another's presence at court.

After Lady Alyse died giving birth to Myria Greenmont, Olyver was named the girl's Godfather. Lord Lucos was distant with Myria, and Olyver became something of a father figure to her as she was growing up. He taught her how to ride horses, and told her many stories about Dorne’s great houses and socio-politics. He sang to her spirited Dornish songs, and taught her how to dance in the Dornish tradition. Before leaving to become Kingsguard, he gave her a wooden psaltery engraved with the house sigils of both Greenmont and Yronwood beneath its strings. Olyver has claimed that Myria is the closest thing to a daughter that he will ever know.

Olyver was also close to the now deceased Greenmont brothers, Lann and Rylon, speaking often about how they were two halves of a coin, the best parts of their father -- Lord Lucos himself. He taught them both how to fight, ride, and wield a lance. Rylon proved less adept at fighting than his brother, so Olyver also taught him dance, at which Rylon excelled. After his defeat at Red Grass Field, Olyver returned to Fox Hollow and mourned the brothers' deaths with a vow of silence: one day for each year the noble young men had lived.

Near the end of his life, Olyver took an interest in Marzia Greenmont, after the young woman saved his life when he returned gravely wounded from the Battle of Red Grass Field. Their relationship was often uncomfortable at the start, but they managed to work closely together, tending to Lord Lucos's health and the others wounded during the Blackfyre Rebellions. After Lucos's death, Olyver and Marzia became betrothed in a political move meant to hold House Greenmont together.

Olyver's other closest friends at the start of the events of After the Fyre were House Greenmont's other two sworn knights: the increasingly senile, but kind Ser Donnel Babbelbrook, and the newly upjumped Ser Alfred. Olyver played pranks on the more naive Alfred, but also proved to be fiercely protective of the young knight.

Olyver had even less of a relationship with Symon Greenmont, whom he had not seen since he was a young boy two decades prior to the events of After the Fyre. During their short time together, Olyver taught Symon to ride a horse, and escorted him to the Citadel, rescuing him from bandits once during the journey.

Olyver did not known Mara as long as some of the others in Lucos's family, but there was a strong bond of trust and kinship between them, and he claimed many times that he saw her father's strength in her.

Quotes
"My entire life, the vultures have circled me. Waiting for me to make a mistake, to prove that I am a traitor. I will give to them the last thing they ever expected from me: Justice."

"This world is full of stories of brave men doing brave things, for honor, for family, for the love of a beautiful woman. They are such nice stories. They are so much better than the truth."

"Myria is the closest thing to a daughter that the Gods will ever give me. I would tear up the earth for that girl. I would trample flowers. There is nothing that I would not do for her."

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