Fantasy Game of Thrones: Strings of Fate (Lore)

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House Harper

Head of the House: Lord Harper, Seventh Lord of the Harp
Capital: Harper's Gate
Words: Instruments of Valor
Sigil: The Golden Harp

Liege: House Tully
Enemies: House Frey
Military: 3000 Levies, 500 Watchmen of the Harp

Banner:



Current Territories:

Harper's Gate - This walled trading town was built over the past 300 years, after Aegon's conquest of Westeros, from small and simple beginnings into a bustling trading town. It boasts a hude marketplace, a favourite spot for travelling merchants wishing to travel the King's Road or up onto the King's Road from the west or southwest, with a prosperous cloth and clothing industry complimented by a local dyeworks workshop. The town also has a large inn, named the Golden Harp in honour of their Lord's sigil, which provides accommodation for travellers and merchants alive. For travelling lords, there is Harper's Manor to provide accommodation, a stately residence complete with it's own walls and gardens. Other amenities include a Merchant's Guild, a bathhouse able to accommodate both commoner and noble alike, a Sept dedicated to the Seven, and grand square where festivals and games are situated. The town is surrounded by stone walls with only two entry points; the gatehouse leading out onto the King's Road and the gatehouse leading on to the bridge towards Harp's Citadel. The town walls are completely surrounded by a moat fed by the river, providing added protection, with battlements and towers to assist in the defence of the town. A local Lord Mayor governs the town, who heads the guard in the town, and is answerable to only the Lord of the Harp.

Harp's Citadel - A castle built on an island in the middle of the Green Fork river, the Citadel is only accessible by the two bridges that reach for the rivers banks; one leading to Harper's Gate while the other leads to the road heading to the south west. The citadel consists of a great bastion, accessed by two gatehouses with drawbridges that open onto the bridges, with the sections of the bridges attaching to the islands removed so that the river itself acts as an inner moat around the bastion. The bastion as battlements on the higher levels, including the top, allowing archers to fire down on enemies in all directions. The bastion itself possesses a small barracks and armour to arm defenders, with a store of food and fresh water sourced from the river, while fish can be caught from the river should the need arise. Across both bridges, on the river's banks, stands two gatehouses, complete with their own moats, drawbridges, battlements, and all manner of murder holes for the use of defenders. Boiling oil is also stored in the gatehouses, and can be prepared within, with murder holes leading down into the bottom of the gatehouse where the boiling can be poured. The Citadel is the current ruling seat of the Harpers, it is where they live and govern their lands from, complete with a library and lounge room, main hall for dining and social occasions, armoury, kitchens, food store, treasury room, and living quarters for the Harpers themselves on the higher floors.

Family Treasures:

The Great Golden Harp - The family namesake, this colossal golden harp stands as tall as a fully ground man, and is twice as heavy. Seemingly forged from solid gold, it is actually a wooden harp with gold plating appearing as though it is entirely made of gold, and the Harpers do not fail to boast that it is indeed solid gold to impress guests. Found in the main hall of Harper's Citadel, it is often kept on display to awe noble guests and common petitioners alike, and is supposedly the very same golden harp that the first Lord of the Harp, Gerald Harper, commissioned for his daughter, Malissa. Mostly an ornament now, no one has played it for a long time. This harp is the physical embodiment of the Harpers' sigil, identical to all the banners and flags all over Harper's Gate and Harper's Citadel.

 

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History of House Harper

Ascension to Nobility

The Harpers were not always known as the Harpers. Before Aegon's conquest of the seven kingdoms of Westeros, the Harpers were known as the Ebyorns, and they were a small merchant family that traded by sea between Westeros and Essos. They bought and sold good from Lys to Braavos, and all the ports inbetween. They continued as a family of merchants for generations, up until the Targaryens looked to the rest of Westeros. When Lord Aegon requested that seafaring merchants be brought to him, the Ebyorns happened to be docked at Dragonstone at the time, and so the Ebyorns were brought to the Dragon Lord. His request was a simple one. Weapons. Aegon wanted weapons, and needed a merchant to buy them from Essos to then be delivered on the mainland of Westeros, at the site where King's Landing now stands. Of course, the Ebyorns did as they were bid, a contract of this kind comes too rarely and the Ebyorns were only too eager to be of service, especially after the Dragon Lord promised more than just wealth would come their way.

Since they were merchants, the Ebyorns did not do any actual fighting themselves, but in the three years of war that raged during Aegon's conquest, the Ebyorns proved to be a dependable family that continued to supply Aegon's forces until the end of the war. For their service, the Ebyorns would be given a title and land to call their own, officially raising them to the rank of nobility. Though their service was appreciated, the Ebyorns could not be given anything grand or important since the Ebyorns lacked the means and men to control towns or cities, and so it was decided that the Ebyorns would be given a piece of land in the Riverlands, lands of respectable size but almost completely undeveloped.

Becoming the Harpers

Now with lands and title of their own in Westeros, the Ebyorns retired from their trading at sea, and decided to take up trading over land instead. Using the wealth earned throughout the war, the Ebyorns started to build trade networks starting from the Riverlands before expanding outwards to neighbouring regions. While they traded, the Ebyorns also started the construction of their trading town, using what they learned about the economic potential of each region in the new kingdom. During construction of the town, the Lord Gerald's daughter, Melissa, started to entertain the workers by playing the harp. This gave Lord Gerald an idea. The Ebyorns were foreigners in Westeros, their name making that all too clear, and they wanted to intergate. Lord Gerald decided upon a new name, Harper, to honour his daughter but also because it was unique and distinct from all other houses in Westeros. Gerald decided upon their family sigil, the Golden Harp, and a colour for their banners, a field of blue. He gave them their words, in line with all other families of Westeros, as 'Instruments of Valor', andGerald gave himself and all his successors a new custom title, 'Lord of the Harp.' And, to complete, Gerald commissioned a golden harp to be made and given to his daughter, Melissa, to play for guests and townspeople alike. Learning to play the Harp became a tradition with House Harper, one that is stuck to proudly even today. And when their town was complete, Gerald named it 'Harper's Gate', a place of trade and rest, as well as the central hub to the Harpers new trade network.

Building the Bridges

Harper's Gate slowly grew from new trade, but trade could only come from two directions; from the North and from the South East. The Green Fork and the Vale's mountains cut off trade from anywhere else, and those wishing to travel to the North from the west or south west and vice versa tended to cross the bridge at The Twins, well out of the way from Harper's Gate. This was a problem. Luckily, the first Lord of the Harp, Gerald Harper, chose the lands of Harper's Gate for a reason. Close to where Harper's Gate was situated, a small island can be found in the middle of the Green Fork river, and the Twins came to mind for Gerald when he found that island. A plan was formed to build two bridges, each reaching from one bank of the river to that small island, allowing for yet another crossing of the Green Fork. But unlike the Frays, the Harpers did not wish to make their money from tolls, for the Harpers make their money from trade, and issuing tolls as high as the Freys do would only hinder that trade. The Harpers unveiled their plans to their friends and rivals alike, which would begin a bitter and bloody feud with the Freys that would last even to this day. The task was monumental, however. Building bridges is not easy, and the Green Fork is traitorous even at the best of times. It took the Freys generations to build their one bridge, but the Harpers have an advantage that the Freys did not. The Harpers are not afraid to make friends.

Knowing the Freys and their tolls, and how much some families and merchant houses would love to have an alternative, the Harpers gave any family or merchant house interested an offer; provide funding for the project and receive toll-free crossings for 200 years. Not knowing what the Harpers intended in terms of tolls, nobles and merchant houses soon poured money into the project, and the Harpers issued toll-free certificates out to those who contributed. Rather than take generations, the Harpers could afford the extra resources and manpower to build the two bridges in record time. When the second Lord of the Harp died, the two bridges spanning the Green Fork were complete. Much of the Freys income dried up, while the Harpers and their town grew ever more prosperous with every passing year, making the Harpers remarkably wealthy for such a small house.

The Great Expansion

With the bridges complete and trade flowing unlike ever before, the Harpers' coffers swelled, giving them the wealth needed for a phase of new expansion. Two projects were begun; the proper planning of Harper's Gate, and the construction of the Harpers own castle. Before now, the Harpers had been living in a respectable but small manor within Harper's Gate, but, like all other noble families, they desired their own castle. The island in the middle of the Green Fork became their desired location to build their new castle, complete with new reinforcements across the bridges and fortifications built on the north and south ends of the crossing. At the same time, the Harpers new prosperity brought much growth to Harper's Gate, but this growth soon made the town a mess without proper planning. The Harpers hired a team of city planners to not only set Harper's Gate to rights and allow for efficient trading, but also to set up Harper's Gate with plans for centuries worth of growth to come. Over the lifetimes of the third, fourth, and fifth Lords of the Harp, not only was the castle complete but also Harper's Gate had been reorganised and rebuilt.

The castle, named the Harp's Citadel, became something of a great bastion in the middle of the river, complete with their own small gatehouses at the bastions entrances from both bridges, with additional gatehouses across both bridges at the ends of the crossing. Gatehouses both around the bastion and at the ends of the crossing possess their own moats, crossable only by drawbridges, with the sections of both bridges that connect to the island demonished. An invading army would not to not only cross the moat at the first gatehouse, take said gatehouse, and then cross the bridge, they would also need to cross yet another moat, this one complimented by the Green Fork's swift currents and great depth, then take the gatehouse adjacent to the bastion or attempt to seige by boat and then scale the bastion's 100 feet high walls at the same time. Numerous battlements line the higher levels of the bastion's walls, allowing for many archers to reign down arrows on their enemies in all directions, with the top level of the bastion also having battlements as well. The castle is not as defensible as other castles, including the Twins, but the Harpers could still put up a great deal of a fight before they fall.

As for Harper's Gate, the town was near completely reorganised and rebuilt, with new road running through the town from the bridges to the King's Road. The town market runs along the entire length of the road through Harper's Gate, with residential housing and civil administration being kept away from the road. Harper's Gate now accommodates all manner of merchants, from smiths and armourers to tailors and cobblers, with a new cloth making industry financed by the Harpers themselves, drawing merchants to sell wood and cotton to buy textiles and clothing. The North is a particularly hungry customer for warm, wooden clothing and fabrics. The Harpers have also taken advantage of their cloth and clothing industry by also building a dyeworks, built downstream next to the river, and now the Harpers have a huge trade in selling banners and flags to many noble houses across Westeros. The city planners also planned the construction of a wall spanning the town, complete with a gatehouse at the meet with the King's Road, and a wide moat along the length of the wall fed by the river.

Creating the Watchmen of the Harp

Trade and wealth brings more than just growth and settlers, but also crime and banditry. Merchants getting acosted to and from Harper's Gate became an ever increasing issue over the years, and while the Harpers did sent out guardsmen to patrol the roads leading to and from Harper's Gate, they were far less than effective. The fifth Lord of the Harp, tired of the disruption to trade in the region, decided to create a dedicated regiment of guardsmen trained for the sole purpose of guarding the roads, while being capable of rooting out these bandits and putting them all to the sword. The Harpers spared no expense; hiring a knight formerly part of the King's Guard and retired with honours to train the regiment personally, providing good quality weapons and arms, pay, and horses. This regiment came to be known as the Watchmen of the Harp, and came to become a very effective tool. The Watchmen of the Harp soon expanded their patrols along almost the whole stretch of the King's Road from the North to the Crossroads Inn, brutally cutting down any bandits they found before finding their lairs and torching them, making the roads safe again. Some merchants complained at times that the Watchmen asked for bribes, and made life difficult for those who refused, but corruption is to be expected on some level and it is preferrable to banditry.

Patrolling the roads was once seen as a punishment by the guards. Now, to become a Watchmen was a great honour, only the most capable and loyal became Watchmen, and not only were they respected but well-paid and well-trained for their work. The Watchmen made the roads safe, and trade flowed heavily once again. Then came the rebellion.

Robert's Rebellion

Like many other houses, the Harpers looked upon the rebellion with uncertainty, for the consequences of rebelling against a Targaryen King could be terribly steep. Especially for a small house like the Harpers. They had spent hundreds of years and countless golden dragons building their town and their bridges, and were understandably apprehensive to risk it all on a war they could very well lose. But this is where having friends has it's drawbacks. Many houses in the Riverlands expected the Harpers to join, and much of their trade is dependent on the goodwill of their neighbours, particularly with the North. With a choice between taking a gamble or facing economic ruin, the Harpers decided upon the gamble, joining the rebellion, and raising their army. The Harpers raised three thousand men; 2500 would go with their Lord, the eighth Lord of the Harp, to join the rest of the rebellion while the remaining 500 stayed in Harper's Gate to guard the town and castle in the unfortunate event of defeat, while also guarding it against the scheming and cowardly Freys. The Harpers joined the rest of House Tully's forces as they marched with armies from the North and the Vale for the Battle of the Bells.

After Robert's forces had been relieved and rescued, including Robert himself, the rebel forces retreated back across the river into friendly territory. The Lord of the Harp even hosted Robert and the other High Lords in Harper's Gate for a time, giving the Harpers much needed prestige among the rebel lords, and would later be used to shame the Freys for their cowardice. When time for battle came once again, the Lord of the Harp nervously followed, and fought in the Battle of the Trident. The Harpers did not achieve anything terribly noteworthy, though they did manage to defeat and capture Lord Rykker, the new Lord of Duskendale. Lord Rkkyer was treated well by the Harpers, and was guaranteed release at the end of the war after trade agreements were made in person between Lord Rykker and the Lord of the Harp.

After the War

The Harpers did not see any further fighting after the Battle of the Trident. Thanks to the grace of the Gods, the rebellion succeeded, and the Harpers received their due prestige and respect for their contributions to the war. Even suffering over a thousand casualties, the Lord of the Harp and his soldiers returned to celebrations in Harper's Gate, more out of relief for those who came home when many expected all to be lost. The Lord of the Harp commissioned a monument to be built within Harper's Gate, commemorating those who died in the war, and praising the Gods for the victory, and he also compensated families who lost loved ones in the war in a gesture of charity. Soon, life returned to normal in Harper's Gate, and the new trade agreements with Duckendale allowed the Harpers to spread their trading tenticals towards the sea once more. And the Harpers also soured relations between the Freys and the other Riverlords even further, capitalising on the Freys lacking contributions in the war to the fullest.

Five years after the war, the Sixth Lord of the Harp died, and the Seventh rose to power. The next ten years would remain peaceful, productive, and profitable for the Harpers.

Present Day

Jon Arryn, Hand of the King, has sadly passed away, and a new Hand is appointed, Eddard Stark. Along with the announcement of the new Hand also comes the announcement of the new Hand's Tourney, with invitations for all houses, great and small, to come to King's Landing for the festivities, and to compete for those willing to join the Tourney.