History Characters / ForumOfThronesTheVale

* TheStarscream: [[spoiler: Among other things, Octavia wishes to remove House Grafton from power and reclaim the city that once belonged to her family. She also seems to seek this for her liege lord Orson Royce.]]

The ruling house of Gulltown, the only city in the Vale. Coming into power when Andal adventurer replaced King Osgood III Shett thousands of years ago, the Graftons control the only major fleet on the eastern coast. It's current head is Lord Eduard Grafton.

[[folder: Edgar Grafton]]
!!Edgar Grafton

* CantTalkToWomen: He's not very good with people, especially women.

!!!House Shett
[[folder: Lady Octavia Shett]]
!!Lady Octavia Shett
!!!The Raven of Gull Tower
The daughter of Ser Sterling Shett, Knight of Gull Tower. She forms an alliance with Lord Torgold Tollett and hires the Three Companies to weaken Lord Orson Royce's power, [[spoiler:and hopefully reclaim their ancestral seat of Gulltown]].

* AmbiguouslyEvil: Octavia is definitely a schemer and involved in a secret conspiracy against Orson Royce. If her own words can be believed, she is anything but evil and more of a BigGood for the Vale of Arryn by going against the traitor Lord Royce. However, so far her words is the only thing supporting her claim and the Hawk is shown to distrust her.
* AnimalMotifs: Her intelligence and beauty leads to her being often compared to a raven, hence her moniker.
* TheChessmaster: To a degree that gives even her main opponent, Orson Royce, quite some work to do. While the full extent of her schemes are not known yet, Octavia has managed to put herself into a favourable position, gaining allies and hiring hundreds of sellswords for her goals, without arousing even the slightest bit of suspicion. Instead, even Orson Royce blames other culprits, such as her own father, without even suspecting her.
* TheConspiracy: Leads one alongside Zeth Arryn and Torgold Tollett against Orson Royce.
* RavenHairIvorySkin: Being dark-haired and notably beautiful, Octavia fits the trope to a t. Her nickname, The Raven of Gull Tower even reverences this.
* TheStarscream: [[spoiler: Among other things, Octavia wishes to remove House Grafton from power and reclaim the city that once belonged to her family. She also seems to seek this for her liege lord Orson Royce.]]

A noble house of Andal descent, House Tollett is nonetheless sworn to House Royce of Runestone, but their relationship has turned uneasy to say the least in the past few years after the death of Tenison Tollett. Their elderly head Edwyn Tollett passed away recently, leaving his son Torgold as lord. Their current head is Torgold Tollett.

! Other inhabitants of the Vale

* AnimalMotifs: Her intelligence and beauty give the appearance of a raven, hence her moniker.

* RavenHairIvorySkin: She certainly fits the standard.
* TheStarscream: [[spoiler:Wishes to remove House Grafton from power and reclaim the city that once belonged to her family]]

* YouKilledMyFather: Wants revenge on Orson Royce and his son Redmond for apparently killing his brother Tenison.

* TheSpymaster: Gathers intel for the Eyrie and takes Aegon's threat with far more caution.

* FamousAncestor: There's the founder Artys Arryn, the Winged Knight, who was crowned first King of the Mountain and the Vale.

The eldest child and heir of Lord Orson Royce. He has a past history with Octavia Shett, and he has also fathered a bastard, Rylis Stone.

Third son and legitimized bastard of Lord Orson Royce. A man greatly disliked for his attitude and the implications in the death of Tennison Tollett.

The head of House Arryn of Gulltown, a less aloof but wealthier branch distant from their Eyrie kin. He forms an alliance with Lady Octavia Shett and Torgold Tollett to counter Lord Royce's influence.

Third child and legitimized bastard son of Lord Orson Royce. A man greatly disliked for his attitude and the implications in the death of Tennison Tollett.

[[folder: Remi Royce]]
!!Remi Royce
The only daughter out of four children of Lord Orson Royce. Remi is a smart, competent young woman, whose talents are highly appreciated by her father. As such, she serves as his right hand woman even over her older brother Osborn, the actual heir to Runestone.

* AlliterativeName: '''R'''emi '''R'''oyce.
* DeadpanSnarker: Remi has a strong sense of humour and loves sarcastic, teasing replies, especially to questions she perceives as stupid. Her humour can also be very dry and witty.
* TheDutifulDaughter: As Orson Royce's only daughter, she has a special place in the family, though she is very much aware of her duties, using her intelligence to be of as much use to her father as possible.

[[folder: Ser Aldrik Wolver]]
!!Ser Aldrik Wolver
A hedge knight from the North, who started to work for Lord Orson Royce several years ago. One of his assignments in the service of the Bronze Lord led to him infiltrating the court of House Brune of the Dyre Den, a potential enemy of the Vale of Arryn. It was here where he first encountered Maya Iresons, whom he eventually joined on her mission.

* AntiHero: Despite being a KnightInShiningArmour with a cool CanisMajor as his animal companion, Aldrik is still far from a fully-fledged hero. His work for Orson Royce means that he often has to do morally questionable things in order to succeed, something he might not be okay with, but goes along with regardless.
* TheBigGuy: After joining Maya's team, he contributes to a major part of their fighting power, being a trained and experienced knight who is accompanied by a direwolf.
* BodyguardBetrayal: While posing as Lord Brune's bodyguard, he disposes of him by merely not intervening when Maya overpowers him and turns to kill him. This overlaps with BetrayalByInaction.
* EvilDetectingDog: He is constantly accompanied by Knightfang, a [[CanisMajor direwolf]], who is shown to have good instincts about whom to trust and whom not.
* HeelFaceTurn: Though it was revealed that he has always worked for Lord Royce, he was introuced as an antagonist, who took Maya and her companions as captives for Lord Brune, who seemed to be his employer at that time. Eventually, he turns on the Lord of the Dyre Den, joining Maya and her group for good.
* HeroesLoveDogs: His companion is Knightfang, a young direwolf, whom he is shown to adore.
* HeroicBSOD: During the Raid on Raylansfair, Knightfang is killed by one of the Second Sons. Aldrik takes this very badly, as he breaks down, showing genuine rage for the first time since his introduction into the story and even afterwards being mentioned as having barely rested.
* HonourBeforeReason: For a hedge knight working for a highly pragmatic man, Aldrik has some surprising objections towards dishonourable things. As a rule of thumb, he doesn't mind anything dishonourable as long as everything else has been tried, but he heavily opposes of criminal actions as long as there is a realistic chance for another way to work.
* KnightInShiningArmour: All things considered, Aldrik is not only a knight, but also an honourable and straightforward man, who believes in his vows and values and tends to take both very seriously.
* TheMole: Years ago, he was placed as a mole at the court of Trymon Brune, whose strategic position at the Bay of Crabs could have caused trouble for the Vale. During these years, he became Brune's right-hand man and valuable bodyguard, while continously feeding Lord Royce with important information.
* MyMasterRightOrWrong: Aldrik is an honourable knight, putting special value onto loyalty. As such, he continues to serve Lord Royce even when the man's orders clash with the other values he believes in.
* RedOniBlueOni: He is the blue oni to Gregar's red. Whereas Gregar is passionate, hot-headed and fierce, Aldrik is calm, polite and honourable, keeping his urges in check as much as possible. He also advices to think before acting, whereas Gregar is far more impulsive.
* ShipTease: With Maya.
* SourSupporter: For Lord Royce. Aldrik clearly dislikes working for the man and [[OnlyInItForTheMoney only does so for the handsome payment]]. He also doesn't waste any time to make sure how dishonourable he considers some of the Bronze Lord's actions.
* TallDarkAndHandsome: As a Northerner, he already fits the tall and dark part, given that most of his kind tend to have such looks. Despite being over ten years her senior, Maya also considers him to be very handsome.
* TrueCompanions: It takes him a bit longer to bond with the other members of Team Maya, but he eventually considers all three of his companions as good and true friends despite their shortcomings.

!!!House Redfort
-> ''"As Strong as Stone"''
-->-- '''Words of House Redfort'''

One of House Arryn's principal bannermen and major rivals of House Royce in terms of influence over the kingdom, House Redfort originates from First Men who sided with the Andals during the Invasion, becoming fierce loyalists of House Arryn for thousands of years. Their seat, the Redfort, is one of the eldest castles in the Vale. Their current head is Richard Redfort.

[[folder: Ryman Redfort]]
!!Ryman Redfort
Member of House Redfort of Redfort and captain of the guards of the Eyrie. He was also one of the few survivors in the war against the Mountain clans, returning to the Eyrie with the corpse of the old king and his crown.

* AlliterativeName: '''R'''yman '''R'''edfort
* BadassCape: Over his red armor, he wears a cloak with the colors of House Arryn, to show his allegiance to the ruling house of the Vale. As the SoleSurvivor of the ill-fated war against the Mountain clans, he also is definitely badass enough to live through a heated battle that claimed many of the best knights of the Vale.
* TheCaptain: Of the Eyrie's guard.
* TheOneGuy: He's currently the only man at Queen Sharra's council.
* SoleSurvivor: The only member of Alester's inner council that returned alive from the war with the Mountain Men. He brought the corpse of the old king with him and his crown.

!!!House Moore
-> ''"A Promise Unbroken"''
-->-- '''Words of House Moore'''

One of the eldest houses in the Vale, House Moore has always been a vassal to House Royce, keeping faith in them during the Andal Invasion and ever since, though they have also been essential in ensuring peace in the Vale, through having close ties to their lieges of Royce and their Arryn overlords. Their current head is Terrence Moore.

[[folder: Myranda Moore]]
!!Myranda Moore
Lady-in-waiting of Queen Sharra and member of House Moore. She's the twin sister of Meredith Moore.

* AlliterativeName: ''M''yranda ''M''oore
* PolarOppositeTwins: While she's demure and proper, her sister is tomboyish and more frank.
* ProperLady: Sharra thinks of her as prim and demure, which is the opposite of her sister.
* RapunzelHair: Which serves as another contrast with her short-haired twin.

[[folder: Meredith Moore]]
!!Meredith Moore
Twin sister of Myranda Moore. Though technically also a lady-in-waiting for Sharra Arryn, she also serves as guide to the entrance of the Eyrie.

* AlliterativeName: ''M''eredith ''M''oore
* BoyishShortHair: She wears her hair this way in contrast with her sister's long hair. That being said, Sharra thinks that the short hair brings out her beauty more than it does for her sister.
* PolarOppositeTwins: Meredith is boyish and short-haired compared to her girly long-haired sister.
* {{Tomboy}}: Dresses like a man and serves as guide to the Eyrie, meaning she's having one of the most physically demanding jobs in the entire castle.

!!!House Upcliff
-> ''"The Sea Knows"''
-->-- '''Words of House Upcliff'''

A noble house from Witch Isle on the eastern shore of the Vale, House Upcliff has a sinister reputation, their members rumoured to dabble in dark secrets and arcane arts. Never a house with a strong military might, they nonetheless managed to resist the Arryn kings of old until marriage brought them into the kingdom. Their current head is Lucina Upcliff.

[[folder: Rhonda Upcliff]]
!!Lady Rhonda Upcliff
Lady-in-waiting of Lady Helen Arryn and member of House Upcliff of Witch Isle. She is the niece of Lady Lucina Upcliff, the Lady of Witch Isle.

* AloofDarkHairedGirl: Rhonda has long black hair, and she's aloof, reserved and quiet.
* EnigmaticMinion: Not exactly minion, but Sharra finds her too mysterious and her rather prophetic responses too unsettling to be trustworthy.
* IceQueen: She has cold blue eyes, and her demeanor is reserved and mysterious.
* IcyBlueEyes: Her piercing blue eyes unsettle Sharra quite a bit.
* NightmareFuelStationAttendant: Between her eery looks, her quiet behaviour, unusual speech patterns and the outright unsettling content of many things she says, there is little Rhonda does that is not considered creepy by those around her.
* TheQuietOne: She doesn't talk much unless directly spoken to. The only exception is when she mentions that the young son of Aegon and Rhaenys Targaryen is weak and will die young.
* RavenHairIvorySkin: She's pale with black hair. And despite her eery demeanor, Sharra considers her to be quite a beautiful woman as well, in her own way.

!!!House Keding
-> ''"Reborn from Ashes"''
-->-- '''Words of House Keding'''

A smaller knightly house from the keep of Phoenixfall in the Vale of Arryn. Sworn to House Royce since the day of their foundation a couple hundred years ago, House Keding is nonetheless a bit distant to their liege lords and almost as close to the Arryn's of the Eyrie, with many Keding knights having served in the personal guard of the Arryn kings. Their current head is Lord Dale Keding

[[folder: Ser Lachlan Keding*]]
!!Ser Lachlan Keding
The only son and eldest child of Lord Dale Keding and the late Lady Amberly Keding neé Coldwater. He is a young, aspiring knight of skill and fame, constantly seeking to improve both. As the only male heir of House Keding, he also seeks to improve the position of his house. He is a Point-of-View character.

* EveryoneLovesBlondes: Lachlan is clearly attracted to Remi Royce, daughter of Lord Orson, but what captivates him the most ouf of her features is her golden blonde hair.
* GloryHound: Though already having great skill and fame, he desires more of both, which leads to him hungering to bring glory to House Keding and his own name.
* KnightInShiningArmour: At heart, Lachlan has taken the vows of knighthood very seriously and it can be assumed that he embodies quite some knightly virtues.
* MissingMom: His mother, Amberly Keding, has died several years ago.
* PrimalFear: It seems and despite him trying to insist that this is not the case, that Lachlan is somewhat afraid of heights, as shown by his uneasy reaction at having to cross the bridge to Runestone.

!!!House Coldwater
A House of First Men descent, House Coldwater of Coldwater Burn is one of the many vassals of House Royce. Their seat is located in the northernmost glacial river valley of the snakewood forest. The House suffered a great loss when Lord Coldwater and his son Ondrew perished fighting the Mountain Men, leaving his second son Kyle as ruler.

[[folder: Lord Kyle Coldwater]]
!!Lord Kyle Coldwater
The Lord of Coldwater Burn and cousin of Ser Lachlan Keding. Being second son of the previous lord, he wasn't expected to inherit, until his father and brother died during the same campaign as King Alester.

* UnexpectedSuccessor: Becoming head of his house was certainly not what he expected, but has no choice in the matter.
* YouAreInCommandNow: He became Lord of Coldwater Burn after the untimely death of his father and brother.

!!!House Shett
[[folder: Lady Octavia Shett]]
!!Lady Octavia Shett
!!!The Raven of Gull Tower
The daughter of Ser Sterling Shett, Knight of Gull Tower. She forms an alliance with Lord Torgold Tollett and hires the Three Companies to weaken Lord Orson Royce's power, [[spoiler:and hopefully reclaim their ancestral seat of Gulltown]].

* AnimalMotifs: Her intelligence and beauty give the appearance of a raven, hence her moniker.
* TheConspiracy: Leads one alongside Zeth Arryn and Torgold Tollett against Orson Royce.
* RavenHairIvorySkin: She certainly fits the standard.
* TheStarscream: [[spoiler:Wishes to remove House Grafton from power and reclaim the city that once belonged to her family]]

!!!House Tollett
-> ''"When All is Darkest"''
-->-- '''Words of House Tollett'''

[[folder: Lord Torgold Tollett]]
!!Lord Torgold Tollett
The Lord of Grey Glen and head of House Tollett. Despite being sworn to House Royce of Runestone, he never got along with Lord Orson, and after the suspicious death of his brother Tenison, he decided to support Octavia Shett and Zeth Arryn against the Bronze Lord.

* AlliterativeName: ''To''rgold ''To''llett.
* BadassBeard: Has a full beard that is starting to go grey, and he's undoubtedly a warrior.
* BaldOfAwesome: He's also completely bald, and strong enough to warrant it.
* LargeAndInCharge: A big man who leads without trouble House Tollett.
* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: He shares name with the most famous member of his house, Torgold [[IronicNickname the Grim]], who fought at the Battle of the Seven Stars thousands of years prior.
* YouKilledMyFather: Wants revenge on Orson Royce and his son Redmond for apparently killing his brother Tenison.

! Other inhabitants of the Vale

[[folder: Maya Iresons*]]
!!Maya Iresons
A woman of humble birth, working for Lord Orson Royce of Runestone, who noticed her ferocity and determination. Naming her the Ambassador of Runestone, he prepared her for a mission that would decide over the future of Runestone and the entire Kingdom of Mountain and Vale. She is also a Point-of-View character.
-----
* ActionGirl: Growing up in a poor family, Maya always had to fight for survival.
* {{Ambadassador}}: Always having been an ActionGirl, as described above, Maya is promoted to the rank of Ambassador of Runestone and the Vale of Arryn for her mission to Raylansfair, making her a bona fide example of this trope.
* AntiHero: Despite being heroic and always well-intentioned, Maya is generally not opposed of shady actions, such as breaking into a building to just steal the things she needs. She is also quick to use violence as a method of solving conflicts, showing quite a temper in such situations.
* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Maya is generally seen as very pretty and she is also a heroic and moral person.
* BeleagueredAssistant: While she works for Lord Royce, she enjoys absolutely nothing about it save for the handsome payment he gives her for her service. She is terrified of her employer and his dark reputation, while also being concerned of the morality of the missions he orders her to undertake.
* BigSisterInstinct: Through her internal thoughts, it is revealed that Maya has several younger brothers and keeping them save is the main reason for why she works with Lord Royce. It was this trait that gained her Lord Royce's interest in the first place.
* BrainyBrunette: Maya has brown hair and is not only a good fighter, but also a smart tactician. Interestingly, she was originally conceived as a blonde, though circumstances detailed on the [[Trivia/ForumOfThrones Trivia page]] have led to her being a blonde in the story proper instead.
* DamselOutOfDistress: Shortly after arriving at the Dyre Den for the first part of her journey to Raylansfair, Maya is confronted by Trymon Brune, the resident lord. As it turns out, her employer has once allegedly raped Lord Brune's daughter, for which the vengeful lord now wishes to return the favour on Maya. After being in a bit of danger for a short while, she manages to free herself, stabbing Brune to death in the process.
* DarkIsNotEvil: To prepare her for her mission to Raylansfair, Maya received a black cloak with red runes on it. However, she fully subverts RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver, instead being one of the nicer, more moral characters in the entire story.
* {{Determinator}}: Seeing how her family is directly involved when it comes to her mission to Raylansfair, which holds the potential of saving the entire Vale of Arryn from a potentially lethal war against the Storm King, Maya will stop at nothing to ensure success.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Maya, who can get quite pragmatic in the way she approaches a mission, still holds strong standards when it comes to staying true to her word, as seen when she decides to pay Keat despite him failing to deliver the goods, simply for the danger he put himself into while working for her.
* TheIdealist: Despite being a bit of an AntiHero in the things she is willing to do, is still quite an idealist when her moral views are taken under closer inspection.
* InTheHood: The cloak she received from Lord Royce features a hood, which she wears quite often.
* KnifeNut: Maya's weapons of choice are two fine daggers, similarly a gift from Lord Royce.
* OddFriendship: A very odd one, as the fierce and badass ActionGirl Maya strikes up a friendship with the lazy, cowardly Irving. While he does get on her nerves, she is eventually shown to become quite fond of him after their journey together.
* OutnumberedSibling: The exact number of her brothers is not mentioned, but they are certainly more than her, the only female child in the family. She is also the eldest child.
* OutOfFocus: Naturally not in her own parts, but for a Point-of-View character introduced in the second chapter of the story, Maya has received far less attention than others. Even Point-of-Views who have been introduced later on, such as Kersea or Raenna, have gotten more screentime and importance to the plot.
* ShipTease: With Aldrik.
* TomboyWithAGirlyStreak: Though very much an ActionGirl, not afraid to get physical in a fight and having always fought for anything she needed in life, Maya is still taking care of her appearance and is positively baffled when being gifted a valuable and stylish dark cloak with the runes of House Royce on it.
* TrueCompanions: With Gregar, Aldrik and Irving, her companions for the journey to Raylansfair.
* UnwittingPawn: As it turns out, Lord Royce fully expected her to arrive at the Dyre Den, he fully expected Brune to be angry and to try and harm her and he certainly expected her to get out of this situation alive, with his long-time enemy Brune taken out of the picture. Finding out about this, Maya is far from thrilled.
* WhatTheHellHero: After realizing that she has been set up by Lord Royce and Ser Aldrik in order to take care of Lord Brune for them, she snaps pretty heavily, giving Aldrik a brutal punch in the face for the troubles.

[[folder: Gregar Balvind]]
!!Gregar Balvind
A scout in service of House Redfort of Redfort and one of Maya Iresons' travelling companions. His gruff appearances fits his cold, aloof personality, though he is a loyal man and highly resourceful. As a scout, he is always accompanied by his owl, Ember.

* AnAxToGrind: His weapon of choice is a one-handed axe, similar to those use by the Mountain Clans.
* AntiHero: A PragmaticHero for the most part, Gregar is not afraid to indulge in morally questionable or unlawful acts if it gives him an advantage on his mission. He is still firmly one of the good guys, loyally serving Maya, whom he eventually grows to respect.
* DefrostingIceKing: Gregar starts the story as a borderline AloofAlly, barely even talking to his companion Maya. However, he gradually warms up to her, becoming a genuine friend over the course of their journey together.
* FieryRedhead: His bright red hair matches his personality very well.
* GutturalGrowler: On the few instances where Gregar [[TheQuietOne actually speaks]], he does so with a deep baritone.
* HotBlooded: Gregar is very much a FieryRedhead, as described above. He is fierce and short-tempered, something that often causes him to clash with others, but at the same time, he is a passionate friend and servant of the Vale.
* InTheHood: His most memorable piece of clothing is a white fur hood.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Initially, Gregar was quite strong on the jerk part, being a quiet and aloof guy, whose few lines of speech were quite cold and distanced. However, he eventually warmed up to Maya, revealing a more likable side of himself, such as his fierce loyalty towards her and by extension to the entire Vale of Arryn.
* TheLancer: Not only is he Maya's first companion, he is also her most loyal and capable one.
* OminousOwl: Gregar has an animal companion, an owl named Ember. Fittingly for this trope, Gregar is a shady, morally ambiguous man, willing to act pragmatically, to bend or even break the law if it means success at his mission.
* ProperlyParanoid: From the very beginning of their journey, Gregar is distrustful of Irving and his ability to pull his weight during their mission. Sure enough, he is proven right rather quickly, when Irving goes on to become a serious danger to their mission with his constant screw-ups.
* TheQuietOne: Gregar is not a big talker, being gruff and aloof, mostly speaking when spoken to and answering with short sentences. He warms slightly up to those he trusts, but even then, he doesn't quite indulge in small talk.
* RedOniBlueOni: With Aldrik Wolver. Compared to the hedge knight, Gregar is passionate, a fierce hot-head and occasionally quite the jerk, who prefers to act on impulse. Aldrik meanwhile is calm and rational, thinking before he takes action and preferring honourable actions.
* TheReliableOne: The main reason why he was assigned to Maya's team is because he is widely known as a trustworthy and capable man. Even Lord Royce seems to respect him for this.
* TheScrounger: One of Gregar's finest talents is his ability to come up with exactly what is needed in dire times. His knowledge of how the criminal underworld works also allows him to find people that are urgently needed, such as a thief when Maya and her companions have to break into the archives of Raylansfair.
* TrueCompanions: With Maya and in a slightly downplayed form with Aldrik. Not with Irving though, whom he dislikes.
* UndyingLoyalty: Eventually, he develops this towards Maya. He also always had it to the Vale of Arryn.
* WhatTheHellHero: Gregar gives a massive one to Irving, who fell asleep instead of watching out for the city guard during their break into the archive. This resulted in the capture of Gregar and Keat, so his anger is more than justified.

[[folder: Irving Todd]]
!!Irving Todd
Irving is a watchguard from the city of Gulltown, nominally in service of Lord Royce of Runestone. He is a cowardly man, who contributes little to any mission he is assigned to, yet is not without talents. To everyone's surprise, he is assigned to accompany Maya Iresons on her mission.

* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Irving shows early signs of crushing hard on Maya, though a talk with Marak and Alan in the tavern of Raylansfair eventually reveals that he has genuine feelings for her.
* AmazonChaser: Part of what draws him to Maya is her physical skill, something he notably lacks.
* AntiHero: A ClassicalAntiHero who is constantly complaining about his lot in life and about the tasks he has to assign, which he only does half-heartedly. However, he is also firmly on the side of the more heroic Maya and her companions, ready to support them when it is truly necessary.
* TheAtoner: After his screw-up caused the Vale mission to Raylansfair to fail, with Gregar and Keat being taken prisoner, Irving is kicked out of Maya's group. However, he eventually returns and saves her life, vowing to prove himself worthy of being a part of her team.
* BigDamnHeroes: Surprisingly for someone who screws up so often, Irving is one of the characters who are most likely to pull such a moment, especially when his CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass trait kicks in. Over the course of Book 1, he saves Maya twice, once by shooting a bandit that was about to spot her and alert his companions, the other time by killing a sellsword about to deliver a fatal blow on her.
* BumblingSidekick: At his worst, Irving is this. Being lazy and incompetent, he is prone to screwing up, yet he is continued to be dragged along for the few positive traits he actually has.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Though Irving may appears useless at first glance, with his prominent negative traits and flaws, he does have a very specific set of skills, which makes for moments of surprising badassery from him, such as his talent for archery.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: In a baffling display of delusion, Irving actually complains about the lack of respect he gets from his companions during his talk with Marak and Alan. He also outright calls Maya out on this, for relatively little reason.
* TheEeyore: The pessimism Irving shows is usually PlayedForLaughs, though that doesn't change that he is one of the most negative characters in the story, constantly complaining, depressed about the lack of respect he is shown and generally in a bad mood.
* ExtremeDoormat: Irving is lazy, he fully admits to it and doesn't really want to change anything about it. While it is possible to motivate him to help, he only does so begrudgingly and often has to be outright forced to do it.
* FriendlySniper: For all his flaws, Irving is a talented archer. Whenever he is not annoyed by something or complaining, he is also a rather friendly person and as long as one can look past his flaws and mistakes, he is easy to get along with.
* IJustWantToBeBadass: Irving might be a coward with few uses, troubled by his flaws, but deep down, he genuinely wants to change, to win Maya's trust and to prove himself worthy. He shows deep frustration over his screw-ups and takes no pride in how little use he has. This eventually prompts him to try his best to better himself.
* TheLoad: Maya considers him to be this, though he sometimes takes things [[TheMillstone even further]]. He does little to help his team on their important mission to Raylansfair and his complaining is slowly wearing them down for sure.
* LovableCoward: For a given value of lovability. Irving surely is a huge coward, but just heroic enough to not qualify as a DirtyCoward. He still is a loyal companion to Maya, never screws her over intentionally and still has his moments of heroism inbetween.
* TheMillstone: At his absolute worst, Irving becomes this. He not only barely contributes to the effort of the others, he occasionally outright screws up and causes problems they have to solve. He has such a reputation back in the Vale, which is the main reason Maya shows distrust of his skills from the very beginning of their journey.
* NeverMyFault: Whenever he seriously screws up, Irving is quick to blame others for it, often citing ridiculous statements for his defense, such as blaming others for putting trust into him in the first place.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: His signature move. Irving does screw up a serious lot, so much that he has become infamous for it in the Gulltown area. Sure enough, he proves himself worthy of his reputation, when he turns out to be TheMillstone to Maya's group, by causing the capture of Gregar and Keat through him falling asleep at the worst possible time.
* OddFriendship: Irving, the cowardly, nearly useless BumblingSidekick who constantly complains about his position surprisingly forms a deep bond with Maya, the brave, determined ActionGirl that leads their group. It does take her a while to warm up to him though.
* {{Sleepyhead}}: One of Irving's worst traits is his tendency to fall asleep even at the worst possible occasions. This is the source of quite a number of problems for his group, most prominently the time when he falls asleep as a lookout during their break-in into the archive, resulting in the capture of Gregar and Keat.

[[folder: Eudoxia Tournebulle]]
!!Eudoxia Tournebulle
A member of Queen Sharra's council. She's in charge of gathering intel for the Eyrie. She's assigned by Queen Sharra to investigate the tensions between Orson Royce, and House Shett.

!!!The Raven of Gulltown

* RavenHairIvorySkin: She certainly fits this standard.

[[folder: Ser Aldrik Wolver]]
!!Ser Aldrik Wolver
A hedge knight from the North, who started to work for Lord Orson Royce several years ago. One of his assignments in the service of the Bronze Lord led to him infiltrating the court of House Brune of the Dyre Den, a potential enemy of the Vale of Arryn. It was here where he first encountered Maya Iresons, whom he eventually joined on her mission.

* FamousAncestor: There's the founder Artys Arryn, the Winged Knight, who was crowned first King of the Mountain Vale.

* AloofDarkHairedGirl: Ursula has long black hair, and she's aloof, reserved and quiet.

Lady-in-waiting of Lady Helen Arryn and member of House Upcliff of Witch Isle. She is the cousin of Lady Lucina Upcliff, the Lady of Witch Isle.

A noble house from Witch Isle on the eastern shore of the Vale, House Upcliff has a sinister reputation, their members rumoured to dabble in dark secrets and arcane arts. Never a house with a strong military might, they nonetheless managed to resist the Arryn kings of old until marriage brought them into the kingdom. Their current head is Lucifer Upcliff.

Lady-in-waiting of Lady Helen Arryn and member of House Upcliff of Witch Isle.

House Arryn of the Eyrie is one of the youngest royal houses of Westeros, having been founded during the Andal Invasion and not by the First Men, which means they look back at a history about half as old as most of the other royal houses, who date back to the Age of Heroes. As such, the Arryn kings can trace their lineage primarily back to the Andals and not to the First Men. This makes them the most influential Andal house in all of Westeros. They rule from the Eyrie, a huge fortress located in the Mountains of the Moon and said to be impregnable.

* AloofDarkHairedGirl: Has long black hair, and she's aloof, reserved and quiet.

* RavenHairIvorySkin: She's pale with black hair. And despite her eery demeanor, Sharra considers her to be quite a beautiful woman a well, in her own way.

* TheChainsOfCommanding: She never thought she would become regent and be forced to lead an entire kingdom, but tries her best for the sake of her children.
* MamaBear: Having lost her husband, Sharra became quite protective of her sons, Ronnel and Jonos.
* WidowWoman: Her husband, King Alester Arryn, died about a year before the events of the story after a brief, but ill fated war against the Mountain Clans.

* YouAreInCommandNow: With the death of her husband, she now rules the Vale until her son comes of age.

* SiblingYinYang: While Ronnel seems more even tempered and kind, his brother Jonos is more hot-tempered and aggressive.

* SiblingYinYang: While Jonos is hot-tempered and aggressive, Ronnel is kinder and more calm.

* MysticalWhiteHair: She has pale, silvery hair, which is not shared by either her cousin, nor son.
* StatuesqueStunner: She's described as quite tall.
* WidowWoman: Lost her husband, just like her Queen.

Member of House Redfort of Redfort and captain of the guards of the Eyrie. He was also one of the few survivors in the war against the Mountain clans.

* BadassCape: Over his red armor, he wears a cloak with the colors of House Arryn.

* SoleSurvivor: The only member of Alester's inner council that returned alive from the war with the Mountain Men.

Twin sister of Myranda Moore. Unlike her sister, she works as guide to the entrance of the Eyrie.

* BoyishShortHair: Wears her hair this way in contrast with her sister's long hair.
* PolarOppositeTwins: Boyish and short-haired compared to her girly long-haired sister.
* {{Tomboy}}: Dresses like a man and serves as guide to the Eyrie.

* TheQuietOne: She doesn't talk much unless directly spoken to.
* RavenHairIvorySkin: She's pale with black hair.

* StatuesqueStunner: She's described as very tall.
* WidowWoman: Lost her husband just like her Queen.