House Blackwood (Faith Militant)

House Blackwood is an old house from Raventree Hall in the riverlands, one of the main families sworn to House Tully. They once ruled the riverlands as kings during the Age of Heroes. They are descendants of First men and follow the Old Gods faithfully. They blazon their arms with a flock of ravens on scarlet surrounding a dead weirwood upon a black escutcheon.

Raventree is located in Blackwood Vale, north of Riverrun and the Red Fork. Some Blackwoods are buried in the village Cairns, while others are buried beneath the dead weirwood of Raventree.

The Blackwoods have a deep, ancient feud with the Brackens. It is rumoured that the Brackens took land away from the Blackwoods and poisoned their weirwood tree; leaving it dead for centuries.

Lord Alyn Blackwood
Alyn Blackwood was a strong, skilled warrior and commander. Before the war, Lord Tully invited Alyn to Riverrun to assume the position of Chief General of the Riverlands. From there, Alyn trained Riverrun's forces before the major war was about to consume Westeros.

Lord Tully and the Riverlands sided with Aegon in the major war. Lord Alyn was put in charge of leading the Riverlands forces towards the Crownlands and siege any castles that did not support Aegon as their true King.

The majority of the Riverlands army assembled in Riverrun, with Alyn sending ravens to Raventree and commanding them to send Blackwood levies in aid of Lord Tully and King Aegon. Once the army was assembled and put in formation, Lord Alyn led the army east; to the Crownlands.

The war was over while Alyn was sieging castles for months in Crownlands. King Aegon assumed the Iron Throne of Westeros; bringing peace to the country. Alyn brought the Riverlands army home to the Riverlands, high off of their successful rebellion against Maegor the Cruel.

The Riverlands were peaceful in the years after the war until King Aegon decided to conquer Dorne. Dorne fell in months after the war was declare. Alyn led the Riverlands army into the Red Mountains but did not come into any battles because the war was over by the time Alyn and the Riverland army got there.

When Alyn returned to Riverrun, he was sent a raven from his Castellan in Raventree. The letter stated that the rival Brackens of Stone Hedge were creating a faction in the Riverlands to dispose of Lord Tully of Riverrun. Alyn took the letter straight to Lord Tully himself, who was outraged. Alyn offered to take his armies of Blackwood himself to Stone Hedge to dispose of these traitorous Brackens. Lord Tully permitted it and Lord Alyn gathered his strength in Raventree as well as calling the Freys to aid him in the conquest of Stone Hedge. The Freys agreed and the alliance of Freys and Blackwoods marched down onto Bracken territory, imprisoning and killing all Brackens. Once the war for Stone Hedge was done, Alyn assumed the title of Lord of Stone Hedge to avenge his ancestors blood feud with House Bracken.

One day, an old man approached Alyn in Riverrun. He explained a map to Alyn about lost valyrian weaponry. Alyn wanted House Blackwood to have an ancestral weapon of their own so he agreed to go on a journey with this old man to Valyria. He sailed away on a ship and never returned.

Alyn was survived by two sons, Andrey and Theon.

Lord Andrey Blackwood
Andrey was sent to the North as a child by his father to train in the ways of command and strategy. Once he became of age, he returned to his home of Raventree Hall and ruled in his father's stead while his father was Chief General of the Riverlands. Once his father, Alyn, never returned from his quest for a Valyrian weapon, Andrey assumed the roles of Lord of Blackwood and Stone Hedge. Andrey was as skilled a swordsman and commander as his father, Alyn. The only difference between them was that where Alyn was kind and gentle hearted, Andrey was cruel and called a Tyrant by his peers.

With respect to House Blackwood and his friend Lord Alyn, Lord Tully presented the title of Chief General of the Riverlands to Andrey. Andrey left Raventree and the responsibilities to his younger brother, Theon.

Andrey trained the Riverlands levies and reserves, making them proficient soldiers but training them to their absolute limits because of his cruelty and insensitivity to fatigue.

Ravens were sent to Riverrun from the King of Westeros to announce tragic news. The Great Plague has reached Westeros. The Riverlands was hit hard by this sickness, thousands dying and making others ill. One day, Andrey fell ill. He never was able to recover and died from the Great Plague.

Due to Andrey not having any children, the titles and lands of House Blackwood passed to his younger brother, Theon.

Lord Theon Blackwood
From an early age, Theon shown signs of Green Dreams; an ancient and rare skill shown among a small amount of the Old Gods followers. Theon was educated in Muddy Hall by Lord Mudd; where Theon learned the arts stewardship and learned about the history of Westeros as well as the Children of the Forest. House Mudd is as much devoted to the Old Gods as House Blackwood is, allowing Alyn to trust Lord Mudd in Theon's education. Theon was much more intelligent than his older brother ,Andrey, ever was. Theon shown signs that he was much more like his father; kind, trustworthy and devoted to the Old Gods. Although Theon was raised as a Steward and not in command, Theon was an even better swordsman than either his older brother or his father ever were.

When Andrey passed away from the Great Plague, Theon inherited the Lordship of Blackwood Vale and Stonehedge. Theon was liked among his people compared to his elder brother. He treated his courtiers, vassals and small folk with respect. With Andrey dead, the position of Chief General was vacant in the Riverlands. Out of honour, Theon was invited to Riverrun to assume the position in respect to his older brother and father taking that position in the past.