House Bolton (The Grand Campaign Season Three)

If you would like to learn more about House Bolton's past from the previous season, click here ======> House Bolton Season 2!

Summary of house Bolton.
House Bolton is a noble house from the Dreadfort in the North. They are an old line descended from the First Men and dating back to the Age of Heroes. The Boltons are known for their practice of flaying their enemies. They once ruled as Red Kings from the Dreadfort. Their land reached from the Last River and the White Knife to the Sheepshead Hills.

However, The Dreadfort was destroyed along with the rest of the North by the Nights King and his hordes of dead. Currently House Bolton rules from a far smaller castle in The Reach, Yelshire Castle.

House Bolton is also in possession of a Valyrian Steel Dagger, 'Skinpeeler'. Skinpeeler is an elongated flaying knife with Valyrian designs decorating the handle in gold and silver, along with an engraving of a flayed man.

Lord Cregan Bolton of Cockleswhent (8329-8367)
-Continued from Season 2-

Lord Cregan Bolton managed to find a new home in The Kingdom of The Reach, thanks to the mercy of King Alleras 'the Purple' Yronwyne. The first obstacle for House Bolton, and the hordes of Northern refugees accompanying them, was settling in a new home on the other side of the continent. However, Lord Cregan quickly took to his Lordly duties, eventually being granted the High Lordship of Cockleswhent. Something which the southern Lords did not take kindly to...

King Alleras Yronwyne made it very clear to the Boltons that "flaying is illegal and will not be tolerated", to which Lord Cregan replied "Ofcourse not! We have not flayed since Matarys 'the Wicked' died. Unsurprisingly, Lord Cregan was lying. Lord Cregan had already flayed multiple people while he was staying in the Arbour as a refugee during the White Walker invasion and now that he was Lord, there would be many more opportunities to practice one his favourite pass times. During Lord Cregan's reign he secretly flayed many individuals who opposed Northern rule, his vassals caught on to his cruel and arbitrary nature and quickly plotted to overthrow him.

All three of Lord Cregan's major vassals revolted against his rule, determined to throw the Northerners out of their country, thankfully King Alleras was quick to act against these traitor Lords, even usurping Starpike from House Osgrey and directly giving it to Lord Cregan. However, this was not enough to stop his downfall, 4 revolts later, he had been over thrown and now his young 19 year old son would be Lord. Shortly after, Lord Cregan died of an illness at the age of 38, some believe he was poisoned by a vassal but there is no evidence to support this.

Lord Bryce Bolton of Cockleswhent (8348-8404)
Lord Bryce Bolton took over as Lord of Cockleswhent at the age of 19 after his father, Lord Cregan Bolton, was deposed by coalition of his vassals.

Lord Bryce Bolton spent his entire life in The Reach, moving from court to court, being educated by many different individuals throughout the realm. This led to him not ever having a specific skill he was amazing at but rather, a bunch of skills he had basic knowledge in. Bryce Bolton would take to court life very well, loving songs, poems, dancing, flowers, and theater, Bryce was a social butterfly and was happiest when he was surrounded by friends and strangers alike. Being away from his father proved to be a good thing for Bryce, as it meant he would not take after his abusive and cruel father's ways. Bryce Bolton grew up all over The Reach and because of this, he grew to have a respect for southern culture. However, he also saw the oppression and racism towards the Northern people, this caused him to have an even greater appreciation for his native culture. Everywhere he looked, he would see Northern refugees being turned away or thrown out of towns and villages, even the slums of the greatest cities of Westeros were now filled with Northerners with no place to go.

Lord Bryce Bolton has the belief that the Northern houses and people need to stand united, because they are stronger together than they ever would be separate. Lord Bryce aslo made sure to keep close and friendly ties with the remnants of The North. House Harlon being one of the major ones, Lord Bryce made sure to keep in touch with house Harlon due to the fact that his grandmother is a Harlon and that their houses were neighboring lords before the Long Night. Another major house that Lord Bryce has kept in contact with is House Forrester, Lord Bryce married the current Lord Forresters daughter, Lyessa. House Forrester and Bolton have a good history with each other and have been allies for many years before the long night. House Forrester has since then became worshipers of R'hllor, however since House Bolton has never been a zealous house, this should not impede their friendship going forward. Lord Bryce decided to usurp the title of 'Lord' from House Josua Buckler of Ashford for rebelling against Bolton rule numerous times. However, Lord Josua was not about to stand by and allow his titles to be taken without a fight, so one last time House Buckler rose in rebellion against House Bolton. Lord Bryce was confident he could make short work out of Lord Josua, he even planned in advance; having an army secretly on stand by near Ashford Castle. Lord Bryce soon realized that House Buckler was more powerful than he knew and this war could very well be House Bolton's last. Lord Bryce desperately called out for help to other Reach vassals, such as; House Targaryen of the Stormlands, House Yarwyck of Blueburn, and House Bolton of Glenridding. All of which declined.

Than suddenly, Lord Bryce received a letter from Lady Ariela Roxton of Oceanroad, assuring him that they would assist and destroy his traitorous vassal. Lord Bryce assured Lady Roxton, that he would forever be in her debt.

Lord Bryce was eventually Knighted by King Yronwyne of the Reach, as the 'Knight of the Order of the Green Hand. This was Lord Bryce's proudest moment in his life and held the position honorably, attending many jousts and tourneys.

Lord Bryce was associated with the 'Northern Remnants', starting as a secretive group of remaining Northern houses; which planned to restore glory to the Northern lands and people. Many years ago, Lord Bryce and Lord Harlon made a deal to re-colonize The North and return House Bolton to The Dreadfort. Lord Bryce even sent nearly all of House Bolton's wealth to House Harlon to help with the colonization effort. However, he needed someone he could trust to be discrete and to not steal the investment, the only house that a Bolton could trust was Rommo, Dothraki descendants who swore to serve House Bolton long ago.

As Lord Bryce grew old, he became increasingly depressed and troubled by the problems of the world. For years he spent his days thinking of nothing but the horror and injustice in Westeros and beyond, until eventually; he took 'Skinpeeler' and opened his own throat. This left his Eldest son, Baron Bolton, to rule.

Lord Baron Bolton of Cockleswhent - The Dreadfort (8376-8418)
Lord Baron inherited the High Lordship of Cockleswhent well into his late 20's

Lord Baron and his younger Brother Harkon, grew up to be very good warriors, with a keen mind for war. Like his father, he took to the Reachman ways very well. Baron Bolton was known throughout the Reach for being very chivalrous and Knightly, despite never having been knighted. Baron Bolton was very honest, brave, and charitable; after defeating an opponent in a duel, he would give a helping hand to those he defeated. Baron Bolton was also very strict, he has never had the patience for those who joke or fool around.

Lord Baron Bolton was known throughout the reach for his unusual choice of armour design, he wore large pink plate armour; decorated in elegant gold designs. He was considered by many to be one of the best Jousters and Tourney fighters in the Reach, besting many other Lords and Knights; He even bested his own father, Bryce Bolton, in the championship round of a Regional Tourney.

Lord Bryce Bolton, Baron's father, betrothed him to, Jonella Harlon, the sister of the current Lord of White Harbour, Lord Vargus Harlon. Their marriage is certainly not a marriage out of love, but they both do their duty and rarely argue or fight. Together Lord Baron Bolton and Lady Jonella Harlon had 2 twin boys. Unfortunately, the Gods did not allow one of these boys to survive birth, leaving Lord Baron with only one child. Lord Baron named his son after his long dead ancestor, 'Red King Royce Bolton', in hopes that it would bring good luck to his House. There is a story of how Royce Bolton was conceived; its said that Lord Baron Bolton took his wife Jonella Harlon up north to the ruins of The Dreadfort and made love to her under the stars and in the snow, during one of the coldest winters since the long night.

One day, Lord Baron Bolton received an interesting letter from Lord Vargus Harlon. The letter said "Lord Bolton I finally have a proper Dowery for you. Ride to White Harbour and bring my sister, it has been long since I've seen her". Lord Baron Bolton let no time go to waste, he gathered his Household guard and rode North immediately, alongside his Wife, Jonella Harlon. When Lord Baron arrived at White Harbour, he finaly met Lord Vargus Harlon face to face. The meeting was short but it was enough for Lord Baron to gauge where Lord Vargus stood, and by relation, where the Baratheons stood. Lord Baron Bolton had suspected that the Northern lords did not trust house Bolton and were reluctant to allow them back North. however, Lord Baron did not feel he had anything to prove, he didn't give a damn whether they trusted him or not, he just wanted his rightful castle back.

House Bolton finally returned North to the Dreadfort. Lord Baron Bolton had officially announced that he would abdicate all his southern lands to King Yronwyne of The Reach, leaving on good terms. Lord Baron arrived to The Dreadfort and was pleasantly surprised at how well the Harlons managed to repair it. The last time Lord Baron had been here, it was unrecognizable, now... he can almost see his family's past glory.

Lord Baron Bolton spent most of his time repairs and rebuilding his castle, until Lord Orys Baratheon 'the honourable' named him self 'King of Westeros' and called his banners against King Umfred Belmore of Westeros. Without hesitation, Lord Baron raised what men he could and rode south straight away; Lord Baron took lead of the army and appointed his only son Royce to second in command. They fought along side House Baratheon in a number of battles near The Twins, achieving many victories. Due to Lord Barons expert skill at leading men in battle, he was given the honour of finally being knighted.

Lord Baron Bolton lead the Dreadfort army into the vale alongside Baratheon troops to slaughter anyone in Westeros stupid enough to support the treacherous Belmores. Suddenly, Barons, along side the Baratheon force, were hit by a surprised attack from the bulk of the Valeman army. Lord Baron and his forces were cut off from the Baratheon's during the battle and were surrounded, Lord Baron quickly commanded his men to push and regroup with the Baratheon host but it was too late.

During the thick of the battle, Lord Baron got separated from his son Royce, he fought through what seemed like hundreds of men until finally finding his him. Royce Bolton was dead... he had multiple piercing wounds in his torso and was missing half an arm. Lord Baron stood over his son's corpse for what felt like hours until finally snapping out of it, he knew he knew this was no time to mourn, he could mourn when the battle was won, he turned towards nearby enemies and charged them with his sword and shield raised. Before the Belmore men could react, Lord Baron had already cut through 5 of them, he chopped through these poor men like a butcher, blinded by the rage of losing a son. One of these men put up more of a fight however, the man wielded a shield accompanied by an axe.

Lord Baron and his opponent squared off, analyzing their opponents, until suddenly they ran at each other, swiping and slashing; Lord Baron was wounded gravely in the arm but still managed to gain the upper hand in the duel, he swooped in and cut open his opponents leg followed by a shield smash that knocked him unconscious. Lord Baron stood over his fallen opponent, internally debating whether or not to finish him off. In the end, even after having lost a son to these bastards, he couldn't bring him self to attack a fallen man. Little did Lord Baron know, that this man he had just defeated, Victarian Bitter, was the man who killed his son mere moments earlier.

Lord Baron Bolton was not given any time to recover from his previous fight, Lady Jorelle Hoare rushed in from behind, wildly swinging her duel axes at Lord Baron. Lady Jorelle was fresh and eager, Lord Baron was exhausted and tired, even still he managed to get her onto her back but before he could finish her, she jumped back to her feet and continued to attack, raining down axe blow after axe blow, until finally breaking through Lord Baron's exhausted defense and ending his life.

Lord Baron Bolton died at the age of 42 after ruling for nearly 20 years, leaving his younger brother, Harkon Bolton, to rule.

Lord Harkon Bolton of The Dreadfort (8378-8419)
After the crushing defeat in The Vale, the Bolton army was almost completely destroyed, along with The Lord and Heir of The Dreadfort. Lord Harkon was thrusted into a hectic position, he gathered what little Dreadfort troops he could muster and marched them South post-haste. However, during the march south, they were ambushed by a group of Belmore loyalists led by Walys Wythers and massacred to the last man.

Lord Harkon Bolton, after having realized victory was impossible, charged their leader, Walys Wythers, in an attempt to do as mush damage as possible. Unfortunately Walys Wythers cut Harkon down with ease.

Lord Harkon died at the age of 41, after ruling for less than a year, leaving his imbecile younger brother, Buford Bolton, to rule.

Legend:
"══╤══" -Where the main line continues through/Marriages. "──┬──" and "┌──" -Children. "─────" -Spouses.