She was fourteen when we were first married, though I wasn't much older at sixteen. That was far too young for someone to be married - at least on her part. I was young too but at least I wasn't as young as she was. I was as kind as I knew how to be at the time though I obeyed my father and consummated the marriage right after the bedding ceremony. Thirty-six weeks after we were married, Galiana gave birth to our first children; Axel and Evelynn were born small but they were born healthy. At their birth I gifted Galiana her own adjoining chamber to my suite so that she could have privacy at any hour of the day or night and the ability to lock her door, if she wanted it.
He was born when I was just nearing seventeen years old; a man by most standards but I was too young to know what to do with him. Like any other lord I let the servants take care of all the mess that young children brought. It was only after he started to learn to read that I proactively began teaching him what it meant to be the first born son. When he and his sister were able to read though a complete book by themselves, I let them both pick out a freshly born foal. I believe that as my heir, Axel needed to learn to take care of something that wasn't himself. He needed to learn the discipline that came with maintaining and animal that, if provoked, could end his life with one kick. He cared for the colt well enough even as he continued with his studies. As he got older I realized that the time when most people were getting married had started to approach. I held off any prospects until he was eighteen, seeing if he would have a preference by that point or not. On his eighteenth nameday instead of a standard gift I presented him with a book. In it were drawn portraits and short profiles of all the suitable available (or soon to be) Ladies. Two years passed and he still hadn't made a choice. It was then that I told him that he had until he was twenty-three to find a bride of his own or I would find one for him. He has had five years in total to find a suitable bride of his own preferences, that was more of a chance than either his mother or I ever received.
Like her twin brother, I wasn't a large part of her early years. I made sure that she was minding her manners and listening to her mother and handmaidens. And like her brother, when she read through her first book by herself, I gifted her with a foal of her choice. She had enjoyed her riding lessons so I thought the responsibility of raising a horse and training it would be an experience she would enjoy and help her mature. I knew that she wouldn't be a child forever but even as she matured, I couldn't help but see her as the one who ran around the castle still scrapping up her knees. I realize now that I may have allowed her a bit too much freedom at the time but she did not turn out badly by the grace of the gods. At sixteen I asked her what qualities she would want for in a husband...to this day I don't believe she has ever given me a solid answer. I have given her many years to try and find a husband that she would at least accept but she has not. Though she might not explicitly be aware, I plan to have her a decent husband before we leave the capitol.
This is not my daughter; it is the daughter of my wife, that much is certain. She claims that the child was mine but this one isn't mine. She looks nothing like me nor my parents. Her white hair marks her in a way that can't be denied. However, I've kept my allegations to myself over the years in respect for her mother. Everything about her education I leave to Galiana. It is enough to know that Elinvynia isn't inviting mockery, beyond that I haven't taken too much interest in her life.
「 ♔ 」 Lord Gregory, second of his name; father 「 ♕ 」 Lady Lalandra of house Covington; mother 「 ♙ 」 Older brother 「 ♙ 」 Older brother 「 ♙ 」 Lady Charlotta; older sister 「 ♙ 」 Older sister 「 ♙ 」 Lady Auer; older sister
「 ♕ 」 King Reynard Laurent 「 ♔ 」 Lady Persephone Laurent 「 ♖ 」 First born son, Jamison 「 ♘ 」 Second born son, Reinhardt 「 ♞ 」 Third born son, Adrian 「 ♗ 」 First born daughter, Seraphina 「 ♝ 」 Second born daughter, Lucia 「 ♝ 」 Third born daughter, Elwynn
𝕳𝖔𝖚𝖘𝖊 𝕬𝖚𝖌𝖚𝖘𝖙𝖎𝖓
「 ♕ 」 Lord Warner Augustin 「 ♔ 」 Lady Aurora Augustin 「 ♗ 」 First born daughter, Genevieve 「 ♝ 」 Second born daughter, Lynora 「 ♝ 」Third born daughter 「 ♖ 」 First born son, Aceni 「 ♘ 」 Second born son, Roulant
「 ♕ 」 Lord Blackwood 「 ♖ 」 First born son, Trystan 「 ♘ 」 Second born son 「 ♞ 」 Third born son 「 ♞ 」 Fourth born son 「 ♞ 」 Fifth born son, Brandon 「 ♗ 」First borne daughter Garnett 「 ♝ 」 Second born daughter 「 ♝ 」 Third born daughter 「 ♝ 」 Fourth born daughter 「 ♝ 」 Fifth born daughter 「 ♙ 」b*****d son, Edward Himaghna 「 ♙ 」b*****d daughter, Darcie Craggore
𝕳𝖔𝖚𝖘𝖊 𝕯𝖔𝖚𝖌𝖑𝖆𝖘𝖘
「 ♕ 」 Lord Petyr Douglass 「 ♔ 」 Lady Adrina Laurant 「 ♖ 」 First born son, Austyn 「 ♘ 」 Second born son, Archimedes
𝕳𝖔𝖚𝖘𝖊 𝕬𝖚𝖊𝖗
「 ♔ 」Lady Auer 「 ♖ 」 First born daughter, Inari 「 ♗ 」 Second born daughter, Zephyr 「 ♝ 」 Third born daughter, Andromeda 「 ♝ 」Fourth born daughter
𝕳𝖔𝖚𝖘𝖊 𝕭𝖗𝖊𝖈𝖐𝖊𝖓𝖗𝖎𝖉𝖌𝖊
「 ♕ 」Lord Breckenridge 「 ♔ 」Lady Breckenridge 「 ♖ 」 First born son, Ragnvald 「 ♘ 」 Second born son 「 ♞ 」 Third born son 「 ♞ 」 Fourth born son 「 ♞ 」 Fifth born son 「 ♞ 」 Sixth born son 「 ♗ 」First borne daughter Ainsley
I was born in the year 1460 CE to Gregory of house Bader, second of his name, and Lalandra of house Covington. I was not the first born son as some might expect. I was not even the second born son. I was the sixth child to be born to my family as the third born son. I was also the last child that my mother would ever bear.
When I was four years old, my older sister Charlotta caught grayscale. I was told that the Maesters had been unable to cure her affliction as it had been reported too late. I was young when she was locked up in a small, dark room but I can still remember the way that her cries echoed through the keep. I can even remember the way her screams woke us through the nights as she quickly was driven to insanity from the ailment. At least that's what I found out years later was worse. It wasn't until long after she was gone that notes on the subject were found in my father's hand. To grasp the severity of what happened you must understand that my father had thought of himself as some sort of religious healer and profit. He was also looking in to the fire - that's my only decent childhood memories of the man. He had taken to trying to treat Charlotta by himself and his treatments were not pleasant. He pealed chunks of flesh from her skin, cutting into her as though at a butchers. Afterwards he would burn the sections of flesh that had been revealed which left her in agony. Her crying and screams were pushed off as part of the affliction but it was really the way that my father treated her. At the time I thought nothing of how quickly she died from the so called 'madness' that overtook her when in reality she died from wounds that were inflicted upon her from our father in his religious tirade.
It was this tirade which led him to sending me and my other sister away from the family when I was just six years old. I was told that she went to study with the fire priestesses on a far away land while I was sent off into another form of servitude. In reality, my father had traded off two of his children in order to have some of his debts forgiven. I very much doubt that he ever intended for either of us to live and return, or at least it was never something he expected. Where as my sister was taught to heal, or so I supposed, I was taught to kill. From the time I landed on the strange shore I was wiped into the shape of a great fighter. I was beat and trained; I was shoved into one fight after another with many other boys just like me. As I survived I learned how to handle myself in battle more and more. I quickly rose through the ranks until I became possible their best soldier at the time. Unfortunately, all conquests must end.
The militaristic empire that had been build collapsed when I was fifteen. I was left to sell my skills with a sword for a year until I could earn enough money to make it back to to Fire's Lake. Shortly after my sixteenth name day I returned home to find a shadow of the woman I remember as my mother, that my two brother's had died, and that my only other sister who was not traded off to some religious cult had been traded off in marriage. When I returned my father seemed to be somehow both ecstatic and furious at the same time. In returning home, I became not only the heir over night that his flames said he would have but I had become something to be jealous over. My father tested me again and again for a month straight to see if I would fall under anyone's sword. I did not.
This ability to survive his onslaught seemed to make me worthy in his eyes at least. My marriage to Galiana followed so fast that I barely even remember being introduced to her. Despite being inexperienced at just over sixteen years of age I consummated our marriage. However, my father had finally gone too far with my mother. In one of his attempts to teach her to be strong and to endure the pain of burning, she was boiled alive in one of our springs. His eyes had turned to Galiana at that point. I did not know much of how this part of the world worked but I knew what he had planned was not something that should be done. I challenged him to single combat. He died by my sword the same as any other man despite his assurance that the flames would protect him. This, along with tales of what I endured in the far off land, is what gave me the title of Bloodstained.
Since then life hasn't been nearly as violent or as disturbing. Galiana gave birth to a set of redheaded twins that we named Axel and Evelynn before I turned seventeen. Once they were safely delivered, I gifted her with her own bedchamber with the finest door and lock that could be had. It would be her right to decide if she wanted to be in my bed at night or not. At seventeen and fifteen respectfully, neither of us really knew how to raise children. Another child quickly followed the first two - our second son, Sauren. As we were so young, we trusted in the advice of others and relied heavily on servants. I picked back up learning the history of the lands and the families along with keeping up my skills with a sword as another year passed. Galiana and I continued to leave moderately separated lives while she learned to be a mother and I learned how to be a Lord.
After that peaceful year, Galiana quickly swelled with yet another child. This child was born with white hair. It was not my child though she proclaimed that it was. She looked nothing like anyone in my family, nor as far as I could tell, anyone in hers at the time either. To this day, in respect for my wife, I have not publicly denounce the child so that Elinvynia caries my family name. She continued to insist that she was faithful; I have let the subject die down and have not brought it up in years. Two years passed until Galiana gave birth once more.She was our fifth child, a girl named Ilaira. It was this child that came I was confident was mine, like the first three. Not only had I been more active in monitoring Galiana and becoming part of her daily (not just nightly) life, the child looked like the sisters that I had lost to the fire religion.
I suppose the realities that I was a true father finally started to sink in when I saw her. I had known, logically, that I was supposed to have been one but as the first few children had come while I was so young that it hadn't quite sunk in. I finally started to take up more time with my four children, taking part in their lessons. My second son, Sarun, took after me in the sword. Axel may never be a great warrior but at least he shows a level head. It is probably something that this family could use to ensure the longevity that we have enjoyed. Either way I made sure that both of the boys continued to push themselves - Axel in his studies and Sarun in his training. The girls I had focus on literacy as well as a few other arts like economics and maths - I had seen how frivolous some of the Ladies in the kingdoms could be and I didn't want that for them. When Axel and Evie finished reading a complete book by themselves I gifted them a symbol of responsibility and freedom. They got to pick out a foal of their own so long as they promised to raise and train it as well. They both rose to the occasion.
Life continued on peacefully as I settled in how to not only be a Lord but a father as well. I continued to train, of course because it was all I felt that I was truly good at, but I only raised my sword in defense of my family and never for someone else's profit. I also learned that I had gained a weak point in what would normally be considered flawless form. The weakness came in the form of my family, specifically in my wife. What truly frightened me was how attached I had gotten to Galiana. When she had a difficult labor with our youngest child, Lilly, we had a very serious conversation about our proclivities. After trying to abstain from the bedchamber we discovered that was not the easiest of tasks. Neither of us enjoyed the time. So instead it was decided that our maester would just give her regular doses of Moon Tea and if she did manage to get pregnant regardless of that, we hoped that the next birth would be easier. Thankfully to this day she has not gotten pregnant again.
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