House Arryn of The Eyrie

House Arryn of the Eyrie is one of the Great Houses of Westeros, and is the principal noble house in the Vale of Arryn. Their main seat is the Eyrie, which is considered impregnable. House Arryn has at least one other holding, their winter castle at the Gates of the Moon, which was once their main seat. Both of these fortifications sit astride the Giant's Lance, the tallest mountain in the Vale, the Gates of the Moon at its foot, the Eyrie at its top.

The Arryns of the Eyrie have a collection of distant relatives located throughout the Vale. Although they are much poorer than the ruling Arryns, aside from the Arryns of Gulltown, these lesser branches are described as proud due to their name and heritage.

Kings of Mountain & Vale
The Arryns are considered to come from the oldest and purest line of Andal nobility, which they say reaches back to Andalos and possibly Hugor of the Hill.

When King Robar II Royce began to unite the First Men and defeat some of the petty Andal kings during the Andal invasion, the Andals of the Vale united behind Ser Artys Arryn, the Falcon Knight, a native Valeman esteemed amongst his peers as the finest warrior of his day. Robar was slain in the Battle of the Seven Stars, possibly by Artys, and the First Men houses who remained bent the knee and swore fealty to Artys Arryn, the First of His Name, new-crowned King of Mountain and Vale. From that day, the Vale became known as the Vale of Arryn. Songs of the Vale conflate Artys with the legendary Winged Knight, who is said to have slain the Griffin King atop the Giant's Lance. The First Men who did not accept Artys as their king were forced into the Mountains of the Moon, becoming the Vale mountain clans.

The Arryns initially lived at the Gates of the Moon, but over generations they constructed the Eyrie. They often used the Eyrie as a summer pleasure palace,[10] descending to the Gates of the Moon before winter made the Eyrie inaccessible.

The Arryn kings added Pebble, the Paps, and the Witch Isle to their realm. They battled with the Stark Kings of Winter over the Three Sisters in the War Across the Water, which featured King Osgood Arryn and his son and successor, Oswin the Talon, who burned the Wolf's Den. There were bloody battles wherein the Arryn fleet turned back slavers from Volantis, ironborn reavers, and pirates from the Stepstones and the Basilisk Isles. The legendary Lady Alyssa Arryn gave her name to Alyssa's Tears, a waterfall on the Giant's Lance, when she did not shed a tear for her murdered husband, brothers and children.

Aegon's Conquest
During Aegon's Conquest the Arryn and Targaryen fleets fought in a battle in the waters off Gulltown, which resulted in the destruction of the Targaryen fleet and the death of its commanding officer, Daemon Velaryon. Visenya Targaryen, on her dragon Vhagar, burned the Arryn fleet in response. Since both fleets were destroyed, the battle was considered a tactical draw, but a strategic defeat for the Targaryens as they were unable to take Gulltown. For House Arryn the trouble did not end there, since the Sistermen on the Three Sisters revolted after the destruction of the Arryn fleet.

Later in Aegon's Conquest, Visenya was charged with subduing the Vale. Sharra Arryn, Queen Regent of the Vale, ruling in the name of her son, the boy-king Ronnel Arryn, amassed the Vale's army at the Bloody Gate. Visenya, however, flew on Vhagar to the courtyard of the Eyrie to obtain the surrender of the Vale of Arryn. When Sharra returned to the Eyrie she found her son sitting on Visenya's lap asking if he could ride the dragon with her. Once Sharra yielded and bent the knee, Ronnel twice flew with Visenya and Vhagar. The Arryns have since remained Defenders of the Vale and Wardens of the East for the Iron Throne.

After the Conquest in 7 A.C, King Aegon passed away and Queen Visenya took the throne. She would offer her hand in marriage to Jonos Arryn, Lord Paramount Ronnel's younger brother. They would have two children together, Maegor and Maegelle. While his brother would marry the queen, Jonos would wed to Rhae Florent. They would have one son together who would become Lord of the Eyrie and Defender of the Vale, Hugo Arryn.

The Sistermen's War
In the year 37 A.C, the Lord Paramount and cousin of the King, Hugo Arryn began to experience a sequence of events in his own realm that could have potentially seen to the downfall of House Arryn, Hugo now known as Hugo Bloodfalcon. Watched as the Three Sisters placed a crown on their King Steffon Sunderland. For three years the Sisters enjoyed the luxury of independence all the while the Bloodfalcon slept.

Many questioned him, it was unusual for a man of his house to let such things tarry for so long. But Hugo was patient, he knew his cousin well having spent many of his teens in Aegonfort. But as the years past and Maegor still had not shown his face Hugo grew anxious.

When the Red Tide would attack Gulltown, Lord Grafton sent word to the Eyrie. Hugo wrote a letter to his cousin begging for aid, that would come in the form of his Aunts bastard Lewys Waters a top Meraxes. He would fight hard against the large invading fleet but Red Harren would put a bolt the size of a battering ram through the dragons heart. With the destruction of the Vales ships and the death of the only Dragonrider in Westeros the Sistermen began their raids.

Up and down the coast the Sistermen ravaged, killing everyone and taking much of the realms coastal riches. Many houses grew to doubt the Bloodfalcons abilities as a Lord and under the steed of Lord Andar Royce the bannermen of the Vale rose their standards in rebellion. Hugo was alone in a sea of enemies, but he was not stupid.

Andar Royce and ten thousand scores of Knights rode towards the Eyrie but not a horse would make it to its base. They were met by the soldiers of House Arryn and a multitude of Mountain Clansmen, Hugo had struck a deal with them offering them the Mountain of the Moon and given the tools to farm they joined the Bloodfalcon. The valley ran red with blood, and Andar Royce's corpse was displayed on a pike for any would be defectors to see.

Hugo would name Lord Coldwater the new Lord of Runestone, Hugo and his horde moved to end the Royce bloodline and that they did. children were thrown from its tower, the Women were chained and taken as prizes by the clansmen while the men were hung from their necks until dead. Hugo became known as Hugo the Cruel or Hugo Bloodfalcon and his reputation still strikes fear into the hearts of men across the realm.

The Treaty of the Mountains of the Moon would be signed later by Queen Maegelle seeing to the autonomous rule of the clans by their chiefs, in return they would offer their services in times of war. Which for them they felt it was a win either way due to the abundance of wealth they gained from the conflict with Runestone.

When the time came and the combined fleets of House Manderly and House Velaryon arrived to deal to the Sistermen menace a civil war had broken our in the three sisters. Queen Maegelle was heard to say whether they be for King Botley or King Sunderland no Sistermens head should go uncrushed or their manhood ungelded. To bring a sort of an incentive to the conflict the crown offered a silver stag for a Sistermens cock or a Gold dragon for his head. The slaughter would see enough prizes claimed that many Valemen began to mockingly call Queen Maegelle the Queen of the Wood Throne due to her Uncles same request but for his enemies swords not manhoods.

After the defeat of both the Botley and Sunderland Kings the only Sistermen known to stay loyal was Corwyn Longthorpe the Captain of the Bloody Gate. He convinced the Bloodfalcon to have him sit as the Principal Bannermen of the Sisters, with his new title he brought new soldiers. The sellswords who would be used to ensure the Longthorpe domination would later be named the Queensmen, a faction amongst the Inquisitors.

Hugo would go on to wed the daughter of Lord Coldwater, Lyanna Coldwater the two would go on to have three sons, Maegor Arryn, Corwyn Arryn and Hugo Arryn.

Recent Events
Despite his namesake Maegor Arryn would not live up to his name, he was a feeble man who chose the pen over the sword. His brother Corwyn on the other hand became a Knight and the Swornsword of King Daemon Targayen.

Now as the new King takes his seat and the Vale looks to the throne with unease, how will the Arryns survive in such turbulent times.