An ancient family tracing it’s lineage to the First Men of the Reach, House Manderly
rose to prominence with their strategic location at Dunstonbury along the Mander River, able
to prosper greatly from trade. For many years they saw conflict with their
traditional enemies in House Peake of Starpike, yet they eventually came to an uneasy peace
when they swore fealty to House Gardener who became rulers of the territory.
During the years of Andal migration into Westeros, the Reach avoided war when several generations
of wise Gardener Kings welcomed the Andals, integrating them into their kingdom though
marriages between First Men and Andal noble families. Eventually House Gardener and the
rest of the realm even converted from the worship of the Old Gods to the Faith of the
Seven. As a result of their peaceful relations with
the Andals, House Manderly continued to thrive in the Reach for many more years, until war
once again erupted with House Peake during a crisis of succession prompted by the old
and sickly King Garth Gardener X, having with no male heirs, instead fathering a number
of daughters one of which was married to the Lord of House Manderly, the other to the Lord
of House Peake. Without a proper male heir, the Lords of both houses began plotting to
place their wives on the throne. The conflict drew in many more Houses of the Reach and
left the Kingdom largely defenseless, as the King was too weak and senile to stop their
fighting or properly manage the defense of their realm. Upon seeing the chaos engulfing
the rich and fertile territory, The Kingdom of the Rock, the Kingdom of the Stormlands
invaded and annexed lands, while the Dornish raided from the South, even sacking Highgarden
and killing the King. The reach then saw 10 years of anarchy and
continued civil war, until Ser Osmund Tyrell, High Steward of Highgarden, formed an alliance
with a number of Houses to defeat both Manderly and Peake armies, at last bringing peace to
the Reach by placing a distant cousin of the dead King on the throne, uniting the realm
under King Mern Gardener VI. Again the reach saw years of peace, with the
Manderly’s rebuilding their wealth and power. However roughly a thousand years before Aegon’s
Conquest, their success would prove their downfall, with King Perceon Gardener III coming
to see them as rivals to his power, ordering that Lord Lorimar Peake drive the Manderlys
into exile, granting their lands and castle to House peake, who had at long last defeated
their ancient enemies. With their home taken and lands usurped, the
Manderlys faced the possible extinction of their House, yet they were saved when the
Winter Kings of House Stark welcomed them as Bannermen in the North, granting them the
castle of the Wolf’s Den and charging them with the protection of the River White Knife.
The Manderlys were extremely grateful to the Starks for saving their House and so would
remain staunch Stark loyalists for many years to come.
Using the wealth they brought from the Reach, House Manderly constructed the city of White
Harbor and their seat of New castle, developing a bustling trade economy that would make them
the richest House in the North. And while they came to consider themselves
proud Northerners, they continued to maintain many of the traditions from their time in
the South, remaining followers of the Faith of the Seven, and becoming one of the only
territories in the North to promote Knighthood. Under the rule of the Starks and later Targaryens,
the Manderlys thrived, even having members of their family marry into these great and
powerful Houses. They sided with Rhaenyra Targaryen and the
Black faction during the Dance of the Dragons civil war, and while Rhaenyra died in the
struggle, Ser Torrhen Manderly served her son who was crowned King Aegon III at the
end of the war, becoming one of the Seven Regents chosen to rule in the young King’s
name and was later made hand of the King. Although House Manderly enjoyed good relations
with the Iron Throne, their first loyalty was to House Stark, proving it when they sided
with the their liege Lord Eddard Stark and his allies in House Baratheon, Arryn and Tully
during Robert’s Rebellion, even fighting at the Battle of the Trident, contributing
to the defeat of Targaryen forces and the downfall of their House.
They once again proved their loyalty to the Starks when they joined the young Wolf Robb
Stark, as he marched an army South to rescue the Lord of Winterfell who had been arrested
in King’s Landing. With the execution of Eddard Stark and the
outbreak of the War of the Five Kings, the Manderly’s faithfully followed the Northern
army into many battles, seeing their forces led by Ser Wylis Manderly, heir to White Harbor,
and his younger brother Ser Wendel. As the war continues, the Lord of House Hornwood
and his heir were killed, leaving their territories in the possession of Lady Hornwood, formerly
of House Manderly and the cousin of Lord Wyman. And while many Northern Lords proposed marriage,
the choice was taken from her when she was kidnapped by Ramsay Snow, who forcibly married
her then locking her away in a tower where she starved to death.
In response House Manderly seized control of Hornwood Lands to prevent the Boltons from
taking them. Events began to worsen for the Northern House
as the war progressed, with Ser Wylis taken prisoner twice and Ser Wendel killed at the
Red Wedding. After the Bolton betrayal of the North and
alliance with House Frey and Lannister, Lord Wyman Manderly appeared defeated, offering
to marry two of his granddaughters to the Freys, allowing Lannister Ships to dock at
White Harbor and executing Davos Seaworth, when he came to ask House Manderly to support
King Stannis Baratheon. With so many gestures of friendship and alliance
towards House Lannister, Queen Regent Cersei Lannister felt comfortable enough to release
Ser Wylis Manderly from their cells, allowing him to return to his family at White Harbor.
However, in truth House Manderly had never faltered in their loyalty to the Starks, merely
pretending to submit to Lannister and Bolton rule, in order to gain their trust and secure
the release of Lord Wyman’s son and heir. They also faked the death of Davos Seaworth,
killing a criminal in his place and sending the Onion Knight on a secret mission to Skagos,
where he was to find Rickon Stark and return him safely to White harbor. In exchange the
Manderlys offered to support King Stannis in his campaign to rule the Seven Kingdoms.
Lord Wyman then led an army to Winterfell, again feigning allegiance to the Boltons and
joining them in their defense of the Castle against the approaching army of Stannis Baratheon.
Yet the Manderly and Frey troops were unable to put their differences aside, seeing violence
erupt between the factions. *Roose Bolton, seeing tensions high and seeking to rid the
castle of hungry mouths to feed, then sent the army of House Frey as a vanguard against
Stannis Baratheon, and tasked the Manderly army to attack Stannis from the East Gate of Winterfell.