Westgate Family

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Escutcheon showing the armorial bearings of the Westgate family. Blazon: Per pale and per chevron azure and argent; in dexter chief three billets two and one; in sinister base a millrynd; a bordure; all counterchanged.

The House of Westgate hails from the western edge of the small woodland region of Loratil, a day outside the Eston capital of Hawthorne. The house elder, Sir Rhydderch, recently stepped aside as his failing health no longer permitted him to handle the house's daily affairs.

Active Family Members

Brice

The middle son of Sir Rhydderch, Brice assumed control of the family's estate in Atamara. Impatient with his elder brother's inaction in the ongoing war, he struck out to swear himself as a knight to Eston's Marshall Myrn'tek Grimoire. After waiting for some time on the 'Eastern Front' of Amdor, he participated in the Siege of Barad Falas. During the resulting confusion, as both sides struggled to regroup their troops, most of Eston's forces retreated, leaving him trapped within the city. He was struck in the hip with a crossbow bolt as the remainder of Eston's forces fought valiantly the next day to escape the enemy stronghold.

After his wound healed, he bolstered his ranks with fresh recruits, neglecting to notice they employed shortbows, to the dismay of his surviving Lacirith Longbows. The weakness would show itself immediately, during Seventh Battle of Belegmon, in which the shortened range forced his men to advance, making them vulnerable to a devastating hail of enemy fire. His men retreated, but there was a silver lining. Of the casualties to his unit, most were light wounds that quickly healed, and only a few of his men were lost. Without stopping for replacement troops, Brice would be off to the mountains in Eston's ill-fated attempt to cut off Barad Falas by charging through Galadia and Nazgorn.

Eston's army was turned back to Anost, where it met with reinforcements from Darka and contingents from Tara and the Barony of Makar. Once gathered, the combined forces drove across the southern bridge. Brice's small band of men had no trouble with the river crossing, and soon fought valiantly to recapture Brice's estate. However, a large portion of the combined Eston forces were not so lucky, and severe delays at the southern bridge split the attacking forces. The resulting Eighth and Ninth Battles of Belegmon were bloody affairs, with worse than four out of every five units all but obliterated by the end of the morning. Eston's reinforcements surged across the river throughout the day, crushing the remaining Falasian and Islander forces that evening.

Most of Brice's wounded men died in the coming days as he trekked to Barad Lacirith to cash his bonds. After paying the seven survivors, he aborted plans to return to hire more troops, given that his mere seven men were as much a fighting force as many of the freshly-recruited units twenty strong. He marched back to the front, only to be turned around again as the High Marshall's orders repeatedly changed. Eventually, he reached Hawthorne, where he recruited a force of heavily-armed and armored arbalestiers and had their pavises emblazoned with the Westgate arms. He then made a short stop at his family's mansion in Loratil, announcing to them his intention of living and dying for Eston.

Reece

"I am the eldest son of the House of Westgate. As my younger brother has usurped control of the family affairs in Atamara, I come in exile to start anew. My former kingdom is rife with war. I know not the state of affairs here; I am ready to again take up my blade, yet would welcome an interlude of peace." -- Reece's Letter of Introduction to the Antoza Commonwealth.

Reece would not have the peace he wished for. Taking leave of his brother Brice, he set out with his retainers to the port of Anacan. There, Reece quickly answered Baron Boromir McMahon's call for knights, and recruited a large, well trained group of infantry. Taking into account his own feelings about war, he saw fit to hire an older officer, Captain Ortlieb, to handle the actual training and oversight of his new unit. Unbeknownst to him, Baron Boromir was Marshal of the Legion of Anacan. Tasked with the defense of Antoza's northern border, Boromir ordered a quick strike into Lenamaziel to secure both sides of the vital border bridge. With Ortlieb's guidance, Reece's troops performed admirably, taking only two casualties during the young noble's first taste of combat.

A boring interlude followed as the complexities of diplomacy were handled by the high council. Lenamaziel was abandoned, then recaptured, and Reece's troops grew weary of sitting behind the walls of Anacan. Finally, the Legion of Anacan moved to retake Lenamaziel for good. On the eve of battle, however, the sponsor of the army changed the marshal from Boromir to Gemal. In the confusion, no retreat order was given even though scout reports showed the mobile Colasan forces outnumbered Anacan nearly three to one. Indeed, they attacked, crushing the Anacan army, who barely managed to inflict one casualty for every five it took. Anacan's marshals called it a noble effort and worth the wasted lives. Reece, wounded in the battle, tasted only bitterness in their words.

Pryce

The only son of Lady Catrin, Sir Rhydderch's sister. At his cousin Brice's behest, he set out to the South-East Island to learn the arts of war in trial by fire. There, he swore allegiance to Proslyn Merytis, Lord of Falens in Taselak. His first engagement there was an attempt to strike at Ikalak's isolated cavalry in Cirannor. While the attack was a success, Pryce's unit took the full brunt of the cavaliers' charge, and was one of several Taselak units wiped out to the man that day. During his travels back to the capital, news would spread that the enemy cavalry were in all likelihood simply successful bait of a devastating trap. The day after he saw his men slaughtered, the main Ikalak army moved in to engage the survivors in the open field, routing the remains of the southern Taselak army.

After the wholesale retreat and the loss of several regions north and south, including his sworn region Falens, the realm was paralyzed with inaction as the marshals failed to crystallize a usable army in any given region. Pryce's unit was ordered in and amongst the regions near the city of Taselak, but never to attack any enemy forces. Taselak lost region after region, and after only a weeks' time, Pryce would find that the realm's taxes were no longer enough to even pay the meager wages of his two dozen soldiers. He would not long have to worry, though, as a lopsided battle in Endelee would decimate his men.

Saeth

Sir Rhydderch's firstborn child by mere minutes, Saeth Westgate is Reece's twin sister. Throughout their childhood, she rebelled against her father's attempts to teach courtly manners, save the artistry of dance. Leaving the art of diplomacy to Reece, who took naturally to it, she instead studied medicine and the way of the dagger. In her teens, she took quickly to hunting game, and her proficiency with the bow would do her namesake justice. Though she agreed with Brice's stance on the war in Eston, her twin's exile strained relations with her younger brother severely. A month later, she would leave home, traveling the mere hours west from the family estate to Eston's nearby neighbor, Darka. There, she intended to put her skill in combat to good use as a white shield, while still being able to defend her home realm in its time of need.

Saeth soon got her chance, fighting alongside her younger brother in the Eighth and Ninth Battles of Belegmon. Notably, her green unit was one of perhaps a dozen that made it through the battles nearly unscathed, in sharp contrast to the 80% casualty rate faced by the bulk of the two hundred nobles participating. Only three of her troops were killed outright, though nine more were struck by enemy arrows. Of those, only two succumbed to their wounds; Saeth thanked The Three for her good fortune as she walked the field with her soldiers, salvaging what little equipment they could from the thousands who suffered a harsher fate those days. Her archers took great pleasure in hunting down some four survivors of Delgath's "Metal Rain" troops, who had fired upon both Brice and Saeth's men.

After several days of civil work, her men were ready for an evening of merriment. With a few hours and a greater number of drinks, Saeth learned that her men's spirits were raised by watching her dance. After coming to know her men, she briefly venture westward to the smithies of Anost for repairs before setting out on High Marshal Herumor's venture back into the cursed mountains.

Other Family Members

Sir Rhydderch

The oldest living member of the Westgate family. He recently stepped aside from his duties as house elder due to his failing health. Favors peace and diplomacy and staunchly against the raging wars in Atamara. Father of Saeth, Reece, and Brice.

Lady Lowri

Wife of Sir Rhydderch, mother of Saeth, Reece, and Brice. Supportive of her children's efforts, even when they run contrary to her husband's preference.

Lady Catrin

Sir Rhydderch's younger sister. Mother of Pryce. Adopted back into House Westgate after her husband Renard's death to ergotism, the saints' fire.

Sir Gwalchgwyn

"Uncle Gawain" to most of the House, including his elder brother Rhydderch. A skilled duelist, he personally instructed the children's fencing lessons.

Lady Olwyn

"Aunt Olwyn" and wife of Sir Gwalchgwyn. Softspoken, she devotes most of her time to educating their son, Peredur. Silently, she disapproves of Rhydderch's children, considering them each too singleminded in their own ways.

Peredur, Esquire

Young Peredur is still in schooling despite his age of 14 years. His mother, Lady Olwyn, is determined he should be versed in classic language, literature, and history. His father, on the other hand, demands a skilled soldier from his only child. As a result, Peredur is perhaps the most refined of his generation of House Westgate. Though he lacks Brice's heroic spirit or Saeth's skill with a blade, Peredur is already an accomplished lancer, with Reece's oratorial skill to boot.


Fame

House Westgate

Offices
FB Lord.png
Lord
(Peredur, Falens (SWI))
1

Attributes
FB Prestige.png
Prestige: 10
(Brice)
1
FB Prestige.png
Prestige: 20
(Brice)
1


Total: 5 points