| Standfast | |
|---|---|
| Stronghold | |
 Standfast, by Mike S. Miller | |
| Location | The Reach |
| Government | House Osgrey, Landed knight |
| Religion | Faith of the Seven |
Standfast is the stronghold of House Osgrey in the Reach. It is called a castle by courtesy, but more closely resembles a towerhouse. Its exact location has not yet been published, but it is located a few leagues east of Coldmoat in the north-west of the Reach; the Osgreys were once Marshals of the Northmarch. Standfast is sworn to House Rowan of Goldengrove.[1][2]
Layout
[edit]Standfast stands upon a hill and can be seen for leagues around. A single path leads to the tower, which can only be ridden single file. A daub-and-wattle stable sits at the base of the tower.[1] Standfast has one entrance, an oak and iron door twenty feet above the ground, the stairs leading up to it consist of bottom steps made of blocks of smooth black stone, so worn that they are bowl-shaped in the middle. Higher up, they give way to a steep wooden stair that can be swung up like a drawbridge in times of trouble.[1]
Standfast's size is deceptive. It is only four stories tall above ground, with the two upper floors having windows and balconies and the two lower floors having only arrow slits. The rebuilt north and west faces of the building are of pale grey stone above and old black stone below. Turrets were added during the rebuild, and two ancient grotesques whose shape had been lost long ago stand on the other two corners. Its pinewood roof is flat, though warped and leaky from time. Underground, however, there is a complex of deep vaults and cellars cut into the hill that Standfast sits upon. The castle has its own well in the undercellar.[1]
There is a blackberry thicket around back of Standfast's hill. The west way runs between Standfast and Coldmoat.[1]
During the rule of Ser Eustace Osgrey, three small villages fell within the dominion of Standfast, with the largest of them having a one-room sept. A septon would visit twice a year to forgive sins in the name of the Mother.[1]
History
[edit]Prior to Aegon's Conquest, the Osgreys controlled four castles, the greatest of them Coldmoat, and watchtowers on hills. The house's fortunes declined after the Field of Fire, however, and the Osgreys were eventually reduced to landed knights controlling only Standfast and its vicinity.[1]
Standfast was originally built of black stone. A few centuries before the reign of King Aerys I Targaryen, the castle suffered a partial collapse. The Osgreys rebuilt the north and west faces in pale grey stone above the windows, and they also added turrets above the roofline on the rebuilt sides. At the time of Ser Eustace Osgrey, grotesques decorated the rooftop corners which had not been rebuilt.[1]
Eustace supported the pretender king Daemon I Blackfyre during the First Blackfyre Rebellion, but the rebellion failed and Eustace's three sons were killed in the Battle of the Redgrass Field. Afterwards, King Daeron II Targaryen pardoned Eustace, although much of his remaining lands were taken by the crown and his daughter Alysanne was sent to King's Landing as a hostage. Eustace was allowed to keep Standfast, though it would revert to the crown if he died without a male heir of his body.[1]
After Eustace brought home the bones of his sons and allowed Alysanne to be taken away, his wife committed suicide by throwing herself from the top of Standfast tower. Eustace buried his wife and sons among the blackberries they had loved to pick.[1]
Eustace's servants included Sam Stoops and his wife.[1] Because of a conflict with Rohanne Webber, Lady of Coldmoat, Eustace hired the sworn swords Ser Bennis of the Brown Shield and Ser Duncan the Tall, and Duncan's squire, Egg.[1]
Quotes
[edit]Standfast was a castle only by courtesy. Though it stood bravely atop a rocky hill and could be seen for leagues around, it was no more than a towerhouse. A partial collapse a few centuries ago had required some rebuilding, so the north and west faces were pale gray stone above the windows, and the old black stone below. Turrets had been added to the roofline during the repair, but only on the sides that were rebuilt; at the other two corners crouched ancient stone grotesques, so badly abraded by wind and weather that it was hard to say what they had been. The pinewood roof was flat, but badly warped and prone to leaks.[1]
—thoughts of Duncan the Tall
Run back to your chicken tower and tell Ser Eustace to deliver up Ser Bennis Brownstench. If he spares us the trouble of winkling him out of Standfast, her ladyship may be more inclined to clemency.[1]
Aegon: The paper said that if Ser Eustace were to die without a male heir of his body, Standfast would revert to the crown, and Lord Webber's privileges would end.
Duncan: All they left the old man was a tower to die in.
Aegon: And his head. His Grace did leave him his head, ser. Even though he was a rebel.[1]