Corwyn Corbray

Corwyn Corbray was the younger brother of Leowyn, lord of Heart's Home and head of House Corbray. He had married and fathered two daughters before he was widowed, and he carried Lamentation, the Valyrian steel sword that marked his line.

When the Dance of the Dragons broke out, House Corbray threw its weight behind Rhaenyra Targaryen. It was at the Eyrie that Corwyn first crossed paths with Rhaena Targaryen, daughter of Prince Daemon and ward of Lady Jeyne Arryn.

In 130 AC, Lady Arryn placed Leowyn and Corwyn at the head of ten thousand men raised at Gulltown.

Aegon II Targaryen's death the following year sent those troops against the last defenders of the fallen king: half of them, under Corwyn, landed at Maidenpool, while Leowyn led the rest to Duskendale. Soon after, during the Hour of the Wolf, Corwyn traveled to King's Landing alongside Clement Celtigar and the newly widowed Lady Staunton. There, together with his brother, he joined the council ruling the capital, adding his voice to Jeyne Arryn's and to that of 'the Boys' — an alliance that chipped away at Cregan Stark's authority.

In 132 AC, Lady Baela Targaryen defied what the council of regents had arranged for her: instead of marrying Lord Thaddeus Rowan, she fled and wed Lord Alyn Velaryon. The council's answer was to rush her twin sister Rhaena into a marriage of her own.

Asked which of her suitors she favored, Rhaena said she was especially fond of Corwyn. He was a second son, but House Corbray carried rank and history enough, and his brother had just been named Protector of the Realm; the council granted her wish. The betrothal was settled quickly, and the wedding followed fifteen days later.

In the middle of 133 AC, Rhaena announced she was carrying Corwyn's child. A month later, she lost the pregnancy.

That same year, at the Maiden's Day Ball called to choose a new wife for King Aegon III, Baela Velaryon and Rhaena Corbray rode into the hall on horseback.

Corwyn followed behind them, escorting Daenaera Velaryon — the girl who, among all the candidates presented that day, would end up as queen.

The following year, Corwyn escorted his wife, his sister-in-law, and the young rulers to the docks of King's Landing when Alyn Velaryon sailed back into the city aboard the Lady Baela. There he watched Rhaena reunite with her long-lost half-brother, Prince Viserys Targaryen.

Not long after, Lord Manfryd Mooton's death opened a seat among Aegon III's regents, and Corwyn took it. That same year Lady Jeyne Arryn also died, leaving her succession contested by three claimants: Ser Joffrey Arryn, her chosen heir; Ser Arnold Arryn, a closer cousin by blood; and Isembard Arryn, head of House Arryn of Gulltown.

The Hand of the King sent Corwyn to Gulltown with a thousand men to restore order and settle the dispute.

Corwyn ruled that Jeyne Arryn's final will should stand. He imprisoned Isembard Arryn and his sons, and had Ser Eldric Arryn, Ser Arnold's son, executed; Arnold himself escaped and took refuge at Runestone.

When Corwyn reached the castle to arrest him, Lord Gunthor Royce confronted him. The argument turned bitter, full of curses and threats, and Corwyn drew Lamentation — whether to strike or merely to threaten is not known. A crossbowman on the battlements loosed a bolt that took him through the chest.

Killing a regent was judged the same as striking at the king himself, so Corwyn's death was treated as treason. His nephew, Lord Quenton, and other great houses of the Vale rallied behind Joffrey Arryn, and war flared up again across the Vale. Baela went to see her newly widowed sister — to comfort her, and to make sure she didn't mount her dragon Alba to seek revenge.