House Blackwood of Raventree Hall

The Blackwoods claim their forebears once ruled much of the Wolfswood in ancient times, until the Kings of Winter drove them out. Unlike other petty kings, who eventually bent the knee to the Starks, they chose exile instead, crossing south to raise Raventree Hall, where they went on ruling as minor kings through the Age of Heroes.

When the Andals arrived, the Blackwoods kept faith with the Old Gods, unusual among houses south of the Neck. They joined the Brackens against the invasion, but both armies were beaten at the River of the Tears.

Defeat did nothing to bring the two families closer; if anything, it planted a hatred that would outlast centuries. The Brackens took up the Faith of the Seven while the Blackwoods kept the old gods, and in time came to believe their neighbors had poisoned the weirwood at Raventree Hall. It was in this period that Benedict Rivers, born of both bloodlines, went on to found his own house, the Justmans.

With the backing of Storm King Arlan III Durrandon, Lord Roderick Blackwood rose against Humfrey I Teague, self-styled King of the Rivers and the Hills. Roderick fell at the Battle of the Six Kings, and with him died Arlan's hope of restoring the Trident to Blackwood rule.

The river lords then refused to accept Roderick's daughter Shiera as their ruler, so Arlan simply folded the Riverlands into his own crown.

Generations later it was Lady Agnes Blackwood who led the riverlords' resistance, this time against the Ironborn king Harwyn Hoare. Lord Lothar Bracken struck her army from behind, perhaps hoping to claim the crown of the Trident himself once Harwyn had beaten the Storm King Arrec Durrandon. It didn't work out that way: the Riverlands fell to House Hoare instead, and Harwyn had Lothar put to death for his own rebellion.

When Aegon Targaryen landed to conquer the continent, the Blackwoods turned their backs on Harren the Black and threw in with the invader, marching on Harrenhal to join the siege of his castle.

In 112 AC, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen toured the Trident in search of a husband, and the sons of the lords of Raventree Hall and Stone Hedge dueled over her favor. The old rivalry clearly hadn't cooled, not even at court.

Like the rest of the river lords, the Blackwoods sided with Rhaenyra when civil war broke out over the succession, and marched on Harrenhal after Prince Daemon Targaryen seized the castle.

Lord Benjicot Blackwood, barely eight years old, led his house's men at the Battle of the Gullet and later at the second battle fought at Tumbleton.

Once the war ended, his aunt Alysanne Blackwood married Lord Cregan Stark of Winterfell; the match helped secure a royal pardon from King Aegon III for Lord Corlys Velaryon's part in the conflict.

Melissa Blackwood was one of King Aegon IV's mistresses, and their relationship produced a son, Brynden Rivers — the man the realm would later know as Bloodraven.

Lord Quentyn Blackwood was killed by Ser Otho Bracken during a tournament in King's Landing, and his death reopened a wound that had never quite healed between the two houses. Three years later, knights of Raventree Hall fought in the famed tourney at Ashford.

When Brynden Rivers marched on Whitewalls to put down the second Blackfyre Rebellion, part of his army was drawn from Lord Blackwood's levies. In time, Betha Blackwood herself became queen consort as the wife of King Aegon V.

When the realm split apart again in the War of the Five Kings, House Blackwood answered the call of its overlords, House Tully.

After Tully power in the Riverlands collapsed, the Blackwoods found themselves bound instead to House Baelish, the new masters of Harrenhal.

The Brackens laid siege to Raventree Hall. Later, on the Quiet Isle, the bodies of soldiers bearing Bracken arms turned up; according to the Elder Brother, they had been buried beside their old enemies, the Blackwoods.

As part of the settlement that lifted the siege, Lord Tytos Blackwood agreed to hand over Honeytree and its hives, Nutting Meadow, Crossbow Ridge, the Buckle, and the lord's mill to Lord Jonos Bracken, at Jaime Lannister's request.