Lord Artys Belmore is the Lord of Strongsong.
Appearance and Character[]
Small and thin with grey thinning hair and blue eyes. Missing his right hand.
History[]
Lord Artys Belmore was the first child of Lord Jon Belmore and Lady Elys Breakstone. He was raised by his elderly father who was five-and-forty when Artys was born. His sister, Alys, was born only a few years later.
Artys was never particularly gifted at anything in his youth. No matter how much the Maester of Strongsong insisted on teaching Artys words and numbers he never became any more than average with them - able to do simple arithmetic and write out orders but nothing more.
His training with sword, shield and lance was similar. His Master of Arms despaired as Artys could barely hold his ground with his peers. Serving as a squire with his father was much the same story. In numerous sorties against the Mountain Clans the young heir to Strongsong did the bare necessity to avoid being called a craven, but nothing more. Disappointed with his only son, Lord Jon refused to knight him, to both of their shame.
His father died in 340 AC and his dying words were full of disdain for his heir. Artys was wounded and being young and foolish threw himself fully into the Kingdom's battles in the War of the Exile. In the Battle of Maidenpool his forces were particularly effective as they showed no mercy to the enemy. In a bid to prove his worth Artys threw himself into every engagement headfirst despite his lack of skill at arms. This resulted in him losing his hand to a particularly agile enemy. In retribution he had all his prisoners executed - but not before he had each and every one of their hands cut off. His reputation from this atrocity scared many Clawmen into routing in numerous engagements allowing Artys to finally be knighted. He returned to Strongsong victorious and proud, though a very changed man.
During the War of the Burning Brand Artys developed his penchant for espionage. The course of the war meant that set-piece battles were rare and Artys came into his own in this environment. Hiring men to spy on the rebels, letting his own men desert and pretend to be sell-swords and of course, torture, were his main methods to discover Arrec's men. Though he didn't participate in the Battle of the Brand he did play a major part in the earlier skirmishes and was much reviled for his techniques.
After the war he finally married at age forty two to a member of House Grafton, Sharra. He spent his time hunting the Mountain Clans and having children. Benedar, his eldest and heir, Elys and Robar were the fruits of his loins before Sharra succumbed to illness.
Recent Events[]
Artys marches 1,800 men sworn to Strongsong to the Gates of the Moon.