Margaret Ryswell

Margaret Ryswell is the Lady of the Rills.

Biography
Margaret was the first of three daughters born to Willam Ryswell, who had ruled the Rills since his father’s death during the Woe of Wolves. Four years later, Willam’s wife died in childbirth, and his subsequent refusal to remarry rendered Margaret his permanent heir. She was thus groomed for succession at an early age, receiving a broad education under her house’s esteemed maester. Maggie - as she was affectionately known - proved to be a quick learner, and soon developed a bookish disposition. Her shyness was tempered only by the influence of her shrewd grandmother, Lysara, who hoped to instill the same guile in the future Lady of the Rills.

Despite her grandmother’s best efforts, however, Margaret remained an awkward, quiet child, out of place among her own people; she had even begun to take after their maester’s southern mannerisms. Eager to broaden the girl’s horizons, Lord Willam heeded his mother’s suggestion that she ward for House Glover. At the age of eight, Margaret left her family's castle, The Withers, to live at Deepwood Motte - an unfamiliar place hosting only unfamiliar faces.

As her grandmother had anticipated, Maggie’s time at Deepwood Motte proved beneficial. She learned not only to make but also to charm new acquaintances, and developed a number of practical skills under the tutelage of Deepwood’s hardy people. Margaret was immediately enamored with the majesty of the surrounding Wolfswood, where she learned to brave the untamed wilderness of the forest. A lifelong passion for nature was thus incited, and she found camaraderie among animals both wild and tame.

It was in those same woods that she experienced what she latter understood to be her first greendream. While camping one night, Margaret witnessed a dream more vivid, personal and believable than any she’d seen before. She found herself an invisible witness to her younger sisters at home, both visibly older than they were when she left. The dream ended with her youngest sister falling and breaking a leg - and when Margaret returned to the Rills a few weeks later, her family’s account of the incident aligned with every detail of her vision.

Nevertheless, Maggie understood this to be a coincidence - until another dream proved prophetic. In 369 AC, Lord Willam Ryswell answered the King’s call to war and led Ryswell men south to fight against Lys in the Stepstones. Shortly after his departure, Margaret dreamed of her father dying to a fearsome mercenary’s blade in a battle pitched at a narrow mountain pass. When the other Ryswell warriors returned to the Rills, their news of his death confirmed what her dream had foretold.

Margaret’s uncle, Ramsay, immediately assumed the regency at the Rills. A man best suited for military matters, Ramsay was aided in this by his mother and his younger brother, Ethan - who had spent much of the past decade indulging in failed business ventures. The Rills was in good hands - and though she now held her father’s title, Maggie found the years of her regency more adventurous than any before. She began practicing at horsemanship every day, often in the company of her cousin Torrhen. The two - sometimes accompanied by other young kinsmen - would ride as far as Barrowton, where they relished in the town’s many amenities. Another frequent destination was the ruined tower of Ryder’s Well in the far north of the Rills, where their House resided several centuries ago.

Her education as an adolescent was more varied, spontaneous, and spurred by her own initiative than the rigor of her childhood lessons. Maggie began researching the mysteries and theologies of the North’s native faith, and acquired obscure tomes that allowed her to study the Old Tongue. She dabbled in numerous hobbies, most notably wood carving - often for the purpose of fashioning toys for her younger cousins - and as she approached adulthood, she developed a talent for brewing quality ales.

Around the same time that Margaret reached the age of majority and began to rule the Rills in her own right, her greendreams became a more regular occurrence. Though she remained unsure of how to interpret or act upon these visions, she began confiding her dreams in both her cousin, Torrhen, and her handmaiden, Holly, if only to ease the burden of keeping so great a secret. She thus began to find solace in her work as the ruler of he Rills, lending her a better grip on reality, but the signs did not cease. Animals, too, seemed more drawn to her; on one fortuitous night, Margaret found a wounded wolf pup in a field, which thereafter became a close and loyal companion.

When rebellion broke out across the Seven Kingdoms in 379 AC, Margaret dreamed of a falling star trailed by blood, crashing into an imposing amalgamation of red stone. She knew not what to make of this vision, though she was quite confident in her interpretation of the one that followed. In another dream, Maggie witnessed a near-death experience of what appeared to be her uncle Ramsay, only for him to be saved by her cousin Torrhen. When that same uncle insisted on joining the Winter Wolves to fight for Prince Daeron, she permitted him to gather the Rills’ finest warriors for the cause - but only after ensuring that Torrhen, too, would come along. Her vision instead proved half-true: Ramsay Ryswell perished in battle, but Torrhen still saved the life of his younger brother, Donnor.

Despite her initial failure to correctly interpret her visions of the war, Margaret was emboldened by her retroactive understanding of their accuracy. She embraced the potential of her power, and resolved to find a way to lend her supernatural wisdom to the betterment of the North.

Timeline

 * 358 AC: Margaret is born to Lord Willam Ryswell and his wife, Donella Cerwyn
 * 362 AC: Margaret’s mother dies of childbirth
 * 366 AC: Margaret is sent to Deepwood Motte to live as a ward of House Glover
 * 368 AC: Shortly after experiencing her first greendream, Margaret returns to the Rills
 * 369 AC: Lord Willam Ryswell perishes in the Second Lysene Spring; Margaret succeeds him as Lady of the Rills, with her uncle Ramsay assuming the regency
 * 374 AC: Margaret reaches the age of majority and begins ruling the Rills in her own right
 * 379 AC: Lady Ryswell permits the Rills’ finest warriors join the Winter Wolves in support of Daeron’s rebellion; Ramsay Ryswell is slain in battle