Our Blades are Sharp

House Bolton is one of the oldest and most powerful houses that makeup The North. In the earlier days before the founding of the Seven Kingdoms, the Boltons were bitter rivals of the Starks infamous for their practice of flaying the skin (and sometimes wearing) of their enemies. In deference to this sinister practice, the House Bolton sigil is a flayed man on a pink field. It is also believed that the Night King may have been a Bolton.

History

The Boltons were not always bannermen to the Starks. In the days before swearing fealty to the Kings of the North, the Boltons regularly fought skirmishes with the many factions in the North — the most notable being the Starks.

The Boltons were eventually brought to heel by the Starks and swore fealty to the king of that era. Three hundred years later, the Boltons would rise up once more against the Starks but after a four year siege of The Dreadfort, their seat of power, the Boltons were forced once more to bend the knee to the Starks.

During the War of Conquest, the Boltons submitted to Aegon the Conqueror along with all the other northern houses, which united the whole of the Seven Kingdoms under the Targaryen banner.

House Personality

The Boltons are seen was irreputable by their contemporaries. This could be due to lingering rumors of the Boltons practicing the flaying of skin even after being forced to stop when they bent the knee to the King in the North. Given their lengthy history of rebellion, they also maintain a reputation of being a fickle ally.

The current, and seemingly archetypal Lord of the Dreadfort, is Roose Bolton. He is a mild mannered man, though with all Boltons, he is seen as being cold and calculating. Roose Bolton is currently married to "fat" Walda Frey of the Twins. It is said that Lord Walder Frey offered any potential wife among the Freys and their weight in gold. Walda being by far the fattest, earned Roose Bolton a handsome dowry.

During Robb Stark's rebellion, Roose Bolton was one of Robb's bannermen that commanded a large portion of the army.

Holdings

The Dreadfort is the seat of power for House Bolton. A large, easily protected fort on the eastern side of The North. Like Winterfell, it is positioned above a network of underground hotsprings.

House Position

As one of the foremost bannermen to the Starks of Winterfell, the Boltons command a stronghold and sport a large garrison that makes up a large portion of Robb Stark's forces.

ALLIED HOUSES: Lannister
ENEMY HOUSES: Stark, Tully

House Destiny

Under Roose Bolton, the Boltons have grown more ambitious, looking for opportunities to enhance their prestige and power through war. This ambition manifest during Robb Stark's war with the Lannisters in which the Boltons allied with the Freys to betray and kill Robb and his mother Catelyn. With their demise, the Boltons were able to break House Stark and supplant them as the ruling house in the North.

Prominent Members

Roose Bolton, Ramsay Bolton (The Bastard of the Dreadfort), Domeric Bolton (deceased), Bethany Ryswell (deceased), Walda Frey

House Traits

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