House Tyrell

House Tyrell of Highgarden is one of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms, being Lords Paramount of the Mander and the liege lords of the Reach. A large, wealthy house, its wealth is only surpassed among the Great Houses by House Lannister, and the Tyrells can field the greatest armies. Additionally, if they call the ships of the Redwyne fleet, the lords of the Shield Islands, and the coastal lords, they can command a navy that equals if not surpasses the royal fleet of King's Landing.

Highgarden is an ancient seat of rule and the heart of chivalry in the Seven Kingdoms; the Tyrells style themselves 'Defenders of the Marches' and 'High Marshals of the Reach', and traditionally, they have been Wardens of the South in addition to Lords Paramount of the Mander. Their sigil is a golden rose on a green field, and their words are "Growing Strong".

Appearance and Traits
Members of the family tend to have curly brown hair and brown eyes.

Kingdom of the Reach
Unlike most other Great Houses, the Tyrells never ruled as kings. Instead, they trace their line of descent through the female line to the legendary Garth the Gardener, the mythical first King of the Reach reigning in the Age of Heroes, and the son of the equally mythic Garth Greenhand. Members of House Gardener, the ruling house of the Kingdom of the Reach, periodically intermarried with lower ranking houses of the Reach such as House Tyrell.

The Tyrells served as stewards to House Gardener. Ser Alester Tyrell, the founder of the house, was an Andal knight and adventurer who showed such prowess at arms that he was named the champion and sworn shield of King Gwayne V Gardener, the last of the Three Sage Kings. Ser Alester's eldest son also became a notable knight, but died in a tourney. Alester's second son, Gareth, was of a more bookish bent and never achieved knighthood, choosing instead to serve as a royal steward. He and his son Leo performed their duties so well, the Gardeners made the office of High Steward hereditary. It is from Gareth that today’s Tyrells descend.

During the minority of King Garland VI Gardener, a member of House Tyrell ruled the Reach in his name as Regent.

When Lords Manderly and Peake instigated a civil war to see their respective wives, both daughters to the senile old King Garth X Gardener, succeed as Queen of the Reach, Ser Osmund Tyrell, the High Steward of Highgarden, led an alliance of twoscore houses to put down the rebels and reclaimed the ruins of Highgarden which had been sacked by a Dornish king and his raiders. Ser Osmund placed a second cousin of the late Garth X, who has been killed by the raiders, upon the new throne as King Mern VI Gardener.

Relying on the able counsel of Ser Osmund, and later Osmund's son Ser Robert Tyrell, and finally Robert's son Lorent Tyrell, King Mern ruled well, rebuilding Highgarden and doing much and more to restore the power of the Reach and House Gardener. Mern VI was so pleased with them that he gave Ser Robert the hand of his youngest daughter in marriage, thereby allowing the following generations of Tyrells to claim decent from Garth Greenhand. That was the first marriage between the two houses, and nine more unions followed in the passing centuries.

War of Oakheart Succession
When the young lord of House Oakheart, died suddenly in a tragic riding accident, his only heir, his sister, had been married off to the Lannisters. Though heir by rights, the thought of a Lannister on the oaken seat terrified the Tyrells, who quickly pushed the claim of the late lord's uncle to deny the Lannisters their prize. Old wounds from previous tensions flared back up, with both the vassals of Lannister and Tyrell enthusiastically marching off to support their liege lord. With the king distracted in managing the Tarth crisis in the Stormlands, there was nothing to stop the two behemoths from clashing over the vacant seat of Old Oak.

A proper clash of armies would take place outside the very walls of Old Oak in the Battle of Old Oak, where a Westerner force ten thousand strong under command of Lord Crakehall would fortify themselves against the walls of the castle. The weather was atrocious, with rain pouring down on the field for days on end, delaying the main Reachmen force; especially after an advanced scouting party of Westerners managed to destroy an important crossing. Still, the host under the personal command of Lord Tyrell outnumbered the Westerners nearly two to one. However, the muddy conditions ensured the heavy knights of the Reach would be bogged down, suffering massive casualties by archers and repurposed siege equipment before even reaching the Western fortifications. The few who did make it to the walls were quickly dispatched by the superiorly equipped and led Western forces. Though fighting was brutal, the Westerners would come out as undisputed victors, losing few men, though many wounded. The Reachmen would be able to withdraw in good order, but took devastating losses amongst their knights, many of whom drowned in the mud after being knocked off their horses.

Lord Tyrell emerged from the battle with his reputation in tatters only made worse, as he fell deathly ill from the horrid conditions on the march home, rapidly fracturing the Reach into feuding factions proposing their own strategies. Most notably, the Arbor emerged as a respected force, after a naval ambush near Lannisport saw a small fleet of Lannisport vessels captured, giving the Reach their first victory. They formed a defensive party, favouring slowly choking the West through naval dominance and denying them battle. On the other side was the new Lord of Goldengrove, whose house had become widely respected by the knights of the Reach as his father went into the history books as a martyr who gave his life for his kingdom.

The arrival of the King and his armies made it clear that the war could no longer continue, forcing the West to finally sue for peace. Old Oak was handed over to Gerion Oakheart, and the War of Old Oak Succession ended thus, with scars everlasting.

Darklyn's Rebellion
When Lord Robin Darklyn rebelled against King Maelor, Lord Tyrell ordered the Reach to join the fray on the side of the Crown, though countless revolts had left them exhausted. Some houses simply managed to stay neutral.

The War was a draining, brutal affair. The southern Westerlands and Stormlands as well as the Riverlands and parts of the Reach were devastated. From the ashes the realm sought to rebuild. With the death of Lord Darklyn, the rebels sued for peace. There would be no grand demands or retribution, as neither side could fight any longer. However, having stayed out of the war for the most part, the Reach had much of their wealth and food stores, utilizing it for great political gain in the aftermath of the war.