Royce Bolton

Lord Royce 'the Older' Bolton is the lord of the Dreadfort and head of House Bolton. He prefers diplomacy to battle and has earned the name 'the Envoy of Stonecry' for his efforts in the Skagosi Uprising.

Appearance and Character
Royce is a thin man with little muscle on his 5'10" tall body. He has pale skin and a thick black beard that reaches his chest as well as short cropped hair. His eyes are dark grey, similar to rain clouds and are remarkably sharp, able to pick out an object from very far away and leading his father to once say "If only you trained more, you would be the best scout in history."

Royce is a gregarious man, able to make friends in any room and region he enters if he has the inclination. Though he never had any interest in learning how to fight, always finding ways out of his training until his tutors gave him up for a lost cause, the interests he does hold find uninterrupted attention from the man. One of these interests is reading about the history of House Bolton, of which he is very proud of, long days and nights in the library turning his skin pale. Reading this history filled him with a need to regain House Bolton's previous prestige and cling on to their place as the second most powerful house in the North, which leads to him seeking any and all opportunities to make his house stronger. He is a patient and understanding man, willing to walk his children and underlings through a process and being well regarded for it.

Before the Skagosi Uprising, Royce was a pacifist who disliked all military conflicts. However, after seeing the horrors of the war, Royce came to believe that violence and war could be stopped by no man or god and there was no reason to try and prevent it. During war councils, he would often have to yell for his voice to be heard, as the other lords and commanders respected him little for his lack of combat ability.

Royce commonly wears dark leather tunics with large sigils of his house displayed on his chest or back. He also wears cloaks of various furs belonging to animals living within the lands of the Dreadfort, as if to show the other lords of the Seven Kingdoms the riches of his house. Out of these fur cloaks, his favorite is that of a large white wolf. During the Skagosi Uprising, Royce would wear chainmail under the leather and later a cloak of unicorn fur gifted to him by his brother, Albert Bolton.

History
Royce Bolton was born to Rickon 'the Hunter' Bolton and Lady Aly Bolton nee Mormont in 152 AC. As a child, Royce did not find much attention from his father, who preferred hunting to raising a son. Royce instead found himself spending as much time as he could with his grandfather, Lord Brandon 'the Loyal' Bolton, when he visited from King's Landing and much more when he was dismissed from his post. Lord Brandon taught him much of his house's history and also taught him of the importance of loyalty, saying that "remaining loyal to House Stark has earned our house more than a thousand rebellions." Royce would spend many hours in the library after the first few tales his grandfather spun, learning more about the proud history of House Bolton. In 162 AC, Brandon 'the Loyal' finally succumbed to old age and passed in his sleep, devastating Royce Bolton. As the new lord of the Dreadfort, Lord Rickon attempted to use his newfound power to demand that Royce train. However, this proved fruitless and Lord Rickon sent Royce to the Rills with an old hunting friend of his to learn "how to be a man."

In the Rills, Royce found his true calling: diplomacy. He made as many friends as he could and then used their help to get him out of training. One of these friends was his future wife, Jeyne Ryswell, a shy girl who was adept at learning secrets. Royce would never learn how to properly fight, always sneaking away with his future wife to get away from the sparring yard, but his love for books would only grow and he proved to be the best story teller in the Rills, constantly regaling tales to his growing list of friends. In 168 AC, Royce returned to the Dreadfort and married Jeyne Ryswell under the Heart Tree. A year later, his father would die following a bout of sickness.

At the funeral of his father, Royce showed how useful his skill with words would be as he charmed many of the visiting lords and other members of the North. Lord Manderly was one of the few exceptions to this, as he had little love for the Boltons and was overheard by the new Lord of the Dreadfort making disparaging remarks on both his father and grandfather, calling them "skinstealers" and "the scum of the North." Royce has held a grudge against House Manderly ever since. As lord of the Dreadfort, Royce did very well, keeping his house stable while also improving relations with much of the North. One of the few blots on his early reputation was Albert Bolton, his wild younger brother who had more interest in fighting than helping his brother lead, who would continuously vex the young lord.

Lord Royce would have three children with his wife: Royce 'the Younger' Bolton, Aly Bolton, and Rogar Bolton. He would use the lessons he learnt dealing with Albert on his children and put in an effort not to be as controlling as he was with his brother. Unfortunately, this parenting style combined with Jeyne's habit of spoiling the children and Royce's absence due to the Skagosi Uprising led to his children having a few serious flaws.

The Skagosi Uprising:
Lord Royce Bolton was one of the leading commanders in the third wave of invaders, landing on the beachhead established by the first wave amongst the wreckage of the second. While he had little military experience and learning, his status and knowledge of the lands of Skagos and past military incursions to the island proved enough to earn him a place in the Commander's Tent amongst other commanders such as Rickon 'Redsun' Karstark and Cregan 'the Old Man of the North' Stark. He provided little help during the entirety of the campaign, and some claim that the only reason that he wasn't ordered to leave the tent early in the war was because the other commanders feared that he would take his men and, perhaps more importantly, the ever useful Albert 'the Flayed Wolf' Bolton with him should he leave Skagos. Tensions were rising until Lord Royce was finally able to prove his use by negotiating the only peaceful surrender of the war during the Surrender of Stonecry during the final years of the Uprising. Due to this feat, Lord Royce is hailed as one of the heroes of the Skagosi Uprising and is known as the 'Envoy of Stonecry' throughout the North. However, there are some that whisper the name 'Face Stealer' due to the threats he made to the lord of Stonecry during the negotiations.

The Tourney of King's Landing:
While originally only planning for his children to make a good showing in the tourney, Lord Royce soon found himself embroiled in politics after the actions of Lord Alaric Karstark. As one of the only men to defend the lord during the altercation between Lord Karstark and much of the Dornish contingent, as well as several lords and attendants from other kingdoms, he found himself at the forefront of the political storm that was Lord Karstark's arrest.

During the tourney, Lord Bolton made allies and charmed other lords to not only further his own house's interests but also to gain sympathy for the North during the trial. While these latter efforts proved to be futile due to Lord Karstark's insistence on antagonizing the Dornish, these new allies should prove to be essential for House Bolton's continued rise to power. House Redwyne is currently House Bolton's strongest allies though it now also has ties with House Lannister of Lannisport, due to a trade agreement and Ser Thomas Goodmen's past with them, House Redwyne of the Arbor, due to a formal alliance made between the two, House Blackfyre, due to Lord Bolton's nephew swearing his sword to Prince Blackfyre, and House Terrace, due to Lord Bolton taking on Ser Glendon Terrace as a sworn sword.

The Trial of Alaric Karstark saw Lord Bolton gain a prestigious position as one of the three judges overseeing the trial alongside Prince Baelor Breakspear and King Daeron Targaryen. While Lord Bolton could not declare Lord Karstark innocent, especially after the man's facts and logic only enraged the other two judges, he was able to convince the king to take on Lord Karstark's second grandchild as a ward instead of the future heir to Karhold.