Ronnel Cordon was the Lord of Southwall, Shield of the Coast and the Warden of the Narrow Sea. The head of House Cordon, he was one of the more powerful lords of the Crownlands, but does not have the power of a Tywin Lannister or lack for political ambition. He was the husband of the late Katerena Mayer and the father of Niobe Cordon, Willem Cordon and Ava Cordon as well as the father of a bastard son Caledon Waters and a bastard daughter Diana Waters. He was killed in the Destruction of the Great Sept of Baelor.
Character and Appearance[]
Ronnel is a politically astute and highly intelligent individual who views war as an unnecessary way to gain power, but is quite knowledgeable of military strategy. He is known for his seemingly deferential behavior when dealing with those of higher prestige than himself which lulls his enemies into a false sense of security. In his youth, he was described as man who was a skilled warrior (made all the more clear as he bested two knights at once during the Siege of Dragonstone) but even more skilled with oration.
Ronnel is a tall, thin man in his late sixties who still possess all of his teeth and maintains quite robust health despite his weakened and frail appearance. He has white hair, formerly black, and brown eyes which all of his children have inherited.
Background[]
Ronnel was the son of Daegon Erastes and his wife, Rosamund Frey, and was raised the heir of Southwall, a castle positioned as a barrier to attacks from the Narrow Sea as well he was their only child to survive into childhood and adulthood as his mother suffered numerous miscarriages and stillbirths.
Because of these tragedies, Roland was fostered by his father's longtime friend, Lord Gunthor Estermont, as his mother was deemed unstable by his father and would soon die after her son left Southwall for Greenstone. Roland believed for several years that his father murdered his mother, but kept such suspicions to himself.
He took part in the War of the Ninepenny Kings, giving him a taste for war and military strategy. He rejected the former as a waste of time, but viewed the latter as a sort of learning tree for his future political ambitions. It was also during this time, he fathered his bastard daughter, Diana, and would return to Southwall with the child, who he chose to raise in his ancestral home (a rare act by any noble).
He became the Lord of Southwall after his father's death shortly after the old man's 74th nameday, which was (coincidentally) the nameday of Roland's bastard son, Caledon. Rumors persist that Roland had his father murdered in retaliation for his mother's death years earlier.
At 47, Ronnel married the 18-year-old daughter of one of his bannerman, Katerena Mayer, and they were soon blessed with a daughter, Niobe. However, their happiness was interrupted by the Robert's Rebellion.
For centuries, House Cordon was a neutral party in most wars (only joining when it served their interests), and Ronnel held strong to this tradition, allowing any and all to use Southwall as a resting place.
However, Ronnel was not as complacent with tradition, utilizing the use of Southwall as his threatened interest. He allowed for Prince Rhaegar's closest ally, blood brother and friend, Lord Raymund Sutherland, to seek sanctuary in Southwall. Knowing that Rhaegar was in hiding, biding his time to battle Robert, Ronne; made his move.
Constructing a hammer not unlike Robert's, he and his henchmen, led by Ser Oryn Norfolk, murdered Sutherland and his men, slaughtered a group of his own people and burning a portion of Southwall in the process, forcing it seem as though (to Robert and the rebels) Sutherland had attacked them, violating guest right.
This move worked and Rhaegar, believing that Robert had attacked a neutral house still loyal to him, met Robert at the Battle of the Trident. This would lead to Rhaegar's death and the fall of the Targaryen dynasty.
Ronnel and his bannerman rode to King's Landing after receiving word that Lord Tywin Lannister had declared his intentions of helping the rebels. He took part in the Sack of King's Landing but, upon learning of the deaths of Elia Martell, wife of Prince Rhaegar, and her children at the hands of Ser Gregor Clegane, chose to leave the city in disgust. He would later confess to his son, Caledon, that he knew the children of Rhaegar had to die to secure Robert's throne, but he felt that the method of which it happened was too brutal.
Instead, he chose to sail before Stannis Baratheon to Dragonstone to capture the remaining Targaryens (in order to truly cement his loyalty) and crossed swords with Ser Willem Darry, who injured him during the battle. He would name his only trueborn son after the knight.
After the war, Ronnel and Katerena were blessed with two more children, a son, Willem, and another daughter, Ava.