[DISCLAIMER: This story is a FanFiction. It is a fan-made, spin-off story based on the series A Song of Ice and Fire. If you are looking for a FanFic with canon characters interacting heavily with canon or OC characters, then you are in the wrong place. This story is going to follow minor house families, each being OC, and how they have to deal with the splashback of the Canon-Major house decisions. This FanFic will not be including many canon storyline aspects, as it will primarily be following the drama and stories of OC-Minor houses. While it may allude to Canon-Major house members and their actions, it will not actually be including extended dialogue with Canon characters in the foreseeable future of this story, though a fleeting glimpse or passing-by may happen between my created characters and the Canon characters. It is inevitable that they will interact at some point in time, but Canon characters will not be having a major part in my story, and there will not be a lengthy presence of Canon characters in my story. Again, if this is what you are looking for, you are reading the wrong FanFiction.]

A Tale of Song and Steel

Prologue:

The Introduction

ACCORDING to the tales of the old, the house Warde had always been a favoured house through the lands. They were the people's favourites, the choice to lead. While they had the popular vote, the larger houses thought otherwise. The king and his men have always favoured the Bishop family, these being their off-shot cousins. And with the Bishops came the Marqoui family. They had never gotten along well with the Bishops until an unfortunate event left them in the clammy palms of the high class household. The reasoning behind such a ghastly debt was still unknown to all outside of the two families, but it was evident that House Marqoui would rather sacrifice each and every one of its members than fall on the Bishop black list.

There were, of course, other houses to which Bishop or Warde had to win favour with. House Carvell, for instance, admired Warde's mastery with a sword, but they were a family of intellect. Their name belonged with whomever the Lord Adem Carvell decided had the upper hand. Their loyalty was to none, and Lord Carvell would not hesitate to switch allegiances if the tides turned. Their banner, a grey fox on a half black and half white field, spoke evident of their calculative minds. They stayed neutral until given a choice between the black and white. "Accept No Chance," was a very fitting motto to the family who had never once taken a chance in their lives.

The family Vermillion was likewise. They could not decide on a side based off of loyalties. Instead, the Lord Branson disgraced his Lady Sophya by fathering more bastards than legitimate children. The Lady of the House had only bore two of her own, and she had taught them a balance of wit and brawn. While Sophya and her children, the heir Nathan and his sister Nancie, supported House Warde and their endeavors completely, Lord Branson had the lands of Vermillion supporting whomever was the highest bidder. He liked his whores and his gambling, not to mention his ale. Their banner of a white bone on a field of crimson had its meaning lost long ago to the common Vermillion dweller, but the Lady and her two children knew it quite well. "Take The Lot," the banner spoke. "Even if it means fighting to the bone."

Unlike the Carvells and the Vermillions, who were sots of the daft kind in their minds, the Houses Ransyter, Skye, and Fraensson could not be bothered with bribery or allegiance.

Ransyter folk were secluded away from the others, hidden deep in the woods surrounding Karhold, just off of the Bay of Seals. Their homes were built in the underground and in the trees with very few buildings actually on the solid dirt. This was for vantage points as the Ransyters were known far and wide for their mistrust of others. They were secluded for a reason, having started as nomads from beyond The Wall. They were experts in assassinations, trapping, and scouting. Their banner was that of a blue serpent on a black field. Throughout their family resounded the words, "When Darkness Falls, We Arise."

The people of House Skye were just as secluded as their close friends of Ransyter. They were located on the northern region Bear Island on the Bay of Ice, just to the west of the Deepwood of Winterfell, and on the south end of the Frozen Shore. They were hunters by trade, experts with a bow or a spear. Speculation spoke of each child being given a bear cub to be raised with them on their first name day. There is no confirmation of such rumour, however. They often traded the meat, pelts, fat, and bones of the animals and fish they catch. It was very clever to never ask a Skye what ingredients were used when creating the meal they had just prepared for you, as they were very resourceful, even if others might deem their food items inedible. They were a proud bunch who have murdered during dinner over a slight insult... and kept eating. Their banner, of course, was of a white bear on a field of dark blue. The words they uttered often spoke naught but the fundamental of every Skye, "Fury of Fire. Hearts of Ice. Strength of Stone."

Of course, there was the family Fraensson. The family had become less and less over the years. They had once been a plentiful family who were very efficient at transportation over the waters and any service to do with water. But, after battles and storms had claimed so many lives, there were only three known Fraenssons still alive: the Lord Tomis and his nephew and niece, Aleks and Alyse. The three ran a family transportation business. However, due to a scuffle with the Greyjoy family, they made an agreement that they could continue their trading route so long as they did not get in the Greyjoy way. This led the Fraenssons to expand to land transportation as well. Their banner was that of a blue fish stabbed on top of a spear on a field of white. Their words were simple, "None So Quick." Of course, most knew their words to be "Beware the glare." The piercing gaze of the Fraensson's telltale silver eyes gave the beholder an icy grasp that would not let go.

There were the bastardised cousins of the Fraensson family, the Wersson House. Long ago, before the tales of the old began, the Lord Fraen and his brother Wer fought side by side to vanquish raiders from their lands. Fraen was the rightful heir, and Wer was his admiring, younger brother. As the lineage continued, as did the admiration. The Wersson family pledged their servitude to the Fraensson members, as that was precisely what Wer did to Fraen for saving his life and his family. The Werssons were eternally in debt, and they paid it well. However, there were more Werssons than one could count. Though most were simply cousins, all the males and females of the family looked the exact same to an outsider, with bright orange hair, big blue eyes, and more freckles than there were Werssons. Their banner, a red fish caught in the talons of a bird on a field of yellow, accompanied the words, "Relentless."

There was a pact between the families Skye and Fraensson, though no outsider knew why. All anyone could tell for sure was that the two families were inseparable. If you got one family's allegiance, you got the other. The same was for the Skye and Ransyter family. This was why the Bishop family tried so hard to gain the Skye trust.

Now, the Bishops were a family of cunning politicians. The violet rose on a field of red was an emblem to promote civility. Their words were just as sly, "Hearts of Gold." Indeed, most everyone knew they had the hearts of gold. Not in the noble sense, but in that they held the currency above all other worth. They prided themselves in being able to talk an extra gold piece out of a deal. They were the favourites, as far as these minor Houses were concerned. They received supplies, resources, and help from a Great House. The rumour was that it was the Lannisters who fed the Bishops, so long as the Bishops picked up their blades and gloves when asked.

The Marqoui family, however, were once the Baratheon favourite. That is, until they fell from grace. It took them decades to pull together once again. This time, however, the Baratheon family wanted naught to do with them, and they were deeply indebted to the Bishops. Their banner consisted of a silver tiger on a green field. The members of the House Marqoui often spoke their words, "Behold Our Loyal Might." It was true, their words. Marqoui were fiercely loyal to those they pledged to, and they would stop at nothing to remain true to their word, even if it meant wiping out their family.

The last family in concern with our part of Westeros was the Warde family. They were the favourites among the people of the land, though it was only to the hard workers with bent backs and calloused hands. They prided themselves on producing some of the best swordsmen, their trade being that of either a fighter or a forger. Their banner held a silver canine on a field of crimson. The canine was the largest dog in the known lands, being able to grow to the size of a small Dire Wolf. It came from a northern land named Tibet, unknown to the people of these parts, and was called a "Mastiff." It's fur gave the appearance of a larger animal than reality, but it was very useful for those living in the northern regions. The words that accompanied the royal Mastiff were, "Blood and Steel." The Warde family liven on these words. Their blacksmiths produced steel. Their warriors produced blood. While their army was small, every member was very skilled and well trained, as opposed to the Bishop army, granted to them by a Great House, which was plentiful but many were novice to fighting.

The first course of action, in the dispute between House Bishop and House Warde, was a meeting. A meeting that set off events like a stone in a pond.