Gedmund Peake

Gedmund Peake, called Gedmund Great-Axe for his favored weapon, was a seasoned battler whose appointment to command Aegon III’s royal fleet exposed the difference between skill in war and knowledge at sea. Given command during the struggle to reopen trade through the Stepstones, he found himself at odds with Alyn Velaryon over who should lead the larger fleet. While Gedmund waited at Tarth for instructions, Alyn sailed south and attacked the Braavosi without him.

Identity and Appointment

Gedmund was an uncle of Unwin Peake, the King’s Hand during Aegon III’s regency. When Unwin resolved to challenge the disorder in the Stepstones and reopen the narrow sea to trade, he selected Gedmund to command the royal fleet. The appointment rested on a clear qualification: Gedmund was renowned as a warrior. But he had little knowledge or experience of ships, so Unwin paired him with Ned Bean, a notorious sellsail assigned as his second-in-command and nautical adviser.

The fleet was intended to restore a reliable passage through waters where political control had shifted rapidly. Racallio Ryndoon still held Bloodstone and a few smaller islands, while Pentoshi sellswords held much of the rest of the Stepstones and Braavosi warships controlled the surrounding waters. Unwin’s plan was to end Racallio’s rule and establish a Westerosi presence on Bloodstone, not to fight Braavos for mastery of the sea. The royal fleet alone was too small for the undertaking, prompting Unwin to call on Alyn to bring the Velaryon ships as well.

Command and Conflict at Tarth

Alyn complied, assembling sixty war galleys, thirty longships, and more than a hundred cogs and great cogs to join the royal fleet. As the ships passed through the Gullet, Gedmund sent Ned Bean to Alyn’s flagship, Queen Rhaenys, with a letter authorizing Alyn to take command of the Velaryon squadrons. The stated purpose was to let the fleet benefit from Alyn’s years of experience. Alyn sent the messenger back, objecting to Gedmund’s authority and rejecting the proposed command arrangement.

The fleet then received news that transformed its mission. Off Tarth, Lord Bryndemere brought word that Braavos, Tyrosh, and Racallio had joined forces to rule the Stepstones together and restrict passage to ships licensed by Braavos or Tyrosh. Gedmund chose to inform Unwin of the new alliance and, because a raven had already been sent to King’s Landing, ordered the fleet to wait at Tarth for a reply. Alyn argued that waiting would sacrifice the chance to take Racallio by surprise. Gedmund held to his decision, and the two commanders parted angrily.

The Attack Without Gedmund

The contrast between Gedmund’s caution and Alyn’s action sharpened the next morning. Ned Bean woke Gedmund to report that Alyn and the entire Velaryon fleet had slipped away during the night. Gedmund guessed that Alyn had retreated to Driftmark; Bean dismissed him as a frightened boy. Both men were mistaken. Alyn had sailed south toward the Stepstones, while Gedmund and the royal ships remained off Tarth awaiting a raven.

Three days later, Alyn’s attack caught the Braavosi fleet by surprise. Its grand admiral and many captains were feasting on Bloodstone with Racallio and Tyroshi envoys. Half the Braavosi ships were taken, burned, or sunk while still at anchor or tied to a dock, and others were struck as they tried to get underway. The great Braavosi dromond Grand Defiance escaped the initial assault, but Alyn pursued it in Queen Rhaenys. Gedmund is not described as taking part in this battle: his fleet was still waiting at Tarth. His command had been overtaken by the independent action of the more experienced seafarer he had been instructed to empower.

Service After the Fleet’s Departure

The account gives no further decision by Gedmund about the attack or its outcome. It does, however, place him among the Peake family appointments who remained in office after Unwin’s fall from power. When the council accepted Unwin’s resignation as Hand, Unwin withdrew to Starpike, but Gedmund and several other relatives and appointees continued serving in their respective positions. The change in the Hand’s fortunes therefore did not immediately remove Gedmund from royal service.

Unwin also bequeathed Tessario the Thumb and his Fingers to his successor, reasoning that the king had guards and the Hand required them too. Gedmund’s part in the account thus extends beyond the fleet’s failed command arrangement: he appears within the network of personnel and retainers that remained attached to the royal government even after his nephew’s resignation. The record leaves him there, still serving, without specifying any later command or fate.