Unwin Peake

Unwin Peake rose from a prominent but diminished Reach house to exercise near-royal power during the minority of Aegon III Targaryen. His path ran through the factional violence at Tumbleton, where he helped plot against the dragonriders Hugh Hammer and Ulf White, and into the regency, where he combined offices, installed loyalists, and ruled in the king’s name. His authority proved formidable but not secure: disputes over appointments, succession, and the king’s family ultimately preceded his resignation and retreat to Starpike.

House and political outlook

House Peake had ancient roots in the Reach, but its standing had declined after the Conquest. The house had once held influence at Highgarden and claimed a long line of distinguished ancestors. Its fortunes were also tied to the former ruling family: a Peake ancestor had helped drive House Manderly into exile, receiving Dunstonbury and its lands in return, and Peake women had married into several leading Reach houses. After Aegon the Conqueror granted Highgarden to House Tyrell, however, the Peakes had no close blood connection to their new overlords. A century later they retained three castles and extensive, populous lands, but no longer enjoyed their former prominence among the Reach’s bannermen.

Unwin was determined to restore his house’s greatness. His political outlook was shaped by a firm opposition to women ruling men: like his father, who had supported the majority at the Great Council of 101 AC, he rejected female rule. During the Dance, he became one of the Greens’ most committed adherents and brought a thousand swords and spears to support Aegon II Targaryen. His ambition to recover Peake influence therefore operated alongside a consistent preference for male succession and male authority.

Tumbleton and the Caltrops

After Lord Ormund Hightower died, command of the Green host at Tumbleton became contested. Unwin believed it should fall to him, but rivals denied him the position. The surviving commanders included Hobert Hightower, Jon Roxton, and Owain Bourney; none could effectively restrain the divided army. As these leaders disputed precedence and plunder, discipline collapsed. Unwin’s exclusion from command became a grievance he did not forget, and the crisis gave him an opportunity to act against the dragonriders whose strength and ambitions threatened the authority of the established lords.

At a secret meeting in a Tumbleton inn, Unwin joined Hobert Hightower and other lords and landed knights in planning how to curb Hugh Hammer and Ulf White, known as the Two Betrayers. The conspirators judged Ulf an easier target, but Unwin argued that killing him while leaving Hugh alive would not solve their problem: Hugh had to die first. The discussion turned on the dragons as much as the men. Some thought Tessarion would suffice to retake the Iron Throne; others wanted Vermithor and Silverwing in their possession. Jon Roxton settled the debate by proposing that the dragonriders be killed before the conspirators tried to claim their dragons for themselves.

Unwin’s group became known as the Caltrops. Although Prince Daeron Targaryen was not at their meeting, the conspirators wanted his approval before acting. Unwin presented him with warrants for the executions of Hugh and Ulf, and Daeron readily sealed them. Their plan was overtaken by the Second Battle of Tumbleton, which began with a surprise assault before the conspirators could carry out their intended killings. Eight of the thirteen Caltrops died, including Jon Roxton and Owen Fossoway; Unwin survived. Hugh was killed in the battle, but Ulf remained alive and became the last dragonrider among the survivors. Unwin offered a reward to a knight who could claim Silverwing, but after the first two attempts ended in failure, no further claimant came forward. With his army disintegrating through desertion, Unwin ordered a retreat.

From exclusion to control of the regency

At the start of Aegon III’s reign, Unwin was not among the appointed regents. Cregan Stark was reportedly offered a place and refused; the council also omitted several prominent figures, including Unwin, Kermit Tully, Sabitha Frey, Thaddeus Rowan, and Benjicot Blackwood. Septon Eustace reported that Unwin alone was truly angered by his exclusion. His eventual rise therefore followed an initial rebuff, not an uninterrupted appointment to power.

After the Winter Fever and the Moon of Madness, Unwin became the dominant figure at court. When Aegon III, still a boy, attempted to make appointments without consulting the council, Unwin argued that the earlier regents had surrendered their places by leaving King’s Landing. With Grand Maester Munkun’s support, he set aside the king’s choices, including the appointments of Robin Massey and Robert Darklyn to the Kingsguard. Thaddeus Rowan received a place among the regents and offices in justice and law, but Unwin took the combined positions of Hand and Protector of the Realm. For nearly three years, he served as Lord Regent, Hand, and Protector, governing the Seven Kingdoms in all but name.

He built his authority through appointments and armed protection. Marston Waters was confirmed as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, but Unwin arranged for his own nephew, Amaury Peake, and his bastard brother, Mervyn Flowers, to receive white cloaks. The City Watch went to Lucas Leygood, the son of a Caltrops conspirator who had died at Tumbleton, and five hundred of Unwin’s own men were made gold cloaks. He also surrounded himself with ten sellswords loyal to him personally. Their captain, Tessario, was known publicly as Tessario the Tiger and mocked behind his back as Tessario the Thumb; Unwin later left these guards to his successor.

Rule, image, and succession

Unwin presented himself as a forceful alternative to Tyland Lannister, whom some regarded as weak and sinister. To emphasize the contrast, he displayed Orphan-Maker, the Valyrian steel sword last associated with Jon Roxton’s violence at Tumbleton, and made a public demonstration of his capacity to wield it. The gesture linked his new authority to the martial power he had seen contested in the war. His government also used the Feast Day of Our Father Above for a large round of punishments against prisoners whose cases had already been decided. The proceedings, carried out before a crowd at the Red Keep, projected an image of uncompromising order.

His relationship with the young king was less constructive. Tyland had treated Aegon with deference and sought to guide him; Unwin was sterner and did little to involve the boy in day-to-day government. When the king protested the dismissal of Massey and Darklyn, Unwin answered that the Kingsguard’s lifelong service depended on proper appointment. Aegon then withdrew into silence and passivity, and for the rest of his minority mostly signed and sealed papers presented by the Hand. The concentration of authority in Unwin’s office thus coincided with the king’s retreat from active rule.

Succession remained a central concern. Aegon had no children, and Unwin was unwilling to see a woman inherit the Iron Throne. When Jaehaera Targaryen died, the chronicles describe suspicion and competing accusations, but provide no proof that she was murdered. The account identifies Unwin as the most plausible suspected instigator, noting his interest in clearing the way for Aegon to remarry and the presence of Mervyn Flowers, his bastard brother, on guard at the queen’s door that night. This remains an allegation rather than an established fact. The succession anxiety behind it was explicit: with no known heir from Aegon, the king’s half-sisters remained close in the line, and a son born to either could inherit.

Setbacks and resignation

Unwin’s power depended on the cooperation of the king and the other regents, and that cooperation weakened. When Alyn Velaryon returned Viserys Targaryen from captivity in Lys, Unwin objected that the young admiral had no authority to agree to the ransom terms. The law and tradition were on his side, but the king, the smallfolk, and the other regents favored honoring Alyn’s agreement. The council confirmed honors for Alyn, recognized Viserys’s marriage to Larra Rogare, and authorized payment of the ransom in ten annual installments. The decision was another defeat for Unwin’s claim to control the Crown’s decisions.

This rebuke followed the king’s rejection of Unwin’s daughter, Myrielle, in favor of the young Daenaera Velaryon. Unwin threatened to resign as Hand, apparently expecting his colleagues to yield; instead, they accepted his resignation and appointed Thaddeus Rowan. Unwin returned to Starpike, brooding over the setbacks he believed he had suffered. His departure did not remove all his influence: his relatives and other appointees continued in their offices, and he left Tessario and the Fingers in place for the new Hand. His career ended not with a public overthrow but with the loss of the central office he had used to dominate the regency, while a network of loyal personnel remained behind.