Bloody Ben Blackwood

Bloody Ben Blackwood was Lord of House Blackwood while still shy of manhood, but the Vale campaign made him a commander under severe pressure. After taking charge of his men when Ser Robert Rowan died, he helped Lord Alyn Velaryon compel the Vale’s rival claimants to acknowledge Joffrey Arryn; later, at the 136 AC gathering in King’s Landing, his youth was cited as a reason not to appoint him Hand.

Identity and Early Command

Blackwood was still half a year short of manhood when Ser Robert Rowan died in the Vale. Rowan was crushed by a falling boulder after clansmen toppled part of a mountainside onto the column. Blackwood assumed command in his place. Though young, he had already accumulated as much experience of war as men four times his age.

The succession to command came amid a disastrous march. By the time the survivors reached the Bloody Gate, a third of the host had perished in wildling attacks or from cold and hunger. The crossing left Blackwood’s men in no condition to fight: at the Vale entrance they found food, warmth, and welcome, but Joffrey Arryn recognized that the exhausted survivors would be a burden rather than reinforcements.

Campaign in the Vale

Blackwood continued to serve in the fighting in the Vale alongside Lord Alyn Velaryon. Together, they forced the Gilded Falcon, the Mad Heir, the Bronze Giant, and their supporters to bend the knee and pay homage to Joffrey Arryn as their liege. The campaign thus ended with the rival claimants accepting Joffrey’s authority.

Blackwood accompanied Lord Alyn to the gathering in King’s Landing after that success. Among the other Vale lords present were Gunthor Royce, Quenton Corbray, and Isembard Arryn, as well as Joffrey Arryn himself. Blackwood arrived not simply as a young lord, but as a commander who had survived a punishing campaign and helped secure the Vale’s submission to its chosen lord.

The 136 AC Gathering

The lords assembled in 136 AC to choose new regents for Aegon III, who had not yet come of age. They also debated who should serve as the king’s Hand. Blackwood’s name was considered alongside Kermit Tully’s, but both were rejected as too young. Instead, the lords chose Torrhen Manderly, whose lack of enemies south of the Neck made him acceptable to an assembly divided by old grievances.

The contrast between Blackwood’s battlefield experience and the lords’ judgment is central to his brief appearance in the gathering. His record in the Vale did not overcome the political weight assigned to his age: he could help win a campaign, yet was not considered eligible to hold the realm’s highest office. The evidence does not describe his response to being passed over or what role he played afterward.