House Words Wednesdays: House Qoherys
Welcome to House Words Wednesdays! Each week, I take a House without known canon or semi-canon words and present what I think could make sense as that House’s motto. You’re free to suggest more as well, if your favored House has not yet been suggested; take a look at this link to see what has already been suggested, and shoot me a tweet or ask through Tumblr if you have another House you’d like to see done.
House Qoherys is an extinct noble House of the Riverlands, a family that once ruled the mighty seat of Harrenhal. Indeed, House Qoherys was the first family to rule Harren's royal seat after Harren's fiery end (courtesy of Balerion). Aegon the Conqueror, having ended the Hoare line but wishing to reward one of his loyal supporters, gave the castle and incomes of Harrenhal to Quenton Qoherys, the former master at arms on Dragonstone. Westeros.org identifies the Qoherys family as being of Valyrian descendant, and that's probable to me; I tend to think of the pre-Conquest Targaryens as being pretty insular (heh) on Dragonstone, and it would make sense that their arms master would come from their close circle of Valyrian expatriates.
The Qoherys sigil was a flaming saltire, red and yellow, between four white skulls, on black - presumably a reference to the flames that slew Harren and his sons. When thinking about Qoherys words, I wanted a motto that would draw on this legacy - that the immolation of the Hoare line paved the way for the Qoherys preferment. I also wanted the words to reflect the sorry end of House Qoherys, which was itself tied up with the Hoares: the reprehensible Gargon Qoherys - called "the Guest" for his habit of attending every wedding in his domain to exercise the right to the first night - was castrated by Harren the Red, a supposed grandson of Harren the Black, and left to bleed to death in the Harrenhal godswood.
So for Qoherys words, I came up with Blood for Blood. Of course, this reflects the obvious transfer of Harrenhal power to House Qoherys from the bloodshed of the Hoares. As well, I like that this motto recalls the Valyrian blood of Quenton being one of the reasons he was gifted Harren's grandiose seat: Aegon, who was himself of Valyrian blood, entrusted his fellow Valyrian-blooded expatriate with the seat of the mighty ironborn King. I also think this motto fits nicely with Gargon's supremely distasteful habit of claiming the lord's right whenever he could: because of his lordly blood, he (in his mind) had the right to the maiden's blood of any bride in his domain. Finally, Gargon himself was killed in a particularly bloody way as vengeance by Harren the Red (supposedly of the blood of Harren the Black) against the deaths of the Hoares.
Let me know what you think of these words for the short-reigning House Qoherys. The Harrenhal House words party continues next week with the successors of Aegon’s first Harrenhal lords.
