King Harren Hoare, better known as Harren the Black, was one of the three Hoare kings who held the title King of the Isles and the Rivers. He constructed the grand Hoare seat of Harrenhal, which he named in his own honour.
Appearance and Character[]
At the time of the War of Conquest, Harren was an old, grey man who wore black armour. His cruelty was famous throughout the other kingdoms of Westeros.
History[]
Harren was born the son of King Halleck Hoare, and the grandson of King Harwyn Hoare, who had extended the Ironborn control by conquering the Riverlands from King Arrec Durrandon.
Harren's father had made his seat at a modest tower house at Fairmarket, where the storm king had been defeated. Harren designed a grander castle, and then commanded construction over his great seat, which took forty years to complete.
The Riverlands and Iron Islands were drained of wealth over the project, and thousands of captives died in the quarries, chained to sledges, or working on the towering walls or five high towers of the castle. Weirwoods were cut down to be used as rafters.
Harren finally completed his grand design the day that Aegon Targaryen, Lord of Dragonstone, landed in Westeros, intent on conquering. Aegon was victorious over Harren's men at the Battle of the Reeds, but Harren's sons would claim a victory in the Wailing Willows. Whilst they were returning to Harrenhal across the God's Eye, however, they were killed by Aegon and his dragon, Balerion. Harren's tyrannical rule over the riverlords prompted an uprising, and many noble houses, led by Lord Edmyn Tully, would side with Aegon in the war.
Harren took refuge behind the walls of Harrenhal, the largest castle in the Seven Kingdoms, and rejected Aegon's proposal of retaining the castle in exchange for his surrender. Aegon, on the back of Balerion, the Black Dread, rose high into the sky and bathed Harrenhal in dragonfire. Harren and his sons were amongst the casualties, ending the black line of House Hoare.
Harren's death led to a power vacuum in both the Riverlands and the Iron Islands. Aegon rose Edmyn Tully up as the new Lord Paramount of the Trident, and, after supressing a number of rebellions, would allow the Ironborn to choose their own leader. They chose Lord Vickon Greyjoy, who would become the new Lord Paramount of the Iron Islands.