The Lord of Horn Hill, Randyll Tarly was a loyal bannerman to House Tyrell and answered many calls to arms when they were given to him by Lord Mace Tyrell. He was the father of five children, Samwell, Dickon and three girls.He was the owner of the Valayrian steel greatsword Heartsbane, which was ancestral to House Tarly, being passed down from father to son for generations. However he deemed his son Samwell to be a disappointment, attempting to make a knight out of the pacifist by hiring several masters-at-arms. Randyll eventually came to despise Samwell for not living up to his expectations of the Tarly name.
In attempts to accustom Sam to hunting and blood, Randyll made his son watch as he "dress{ed} animals." He would also allow Sam to hold Heartsbane, resigning to the fact that he might not have any other children to carry on the five hundred year old tradition.
He was eventually given the son he had always wanted in the form of Dickon Tarly, leading him to push for his youngest son to be recognised as his heir to the title of Lord of Horn Hill and the wielder of Heartsbane. On Sam's fifteenth birthday, Randyll told Sam in the woods - as he was skinning a deer - that he wanted his son to "take the black" and join the Night's Watch, promising that if he did not do as he asked, he would lead a hunting party to hunt down Sam as though he were a "pig". He added that it would give him great pleasure to do so, expressing with content for his wife's love for her eldest son. But he went on to say that he would tell her it was an accident to spare her any pain.
Appearances:
- None
Mentions:
- "Jon IV" (First Mentioned)
- "Jon V"
- "Jon VII"
- "Jon VIII"
- "Appendix: House Tyrell" (Last Mentioned)
