Hey kids!

So as you may have seen, I am starting a new feature on the Tumblr called House Word Wednesdays. Each week, I’ll take a House without known canon/semi-canon words and present what I think could make sense as that House’s motto. You’re free to suggest more as well; 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.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t really expect to see House Crabb in the list of House Words Wednesdays requests. Virtually everything we know about the family comes from a single individual - Nimble Dick Crabb, the colorful character Brienne meets as she journeys looking for Sansa Stark. That “everything” isn’t very much at all, of course, although there are some very interesting details to House Crabb’s history.  The semi-legendary Clarence Crabb, a great hero of the family, was said to have collected heads which his wife raised from the dead, who would counsel him and whisper among themselves; Clarence’s seat was appropriately called “the Whispers”, though it’s long since become ruined. The Crabbs and their neighbors of Crackclaw Point had never been completely subjugated to any petty kings: though the Darklyns, Mootons, and even Valyrian-blooded Celtigars attempted to conquer the Crackclaw Pointers, the native First Men refused to bow to any but their local heroes, and invading Andals found the area too unknowable and the denizens too wild to bring under their banners. Visenya, possibly knowing this history, swore that, because the men of Crackclaw Point bent the knee peaceably, they would owe fealty to none but the dragons themselves; thereafter, the Crabbs became loyal dragon men - fighting for Rhaenyra during the Dance, joining Rhaegar at the Trident, and giving three sons to the Kingsguard. 

So I came up with Strength in Whispers as the words of House Crabb. Obviously, this motto reflects Ser Clarence Crabb’s seat at the Whispers, and the legend of the kings and wizards and pirates who used to whisper their counsel to the ruling Crabbs. There’s also a history with the Crabbs of strength hidden in deep, mysterious pine forests: Darklyns and Mootons might have tried to lead their armies through the cavernous hills and bogs, but they would be driven away by the hiding Crabbs, who knew their land far better than the outsiders did. Now, of course, House Crabb’s strength is decidedly lessened. I imagine that, as ardent Targaryen supporters as the Crabbs proclaimed themselves to be, they were probably pretty harshly punished by Robert after the Rebellion, and their fortunes have fallen considerably: Nimble Dick is ill-fed and dressed in ragged garments, while his sister (assuming she is still alive) is living as a prostitute in the capital. (I wonder if there could be a Crabb at the Wall, choosing to take the black like Jaremy Rykker and Alliser Thorne?) The strength of the Crabbs, once so notable in Crackclaw Point, has fallen to mere whispers, stories passed around by the thin and tattered survivors of these fierce Targaryen loyalists.

Let me know what you think - if you like these words, if you have even better words for the “half-wild” Crabbs, I want to hear. Next week goes to another secretive and somewhat wild House.

The Queen Regent (NFriel)