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Cyrissa Manwoody was born in the year 150 AL to Lady Linnet Yronwood and Ser Pol Allyrion. As the wife of Lord Aryard Manwoody, the Lord of Kingsgrave and Warden of the Broken Arm, Cyrissa currently resides at Sunspear.
Cyrissa Yronwood has a heart shaped face, with high cheekbones, framed by soft long curls the colour of spun gold which tumble down to her lower back. Her flawless skin is lightly tanned due to her penchant for engaging in outdoor activities. The features that stand out the most on her comely face are her bright blue-green eyes which appear to fix intently on the object of her attention. Her lips are soft and full, although they purse tightly together when she is angered. Standing at five-foot-three, Cyrissa is slightly shorter than the average woman and has a voluptuous, womanly figure.
She wears a silver dress made of sandsilk with long sleeves that leave her shoulders bare and a modest neckline. The sleeves of the dress are overlaid with silver Myrish lace; the same material lines the hem and neckline. Her bodice does a lot to accentuate her womanly figure; her waist appears narrower which brings attention to her ample bosom. Emeralds surround the centre of the bodice which bear witness to the wealth of her House. An emerald necklace gleams in the light against her skin; much like her sparkling eyes. The skirts of the dress billow in the wind to reveal silver sandals which compliment her dress.
Cyrissa is an intelligent young woman with a quick wit and a dry sense of humour. Although her beauty and ability to engage in meaningful conversations are appealing factors, her arrogance and somewhat over-assertive nature make maintaining friendships very difficult and work to repel potential allies.
She does not hide her disdain for northerners and is easily angered when challenged on the subject. She can appear to be deaf to reason on topics in which her hatred clouds her judgement. Despite this, she has shown the ability to display warmth and charm, especially around those she cares for.
150 years after Aegon’s Conquest, a second child was born to Linnet Yronwood and Ser Pol Allyrion; a plump girl they named Cyrissa. The girl was three years younger than her elder brother Farien who doted on his sister since the moment of her birth. Cyrissa was rotund as a toddler, and her father Pol would make japes about her one day weighing more than he did.
When Cyrissa was three years of age, her grandmother Ursula died. Although she was too young to grasp the meaning of the loss of life, she remembers feeling detached from her stoic mother during the ordeal and being terribly confused at the time. Her family’s cold and distant behaviour angered Cyrissa as she was far too young to understand anyone’s explanations and she began to act out erratically to receive the attention she felt she deserved. She threw bowls at the servants during meal times and would scratch anybody besides her mother and father who tried to pick her up. This behaviour continued for half a year and would eventually become positively reinforced by her father in particular, as he tried to do whatever he could to appease her. Cyrissa and her elder brother, Farien, remained close as she grew into early childhood, and they played in the yard of the castle nearly every day. Farien would carry his sister around the yard at times, pretending to be a dragon flying her around the realm over undiscovered territories.
In 156 AC, a new member of House Yronwood was born and Cyrissa had gotten a younger brother whom her parents named Finnian. She grew to become jealous of her younger sibling as she had been used to being doted on by the denizens of Yronwood having been the youngest. She would barely interact with the baby and behaved as though he did not exist; she’d only acknowledge him when forced to do so. This changed however due to the events the year after Finnian’s birth: the Conquest of Dorne.
The death of her grandfather Ormond by the hand of his own nephew Ser Doran Dondarrion shook Cyrissa to her core due to her previous understanding that kinsmen did not harm one another. In the same year, her cousin Corentyn Yronwood was slain by Sarmion Baratheon when he attempted to save his lover, the captured Prince Rhodry Martell and her cousin Cordelia, wife of Prince Marence Martell died during childbirth. The young girl did not fail to note that Martells had a hand in both of these tragedies, albeit unwittingly. Yronwood fell to King Daeron’s forces - something she had not thought would be possible in her lifetime - and, finally, her great-uncle, Lord Morys and many of her cousins and uncles were slain by the hand of Ser Osbert Bettley at the Carrion Wood.
As a result, Cyrissa’s mother Linnet inherited Yronwood, but the circumstances were dour. The loss of so many family members in the space of a year created in her a new-found sense of loyalty to her family and she became increasingly protective and loving of her infant brother. However, it was also the start of Cyrissa’s disdain for all northmen for all the pain they had caused her family. Her uncle, Ser Kay, being taken hostage was particularly upsetting to the young girl as she was unsure if she would ever see him again.
During the first month of the year 158 AC, Cyrissa’s father, Pol Allyrion was killed along with many other Dornish soldiers by Daeron’s men in their final push to take Sunspear. This was followed by Prince Marence’s submission to the Young Dragon’s regime proving that the war was lost. Cyrissa was devastated by this news as she remembered her father’s kindness and patience during her childhood. The knowledge that he was taken from her and she’d be deprived from the chance of knowing him better was too much for her to bear. She became a more withdrawn individual, playing little with children her age and only allowing herself to remain close with members of her family. However, her hatred for all northrons only grew and she would spend many a day yearning for vengeance and imagining the brutal murders of the men occupying her family’s castle.
From the age of nine, Cyrissa had shown herself to be an intellectually inclined young girl and displayed enthusiasm during lessons with her maester, particularly in the fields of geography and history. When alone, which was often, she would pore over maps of the known world and try to memorise as many locations as she could. She also enjoyed activities befitting a lady of her station such as needlework, dancing and singing. Although she found she had very little skill in the latter, much to her displeasure, and would frequently be told to politely keep her voice down whenever she attempted to carry a tune.
With the death of Lord Lyonel Tyrell at Sandstone and hundreds of northern men towards the end of the year 160 AC came the opportunity for the Dornish to reclaim their lands and castles. With castle Yronwood under siege in 161 AC, Ser Mavros Uller and his sister Lady Uller convinced the garrison at Yronwood to permit the young denizens of the castle, including Cyrissa, safe passage out of the castle. She and the other youths were sent to the Greenblood to take passage with the orphans to Planky Town, where they were escorted to Sunspear.
These were trying times for the eleven year old girl as she was afraid of losing more of those she loved while she was separated from them. Yronwood soon fell to Dornish rebels, much to her joy when she heard of the news, and the Targaryen banner was cut down by Caitrin Blackmont. Daeron’s forces failed to take back the castle but not for lack of trying. They were eventually driven away after many months after news arrives of their King’s death during the Battle of Godsgrace from his steward, Ser William Waxley. With Yronwood finally under her family’s rule as it should be, Cyrissa returned to the castle she could once again call home.
As Cyrissa grew into early adolescence, so did her beauty. Her childhood plumpness was no more and gave way to a slender but feminine figure. This did nothing to humble the young girl who had already shown signs of arrogance and pride in her abilities and status. She enjoyed the attention she had begun to receive and the compliments that were thrown her way; by nobles and servants alike. Over the course of time she developed an affinity for archery and would practice her skill with bow on stationary targets, such as straw men, or mobile targets while hunting. This hobby of hers served as a way for her to relieve the anger she felt about the forged peace between Dorne and the Iron Throne.
Due to the resentment she felt towards House Martell for what she thought was a show of weakness, she openly praised her mother’s role in the looting and razing of a marcher village in the year 163 AC, although was uneasy about the involvement of the bandit, Red Rhys and the Witch, Alyx Sand. The conflict between House Martell and House Yronwood was resolved after her mother arranged for her brother Farien to be wed to Princess Ariana Martell.
Her betrothal to Lord Aryard Manwoody, Warden of the Broken Arm in 168 AC, was one she was very pleased with as she believed it was fitting for one born of the most powerful woman in Dorne. And so, she journeyed to Sunspear with Lord Aryard’s retinue, accompanied by Yronwood guardsmen and companions.