The known world is composed of at least three continents (Westeros, Essos, and Sothoryos), a large landmass (Ulthos), and a number of many smaller islands. None of the four major landmasses have been completely mapped, and much of the world remains unexplored.
Continents:
Westeros
Located in the far west of the known world, the continent of Westeros is long and relatively narrow, extending from Dorne in the south to the Lands of Always Winter in the far north. The Wall, the border between the Seven Kingdoms and lands beyond the Wall to the north, is 300 miles long, indicating that Westeros is roughly 900 miles wide at its widest point, east to west. North of the Wall, much land remains uncharted.
Essos
Separated from Westeros by the narrow sea, Essos extends eastwards for many thousands of miles. It is larger than Westeros, but much of it consists of less densely populated steppes, plains and deserts. The western edge of the continent is controlled by the nine Free Cities, while the city-states of Slaver's Bay are in the south-central region.
Much of the continental interior, known as the Dothraki sea, is grassland ruled by the tribal warriors known as the Dothraki. Further east is Qarth and the fabled Jade Sea. The mapped lands of Essos are divided by the Bone Mountains, which run from the Shivering Sea in the north to the Jade Gates in the south. East of the Bone Mountains are the Plains of the Jogos Nhai, Yi Ti, the Grey Waste, Mossovy, and the legendary Asshai in the foreboding Shadow Lands.
Sothoryos
Sothoryos, also written as Sothoros, is south of Essos, on the far side of the Summer Sea. It is a large continent, perhaps as long as Essos is wide, consisting of deserts and jungles and mountains. It is said to be a haven for plagues and dangerous animals, and has not been explored much by Westerosi beyond the northern coastal regions. (The Summer Islanders may have mapped the continent and its coastlines, but they do not share their knowledge.) Off the coast of northwestern Sothoryos are the Basilisk Isles, and to the west is Naath.
Ulthos (Possibly)
Ulthos is a large landmass to the southeast of Essos, across the Saffron Straits from the Shadow Lands. It may or may not be a continent, and its size is still unknown, as it is on the edge of the known world.
Islands:
The largest island in the known world is Great Moraq, between the Summer Sea and the Jade Sea to the south of Qarth. The second largest appears to be Ib in the Shivering Sea north of the Kingdoms of the Ifequevron, followed by the largest of the Summer Isles, Jhala. See also various other islands.
Seas:
Shivering Sea
The Shivering Sea is a frigid sea north of Essos. It is bounded to the west by northeastern Westeros, to the south by the narrow sea and northern Essos, to the north by a vast frozen wilderness called the White Waste, and to the east by lands and seas unknown, perhaps the Sunset Sea.
The Sunset Sea
The Sunset Sea or sunset sea is a sea to the west of Westeros. It borders the Reach, the westerlands, the Iron Islands, the riverlands, the north, and the lands beyond the Wall.
The Summer Sea
The Summer Sea is a body of water located south of Westeros and Essos.The southern sea has deep blue waters and is warm from the sun.
The Jade Sea
The Jade Sea is a large body of water in the far east of the explored world, beyond the Jade Gates, which separate it from the Summer Sea.
The Narrow Sea
The narrow sea is the sea between the continents of Westeros to its west and Essos to its east. The sea is relatively narrow and easy to cross, but large enough to make large-scale invasions and military incursions between the Seven Kingdoms and the Free Cities difficult. There is regular trade across the narrow sea between the two continents and the Port of Ibben. Westerosi nobles are sometimes fostered or seek refuge in the cities across the water.
The Seven Kingdoms:
The Seven Kingdoms refers to a realm located on the continent of Westeros, ruled by a monarch styled King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men and Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. The king rules from the Iron Throne within the Red Keep in the capital city, King's Landing.
The kingdom's name derives from the situation three centuries ago when Aegon the Conqueror set to unite the lands of Westeros, which was then ruled by seven independent realms, besides the lands beyond the Wall. The new kingdom created from Aegon's Conquest is now divided into nine regions or provinces.
Regions and Territory:
The crownlands
The crownlands are one of the nine constituent regions of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. It was never a sovereign kingdom, instead being contested by river kings, Storm Kings, and local petty kings until Aegon the Conqueror seized control of the area during his Wars of Conquest and made it his primary foothold on the continent. Since then, the crownlands have been sworn directly to the Iron Throne, held first by House Targaryen and then, after Robert's Rebellion, by House Baratheon.
Some notable houses of the crownlands include Bar Emmon, Celtigar, Massey, Rosby, Rykker, Stokeworth, Sunglass, and Velaryon. "Waters" is a common surname given to bastards of noble origin in the vicinity of Blackwater Bay.
Dorne
Dorne is the large peninsula which makes up the southernmost part of Westeros, and is one of the constituent regions of the Seven Kingdoms. The lords of the ruling House Nymeros Martell style themselves "Prince" and "Princess" in the Rhoynish fashion.
The Martells rule from their capital, Sunspear, outside of which sprawls the shadow city. Notable houses include Allyrion, Blackmont, Dayne, Fowler, Jordayne, Qorgyle, Santagar, Toland, Uller, Vaith, Wyl, and Yronwood.
The Iron Islands
The Iron Islands, the Iron Isles, or the Kingdom of the Iron Isles, is one of the constituent regions of the Seven Kingdoms. The isles were historically ruled by rock, salt, and High Kings chosen in kingsmoots, next by hereditary Kings of the Iron Islands, and then briefly by Kings of the Isles and the Rivers. Since Aegon's Conquest, the region has been ruled by House Greyjoy, Lords of the Iron Islands, from their castle of Pyke.
The Iron Islands are home to a fierce seafaring people who call themselves the ironborn. While some say the archipelago is named after the abundant iron ore on the islands, the ironmen claim it is instead named after their own unyielding nature.[4] It is often said that every captain is a king aboard his own ship, so the islands are also called "the land of ten thousand kings".
Notable houses have included Blacktyde, Botley, Drumm, Goodbrother, Greyiron, Harlaw, Hoare, Merlyn, Stonehouse, Sunderly, Tawney, and Wynch. Bastards of noble origin from the Iron Islands receive the surname Pyke.
The north
The north, or the North, or the winterlands is one of the constituent regions of Westeros and was a sovereign nation ruled by Kings in the North before Aegon's Conquest. The largest region of the Seven Kingdoms, the dominion of House Stark extends from the border of the New Gift, which is controlled by the Night's Watch, to the southern edge of the Neck far to the south.
The north has been ruled by the Starks for thousands of years from the castle known as Winterfell. The only city in the region is White Harbor, while the most prominent northern towns are the winter town and Barrowton. Notable bannermen of the region include Bolton, Cerwyn, Dustin, Flint, Glover, Hornwood, Karstark, Manderly, Mormont, Reed, Ryswell, Tallhart, and Umber. Bastards of noble origin raised in the north are given the surname Snow.
The Reach
The Reach, historically the Kingdom of the Reach or the Green Realm, is one of the constituent regions of the Seven Kingdoms on the continent of Westeros. It was formerly a sovereign nation ruled by the Kings of the Reach before Aegon's Conquest. It is the second-largest of the kingdoms behind the north and is considered the most fertile and heavily-populated part of Westeros.
The Reach is considered the home of chivalry in Westeros. It is the place where knighthood is looked upon with the greatest reverence and esteemed the most. It is also the place where the rules for tourneys are the most stringent and managed.
The Reach is ruled from the castle of Highgarden by House Tyrell. Notable houses have included Ashford, Caswell, Crane, Florent, Fossoway, Gardener, Hightower, Merryweather, Mullendore, Oakheart, Redwyne, Rowan, Tarly, and Vyrwel. Noble bastards born in the Reach are given the surname Flowers.
The riverlands
The riverlands, historically the Kingdom of Rivers and Hills, are a central region of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, consisting of the rich, fertile, and populous areas around the three forks of the Trident and the northern Blackwater Rush. At the time of Aegon's Conquest the riverlands and the Iron Islands were ruled by House Hoare, the Kings of the Isles and the Rivers, although native river kings ruled centuries earlier.
Because of their central position in Westeros and lack of natural boundaries, the riverlands have been a frequent battleground. The people of the riverlands are known as "rivermen" or occasionally "riverlanders", and they are a mixture of hardy warriors, peaceful fisherfolk, and devout smallfolk. Their lords have a reputation for being notoriously quarrelsome, and are referred to as "river lords". Noble bastards born in the riverlands are given the surname Rivers.
The riverlands are ruled from Riverrun by House Tully, the Lords Paramount of the Trident. Notable houses of the region have included Blackwood, Bracken, Darry, Frey, Lothston, Mallister, Mooton, Mudd, Piper, Ryger, Strong, Vance, and Whent.
The stormlands
The stormlands, historically the Kingdom of the Storm, are one of the constituent regions of the Seven Kingdoms on the continent of Westeros. The Kingdom of the Storm was a sovereign nation until Aegon's Conquest, in which the last Storm King was slain. The region is so-named for the savage and frequent autumn storms that batter the coast after beginning in the Summer Sea.
The stormlands are ruled from the castle of Storm's End by House Baratheon. Notable bannermen of the region include Buckler, Caron, Connington, Dondarrion, Errol, Estermont, Penrose, Selmy, Staedmon, Swann, Tarth, and Wylde. Noble bastards raised in the stormlands are given the surname Storm.
The Vale of Arryn
The Vale of Arryn, the Vale, or the kingdom of Mountain and Vale, is one of the constituent regions of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. It was formerly a sovereign nation ruled by the Kings of Mountain and Vale before Aegon's Conquest. The Mountains of the Moon surround the smaller Vale proper, although the valley's name is often applied to all of House Arryn's realm.
The Vale is ruled by the Arryns from the castle known as the Eyrie. Notable houses of this region include Baelish, Belmore, Corbray, Egen, Grafton, Hersy, Hunter, Melcolm, Redfort, Royce, Templeton, and Waynwood.[7][8] Bastards of noble origin raised in the Vale are given the surname Stone.
The westerlands
The westerlands or westlands, historically the Kingdom of the Rock, are a region in the west of the continent of Westeros. Before Aegon's Conquest, it was ruled by the Kings of the Rock. People from the westerlands are known as westermen. The customary surname of bastards of noble origin born in the westerlands is Hill.
The westerlands are ruled from Casterly Rock by House Lannister. Notable bannermen have included Banefort, Brax, Broom, Clegane, Crakehall, Farman, Lefford, Lydden, Marbrand, Payne, Prester, Reyne, Serrett, Swyft, Tarbeck, and Westerling.
The Free Cities
The Free Cities, also called the Nine Free Cities, are a group of nine independent city-states in western Essos, located west of the Dothraki sea and the Painted Mountains and northwest of the Valyrian peninsula.
The Free Cities trade and interact frequently with the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. Many in the Free Cities consider themselves more sophisticated than Westerosi, with some considering the people of the Seven Kingdoms to be savages.
Braavos
Braavos, also known as Braavos of the Hundred Isles and the Secret City, and sometimes referred to as the bastard daughter of Valyria,[9] is the wealthiest and likely the most powerful of the Free Cities. It is also the youngest of the nine cities, and was founded by slaves fleeing the grasp of the Valyrian Freehold.
The ancestry of the founders of Braavos was highly diverse, and the founders of Braavos spoke many tongues. Because of this, they used the language of their masters, High Valyrian, as their common tongue.
The current Braavosi tongue is a corrupt dialect of the original High Valyrian. Because of the diverse origins of the Braavosi, temples for all gods can be found in Braavos, including a temple for the Moonsingers of the Jogos Nhai of the Further East.
A seafaring city composed of many tiny islands, Braavos is known for its ships with purple hulls and sails, the powerful Iron Bank, the guild of assassins known as the Faceless Men, and the Titan of Braavos, the fortified statue and lighthouse that straddles the entrance channel to the city. Braavos is ruled by the Sealord, who is elected by the city's magisters and keyholders of the Iron Bank.
Notable Braavosi include Syrio Forel, a former First Sword of Braavos, and Tycho Nestoris, an agent of the Iron Bank.
Lorath
Located on the largest of three islands at the mouth of Lorath Bay, Lorath is one of the northernmost of the Nine Free Cities. It is also the smallest, poorest, and least populous of the Free Cities, as well as the most isolated. While the islands were originally inhabited by the Mazemakers, Lorath was founded when the followers of the god Boash settled on the main isle in 1436 BC.
Notable Lorathi include Jaqen H'ghar.
Lys
Lys is located on an island near the southern coast. The blood of Old Valyria still runs strong in this Free City, and as such, many Lyseni, even among the smallfolk, resemble the dragonlords of old. Lys is well known for its pleasure houses, training slaves in the arts of love and selling them as concubines and bed-slaves. Having once formed the Triarchy with Tyrosh and Myr, Lys now frequently fights with them over the control of the Disputed Lands.
Notable Lyseni include Varys, a eunuch and spymaster for several Westerosi kings; Salladhor Saan, a pirate and sellsail; Doreah, a handmaid to Daenerys Targaryen; Lysono Maar, a member of the Golden Company; and Tregar Ormollen, a merchant prince.
Myr
Myr is a coastal city renowned for their master glasscrafters, intricate lace, and fine carpets. It is considered to be among the most advanced of the Free Cities, and famed for its arts and learning. While Myr once formed the Triarchy with Tyrosh and Lys, they now frequently fight over control of the Disputed Lands.
Notable Myrmen include Taena, the wife of Lord Orton Merryweather; Thoros of Myr, a red priest of R'hllor; and Serala, the wife of Lord Denys Darklyn, who was involved in the Defiance of Duskendale.
Norvos
Inland Norvos sits in two parts, one atop a high hill and the other beside the Noyne. The surrounding area is a land of rolling hills, terraced farms, and white-stucco villages. The city has three large bells, each with its own name and distinctive voice, which are rung to govern every aspect of city life. Norvoshi men can be recognized by their dyed and upswept mustaches. The city is run by a council of magisters, chosen by the bearded priests.
Notable Norvoshi include Areo Hotah, the captain of Prince Doran Martell's guard, and Lady Mellario, Doran's estranged wife.
Pentos
Pentos is a major trading port on a bay of the western coast, at approximately the latitude of the Westerosi city King's Landing. The Prince of Pentos is chosen by the de facto rulers of the city, known as magisters. Khalasars of the Dothraki occasionally make their way this far from the Dothraki sea, but the Pentoshi are spared much of the raiding and invasions by paying tribute to their khals. Slavery is outlawed in Pentos, but the Pentoshi flout these laws by keeping servants who, in essence, are slaves.
Notable Pentoshi include Illyrio Mopatis, a powerful magister; and the Tattered Prince, the commander of the Windblown, a mercenary company.
Qohor
Lying in the vast Forest of Qohor, Qohor is known for its fine tapestries and its smiths, who have the rare ability to reforge Valyrian steel. The Black Goat is a prominent god in the city. Qohor's guard is comprised solely of Unsullied eunuch slave soldiers, and has been ever since three thousand Unsullied soldiers successfully defended the city against a khalasar.
Notable Qohoriks include Vargo Hoat, leader of the brutal mercenary company called the Brave Companions; and Tobho Mott, a master armorer in King's Landing.
Tyrosh
A coastal city, Tyrosh is ruled by the Archon of Tyrosh. The Tyroshi are known for their greed. Traders deal extensively in slaves and Tyroshi pear brandy, and Tyroshi master armorsmiths make intricate armor in fantastic shapes. The city is often involved in conflicts over the Disputed Lands and the Stepstones with Lys and Myr.
Notable Tyroshi include Greenbeard; Roro Uhoris; and the flamboyant Daario Naharis, one of three captains of the Stormcrows sellsword company.
Volantis
The southernmost of the Free Cities, Volantis is situated nearest Slaver's Bay, and does extensive trade in slaves, glassware and wines. The city is the oldest and proudest of the Free Cities, and only the Old Blood, those who can trace their lineage back to Valyria, may dwell within the part of the city behind the Black Wall. Volantis is ruled by an elected triarchy.
Volantene sellswords are often recognizable by their fierce tattoos. It is not uncommon for the Volantene to mark the faces of their slaves and servants with tattoos as well. Volantis is sometimes drawn into conflicts over the Disputed Lands.
Notable Volantenes includes the triarch Belicho, the fool Patchface, and the widow of the waterfront.
Civilizations:
The Valyrian Freehold
The Valyrian Freehold was a great territory that spanned much of the continent of Essos, but has since fallen to ruin. It was destroyed approximately one hundred years before Aegon's Conquest, when it was brought down by a cataclysmic event known as the Doom of Valyria.
At its prime, the Valyrian Freehold encompassed most of the eastern continent and reached as far as the current Free Cities and the island of Dragonstone off the coast of Westeros. The Freehold was technically never an empire, however for ease of reference it tends to be referred to as one.
The Freehold was an advanced civilization, and the dominant military and cultural power of the known world. Its capital was the city Valyria. The Freehold was ruled by the lords freeholder, powerful noble families. The most powerful of these were the dragonlords.
Origin
Ancient Valyria was a civilization sheltered in the Fourteen Flames, a ring of volcanoes on the Valyrian peninsula. Valyrian stories claim that dragons originated in their lands, although tales from Asshai claim the beasts were brought to Valyria from the Shadow Lands.
The Valyrians tamed the dragons with magic —taught by a vanished people from the Shadow Lands according to the Asshai'I —and mastered the technique of raising and training the dragons into devastating weapons of war.
They began expanding their influence, establishing the Freehold with the city of Valyria as its capital. Magic flowered, topless towers rose toward the heavens where dragons soared, stone Valyrian sphinxes gazed down through eyes of garnet, and smiths used spells to forge Valyrian steel weapons of legendary strength and sharpness.
Rise to Power and the Fall of Ghis
Some five thousand years ago, in the early days of Valyria, the Old Empire of Ghis dominated and controlled much of Essos. The Ghiscari attempted to stop Valyria's expansion and the burgeoning freehold was involved in a series of great wars against the Old Empire.
The Ghiscari lockstep legions attacked Valyria five times, but they could never defeat them - with the help of dragons, Valyria was able to defend and emerge victorious each time.
Finally, in the last of the Ghiscari wars, the Valyrians marched on their capital, Old Ghis, razed it to the ground, and sowed its fields with salt, sulfur, and skulls, obliterating it and thereby destroying the Old Empire of Ghis.
Adopting slavery from Ghis, Valyria expanded its influence over the surviving Ghiscari colonies of Slaver's Bay, and continued to conquer and colonize further.
Western Expansion
The Valyrian Freehold continued to expand and conquer further west, capturing many slaves from conquered lands and using them to mine great wealth from the Fourteen Flames, as well as build great cities and roadways that led to Valyria.
For many years the Valyrians were at peace with the Rhoynar civilization of the Rhoyne, west of the Valyrian peninsula. From the colonial freehold of Volantis, the Valyrians instead crossed the Rhoyne and marched west to wage war on the Andals of Andalos.
Rather than be enslaved by Valyria, the Andals crossed the narrow sea and invaded Westeros. The Valyrians overwhelmed the remaining Andals of western Essos and established colonies west of their peninsula.
The Valyrians are believed to have traveled as far as Oldtown, predating the arrival of the First Men and trading with the elder races, according to Jellicoe.
Septon Barth also claimed Valyrians came to Westeros because their priests prophesied that the Doom of Man would come out of the land beyond the narrow sea. Archmaester Perestan speculates some tragedy or mishap fell upon them and led them to shun Westeros ever after.
People and Culture
Valyrians are famous for having silver-gold hair and violet-purple eyes, characteristics not found amongst any other peoples of the world. This can vary from white to silver-gold to blond hair, and from lilac, to deep purple, and pale blue eyes. The most noble of Valyrians were considered strikingly, some say inhumanly, beautiful.
The Valyrian nobility valued purity of blood. Therefore, the practice of incest was common in old Valyria, as the Valyrians would customarily wed brother to sister. These practices were not limited to the Freehold; on Dragonstone the Targaryens continued to practice incestuous marriage and polygamy to keep the dragon bloodline pure.
Legacy
At its apex, the Freehold's capital, Valyria, was the greatest city in the known world, the center of civilization. Most of Valyria's culture, language, and craft was lost in the Doom, which was followed by the Century of Blood.
Valyrian descendants scattered across the world, many across the surviving Valyrian colonies, the Free Cities, and across the cities of Slaver's Bay. Many of the surviving Valyrians intermarried and became mixed with other peoples. Their descendants speak in various local dialects of Valyrian.
Valyria is remembered for its ability to raise and command dragons and using them as weapons of war. This was demonstrated by the Targaryens, the last of the known Valyrian dragonlords, who used that knowledge to conquer and rule the Seven Kingdoms.
Valyria is also remembered for forging weapons made of Valyrian steel, a magical alloy used to make weapons of unparalleled quality. The secret of forging such metal was apparently lost with Valyria, making those remaining weapons highly treasured and extremely rare.
The Old Empire of Ghis
The Old Empire of Ghis was one of the oldest known nations and cultures in the world. It reigned supreme over much of Essos. Its founding and golden age predate that of its successor, the Valyrian Freehold, by thousands of years.
Harpy
The Old Empire used the harpy emblem of Old Ghis. It depicted a fanged woman with leathery wings for arms, the legs of an eagle, and the tail of scorpion, clutching a thunderbolt in her talons.
History
Rise
The Old Empire rose from the ancient Old Ghis in Ghiscar, a city founded by Grazdan the Great. Old Ghis fielded highly-disciplined lockstep legions of free soldiers reputed to have been nearly unbeatable on the battlefield.
The architecture of Old Ghis was dominated by massive brick towers and pyramids built using slave labor. Since the Ghiscari hills were rich in copper, the Old Empire used bronze weapons.
After colonizing nearby land, Old Ghis began subjugating its neighbors. The Ghiscari expanded south to Sothoryos and the Basilisk Isles, building Gorosh as a penal colony at Wyvern Point, Zamettar at the mouth of the Zamoyos, and Gorgai on the Isle of Tears.
Ghiscari Wars
After the Valyrians discovered dragons and quickly rose to power, the Ghiscari wanted dragons for their own. Five great wars were fought between Ghiscar and the Valyrian Freehold,[6] with the Tall Men of the Kingdom of Sarnor participating in three of the conflicts.
The Ghiscari won some battles, as there is a large ancient tapestry in the heart of the Great Pyramid in Meereen showing the last survivors of a defeated Valyrian army passing beneath the yoke and being chained. However, the Ghiscari eventually lost each war.
The Old Empire fell five thousand years ago. In the Fifth Ghiscari War the Valyrians smashed the Ghiscari legions and used their dragons to burn Old Ghis and its pyramids to the ground. The Valyrians sowed the fields with salt and sulfur to prevent any surviving inhabitants from returning.
Government
The ruling structure of the Old Empire is unknown. Five thousand years after the empire's fall, Hizdahr zo Loraq's list of titles includes those of "Scion of Old Ghis" and "Octarch of the Old Empire".
This may imply that the empire was ruled by a council of eight, that it had eight regional governors underneath an emperor, or that octarch was a military title or rank. It is uncertain if Hizdahr's title has any basis in the Old Empire's practices.
People
The modern Ghiscari people are mongrels of a dozen races and peoples driven together by the empire and its fall. They are spread over a large area around Slaver's Bay, west of the Gulf of Grief.
Ghiscari have dense, dark amber skin and wiry hair with red highlights. Men of the Slaver Cities are known to wear their hairs teased, oiled, and twisted into fantastic shapes. They wear cloaks of yellow with copper disks sewn on.
Their tunics are embroidered linen. Below the waist they wear pleated linen skirts and sandals. The richest classes, who are primarily made up of slavers, wear the tokar, and are fond of rich foods, such as dogs, octopus stew, and duck eggs.
Legacy
The harpy is a Ghiscari symbol, in Game of Thrones: Complete Guide to Westeros
The Old Ghiscari language, culture, and gods were largely forgotten over time, and the Ghiscari adopted the language of their Valyrian conquerors. Today, most speak a dialect of High Valyrian. The crumbling walls, stepped pyramids, and harpy statues are all that remain of the Old Empire's glory days.
The Unsullied tactics are considered a remnant of Old Ghis. They are trained to fight in the same disciplined lock-step manner and are considered the legions of Old Ghis come again, but are slaves instead of free men. The free iron legions of New Ghis are also inspired by the lockstep legions of old.
The harpy was adopted as a symbol by all the Slaver Cities and their silver coins are stamped with a harpy. The Good Masters of Astapor, the Wise Masters of Yunkai, and the Great Masters of Meereen have been training slaves for generations, much as their predecessors did, and are experts at it.
The Rhoynar
The Rhoynar are one of the three major ethnic groups from which the humans of Westeros descend, the others being the Andals and the First Men. They were a culture of river-faring people who dwelt on the banks of the immense river Rhoyne in Essos. After being forced to flee in ten thousand ships during the Rhoynish Wars with Valyria, the surviving Rhoynar eventually settled in Dorne in southern Westeros.
While most Rhoynar integrated into Dornish society, especially into the so-called "salty Dornishmen", the orphans of the Greenblood have retained their Rhoynish heritage and language. The Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, who sits Iron Throne, claims the title of King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men.
Appearance
The Rhoynar were a slender people with smooth olive skin, black hair, and dark eyes. Some maesters have controversially theorized that the people of Myr are related to the Rhoynar because of their similar olive skin.
Culture
The Rhoynar practiced a number of customs that differ from mainstream Andal culture. These included equal primogeniture, granting inheritances to the eldest child regardless of gender. They also tolerated homosexuality. Due to their origin in city-states, the Rhoynar titled their rulers Princes and Princesses. Their influence made these customs standard in Dorne as well.
The Rhoynar worshipped a number of river-themed nature gods. Their primary god was Mother Rhoyne, or Mother River, the personification of the river Rhoyne itself. Other gods include the Old Man of the River, a turtle god, and his adversary, the Crab King.
Art and music flourished in the ancient cities of the Rhoynar. They were by and large a peaceful people, but were fiercely independent, and could be formidable when roused to wroth.
History
The Rhoynar lived in city-states along the vast network of the river Rhoyne, including Ar Noy, Chroyane, Ghoyan Drohe, Ny Sar, Sar Mell, and Sarhoy. The Rhoynish civilization was as storied and ancient as the Old Empire of Ghis.
The Rhoynar taught the Andals how to work iron, although the Seven-Pointed Star of the Faith of the Seven teaches that the Andals received this gift from the Smith. The Rhoynar used water magic to defend themselves from enemies. Garris the Grey, Prince of Ny Sar, is said to have driven hairy men from the Noyne.
However, the Valyrian Freehold's expansion from the east threatened to overtake the Rhoynar hundreds of years before Aegon's Landing. For some two and a half centuries, the Rhoynish Wars were fought between the Valyrians and the Rhoynar.
In the last of the these, Garin the Great, Prince of Chroyane, led two hundred and fifty thousand Rhoynar to their deaths in battle against the Valyrians. Nymeria, Princess of Ny Sar, led the surviving Rhoynar, mostly women and children, in fleeing Essos in ten thousand ships.
During and after the Rhoynar evacuation, the Valyrians destroyed the great cities of the Rhoynish realm; their massive ruins are still easily observed from the Rhoyne.
Rhoynar in Dorne
Nymeria led her followers on dangerous journeys to the Basilisk Isles, Sothoryos, Naath, the Summer Isles, the Stepstones, and finally Dorne in southern Westeros.
Nymeria married a Dornish lord, Mors Martell of the Sandship, and helped him consolidate Dorne under his rule through Nymeria's War. Under the rule of House Nymeros Martell of Sunspear, the Rhoynar have lived and intermingled with the native Dornish since that time.
Having abandoned the Rhoyne, most Rhoynar adopted the Faith of the Seven in Westeros. In The Conquest of Dorne, King Daeron I Targaryen differentiated between three sorts of Dornishmen, so-called stony, sandy, and salty Dornishmen.
The salty Dornishmen are held to have the most Rhoynish blood, being dark haired, olive skinned, and living close to the shore.
The salty Dornishmen no longer speak the language of the ancient Rhoynar, although they do speak the Common Tongue with a distinctive drawl. Unlike the rest of the Seven Kingdoms, equal primogeniture is practiced in Dorne as it was along the Rhoyne.
Some descendants of the Rhoynar did not assimilate and continue to practice the traditions of their ancestors, however. Called the "orphans of the Greenblood", these individuals live on rafts along the river Greenblood and consider themselves orphaned from their Mother Rhoyne. They are of pure Rhoynar blood and still speak the Rhoynish language in secret.
The Dothraki People
The Dothraki people are a culture of nomadic warriors in Essos who range across the vast grasslands of the Dothraki sea in hordes known as khalasars. People of the Seven Kingdoms and the Free Cities also refer to the Dothraki as horselords.
Appearance
Dothraki typically have copper-toned skin, black hair, and black, almond-shaped eyes. Dothraki men wear their hair in long braids, oiled or greased with fat from the rendering pits. Dothraki warriors carry small bells in their braids, which ring softly when they move.
They are only allowed to braid their hair after they have won a victory. A bell is added to their braid after each victory; The braid is only cut when a Dothraki warrior is defeated in battle, an act through which he lets the world know his shame. Only few men die with their braids never having been cut off. Men further might wear metal rings bound in their mustachios.
Both men and women might wear painted leather vests over bare chests and horsehair leggings cinched by bronze medallion belts, although wealthier Dothraki might also have silver and golden medallions on their belts.
Others might wear sandsilk trousers. For footwear Dothraki wear leather boots, leather sandals which lace up to the knee, or sandals of woven grass. However, when visiting the Free Cities, the Dothraki wear rich fabrics and sweet perfumes.
Being accustomed to riding horses every entire day, Dothraki warriors walk with a bowlegged swagger on the ground.
The Dothraki scrub themselves clean with sand.
Culture and customs
Khalasars
Dothraki live in hordes called khalasars. Their chieftains are called khals, while the wife of a khal is known as a khaleesi. The heir of a khal is named the khalakka. A ko is one of the khal's commanders within a horde. According to a semi-canon source, a khas consists of the personal guard of important individuals, such as a khaleesi or a ko.
Bloodriders fulfill the roles of guards, brothers, shadows, and friends to the khal in ways that run deeper than the oath of the Kingsguard to the king on the Iron Throne. The khal and his bloodriders commonly refer to each other as "blood of my blood".
The jaqqa rhan are mercy men who move among the corpses in battlefields, cutting off the heads of the dead and dying. When the khalasar is on the move, scouts range ahead while outriders guard the flanks.
Khalasars keep two sorts of healers. The first are barren women who practice their healing with herbs, potions, and spells. Eunuch slaves, on the other hand, use knives, needles, and fire.
Social status
The Dothraki consider riding a horse as a basic marker of social status. A khal who cannot ride cannot rule. Custom decrees that the khaleesi must ride a mount worthy of her place by the side of the khal.
Pregnant women are expected to ride on horseback almost up to the moment of birth. Doing anything else might be considered weak. Some women giving birth ride on a cart. A cart is of less prestige, and is further meant for eunuchs, cripples, the very young, and the very old. A man who does not ride is considered the lowest of the low. He is not even seen as a man, and considered to be without honor or pride.
Although some are respected, women have a lower social status than men. For example, the bloodriders of a khal will not allow themselves to be commanded by his khaleesi. Nonetheless, even the mightiest khal will bow to the wisdom and authority of the dosh khaleen, the widowed khaleesis who reside at Vaes Dothrak.
Most of all, the Dothraki follow strength. Should a khal die without an adult heir, his kos might fight among themselves to take the place of the fallen khal. In the case that the khal has a khalakka who is still a child, this heir might be killed so as not to be a rival.
Religion
The Dothraki worship a horse god. The Dothraki believe that when someone dies, the horse god parts the grass and claims the deceased for his starry khalasar, so the deceased can ride the nightlands. The Dothraki further believe that the moon is a goddess, and that she is the wife to the sun. In addition, they believe in hell.
Dothraki consider the earth to be their mother and think it sinful to cut her flesh with plows and spades and axes. This leads them to burn down fields, farms, and towns to return the grasslands to their wild state.
Economy
Buying and selling is considered to be unmanly by the Dothraki, and they instead use giving and receiving gifts as a common way for doing trade. However, giving a gift in return might not always occur immediately upon receiving a gift. This is exemplified by the Dothraki "selling" their captives on occasion to the Slaver Cities. They call these slaves "gifts", and as payment receive gifts from the slavers.
Trade is allowed in the sacred city Vaes Dothrak, where, by the leave of the dosh khaleen, merchants and traders gather to exchange goods and gold, though they mostly trade with each other, and only little with the Dothraki themselves.
In the Western Market merchants from the Free Cities come to trade, while in the Eastern Market traders from Yi Ti, Asshai, the Shadow Lands, and the lands from beside the Jade Sea place their caravans.
The merchants are tolerated provided that they do not break the peace of the city, do not profane the Mother of Mountains or Womb of the World, and honor the dosh khaleen with the traditional gifts of salt, silver, and seed.
The Free Cities (like Myr, Pentos, and Norvos) and the slave cities in Slaver's Bay deal carefully with the Dothraki. The rulers of the cities give lavishly to every khal who passes with his khalasar, feasting them and giving them gifts, so the khalasar will pass on without sacking the city.
Slaver's Bay
Slaver's Bay is a cultural and geographical region of central Essos. Built from the ashes of the Old Empire of Ghis, Slaver's Bay became a wealthy hub of the global slave trade. It flows into the Gulf of Grief.
Geography
Slaver's Bay is located along the south of central Essos. In the west it reaches the eastern shores of the Valyrian peninsula and contains isle of Elyria. Tolos and the ruins of Bhorash are located along the Black Cliffs in the bay's north. In the east of Slaver's Bay are the isle of Yaros, the hilly peninsula of Ghiscar, and the great slave cities of Astapor, Meereen, and Yunkai. The bay is separated from the Gulf of Grief to its south by the Isle of Cedars.[2]
People
Although little Ghiscari culture survived the Old Empire's collapse, the modern people of Slaver's Bay take great pride in their Ghiscari heritage, referring to themselves as "the sons of the harpy" or the "harpy's sons".
The cities each use a harpy as their emblem, similar to Old Ghis. Where the harpy of Old Ghis grasps a thunderbolt in its talons, the harpy of Astapor has a chain with open manacles at either end hanging in its talons, and the harpy of Yunkai grasp a whip and an iron collar in its talons. Although Meereen also uses a harpy as their emblem, it is currently unknown what their harpy has in its talons.
The Old Ghiscari tongue has been largely forgotten. Most modern Ghiscari speak in the language of their conquerors, High Valyrian. The dialects of Astapor and Yunkai contain a growl of the old Ghiscari tongue, whereas in Meereen they speak a bastard form of High Valyrian blended with Old Ghiscari tongue. The modern Ghiscari do continue to write with Ghiscari glyphs.
Descending from the Ghiscari of old, most Astapori have amber skins, broad noses, dark eyes, and black or dark red hair, or a mixture of red and black hair which is distinctive to the ancient Ghiscari.
Astapori warriors of noble birth oil and twist their hair into fantastic shapes like horns, wings, blades, and grasping hands, giving them a demonic look, while other Astapori men might only oil their hair and beard.
In Yunkai and Meereen, other nobility oils and twists their hair into multiple shapes as well, using combs, wax, and irons. The Yunkai'i wear tall helms in order to preserve the stylings.
In all three of the slaver cities, freeborn men and women wear tokars, which is a sign of power, as the wearer is required to hold onto the fabric with one hand whilst wearing it. The fringe on the tokar signifies a person's status.
Economy
Slavery is the dominant industry of Slaver's Bay. Stories told about the flesh marts of the slave cities are dire and frightening. The cities' slave traders form their ruling aristocracy. The slavers of Astapor, Yunkai, and Meereen call themselves the Good, Wise, and Great Masters respectively.
The Good Masters are rivals of one another when dealing in bed slaves, fieldhands, scribes, craftsmen, and tutors. However, when dealing in their far-famed eunuch soldier slaves, the Unsullied, they work together as allies.
Trained from a young age, the Unsullied are trained to be obedient, fearless warriors who feel no pain. The Astapori claim that the Unsullied are the lockstep legions of the Old Empire come again, although unlike the soldiers of these ancient legions, the Unsullied are not free men.
Yunkai is known for training bed slaves who are taught the way of the seven sighs and the sixteen seats of pleasure. Meereen's fighting pits are far-famed across the world, drawing trade to the city. Warriors are bred and trained in the fighting pits, and sold across Essos.
The Dothraki deliver many of the slaves trained and sold on the slave markets of the slaver cities on Slaver's Bay.
Copper is plentiful in the Ghiscari hills near Meereen. Ghiscari wine, made from small pale yellow grapes native to the regions, produces a notably inferior vintage.
Cities
Astapor
Ruled by the Good Masters, Astapor is far-famed for its eunuch slave soldiers, the Unsullied. Trained from a young age, these men are trained to be obedient and fearless. The Astapori like to claim that the Unsullied are the lockstep legions of the Old Empire of Ghis come again, but unlike these ancient legions, the Unsullied are not free men.
An old rhyme about Astapor says "Bricks and blood built Astapor, and bricks and blood her people," referring to the red bricks of which the city is built taking their color from the blood of the slaves who made them. Astapor is also known as the Red City.
The Astapori emblem is a variation on the harpy of Old Ghis, which shows a chain with open manacles at either end in the harpy's talons.
Yunkai
Yunkai is ruled by cunning and corrupted slavers called the Wise Masters. The city is also known as the Yellow City, referring to the yellow bricks the city is made of. Yunkai is known for training bed slaves who are taught the way of the seven sighs and the sixteen seats of pleasure.
The Yunkish emblem is a variation on the harpy of Old Ghis, which shows the harpy grasping a whip and an iron collar in its talons.
Meereen
The largest and most formidable of the cities along Slaver's Bay, Meereen is as large as Astapor and Yunkai combined. The city is made of brick, but unlike Astapor and Yunkai, Meereen's bricks are of many different colors.
The nobility of Meereen lives in stepped pyramids, each made of a different set of colors. The greatest pyramid of them all is the Great Pyramid, located on Meereen's central plaza, which stands eight hundred feet tall. The slavers who rule Meereen are called the Great Masters.
Like the other slaver cities of Ghiscari descent, Meereen uses a harpy as its emblem.
Asshai
Asshai is a mysterious port city in the far southeast of the known part of Essos, where the Ash river meets the Jade Sea at its eastern exit, the Saffron Straits. Asshai is on the southernmost edge of a mountainous peninsula known as the Shadow Lands, thus the city is often called Asshai by the Shadow or Asshai-by-the-Shadow. To go to Asshai can be described as to "pass beneath the shadow", and the area of the Shadow Lands and Asshai are sometimes referred to simply as the Shadow.
City
Layout
Asshai sprawls for leagues across both sides of the Ash, and its great walls allegedly could contain Volantis, Qarth, King's Landing, and Oldtown combined. The population of Asshai, however, is no more than that of a good-sized market town. By night only one building in ten shows a light.
The buildings, streets, and walls of Asshai are made out of black stone that is greasy to the touch and seems to drink the light, making the city appear to be a dark and gloomy place. Structures include bazaars, halls, hovels, palaces, and temples.
Trade
Asshai is a popular trading destination for ships. According to a semi-canon source, it is not as important to traders as Yi Ti and Leng, which are more easily reached from Qarth. Asshai exports goods such as amber and dragonglass. Gold and gems are also common exports, though some say the gold of the Shadow Lands is as unhealthy as the fruits that grow there. The city is usually traveled to by ship, but it can also be reached overland by caravans.
Trading ships from Westeros and the Free Cities bound for Asshai go east through the Summer Sea and the Jade Sea, which are connected by the straits at Qarth, the Jade Gates. Caravans from Asshai traverse the Bone Mountains to reach Vaes Dothrak.
Aside from traders, few from Westeros visit Asshai and little is known about it. The famous scribe and traveler Lomas Longstrider never visited Asshai, though he apparently heard from merchants in Yi Ti who did trade with Asshai that the vast gold of Casterly Rock was famous even there.
All foodstuff and freshwater is brought in by ship, as animals brought into the city soon die, and the waters of the Ash glisten black beneath the noonday sun and glimmer with green phosphorescence by night. The only fish that dwell in its water are blind and deformed, and only fools and shadowbinders dare eat their flesh.
People
Asshai and its few people have an ominous reputation in other lands. Asshai'i are described as having a dark and solemn appearance. The Dothraki believe that Asshai'i are "spawn of shadows" and hold them in contempt and fear.
There are no children in Asshai. All who dwell there wear masks or veils, and often walk alone or ride in palanquins of ebony and iron, hidden behind dark curtains and carried upon the backs of slaves. Only the shadowbinders of Asshai dare to travel up the Ash, and even they fear to tread before the doors of the Stygai, the corpse city northeast of Asshai.
Melisandre prays and sings in the tongue of Asshai.
Esoteric Knowledge
Asshai holds a significant amount of arcane knowledge. Of any current location, it is the most likely to have dragonlore. Ancient books of Asshai also record the Azor Ahai prophecy followed by members of the R'hllor faith.
It is rumored that spellsingers, aeromancers, and warlocks practice their arts openly in Asshai. Asshai is open to all sorts of practitioners of the "higher mysteries" such as godswives, alchemists, necromancers, night-walkers, pyromancers, bloodmages, as well as inquisitors, torturers and poisoners, and even worshippers of the Black Goat and Bakkalon and the Lion of Night. No practice is forbidden in the city, however depraved.
History
The origins of Asshai are lost in history. Even the Asshai'i do not claim to know who built it, stating only a city stood there since the world began and will stand there until it ends. Maesters find it difficult to discern the truth about legendary Asshai.
Texts from Asshai speak of the Dawn Age. Annals from the city tell of Azor Ahai during the Long Night, and ancient books claim he will come again. Texts also claim that dragons first appeared in the Shadow.
Asshai has been a thriving port for centuries. Before the Century of Blood, merchants from the Kingdom of Sarnor traded at Asshai.
Jar Han, one of the sea-green god-emperors of Yi Ti, extracted tribute from Asshai during his reign.
On the second of his nine great voyages on Sea Snake, Corlys Velaryon sailed to Asshai, becoming the first Westerosi to visit the city. Tales claim that Corlys lost his love and half his crew there, and he claimed to have seen the Sun Chaser of Elissa Farman in the harbor of Asshai.
King Aegon V Targaryen commissioned journeys in search of dragonlore from distant places, including Asshai.
Mirri Maz Duur studied in Asshai, learning from a moonsinger of the Jogos Nhai, a Dothraki woman, Maester Marwyn, and a bloodmage from the Shadow Lands.
When a wrecked trading cog washed up on the Frozen Shore, a woman of the free folk found scarlet silk from Asshai in the wreckage. Her granddaughter later used the silk to mend the cloak of Mance Rayder.
Yi Ti
Yi Ti is a nation and region in Essos, east of Qarth and the Bone Mountains and bordered by the Jade Sea to the south. Nearby islands in the Jade Sea are Leng and the Isle of Whips.
North of Yi Ti are the Great Sand Sea, the Shrinking Sea, and the Bleeding Sea; a great river runs south from the Bleeding Sea through Yi Ti to the Jade Sea. East of Yi Ti are the Mountains of the Morn, the Shadow Lands, and the city of Asshai. In the Common Tongue, things relating to Yi Ti are known as "YiTish".
The realm of the YiTish civilization is the Golden Empire of Yi Ti, which was, according to legend, preceded by the Great Empire of the Dawn. Maester Yandel speculates that the YiTish civilization was contemporary with the realm of the Fisher Queens, whereas the YiTish priests insist that mankind's first towns and cities arose along the shores of the Jade Sea, dismissing the rival claims of the Sarnori and Ghiscari as the boasts of savages and children.
Region
The land of Yi Ti has thick green patchwork farmland and dense sweltering jungles. Rumors have it that basilisks roam the jungles of Yi Ti. There is a trade route from Asabhad to Yin along the coast of the Jade Sea. The Five Forts guard the northeastern marches of the empire.
Throughout Yi Ti a great web of stone roads, built during the reign of the Eunuch Emperors, ensure that travelers can cross the lands of Yi Ti without much trouble. These roads are said to be equal to the dragonroads of the Valyrian Freehold.
The zorses of the Jogos Nhai have been bred by crossing regular horses with certain horselike creatures from the southern regions of Yi Ti. Daenerys Targaryen remembers that basilisks infest the jungles of Yi Ti.
Cities
Yi Ti has more cities than any other land in the known world, and according to Lomas Longstrider they are much larger and more splendid than cities in the west. According to Colloquo Votar there are three older cities buried beneath every YiTish city.
Known cities in Yi Ti include Yin and Jinqi, along the coast of the Jade Sea, and Tiqui further to the north near the Great Sand Sea. The city of Asabhad is at the west boundary of Yi Ti near the Bone Mountains and the Jade Gates. Five massive forts known as the Five Forts are along the northeastern boundaries of Yi Ti, between the Bleeding Sea and the Mountains of the Morn.
During the time of the Golden Empire of Yi Ti, several cities served as the capital city, depending on the reigning dynasty. The grey, indigo, and pearl-white emperors ruled from Yin on the shores of the Jade Sea.
The scarlet emperors ruled from Si Qo, which they built in the middle of the jungle, and which has fallen and been reclaimed by the jungle. The purple emperors ruled from Tiqui, in the western hills. The maroon emperors ruled from Jinqi. In the present day, under the rule of the azure emperor Bu Gai, Yin again is the capital of Yi Ti.
Over the last two thousand years, a dozen YiTish cities and a hundred towns, and many farms and fields have been reduced to ruins by the zorseriders of the Plains of the Jogos Nhai
The people of northern Leng in the Jade Sea are YiTish, while the south of the island is inhabited by the Lengii.
Society
Yi Ti was one of the earliest civilizations where literacy arose. The most ancient YiTish records are cherished and jealously guarded. Yi Ti is the oldest surviving continuous civilization in the world, having existed under one dynasty or another since the Long Night 8,000 years ago - other ancient civilizations such as the Ghiscari or Valyrians have long since collapsed.
As a result their scholars tend to look down on other, younger civilizations as children and barbarians. The grand cities of Yi Ti dwarf those of Westeros or even the Free Cities.
Yi Ti is ruled by a god-emperor. Lomas Longstrider once described Yi Ti as "the land of a thousand gods and a hundred princes, ruled by one god-emperor." Of old, the god-emperors were extremely wealthy and powerful, and commanded large armies.
In present times, however, three men claim the title of god-emperor, while their power does not extend past the cities in which they live. Instead, the hundred princes rule their own realms as they see fit, as do the brigands, priest-kings, sorcerers, warlords, imperial generals, and tax collectors outside their domains.
There are many gods in Yi Ti's religion, but two of the major ones are the Lion of Night and the Maiden-Made-of-Light According to legend, their child was the first god-emperor of Yi Ti, the God-on-Earth.
A cult of sorcerers known as the Church of Starry Wisdom supposedly originates from Yi Ti as well, hated and feared by the general population. According to legend its founder was the Bloodstone Emperor, and today its priests can be found in many cities throughout the known world.
Men from Yi Ti are bright-eyed and wear monkey-tail hats.
People from Yi Ti use their family name first, their personal name second - the reverse of how full names are given in Westeros and the Free Cities. For example the scarlet emperors were named "Lo Doq", "Lo Han", "Lo Bu", etc.
Economics
One of their major exports is saffron. Other exporting goods include spices and silk. Traders from Yi Ti travel to Vaes Dothrak to trade. Wines from Yi Ti can be found as far west as Pentos.
Yi Ti is legendarily wealthy. Its princes are said to live in houses of solid gold, and to eat sweetmeats with pearls and jade powdered over it.
Braavos, Pentos, and Volantis are known to trade with Yi Ti.
Yi Ti traded with the Sarnori when the Kingdom of Sarnor still existed
History
Great Empire of the Dawn
According to scribes of Yin, all the lands between the Jade Sea and the Shivering Sea, the Bone Mountains and the Grey Waste were part of the Great Empire of the Dawn and fell under the control of the God-on-Earth, the only son of The Lion of Night and the Maiden-Made-of-Light. He is said to have had a hundred wives and to have reigned for ten thousand years, before ascending into the stars to join his forebears.
He was succeeded by his eldest son, the Pearl Emperor, who ruled for a thousand years. He was followed by the Jade Emperor, the Tourmaline Emperor, the Onyx Emperor, the Topaz Emperor, and the Opal Emperor, who all reigned for centuries. Each successive ruler had a shorter reign and faced rising problems, as mankind grew greedy and corrupt.
The Opal Emperor was succeeded by his daughter, the Amethyst Empress. Her younger brother slew her and usurped the throne, and event which is remembered as the Blood Betrayal. He proclaimed himself the Bloodstone Emperor and began a reign of terror, practicing dark magical arts and necromancy.
He cast down the true gods to worship a black stone which had fallen from the sky. According to the annals of the east, the Blood Betrayal is attributed as the cause of the Long Night, as it caused the Maiden-Made-of-Light to despair and turn her face away from mankind, while the Lion of Night sent the generation-long winter to punish mankind. In the chaos that followed, the Great Empire of the Dawn collapsed.
According to Colloquo Votar, as recounted in his Jade Compendium, a legend from Yi Ti claims that disaster during the Long Night was only averted by "the deeds of a woman with a monkey's tail".
The maesters of the Citadel in Oldtown doubt that the Great Empire of the Dawn ever truly existed, but most do agree that Yi Ti's culture is very ancient, and a few believe that they were contemporary with the Fisher Queens on the western side of the Bone Mountains.
Golden Empire
After the collapse of the Great Empire of the Dawn, the Golden Empire of Yi Ti began. Since the end of the Long Night eleven dynasties of emperors have ruled over Yi Ti, each known by a color honorific. Some of them ruled no more than half a century, but the longest ruled for seven hundred years.
The transitions of power between dynasties did not always occur peacefully, and on four occasions, the end of a dynasty led to a prolonged period of civil war and anarchy. The longest of these lasted more than a hundred years.
Under the sea-green emperors, Yi Ti reached the apex of its power. During the reign of god-emperor Jar Har, Leng was conquered. His sons further expanded the power of Yi Ti; Jar Joq Great Moraq, and Jar Han exacted tribute from Qarth, Old Ghis, Asshai, and other lands.
Chai Duq, the fourth of the yellow emperors, married a noblewoman of Valyria, and kept a dragon at his court.
During the past two thousand years, Yi Ti has often fought against raiders of the Jogos Nhai, whose lands are to the north. According to Maester Yandel, the raiders of the Jogos Nhai have reduced a dozen YiTish cities, a hundred towns, and farms and fields beyond counting to ruins.
To combat these attacks, many imperial generals and three god-emperors invaded the Plains of the Jogos Nhai, but these attacks usually did not end well, as the Jogos Nhai would usually evade capture for such long periods of time that the YiTish invaders would give up and go home.
Lo Han, forty-second scarlet emperor, invaded the plains three times without success, returning home after being unable to catch his enemies. After Lo Han's death, his son, Lo Bu, assembled a mighty host, supposedly of three hundred thousand men, and led his force into the plains, leaving a burning wasteland behind everywhere he went.
During his campaign, millions of Jogos Nhai were killed. During the last two years of the struggle, the rival clans of the Jogos Nhai united against Lo Bu under a woman called Zhea, whose riders eventually descended upon Lo Bu's host, slaughtering them all.
Lo Bu was among those slain. Zhea had his head stripped of its flesh and his skull dipped in gold, so it could serve as her drinking cup. Every jhattar of the Jogos Nhai since Zhea has drunk fermented zorse milk from Lo Bu's skull.
Around 100 BC, the island Leng broke free of Yi Ti, although the northern two-thirds of the island are still under the control of the descendants of the original YiTish invaders.
On the first of his nine great voyages, Corlys Velaryon sailed to Yi Ti and Leng on the Sea Snake, returning with such a large amount of spices, silks, and jade, which made House Velaryon the wealthiest house in the Seven Kingdoms for a while.
In the present day, Yi Ti is ruled from Yin by the seventeenth azure emperor, Bu Gai. However, the amount of power he has is weak compared to older god-emperors, and the local governors and tax-collectors have carved out a hundred princedoms among the provinces.
In Carcosa, on the Hidden Sea, an exiled sorcerer lord resides, who claims to be the 69th yellow emperor. In addition, a general called Pol Qo has named himself the first of the orange emperors, using Trader Town as his capital.
Leng
Leng is a large island in the Jade Sea, off the southern coast of Essos. To the north is the city of Jinqi in Yi Ti. East of Leng are the Shadow Lands, while to the south are the Manticore Isles. The island of Marahai is to the southwest. Leng is ruled by god-empresses.
Geography
Leng is an island of forests and jungles, rich in spices and gemstones. According to Lomas Longstrider, the verdant isle of Leng is home to "ten thousand tigers and ten million monkeys". The island is also famous for its great apes, including spotted humpback apes, almost as intelligent as men, and hooded apes, large as giants and very strong.
Some of the striped horselike creatures bred with horses by the Jogos Nhai to create zorses come from Leng.
The city of Leng Ma is located on the central western coast, Leng Yi is a principal town on the northern coast, and Turrani is a port city on the southern shore. The people of northern Leng are descended from Yi Ti, while the people of southern Leng, the Lengii, are a culture native to the island.
The YiTish descendants appear very similar to the people of the Golden Empire of Yi Ti, speaking a dialect of the YiTish language, praying to the same gods, eating the same foods, following the same customs.
They even venerate the azure emperor in Yin, although they worship only the god-empress of Leng. Furthermore, Leng Ma and Leng Yi resemble YiTish cities in culture and design, whereas Turrani's Lengii culture is very different.
In the depth of the island's jungles are strange ruined cities, with massive, fallen buildings. The buildings are so overgrown with plants that only rubble is visible, but underground are endless labyrinths of tunnels that lead to vast chambers, and carved steps descend hundreds of feet into the earth.
No one knows when these cities were built or by whom, and perhaps they are the only thing remaining of some extinct people. Those who entered the underground ruins often returned mad, and even today it is forbidden to enter them, under penalty of death.
History
Leng was an isolated island for most of its history, as the Lengii did not welcome outsiders. Those who attempted to harvest the island's resources met a foul end, and it thus was avoided by mariners. Leng became known as a haunt of demons and sorcerers, a closed island.
Merchants from the Golden Empire of Yi Ti periodically managed to open Leng to trade. However, according to the Jade Compendium, the Old Ones who lived below the island's subterranean ruins instructed the Empress of Leng to kill the foreign merchants on at least four occasions.
Leng was eventually conquered by Jar Har, the sixth sea-green emperor of Yi Ti. He sealed the entrances to the underground cities and ordered them to be forgotten, after which there were no more massacres. The YiTish colonized most of the island, with the Lengii confined to the southern third.
Leng overthrew YiTish rule four hundred years ago, and power returned to the god-empresses. Khiara the Great established a tradition whereby the empress takes two husbands, one each of Lengii and YiTish descent, with one commanding the island's armies and the other its fleet.
Some of the great wealth acquired by Lord Corlys Velaryon during his nine voyages was from Leng. In 111 AC or 112 AC, Prince Daemon Targaryen gifted his niece Princess Rhaenyra with a jade tiara said to have belonged to the Empress of Leng.
Naath
Naath, known to the ancients as the Isle of Butterflies, is an island in the Summer Sea off the northwestern coast of Sothoryos. The natives of the island are known as Naathi.
Geography
Naath is west of the Basilisk Isles and northern Sothoryos. It is located east of the southernmost and largest of the Summer Isles, Jhala, and due south of the Valyrian peninsula. Naath is separated from Jhala and Valyria by large stretches of the Summer Sea.
Naath is said to be a fair isle. It contains the ruins of a Valyrian fort with walls of fused dragonstone.
History
During the height of the Old Empire of Ghis, one of their ships briefly landed in the Summer Isles, alerting their inhabitants that lands and peoples existed beyond their own waters. Explorers from the Summer Isles then landed on Naath to the east.
The Ghiscari seized Naath three times, and the isle has frequently been raided by corsairs from the Basilisk Isles. The Valyrian Freehold erected a dragonstone fort, and a company of Volantene adventurers built a trade town with timber palisades and slave pens.
The Naathi claim that none of these invaders maintained a permanent presence on the island for more than a single year, however, as the outsiders fell victim to the so-called butterfly fever which does not affect the Peaceful People themselves.
A thousand years ago, Naathi welcomed the ten thousand ships of Rhoynar led by Princess Nymeria, who stopped at Naath after fleeing from their failed attempt to settle in Sothoryos. When they began dying from an unknown illness, however, presumably butterfly fever, the Rhoynar returned to their ships and departed.
Slavers and corsairs learned to limit their time on the island to avoid catching butterfly fever, instead capturing the Peaceful People in brief nighttime raids. The captives were then sold in Valyria and Slaver's Bay.
The slaver attacks worsened during the Century of Blood, since Valyria no longer controlled the seas after the Doom. Unwilling to break their vows of total pacifism, even to defend their homes and persons, the Naathi fled from their coasts to the hills and forests. As a result the silk exports which once flowed from Naath have dwindled away.
Missandei and her three brothers, including Mossador and Marselen, were taken from Naath by raiders from the Basilisk Isles and then sold into slavery in Astapor.
The children of the forest
The children of the forest, sometimes referred to simply as the children, are a mysterious non-human race that originally inhabited the continent of Westeros during the Dawn Age long before the arrival of the First Men thousands of years ago. The giants call them woh dak nag gram (little squirrel people). They call themselves those who sing the song of earth in the True Tongue. The children have not been seen by men for hundreds of years.
Characteristics
The children are smaller than humans, but they are not childlike. They have nut-brown skin, dappled like a deer's with paler spots. Their hands have only three fingers and a thumb, with sharp black claws instead of nails. They have large ears that can hear things that no man can hear.[3] They usually have large gold and green eyes slitted like those of a cat,[1] allowing them to see in dark passages.
The children are slight, quick, and graceful. They weave leaves and vines and flowers into their hair, and wear cloaks of leaves. They may live for centuries. They often sing in their language, the True Tongue.
Very rarely, one of the children is born with mossy green or blood red eyes, a sign that they have been chosen by the Old Gods. The chosen ones are not robust, and do not live long on the earth, but they have the gift of greensight and are known as greenseers. Once they are bound to a weirwood, they live far longer than other children.
The children are omnivores as they feed on different types of food they find and cultivate in and around their caves such as fish, meat, mushroom, cheese, milk, oats, barleycorn, dried fruit, and onions.
Culture
The children may have lived in clans. They did not use metal, weave cloth, or build cities. The children lived off the land, using stone and obsidian implements, wearing bark leg-bindings and shirts of woven leaves, dwelling in caves, crannogs, and hidden tree villages. Males and females both hunted side by side as wood dancers, using obsidian weapons, weirwood bows, and flying snares made with grasses.
The children had no books, no ink, no parchment and no written language. They were a people with a deep connection to the land. The children used their weirwood hunting bows and obsidian weapons in battle, but also used powerful magic.
Legends say the children of the forest were gifted with supernatural powers. These included having power over the beasts of the wood, the ability to wear an animal's skin, the skill to create music so beautiful as to bring tears to the eyes of any who heard it, the greensight ability and the ability to speak to the dead. It was the children who carved faces on weirwoods to keep watch over the woods.
The children of the forest believed that the weirwood trees were gods, and when they died they became a part of them. Septon Barth believed that the children could communicate from afar with ravens.
It is unknown if there is a connection between the children of the forest and the Ifequevron, or "woods walkers", of northern Essos. There is a ruined settlement of carved trees and haunted grottoes, called by the Dothraki Vaes Leisi, in the Kingdom of the Ifequevron.
History
Dawn Age
It is unknown where the children of the forest came from, nor for how long they were in their land before humans arrived. For thousands of years during the Dawn Age the children and the giants shared the landmass that later became known as Westeros.
The two races are believed to have sometimes fought, since Maester Kennet found a giant's barrow near Long Lake with obsidian arrowheads in the ribs. The children lived throughout Westeros, from the Summer Sea to the Land of Always Winter. They called Dorne the "Empty Land", however, and maesters doubt that the children lived on the Iron Islands.
First Men
Eventually between eight thousand and twelve thousand years ago, the children came in contact with the First Men, the first outsiders. Legends of the Reach claim they were led by Garth Greenhand.
Crossing the Arm of Dorne, the land-bridge connecting Westeros and Essos, these invaders built permanent settlements and brought with them bronze weapons, great leathern shields, the first horses, and their own gods.
The children initially welcomed the newcomers, but they disliked the First Men's harvesting of trees from forests, such as the rainwood. Fearing that the children used heart trees for spying, the First Men burned and cut down the great weirwoods as they came, leading to war between the two races.
For thousands of years the two races fought a desperate war for dominance. The legendary Brandon of the Bloody Blade slew numerous children at Red Lake.
In a futile attempt to end the invasion, the children used the hammer of the waters to shatter the Arm of Dorne with the Breaking, creating the Broken Arm and the Stepstones. The histories say that some of the First Men, the crannogmen, grew close to the children of the forest in the days when the greenseers at the Children's Tower of Moat Cailin tried to bring the hammer of the waters down upon the Neck.
Eventually the First Men and the children fought to a standstill. The two races agreed to peaceful coexistence and signed the Pact on the Isle of Faces, granting the open lands to humanity and the forests to the children, who had been greatly diminished. The children taught worship of the old gods to the First Men.
Age of Heroes
The Age of Heroes followed the Pact between the children and the First Men, four thousand years of relative peace between the races.[5] Eventually the enigmatic Others invaded from the uttermost north, bringing death and destruction to children and First Men, during an extended period of winter known as the Long Night.
The children joined with the First Men, led by the last hero, to fight against the Others in the Battle for the Dawn. Eventually the Others were driven back into the Lands of Always Winter. Bran the Builder, the legendary founder of House Stark, is said to have enlisted the magical aid of the children during the construction of the Wall.
The children began their slow withdrawal from the lands of men, retreating deeper into their forests and beyond the Wall. It was recorded by the Night's Watch that the children of the forest gave the black brothers a hundred obsidian daggers every year during the Age of Heroes. The free folk believe that Gendel and Gorne once mediated between rival children and giants.
Children and their greenseers supported the Warg King at Sea Dragon Point, but they were defeated by the Starks of Winterfell, the Kings of Winter.
The Winged Knight in the Vale is said to have wed one of the children, but she died during childbirth. Some legends claim that children helped Durran build the seventh castle of Storm's End. Some maesters of the Citadel, such as Jellicoe, lived among the children.
Andals
The children again warred with humans when the Andals began migrating from Andalos across the narrow sea to Westeros. Zealous in the Faith of the Seven and armed with steel, having learned of ironworking from the Rhoynar, the Andals resumed the cutting down and burning of weirwoods.
Children are said to have sent wolves against Andals at the White Wood. The Storm King Durran XXI Durrandon formed the Weirwood Alliance with the remaining children in the stormlands against the new invaders.Having seen the Andals overwhelm other kingdoms, Gwayne IV Gardener, King of the Reach, sent men to seek aid from the children, although it is unknown if any were found.
A hill, now known to the Westerosi as High Heart, was sacred to the children of the forest. There the Andal king Erreg the Kinslayer cut down the children's grove of thirty-one weirwoods.
High Heart is said to be haunted by the ghosts of the children who died there, where the children's magic is said to still linger. True History states that the children had already abandoned the riverlands before the arrival of the Andals, however.
Because of the Andals' invasion and conquest of the First Men, the old gods were largely supplanted south of the Neck by the Faith of the Seven. Moat Cailin held back the Andals from the north, however, so some children fled north.
During the reign of Dorren Stark, King in the North, the ranger Redwyn traded with children during a journey to Lorn Point and the Frozen Shore.
Relations between the children and humans grew distant over the years, until they ceased altogether. Maesters largely believe the children have been gone for hundreds or thousands of years, but the free folk believe they still live beyond the Wall.
Some scholars have suggested that children may have survived at the Isle of Faces or in the bogs of the Neck. Some also theorize that the crannogmen of the Neck intermarried with the children.
Jenny of Oldstones always claimed that her woods witch friend was one of the children. Lord Eddard Stark taught his offspring in their youth about the Age of Heroes and the children of the forest.
House Targaryen of King's
House Targaryen of King's Landing is a noble family of Valyrian descent who once ruled the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. The Targaryen sigil is a red three-headed dragon, breathing red flames on black. The house words are "Fire and Blood".
The only family of dragonlords who survived the Doom of Valyria, the Targaryens left the Valyrian Freehold twelve years before the Doom. They resided for more than a century at Dragonstone castle on Dragonstone island, until Aegon the Conqueror and his sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, began the first of the Wars of Conquest in 2 BC.
During Aegon's Conquest, the family built the Aegonfort in the new capital city of King's Landing. The Aegonfort was later torn down and replaced by the Red Keep, which remained their main seat for the duration of their dynasty, and which housed the Iron Throne. T
heir original castle was almost always given to the heir to the throne, the Prince of Dragonstone. The Targaryens eventually built the summer residence Summerhall, which has been given to several younger sons of the family over time.
House Targaryen ruled as the Kings of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, the Lords of the Seven Kingdoms, and the Great House of the crownlands for nearly three hundred years. Seventeen male Targaryens ruled from the Iron Throne.
The dynasty ended with the death of Aerys the Mad King during Robert's Rebellion, in which the Targaryens were overthrown and replaced by House Baratheon. The two surviving children of Aerys II, Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen, fled into exile, and have resided in the Free Cities of Essos ever since.
Culture
Traits
The phrase "blood of the dragon" refers to the Valyrian descent of the Targaryens, and more specifically to the fact that they were one of forty dragonlord families of the Valyrian Freehold.
The Targaryens are renowned for their beauty. They usually have typical Valyrian features: pale skin, silver, platinum, or gold hair and eyes in various shades of purple or light blue. A few Targaryens had darker hair, such as Princess Rhaenys, Prince Baelor Breakspear, Prince Valarr, and Prince Daeron.
According to semi-canon sources, the Targaryens can tolerate more heat than most ordinary people, but they are not immune to fire. The Targaryens long believed themselves immune to illness, but Princess Daenerys then died of the Shivers, and the Great Spring Sickness claimed the lives of King Daeron II, Prince Valarr, and Prince Matarys.
Another trait typical to Targaryens is the ability to have premonition-like dreams. The trait has been in House Targaryen since before the Doom of Valyria, with the dreams of Daenys Targaryen compelling the family to relocate from Valyria to Dragonstone in 114 BC. This trait was passed on to a branch of the family, House Blackfyre, as well.
The Targaryens are seen as prone to madness, presumably caused by their inbreeding. According to King Jaehaerys II Targaryen, "madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin. Every time a new Targaryen is born [...] the gods toss the coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land".
Customs
House Targaryen's words are "Fire and Blood." Their sigil is a three-headed dragon breathing flames, red on black. The three-headed dragon represents Aegon the Conqueror and his two sisters, Rhaenys and Visenya.
King Aegon II Targaryen used a golden dragon to rally his supporters during the Dance of the Dragons. Some younger sons of the house used variations of the standard sigil. Before his own reign, Maekar I Targaryen used the three-headed dragon, quartered, while his son, Prince Aerion Targaryen, changed the colors of the three heads—one orange, one yellow, one red—while the flames they breathed had a sheen of gold leaf.
In line with the sigil colors, most Targaryens used armor black in color. For instance, Prince Aemond Targaryen had night-black armor chased with gold,Prince Valarr Targaryen wore armor black as night in the tourney at Ashford Meadow, and Prince Rhaegar Targaryen had the three-headed dragon wrought in rubies on his black breast plate.
Although the Targaryen kings took their seat at King's Landing, the place where Aegon and his army first landed in Westeros and made their first fort, replaced by the Red Keep later on, their earlier seat of Dragonstone remained in their possession as well.
It eventually became the traditional seat of the heir-apparent to the throne, who was known as the Prince of Dragonstone (or Princess of Dragonstone, in a few occasions). in 188 AC, the Targaryens eventually built a third seat, Summerhall, which was granted to several younger sons who were granted the title Prince of Summerhall.
House Targaryen historically followed the old gods of Valyria, but at some point before Aegon's Conquest the family abandoned the Valyrian gods and converted to the Faith of the Seven, the predominant religion in Westeros.
The masts of the ships which carried the first Targaryens from Valyria were used to create the statues of the Seven within Dragonstone's sept, and Aegon prayed in the sept before beginning his conquest.
Against the doctrines of the Faith, however, the family continued to follow the Valyrian practice of incestuous marriage, wedding brother to sister, cousin to cousin, uncle to niece and aunt to nephew, holding themselves apart from and above the noble Westerosi families. This was eventually formulated as the Doctrine of Exceptionalism.[28]
Deceased Targaryens are traditionally cremated, a custom since the days of Old Valyria.
If a dragon is available, it is used to light the flame of the pyre. The ashes of many of the dead of House Targaryen have been interred on Dragonstone, including those of King Aegon I, Queen Visenya, King Maegor I, Princess Daenerys, Princess Daella, King Jaehaerys I, and Queen Alysanne. However, Queen Rhaena's ashes were interred at Harrenhal, and her daughter Princess Aerea's ashes were scattered on the wind.
Dragons
As one of the forty dragonlord families of Valyria, the Targaryens were closer to dragons than other men. Aenar Targaryen brought five dragons with him when he moved from Valyria to Dragonstone, and Aegon I Targaryen and his sister-wives, Rhaenys and Visenya rode them to battle during the Conquest of the Seven Kingdoms in 2 BC - 1 AC.
The Targaryens rode their dragons during the first century and a half following Aegon's Conquest. Deaths in battle, especially during the Dance of the Dragons, and a growing infirmity in each following generation caused the family's stable to dwindle. The last dragon was a deformed and sterile creature, who died young in 153 AC, during the reign of Aegon III, the Dragonbane.
The Targaryens housed their dragons in an immense domed structure in King's Landing, the Dragonpit, which was constructed during the reign of Maegor I Targaryen. Not all dragons which hatched were ridden, however. On the island of Dragonstone, several dragons, both wild and previously ridden, resided at least during the reigns of King Jaehaerys I, Viserys I, and Aegon II Targaryen.
The Targaryens often gifted a newborn child with a dragon's egg in the cradle. This practice continued even after the death of the last dragon, with the last Targaryens confirmed to have been given an egg having been the sons of Prince Maekar during the reign of Daeron II Targaryen.
Whether the tradition was continued beyond this point is unknown, but the Targaryens still possessed eggs as recently as the reign of Aerys II Targaryen, the last king of the Targaryen dynasty.
Several attempts have been made, since the death of the last dragon, to hatch these eggs by members of House Targaryen, including by Aegon III and his younger brother and Hand of the King, Viserys, Baelor I, Aegon V, and Aerys II.
History
A complete history of House Targaryen is planned for Fire and Blood, to be published several years after the completion of A Song of Ice and Fire.
Origins and relocation
House Targaryen was one of the forty ancient noble houses known as dragonlords who ruled the Valyrian Freehold, a great empire spanning much of Essos. The Targaryens were not one of the most powerful houses, however.
The family resided in Valyria until Daenys Targaryen, also known as Daenys the Dreamer, the daughter of Lord Aenar Targaryen, had visions of a cataclysm that would come over Valyria.
Aenar sold his estates in Valyria and moved his wives, children, other relatives, slaves, wealth, and five dragons (including Balerion) to Dragonstone, an island at the entrance of Blackwater Bay and the westernmost outpost of Valyrian influence, where he took possession of a castle of the same name, in 114 BC.
Twelve years later the Doom descended on the city of Valyria, leading to the collapse of the Freehold. The Targaryens were the only dragonriders of Valyria to survive. In the century that followed, four of the five dragons of House Targaryen died, with only Balerion surviving. Two more dragons, Vhagar and Meraxes, were hatched from eggs on Dragonstone, however.
During the century after the Doom, which became known as the Century of Blood due to the violent struggles for power in Essos, Volantis attempted to seize power over Valyria's colonies.
Most of the other Free Cities rebelled against Volantis, and towards the end of the Century of Blood, the young Lord Aegon Targaryen, rider of the dragon Balerion, was approached by Pentos and Tyrosh to form an alliance.
Aegon, mounted on his dragon Balerion, flew to meet the Prince of Pentos, and then to Lys, where he set the Volantene fleet aflame. With Volantis's campaign at an end, he returned to Dragonstone and focused his attention to the lands west, which had always been of interest to him.
Aegon's Conquest
Aegon Targaryen, Lord of Dragonstone, aspired to unite the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros under one ruler. Slightly more than a hundred years after the Doom of Valyria, in 2 BC, he began his invasion, in which he was aided by his two sister-wives, Rhaenys and Visenya. All three were dragonriders, and used their dragons, Balerion, Meraxes, and Vhagar in battle.
Aegon's Conquest, which lasted for two years, began with Aegon's Landing at the mouth of the Blackwater Rush with a small force, and ended when Aegon was anointed king by the High Septon in Oldtown.
Aegon's Conquest, which lasted for two years, began with Aegon's Landing at the mouth of the Blackwater Rush with a small force. House Hoare, the Kings of the Isles and the Rivers, were extinguished in the burning of Harrenhal, and Aegon granted the riverlands to House Tully.
House Durrandon, the Storm Kings, were defeated in the Last Storm and replaced by House Baratheon, whose founder Orys was Aegon's half brother.
Visenya achieved the submission of Crackclaw Point, but Dorne refused to yield to Rhaenys. House Gardener, the Kings of the Reach, were extinguished at the Field of Fire and replaced by House Tyrell, and House Lannister, the Kings of the Rock, submitted the following day.
Rather than face House Targaryen's dragons, House Stark, the Kings in the North, and House Arryn, the Kings of Mountain and Vale, also submitted to the invaders. The Conquest ended when Aegon was anointed king by the High Septon in Oldtown.
From the swords of his enemies, Aegon created the Iron Throne, and the dynasty he began would rule for nearly three hundred years. Aegon had constructed a wooden castle, the Aegonfort, at the place where he had first come to shore, and the town that grew around it became King's Landing, the kingdom's new capital.
Dragonstone remained in the possession of the Targaryens as well, and was one of Aegon's favorite places. The region around King's Landing became known as the crownlands. During his invasion of the Iron Islands, King Aegon allowed the Iron Islands to choose House Greyjoy as their new rulers.
First Dornish War
In 4 AC, Aegon's Wars of Conquest continued with the First Dornish War, during which he and Rhaenys attempted to bring the Dornish under Targaryen rule as well.
This was a bloody war, during which Queen Rhaenys Targaryen was killed with her dragon, Meraxes, at Hellholt in 10 AC. An assassination attempt on Aegon that same year led to the creation of the Kingsguard, who would guard the kings of the realm for centuries to come.
The First Dornish War eventually ended in 13 AC, after Nymor Martell, Prince of Dorne, had sent his daughter Deria to King's Landing with a letter and the skull of Meraxes. Though the contents of the letter have never been revealed, Aegon agreed to end the war the next day.