Faezhar zo Faez is a Yunkai'i nobleman. The men of the Windblown mock him as the Rabbit.
He is a small man with a receding chin. Two of his front teeth are too big to fit in his mouth, thus the reason for his nickname.
The men of the Windblown, a sellsword company hired by Yunkai, mock him as "the Rabbit". Following the death of Yurkhaz zo Yunzak in the fighting pits of Meereen, the Yunkai'i have been daily rotating the duty of supreme commander. Faezhar Zo Faez is among the men who take part in the rotation.
Fair Isle
The westerlands and the location of Fair Isle
Fair Isle is an island in the Sunset Sea, separated from the rest of the westerlands by the Straits of Fair Isle. The island is controlled by House Farman, whose seat Faircastle sits on it. The Crag is northeast of Fair Isle, while a peninsula containing Kayce and Feastfires is south of the island.
During the Age of Heroes, the Farman kings used their longships to guard Fair Isle and the west coast of Westeros against ironborn reavers from the nearby Iron Islands.
At some point Gylbert Farman successfully led the smallfolk of Fair Isle in rebellion against the ironborn. Erich V Harlaw, High King of the Iron Islands, eventually reconquered Fair Isle, but lost it when he grew old.
During the Andal era, Fair Isle was added to the Kingdom of the Rock when Tommen I Lannister raised a great fleet and married the last Farman king's daughter.
Princess Rhaena Targaryen sought refuge with Lord Farman from King Maegor I Targaryen.
Dalton Greyjoy, Lord of the Iron Islands, captured Fair Isle during the Dance of the Dragons.
During the reign of Aerys I Targaryen, the ironborn raided Fair Isle, making off with half its worth.
Stannis Baratheon defeated Victarion Greyjoy, Lord Captain of the Iron Fleet, in a sea battle off Fair Isle during Greyjoy's Rebellion.
Sailing on *Black Wind*, Asha Greyjoy and Qarl the Maid visited Fair Isle and Lannisport during their voyage to the Arbor.
Arron and Emrick, twins from Fair Isle, join the Night's Watch.
Duncan: Have you ever been to Fair Isle?
Aegon: No, ser, but they say it's fair.
- Duncan the Tall and Aegon Targaryen
Old women on Fair Isle still frightened their grandchildren with tales of Lord Dagon and his men.
- thoughts of Asha Greyjoy
"Fair Maids of Summer" is a song.
Abel performs "Fair Maids of Summer" during the wedding feast of Ramsay Bolton and "Arya Stark".
Faircastle
The westerlands and the location of Faircastle
Faircastle is the seat of House Farman in the westerlands. It is located on Fair Isle, just off the western coast of Westeros.
Faircastle was captured by Lord Dalton Greyjoy during the Dance of the Dragons. Dalton was eventually murdered by Tess within Lord Farman's bedchamber.
Fairmarket
The riverlands and the location of Fairmarket
Fairmarket is a town in the riverlands on the Blue Fork of the Trident. It is located mostly on the southern shore of the Blue Fork,
The river kings of old refused charters which would have allowed towns like Lord Harroway's Town, Saltpans, and Fairmarket to expand and potentially become cities.
Pate of Fairmarket was a peasant who unsuccessfully claimed to be a river king after the region was conquered by the Storm Kings of House Durrandon.
The Storm King Arrec Durrandon was defeated in a battle at Fairmarket by King Harwyn Hoare, allowing Harwyn to conquer the riverlands from the stormlands.
Prince Aegon Targaryen met one of his mistresses, Megette, after his horse threw a shoe while riding near Fairmarket in 155 AC.
King Robb Stark sends scouts to Fairmarket to see if he can cross the Blue Fork there, but the wooden bridge is washed away from heavy rainfall and flooding.
Lord Lucias Vypren tracks a band of outlaws who may have been involved in the hanging of Merrett Frey to Fairmarket but lost them there.
The Faith Militant was the military arm of the Faith of the Seven, under the command of the High Septon. It was composed of two military orders, the Warrior's Sons and the Poor Fellows, known as the "Swords" and the "Stars" for their respective symbols. The Faith Militant is therefore also known as the Swords and Stars
The Warrior's Sons were knights who renounced their titles, lands, gold, and possessions to fight for the Seven. They swore their swords to the High Septon. They wore inlaid silver armor over hair shirts, rainbow cloaks, and swords with star-shaped crystals in their pommels. They developed a reputation for fanaticism and implacable hatred for enemies of the Faith.
The Poor Fellows were a more humble order generally for commoners and women. Acting as a militant counterpart to begging brothers, Poor Fellows wandered the realm and escorted pilgrims between septs. They were lightly-armed footmen, who carried whatever weapons they could make or find, often axes or cudgels, and wore star badges, red on white.
The Faith Militant supported House Teague when they tried to suppress the worship of the old gods by House Blackwood. Houses Tully and Vance supported the Blackwoods, however, and the resulting war led to the control of the riverlands by the Storm Kings of House Durrandon.
The Faith Militant uprising against House Targaryen began during the reign of King Aenys I Targaryen after several events the Faith took as slights.
After Maegor's death, his successor, Jaehaerys the Conciliator, offered amnesty to the rebels in exchange for the disbandment of the Faith Militant.
The Faith of the Seven and its followers are incensed by attacks on holy men and women and the sacking of septs and septries carried out by foragers, such as the Brave Companions, during the War of the Five Kings. The new High Septon, known as the High Sparrow, manipulates Queen Regent Cersei Lannister into overturning Maegor's law and the Faith Militant is born again.
The Faith Militant reborn ... that would be the answer to three hundred years of prayer, Your Grace. The Warrior would lift his shining sword again and cleanse this sinful realm of all its evil. If His Grace were to allow me to restore the ancient blessed orders of the Sword and Star, every godly man in the Seven Kingdoms would know him to be our true and rightful lord.
– High Sparrow to Cersei Lannister
The Swords and Stars troubled even the Targaryens.
– Genna Lannister to Jaime Lannister
The Faith Militant are loosely inspired by crusading orders.
The Faith Militant uprising was a rebellion by the militant orders of the Faith of the Seven against the rule of House Targaryen over the Seven Kingdoms..
Although the uprising began during the reign of King Aenys I Targaryen, the first seeds were already planted during the reign of his father, King Aegon I Targaryen. Before the birth of Aenys's children, his younger half-brother Maegor was regarded as his heir. However, Aenys was wed in 22 AC, and his first child, Princess Rhaena, was born the next year. Her birth sparked the discussion of the line of succession, as it was unclear whether Maegor remained second in the line of succession or whether he fell behind the newborn Rhaena. In 24 AC, shortly after Maegor turned twelve, his mother Queen Visenya Targaryen proposed a betrothal between Rhaena and Maegor to settle the issue of the royal succession. However, both Prince Aenys and his wife and the High Septon protested.
When after fourteen years of marriage Maegor still had no child, he suddenly announced in 39 AC that Ceryse was barren and that he had taken another wife, Lady Alys Harroway, the daughter of the new Lord of Harrenhal, Lucas Harroway. Unable to convince the septon at Dragonstone to perform the wedding, Maegor had taken Alys to wife in a Valyrian wedding ceremony led by Dowager Queen Visenya Targaryen. This marriage angered many. Ceryse's father, Lord Martyn Hightower, protest the marriage to King Aenys and demanded that Maegor set Alys aside. The High Septon denounced the marriage as sin and fornication and called Alys *"this whore of Harroway."* Many of the pious lords in the realm similarly condemned the marriage, and openly began to call Alys *"Maegor's Whore"*. Maegor remained defiant, however, citing that his father had taken two wives as well, claiming that the strictures of the Faith did not rule the blood of the dragon.
Maegor quarreled bitterly with his brother over the marriage, as the King had neither known of the marriage prior to the ceremony, nor given his leave for it. Eventually, Aenys made Maegor choose between setting Alys aside or going into exile for five years. Maegor chose the latter, and left for Pentos in 40 AC.
The situation became worse in 41 AC, when Aenys wed his daughter Rhaena and son Aegon to one another. The High Septon sent Aenys a denunciation, addressing him as "King Abomination"; The uprising was about to begin, and even the pious lords and smallfolk, who had loved Aenys, turned against the king.
Conflicts began in King's Landing. For having performed the wedding ceremony, Septon Murmison was expelled from the Faith. A fortnight later, he was cut to pieces by Poor Fellows, who had taken up arms. And other Poor Fellows scaled the walls of the Red Keep, attempting to murder the king and his family, failing only when Ser Raymont Baratheon of the Kingsguard intervened. The Warrior's Sons began to fortify the Hill of Rhaenys, ensuring the Sept of Remembrance could withstand the Targaryens.
Aenys and his family fled the city and went to Dragonstone. Aenys refused to follow Visenya's advise of burning down the Starry Sept at Oldtown and the Sept of Remembrance in King's Landing. Meanwhile, thousands of Poor Fellows threatened the king's supporters, while dozens of lords gave their support to the Faith; By the end of the year, most of the realm had joined the side of the Faith. Aenys, unable to decide how to deal with the rebellion, fell ill. He collapsed when he learned that Rhaena and Aegon were besieged at Crakehall, and died three days later.
Visenya flew on Vhagar to Pentos after Aenys' funeral in order to retrieve Maegor from exile. Maegor was crowned upon his return to Dragonstone, and executed Grand Maester Gawen for protesting his claim to the throne. Maegor then flew upon Balerion to King's Landing, where the militant orders of the Faith had seized the Sept of Remembrance on Rhaenys's Hill and the half-completed Red Keep. On Visenya's Hill, Maegor raised the banner of House Targaryen and gathered the support of thousands.
Dowager Queen Visenya challenged those who questioned Maegor's right to rule to prove themselves. The challenge was met by Ser Damon Morrigen, the Grand Captain of the Warrior's Sons. Maegor quickly decided to settle the matter with swords, and Damon demanded a trial of seven, to which Maegor agreed.
That same year the Battle of Stonebridge was fought between Maegor's forces and the Poor Fellows. The Poor Fellows were nine thousand strong, under the command of Wat the Hewer. While crossing the Mander, they were caught between six lordly armies supporting Maegor. With the army of Poor Fellows divided by the river, they were cut to pieces. The sheer brutality of the carnage made the Mander run red with blood for twenty leagues, resulting in the bridge and castle that commanded it forever after being known as Bitterbridge.
As the Faith continued to resist his rule,
Next,[N 2] Maegor and Visenya turned towards Oldtown, threatening to incinerate the Starry Sept in response to the High Septon's condemnation of his polygamous marriages. Shortly after, the High Septon died suddenly, allowing Lord Martyn Hightower to open his gates before Balerion and Vhagar could burn the city.
A new High Septon was elected that same night. He was a more passive man, who annointed Maegor upon his arrival at the Starry Sept and did not lift a finger as the Warrior's Sons at Oldtown were either sent to the Wall or executed.
The new High Septon too proved unable to halt the rebellion.
Maegor temporarily pulled back from the war, focusing instead on the completion of the Red Keep, but in late 45 AC began a new campaign against the Faith. In the kingswood south of the Blackwater, Maegor hunted down the Poor Fellows who had taken refuge, and ordered the rebel Poxy Jeyne to be burned alive. Although Poor Fellows and peasants attempted to prevent the execution, Maegor had all the would-be rescuers slaughtered in an ambush at the Wendwater.
Maegor had been battling not only the Faith during his reign, but also his own family. Aenys I Targaryen's widow, Dowager Queen Alyssa Velaryon, and her two youngest children, Jaehaerys and Alysanne, had been made hostages on Dragonstone, while Prince Viserys had been made Maegor's squire in King's Landing. Aenys's eldest son, Prince Aegon, challenged Maegor's claim to the throne, but died in battle against Maegor in 43 AC.
Lord Daemon Velaryon, the admiral of the king's fleets, eventually turned against Maegor, and gave his support to Jaehaerys. His example was followed by many of the great houses. Jaehaerys named Lord Robar Baratheon, the Lord of Storm's End, as Protector of the Realm and Hand of the King. Rhaena fled from Maegor on her dragon, Dreamfyre, when she learned of Jaehaerys's proclamation, stealing Maegor's Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre. And two knights of Maegor's Kingsguard abandoned Maegor as well, joining Prince Jaehaerys instead. Facing so much opposition with only the forces of a few lord from the Crownlands at his disposal, Maegor's situation was dire. In 48 AC, he was found dead upon the Iron Throne. The manner of his death is still speculated about today.
Prince Jaehaerys ascended the throne in 48 AC following Maegor's death. He was crowned by the High Septon. About a decade into his reign, he became acquainted with Septon Barth, who tended to the books and records in the Red Keep's library. Jaehaerys soon named him Hand of the King, a position he kept for forty years.
The Faith of the Seven, often simply referred to to as the Faith, is the dominant religion in most of the Seven Kingdoms. Followers of the Faith in the north are rare and are generally not found on the Iron Islands, where the religions of the old gods of the First Men and of the Drowned God respectively are still strong. The gods of the Faith are sometimes known as the new gods to differentiate them from the old gods from the north.
Members of the Faith worship the Seven Who Are One, a single deity with seven aspects or faces. Depending on their need, worshippers pray to specific faces of the Seven. The seven faces are:
The seven aspects of one god, with the seven-pointed star in the middle. Supplemental material from *Game of Thrones*.
Main articles: High Septon, and Most Devout
High Septon by Amok © Fantasy Flight Games
The head of the Faith is the High Septon, the Father of the Faithful, the voice of the new gods on earth.
A septon of House Tully. Artwork by Nacho Molina © Fantasy Flight Games
The male and female godsworn of the Faith are called septons and septas, respectively. Upon taking their vows, they set aside their last names, even if they come from noble families.
In villages which are too small to support a septon, a septon from a neighboring village might visit twice a year. Other times, a "wandering septon", a septon who travels from village to village without a specific sept at which he serves, might visit these small villages. These septons perform holy services, marriages, and forgive sins. While the septon is visiting the village, the people must provide him with food and a place to sleep.
Main article: Silent Sisters
The silent sisters are tasked with preparing deceased for the grave.
The silent sisters remove the bowels and organs, and drain the blood from the corpses in their care. They may also stuff the body with fragrant herbs and salts to preserve it and hide the smell of decomposition.
Several other lower-ranked monastic orders exist, including both "holy brothers"
Brown brothers serve at septries,
Begging brothers are ranked lower still. These men travel from place to place, but are nonetheless not to be confused with wandering septons, as the latter are one rank up in the Faith’s hierarchy. The begging brothers are dressed in threadbare or roughspun robes, and some might go about barefoot. They all wear a bowl on a leather thong around their necks.
Main articles: Faith Militant, Warrior's Sons, and Poor Fellows
The Faith Militant was the military arm of the Faith of the Seven, under the command of the High Septon. It was composed of two military orders, the Warrior's Sons, an order of knights who gave up their lands and gold, swearing their sword to the High Septon, and the Poor Fellows, made up from common men, hedge knights, and the like,*]
The Faith traditionally held several rights. Apart from the right to maintain its own military orders (i.e. the Faith Militant and its subdivisions, the Warrior's Sons and the Poor Fellows), the Faith also had the right to hold its own ecclesiastical courts to try servants of the Faith accused of wrongdoing, who were exempt from being tried in the lordly courts of local monarchs. In addition, the Faith's substantial wealth and properties were exempt from taxation.
King Aegon I Targaryen tread lightly with the Faith and upheld all of these rights during his reign. Aegon's second son, King Maegor I Targaryen, outlawed the Faith Militant during the Faith Militant uprising. Whether or not the Faith retained the tax-exemption on its wealth and properties after Jaehaerys I's time hasn't been confirmed.
The Seven. Artwork by Guad © Fantasy Flight Games
The Faith of the Seven is the predominant religion of the Seven Kingdoms. It is practiced in Dorne, the Reach, the Stormlands, the Crownlands, most of the riverlands, the westerlands, and the Vale. Only on the Iron Islands and the North
In association with the seven aspects of their god, the number seven is considered holy, seven oils are used. In numerous other occasions, the number seven reoccurs.
Religious worship is done in buildings with seven walls.
Some lords might agree to have a sept build upon their lands. If such cases, the septs are the property of the lord in question.
The Faith. Artwork by Nicole Cardiff © Fantasy Flight Games
Prayer in a sept is done to each of the seven faces of the god that one wishes to ask for aid.
The Faith has a number of holy books.
Hymn's for a particular god can be sung during prayer.
Each of the seven gods of the Faith have their own holy day.
Both regular trials as well as trials by combat are presided over by a septon. During a regular trial, the septon will begin with a prayer, beseeching the Father Above to guide them towards justice.
A special form of trial by combat, which is seldom used, is the trial of seven. The custom originates from the Andals, who believed that the gods would be honored to see seven champions fight on each side, and therefore be more likely to see that justice was done. The accused is to find six others to stand with him in battle. If he is unable to do so, he is considered to be guilty.
Main article: marriage
A marriage ceremony takes place in a sept.
Seven vows are made, seven blessings are invocated, and seven promises are exchanged, after which a wedding song is sung. Next, a challenge is made to speak against the marriage, and if the challenge goes unanswered, the wedding cloaks are exchanged.
The wedding ceremony is followed by a feast. though it is unknown how far this witness duty goes.
A marriage that has not been consummated can be set aside by the High Septon or a Council of Faith.
According to the Seven-Pointed Star, lives are like candle flames, easily snuffed out by errant winds.
The Silent Sisters attend to the deceased.
The bodies of the deceased are given over to the silent sisters for ritual cleansing.
When a man is laid in his grave, a septon usually says some prayers for him.
When the deceased dies far from home, his body will usually be escorted back to his or her family. At least one, and often more, silent sisters will accompany the body.
The Faith of the Seven arose among the Andals who lived in the hills of Andalos. It is claimed that the Seven walked there in human form. According to *The Seven-Pointed Star*, the Father brought down seven stars from heaven and placed them on the brow of Hugor of the Hill, the first king of the Andals, to form his crown. The Maid brought forth a girl supple as a willow with eyes like deep blue pools that became Hugor his first wife, the Mother made her fertile, who bore him forty-four mighty sons as foretold by the Crone. The Warrior gave each son strength of arms and the Smith wrought each a suit of iron plate.
The Faith was brought to Westeros when the Andals invaded from Essos thousands of years ago, and largely supplanted the local worship of the old gods. Some of the Andal warriors had the seven-pointed star of the Faith carved into their flesh to show their devotion. Oldtown eventually became the center of the Faith, and the Starry Sept home to the High Septon.
Aegon I Targaryen is crowned and anointed by the High Septon at the Starry Sept in Oldtown
When he learned that Aegon the Conqueror had landed in Westeros, the High Septon locked himself in the Starry Sept for seven days and nights, seeking guidance from the gods. On the seventh day, the High Septon saw a vision given to him by the Crone, showing him that if Oldtown resisted Aegon, the Hightower, Citadel, and Starry Sept would burn. The High Septon warned Lord Manfred Hightower of what he had seen, after which the Lord of the Hightower decided to offer no resistance to the Targaryens. Aegon dated the start of his reign from the day the High Septon anointed him at the Starry Sept.
The Targaryens had converted to the Faith on Dragonstone before Aegon’s day, and matters calmed down again.
Main article: Faith Militant uprising
Maegor I Targaryen upon Balerion burns down the Sept of Remembrance at the start of his reign.
Issues arose during the reign of Aegon I’s heir, Aenys I Targaryen, when Prince Maegor secretly took a second wife in 39 AC. The polygamous marriage angered the Faith, and Aenys felt forced to exile his brother
However, when Aenys wed his daughter Rhaena and son Aegon to one another in 41 AC, the High Septon denounced him, calling him "King Abomination"; This was the start of the Faith Militant uprising, during which even the pious lords and smallfolk who had loved Aenys turned against the king.
The Faith Militant uprising lasted the remaining year of Aenys I’s reign, and the entire reign of his brother and successor, Maegor I. Maegor placed a bounty on the Faith Militant,. Jaehaerys I eventually resolved the issues between the crown and the Faith by promising that the Crown would always protect and defend the Faith. In return, the last few Stars and Swords were to put down their weapons, and the Faith was to agree to accept justice from the Iron Throne from that moment onwards.
The septon-king Baelor I assumed the Iron Throne in 161 AC. The most pious of all Targaryen kings, Baelor’s interests were the Seven. He convinced the High Septon to dissolve his marriage to his sister, Daena Targaryen, arguing that the marriage had been contracted before he had become king, and in addition had never been consummated. Next, Baelor placed all three of his sisters in what would become known as the Maidenvault, where only maidens were allowed to join them. The king stated that he wished to preserve their innocence, but some wondered whether Baelor had done so to because he feared the temptation of their beauty himself.
Baelor’s edicts became more and more concerned with spiritual matters, and grew more and more zealous and erratic as his reign continued. He even took a septon’s vows, preventing himself from ever marrying again. Meanwhile, the High Septon grew more and more influential. When he died, Baelor declared to the Most Devout that the Seven had revealed to him the identity of the new High Septon. The Most Devout elected Baelor’s choice; A stonemason who carved his stonework so beautifully that Baelor was convinced he was the Smith in human form. However, the man could neither read nor write, and was unable to recall even the most simplest of prayers. He died of illness after a year, at which point Baelor declared that an eight-year-old boy, whom he claimed to have seen speaking to doves who answered him in the voices of the Seven, should become the new High Septon. The Most Devout once again did as Baelor desired.
The Great Sept of Baelor.
Baelor also ordered the construction of a new sept atop Visenya's Hill. Completed many years after Baelor’s death[N 3] the Great Sept of Baelor became the new seat of the High Septon and the Most Devout,[*citation needed*] and a preeminent center of religious education in the realm.
During the Great Spring Sickness, King’s Landing was one of the most affected areas. There, the High Septon, a third of the Most Devout, and nearly all the silent sisters died from the sickness.
Following the death of King Maekar I Targaryen, a Great Council was called to settle the issue of succession. The crown was quietly offered to Maekar’s third son, Aemon, who had taken his maester’s vows years before. The High Septon himself offered Aemon to absolve him from his vows after Aemon refused to break them. Regardless, Aemon refused.
Although King Aerys II Targaryen left a treasury overflowing with gold upon his death, King Robert I Baratheon has emptied the treasury, leaving the Crown in debt. The Faith is among those of whom the Crown borrows gold.
Lord Eddard Stark, the new Hand of the King, is informed during his first small council meeting that the Crown has had to borrow money from multiple factions, including the Faith.
Two hundred jars of wildfire are discovered in a storeroom beneath the Great Sept of Baelor, leaving the High Septon beside himself with terror until they were safely removed.
After he has crowned himself king, Renly Baratheon creates the Rainbow Guard, his form of the Kingsguard.
The High Septon believes that the Crown has profaned the Great Sept of Baelor by execution Eddard Stark there, and is convinced that the Lannisters had lied about their intent.
As the dissatisfaction grows among the population of King’s Landing, Tyrion Lannister observes a begging brother preaching that the High Septon has forgotten the gods.
When Myrcella Baratheon leaves for Dorne, the High Septon blesses her before the ship leaves. As the procession, including the High Septon, travels back to the Red Keep, a riot breaks out, in which the High Septon is killed.
Following the victory over Stannis at the Battle of the Blackwater, the High Septon proclaims to King Joffrey I Baratheon that the Faith permits him to break his betrothal to Sansa Stark, arguing that her father’s treason has made the contract invalid.
The High Septon joins a meeting of the small council, where Lord Tywin Lannister insists that the High Septon has to be crowned at the king’s wedding, and orders his daughter to place an order with her goldsmiths to replace the crown which has been missing since the riot.
Tyrion Lannister marries Sansa Stark in Baelor’s Sept.
The death and destruction left behind by the War of the Five Kings, as well as the increasing violence towards the smallfolk, more and more people turn towards the Faith. Thousands travel to King’s Landing, calling themselves "sparrows" after the most common bird, as they are the most common men and women.[*citation needed*]
Queen Regent Cersei Lannister has the High Septon murdered by Ser Osney Kettleblack, as she fears the man was a catspawn of Tyrion.
Cersei plots to frame Tommen’s Queen, [[Margaery Tyrell], for adultery and treason. She seduces Osney Kettleblack and has him falsely confess to the High Sparrow that he had intercourse with Margaery and two of her three cousins, Megga and Elinor.
The Faith continues to keep Cersei a prisoner in a tower of the Great Sept of Baelor, and has her placed under the care of three septas. Cersei confesses to the High Sparrow that she had relations with her cousin, Lancel Lannister, and all three of the Kettleblack brothers, knowing that such sins would not earn her an execution. However, she continues to deny involvement in the death of the previous High Septon and the death of her late husband, King Robert I Baratheon.
Cersei’s uncle, Kevan Lannister, arrives in King’s Landing, and comes to an agreement with the High Septon. Intend on drawing “her fangs”,
When Varys later murders Kevan, he states that one of the reasons why is because Kevan was trying to bind to Faith to Tommen’s rule.
George R. R. Martin based the Faith of the Seven on the medieval Catholic Church, although it borrows other elements as well. The Faith’s central doctrine that there is one God who has seven aspects is partly based on the Catholic belief that there is one God who has three aspects: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. With the Seven, instead, you have The Father, The Mother, The Maiden, The Crone, The Smith, The Warrior, and The Stranger, who's the death figure.
Catelyn had been anointed with the seven oils and named in the rainbow of light that filled the sept of Riverrun. She was of the Faith, like her father and grandfather and his father before him. Her gods had names, and their faces were as familiar as the faces of her parents. Worship was a septon with a censer, the smell of incense, a seven-sided crystal alive with light, voices raised in song. The Tullys kept a godswood, as all the great houses did, but it was only a place to walk or read or lie in the sun. Worship was for the sept.
—thoughts of Catelyn Stark
Even Aegon tread lightly where the Faith was concerned . . . it was his son Maegor who broke their power, but even then the Faith came back under kings like Baelor the Blessed.
The old High Septon told my father that kings' laws are one thing, and the laws of the gods another.
—Prince Aegon Targaryen to Duncan the Tall
Jaime: Crippled or whole, a knight of the Kingsguard serves for life.
Tywin: Cersei ended that when she replaced Ser Barristan on grounds of age. A suitable gift to the Faith will persuade the High Septon to release you from your vows.
One god with seven aspects. That's so my lady, and you are right to point it out, but the mystery of the Seven Who Are One is not easy for simple folk to grasp, and I am nothing if not simple, so I speak of seven gods.
Lancel: My faith is all the nourishment I need.
Jaime: Faith is like porridge. Better with milk and honey.
Give me priests who are fat and corrupt and cynical, the sort who like to sit on soft satin cushions, nibble sweetmeats, and diddle little boys. It's the ones who believe in gods who make the trouble.
Have you ever noticed that septas always look like prunes? That’s what a life of chastity will do to you.
Faithful is a war galley of the royal fleet in service to Stannis Baratheon. It has one hundred oars.
Faithful is part of Stannis Baratheon's fleet commanded by Ser Imry Florent during the Battle of the Blackwater. It engages the *Kingslander* with the aid of the *Sceptre. Rammed during the battle, the *Faithful is engulfed and destroyed by wildfire after the explosion of the *Swordfish*.
A falchion is a short, one-handed, broad bladed sword with a single edge. It is used primarily for hacking. It resembles a cleaver in appearance.
Falchion
The falchion is Ramsay Bolton's weapon of choice.
Falena Stokeworth was a member of House Stokeworth during the reign of Aegon III Targaryen.
Lady Falena was the first mistress of Aegon IV Targaryen. She "made him a man" in 149 AC when he was fourteen, she being ten years his elder. When a knight of the Kingsguard found them abed together in 151 AC, his father, Prince Viserys, wed Falena to his master-at-arms, Lucas Lothston, and persuaded King Aegon III Targaryen to name Lucas Lord of Harrenhal in order to remove Falena from court. However, over the next two years, Aegon paid frequent visits to Harrenhal.
Falena returned to court at King's Landing when King Aegon IV named her husband Hand of the King, bringing her daughter Jeyne Lothston with her. It was rumoured the king enjoyed both mother and daughter together.
Falia Flowers is the bastard daughter of Lord Humfrey Hewett. Falia is made to be a servant in Lord Hewett's castle by her trueborn sisters and her step-mother.
Falia is buxom and roughly seventeen or eighteen years old.
Falia in the lap of Euron Greyjoy, her father bound besides them - by Mathia Arkoniel©
When King Euron Greyjoy comes with the ironborn after the Battle of the Shield Islands, Lord Humfrey Hewett is tied to his chair and made to watch his wife and daughters serve the raiders. Falia, who becomes Euron's lover, suggested the idea that the women serve naked and Lord Humfrey's wife and daughters then had their clothes removed.
Euron later takes Falia upstairs to Lord Hewett's chambers. When Victarion Greyjoy is summoned to Euron, he spots Falia sleeping naked on the bed.
When Aeron Greyjoy is brought to Oakenshield he is fed by Falia. Aeron asks her to tell Victarion Greyjoy to rescue him, but she says he has already departed the island. She reveals that she is pregnant and claims Euron will make her his salt wife and her sons will be before his other bastard sons, and also that Daenerys Targaryen will be Euron's rock wife and that Falia will be like a sister to Daenerys. Aeron warns her to flee, saying Euron will hurt her and kill her but she refuses in disbelief, stating Euron loves her and gives her silks and jewels.
Later, when Aeron is lashed to the prow of the *Silence*, Falia Flowers is tied next to him. She is naked, pregnant, her tongue has been cut out, and her face is red from crying.
Art by Tomasz Jedruszek © Fantasy Flight Games
Art by David Sondered © Fantasy Flight Games
The fall of Astapor
Following a suggestion from Ser Jorah Mormont,
Other than the Unsullied, Astapor is poorly defended; its walls are old and crumbling, with no guards in the towers. Even a modest Dothraki *khalasar* could probably take the city, but none has ever tried because of the Unsullied. Apparently, no one thought it was a bad idea to turn control of all of their best soldiers to an ambitious buyer such as the desperate queen inside their walls.
The exchange takes place the next morning, at the Plaza of Punishment. Having closed the deal, Daenerys receives the harpy's fingers, a nine-lashed whip that symbolizes her ownership of the Unsullied. She betrayed the terms of the deal and unleashes her dragons on the masters and the few remaining soldiers in the plaza, ordering the Unsullied to kill the remaining slave-masters of the city and freeing all of the slaves.
Before leaving for Yunkai, Daenerys leaves a council of three men—a healer, a scholar and a priest—to rule. They are later deposed by Cleon, a former butcher, who leads the people to believe that the three intend to return the Good Masters to their positions of power. Naming himself king after having the council executed, Cleon has all the highborn boys seized to begin training new Unsullied. Each pyramid within Astapor is now an armed camp and the dead lie in the streets and the markets of devoid of food and slaves to purchase.
The fall of Dragonstone.
After escaping the fall of King's Landing, King Aegon II Targaryen hid on Dragonstone, the island stronghold of his rival, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen. He convinced several blacks, including Ser Alfred Broome and Ser Marston Waters, to defect to the greens and help him take the island, with the assistance of Tom Tanglebeard and Tom Tangletongue. Marston secured the ravens of Maester Hunnimore, while Alfred slew the castellan of the castle of Dragonstone, Ser Robert Quince.
During the coup, Aegon fought Lady Baela Targaryen, both mounted on their dragons Sunfyre and Moondancer, respectively. The dragons fought in the pre-dawn sky above the castle, eventually slamming into the yard still fighting. Aegon jumped from the saddle twenty feet from the ground but Baela crashed to the ground with Moondancer. Marston stopped Alfred from slaying the burned girl as she crawled away from her dying dragon, and Tom Tangletongue carried her to the maester.
Aegon II shattered his legs in a fall during the fight, but he refused milk of the poppy because of his experience with it during his recovery after Rook's Rest.
Dragonstone was now in the control of King Aegon II Targaryen and the greens. Baela Targaryen, Aegon, and his dragon, Sunfyre, were seriously injured during the aerial duel over the island. When Rhaenyra eventually returned to Dragonstone, she and her followers were quickly defeated by Ser Alfred Broome's men.
The fall of Harrenhal.
After being defeated in the battle on the Green Fork, Lord Roose Bolton withdraws his forces to the causeway.
Vargo returns to Harrenhal with at least one hundred captives—led by Robett Glover and Aenys Frey and including men from Houses Bolton, Cerwyn, Frey, Glover, and Karstark—claiming to have beaten Roose when he tried to cross the Trident. The incognito Arya Stark, seeing an opportunity, blackmails Jaqen H'ghar into helping her free the northern prisoners in the Widow's Tower, and Jaqen enlists the aid of Rorge and Biter. Under the pretense of bringing onion soup to a group of Amory's guards, the four kill the guards and free the northern prisoners.
Unknown to Ser Amory Lorch and independently of Arya and Jaqen, Vargo Hoat had previously approached Roose's encampment and struck a deal to turn over the castle to the Starks. While the freed northmen and rivermen are escaping, the Brave Companions simultaneously turn on their former Lannister allies, killing them in their beds or while they are celebrating in the Barracks Hall.
The bodies of the slain Lannisters are burned in a pyre within Harrenhal's Flowstone Yard. Lord Roose Bolton marches on Harrenhal and Vargo Hoat turns the castle over to him. Roose upgrades Arya Stark, who now calls herself Nan, from a servant drudge to his own cupbearer. Ser Amory Lorch is killed by a large black bear in the bear pit as sport for Vargo's Brave Companions.
The loss of Harrenhal traps Lord Tywin Lannister between the forces of Roose at Harrenhal and Ser Edmure Tully at Riverrun, culminating in the next major battle of the War of the Five Kings, the Battle of the Fords.
This of the soup, that was clever. I did not expect that. Was it Lord Hoat's idea?
- Robett Glover to Arya Stark
The fall of King's Landing occurred in 130 AC during the Dance of the Dragons.
Prince Aemond Targaryen and Ser Criston Cole gathered their green forces to march on Harrenhal, which left King's Landing largely defenseless. This created an opportunity that the blacks seized.
Prince Daemon Targaryen on Caraxes and Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen on Syrax flew over the capital and circled their dragons above Aegon's High Hill. The fleet of the Sea Snake, Lord Corlys Velaryon, then arrived to the east of Blackwater Bay.
The sight of Daemon on Caraxes and Rhaenyra on Syrax over King's Landing sent the city into a panic. The Queen Dowager, Alicent Hightower, tried to send riders to bring back Aemond and ravens to leal lords, but her efforts were quickly stopped. Unknown to Alicent was that the gold cloaks, the City Watch of King's Landing, had turned. The gold cloaks were loyal to Daemon who had once been their leader. When he went to dispatch ravens, Grand Maester Orwyle was beaten and bound by gold cloaks as he arrived in his chambers. The seven commanders of the city gates who had been chosen for their loyalty to King Aegon II Targaryen were either imprisoned or killed the moment Caraxes was spotted over the Red Keep. Ser Gwayne Hightower, the second in command of the City Watch, was captured when he tried to sound the alarm. He was brought before Ser Luthor Largent, the commander of the gold cloaks. Gwayne denounced him as a turncloak to which Luthor replied:
Daemon gave us these cloaks and they're gold no matter how you turn them.
Luthor then murdered Gwayne and had the city gates opened to the army pouring in from the Sea Snake's ships. Thirteen House Hightower knights and a hundred men-at-arms managed to hold the River Gate for eight hours from both attacks without and within the city. The other six gates, however, fell swiftly and the blacks' army entered the city unmolested through those gates. The city fell in less then a day. Seeing hope was lost, Queen Alicent ordered her forces to surrender.
King Aegon II Targaryen escaped the fall of King's Landing. He was smuggled out by the master of whisperers, Lord Larys Strong, via secret passages. Aegon was protected by two of his Kingsguard knights, Ser Willis Fell and Ser Rickard Thorne, and was accompanied by his children, Princess Jaehaera and Prince Maelor.
Lord Otto Hightower and Lord Jasper Wylde were executed for treason. Queen Alicent Hightower and Princess Helaena Targaryen were held as captives. Ser Tyland Lannister was tortured for information on where he had hidden the crown's treasure. Grand Maester Orwyle was confined in the black cells.
Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen seized the Iron Throne, though many lords noted she cut herself upon the throne, starting rumors that the throne had rejected her. At first the population of the city had welcomed Rhaenyra's ascent to the Iron Throne as Aegon II and Prince Aemond Targaryen had not been much loved. In time, however, with more executions happening daily and more taxes being raised to fund the wars, the population began to loathe Rhaenyra, calling her "King Maegor with teats".
The Fall of Maidenpool during the Andal invasion is remember in songs. The young king Florian V Mooton, known as Florian the Brave, died during the capture of Maidenpool.
The fall of Moat Cailin, and directly affects the outcome of the war.
Robb Stark, seeking allies, sends Theon Greyjoy as an envoy to his father to offer an alliance between the North and the Iron Islands. Balon Greyjoy, Lord of the Iron Islands, rejects the offer from the King in the North and instead intends to strike at the north, which is weakly defended with the northern forces fighting in the riverlands and the westerlands. Balon sends Theon, his brother Aeron Damphair, and Dagmer Cleftjaw to harry the Stony Shore in hopes that the remaining northern lords will march from their castles. Balon sends his daughter Asha to seize Deepwood Motte and his brother Victarion with the majority of the Iron Fleet to capture Moat Cailin and prevent the northern lords in the south from returning to their seats.
Victarion and the Iron Fleet sail up the Saltspear and the Fever River to its headwaters, from which Moat Cailin is less than twenty miles away.
After harrying the Stony Shore, Theon changes Balon's plan and captures Winterfell. The news of the seizures of Winterfell and Moat Cailin changes Robb's plans and forces him to return to the north. Moat Cailin is eventually besieged and taken by a Bolton-led northern army after Victarion brings most of his men back to the Iron Islands for the kingsmoot.
Once we hold Moat Cailin, the pup will not be able to win back to the north ... and if he is fool enough to try, his enemies will seal the south end of the causeway behind him, and Robb the boy will find himself caught like a rat in a bottle.
- Balon Greyjoy to Victarion Greyjoy
Moat Cailin is the key. Lord Balon knew that, which is why he sent his brother Victarion there with the hard heart of the Greyjoy strength.
- Robb Stark to his bannermen
The fall of Raventree Hall is part of the Lannister invasion of the riverlands during the War of the Five Kings.
After the battle at the Mummer's Ford, Lord Tywin Lannister leads his 20,000 men northeast toward the ruby ford. With Ser Edmure Tully captured by Ser Jaime Lannister, Lord Tytos Blackwood of Raventree holds Riverrun while it is besieged by Jaime.
Without Lord Tytos to lead the defense, Raventree Hall falls to the army of Tywin and his brother, Ser Kevan Lannister..
Tywin leaves Raventree under the control of a Lannister garrison. Later, after Robb Stark's victories at the Whispering Wood and the Battle of the Camps and Tywin's retreat to Harrenhal, Raventree Hall is liberated by Lord Tytos.
The fall of Rosby took place at Rosby in the crownlands during the Dance of the Dragons.
Following the fall of Harrenhal to Prince Daemon Targaryen and the two defeats at the Burning Mill and Stone Hedge, King Aegon II Targaryen stripped Ser Otto Hightower of his title of Hand of the King and granted it to Ser Criston Cole, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. Criston advised moving against the "traitors" that had bent the knee to Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. As House Velaryon and House Celtigar were unreachable, he marched on the "black" lords on the mainland.
Rosby fell to Aegon's forces under the command of Ser Criston Cole.
After Rosby, Stokeworth, and Duskendale had fallen, Ser Criston Cole marched on Rook's Rest, the seat of House Staunton, where he met with resistance.
The fall of Stokeworth took place at Rosby in the crownlands during the Dance of the Dragons.
Following the fall of Harrenhal to Prince Daemon Targaryen and the two defeats at the Burning Mill and Stone Hedge, King Aegon II Targaryen stripped Ser Otto Hightower of his title of Hand of the King and granted it to Ser Criston Cole, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. Criston advised moving against the "traitors" that had bent the knee to Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. As House Velaryon and House Celtigar were unreachable, he marched on the "black" lords on the mainland.
Stokeworth fell to Aegon's forces under the command of Ser Criston Cole.
After Rosby, Stokeworth, and Duskendale had fallen, Ser Criston Cole marched on Rook's Rest, the seat of House Staunton, where he met with resistance.
Lady Falyse Stokeworth is the heir of Lady Tanda Stokeworth. She has been married to Ser Balman Byrch for ten years, but they remain childless.
Falyse has an acid tongue.
Falyse remains at the court of King Joffrey Baratheon after the beginning of hostilities with the North. She attends the Tourney for King Joffrey's 13th Name Day with her mother, Lady Tanda and her sister, Lollys. Falyse arrives in King's Landing with a small troop of soldiers the day before the Battle of the Blackwater. She stays in Maegor's Holdfast during the battle with her sister and mother.
Falyse attends the funeral of Lord Tywin Lannister with her husband, Ser Balman Byrch,
The plan backfires when Balman challenges Bronn to single combat, and Bronn kills Balman in an unchivalrous manner. Bronn hits Falyse and orders her gone. She returns to King's Landing, pleading with Cersei to give her the men to retake her castle. Cersei, fearing that the failure of the plot would undermine her position, gives Falyse to Qyburn instead and tells him that Falyse should never see the light of day again.
Falyse dies screaming in the black cells due to Qyburn's torture and experiments.
The Famine Winter is the ironborn's name for a long and harsh winter which occurred centuries before Aegon's Conquest.
King Harmund III Hoare and his mother, Lelia Lannister, were mutilated when the King of the Iron Islands was deposed by the ironborn. This led to twelve years of warfare between the Iron Islands and the westerlands, which left the islands defeated and impoverished. Archmaester Hake states that during the Famine Winter which followed, three times as many islanders died from famine than from the previous warfare.
A far eye wrapped in a maester's bronze link. © FFG
A far-eye is a telescope consisting of a bronze tube with ground glass lenses at either end. The best far-eyes come from Myr and are referred to as Myrish eyes.
Maesters Luwin and Aemon both uses far-eyes to observe the stars.
When Victarion Greyjoy captures the Myrish cog *Dove*, he takes its captain's Myrish eye, which was constructed out of a series of interconnected brass tubes so as to be collapsible.
Far Ib or Far Ibben is a mountainous island southeast of Ib settled by the Ibbenese. It is the second largest of the isles of Ibben and is a bleaker and poorer place. Ib Sar is the only town on it.
Farlen is the kennelmaster at Winterfell.
Farlen and Maester Luwin teach Bran Stark how to tell the differences between direwolves and regular wolves.
Farlen is injured when Theon Greyjoy captures Winterfell.
After Theon displayed the heads of the boys above the gate, Farlen attacked him, until he was beaten senseless by Urzen and Cadwyl.
After three of Theon's men who had been part of the search party die mysteriously (Gelmarr, Aggar and Gynir), Farlen is blamed by Theon and put to death. As he is about to be executed, Farlen points out to Theon that Lord Eddard Stark did his own killings, forcing Theon to do the deed himself.
While Farlen is blamed for the deaths, the truth is that the men were murdered by Reek (with Theon's knowledge), as all three knew the truth about the two bodies Theon brought back to Winterfell and claimed were Bran and Rickon. Theon then used Farlen as a scapegoat for the murders.
Faros is a city at the mouth of a river on the northern stretch of Great Moraq's western coast.
The fat fellow is a secret servant of the Many-Faced God in the House of Black and White in Braavos and a Faceless Man.
He is fat and fierce black eyes, with a hook nose and a wide mouth full of yellow teeth.
He is one of the three servants of the Many-Faced God who come most often to the House of Black and White. When he meets with the squinter, Umma has Arya Stark pour for them.
He comes to the meeting of the eleven priests of the Many-Faced God at the House of Black and White through the front door. Before the handsome man agrees to give the gift to a man, the fat fellow says, "I know this man."
The Father - by Joshua Cairós. © FFG
The Father, or the Father Above, is one of the seven aspects of a single deity. Believers of the Faith of the Seven consider their god to be one with seven aspects, as the sept is a single building, with seven walls.
See also: Images of the Father
The Father represents judgement. He is depicted as a bearded man who carries scales. He is prayed to for justice.
Weddings are conducted standing between the altars of the Father and the Mother.
Catelyn Stark prays in a nameless village’s sept. The sept is modest and has no statues of the Seven, only rough charcoal drawings to represent them. To the Father Catelyn Stark prays for justice, the strength to seek it and the wisdom to know it.
While standing vigil over his father's body, Jaime Lannister's thoughts turn unbidden to Brienne of Tarth. He wonders where she is. He thinks, Father give her strength. Almost a prayer … but he wonders was it the god he was invoking, the Father Above whose towering gilded likeness is glimmering in the candlelight across the sept? Or is he praying to the corpse that lies before him? He wonders, Does it matter? They never listened, either one. The Warrior had been Jaime’s god since he was old enough to hold a sword.
Our Father Above knows their guilt and will sit in judgment on them all.
– the High Septon
The Father's face is stern and strong,
he sits and judges right from wrong.
He weighs our lives, the short and long,
and loves the little children
The Father of Waters is a deity worshiped in the Free City of Braavos. His temple is rebuilt anew whenever the Father takes a new bride
The Fawn is a ship.
On the first day of their stay in Volantis, Prince Quentyn Martell, Ser Gerris Drinkwater, and Ser Archibald Yronwood seek passage on the Fawn to sail to Queen Daenerys Targaryen in Meereen. The captain of the Fawn is the only captain to give reasons for refusing them passage. Speaking with the three Dornishmen over watered wine, the captain explains he will be sailing on an already dangerous voyage past Valyria to New Ghis, Qarth, and the Jade Sea. It would be too much of a risk for him to take the Fawn to wartorn Slaver's Bay.
Every voyage has its perils, long ones more than most. Why should I seek out more danger by turning into Slaver's Bay? The Fawn is my livelihood. I will not risk her to take three mad Dornishmen into the middle of a war.
- the captain of the Fawn to Gerris Drinkwater
Fawnton is the seat of House Cafferen in the stormlands.
According to Maester Yandel, the Wyl of Wyl committed infamous deeds during the First Dornish War which are still remembered, especially in Fawnton and Old Oak, though he does not go into detail.
Fear is an ironborn longship and part of the Iron Fleet.
Fear accompanies the rest of the Iron Fleet when they sail for Slaver's Bay. It arrives at the rendezvous at the Isle of Cedars along with *Headless Jeyne* seven days before the fleet sails further east.
The Feast of Skane is said to have occurred in ancient days when a Skagosi war fleet descended upon the smaller nearby isle of Skane. While the women of Skane were raped and carried off by the Skagosi, the Skanish men were consumed by the cannibalistic Skagosi in a feast which lasted a fortnight on a pebbled beach.
Feastfires
The westerlands and the location of Feastfires
Feastfires is the seat of House Prester in the westerlands. It is located at the southwestern tip of a peninsula in the Sunset Sea. The peninsula is west of Lannisport and south of Fair Isle. Feastfires is southwest of nearby Kayce.
According to a semi-canon source,.
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Robert's Rebellion (282 AC-283 AC), also known as the War of the Usurper, was a rebellion against House Targaryen, instigated by the disappearance of Lyanna Stark. When her brother Brandon learned that she had been kidnapped by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, he went to King's Landing to demand her return. He was arrested for threatening the life of Prince Rhaegar, and later executed along with his father, Lord Rickard Stark, and their traveling companions on the orders of King Aerys II Targaryen. Next, King Aerys commanded Lord Jon Arryn to send him the heads of his two former wards, Robert Baratheon, Lyanna's betrothed, and Eddard Stark, Brandon's younger brother, and, following the death of his elder brother and father, now the Lord of Winterfell. Jon Arryn refused, and raised his banners instead, starting the rebellion.
This led to a war which lasted close to a year, and which divided the Seven Kingdoms. Battles were fought in the Vale, the stormlands, the riverlands, and the Reach, and alliances were struck, resulting in the marriage between Eddard Stark and Catelyn Tully, and Jon Arryn and Lysa Tully. The result of the rebellion was the end of the Targaryen dynasty, which had lasted close to three hundred years, and the beginning of the Baratheon dynasty. The war included several major battles, including the Battle of the Bells, the Battle of the Trident, and the Sack of King's Landing. Read more....
Jaime Lannister, known as the Kingslayer, is the second child and firstborn son of Lord Tywin Lannister of Casterly Rock and his wife, Lady Joanna. Raised to the Kingsguard of the Mad King, Aerys II Targaryen, at the age of fifteen, Jaime was the youngest member of the order in history. He earned his nickname when he slew King Aerys at the end of Robert's Rebellion. For most of their lives, Jaime has participated in an incestuous relationship with his twin sister, Cersei. He has fathered three children by her: Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen, though the realm believes their father to be Cersei's husband, King Robert I Baratheon.
After a confrontation with Eddard Stark, Jaime flees King's Landing for Casterly Rock. He invades the riverlands at the head of a Lannister army. He gains victories at the Golden Tooth and Riverrun, but is then taken unaware by Robb Stark, who captures Jaime in the Whispering Wood. He is imprisoned in Riverrun, where he remains a captive for a year. In *A Storm of Swords* Jaime becomes a POV character. *Read more...
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The Dance of the Dragons was a civil war in Westeros, fought between two branches of House Targaryen. It was a war of succession, fought between elder sister Rhaenyra Targaryen and younger brother Aegon Targaryen. It was conflict that lasted from early 129 AC until halfway through 131 AC. Thousands died.
King Viserys I had been married twice. From his first marriage, he had only one surviving child: Rhaenyra. Viserys had started educating her in ruling and had proclaimed her his heir. During his second marriage, to Alicent Hightower, Viserys had four more children: Aegon, Helaena, Aemond and Daeron. Though he now did have a son to succeed him, Viserys continued to insist Rhaenyra should ascend the throne upon his death.
When Viserys eventually died in the Red Keep in 129 AC, Queen Alicent ordered the arrest of those few who knew of it, and plotted the coronation of Aegon with the small council, whilst Rhaenyra, on Dragonstone, remained unaware of her father's death. Upon the discovery her younger brother had been crowned Aegon II, the war began.
The Dance of the Dragons was a war like no other. It was a war marked by stealth, betrayal and murder. Though savage battles were fought on the ground, much of the fighting occurred on the water and in the air, because dragon fought dragon with tooth, claw and flame. The Targaryen dynasty survived and ended with the coronation of Aegon III, but the dragons were greatly reduced in number. Read more...
Rhaegar Targaryen, the Prince of Dragonstone, was the eldest son of King Aerys II Targaryen and his sister-wife, Queen Rhaella. Born in 259 AC, on the same day and location of the tragedy of Summerhall, Rhaegar was always melancholic. Though he was skilled in fighting and known to read obsessively, especially as a child, Rhaegar favored playing his harp. Despite his private manner, Rhaegar was well loved by the smallfolk of Westeros.
Because Rhaegar had no sister when he reached the age of marriage, King Aerys arranged his wedding to the Dornish princess Elia Martell, a distant relative of House Targaryen. Rhaegar and Elia had two children during their marriage, Princess Rhaenys and Prince Aegon.
In 281 AC, the year of the false spring, Rhaegar caused a scandal at the tourney at Harrenhal where, as the victor, he was allowed to chose the new queen of love and beauty. Instead of crowning Elia of Dorne, Rhaegar rode past his wife and crowned Lady Lyanna Stark, who was betrothed to Lord Robert Baratheon.
Tragedy struck Rhaegar's house again about a year later, when shortly after the birth of his heir, Prince Aegon, the crown prince left for the riverlands. Lyanna disappeared not too long thereafter, and it was said that Prince Rhaegar had abducted her. Angered by the news, Lyanna's brother Brandon went to King's Landing, where he threatened Rhaegar's life. Though Rhaegar was not present, King Aerys II ordered Brandon's arrest, and had Brandon and his father Rickard killed, before demanding the heads of Lyanna's second brother, Eddard Stark, and betrothed, Robert Baratheon. This sparked Robert's Rebellion.
Though Rhaegar was missing for most of the war, he returned from the south to fight in the Battle of the Trident. He died there when Robert defeated him in single combat. Read more...
Lord Stannis Baratheon is the secondborn son of Lord Steffon Baratheon of Storm's End and Lady Cassana Estermont. He grew up in the shadow of his older brother, Robert, and was an introverted, solemn, and joyless child, mature beyond his years. Stannis' parents died in 278 AC, when their ship the *Windproud* was smashed against the rocks in Shipbreaker Bay, an event witnessed by Stannis and Robert. This caused Stannis to lose his faith in the Seven.
During Robert's Rebellion, Stannis chose his brother Robert over his king, Aerys II Targaryen. During the siege of Storm's End, he held the castle for Robert for nearly a year, almost starving to death with the castle's garrison whilst Lords Tyrell and Redwyne feasted in the sight of their walls. Only the arrival of the smuggler Davos Seaworth with a ship full of onions and fish allowed them to hold out long enough. Stannis later knighted Davos and took him into his service. However, he also insisted on punishing Davos for the deeds he had committed as a smuggler.
Following the conclusion of Robert's Rebellion, Stannis was made Lord of Dragonstone by Robert, while their younger brother Renly, at the time only a child, was given the richer seat of Storm's End, leaving Stannis resentful. Although a capable commander who fought loyally for his king in Greyjoy's Rebellion, Stannis always felt unappreciated by Robert. Seated on Robert's small council as the master of ships, Stannis helped Hand of the King Jon Arryn rule the kingdom. *Read more…*
The Doom of Valyria, often referred to as the Doom, was a cataclysm which caused the collapse of the Valyrian Freehold. The Valyrian Freehold had expanded their power wealth for five thousand years, until one fateful day in 114 BC when every hill for five hundred miles exploded, filling the air with ash, smoke and fire, so hot that even the dragons did not survive. Buildings and entire towns were destroyed by earthquakes, while lakes began to boil. The Fourteen Flames erupted, sending molten rock into the air, and red clouds rained down dragonglass. The Valyrian peninsula broke into several smaller islands, and the Smoking Sea formed between them. A tsunami resulting from the disaster destroyed Velos and Ghozai, located on the nearby Isle of Cedars.
The few dragonlords in Essos who had not been in Valyria when the Doom occurred did not long outlive the collapse of the Freehold,. This left House Targaryen as the last surviving dragonlord family in the world, since Lord Aenar Targaryen had moved his family, their possessions, and their dragons to the island Dragonstone, where the westernmost Valyrian outpost was located, twelve years prior, after his daughter Daenys had a powerful prophetic dream predicting the destruction of Valyria.
The Doom was followed by the Century of Blood, in which several factions struggled for power. To this day, it is said that the Doom still rules Valyria, and the lands are considered to be demon-haunted, while the sea still boils and smokes. *Read more…*
Melisandre of Asshai is a sorceress, shadowbinder, and priestess to R'hllor, the Lord of Light. She is a beautiful woman, and always wears long, red robes, as is custom for the red priests. Because of her red clothing, red eyes and hair the color of burnished copper, she is often referred to as the red woman. She is never seen without a red gold choker around her neck, containing her ruby. Melisandre is skilled with magic, which she enhances further with various smokes and powders which are concealed in her robes. She has the ability to see visions in the flames, and has complete faith in the power of her god. To others, she pretends to works her magic with ease, even when it costs her great efforts, and presents herself as mysterious, serene and powerful.
Melisandre was sold as a slave to a Red Temple of R'hllor at a young age. She has practised her art for "years beyond count". She eventually travels to Dragonstone in search of a prophesied prince named Azor Ahai, a hero destined to defeat R'hllor's enemy, the Great Other, and wake dragons out of stone. The prophesied prince is said to be born amidst smoke and salt, and Melisandre believes that this points to Dragonstone, a castle surrounded by storm and salt, with stone towers shaped like dragons, located below the Dragonmont, a smoking vulcano. She comes to believe that Stannis Baratheon, the Lord of Dragonstone, is Azor Ahai reborn. She becomes a confidant to Stannis' wife, Selyse Florent, converting her to the faith of R'hllor. *Read more...*
House Arryn is one of the Great Houses of Westeros. Descending from the oldest and purest line of Andal nobility, the Arryns rule the Vale of Arryn from the Eyrie, their main seat located atop the Giant's Lance. Their sigil is a sky-blue falcon soaring against a white moon on a sky-blue field, and their words are *"As High as Honor"*.
Ser Artys Arryn, the Falcon Knight, united the Andals of the Vale behind him in battle against the First Men during the Andal invasion. The First Men houses bent the knee and swore fealthy to Artys after the death of their king. Artys ruled as King of Mountain and Vale, while the Vale became known as the Vale of Arryn. The Arryns ruled as kings until Aegon's Conquest, when Queen Visenya Targaryen landed in the Eyrie's courtyard upon her dragon Vhagar. The Arryns submitted peacefully to House Targaryen, and were allowed to continue ruling the Vale as lords instead of kings, and have served as Warden of the East ever since. The Arryns twice provided a bride for House Targaryen, and since the rule of Aegon III Targaryen every Targaryen king seated upon the Iron Throne has had a drop of Arryn blood.
House Arryn remained loyal to House Targaryen throughout numerous wars, including the Blackfyre Rebellions. But Lord Jon Arryn fought in Robert's Rebellion against the Targaryens as one of the principal leaders of the rebels, and later served as Hand of the King to King Robert I Baratheon until his sudden death in 298 AC. *Read more...*
Volantis, the first Free City established by the Valyrian Freehold, is also known as the First Daughter. Located on one of the four mouths of the Rhoyne, Volantis was originally a military outpost, founded to protect the borders of Valyria. When trade along the Rhoyne increased, Volantis grew into a city.
A large port city, Volantis is spread out on both sides of the river, connected by the Long Bridge. The older districts are located upon the eastern banks, and include the oldest part of the city, also called Old Volantis”, which is surrounded by the Black Walls. There, only the noble families who can trace their descent back to the Valyrian Freehold are allowed to live. They are known as the Old Blood, and many of them still keep the old gods of Valyria. Outside of the Black Walls, however, R'hllor is favored by both freemen and slaves. The number of slaves in Volantis is exceedingly high; for every free man, there are five slaves to be found in the city, whose faces are tattooed to mark their status.
Volantis is ruled by three Triarchs. They are elected from the noble families of old blood by the free landowners. The politicians are divided in two political parties; the tigers and the elephants. When the Freehold was destroyed during the Doom of Valyria, the Volantenes, ruled by the tigers, considered themselves to be the heirs to the Freehold and attempted to seize control over the former Valyrian colonies. The struggle for power lasted a century, known as the Century of Blood, and ended in defeat for Volantis. Ever since, at least two of the three triarchs have been elephants, who favor trade over war. *Read more…*
Lord Jon Connington is the only son of Lord Armond Connington of Griffin's Roost. Serving as a squire alongside Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, and later for Rhaegar, Jon grew up to be one of the most headstrong lordlings around Rhaegar, and was considered to be one of the prince's friends. As Lord of Griffin's Roost, Jon left for King's Landing to attend Rhaegar, leaving a cousin behind as castellan. Jon was eventually raised to be Hand of the King by King Aerys II Targaryen during Robert's Rebellion, as Aerys wanted a younger Hand to match Robert Baratheon's youth and vigor. He did not serve long in the office, however. Jon personally led an army in the field and pursued Robert, chasing him to the Stoney Sept in the riverlands, where a wounded Robert was forced to hide. In his desire to win the glory of personally ending the rebellion by slaying Robert, Jon began a search in the town, but met with resistance from the town's residents, who gave their aid to Robert instead. The arrival of rebel forces led by Lords Eddard Stark, Jon Arryn, and Hoster Tully led to the famous Battle of the Bells. Jon and his forces suffered a great defeat there, and in his wroth King Aerys II stripped Jon of his titles and lands, and exiled him.
Jon crossed the narrow sea and joined the Golden Company, where he befriended Ser Myles Toyne. He remained haunted by the outcome of the battle of the bells. With the new King Robert I Baratheon being unwilling to recall Jon from his exile, Jon remained in the Golden Company and served with them for five years. In 288 AC, Jon was driven away from the company after being caught stealing from the company's war chests. Eventually, news reached Westeros that Jon had drank himself to death in Lys. *Read more…*
Marriage customs in both Westeros and Essos are religious ceremonies. Though they are diverse in their exact customs and traditions, all involve the exchange of vows in the presence of particular sacred witnesses e.g. a septon (for the Faith of the Seven), a heart tree (for the old gods), or a priest or priestess (in case of the Drowned God or R'hllor). Following the ceremony, a feast is held, concluded by the bedding which validates the marriage.
The head of house arranges betrothals for his family members. Although they do occur, marriages to girls who have not yet reached their majority or had their first flowering are rare. Once flowered, girls are seen as fit for bedding. In the Faith of the Seven, a marriage which has not yet been consummated can be set aside by requesting an annulment from the High Septon or a Council of Faith. Once consummated, the marriage is considered to be valid. Though divorce is not common in Westeros, kings in both Westeros and Essos are able to set aside their wives.
Polygamy was practiced in Westeros before the Andals came. The Andals introduced Westeros to the Faith of the Seven, which considers polygamy to be a sin. Regardless, the rule of House Targaryen, who practiced the Valyrian custom of polygamy, was accepted in Westeros, and during the Conquest offers for marriage were made to Aegon I Targaryen even though he already had two wives. Followers of the Drowned God practice a variation of polygamous marriage, as they can take multiple "salt wives" in addition to their "rock wife". *Read more...*
Queen Cersei Lannister is the only daughter and eldest child of Lord Tywin Lannister of Casterly Rock and his wife, Lady Joanna. When she was a young girl, her father promised her that she would one day marry Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, and even when King Aerys II Targaryen refused the betrothal Lord Tywin refused to give up on those plans. Cersei lived at the royal court for a few years, where she grew into a beautiful woman, until she returned with her father to Casterly Rock. Following the conclusion of Robert's Rebellion, Cersei became Queen when she married the new king, Robert I Baratheon, in 284 AC.
Cersei has always been close with her twin-brother, Jaime. As small children, they used to play together and sometimes pretended to be each other. Since their youth, Cersei and Jaime have had an incestuous relationship, which continued even after Cersei's marriage to King Robert. Their relationship has resulted in the birth of three children, Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen, though everyone believes them to have been fathered by Cersei's husband. Cersei's relationship with her younger brother, Tyrion, is not nearly as close. She despises him for killing their mother in childbirth, and comes to resent him even more when hearing a prophecy about her own death.
An ambitious woman, Cersei resents being excluded from power on account of her gender. *Read more...*
The Faith Militant uprising was a conflict between the Targaryen kings on the Iron Throne and the Faith of the Seven in the first century of the Targaryen Dynasty. Problems began during the reign of King Aenys I Targaryen, when the king's half-brother, Prince Maegor Targaryen, who had been married to Lady Ceryse Hightower, niece to the High Septon, since 25 AC, took a second wife in 39 AC. The Faith was angered by Maegor's polygamous marriage, and Aenys eventually exiled his half-brother when Maegor refused to set his second wife aside. In 41 AC, Aenys made matters worse when he wed his eldest daughter and son to one another. The High Septon denounced Aenys, and the smallfolk and pious lords turned against their king. Aenys eventually had to flee King's Landing with his family, after Poor Fellows scaled the walls of the Red Keep and attempted to murder the royal family. Aenys could not decide on how to proceed against the Faith, fell ill, and eventually died in 42 AC on Dragonstone.
With Aenys dead and the crown prince besieged at Crakehall, Dowager Queen Visenya Targaryen recalled her son Maegor from his exile. Maegor claimed the throne, went to King's Landing, and fought against Ser Damon Morrigen, captain of the Warrior's Sons, in a trial of seven. Although he was the only survivor of the trial, an injured Maegor fell into a coma for thirty days. Upon awakening, he mounted Balerion, flew to the Sept of Remembrance on Rhaenys's Hill, which had been fortified by the Warrior's Sons, and unleashed Balerion's flames upon the sept, consuming it (pictured). Maegor would spend the remainder of his reign fighting the Faith. Larges battles were fought at Stonebridge and the Great Fork of the Blackwater, bounties were set upon the Poor Fellows and Warrior's Sons, and a set of laws was created which forbade holy men from carrying arms (although this did not stop the war). Maegor went as far as to threaten to incinerate the Starry Sept at Oldtown, the center of the Faith, in response to the High Septon's condemnation of his polygamous marriages, but the High Septon's sudden and mysterious death saved the sept from destruction. *Read more...*
Lord Petyr Baelish, also known as Littlefinger, is the head of House Baelish of the Fingers. Descendent from a Braavosi sellsword who settled in Westeros, Petyr was sent to be fostered by Lord Hoster Tully of Riverrun after his father befriended Lord Hoster during the War of the Ninepenny Kings. At Riverrun, Petyr grew up with Hoster's children Catelyn, Lysa, and Edmure. Petyr eventually fell in love with Catelyn, while Catelyn's younger sister Lysa fell in love with Petyr. Once when Petyr attempted to kiss Catelyn, she rejected him, laughing. Drinking his pain away, Petyr had sex with Lysa, but drunkenly believed she was Catelyn. He challenged Catelyn's betrothed, Brandon Stark, to a duel to win Catelyn's hand, but was easily defeated, and severely injured as a result. Lysa nursed him, and slept with him again, resulting in a pregnancy which her father forced her to abort. Petyr was sent away from Riverrun, back home to the Fingers.
Several years later, Lysa convinced her husband, Lord Jon Arryn, to give Petyr control of customs at Gulltown. There, he displayed such a skill with finances, that Jon brought him to King's Landing. Within three years, Petyr was named master of coin and appointed to the small council of King Robert I Baratheon. He increased his influence, moving his own people in place, while developing a complex web of loans, transactions, and investments. Petyr is an ambitious and bold man, but also extremely subtle and intelligent. Many highborns often underestimate him on account of his low birth, viewing him as powerless, friendly and helpful. Instead of using his family's sigil, based on the Titan of Braavos, Petyr wears a mockingbird as his personal crest. *Read more...*
House Stark is one of the Great Houses of Westeros. Descendent from the First Men, House Stark was founded by Brandon the Builder during the Age of Heroes. They ruled as Kings of Winter from their castle, Winterfell, for eight thousand years. Their sigil is a grey direwolf on a white background and their words are *"Winter is coming"*.
The Kings of Winter defeated rival kings in the North, including the Red Kings of the Dreadfort, during their long reign. During the Andal invasion, King Theon Stark defeated the Andal Argos Sevenstar, after which he sailed to Andalos to extract revenge. The Kings of Winter have found themselves in many conflicts with the ironborn, as well as in a war against House Arryn of the Vale over the Three Sisters, which lasted a thousand years. When King Brandon "the Shipwright" Stark attempted to sail across the Sunset Sea, he was lost at sea. His son, Brandon "the Burner", burned the northern fleet in his grief, leaving the north without a fleet for centuries to come.
During Aegon's Conquest, King Torrhen Stark kneeled to Aegon the Conquerer. For his submission, House Stark was allowed to rule the North as Lords of Winterfell and Wardens of the North. Towards the end of the third century after Aegon's Conquest, Lord Rickard Stark betrothed his heir Brandon to Catelyn Tully of Riverrun, and his daughter Lyanna to Lord Robert Baratheon of Storm's End. But when Lyanna disappeared with Prince Rhaegar Targaryen's involvement, Rickard and Brandon were executed by King Aerys II Targaryen after Brandon threatened the life of the crown prince in anger. During Robert's Rebellion, which began shortly after, Lord Eddard Stark served as one of the leaders of the rebellion. Years later he aided his friend, King Robert, fight Balon Greyjoy during Greyjoy's Rebellion. It was one of the few instances in which Eddard left the North; During the past fifteen years, he has mostly stayed close to home, keeping a distance from the intrigue-ridden politics of King's Landing. *Read more...*
Princess Arianne Martell is the eldest daughter of Doran Martell, the ruling Prince of Dorne, and his consort, Lady Mellario of the Free City of Norvos. According to Dornish customs, she is the heiress of Sunspear, and the future ruling Princess of Dorne. Arianne is buxom and beautiful, calculating, adventurous, and fierce-tempered. She becomes a POV Character in *A Feast for Crows*.
Arianne has two younger brothers, Quentyn and Trystane. However, she is close to neither, as Quentyn has been fostered at Yronwood from an early age, and Trystane is eleven years younger than Arianne. Instead, her best companions are friends made during childhood: Andrey "Drey" Dalt, Garin, Sylva Santagar, and her cousin Tyene Sand. Arianne at first was also close to her father. However, when she accidentally found a half-written letter from Doran to her younger brother Quentyn stating that Quentyn would one day rule Dorne, Arianne concluded that Doran intended to pass her over. She wished for her father to show that he valued her, and began to rebel. When she reaches the age of marriage, Arianne feels hurt when her father presents only elderly lords as possible suitors. She rejects all of them, and makes several attempts to come to a match of her own, but fails in the attempts for various reasons. Arianne slowly becomes convinced that her father hates her, completely unaware of the secret plans Doran has had for her for years. *Read more...*
The title Prince or Princess of Dragonstone was given to the heir apparent to the Iron Throne during the Targaryen dynasty. The heir apparent's seat was the castle of Dragonstone located on the island of the same name.
While King Aegon I Targaryen raised his heir, Prince Aenys, with him at King's Landing, his younger son Maegor was raised by his mother Visenya on Dragonstone. In time, he became known as the "Prince of Dragonstone". Maegor remained the Prince of Dragonstone during the earlier years of Aenys's own reign, even though Aenys had heirs of his own. After Maegor was exiled, Aenys established "Prince of Dragonstone" as a formal title by appointing it to his eldest son and heir, Prince Aegon. His younger son, Jaehaerys I Targaryen, eventually continued using "Prince of Dragonstone" as a formal title. The only Targaryen King who might not have named a Prince of Dragonstone was King Aegon II Targaryen, who fought a war against his sister Rhaenyra, who controlled Dragonstone at the time. Prince Rhaegar Targaryen (pictured), the eldest son of King Aerys II Targaryen, was the last confirmed Prince of Dragonstone.
The Targaryen dynasty ended with Robert's Rebellion. The new royal house, House Baratheon of King's Landing, did not continue the use of the formal title. Instead, King Robert I Baratheon granted Dragonstone to his younger brother, Stannis, as his personal seat. He now rules Dragonstone as the Lord of Dragonstone, a title which had also been used by the Targaryens prior to Aegon's Conquest.
However, King Aerys II's youngest son, Viserys, had been crowned on Dragonstone after his father's death, prior to the castle's fall. As his sole heir, his sister Daenerys has claimed the title "Princess of Dragonstone". *Read more...*
The First Blackfyre Rebellion, originally known simply as the Blackfyre Rebellion, was a war fought between the loyalist forces of King Daeron II Targaryen and the rebel forces of his bastard-born half-brother, Daemon I Blackfyre, who sought to claim the Iron Throne.
The reign of Daeron II's father, King Aegon IV Targaryen, had been a corrupt one. Aegon and Daeron often found themselves at different ends of an argument, and eventually rumors were spread by Aegon himself that Daeron had been fathered by Prince Aemon "the Dragonknight", suggesting that Daeron was a bastard. Regardless, Daeron was never disinherited by his father. At the same time, Aegon showed favor to one of his bastard children: a boy named Daemon Waters, fathered upon his cousin Daena Targaryen. Aegon IV gave the Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre to the twelve year old Daemon and openly acknowledged him. There were some who believed that the sword, which had been passed on from king to king since Aegon the Conquerer, symbolized the monarchy, and so the public gift of the sword eventually started to whispers that Daemon should be king instead of Daeron II.
Further disagreement in the realm arose because of the increased influence the Dornish had at the court of Daeron II. Daeron's queen was Princess Mariah Martell of Dorne, and Daeron himself had brought Dorne into the realm by marrying his sister Daenerys to Mariah's brother Maron the Prince of Dorne. Some lords, however, longed back to the days when the Dornish had been their enemies on the battlefield, and not their enemies at court. All in all, lords who found any cause to disagree with Daeron's rule began to gather around the bastard-born Daemon, who had taken his the surname "Blackfyre" from his Valyrian steel sword.
In early 196 AC the war began. It would last nearly a year, and divide the Seven Kingdoms. *Read more...*
Pentos is the westernmost of the Free Cities. Originally founded by Valyrian smallfolk as a trading outpost, Pentos is a port city surrounded by high thick walls. Despite its walls, however, it is also often regarded as the most vulnerable of the Free Cities.
Wealth means power in Pentos. The city is ruled by a council of magisters and the Prince of Pentos, although the latter’s function is mostly ceremonial. In case of famine or a lost war, the magisters can decide to sacrifice the prince, and elect a new one from forty families. Because of the dangers that accompany the office of prince, not all nobles of Pentos are eager to be chosen, and some are known to have refused the honor, most recently in 262 AC.
For a large part of its history, Pentos practised slavery. However, during the past two centuries Pentos went to war against Braavos six times over slavery and ownership of the lands and waters between the two cities. The Pentoshi lost four of those wars, and since the conclusion of the last one in 209 AC, the Braavosi have forced Pentos to abolish slavery and placed restrictions on the military forces of Pentos. Despite the restrictions, however, the Pentoshi are still involved in slave trade, and Pentoshi nobles like Illyrio Mopatis have “free bond servants”, who are slaves in all but name, collared and branded like slaves elsewhere. *Read more...*
Ser Davos Seaworth is a knight in the service of Lord Stannis Baratheon of Dragonstone. Born in Flea Bottom, the poorest area of King's Landing, Davos found service on the Cobblecat, the ship of the Tyroshi smuggler and pirate Roro Uhoris. Davos eventually acquired a small ship of his own, and became one of the most infamous smugglers of the Seven Kingdoms.
Almost a year into the siege of Storm's End during Robert's Rebellion, Davos evaded the blockade of the Redwyne fleet in Shipbreaker Bay and smuggled onions and salted fish into the castle. The food allowed the garrison of Storm's End, led by Stannis Baratheon, to hold on until Lord Eddard Stark arrived to break the siege. As a reward, Davos was knighted by Stannis, and given lands on Cape Wrath. Davos chose the name "Seaworth" for his new house, and took a black ship with an onion on the sails upon a grey field as his sigil, leading to his nickname the Onion Knight. However, Stannis also demanded payment for Davos' past crimes. He lost the first joint of each finger of his left hand, for which he is sometimes called Davos Shorthand. Davos keeps the bones of his joints in a pouch around his neck, for good luck.
Davos entered the service of Stannis, becoming one of his most trusted advisors. He supported Stannis during the War of the Five Kings, and as captain of the Black Betha, he sailed his ship into Blackwater Bay during the attack on King's Landing. Though loyal to Stannis beyond any doubt, Davos often finds himself at odds with Melisandre of Asshai, whose influence over Stannis increased early on in the war. *Read more...*
The Century of Blood is the name given to the century that followed the Doom of Valyria. The destruction of Valyria and the power of the Valyrian Freehold in 114 BC left a power vacuum in Essos. One of the few surviving dragonlords, Aurion, who had been in Qohor at the time of the Doom, proclaimed himself the first Emperor of Valyria and marched a Qohorik army to claim what remained of Valyria. They were never seen again.
The Free City of Volantis, at the time the mightiest of the Free Cities, regarded itself as the rightful successor of the dragonlords. The so-called tigers took control of Lys, Myr, and the southern reaches of the Rhoyne. However, when they attempted to take control of Tyrosh, resistance began. Eight of the Free Cities (all save for Lorath) eventually found themselves involved in the power struggle. Alliances were made between cities, and even with the Westerosi Storm King Argilac Durrandon and Lord Aegon Targaryen of Dragonstone.
Meanwhile, the Dothraki rode out of the east, and the grasslands exploded into war. Khal Mengo united all sixty khalasars and went west. The Tall Men of the Kingdom of Sarnor were ignorant to the threat the Dothraki posed, however, and even attempted to use them in their own wars. Mengo and his khalasar burned fields, farms, and towns, returning the lands to their original, wild state. The Dothraki fought for a century, destroying all Sarnori towns save for Saath, several Ghiscari and Qaathi cities, a Valyrian colony, an Ibbenese town, and a former settlement from the Kingdom of the Ifequevron. Famous battles include the Field of Crows, in which the Sarnori, after the fall of Mardosh, finally united against their enemy but lost to the Dothraki, resulting in the destruction of Sarnath a fortnight later, and the Three Thousand of Qohor, in which Khal Temmo attempted to conquer Qohor with his khalasar. After defeating the forces and sellswords hired by Qohor, the Dothraki returned to the city the next day to find three thousand Unsullied. They battled or three days, during which the Dothraki charged eighteen times.
The Century of Blood resulted in destructions and power shifts, the consequences of which are still apparent to this day. *Read more...*
Lady Catelyn Stark is the wife of Lord Eddard Stark, the Lord of Winterfell, and the mother of Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon Stark. Born into House Tully of Riverrun, Catelyn has the classical Tully look: long auburn hair and blue eyes. Catelyn is the eldest daughter of Lord Hoster Tully and Lady Minisa Whent. Following the deaths of her two older brothers in the cradle, Hoster regarded Catelyn as his heir until the birth of her youngest sibling, Edmure. Catelyn grew up in her father's castle and was close to her younger sister Lysa and her father's ward, Petyr Baelish. She also had a close relationship with her father, and acted as the Lady of Riverrun for him after her mother died in childbirth.
At the age of twelve, Catelyn was betrothed to Brandon Stark, the heir to Winterfell. When in 282 AC Brandon was on his way to Riverrun for their wedding, news reached him of the disappearance of his sister Lyanna and the involvement of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. He traveled to King's Landing in anger, threatening the life of the prince, which resulted in the execution of himself and his father Rickard. Robert's Rebellion broke out shortly after, during which Catelyn was married to Brandon's younger brother, Eddard Stark, now the Lord of Winterfell. She gave birth to their eldest child, Robb, nine months later, while Eddard was still at war.
Though the presence of Eddard bastard son Jon Snow at Winterfell and Eddard's refusal to speak of the boy's mother have caused frictions in their marriage, Catelyn and Eddard grew to love each other, and their marriage became a happy one. *Read more...*
The inheritance customs in the Seven Kingdoms are vague, uncodified, and subject to varying interpretations. Male-preference primogeniture is customary, but not binding. The eldest son of a man is his heir, followed by his younger sons. A man's daughters are set to inherit before a man's brothers. The only exception is Dorne, where the inheritance laws are based on Rhoynish customs. As such, inheritance in Dorne is based on the order of birth, and not the gender of the child. However, regardless of the firstborn male-preference, Lords can choose to name a younger child as their heir, or the child of another. When there is no clear heir, a widow might lay claim on the lands. Claims might also be presented to a lord's liege. Bastards cannot inherit unless they are legitimized. Yet, even when they are legitimized, it is not clear whether they join the line of succession in order of birth, or simply come after all trueborn children.
Inheritance customs regarding the inheritance of the Iron Throne during the Targaryen dynasty differs from regular customs. While at first female inheritance did not seem problematic, the issue was raised when King Jaehaerys I Targaryen's eldest son, Prince Aemon, died. Aemon's only child was a daughter named Rhaenys, but instead of naming Rhaenys as the new heiress to the throne, King Jaehaerys I chose his next eldest son, Prince Baelon. Following Baelon's death, a Great Council was called in which the Westerosi lords voted on the succession. The two biggest contenders were Rhaenys's son Laenor and Baelon's son Viserys. Though Laenor descended from the senior line, the lords felt that a male line was preferred over a female line, and believed that a precedent was set stating that the Iron Throne could not pass to a woman, or to her male descendants. Ironically, after ascending the throne, Viserys himself later disregarded these precedents by naming his daughter Rhaenyra as his heir despite having three healthy sons by a second marriage. This decision eventually led to the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons.
Regardless, female claims have since been considered on several other occasions. *Read more...*
Princess Daenerys Targaryen is a member of House Targaryen, the former royal family of the Seven Kingdoms. Her father was King Aerys II, and her mother was his sister-wife, Queen Rhaella. Daenerys was conceived during the end of Robert's Rebellion, the war that ultimately ended her family's reign. Following the death of her eldest brother Rhaegar at the Battle of the Trident, her father sent her mother and other brother, Viserys, to Dragonstone for safety. Aerys died shortly after, together with Rhaegar's wife and two young children.
Months later, Daenerys was born on Dragonstone during a fierce summer storm, and is thus called Stormborn. Her mother died as a result of the labor, leaving her and Viserys as the only two Targaryens. The Iron Throne had been claimed by King Robert I Baratheon, and had ordered his brother Stannis to assault Dragonstone. With the Targaryen fleet destroyed in the storm during Daenerys's birth, the castle's garrison wanted to sell the children to Robert. Before the garrison could act on this plan, Ser Willem Darry and several other loyal retainers rescued the children and smuggled them to the Free City of Braavos. They lived in Braavos for five years, until Darry died and Viserys and Daenerys were put out of the house in which they had been living. Daenerys and Viserys travelled around in Essos, visiting most of the Free Cities, in search for support to regain the Iron Throne. *Read more...*
The Targaryen campaign in Slaver's Bay is an ongoing conflict in Essos, mainly in the region of Slaver's Bay. Daenerys Targaryen, urged on by Ser Jorah Mormont, traveled to Astapor to acquire herself an army of Unsullied, famous slave soldiers. Upon seeing the treatment of the slaves, Daenerys agreed to sell a dragon and all her goods in exchange for all the Unsullied. Upon acquiring her army, Daenerys ordered them to sack Astapor, while retaking command over Drogon. Having decided to free the slaves in Slaver's Bay and abolish slavery, Daenerys freed her soldiers, most of whom joined her willingly. They marched to Yunkai, and later onwards to Meereen. However, once Meereen was conquered, news reached the city about the situations in Astapor, where a former butcher has declared himself king and enslaved all highborn boys. Refusing to leave Meereen to a similar fate, Daenerys installs herself as the city's queen.
However, smashing the slave trade disrupts trade all over Essos. The Wise Masters of Yunkai resume their slavery and make alliances with Qarth, Tolos, and New Ghis against Daenerys. Yunkai meets the new king of Astapor in battle at the Horns of Hazzat, and later besiege the city. The city eventually falls, and the survivors fleeing to Meereen are infected with the pale mare, which slowly spreads there as well. Meanwhile, Daenerys faces resistance within Meereen from the Sons of the Harpy, who begin a shadow war against her. She is forced to lock up her dragons (though Drogon escapes capture), and finds herself with only a few small allies when Yunkai besieges Meereen. *Read more...*
Braavos is the youngest of the nine Free Cities. The city was founded by slaves who had revolted against their Valyrian masters and taken control of the ships bringing them to a new colony in Sothoryos. They took refuge in a vast lagoon surrounded by hills covered with pine trees, where fog hid them from the sight of the dragonlords. There they established their city across a hundred small islands. The city's existence remained a secret for a century, until the Uncloaking of Uthero at the 111th celebration of the city’s founding. However, the city's location remained a secret for another few centuries.
Due to the diverse origins of the slaves who had founded the city, all gods are honored in Braavos, and many have temples in their honor located on the Isle of the Gods. Slavery is expressly forbidden, as stated by the First Law of Braavos. Braavosi nobles dress in grey, purple, or dark blue, while bravos dress in flamboyant colors. While Braavosi generally are kind people, the bravos are quarrelsome and will challenge anyone visibly wearing a sword to a fight. The city's courtesans are renowned worldwide, and bravos are known to kill each other in the name of courtesans. The water dance, a unique form of sword fighting, originates from Braavos as well. The water dancers, the greatest of the Braavosi bravos, duel on the Moon Pool at night, near the Sealord's Palace.
Braavos has become the wealthiest and likely also the most powerful of the nine Free Cities. The city of ruled by the Sealord, who commands the largest fleet of warships as well as mercantile ship. Braavosi ships, with their purple hulls and purple sails, are a common sight all across the Known World. Braavos is also one of the most impregnable cities, as ships who wish to enter the lagoon need to pass underneath the Titan of Braavos (pictured), a stone and bronze fortress in the shape of a gigantic man. *Read More...*
King Aegon I Targaryen, also known as Aegon the Conqueror and Aegon the Dragon, was the first King on the Iron Throne. As Lord of Dragonstone, Aegon participated with his dragon Balerion in the struggles between the Free Cities towards the end of the Century of Blood. Afterwards, he turned his attention west, and began planning to unite the Seven Kingdoms. In 2 BC, he began his Conquest, aided by his two sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, and their two dragons, Vhagar and Meraxes. Over the course of two years, managed to subdue six of the seven kingdoms and unite them under his rule. Only Dorne managed to resist the Targaryens. Thus, Aegon began the First Dornish War in 4 AC. This devastating war lasted until 13 AC, and knew many tragedies and deaths. After Aegon agreed to a peace in 13 AC, his rule continued in peace. The Dornish War is seen as Aegon's one great defeat; However, it had one positive result: the formation of the Kingsguard in 10 AC, after Aegon and Visenya had been attacked on the streets of King's Landing by assassins.
On the site of his arrival in Westeros during his Conquest, Aegon had constructed a castle named the Aegonfort, which he ordered torn down towards the end of his reign, so construction of the Red Keep could begin. The city of King's Landing formed around his Aegonfort, and grew into a prosperous port. But although his Iron Throne was located in the new capital, Aegon preferred to spend time on Dragonstone. Both in the present day, as in his own time, Aegon was seen as an enigma. He had only one true friend, his rumored bastard half-brother Orys Baratheon. He entrusted his sisters with the every-day rule of the kingdoms; Aegon himself spend half of each year on progression through his kingdom, until 33 AC. By each of his sisters, Aegon had one child; Aenys, by Rhaenys, and Maegor, by Visenya. Although Aegon's reign had largely been peaceful since 13 AC, dissent was boiling underneath the surface. Although Aegon, his sisters, and their dragons had been enough to subdue all, the reigns of his sons proved to be far more troubled. *Read More...*
Ser Brynden Tully is the brother of Lord Hoster Tully of Riverrun. Though younger than his brother by five years, Brynden and Hoster were close during their childhood. Brynden was eventually knighted, and fought in the War of the Ninepenny Kings, gaining fame and renown throughout the kingdom. However, Brynden's relationship with his brother was severely strained after Hoster attempted to betroth Brynden to Bethany Redwyne. Brynden refused the match, and all offers made afterwards. The brothers began to argue more and more, and during one such fight, Hoster called Brynden the "black goat of the Tully flock". Pointing out that their sigil was a trout, Brynden stated that he would be a black fish rather than a black goat. Taking a black trout as his personal sigil, Brynden was known as the Blackfish ever since.
Brynden remained at Riverrun, where he was like a secondary father figure to Hoster's children and ward. When Hoster's younger daughter Lysa married Lord Jon Arryn during Robert's Rebellion, Brynden informed his brother that he had taken service with Arryn. Hoster considered this to be a personal rejection, and refused to speak Brynden's name thereafter. After Robert's Rebellion ended, Brynden left for the Eyrie, where he served as Knight of the Gate until the outbreak of the War of the Five Kings. Frustrated with Lysa's refusal to give aid to her father and brother at Riverrun, which is endangered by the armies of House Lannister, Brynden joins Lysa's sister Catelyn and her son, Robb Stark, and soon gains a prominent position in Robb s army. *Read more...*
Sunspear, also referred to as the Old Palace, is the seat of House Nymeros Martell. It features as the capital of Dorne, and is located on the Broken Arm, north of the Greenblood, on the far southeastern coast of Westeros. The sea surrounds Sunspear from three sides, with the shadow city located on the fourth side, built against Sunspear’s walls. Sunspear developed around the Sandship, the original seat of House Martell, after the arrival of the Rhoynar, the marriage of warrior-queen Nymeria to Lord Mors Martell, and the unification of Dorne during Nymeria's War, near ~700 BC. The castle received its name from the union of the Martell spear and the sun of the Rhoynar. The original structure of the Sandship was expanded by towers build in the Rhoynish fashion over time. Two of such towers are the Tower of the Sun and the Spear Tower; These are the first structures of Sunspear visitors see, whether they arrive by land or by sea. The high seat of the ruling Prince or Princess of Dorne can be found in the former tower; two twin seats, one decorated with the Martell spear, and the other with the Rhoynish sun. Three centuries after Nymeria's War, the three Winding Walls of the castle were build, to defend the castle. Only through the Threefold Gate can one travel to the castle while avoiding the labyrinth of houses in the shadow city.
During the last few centuries, Sunspear has been the site of several battles. During Aegon's Conquest, Princess Meria Martell defied Queen Rhaenys Targaryen at Sunspear. Several years later, during the First Dornish War, Sunspear was taken by the Targaryens early on, but quickly recaptured by the Dornish. During the Dragon's Wroth, Sunspear was the only castle in Dorne not burned by the Targaryens. King Daeron I Targaryen's original conquest of Dorne ended in victory at Sunspear with the Submission of Sunspear. *Read more…*
Theon Greyjoy is the sole surviving son and heir apparent of Lord Balon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands, and his wife, Lady Alannys Harlaw. Born on Pyke, Theon had two older brothers, Rodrik and Maron, and an older sister, Asha. When Theon is ten years old, his father declares the independence of the Iron Islands and proclaims himself to be a King. However, Balon's rebellion ends in defeat. Balon is required to give the Iron Throne a hostage, and as Theon's two older brothers Rodrik and Maron have died during the war, Theon was brought to Winterfell by Lord Eddard Stark at the age of ten. There, he grew up with Lord Eddard's children. However, as he was older than Eddard's children, he considered only Eddard's eldest son Robb Stark to be worthy of his attention, ignoring Jon Snow, Robb's bastard half-brother. As a younger boy, he used to think that Eddard might marry him to his eldest daughter, Sansa, and claim him for a son. Regardless, Theon considers Eddard to have been cold to him, despite his attempts to be like a father to him at times. Theon grew up at Winterfell to become a lean, dark, handsome youth. At the age of twenty, he is rather promiscuous, and vain, preferring fine clothes. He acts confident and cocky, and considers many things to be amusing. But his arrogant behavior is in truth an attempt to hide his insecurities, relating to his uncertain familial and social identity. Theon seeks approval from the Starks at first, and his own family later on, but usually feels unsatisfied. Due to Theon's ten-year absence on the Iron Islands, Balon has regarded his daughter Asha as his heir, increasing Theon's desire to proof himself worthy. *Read more...*
Chroyane is a ruined city of Rhoynish origin, located at the confluence of the Lhorulu and the Rhoyne in Essos. To the north lie the Golden Fields, to the south the Rhoyne continues to Selhorys, Valysar, Sar Mell, Volon Therys, and Volantis. Chroyane was once known as the festival city, as it was the richest and most splendid of the cities along the Rhoyne. However, for the past thousand years it has been a ruin. When the Valyrians at first expanded their borders to the Rhoyne, the Rhoynar welcomed them, but over the years, tensions grew until the Rhoynish Wars began. Most of these wars were local and short-lived, but at the end of two and a half centuries of conflict, matters came to a halt during the Second Spice War, after three dragonlords from the Valyrian Freehold joined Volantis in destroying Sarhoy. Prince Garin of Chroyane gathered an army of 250.000 men. While at first succesful against the Valyrians, Garin's army was eventually crushed, and he was brought back to Chroyane in a cage, forced to watch the destruction of his city. Garin called down a curse upon the invaders, and that night the Rhoyne flooded with great force, and a thick fog of evil humors fell. The conquerors began to die of greyscale. The fogs remain until this day, and give the area in which Chroyane is located its name: the Sorrows. There, the stone men, those infected with greyscale, roam the ruins, especially the ruined Bridge of Dream. The once famed Palace of Love, ten times the size of the Red Keep in King's Landing, is now known as the Palace of Sorrow, and like the rest of the city, a ruin. Travelers often get lost in the fogs, and eventually succumb to madness, hunger, greyscale, or the stone men. Although Volantis sends a ship with provisions to Chroyane three times a year, the ships are often late, and sometimes even bring more mouths than food. *Read more...*
Lady Margaery Tyrell is the only daughter and youngest child of Lord Mace Tyrell and Lady Alerie Hightower. A beautiful young woman with thick, softly curling brown hair, and large, brown eyes, Margaery looks alike to her brother Loras. Margaery takes after her grandmother, Lady Olenna Redwyne, the Queen of Thornes. She is intelligent and shrewd, and trained by her grandmother to be capable of protecting herself from those who seek to use or abuse her. Her brother Loras and his lover, Renly Baratheon, wish to wed Margaery to King Robert I Baratheon, hoping her physical appearance is similar enough to Lyanna Stark's to convince Robert to set his wife, Queen Cersei Lannister, aside. Loras urges his father to send Margaery to court, but King Robert dies before this can happen. When Robert's youngest brother Renly proclaims himself king, Mace, aiming to make his daughter a queen, marries Margaery to the younger Baratheon.
However, Renly meets his end soon after. King Joffrey I Baratheon's small council wastes no time and sends an envoy to the Tyrells, offering a marriage between Joffrey and Margaery in return for the support of the Reach. Following the betrothal, Margaery arrives in King's Landing, where she soon wins not only the love of the smallfolk, but also the hatred of Queen Regent Cersei Lannister, who fears Margaery attempts to steal her son from her and usurp her power as queen. Margaery finds herself in a battle for the King's affection with Cersei, who soon begins to plot her downfall. *Read more...*
Ser Jorah Mormont is an exiled knight from the North of Westeros. Jorah inherited the lordship of Bear Island at a young age, and after his first marriage of ten years ended after three miscarriages, he received multiple marriage offers. Balon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands rose in rebellion before Jorah could make his decision, and when the banner were called, Jorah travelled south to fight the ironborn. He distinguished himself in battle, and was knighted as a reward. During the tourney held at Lannisport to celebrate the victory, Jorah met the southern Lynesse Hightower and fell in love with her. After Jorah asked Lynesse's father, Lord Leyton Hightower, for Lynesse's hand in marriage, the two were married at Lannisport.
Their happiness lasted a fortnight, as Lynesse was unprepared for life on the harsh and isolated Bear Island. Jorah attempted to reproduce the lifestyle his wife was accustomed to by lavishing her with expensive gifts, but drove himself into financial ruin as a result. In an attempt to gain money, Jorah sold poachers he had caught to a Tyroshi slaver. However, his liege lord, Eddard Stark, the Warden of the North, learned about this, and travelled to Bear Island to carry out the punishment for the crime of slavery. By the time he arrived, Jorah and Lynesse had already fled to Lys. Jorah became a sellsword and left Lys to battle the Braavosi, but discovered upon his return that Lynesse had become the lover of Tregar Ormollen, who forced Jora to give up Lynesse and leave Lys. Jorah traveled further through the Free Cities, and even to Vaes Dothrak, but continued to long for home. Eventually, he ends up in Pentos, employed by King Robert I Baratheon's master of whisperers Varys, where he crosses paths with the exiled Viserys Targaryen and his young sister Daenerys. *Read more...*
King Maegor I Targaryen was the third Targaryen King to sit the Iron Throne. His actions during his six-year long reign led to him being remembered as Maegor the Cruel. Maegor was the youngest son of King Aegon I Targaryen, born by Aegon's elder sister-wife, Visenya. He was mostly raised on Dragonstone, and came to be referred to as the "prince on Dragonstone". Maegor had no true friends in his youth, keeping mostly to himself. He was a born warrior, who distinguished himself in tourneys, and received knighthood at the hand of his father at the age of sixteen – making him the youngest knight in the realm at the time – and who showed his prowess in battle further during several military campaigns. He claimed the dragon Balerion after his father's death.
Maegor and his half-brother, Aenys I Targaryen, were rather close during Aenys's reign. Aenys proclaimed they would rule together, and Maegor was named Hand of the King after swiftly dealing with a rebellion in the Vale. However, when Maegor, who had been wed to the High Septon's niece in 25 AC, took a second wife in 39 AC, the realm was shocked. Maegor was send to Pentos in exile, but was brought back to Westeros by his mother when Aenys died on Dragonstone in 42 AC. With Aenys' eldest son and heir, Prince Aegon, besieged at Crakehall, Maegor claimed the throne. Maegor dealt with Prince Aegon the next year, but his nephew was not his greatest opposition. Maegor spend the majority of his reign warring against the Faith, resulting in bloody massacres. He executed all the men who had constructed the Red Keep to preserve its secrets, and forcefully married three women whom he had widowed, in his attempts to beget an heir. *Read more…*
The Wall is a massive wall of ice, stretching 300 miles long and 700 feet high, crossing the northern peninsula of Westeros. It protects the Seven Kingdoms from dangers that lie beyond. It was built by Bran the Builder, a legendary King of Winter who is also said to have built Winterfell and helped design Storm's End.
The Wall is said to have been built 8,000 years ago by giants and the first members of the Night's Watch after the Long Night. The Wall is protected by the Night's Watch and, according to some, ancient spells and sorcery. Supposedly, Brandon the Builder had placed his foundations along the heights wherever possible. The Wall was much smaller at the time, having been built upon by the Night's Watch builders, who quarried huge blocks of ice from frozen lakes in the haunted forest and dragged them south to make the Wall higher, raising it over the centuries to its present size. However, the severely-reduced Night's Watch at the present time is limited to maintenance duty. A total of nineteen fortresses have been built along the Wall though only three, the Shadow Tower, Castle Black, and Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, are occupied during the current events. Read more...
The Battle of the Blackwater is a large battle fought between the forces loyal to King Joffrey I Baratheon, the King on the Iron Throne, and those loyal to Stannis Baratheon during the War of the Five Kings. Having eliminated his younger brother Renly and gained some fifteen thousand soldiers from the stormlands and Reach, Stannis begins his march on King's Landing, intent on seizing the city and claiming the throne. Queen Regent Cersei Lannister has ordered wildfire in preparation for the city's defense, while her brother Tyrion has ordered the construction of a great chain boom across the mouth of the Blackwater Rush. Ser Imry Florent, leading Stannis' fleet, has the fleet sail towards the docks immediately, leaving only the ships of the Lysene Salladhor Saan out in the bay. As soon as the first two battle lines of ships have crossed, the defenders of King's Landing begin to raise the chain. King Joffrey's ships engage Stannis' ship, but soon light the river afire on account of having been filled with wildfire, destroying most ships present. By then, the chain has been raised completely, preventing the ships from fleeing.
A few ships escape the inferno and land men on the riverfront, who attack the King's Gate and River Gate. When Sandor Clegane, fearing the wildfire, refuses to lead another sortie, Tyrion Lannister takes the command. During the battle on the riverfront, he realizes that by now, the ships in the water, smashed together and burning, have formed a bridge over the river, allowing Stannis’ vanguard of twenty thousand men to cross the river. The cities gates are closed, and Queen Regent Cersei, fearing for the safety of her son, orders King Joffrey to be brought to the Red Keep, with disastrous results. Seeing their king flee the scene, the defenders are robbed of their courage, and kill their officers while attempting to flee. After a night of battle, victory seems within Stannis’ grasp. *Read more…*
House Velaryon is an ancient and proud house of Valyrian origin. The Velaryons left Valyria before the Targaryens did, and settled on Driftmark in the narrow sea, where a seat by the same name was constructed. They filled their coffers from trade in the narrow sea and Blackwater Bay, and ruled the middle reaches of the narrow sea together with their allies of House Celtigar, while House Targaryen supported them with their dragons.
The Velaryons and Targaryens frequently intermarried, and so the Velaryons gained a prominent place at the Targaryen court. Lord Daemon Velaryon became the first master of ships during Aegon's Conquest, and so many Velaryon's followed him in that office that at times the office seemed hereditary. The house counts several prominent members. Lady Alyssa Velaryon became the wife and queen of King Aenys I Targaryen, and ruled as regent for her son, Jaehaerys I, during his minority. Lord Corlys Velaryon, also known as the Sea Snake, gained wealth and fame by making nine great voyages by ship. He used his wealth to build a new seat, High Tide, replacing the damp castle Driftmark. During the Dance of the Dragons, Corlys gave support to Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, his former daughter-in-law, and played an important role in war's end. His bastardborn grandson – or son, depending on the source – Alyn Velaryon, inherited the rule of High Tide and rose to fame when he was victorious in the Stepstones, earning the name "Oakenfist". Together with King Daeron I Targaryen, his cousin, he planned the an attack on Dorne, and played an important role in the conquest that followed. *Read more…*
The Others are a species of legendary, humanoid beings that exist north beyond the Wall. They are are tall and gaunt, and their flesh is a pale white, while their eyes are bright blue. They wear delicate, reflective, camouflaging armor, which shifts in color with every step. According to legend, the Others came from the Lands of Always Winter thousands of years ago, bringing with them a cold and darkness that lasted a generation: the Long Night. The first men to form the Night's Watch finally defeated the Others, together with the children of the forest, in the Battle for the Dawn, and Wall in the North was built to keep them out. The Others have not been seen since the Long Night ended, and are presently regarded as nothing more than fairy tales used to frighten little children by most.
Also known as white walkers, the Others go lightly on the snow, leaving no prints to mark their passage. They are accompanied by extreme cold, making it painful for humans to breath. White mists also rise when they come. However, they hide from sunlight, emerging only at night and melting away when the skies clear after a storm. They have the ability to do unimaginable things with ice; The swords these superior swordsmen use, are made of ice. Capable of resurrecting the dead, whether human or beast, tales of Others riding the corpses of bears, direwolves, mammoths, horses, and giant ice spiders are told.
Although most of the Seven Kingdoms believe the Others to be a thing of legend, fisherfolk on the shore near Eastwatch-by-the-Sea claim to have glimpsed white walkers on the shore in 298 AC. *Read more...*
King Robert I Baratheon is the first king of the Seven Kingdoms from the Baratheon dynasty. As the heir to Storm's End, Robert was send to the Vale to be fostered by Lord Jon Arryn. There, he grew close to his foster brother, Eddard Stark, and came to regard Arryn as his second father. Robert inherited Storm's End in 278 AC, after his parents drowned in Shipbreaker Bay. He arranged a betrothal to Eddard's sister, Lyanna Stark, having fallen in love with her beauty. During the tourney at Harrenhal in 281 AC, Robert felt insulted when his cousin, Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, crowned Lyanna as his queen of love and beauty after winning the joust, passing over his own wife to do so. Matters grew worse a year later, when Rhaegar apparently kidnapped Lyanna. King Aerys II Targaryen ordered the heads of Robert and Eddard, following the brutal executions of Eddard's older brother and father. The two young men were in the Vale, where Jon Arryn refused to give them up, rising in rebellion instead. Robert became one of the figureheads in the war that followed, and towards its end proclaimed his intent to claim the Iron Throne. Following Aerys' death during the fall of King's Landing, Lord Robert Baratheon of Storm's End ascended the throne as King Robert I Baratheon.
Following Lyanna’s death in the aftermath of the war, Robert married Cersei Lannister, ensuring the future support of House Lannister. Their marriage was not a happy one, however. Robert remained in love with Lyanna, even years after her death, and insulted his wife by whispering "Lyanna" to her during their wedding night, setting the tone for their further marriage. Over the course of his reign, the young, handsome, powerful, muscled warrior changed into a fat, red-faced drunk with dark circles underneath his eyes. Leaving the task of ruling his kingdom mostly to his small council, Robert spend his time hunting, hawking, feasting, drinking, and whoring. He already had fathered two bastards before he became king, but his frequent whoring resulted in the births of many more. *Read more...*
The conquest of Dorne was a war fought between the Iron Throne and the kingdom of Dorne, the only of the Seven Kingdoms not sworn to the Targaryen kings. During Aegon's Conquest and the First Dornish War, the Dornish had resisted the Targaryens attempts of invasion. King Daeron I Targaryen, who ascended the Iron Throne at the age of fourteen in 157 AC, felt that the continued independence of the Dornish represented unfinished business for the Targaryens, and vowed to complete the conquest.
The young king went to war that same year, personally leading one of the three hosts that entered Dorne. In 158 AC, the Prince of Dorne and his most powerful lords bent the knee to Daeron during the Submission of Sunspear. Hostages were brought back to King's Landing, but this did not stop the smallfolk of Dorne from rebelling. Lord Lyonel Tyrell remained in Dorne to chase rebels, but was famously killed at Sandstone when he pulled the sash of a heavy velvet canopy above his bed, covering himself in a hundred red scorpions. Within a fortnight of his death, Daeron I's entire conquest was undone. When King Daeron entered talks with the Sealord of Braavos about a betrothal between the Sealord and one of Daeron's sisters, with the aim of sealing an alliance with Braavos, the Free Cities of Pentos and Lys, who were at war with Braavos, decided to give aid to the Dornish.
In 160 AC, Daeron was forced to return to Dorne to resume the war. The conflict would not come to an end until 161 AC. Daeron’s conquest lasted only a summer, and resulted in thousands of deaths. It is said that ten thousand men had died conquering Dorne, forty to fifty thousand men attempting to hold Dorne. Of the many accounts written about Daeron's conquest, the book written by Daeron himself is considered to be the best one. *Read more…*
Dragonstone is a castle located on an island of the same name at the entrance to Blackwater Bay. The castle was built by the Valyrians, who used arcane arts, fire, and sorcery to this end, liquefying the stone to shape the castle to look like multiple dragons. Statues of dragons can be found all over, and dragon claws hold the torches hanging from the walls. Grotesques and gargoyles serve as crenellations along the three curtain walls of the castle, shaped like a variety of creatures. The citadel is wrought all of black stone, and has a sinister reputation. The island on which Dragonstone was build had been the westernmost outpost of the Valyrian Freehold for two hundred years when Lord Aenar Targaryen relocated his family to the island in 126 BC. He took possession of the castle, making it the seat of House Targaryen. Aenar ruled as the first Lord of Dragonstone, and was succeeded by his descendants until Lord Aegon Targaryen launched his Conquest in 2 BC.
Although Aegon established a new seat for himself to rule his kingdom from, Dragonstone remained in possession of House Targaryen. Aegon’s younger son, Maegor, was raised by his mother at Dragonstone, and in time even became known as the "Prince on Dragonstone". Years later Maegor’s brother, King Aenys I Targaryen, named his heir the “Prince of Dragonstone, making it a formal title, which was later continued by King Jaehaerys I Targaryen and the Targaryen kings who followed.
More recently, Queen Rhaella Targaryen and her young son Viserys fled to Dragonstone at the end of Robert's Rebellion. There, Rhaella gave birth to Princess Daenerys nine months later during a fierce summer storm. The castle was assaulted on the orders of King Robert I Baratheon shortly thereafter. With the Targaryens either dead or gone in exile, Robert gave Dragonstone to his younger brother Stannis, creating House Baratheon of Dragonstone. Stannis has begrudgingly ruled the castle and its poor lands ever since. '*Read more...*
Tyrion Lannister is the third and youngest child of Lord Tywin Lannister of Casterly Rock and his wife, Lady Joanna. Tyrion is an ugly and misshapen dwarf, and because of this he is sometimes mockingly called Imp and Halfman. Despite his deformation and the social stigma that comes with it, Tyrion's wit and intelligence prove to be great assets to the Lannister cause. However, his mother died giving birth to him, and his father has never forgiven him for it. As a result, Tyrion's relationship with his father is a difficult one. His sister, Queen Cersei, resents him as well, in part because of their mother's death, and in part (unbeknownst to Tyrion) due to a prophecy made in her youth. Tyrion has a better relationship with his brother Jaime, despite their differences.
During the early part of War of the Five Kings Tyrion rises high, acting as Hand of the King to Joffrey I Baratheon, but he reaches his zenith at the Battle of the Blackwater, where he suffers a nearly-mortal wound that leaves him disfigured and pushed out of power.
Tyrion is one of the most distinctive and predominant POV characters in the series, often cited by George R. R. Martin as his favorite character. *Read more...*
Queen Rhaenys Targaryen was the youngest child of Lord Aerion Targaryen of Dragonstone and Lady Valaena Velaryon. Her two older siblings, Visenya and Aegon, were expected to marry each other per Valyrian tradition, but Aegon took both his sisters to wife; It was said he married Rhaenys out of desire, and those at the royal court would later say that Aegon spend ten nights with Rhaenys for every night he spend with Visenya.
Like her siblings, Rhaenys was a dragonrider. She bonded with the dragon Meraxes, and spent more time on dragonback than her siblings did combined, for she loved to fly. A beautiful, graceful, curious, impulsive, and mischievous woman. She gave birth to Aegon's heir, Aenys, in 7 AC, though her tendency to entertain to entertain comely young men, singers, and mummers, caused rumors that Aenys had been fathered by someone other than Aegon. Rhaenys often aided her brother during his reign, helping him win the love of the smallfolk, while knitting the kingdoms together by arranging marriages between far-flung houses.
During Aegon's Conquest, Rhaenys aided her rumored bastard half-brother Orys Baratheon in conquering the stormlands and joined her trueborn siblings against the kings of the westerlands and the Reach at the Field of Fire. However, she failed to conquer Dorne. When Aegon decided to begin his campaign against Dorne in 4 AC, Rhaenys joined him upon her dragon, leading the first assault. *Read more...*