City of Mantarys
Mantarys, known to many as a dark city of monsters, lies between the Free City of Volantis to the west and the cities of Slaver's Bay to the east, and the ruins of old Valyria and the Lands of the Long Summer to the south. Mantarys survived the devastating event known as the doom, which laid waste to the Sands of the Long Summer and Valyria to the south. Though the city was spared the physical destruction of the doom, some say that an ill air hangs over the city, leaving many of the citizens of the city to be born twisted and monstrous. The Mantaryans are fond of pickling and brining their food, and in times of war have been known to send back the heads of their enemies pickled in the same process. Mantaryans have the purest Valyrian blood in the known world, with the only exception perhaps being the Targaryens, and share many similarities with the once great civilization of Valyria.
Lands of the Long Summer
The Lands of the Long Summer were once the most fertile lands in the known world and the bread basket of old Valyria. It was a land of palaces and plantations, producing the best fruit in the world, until the doom came and destroyed the landscape, turning the land into marshy swamps and smoldering ruins. The inland sea of sighs lays in the middle of these lands, though the cataclysmic event of the doom has turned it a pale crimson, and nothing lives in the sea. Unlike the ruins of Valyria to the south, these lands can, albeit with great difficulty be traversed, and the effects of the doom are slowly dissipating, though dangerous and thick airs remain. The Slaver Cities of Mereen and Yunkai have established colonies to work the once fertile fields, and while they are highly profitable, most of the slaves working these fields perish in under a year from exposure.
Old Valyria
Before the Doom, Valyria was the greatest civilization the earth had ever seen. Valyria was once ruled by powerful families of well over forty dragonlords, vying for dominance, as hundreds of dragons flew the skies. The wealth of Valyria came from its mines which were often constructed into the very heart of the mountains and many volcanoes, worked by slaves to extract their vast wealth. The Valyrian Freehold expanded beyond their homeland to conquer much of western Essos, forcing every one of the Free Cities save Braavos under the authority of their dragon banners The architecture of Valyria was said to be beyond parallel, with huge towers cutting into the sky and walls of shining minerals protected their vast cities, while their blades, known today as Valyrian Steel were the finest in the world, and while many exist to this day, the art of creating them remains a mystery. The cause of the doom and the fall destruction of old Valyria are unknown to this day. Some say the Dragonlords ''flew too close to the sun'' and were struck down for their hubris, while others say they were punished for their sins and use of dark magic. Others still claim that their mines tunneled too far into the heart of the volcanoes and discovered something men were not meant to see.
The cause of the event notwithstanding, Valyria was destroyed, the fourteen flames, a huge chain of volcanoes erupted, with the air growing so hot that dragons fell from the sky while the people of Valyria perished to a man. The Targaryens, while never the most powerful of the Dragonlords, were the only family with dragons to survive the doom as years before,, a prophetic dream by one of his daughters caused the Targaryen patriarch to relocate his family to Dragonstone from Valyria. Today Valyria is but ruins, covered by a red sky and surrounded by the smoking sea, which many claim submerge the fourteen flames, it is said that any sailor that looks upon the red sky and fires of Valyria will die a horrible death, and thousands of ambitious men have disappeared trying to reclaim the ruins of Valyria, entire armies disappearing to a man.
While the civilization of Valyria is gone, the blood of the Valyrians remain. The cities of Mantarys, Tolos and Elyria to the north of the ruins are inhabited by those with much Valyrian blood, while many of the denizens of the Free Cities have some Valyrian blood dating back to their conquest by the Valyrian Freehold. In Westeros as well there are still noble houses with Valyrian blood, most prominent are the Targaryens, however the Velaryons of Driftmark and the Celtigars of Claw Isle.