Hello this is my first Story ever written and my little contribution to the World of ice and Fire. Because I am quite terrible with writing dialoge and characters I have decided to contribute in the fashion of world building. Anything I write in here should not be taken as lorefull but can be used by any that wish to.

The North is one of the constitutet regions of the Seven Kingdoms and was once a sovereign nation ruled by their own kings. These kings were known as the Kings of Winter or Kings of the North before the continent was unified by Aegon Targaryen's Conquest (henceforth AC). It is the largest of the regions under the crown. The lands extend from the border of the New Gift, that is under control of the Nights Watch, in the north to the Neck far to the south. To the east lies the Shivering Sea while the west coast lies by the Sunset Sea.

The North has been ruled by the Starks for thousands of years from their seat of power, the castle known as Winterfell. The house has conquered much of the north in a span of several centuries and has often put down uprisings for independence in these years of conquest. Even today there are those that are not satisfied with being ruled over and as such the last rebellion was not even a century ago started by the Skagosi. Yet there is still the ever-present thread of the Bolton's and other major lords that could always get to ambitious.

The most renown holdings of the North are spread well across the North. By the giant river known as the White Knife lies the fifth largest city of Westeros. By the Falling River(the third of the tree rivers on the western shore) lies the most well-known town of the north Barrowton. There is the newly forming town known as Riverhold to consider as well. Then there is Winterfell and their rivals castle the Dreadfort to name just a few of the major northern castles. To the south there is the shield that protects from land invasions. Moat Cailin with more towers in ruin than standing and yet still a castle none would dare attack. To the farthest North lies the most impressive construction of Westeros simply named the Wall.

Geography:
While it is a common saying that the North is as large as all other kingdoms combined it is in truth roughly a third the size of Westeros instead of half. The region is mostly sparsely populated, with vast wilderness, forests, pine-covered hills and snow-capped mountains, speckled with tiny villages and holdfast. Its climate is cold and harsh in winter (though most say this is an understatement) and occasionally it will snow even in summer. The North has two major land barriers, the Wall in the north and the Neck to the south. The North is bound on each side by major seas, the Shivering Sea to the east and the Sunset Sea to the west.

The North hold the largest forest of Westeros with the Wolfswood that spans from the Northern Mountains to Seadragon Point. South of the Wolfswood are some of the biggest lakes of Westeros and the Rills that are a mountainous region with often gentle slopes. The lands of the Neck are a swamp region that helped stave of many invasions into the North. Thought to the east of these swamps is a peninsula known as Flint's Finger that lies by the Blazewater Bay in the north and Ironman's Bay to the South. The White Knife splits the North nearly in two right down the middle and ends in the Long Lake and has many tributaries flowing into it. Other known rivers in the North are the Fever River, the Broken Branch, the Weeping Water and the Last River though there are two more major rivers whose names are often debated about. In this work we will use the names the local smallfolk use when talking about their rivers and lakes and not the ones that were found in dusty old tomes.

People:
Most Northmen are descended from the First Men, although there have been centuries of intermarriage with the Andals who conquered the lands south of the Neck. The Old Tongue spoken by the First Men of antiquity has been replaced in the north by the Common Tongue, with the earlier language now only spoken beyond the Wall. Northern accounts can be considered "frosted". Northmen such as Karstark's and Umbers are often large in stature and have thick beards, long hair, and heavy cloaks of wool or fur. Northmen are sometimes referred to as "wolves" by Ironborn and Southrons.

The constant cold and the iron grip of winter set apart the northerners from the people of the kingdoms south of the Neck. The north's terrain and climate do not easily yield the necessities of daily life. Northmen place less of an emphasis on courtly ritual and culture, and instead prefer hunting and brawling. Their tourneys are often melees and rarely feature jousting. Guest right is treasured in the north. Northmen have long memories, and a lord who does not seek his rightful vengeance threatens to have his own men turn on him.

Some Northman live in remote, distant areas where they act as little more than clans and tribes. These remote folk, such as the Crannogmen, the northern mountain clans, and the Skagosi, are still vassals of the Starks, however, and are allowed to maintain their own ways and traditions as long as they remain loyal to Winterfell. Some maesters believe the blood of Cape Kraken's people is closer to that of Ironborn than Northman.

Most of the north's people still follow the old gods and their heart trees, and have little inclination for newer religions. There are a few houses who follow the Faith of the Seven, including Houses Manderly, Wells, and Whitehill. Due to its religious aspect, most Northman refuse to take holy orders and thus cannot become knights, although some northern cavalry are knights who still follow the old gods instead of the Seven. Most knights of the north live in the region's southern lands, such as White Harbor and the barrowlands. Heraldry in the north is simpler than that in southern Westeros, showing the lesser influence that chivalry has had there.

Northmen hold the Night's Watch in high regard, and many lords send annual gifts to support the black brothers.

Economy:
As the North is largely underdeveloped there are few roads of importance here. The road best taken care of is the Kingsroad while some lords to tend to have their own network of roads rivers are often the main lane of transportation around the North. Trade items from the North include wool, hides and timber to the south. While the south sends wine, food and other goods to the north. Many of the other northern products are kept in the north because of their rather small rates of production and the preference for buying goods from the north over those from the south. The more luxurious produce of the north do find some acclaim even in the south for their quality.

The north like the rest of the Seven Kingdoms used the common currency that was spread throughout the kingdoms by the Targerian's. The new currency uses Gold Dragons, Silver Stags and Bronze Coppers for currency. The North still has a mint in White Harbour that produces some of the Silver Stags used by the Kingdoms and is commissioned by the kings for the production of new coin when there comes the need for it.

The trade that comes to the north is mostly based on the east coast where there are fewer raiders and pirates then the west coast. The west has trade coming from the south but it is significantly smaller than that of the eastern coast. Some of it has probably to do with the existence of Essos and their booming commerce and need for wood from the North.

Military:
The North, once again excluding House Grudge, can perhaps raise a host of forty-five thousand soldiers. Gathering such a number would take rather long considering how large the North is and how remote some places are. Still the major lords do have some soldiers at the ready that can be mustered fast if the need for them comes. Yet the lords that do not wish to lose to many of their men in war use this to their advantage and send only a small force.

Their military strength is about equal to that of the Vale of Arryn and Dorne (thought Dorne is often attributed with embellishing that number to look more impressive. A more realistic account holds their number at the same size of the Stormlands.) This estimate is only taking into account the number of soldiers that they could perhaps raise and neither the quality of the soldiers or the commanders and other such important factors like military knowledge.

The cavalry to infantry ratio is one to four with the cavalry mostly consisting of the usual northern cavalry. There are some houses that contribute more or less to this number and some like the Manderly's, Whitehill's and Dustin's are known to contribute some of the few northern based Knights to the army. These men are often the heavy cavalry force of the army.