Houses of the North

by Saber Shishika

There are many houses in the north yet not much is known about many of them. In this book written by a southern master is a short overview about many of the northern houses, the land under their control and the people living upon it as well as their vassals. It was written so that southern lords can read up about their northern neighboors in a few minute time.

15. House Umber of Last Hearth

As promised the Umber chapter has arrived. Next house should be the Karstark's but till you get them I need some more time once more because of real life stuff.

The Umber's of Last Hearth can trace back their bloodline to the Age of Heroes. Where the Stark's supposedly came from the south from the seed of Garth Greenhand the Umber's have ruled their lands even before the Stark's moved north to carve themselves a kingdom out of the vast unclaimed lands. It is claimed and believable that among the First Men that came the Umber's were already the chieftains of a small tribe that chose to travel far to the North to develop in peace away from competitors. As such it is no wonder that the Umber's were already established and had their lands firmly under control when the Stark's first arrived. Truthfully speaking it is a wonder to me that the Umber's haven't vassalized the Stark's when they arrived in the North. After all they settled the prime lands for expansion from the point of view of the Umber lands not to mention that the Umber's at the time should have been stronger in their presence, wealth and manpower than the Stark's. Either way the Umber's have ruled as first men kings for several centuries even after the Stark's came to the north. It is probable that the Umber's had a rivalry with the Bolton's and their Red Kings in this timeframe. This could be the reason for the peace between the Umber's and Stark's in the early years and probably gave the Kings of Winter the time to consolidate their rule and conquer lands to the west, south and south-east. In any case they were after centuries of peace between the houses subjugated over several wars and rebellions and became one of the principle banners to the Stark's and can claim loyalty to the Stark's more than most others.

The lands under their control have mostly been the same over the centuries. From the Lonely Hills in the south to the border of the New Gift in the North their lands encompass vast swaths of land. Years ago, their lands reached to Brandon's Gift but with the creation of the New Gift much land was lost to their house. Together with the Mountain clans they were the only lordship affected by the gift and while the house still holds the Nights Watch in high regard their hate for the Targaryen's started because of this slight. By now it may never be a possibility for their house to become truly loyal to the Dragon Kings for this massive blunder on their part. In addition to this loss over the years the Umber's have first lost the lands around the Long Lake while they were being subjugated but have since regained much of their lands from the Waterman's.

When one from the south thinks of unwashed barbarians when thinking about the North their mental image most probably would fit to the Umber's. Their house regularly produces men and women that most consider to be giants. Their beards and hair are unkempt and wild. Their will drink and shout and brawl without a second thought and often ignore proper etiquette either because of their drunkenness or their unwillingness to partake in it. Their fighters are more brawlers than soldiers not to mention that it is often said that the Umber's still secretly practice the right of the first night. Thought the Umber's would most probably kill me for it is a fair assessment to say that they are closer to the mountain clans of the Vale and the wildlings than one should admit to them. In fact, one could go so far as to claim that if they still stole their wives and lived a nomadic live perhaps north of the wall they would fit right in with the rest of the wildlings.

As for why I will from now on never be able to set foot in Umber lands without fear of being made a head shorter. The hate the Umber's have for the wildlings is legendary. Their house will be the first to be raided by any incursions south of the wall and they have often lost family members from this. Not to mention the loss of life for their smallfolk. Any linking between them and wildlings can be cause for broken bones should one make the claim. When the Wall is undermanned, they will be called upon to help. Whether one believes in the Long Night or not the Wall was built with the explicit support of the Umber's by Brandon the Builder even if they probably lost some land in the creation of the gift to support its existence. This could have also been the reason for the prolonged peace between Stark's and Umber's for several centuries.

In any case all in all the Umber's can be seen as one of the major houses of the north and have a firm claim to remain as such. In addition to this their faith in the Old Gods is firm and while not yet fanatic one will find not a sept in their lands and should not expect any of the smallfolk to look at the New Gods in any favourable light. Their lands are among the largest and their army among the fiercest. All in all, this house should be remembered when speaking about the north.

Their coat of arms as a giant, brown haired and wearing a skin, with broken silver chains, on flame red.

Family Words: "Nothing can Hold us"
Together with their sigil their words form the picture of a rebellious house that will fight for their own good. While in the past this might have been true the words by now have taken another meaning for the family. For even with the constant danger of wildlings in their back and an ever-looming winter the house will always be ready to send their people to the help of their liege lords. Even if the situation is bleak they will stand by their side and nothing can stop them from doing so. Another take on it is their unruliness as a vassal lord from my point of view. Then again, I am only a maester and not the lord Stark that has to deal with them.

Hold/Keep:
The houses seat of power is called Last Hearth or sometimes The Last Hearth. It is located north of the Last River and east of the Kingsroad inside the northern Pinewood forest that predominated the centre of their territory. It is the closest major castle to the wall aside from the castles lining the walls themselves. While there are still some minor castles north of the Last Hearth those are made of wood and small in size and more often than not only encompass a tower keep.

Let us take a short discourse to discuss the castles chosen name of Last Hearth for it tells us much about the lords that would choose to name their castle as such. The hearth or as the south now calls it as simply the fireplace has held much meaning to the first men. One could imagine that with the arrival of the Andals the south has lost the meaning the place once held to their people. The same has not happened in the North. The first men oath of fealty still contains the mention of the hearth as a central part of the vows. It couldn't be called a wonder after all the hearth has always been the central piece of a castle for the first men. The hearth was were fire forced the cold away. It was were the bread was made to feed the castles inhabitants and later in history the bread only for the lord's family. Here met the lord his guest when they first arrived and offered bread and salt to grand guest rights to them. The fact that the lords would claim that their castle is the last of such paints a picture that tells that they did not expect anyone to build their keeps further north than they did. It could be possible that once the lands of always winter stretched further south. Even today the lands directly behind the wall are covered in snow even in the longest summers. It could be possible that this warmer climate is only because of the wall stopping the snow from remaining in summer even further south than the wall itself. When one thinks on it as such it would make sense that even a house of hardy northerners thought it impossible to build further north and support a castle.

The castle itself is at a first glance a rather impressive structure. Tall stone walls form a large rectangle with slightly lifted protruding square towers. Only one entrance leads into the castle yard. Here after the first gate one will meet the common quarters deemed important enough to be granted protection through a wall. One will find the smith, head hunter, bowyer, the brewery as well as the guards and staples with an inn and unique to their castle a brothel in this part of the castle. Divided and slightly elevated from them is the castle itself. The structure is a perhaps one of the biggest in the north. Yet it can only lay that claim because of its singular build. Many castles tend to have multiple structures form into the main compound. Compared to this the Umbers main keep is one solid block that contains many storage rooms in the middle were the sunlight would never reach. These rooms hold the massive amounts of firewood and food that they store for the winter.

While it all looks impressive the castle has often been breached by wildling raiders. Often the castle security had been underwhelming and as such raids managed to make off with a lady of the house or a servant from the lower quarters. I have no doubt that in wartimes the men-at-arms are better prepared to defend the castle from large armies and will take their fair share of lives but raids and fast attacks with retreats have been shown to be a weakness of the castle.

Geography:
The lands under their house have many facets. For one there are the Lonely Hills in the south as well as the mountain ranges of the northern mountains to the north-west of their lands. A large part of the Last River and with it its valleys flow through the centre of their lordship. Not to mention the tributary of the White Knife called the Lone Blade that begins in the Lonely Hills and the coast of the Long lake that while not settled on their side still remains a natural border. Then you have the Pinewood that lay in the centre of the lordship and stretches to both sides of the Last River. Not to mention the vast sloping plains with sharp cold winds always present. They encompass all that is not mountain, river or forest in these lands. Even then there still remains the coast of the Bay of Seals to the north-east of their lands. While only a fraction compared to the lands the Karstark's and Greycliff's hold on it one should not forget it.

Let us begin with the Lonely Hills. Thought calling them hills is like saying that Aegon wasn't a conqueror. While not nearly as high as the northern mountains their peaks can in parts match any found in the Westerlands. The only reason they could be names Hills is probably because they appear to be nothing compared to the northern mountains. These lands hold some of the few remaining active volcanoes in Westeros. Together with some of the peaks in the Westerlands, Stormlands and Dorne as well as Dragonstone and perhaps Skagos this region is one of the most volcanically active in Westeros. Every few years one of the peaks will spew forth fire and ash. Mostly ash to be honest. All of the eruptions remain relatively small and rain ash only in the area of the Lonely Hills themself but every few centuries one volcano will erupt with enough force that ash can still fall in lands south of Winterfell and all the way to the Bay of Seals. Perhaps because of all of the volcanic activity the region is rich in all manner of metals. From cobalt, bronze, iron, zin, lead to mercury, nickel, bismuth, chrome and tungsten all can be found in at least medium quantities in this region. In truth were it not for the missing silver and gold veins this region could have all the major metals one could ever need. It should come as no surprise that this region has always been a highly sought-after region and many a Bolton rebellion was fought to gain these lands for themselves or at least grant them to someone more inclined to own them loyalty.
(I just can't believe that only Dragonstone and Old Valyria have/had active volcanoes so I added a few areas in Westeros that still have some activity for a bit of realism and creativity. I mean the continent of Westeros is supposed to be somewhere between Europe and South America in size and only has one active mentioned volcano right now.)

The mountains in the north-west of their lands couldn't be more different compared to the Lonely Hills. Their peaks stretch to the last major tributary of the Last River as well as the edge of the Pinewood and are, even though only the beginning of the northern mountains, already higher than those of the Lonely Hills. These are however no longer volcanically active and are seldomly mined for any resources. Who would mine here when the lands to the south hold more riches and larger varieties of ores? Their slopes are however topped by rich green grass and a favourite for wild animals as well as domesticated ones. In old ledgers one might find mentions about coal mines that once has been present in the region. Thought today those have long since been abandoned. After all, with the vast amounts of wood the North possesses it has become easier to locally burn wood to produce coal for the smithies than mining and transporting it along the Last River to the other lordships.

As for the Pinewood. Once more a forest that can nearly match any of the three largest southern forests in size (Kingswood, Rainwood and Clawwood). It is another source of coin for the Umber's. Its wood is predominantly bought by essosy merchants and of those mostly by those coming from Bravos. Much of that wood finds its way in becoming part of their fleets or is made into furniture. As many a forest in the north its riches come from their natural resources. The pinewood and oakwood as well as the hides and meats of the wolves, dears, boars and other plentiful game found in it have made many men richer. The plains that sometimes break this ancient forest are fertile and shielded from the harsh cold winds and give enough corn to sustain the people living in it. Still many parts of the forest have not been wandered by humans in centuries and some were never the site of human settlements. In those parts the trees are high and the undergrowth overwhelmingly thick. These lands are as wild as any beyond the Wall even if they remain small and somewhat contained.

Now for the river valleys that encompass the Lone Blade and the Last River as well as its tributaries. I have already mentioned that while their border lies on the Long Lake, they don't have any right to it and as such will not mention it here again. Both of the rivers are easily shippable and bring much of the goods into and out of the lordship. While the Lone Blade is coloured in a murky grey the water it carries makes the earth more fertile. Many believe this to be because of the volcanic ash it carries and this might just be the truth of it. In any case the lands around it are easy to farm. The Last river meanwhile has a clean blue colour and while not as fertile still remains prime farming land. Mostly around the more forested and mountainous areas it passes but arguably still in the plains that follow. These riverways are in any case the lifelines of the lordship bringing most of the goods and people around after all the Umber's have never had the sense to expand their road network into more that the Kingsroad and a few better established and build up roads leading to the east.

One of these roads brings one to the Bay of Seals and its major harbour village along the strip of coast under their control. It is easy to find the beginning of Umber land when traveling with a ship. Once the coast makes a nearly right angle and the ship travels only north from there it is the beginning of Umber coastland. The coast is still mostly empty from people but beaches are filled with an enormous amount of seals instead. The name of the Bay wasn't chosen without reason after all. But even aside from seals the coast has much to offer to any that find themselves on them. From gentle cliffs to low beaches filled with stones or sand both coarse and smooth and simple grasslands reaching to the water. This all can be found mostly undisturbed in this region. Aside from the beauty of the coast its waters hold much more than just seals. With one of the largest amounts of cloisters and clams along the eastern shore and plenty of fish that is hunted by the seals these lands are rich in life. Even wales can be found here hunting the seals.

Lastly one can find the plains hounded by freezing winds to the north and east of the Pinewood as well as the area between the Pinewood and the Lonely Hills. Thought the last-mentioned part between the two has already significantly less harsh winds that already are a bit warmer. These plains are often only covered in grass and are filled with gentle slopes and slow flowing small stream leading to both the Bay of Seals and the Last River. Much like the mountains in the north-west this land is more often than not preferred by shepherds and cow herders for their animals. Most of the area north of the Pinewood is however settled as thinly as the New Gift is today. The people that once lived there chose instead to move further south. As such these lands are mostly empty. The southern plains meanwhile hold many more people and the east is settled simply for the sake of seal hunting and the riches the coast can offer.

Lesser Lords:
It is interesting how the lords in the various parts of the territory have much more different views on things and differentiate themselves from each other than in other lordships. For example, the lands of the north-western mountains are only settled by noble clans with an intense hate for the wildlings while those lords of the Lonely Hills are much wealthier than the rest of the lordship but in turn hate the Bolton's more than even wildlings. Even then there are the lords of the Pinewood that are all masterly houses with a focus on wildlings and trade while the lords of the coast wish for a proper navy and those of the plain wish to see the Nights Watch relinquish the New Gift to once more resettle their old lands.

House Clubber is the predominant power among the houses to the coast and has long since wished for the existence of a proper navy. The house employs several merchants as well as fishing ships but lacks the funding to support several real war galleys. Those would be needed to stop the incursions that have been started in which wildlings take a ship to pass the Wall and land on their coast. In any case the house is one of the largest producers of seal skins in Westeros. If one buys a seal skin the chances are good that it came from their lands and underwent its production the settlements of the Clubber's. The house also trades in the fat and meat of the animals. A local food for many is found in the riches of the sea and the house has certainly used the freedom they had from enemy fleets to build up a substantial force of ships unsuited for war but useful to exploit their bay.

Clan Anvil is the strongest of the local clans. Unlike many other clans that live outside the northern mountains their clan has managed to grasp the principle of building and managing several villages in their lands. It is as such no wonder why they are stronger than many of their fellow clans mentioned before. While the houses name would let one think that they are predominantly busy as miners and smiths this may only have been the truth in the past. Today like most of the people living in the mountains they see their wealth come from animals. A large number of cattle, sheep and goat graze their lands and produce their wealth with both cloth, cheese and smoked meat as their premier produce. The clan is known to be one of the few that actively sends out scouts into the Gift to search for wildling incursions. Some even speak about the believe that they send their men to the other side of the Wall for the simple sake of killing wildlings.

In the Lonely Hills by the main spring of the Last Blade lies the castle of house Asher. Much like their fellow lords of the Lonely Hills their main produce is in their metals. Their house is among the largest producers of mercury and tungsten and even had a dragon glass mine in the past. Unfortunately, their castle was built close to an active volcano and while the castle didn't have to deal with lava or similar the ash that fell in the vicinity has killed many of the castles inhabitants either through breathing it in or by collapsing the roof on them with its weight. All things considered however the house has often married with the Umbers because of their wealth and position as most northern of the Lonely Hills nobility. They have a firm grasp on the lord's interest and often enough led the defence against Bolton incursions. Their house is one of perseverance and a certain cunning.

All the lands directly north of the Pinewood belong to the last remaining noble house that refused to resettle further east or south like others had done. The Umber's of Sheepfield a branch to the Umber's existing for centuries now but certainly still as stubborn as their original family. Their lands hold several villages where each man is armed and ready to defend their village. By now wildlings tend to move around their villages and strike softer targets even further south. This branch remains quite close to their original family and still send their children to foster at Last Hearth. Most even in the North are sure that the only thing those children learn there is how to be stubborn and how to hold their liquor. Well less hold their liquor and more how to drink it till they pass out.

People:
All people living under the Umber's are as hardy and fierce as their liege lords. The men grow large and tend to have a full beard by the age of 20 at least. It is not unusual to see them missing a finger or two or parts of their ears. If one could look at their feet, they probably would miss a toe or two as well. The cold in these parts in long winters can easily take of a bit of your body with frostbite. This also makes the people in these parts proficient in the safe amputation of body parts. A skill any army envies when the camp helpers have not enough trained healers for sure. The locals also prefer their woman with more meat on their hips than those of any other lordship. They claim that those will life by the end of winter and give birth to healthier children not to mention can claim wealth through all the food they must have eaten to gain it.

The Lonely Hills alone house about 40.000 miners and their families as well as farmers in their lands. Their land is the most heavily populated in the lordship. One can easily identify these men should they be marshalled for war by their bend neck. Because most mining shafts in the Lonely Hills are quite flat the miners work by lying on their side and over the years this causes their weird neck posture. This is similar to many miners of the Westerlands were the mines are similar in structure because of the thin but wide veins. Often times you will find children of both genders starting with their eight-name day help in the mine by pulling filled minecarts bound at their ankle out of the shallow shafts to the wider once were a horse will often be used to help in the excavation.

The people of the mountains will be mentioned in the chapter about the lords of the northern mountains in detail. In this part I would only mention that they differentiate themselves from their brethren through the many river valleys that flow into the Last River. While they often are animal herders these fertile wind-shielded regions make them both wealthier and give them more security in winter. As such the people here life easier than their fellow mountain dwellers.

The people of the forest and plains as well as the coastal dwellers don't differentiate much in their behaviours. The hole of them like nothing more than drinking and merry making, taking whores to bed and brawling in between. These people are often unwashed because all water is cold in the region and warming it cost wood and makes more work for them. Their beards are unkempt and they all miss at least one of their extremities such as ears, fingers or toes from the harsh climate. They are what we of the south think when mentioning the northern barbarians. That the rest of the north is only slightly better matters not much for the fact remains that a region that breeds such men and prays to trees is still all the same at its core. In any case one will be well advised in not insulting these men face to face for they have an immense pride and will, admittedly successfully, shut the offenders up with their fist. Most of them have not even a shred of remorse for it and will attack even lords for such transgressions even if it cost them a hand or their head.

Army:
The Umber's can call upon one of the norths largest forces. With the potential to call upon 5000 men-at-arms from their lands they firmly belong to the major houses of the north along with the Ryswell's, Dustin's, Karstark's, Manderly's and Bolton's not to mention the Stark's. More often than not they will not marshal all of their soldiers nowadays because of the thread of wildlings. In ages past when the Wall was better manned, they could call upon and did call upon all their full force when war came. With the Wall this understaffed they tend to leave behind around 2000 of their soldiers to guard their lands from their incursions. This situation has made many a lord Umber quite furious and lead them to become even more aggressive with the men they do take with them for war. It is not an understatement that in recent centuries they tactics devolved into a charge and battle until they either are dead or won. At least if they don't have a higher-ranking commander above them.

Now onto the meat of this section the composition and equipment of their soldiers. Because of the mines in the Lonely Hills and the expert metal smiths living in the region the lords have the option to buy armour and blades in qualities that rival any of the options given to the lords of the Westerlands. Unlike them they tend however not to buy too much of the high-quality stuff. While they are not poor, they tend to prefer to equip their people with gambesons and a simple chainmail shirt. No question because the cold climate would make armour that is easy to get cold a hindrance to their people. While this is reasonable for fighting in the North such lack of better armour even when marching south leaves room for improvement. Then again, the weapons they do buy from their smiths are of good quality and sufficiently bought to equip even their untrained peasant conscripts with quality steel. More often than not the simple untrained people of the army stick to simple spears with a large shield made of wood. The other men will wield anything from swords to axes and maces. Thought from battles long passed they tend to bring many more mace wielders and axemen than swordsmen. Even their horse is equipped with good armour and weapons.

They can field fewer horse than one might expect them to. While around a thousand five hundred are atop horses they bring only a small part of those south. The larger part of their horse will remain north to be a fast response to wildling raids because of a command given by the Starks ages ago.

Their people however do have a fierce temper and are renown to field berserkers in their midst. Those men are a hindrance and fight with a temper unlike those of the south. They tend to remain longer in battle before they can be routed and even then, are fast to recover and reform to charge once again. A wise commander will not leave his flank open to a retreating Umber army for they will surely return to the battle before it is over and a charge in an unprotected flank. Their forces have lost many a king the battle against the northern armies.

Economy:
While the Umber's don't encourage a blooming merchant population in their lands and with taxes on the profession even hindering the forming of a proper one, they welcome many traders in their lands with low tariffs and excellent produce. Most traders making their way up the White Knife will gladly take a detour along the Lone Blade for all kinds of metal excavated in the Lonely Hills. In addition, the trade along the Last River is a favourite for merchants of Bravos for the wood and hides they can gain. The trade routes are even quite safe this far in the north because there are not many raiders and pirates in the region. Even if there are the bravosi tend to protect the trade and wipe them out fast enough. All in all, the region could become vastly wealthier with the forming of an efficient stand of merchants but even now they are above the average southern lord in terms of prosperity. This is however only this easy for them because of the wealth hidden in the Lonely Hills in addition to their vast forests and the desire of wood from Bravos.