A/N: Once again I am sorry for my late update. I was moving into my college and i couldn't find the time.
The North was prospering, under good, effective, and honest ruling, the North had great trading deals with House Dayne and many of the rulers in Essos, they had good lands, and the strongest army and navy of all the many kingdoms of Westeros.
King Thenar Stark was having a peaceful day, until a House from the Westerlands, Vale, and the Reach came to the North, and sought an audience with King Thenar. They met in the Throne Room, and very interesting proposition was made to them by the three houses.
Magnar Peverall was an old house from the Vale, but they were attacked for their refusal to change their religion from the Old gods to the Seven. They were attacked and they barely survived. They came to seek refuge, in return for information which may be very useful to the North. King Thenar was going to offer them refuge any way, agreed very quickly.
"I shall give you lands in the mountains of the North, you can mine the gems and metals, and sell it as raw material. You will be High Magnar of the Mountains. Now you must keep your end of the bargain."
"Your grace, the Andals and the Seven plan to conquer all of Westeros, and convert all religion into the Faith of the Seven. The Artys Arryn was already making plans to take the Three Sister. They have murdered most if not all the Children south of the Neck, and burned all of the Weirwoods in the Vale. The only lands that remain safe is the Isle of Faces."
"THEY DID WHAT! HOW DARE THEY! THEY THINK THAT THEY CAN MESS WITH THE NORTH AND THE OLD GOD! The Old Gods have proven their existence through the Breaking of the Arm, the Hammers of the Water, and their help in the creation of the Wolf Canal!"
"Yes your grace, I completely agree so does all of the First Men with me. They were planning on hiding in the mountains and slaying any Andal they came upon. Instead I convinced them to join me."
"They shall be your small folk as they already knows how to survive in the harsh mountains, Magnar Peverell. I believe there are already some clans in the mountains known as mountain clans. You are to gain their allegiance and create your keep. I will be willing to pay for 30% of it with some minor interest. It can be like the one you left behind in the Vale."
"Thank you, your grace." said Magnar Peverell turning around and started discussing with his men.
Lord Gryffin was a relatively new house from the Westerlands and after offending the Lannisters barely left the Westerlands from the Lannister assassination attempts. He stepped forwards and said "Your grace, if you allow me to also settle in the mountains of the North, I can start a mining operation within those mountains. They must contain some silver, gems or some kind of precious metal. Those mountains are almost the size of the Westerlands!"
"That is a very good idea. Magnar Peverell you are to give half of your Mountain clan for House Gryffin. They will be use to living in such areas already. House Stark shall provide you with a thousand small folk and pay for 30% of your keep with some interest as well for one condition. Do you follow the Old Gods?"
"Of course your grace. I am a member of House Gryffin, while we have lost a lot of power, we use to be the Gryffin King of the Vale and could trace our lines for generations through the First Men."
"Then rise Magnar Godric Gryffin. I shall provide you the thousand small folk by the end of the week, and you shall also take 10 Children of the Forest who fled from the south and 10 Children of the Forest from the North. They shall plant a Weirwood tree in your Godswood and re-educate you in the ways of the Old Gods. You are to swear yourself to House Peverell, and teach him how to mine from those mountains."
"Thank you, your grace."
Finally Lord Lorel Manderly of House Manderly stood up said "Your grace, I am an exiled house from the Reach. I insulted the House Gardener and King Merle "the Meek" for his weakness and I told him I shall never serve a weakling like him. He merely exiled my family from the Reach. So I took all my wealth, naval power, and family and came here. The strongest of the Kingdoms, in hoping that I would be allowed a new home. I could offer you the knowledge of how to farm better, and to make things such as fertilizers and how to make iron weapons."
"I shall allow you to settle on my land if you meet a few of my conditions. First, you must convert to the Old Gods and you and your children shall be educated by the Children in the ways of the Old God. Second, your heir and his heir must marry a Northern woman. Third, you must teach us what these 'fertilizers', and 'iron' weapons are, before you leave for the end of the White Knife river. You will be allowed to build a harbor there, it should bring you plenty of gold and set your castle upon what was once the seat of House Greystark. Should you hold up your end of the bargain, I shall offer even more to you, such as your own bannerman. Before you can begin working on your land, you are to swear your oaths of fealty to House Whitestark."
"I shall graciously accept, your grace."
"Good, Magnar Lorel Manderly. My smiths shall meet you tomorrow afternoon, an hour after lunch. My farmers shall meet you for these fertilizers an hour after you meet the smiths."
"I shall have my men ready with the material by then. Thank you, your grace."
"Brother, would you please write a message to Magnar Waymen Locke, to swear himself to Magnar Manderly. Don't send it yet, we have yet to see if Magnar Manderly can hold his end of the bargain, and send out a message to Magnar Brandon Whitestark. Inform him that he has a new vassal."
"Magnar Peverell and Magnar Gryffin, should you be successful in building your lands, you can promote people into Magnars to run different parts of you regions. You will be able to have your own bannermen soon enough."
"I, Magnar Godric Gryffin, pledge myself and my house to Death's Rest, we pledge the faith of Godric's Hollow. Hearth and harvest and I yield up to you, my magnar. Our swords, spears and arrows are yours to command. Grant mercy to our weak, help to our helpless, and justice to all, and we shall never fail you."
"I, Magar Ignotus Peverell, pledge to grant mercy to your weak, help your helpless, and give justice to all. I accept your oaths." said Magnar Ignotus, before turning to King Thenar and getting down to his knee and throwing his sword to King Thenars feet "I, Magnar Ignotus Peverell, pledge myself and my House to the Winterfell, we pledge the faith of Death's Rest. Hearth and harvest and I yield up to you, your grace. Our swords, spears and arrows are yours to command. Grant mercy to our weak, help to our helpless, and justice to all, and we shall never fail you."
"I, King Thenar Stark, pledge to grant mercy to your weak, help your helpless, and give justice to all. I accept your oaths."
King Thenar "the Diligent" worked hard to bring the North up to a higher standard then the Andals. They learned and taught all their smiths how to forge iron and House Stark forged a new greatsword made of enchanted iron. The better the material, the more powerful the enchantment held and could be weaved. The original Celestial Bronze weapon was put into the Hall of Artifacts. The Children decided to name the enchanted iron, Frostiron, permanently replacing the Celestial Bronze. Only the High Magnars of the North wielded Frostiron. Every house but House Giantsbane, House Mormont, and House Stark, wielded a longsword. House Giantsbane choosing to wield dual axes, House Mormont chose to buy a bastard sword and House Stark it's greatsword. The Northern army was prepared to respond at any moment. The King's Men were sent to infiltrate the Westerlands and the Stormlands.
House Durrandon lost power in the Riverlands with House Mudd of Old Stones revolting against the Storm King and declaring themselves the King of the River and the Hills. House Mudd was able to achieve such a victory, due to the funding and resources they secretly received from House Stark. They claimed descent from the Lost House of Teague, the last King of the River and the Hills. House Mallister and House Trident declared for them, as they were not happy with the taint of kinslaying.
With their help, House Mudd subdued House Tully and House Blackwood. House Bracken also seeing the House Durrandon lost interest in the Riverlands, declared themselves King of the Trident. This would start a war with House Mudd and House Bracken, with neither side gaining large ground.
House Stark
The King in the North and the Isles. Magnar of winter and the sea. High Magnar of Winterfell. King of the First Men, Children of the Forest and the Giants. They rule the largest region of Westeros. It is said the North could fit all other regions within the North and still have some space left over. The Starks are one of the oldest families in the known world. Only matched by the Gardeners and Durrandons. They are the descendants of the legendary figures such as High King Garth Greenhand of the First Men, the Grey King of the Isles, Storm King Durran "the Godsgrief", and King Brandon "the Bloody Blade" all of which had married goddess. They claim to be descended from the goddess Artemis, the Goddess of the hunt moon and snow, Elenei, the Goddess of the storms, Amphitrite, the Goddess of the tide waves and rain, and finally Lupa the She-wolf. They also can claim descent of the Great House Greyiron, which were absorbed into House Stark through the last female line. House Greyiron ruled the Iron Islands for hundreds of years before being absorbed into House Stark.
Winterfell is the mightiest castle of the known world. It holds the highest towers of a castle and the thickest walls. It holds the Street of Kings, Great Library, the University of the North, the Hall of Thousand Lights, Ancient Crypts of the King of Winter, the Artifact Hall and many other Great Wonders of Man.
Their House was founded by King Brandon "the Bloody Blade" Stark, second son of Garth Greenhand. King Brandon fought in the War for Dawn against the White Walkers and wights as the first war leader. He slew many undead giants, wights, and White Walkers. His son, King Brandon "the Builder", the second and last war leader of the War for Dawn, raised Winterfell, the Wall, Hightower and Storm's End, as well as influencing most of the castles found in Westeros. All four are known as the one of the mightiest structures in the known world. Other Stark Kings have built great structures, such as Wolf's Watch, the Wolf Canal, and the Great Statues guarding the canal. House Stark could be credited for the measurement system, most mathematical advancements, currency, writing, food, beverages and a plethora of others.
House Stark had beaten the Warg King, Red King, Barrow King, King of the Rills, and King of the Neck, and King of the Hearth, for their position as King in the North, and the King of the North and Winter. Defeating House Greyiron for their title of King of the Isle. They have defeated countless Andal invasions, and many Targaryen Dragon Conquests.
They wear the only known crown of Valyrian Wintersteel crown which had a snarling wolf's head, with its eyes set in rubies and surmounted by Valyrian Wintersteel spikes in the likeness of longswords carved with runes of the First Men. They still have the all of the crowns of their defeated opponents in the Artifact Hall.
They have an ancestral greatsword named Ice. It is forged out of Frostiron which is imbued with the magic of the Children of the Forest. Whilst not the original blade, its namesake has killed both Children of the Forest, Men, Giants, and White Walkers..
All members of House Stark are fluent in the Old Tongue (mother tongue), the Common Tough, and High Valyrian.
They are a firm believer in the Old Gods, like all other houses in the North and have great magical abilities. Abilities such as warging, greenseeing, and the control over the element of ice and winter, a magical ability that no other house in the world holds. The Faith of the Seven was stamped out of the North, due to the many problems caused by religion in co-existing with other religions, unlike the Drowned God, the Many-Faced God, and etc.
House Stark has shaped the world for 2000 years, directly responsible for many of the advancements in the world, a legacy no other House in the world can claim. House Stark is currently the most powerful House in the known world with the biggest, richest, and the most powerful Kingdom, only comparable to the likes the entire newly formed Valyrian Empire.
House Durrandon
King of the Stormlands. Lord of Storm's End and King of the Andals and the First Men. They currently rule the third largest kingdoms. One of the oldest houses in the known world tied with House Stark and House Gardener.
Storm's End is one of the most powerful and large fortresses. It has magical runes of protection, carved by the Children of the Forest, making it very difficult to siege and take and was designed by the legendary figure Brandon 'the Builder'.
Founded by Durran 'Godsgrief', who raised the Castle Storm's End five times before raising a castle that could withstand the winds of the gods themselves, with the help of King Brandon 'the Builder', completing his task in earning the favour of the Storm God for his daughter, Elenei, hand in marriage.
House Durrandon, had to beat the House Estermont, House Dondarrion, and House Connington for their rule of the Stormlands.
They wear a gold crown in the shape of stag antlers. Their original crown of bronze and ancestral hammer is in the Winterfell, in the Hall of Artifacts, after Crowned Prince Theon "the Hungry Wolf" failed to protect his friend and ally.
They have switched to believe the Faith of the Seven, after King Maldon "the Kinslayer" slew his own brother King Durran "the Faithful" to rule the Stormlands with the Andals.
House Gardener
King of the Reach. Lord of Highgarden and King of the Andals and the First Men. They currently rule the second largest kingdom.
Highgarden was a large fortress. Built over the many years of the Gardener Kings. The castle has incorporated many gardens inside its wall allowing for the Castle itself to produce food, and is often considered to be one of the greatest castles in the world.
The house was founded by Garth "the Greenhand", the last High King of First Men.
House Gardener beat King of the Arbor and the King of the Old Town in the field of battle.
They wear a crown of roses made of gold. It was a very extravagant crown, fitting of House Gardener. They were a very extravagant and very proud of their heritage. The crown of Garth "the Greenhand" of never dying vines and flowers are in the Hall of Artifacts of Winterfell, when Garth went up north to seek forgiveness from his son and grandson. House Gardener has made 97 attempts at stealing the crown back, but has never succeeded.
They switched to the Faith of the Seven as soon as the Andals arrived abandoning their First Men culture through the Three Sage Kings, or as they are known in the North, the Three Coward Kings. They ordered the few Children found to be killed. They burned the many Weirwood trees, even the one personally grown by Garth "the Greenhand". They took House Tyrell, a minor Andal House as their stewards.
House Lannister
King of the Rock. Lord of Casterly Rock and King of the Andals and the First Men. They currently rule one of the richest kingdoms. One of the second youngest Great Houses, formed only a few decades before the Arryn of the Vale.
Casterly Rock was an impressive structure both above and underground. It was a castle built on top of a massive mountain with the greatest gold veins in existence. The castle had the claim of the highest structure in the world, due to the towers being built way above the ground atop mountains. When a mine was cleared, it would be repurposed, either as storage, dungeons or etc. This means while Casterly Rock is an impressive castle above ground, their main size comes from their rooms dug into the mountain itself.
The house is technically founded by Lann 'the Clever'. A genius who won the allegiance of the Lords of the Westerlands and stole Casterly Rock from House Casterly, then married his only daughter to an Andal Warlord Tytos under the conditions that they take the House name Lannister. Lann drove every member of House Casterly insane, stealing their keep, and earning the allegiance of the other Lords by killing the Tyrant King Tywin Casterly.
They wear a crown of gold made of roaring lions. It is also very extravagant and comfortable to wear as a show of their wealth.
House Lannister being technically founded by Lann "the Clever" means that House Lannister could only have existed through the brilliance of Lann, however, the first real king with the name Lannister was King Tytos Lannister. House Lannister was founded with Andal assistance and have always followed the Faith of the Seven Who are One.
House Arryn
King of the Mountain and the Vale. Lord of the Eyrie and King of the Andals and the First Men. They are the only true Great House of pure Andal decent and can claim the bloodline of the purest Andal Nobility. They are the youngest Great House of Westeros.
The Eyrie is built atop the steepest mountain of the Vale. It was built by the Gryffin King of the Vale and who was forced them to take shelter in Westerlands by Artys Arryn. The Eyrie is said to be nearly impossible to take in a traditional sieging manner, because one must trek up the steep mountain, while having arrows shot and rocks dropped upon them.
The House is founded by Artys Arryn. Who lead the Andals to the Vale and lead them to victory against House Royce, the Bronze Kings, and House Gryffin, the Griffin Kings. Artys Arryn was a very skilled Knight and a fast and precise sword fighter, known for his Falcon Armour.
House Arryn beat House Gryffin and House Royce for their right to rule the Vale.
They wear a crown of iron, made in the shapes of falcons in flight.
They have always been the followers of the Faith of the Seven and lead the Andal Invasion of the Vale.
A/N I will not mention the Houses in Dorne or the Riverlands as they have not conquered the entirety of Dorne and Riverlands respectively, and therefore not a Great House of Westeros yet.
King Tytos Lannister knew the North's strength was growing. It was theorized that they could currently match two of the six kingdoms alone with ease. At the rate they were growing they will be able to match three with ease by the next 100 years. He knew that he would need to curb his neighbour's strength, and his only chance for ever taking the North was with the support of all the other Great House of Westeros, House Durrandon, House Arryn, and House Gardener. He penned a letter to each of the Kings and sent out a raven to Storm's End, the Eyrie, and Highgarden, asking for a meeting at Casterly Rock.
After four moons, the Storm King, the King of the Mountain and the Vale, and the King of the Reach meet in the Casterly Rock. Casterly Rock was a massive structure built to be grander than any other keep. It is said only Highgarden could match its beauty, and only the Eyrie can match it in fortifications in the south. Their great wonder of man, the Hall of Gold was jaw dropping with the very hall having lines of gold criss crossing across the walls, ceiling, and floors displaying the wealth of the Lannisters. The throne room contained an imposing throne made of gold.
"We all know why we are here. The Northern heathens have become too powerful. Between our 4 kingdoms and the Seven's Faith Militant, we can destroy the North!"
"Why didn't you get the Mudd Kings involved as well?" asked King Merle "the Meek" Gardener.
"They are too divided trying to unite their lands and will be of no use to us." replied King Tytos.
"How would we get the Faith Militant to go to war with us?" asked King Maldon "Kinslayer" Durrandon.
"We offer them full access to the Northern region. They will jump at the chance to convert the only Kingdom who refuses to be converted."
"And how shall we divide the lands?" asked King Artys Arryn.
"I shall get the Iron Islands, the Flint Cliffs, the Rills, all the way to the Northern Mountains. House Arryn can receive, the Neck, the Three Sisters, the regions of Wolf's Guard, and White Harbor. House Gardeners can receive the regions of Winterfell, from the Lonely Lake to the Barrowlands. And House Durrandon shall receive everything else. Is this agreeable?"
"IT IS NOT! How is it that I receive some stupid frozen wastelands near the Wall, whilst you Lannister receive the Northern mountains which are rumored to contain silver and gems! The Gardeners receive one of the if not the greatest castle in the world, containing more books, artifacts, and gold then anywhere else in the North! And the fuckign Arryns get the most trade filled lands of the damned NORTH!" screamed King Maldon.
King Tytos snarled back "How would you like to divide the lands then kinslayer?"
"If I am to get the damned wastes that are the land near the wall, I want my son to marry your first born daughter Lannister with a dowery of 5000 Golden Wolves. I want the entire treasury of Winterfell, its books, and artifacts! And finally I want Artys Arryn to allow me to join the Northern trade routes for free!" bellowed King Maldon, whilst glaring at King Tytos for his insult.
Both Artys and Tytos screamed their chorus of no's, whilst King Merle tried to cover his fear of the wrothfilled King Maldon.
King Artys replied "I will let you join the Northern trade routes for a fee of 1000 Golden Falcons, and no additional fees until you die. After your death your family will need to pay House Arry 10% of their profits in trade to House Arryn."
"I will consider it okay for a fee of 500 Golden Wolves and 5% of profits.
"1000 Golden Wolves and 5% of profits. That is my final offer, kinslayer."
"Done. Now you, Lannister."
"I will be willing to give you a dowery of 1000 Golden Wolves."
"You are foolish if you think I will take anything less than 4000."
"I will give you 2500."
"Please your first born daughter is worth more than that Lannister, you know it. I will not go lower than 4000. I will not participate in this crusade otherwise!"
"Very well, how about 4000 Golden Wolves paid in 4 increments, every 5 years."
"If you don't hold you end of the bargain, I will take the might of the Stormlands and destroy the Westerlands."
"Agreed. As my father-in-law always said, a Lannister pays his debts."
"Now you Gardener, what say you!"
"That sounds agreeable. I must say, you seemed to have put a lot of thought into this King Tytos?" said King Merle trying to sound confidant.
"Of course I have. We are seeing more and more rumors of Northern silver and gems. Their Ironwood is the most useful wood in the world seconded by Weirwood, both of which they have. They have giants and mammoths, which while abominations in the name of the Seven, are an amazing workforce but also the greatest living war machines. They control the largest area of land, the best navy, and they now know how to make iron, and apparently special type of iron which are superior than ours." explained King Tytos. "If we allow this to continue we shall never be able to beat them. We must beat them now or forever be under their power. I was made privy to Argos Sevenstars Northern invasion plan. We can use that as the basis of our invasion."
"I agree and I can assure you the Faith Militant will follow you. As long as you allow the destruction of the Old Gods." said King Artys.
"All of us here are Andal now so there will be no objections from any of us."
All four Kings nodded to each, willing to fight the greater threat. But in all four minds they were already planning their betrayal of each other as soon as the House Stark fell.
"Very well, we shall meet with our armies in 5 moons in the beginning of the Neck. Agreed?"
"Agreed."
At that moment the Andal invasion of the North was planned.
The largest army the world has ever seen was assembled in the mouth of the Neck. A force of 98,000 men, made up of 22,000 Lannister men, 20,000 Durrandon men, 30,000 Gardener men, 16,000 Arryn men, and 10,000 of the Faith Militant. They had around 20,000 cavalry, 10,000 knights, ranging from sworn swords to hedge knights looking to make a name. The rest were small folk given a weapon. They were overconfident in their knight's ability and cavalry expecting the Northern 'heathens' to not know how to deal with cavalry.
It worked against the Bronze King of the Vale and the four kings were expecting the same thing against the North. King Artys, King Merle, and High Septon lead the army to Wolf's Watch, while King Tytos lead the Lannister navy to attack while King Maldon lead the Storm Navy to launch an attack at Oldcastle, the same way as Argos Sevenstar. Moral were high, with the different colorful banners flying high and proud, armours glinting in the sunlight. Ironic that the famed iron plate armour of the Andals, supposedly given by the Smith himself, were actually given to them by the Rhoynar of the Kingdom of the Rhoynish Rivers.
King Merle looked at his army marching slowly towards Wolf's Guard. Hard days fell upon the Army moving towards Wolf's Watch. Sickness fell upon his soldiers and the Craggnomen stole supplies, killed night guards, and poisoned their water supply. By the time they reached the outskirts of Wolf's Guard, 30,000 of their small folk deserted. Although they didn't know it then, some of the deserters with First Men decent was escorted to the North and given new lives. This gave the male population a big boost, allowing for more farmers and workers in the North.
King Merle rode up to the gates of Wolf's Guard and yelled as bravely as he could in the First Tongue, "King Thenar Stark! This is your last chance! As long as you give up your Gods, the Giants and the Children, the Iron Islands and the Three Sisters, you are your family will be allowed to continue ruling!"
"Hahaha! You think I will bow to some southerners! Wolf's Guard was built to stop any invasions from the South! Built by Giants, enchanted by the Children, and we are the Old God's champion! You think you and your Seven will save you up here! You are within the territories of the Old God now. Come face your death!"
Hearing such heresy, the High Septon road up to speak. "You Northern heathen, there is no place out of grasp of the power of the Seven Who are One. There is no Old Gods! The Seven shall grant us victor-"
Before he could continue, King Thenar spat on the High Septon and yelled "Did your Seven protect you from that? Or the losing your supplies or being poisoned? That's right, I know how weak your men are! Come here and we shall put your skulls and bones within the swamps of the Neck! WHICH WAS CREATED BY THE CHILDREN THROUGH THE OLD GOD'S POWER!"
Enraged the High Septon yelled "CHARGE!"
The Alliance men charged forward with the few siege equipment they had left, following their enraged leader. But as soon as they charged a wave of arrows flew towards the men. The first wave alone, killed a couple hundred men. By the time they reached the walls, more than a thousand men lay dead within the swamps and thousands had run away. With only two thirds of the force they had started and with all of their siege equipment broke to pieces, men got routed. When it seemed like nothing could get worse, the Stark men came through the gates. Giants, mammoths, men, direwolves, and shadowcats charged through. They cut down the cavalry which were stuck within the soft ground of the Neck. With men falling left right and center, the Alliance army could not mount an effective defense or counter attack. Their moral pullmetted, and their men surrendered by the hundreds.
Soon King Artys and King Merle and their lords were the only small groups of men left. They were surrounded by Stark men and their shield wall.
With no escape in sight, King Thenar moved to the front of the shield wall. He looked at them and said, "King Artys and King Garth, there is only one punishment suitable for attacking the North, and that is death. Your High Septon has already faced death from the volley of arrows."
King Artys looked up at him and yelled "FUCK YOU! I am the King of the Mountains and the Vale! You can't kill me! I am the only true King of the Andals! I crushed the First Men in the past, and I shall now! Our two navy is sailing towards the coast of the North! You can't win!"
"Even so you are trapped. And I could have my men kill you right now."
"I DEMAND MY BIRTHRIGHT AS A NOBLE! I DEMAND A TRIAL BY COMBAT!"
King Thenar's grin only grew more malicious and all the lords present swore they could feel a cold wind wash over them when he replied "Very well. Step forward. Only you, any other who attempts to step forward will be killed instantly. Follow me, we will do this the old way."
"How do I know I won't be killed as soon as I approach your men?"
King Thenar's was now smiling maliciously "Because your death has already been assured."
King Artys trusting King Thenar's words stepped towards the Stark men. The two soldiers he approached moved to form an opening and allow him through. Then an escort of 15 Stark men surround Artys and lead him towards the Wolf's Watch.
King Thenar turned to the other southern lords and said "Surrender and I will make sure you body reaches your families. Continue to fight and you will be stripped of your armour, make you beg for death before being merciful enough to grant it."
All the other lords and men immediately threw down their weapons and allowed themselves to be dragged off and restrained by the Stark men.
King Artys Arryn was escorted to the execution grounds of Wolf's Watch. All Northern castles had two main Weirwood trees. One for executions and the other for praying. This Weirwood tree had a grim dark face carved into the wood, as if it judged all who came to it.
King Thenar walked past him and knelt in front of the Weirwood tree giving it a quick prayer before standing back up and turning to King Artys.
"Take off you armor."
"What?"
"I said take of you armor you slow wit."
"How can I fight without my armour?"
"You wanted a trial by combat. This is the old way. The only true way. This way it is truly your skill that is tested. Not some fancy armour you buy. Now take off you armour or I will have my men beat you and then take it off."
"Fucking barbarians." snarled King Artys as he took off his famed Falcon armour.
King Thenar ignored King Artys words and took off his own wolf pelt cloak, his iron armour, down to only his pants and boots. The rest of the lords and King Merle was dragged to the weirwood trees with their arms bound tightly. Thenar drew the greatsword Ice from its sheath and Artys drew his longsword. The Stark men surrounded Artys and Thenar in a circle with their weapons drawn.
King Thenar said "The men will not interfere within this fight. If you attempt to run away they will throw you back. If you attempt to kill them, you will immediately be attacked by the other men. If by some chance you win, they will give you your armour back and a steed to ride back. This fight is to the death. There is no yielding only death."
"Cocky aren't you?"
"I have trained since the age of 5. I learned how to kill at the age of 9. I am now 45 and I have killed more than you ever have, I have trained more than you ever have, I have fought more than you ever have. I will not lose to some upstart Andal."
Artys snarled in anger and slashed at Thenar and was surprised at how quickly Thenar was able to move his head back to dodge the slash. Thenar quickly stabbed with his blade, forcing Artys to parry and back off. Thenar quickly followed up with and overhead arching slash. Artys brought his blade up to block the blow and follow up with a slash of his own. But his plans were immediately put on hold as he staggered at the immense force of the blow. Artys quickly had to move his feet positioning to not lose his footing. Thenar then kicked Artys in the chest sending him flying backwards. Artys quickly rolled to his side and got back up snarled in anger at how unperturbed Thenar seemed.
Thenar began to taunt Artys, "Ha, this is the man known as the best swordsman of the Andals? I only see a boy trying to play as a fighter."
Artys screamed in anger and charged at Thenar slashing, stabbing, and counter attacking from all different angles. Thenar surprised at Artys speed and strength, quickly backed off and began to block and dodge. Artys and Thenar were both tall, both standing at 170 centimeters tall, with the average being 165 centimeters, with Artys having the slightly longer arms. However. Artys was clearly weighed less then Thenar, Thenar's broad shoulders dwarfing Artys. Artys in his anger forgot his fighting style of speed and precision rather than speed and strength, left himself open to a counter attack as soon as his anger sapped and no longer fueled his strength.
Artys slashed sideways hoping to land a cut on Thenar, but Thenar brought Ice around to block the sword, pushing it backward. Thenar then used his elbow to smash into Artys nose. Artys' head snapped back in pain forcing him to quickly backstep. Wiping the blood from his nose Artys calmed down enough to focus back on his fight.
Thenar was surprised at the completely different fighting style that Artys fought with but Thenars experience allowed him to quickly adjust. He did however receive a small cut on his arm. The Northern men began their chant, at first not being heard at all over the clashing blades.
Thenar fought with strength and speed and whilst he had the advantage in both, Artys fought with the slightly better technique allowing the fight to drag on for much longer. However, Artys soon began to feel the cold sapping his strength and endurance. So when he moved his head back to dodge an attack he moved too slowly and received a cut over his right eye. Blood poured from this wound, forcing him to constantly wipe the blood away or have it blind him. They clashed for again for 10 minutes, Artys even performing a rolled the the side to dodge a killing blow from Thenar. Both men were injured, but Artys clearly favoured more wounds.
Thenar had a small wound on his left arm and right leg, a minor cut on his chest and back. Artys had his broken nose, cut above his eye, a cut of his right arm and right leg, and a bruise forming on his chest and left leg. Artys attempted to defend against Thenar's disarming maneuver, but with his lack of energy and wounds could not stop the blade from flying out of his hand. Not willing to give up Artys used his remaining strength to tackle Thenar to the ground. Thenar and Artys smashed into the ground and Ice was flung away in the fall. Artys reached for a weapon he could use to kill Thenar and reached for his blade.
However, when Artys reached over, Thenar twisted and flipped Artys on the ground instead and smashed Artys face with his fist. Thenar practiced Northern wrestling, whilst Artys only learned how to fight with blade and was completely out matched by Thenar without a weapon. Blood poured out of his wounds as Thenar smashed his face three times with his fist. Thenar hit so hard, his own fist was cut open and bloodied. Thenar then got off of Artys and grabbed Ice. When he turned around, he saw Artys completely bloodied but reaching for his sword.
Due to his honor Thenar couldn't kill Artys as he lay on the floor without access to his weapon, so waited for Artys to grasp his blade and barely get up. At this point the entire clearing is filled with the smashing of weapons and the war chants of the Northern men. Artys in one last desperate attempt, stabbed at Thenar but Thenar calmly side stepped and made a deep cut on Artys arm making him drop his blade. Artys knowing he was defeated dropped to his knees.
"You were one of the first families to attack the First Men. The First Men would have left you alone if you just declared war on the Bronze and Griffin Kings, instead you attacked our culture and our religion. Your family made this war personal. You killed the Children of the Forest and burned the great Weirwood trees. Then you went even further and dared a war against the North. You disgust me. As for your two navies, we knew of their coming moons ago." said King Thenar.
King Thenar then pulled back Ice and beheaded Artys, his blood feeding the Weirwood tree and becoming a part of the Old Gods which Artys fought so hard to destroy.
King Thenar then gestured to King Merle to be brought over. King Merle struggled in fear trying to throw off his bindings.
"Please, the Reach is extremely fertile. We can give you all the food you want! We can give you gold! Anything, just please let me live!" begged King Merle.
"Stop grovelling. You are the descendents of Garth "the Greenhand"! The last High King of the First Men! Yet you betrayed your long and great history to some men with shiny weapons! You did not even fight as all other Kings, except the Lannisters, had. You do not deserve you history." roared King Thenar with hate and disappointment. "I, King Thenar Stark, the thirteenth of my name. The High King in the North and the Isle. The embodiment of winter and the storms. High Magnar of Winterfell. King of the First Men, Children of the Forest, and the Giants, and Magnar Protector of the Realm sentence you to death."
His great sword was raised high in the air and in a sweeping arc, King Merle was no more. All other lords of the south were also beheaded in front of the Weirwood tree, with their bodies returned to their respective homes. However, Kings Artys Arryns body and entrails was hung upon the newly sprouted Weirwood tree at the mouth of the Neck. His legendary Falcon armour and Falcon crown would be added into the Halls of Artifacts.
The arrow filled corpses of the High Septon and the destruction of Faith Militant, earned King Thenar earned his new nicknames as the 'Andal Breaker' 'Kingslayer' and 'Sevenslayer'.
Crowned Prince Theon Stark sailed his navy around to ambush House Durrandon. As soon as they heard about the meeting in Casterly Rock, they knew they were going to be attacked. When the King's Men reported King Tytos and King Maldon ordering their navy to start moving they knew of the naval invasion. Crowned Prince Theon radiated anger, thinking about King Maldon, who slew his friend and ally.
Crowned Prince Theon was a genius tactician in both naval and land combat. He had made his battle plans and only needed bait. At the dead of night, he sailed towards the Storm Navy, rowing carefully when approaching the navy which had set anchor a few dozen kilometers outside of Gulltown. Due to the size of the Eastern Fleet, they discovered them a league away. However, Prince Theon wanted them to approach the Storm Navy as silently as possible, and as soon as they were discovered they started to sail again and ram the sides of the boat.
Most of the crew of the Storm Navy, was asleep with only a skeleton crew of left to guard. They had only expected to have to fight the Eastern Navy, when they approached Oldcastle. By the time all of the crew members was awake and trying to save their boats, they were rammed by the hull of the Eastern Fleet, which was reinforced by Ironwood, crafted by the Forresters. The outer line of boats were all destroyed, as the Ironwood cut through the Storm Navy like water.
King Maldon knowing that they were going to lose, ordered his ship: the flagship of the Storm Navy, Storm Rusher, to turn around and leave. King Maldon and the ships near him were able to make a retreat back to the volcanic rocks near the Blackwater Bay. They could not sail to Gulltown, as the Starks blocked that route and Gulltown was not informed of their movements as an attack.
All survivors of the wrecked ships were taken to the North. As they were skilled in sailing they would be useful as traders. So they were given the option, just like the deserters, to either get killed or join the North. Many of the First Men, unhappy with King Marlon and his kinslaying, happily joined the North.
A month has passed since the naval battle between the Storm Navy and Eastern Fleet. Crowned Prince Theon starred on top of Winter Wind, his personal ship. Prince Theon had won every battle and skirmish, forcing the Storm Navy to perform a full retreat back to Storm's End.
Prince Theon was planning on sacking the entire castle. After studying King Brandon 'the Builder' blueprints, he constructed his attack plan. He looked ahead and ordered the invasion to begin. Small longboats slowly sailed towards Storm's End in the darkest night, where not even the moon shines.
After around an hour, Prince Theon began to worry that their first plan had failed. But before he could begin Plan B, his men sent the signal. The remaining Storm Navy, which numbers dwindled down to just over a hundred ships around half of what they had in the beginning of the war, lit up in a massive flame. The fires soon began to grow out of control, and although the Durrandon men had woken up and attempt to quench the flames, it grew to be unstoppable.
As soon as the fire started Prince Theon and his Fleet sailed to the docks. With no boats, the Durrandons could not stop them from landing. With the Giants, Children of the Forest, and men they were able to march up to Storm's End relatively quickly.
The men using the shield wall formation with the Giants were able to repel the arrows being shot at them. A couple of men died due to rocks and barrels of hot oil being thrown at them, however, the main force was able to stand strong against the repelling of the Durrandons.
The Children took 10 minutes to take away the enchantments put into Storm's End. The magic of Storm's End was loosely woven around the castle and was very easy to destroy. No object that big could be tightly covered with magic, with Winterfell being the only odd exception. Without the powerful enchantments, the gates which would have taken the Giants 15 minutes to bash through, the Giants were able to bash it open with a makeshift batterram in 3. The men rushed inside, killing the guards and archers. The men poured up to the walls to slay the archers, who were no longer protected by the walls. Crowned Prince Theon had made his way to the main keep and burst through into the throne room.
The fight was bloody. Storm's End was a formidable castle, even without the enchantments added by the Children. But with four dozen giants and 10,000 men, what should have taken a minimum of 15,000 men and 6 moons with major losses, took only a day.
Crowned Prince Theon saw King Maldon fully armoured standing in front of his throne. Crowned Prince Theon charged at King Maldon and the ensuing battle was a battle of legends, which would be sung about for thousands of years.
King Maldon wielded a newly forged massive war hammer. Prince Theon knew he wouldn't be able to block the hammer many times, so he got in close. Shortening the range King Maldon had to work with. Starting with a jab, he step towards King Durran. Expecting this move, King Maldon was able to sidestep in time, but he wasn't expecting Prince Theon to be strong or quick enough to retaliate immediately with a slash. Prince Theon was a gaunt and lanky looking man. He towered over most men, at a height of 174 centimeters tall. Whilst he wasn't weak by any means, he was not as heavily built as other Starks. This lead him to often looking skinny, and being underestimated. Hastily stepping back, King Maldon was put into the defensive. Prince Theon wielded greatsword which seemed heavy to most people, but because it was made of Winteriron, it was surprisingly light and allowed for more maneuverability for the wielder.
In a defensive position, King Maldon could barely block all the attacks, being forced constantly on the back step and given no opportunity to attack. Desperate, he swung his mighty war hammer. Not expecting him to be able to retaliate quickly enough, Prince Theon was surprised. He barely duck out of the way and he had lost the advantage. They were trading blows after blows. To most people, it would seem as though they were evenly matched, but a skilled warrior could see Prince Theon was the slightly better fighter.
King Maldon also could see this, so he stepped back and attacked with a side swing. However, instead of trying to hit Prince Theon, he aimed for his sword. As soon as it made contact, the blade flew out of Prince Theon's hand, flew 10 meters away and stuck the stone floor with a loud clang.
King Maldon then put all of his power into a heavy overhand swing forcing Prince Theon to jump and roll out of the way. The First Men prefer wearing leather armor instead of the heavy plate mail worn by the Andals. Prince Theon was dressed in a hard boiled leather chest plate, with iron armor for his arms and shoulders and greaves. Without the heaviness of plate armor, Prince Theon was able to dodge all of the hammer blows.
When King Maldon put up to much strength into one of his attacks, Prince Theon sidestepped, quickly kicked him straight on his arm. King Maldon being unbalanced from his attack was unable to defend himself. King Maldon flew to his side, hitting the ground and looked up to face Prince Theon's fist. It connected with a crack, making King Maldon dizzy enough for Prince Theon to get on top of him and keep punching. King Maldon's Durrandon blood sung with rage and anger. Rage flowed through King Maldon and with his fury filled strength bucked Theon away.
He quickly got up and looked for his hammer. Seeing it a few paces behind him, he turned around and retrieved it. But as soon as he turned around to face Prince Theon, his hammer was knocked out of his hand. King Maldon was confused to see that it was a sword knocking the blade away from his hands. The watchers would know that, King Maldon accidentally kicked Prince Theon towards his Greatsword.
King Maldon would then be forced to dodge and weave against Prince Theon's fast strikes. Knowing he had no chance with his plate armour quickly shed the armour with his knife. This allowed King Maldon to move much quicker, but it also left him far more vulnerable to his attacks. King Maldon in desperation, threw his dagger at Theon's face. Theon leaned his head back and was barely able to dodge the dagger. It however left a small cut on his cheeks. When he came back up to face King Maldon, he found himself tackled out of the hall into the courtyard. Landing on his back, Prince Theon had to block King Maldon's powerful punches. Prince Theon knew Maldon was stronger, however, Theon had practiced Northern wrestling since as a child and where he learned how to make up for his lack up strength through technique. This allowed Theon to dodge and deflect one of Maldon's wild punches. Maldon scream in pain as his fist struck the hard ground as hard as he could. Using this opening, Theon was able to get both of his legs on one side of Maldon and throw him off. Theon then kicked the side of Maldon's right damaging the joint. While on Maldon was on his knee, Theon kicked Maldon in the chest forcing him back onto the ground. Instead of reaching of his Greatsword like Maldon had tried, Theon instead stamped on King Maldon's hand, crushing it underneath his boots, following his attack up with a kick to the downed King's face. Dazed, King Maldon was unable to stomp to the stomach and he instinctively protected his face. Maldon gasped as the air forcefully left his lungs.
Prince Theon after utterly crippling Maldon walked back into the keep and grabbed Ice from where it fell. He turned around and was surprised to see King Maldon on his legs. His legs were wobbling and he was clearly favouring his left knee, however, it was still impressive he was standing at all. Prince Theon walked to King Maldon, who wobbled towards Theon.
"Durran sends his fucking regards. May he laugh at your torment at the hands of the Old Gods." said the Crowned Prince.
He then with a mighty swing, lopped off King Maldon's head.
It has been a moon since his fight with King Maldon "the Kinslayer". Prince Theon was now given the name "Stormbreaker". Prince Theon knew he couldn't hold Storm's End and have it be beneficial for the North. They were still guarding the room with all the court ladies, children, and Prince now King Durran. They fed them by leaving food outside their door, then leaving for 1 hour. Prince Theon was too honorable to kill the defenseless women and children or let his men rape the court ladies. Besides, the North had no real interest of any kingdom below the Neck, other than some of the islands. So instead Prince Theon decided to loot and break Storm's End.
He found a few chests of gold, silver, and gems. He took weapons, took tapestries, good artworks, good furniture, and gathered raw materials. He sent all of it back with a quarter of his boats led by his younger brother, Rodrik Stark, a capable warrior and effective leader, to take back the treasures to Winterfell. He then broke the gates, had the giants tear down parts of the wall, and broke the forge. He knew these people would be fine because the Storm Army was coming to retake Storm's End and Prince Durran was a great fighter, as good as or better than his father, and was respected by all of the lords in the Stormlands. This only damages Storm's End which means House Durrandon would need to spend time fixing and rebuilding their lands before they could focus on attacking anywhere else.
Then just a week before the Storm Army arrived with three fourths of his navy, he went to towns and settlements in both the Reach and the Stormlands to offer the first men small folk a place in the North with the Old Gods. Many small folk took the offer and decided to travel. The North while very successful, still had a very low population compared to the other Kingdoms. He also stole harvest, chopped down lumber, and carried away anything that could be of value. He also beat any and all opposition from the Reach and Stormlands. He did this by avoiding the main Durrandon and Gardener armies, and destroying the scouting forces. He also sacked many castles, or their respective towns, in the Stormlands, Vale, and Reach: Evenfall Hall, Bronzegate, Blackhaven, Mistwood, Nightsong, Sharp Point, Greenstone, Longbow Hall, Ironoaks, Runestone, Gull Town, Old Anchor, Grassy Vale, Longtable, Cinder Hall, Ashford, Bitterbridge, and Goldengrove. He ordered no one from the Eastern Navy ever enter the Riverlands and Dorne, as they remained neutral in this invasion. He single handedly ruined the Vale, and the Stormlands, and helped in the Burning of the Reach. 60% of everything recovered went to Winterfell and the North, while the rest was given to the soldiers.
With all these new resources, Prince Theon went back to the North as a hero. He was given the name "the Hungry Wolf" for his gaunt and skinny appearance. The army and the smallfolk would argue about which of his names was more appropriate.
However, Prince Theon was not finished in his revenge, he was very pissed at the Andals and decided to retaliate by attacking the Andal homelands, Andalos. He pillaged and stole from Andalos Hills, destroying House Sevenstar for attacking the North. He would burn three Andal Houses, who had attacked his men at night and sought refuge at the nearby sept. Theon would bar the doors and light the fire that destroyed the entire sept and the three Houses. He also raided the legendary tomb of Hugh of the Hill, burning the entire tomb to the ground, after taking the Seven Stared Crown, the original copy of the Seven-Pointed Star, and all of the riches buried with the legendary figure, which only increased his reputation as one of the most dangerous Stark in history. The south will whisper about Theon "the Hungry Wolf", and his actions for millenniums. His actions during the first Andal Crusade would be debated for years in ethics discussion, as well as studied during strategy class. He was the perfect example of a Stark. Honorable, loyal, truthful, and blunt, and when angered he was dangerous, wild, ruthless and protective.
On the other side of the world, a few moon's back. King Tytos was atop his ship and the flagship of the Lannister Navy, Golden Lion. He was unaware of the massive failures and death that his allies was currently facing or doomed to face. His navy was sailing towards Pyke, the home of the Greyjoys, the High Magnar of the Iron Islands. They knew Magnar Yara Greyjoy and Prince Brandon was his opposition.
King Tytos knew of Yara and Brando, and their betrothal. He also knew that they have yet to fail a single raid of the Westerlands. It was not just small raids of minor towns, they had successfully raided and burned parts of major keeps such as the Crag and even Lannisport. He had planned to go straight for Pyke and not get lured to a prolongs sea battle anywhere.
As he neared island of Pyke, he saw a small part of the Iron Fleet attacking the side of his navy.
Understanding the enemies plan he yelled out, "Don't follow them. You may try and sink them but do not follow them!"
After a few minutes of attacking the ships sailed away, moving much faster due to the Ironborns favouring the Longship. Thirty minutes later they once again attacked from another side, hoping to draw them out. The boats left just like the other had, after sinking a few of his ships, without losing a single one of their ships. Ignoring these few minor skirmishes, their ships had landed on a beach. Lannister men dismounted and attempted to make it up the beach before. However, as they made their way up, they began to face waves of arrows kill dozens of Lannister men with each arrow.
King Tytos was shocked "GET BACK TO THE BOATS! THEY SOMEHOW KNEW WE WERE GOING TO LAND HERE!"
He turned around and tried to make it back to his boat. King Tytos was very confused. How did they know that they were going to land on this particular beach? The Longships could not have predicted their destination, sailed back to Pyke, inform their leaders, and have them prepared and ready for their landing. It was simply not possible.
King Tytos barely got atop of Golden Lion and pushed out of the beach, before he was shot off the boat, landing on the soft sand and passing out.
He shot awake to the screams of men and saw the Golden Lion in half, splintered by the Old Kraken, the ship of High Magnar Yara Greyjoy. She attacked Lannister men with two small hatchets, throwing them at enemies with one, then killing another with the other, retrieving the first, then repeating the process. Prince Brandon, the youngest of the Stark brothers wielded a war spear and throwing daggers.
Fucking pissed, he pulled grabbed a fallen soldiers blade, having lost his in the fall off of his ship, and charged at Yara. It would have been a close fight even without his head ringing from being thrown off of his boat but with the ringing head and blurring vision, he made mistakes after mistakes which Yara took advantage of cutting him and his armor off. With his right arm exposed, she swung hard down on his arm cutting the right one off. When he was recoiling from the pain, Yara swung her hatchet down on his head, ending King Tytos' life.
Meanwhile Prince Brandon was fending off 10 foot soldiers trying to support their King. He was watching them approaching him carefully. Knowing that he would not win, if all of them attacked him at once, decided to strike first. He charged, stabbing one in the heart with his spear, he took his right hand off of the spear to throw one of his throwing knives into the closest man. He then yanked out the spear and spun it, smacking another soldier in the face, forcing him to recoil further away. He then kicked another one soldier into another one, throwing both of them into the ground before stabbing the top soldier with his spear and pining the other one. Not having enough time to pull out the spear, he jumped away as a blade comes down on him. He then charges the soldier who attacked him, deflecting the next attack with his throwing knife and stabs the man in the eye with the dagger.
He still had three blades, so he threw one into another soldier's throat, then held both daggers. He charged at a soldier, who retaliated with an overhead swing. He blocked it with his two daggers, then pulled off one of the blades out of the lock holding the sword up with the dagger held in his right hand, and stabbed the soldier in his neck with the one on his left. He immediately pulled it out and threw it into another soldier who was charging him. He quickly looked at the situation and saw that there were two men left, and his spear in behind them. He kicked the sand towards the soldier closest to him, blinding the soldier. He threw his last dagger at the other soldier. Prince Brandon ran to grab the spear. He quickly turned and stabbed the new soldier who came running after him, in the mouth. The blade of the spear came out the back of his head. Before the soldier could fall down and trap his spear, Brandon yanked it out.
The three guys left looked both in shock and awe. They were all favouring injuries from the fight, as they were blinded man, the soldier who was trapped underneath the other soldier and spear, and finally the soldier who was smacked in the jaw with his spear. Deciding to end this quickly Prince Brandon just charged the closest one and stabbed his hand, forcing the man to drop his sword. Prince Brandon kicked another soldier away, then backed up against a turned over boat. He then stepped forward to stab one of the soldiers in the neck with his spear and smacked the one with the injured hand with the end of his spear. He pulled the spear out with his right hand and threw it into the other soldier who was kicked away. He then walked over to the last guy on the floor dazed from being smashed in the face, and stabbed him with his own sword.
The battle was a death trap for the Lannisters. Many Lannister men died in this pointless endeavor. The waves of arrows and the Ironborn Besearkers cut through the untrained Lannister forces like cheese. Magnar Yara and Prince Brandon then sailed the Iron Fleet down south, to the Westerlands and sacked the entire region. Without a navy a lot of Lannisport got burned to the ground, after all valuables were stolen. They wished to sack Casterly Rock, but could not as the Ironborn were reavers. Out of all the goods, 40% of it went to Winterfell and House Stark, and 30% went to Pyke and House Greyjoy, and the rest were given to the soldiers. With no navy or army, the quick raids of the Ironborn was unstoppable. The Crag, Feastfire, Kayee, Faircastle, Crakenhall, Old Oak, Oldtown, and Three Towers were all ransacked. They ignored Brightwater Keep and Honeyholt, and went straight to Horn Hill. Lord Tarly was with the army that tried to attack the North and he had yet to return meaning the castle was manned by his young son.
Yara Greyjoy's younger brother, Jameson Greyjoy took three salt wives. One was a daughter of House Lannister, one came from House Hightower, and one came from House Gardener. He would be one of the last members of the Ironborn nobility to take salt wives.
House Arryn's heir was a 9 year old boy and could not rule effectively. Everybody doubted him, questioned him, and gave him contradicting advice, which lead to no action being taken to stop the North for 5 years, before King Jon Arryn put his foot down and started to lead the country himself. During those 5 years, the Vale became a mess and King Jon Arryn would spend the rest of his live putting the Vale back together. The combination of the recent assimilation to the Andal culture and damage caused by House Stark lead to the Vale having a long recovery period. By then, House Stark was able to steal the all of the major trade routes, attracting the all of trade guilds and traders from Essos with the Wolf Canal which allowed for trade boats to reach the other side of Westeros far faster. White Harbor was a very useful place to stop and restock before going through the canal and useful in trading through the land by caravan.
House Durrandon was able to immediately start putting the Stormlands back together, as Prince Durran IX, now King Durran IX, was a very good ruler, and was able to his country back together faster than House Arryn, but it still would take his son's generation to be able to heal from the Northern retaliation, and a few more generations before their lands had assimilated to the Andal culture.
House Gardener also fared just slightly better than House Arryn. The heir of House Gardener, was also a kid of 9, but he was able to take control at the age of 13 rather than 14 and he was able to start slightly further ahead of the Arryn's. King Merle Gardener's grandson would put the Reach back together, praying that no winter longer than a year or two would come.
House Lannister fared the best out of all the 4 great houses that attacked the North. King Tytos' son Tyrion was a ruthless but effective leader. He was able to put the Westerlands back together from the Northern retaliation by his death. He was known for putting down rebellions and bandits quickly and ruthlessly, making an example of them every time. The First Men, scared of King Tyrion's ruthlessness did not make much protests against the assimilation of the Andal culture and by King Tyrion's son the Westerlands had been assimilated to the Andal culture.
The Seven took a devastating hit. They had just came to the Westeros with many of the smallfolk being used to the Old Gods. When the Septon tried killing the Old Gods believers, they got beaten, killed, and sent back by the smallfolk who all practiced wrestling, a fun past time for the children. The fact that the Seven required you to make donations and follow hundreds of rules and make a dozen donation, while the Old Gods only required you to tend the Weirwood trees and follow very few rules, lead to far less conversions then they had hoped and true Old God believers had moved to the North.
Five years the North has been ransacking the southern lands and the four Great Houses got together with King Thenar and begged him to stop.
King Thenar replied with, "I will stop, but only if you meet my demands. First, you must give me 20 chest filled with precious gems, gold, and silver. Second, you must give me 50 carts full of wheat and food. Third, I need the Shield islands, Fair Isle, and the Arbor. You will have 3 moons to comply. Should you attempt to perform a sneak attack, all attacks shall begin once more. It is irrelevant if only one House performs the sneak attack. All other House will suffer for the other's actions."