The Game of Thrones

by Clay19

Shows the history of the game of thrones, including the family of the great houses, dragons, Westros and Essos. The different people that lived there and creatures.

2. The different lands

Essos is the name of the great continent lying to the east of Westeros, across the Narrow Sea. It is the largest of the known world's four continents, extending for many thousands of miles into the distant east. No map yet exists of the entire continent. The continent is bordered by the Shivering Sea to the north and the Summer Sea and the Jade Sea to the south.

Unlike Westeros, Essos is not controlled by a single political entity. Instead its different regions are controlled by a mixture of city-states, nomadic tribes and a few small kingdoms.

Geography

The western-most part of the continent is held by the nine Free Cities, namely Braavos, Lorath, Pentos, Norvos, Qohor, Myr, Tyrosh, Lys and Volantis. Each is a powerful mercantile city-state, many of them controlling wide swathes of territory around them. Lying between the southern cities are the Disputed Lands (which have been fought over by Lys, Myr, Tyrosh and Volantis for almost four centuries). In the north-west of this region is Andalos, the ancestral homeland of the Andals which is now mostly uninhabited wasteland. The north of this region is mountainous and home to rich mines, particularly in the Axe and the Hills of Norvos. These mountains are the sources for several rivers which come together to form the immense Rhoyne, which flows south for hundreds of miles before emptying into the Summer Sea at Volantis.

East of the Free Cities, beyond the Forest of Qohor, lies the vast Dothraki Sea, the home of the nomadic Dothraki people. Living in large clans known as khalasars, the Dothraki are a feared race of horse-riding warriors who frequently raid surrounding lands. The Dothraki Sea extends for over two and a half thousand miles into the east, before ending at the immense chain known as the Bone Mountains.

South-east of the Free Cities lies the peninsula of Valyria. Formerly a warm and pleasant land, this region was shattered in a titanic volcanic cataclysm known as the Doom of Valyria some four centuries ago. The city of Valyria itself now lies on an offshore island, separated from the mainland by the forbidding Smoking Sea. Volcanic activity has continued unabated in Valyria for the past four centuries, preventing any attempt at resettlement. Only in the north of this region do permanent cities exist, most notably at ill-omened Mantarys and the coastal cities of Elyria and Tolos. To the east of the Valyrian Peninsula lies Slaver's Bay, with the great slave-cities of Meereen, Yunkai and Astapor clinging to its eastern shores. These rich and powerful cities serve as the center of the world's slave trade. The Dothraki often sell their captives there, if they require gold for some enterprise.

South of Slaver's Bay lies the nation of Ghiscar, which claims to have inherited the mantle of the ancient Ghiscari Empire. So far the Ghiscari have claimed a few small settlements along the coast of the Gulf of Grief and the offshore island of Ghaen.

East of Slaver's Bay, separated from the Dothraki Sea by the Skahazadhan River, lies the peaceful kingdom of Lhazar. The Lhazareen are a notably unwarlike people, preferring a peaceful life raising sheep. The Dothraki call them the Lamb-Men and frequently raid them to steal cattle and take slaves.

East of Lhazar lies the Red Waste, a harsh desert dotted with ruined cities and few sources of water. The Red Waste extends east to the Bone Mountains and south to the Summer Sea. South-east of the waste lies the great city of Qarth, which sits on the Straits of Qarth (or Jade Gates). The straits separate the mainland from the large island of Great Moraq, and join the Summer Sea to the Jade Sea.

North of the Dothraki Sea lies the large island of Ib, or Ibben. The Ibbenese are noted sailors whose ships can be found in many ports of the world. They mostly survive by whaling. The Ibbenese also have small colonies on the north coast of Essos.

East of Ibben, the Bone Mountains and Qarth, hard facts give way to lands of rumour and song. Along the northern coast, beyond Ibben, lies a vast archipelago known as the Thousand Islands. Nestled in the eastern foothills of the Bone Mountains lie the fabled cities of Kayakayanaya, Samyriana and Bayasabhad. Beyond them still lies the vast chasm known as the Great Sand Sea and the Shrinking Sea, once a great inland sea that is now a collection of small lakes. North of them lies the Plains of the Jogos Nhai, whilst to their east lies the forested lands of Mussovy. What lies to the east of Mussovy is not known, even to legend. South of Mussovy lie the Grey Waste, the canyon known as the Dry Deep and the red-hued lake known as the Bleeding Sea.

East of Qarth and south of the Great Sand Sea and Shrinking Sea lies the fabled kingdom of Yi Ti. Yi Ti stretches along the northern coast of the Jade Sea, consisting of great cities and hot jungles. It is the center of wealth on the Jade Sea, with ships sailing from across the known world to trade there.

East of Yi Ti and south of the Grey Waste and Dry Deep lie the Mountains of the Morn. South of them lies a forbidding area of mountains and hills shrouded in darkness, known as the Shadow Lands or Shadow. This area extends southwards along a mountainous peninsula, at the very tip of which is the port city of Asshai. Asshai sits at the point where the Jade Sea meets the Saffron Straits. What lies beyond Asshai and the Straits to the east is not known, whilst the little-known continent of Ulthos lies south of the Straits.

Climate and seasons

Like Westeros, Essos is prone to the lengthy and unpredictable seasons of the world. However, as it lies further south than northern Westeros, these seasonal variations tend to be much milder. That said, the winters are still cold enough to cause the canals of Braavos to freeze over.

In terms of climate, Essos tends to be warmer than northern Westeros, due to its more southerly location. Essos's greater size gives rise to considerably larger mountain ranges than anything in Westeros, inland seas and, most notably, large plains such as the lands of the Jogos Nhai and the Dothraki Sea, as well as deserts such as the Red Waste.

Size

Essos is larger than Westeros, but given that its eastern coast has never been mapped working out the full size of the continent is impossible. The mapped portion of Essos extends for approximately six thousand miles eastwards from the Narrow Sea, with the continent being three thousand miles across from north to south at its widest point (between Asshai and the coast of Mussovy). The continent is narrower in the west, with less than two thousand miles separating the north and southern coasts of the Free Cities region.

Population

Given the lack of a central controlling government, estimating the population of the continent of Essos is impossible. However, it is known that most of the Free Cities and the cities of Slaver's Bay have populations in the hundreds of thousands, with Dothraki khalasars running into the tens of thousands (Khal Drogo's khalasar, noted as being unusually large, consisted of forty thousand riders and sixty thousand unmounted followers). The population of Essos must thus be greater than Westeros's, which runs into the millions or tens of millions.

Government

The Free Cities are ruled by a mixture of councils, elected individuals and hereditary rulers. The khalasars of the Dothraki are ruled by khals, warleaders who have earned their position through battle prowess and cunning. The cities of Slaver's Bay and Qarth are ruled by the richest merchants.

Military

There are numerous military formations in Essos. Unlike Westeros and its levies, many of the Essosi powers prefer to retain standing armies, around which additional troops can be raised. The Essosi also employ mercenary companies, freelance armies which fight for coin. The most famous such companies include the Golden Company, the Stormcrows and the Second Sons.

Despite their armed might, most of the Essosi powers live in fear of the Dothraki. The Dothraki are the most feared cavalry force in the world, able to field vast armies of tens of thousands of horsemen. Though they lack heavy armor, they make up for it in maneuverability, numbers and discipline. The only military force in Essos that rivals the Dothraki in reputation is that of the Unsullied, warrior-eunuch slaves bred and trained in Astapor and notable for not being able to feel pain (thanks to drugs). Unsullied are notable as the only foreign force that the Dothraki respect, after the Unsullied defeated them in battle at Qohor several centuries ago.

Religion

Essos is a hodgepodge of numerous, sometimes competing religious beliefs. Braavos hosts a number of temples to numerous different gods and permits the worship of all. Braavos is the only place outside of Westeros to host a sept for the worship of the Faith of the Seven. The Free City of Lys worships a native love goddess, whilst the citizens of Qohor worship a god called the Black Goat. The Drunken God and Trios are deities known in Tyrosh. A lunar deity is also worshipped by the Moonsingers, who are the most popular religion in Braavos (as they led the founding of the city eight centuries ago).

R'hllor, the Lord of Light, is a popular deity across Essos. The religion has temples in Lys, Braavos and Volantis, is known in Slaver's Bay and also has a center of worship in distant Asshai.

The Lhazareen worship the Great Shepherd, whilst the Dothraki worship the Great Stallion, a deity that respects strength and stamina.

The Ghiscari follow a religion based around the Temples of the Graces, which are located in each of their major cities (including Meereen and Astapor). Each temple is led by a Green Grace. This religion seems to be largely made up of priestesses, with few or no priests.

Qarth is notable for not having any major temples or native religion. This may be due to the Undying, an order of warlocks, instead providing many of the services that a religion might.

People

Essos is home to numerous ethnic groups and races (although, unlike Westeros, no non-human races that are known of). The Free Cities are dominated by people of Valyrian descent, though some surviving Andal and Rhoynar blood is likely. The Dothraki are the dominant group of the central part of the continent, but there has been cross-pollination between them and other peoples they have conquered. The cities of Slaver's Bay and Ghiscar to the south are Ghiscari in blood and origin. Beyond the Bone Mountains lie more rarely-encountered peoples, such as the Jogos Nhai, Asshai'i and the people of the Shadow, who go masked amongst outsiders.

History

Five thousand years ago the Ghiscari Empire was the dominant power of south-central Essos. Shepherds living peacefully on the Valyrian Peninsula discovered dragons lairing in the Fourteen Fires, a chain of large volcanoes stretching across the neck of the peninsula. Possibly using sorcery, the Valyrians tamed these dragons and began riding them, using them in war. The Valyrians fought five great wars against Ghis, eventually destroying the capital city of Old Ghis and bringing about the downfall of the Ghiscari Empire. The Valyrians began expanding in their own right, inheriting the lands of the old Ghiscari Empire and establishing their own colonies, the first of which was at Volantis.

One thousand years ago the Valyrians made war upon the Rhoynar, destroying their cities with dragonfire. The Rhoynar fled by sea, escaping to Dorne in Westeros. The Valyrians overran western Essos, establishing eight colony-states along the coast and in the rich hills and forests of the north. Two centuries later, a religious sect known as the Moonsingers led an exodus of people opposed to Valyrian rule to found the Secret City of Braavos where they could live free of Valyrian rule.

Four centuries ago the Valyrian Freehold was destroyed in a single night of fire and chaos. The Fourteen Fires erupted, destroying the Valyrian Peninsula and raining fire down on all the lands of Valyria and the Lands of the Long Summer to the north. Almost all of the Valyrian dragons were destroyed. Most of the Valyrian nobility was wiped out, save only for the rulers of the colony cities to the north-west and the Targaryens, a noble family living in self-imposed exile on the island of Dragonstone in the Narrow Sea.

For a century after the Doom Volantis led the way in attempting to rebuild the Freehold, at one point seizing control of Myr and Lys for several decades. An attempt to take Tyrosh saw them overextend and they were defeated in a bloody war, losing all of their lands save Volantis itself. At the end of this period the Targaryens invaded Westeros with their dragons, uniting it under the rule of Aegon I Targaryen. Also during this period the Dothraki emerged from the east, beginning their rise to power that would see most of the former colonies cower before them. The exception was Qohor, which hired an army of Unsullied warrior-eunuchs who defeated the Dothraki in open battle.

Following the fall of Valyria, the Ghiscari became more resurgent. They founded the city of New Ghis and proclaimed the rise of a new empire. However, the Ghiscari cities of Slaver's Bay refused to join this new nation and remained independent.

A century ago there was a bloody civil war in Westeros known as the First Blackfyre Rebellion. After the defeat of the rebels at the Battle of the Redgrass Field, their surviving leaders fled to Essos. Under the leadership of Aegor Rivers, better-known as "Bittersteel", they established a mercenary army known as the Golden Company, vowing to one day return him from exile. However, the fifth such attempt, the War of the Ninepenny Kings, ended in disaster. Their then-leader, Maelys the Monstrous, was slain by Ser Barristan Selmy on the Stepstones, ending the male line of the Blackfyres. Since then the Golden Company has remained active in Essos, fighting for coin.

In Westeros and most of the lands west of Valyria, magic is held to be a mythical force. There has been no recorded use of magic in Westeros since the Doom of Valyria, and those records are considered unreliable.

However, in the lands east of Valyria magic remains a potent force. The Undying of Qarth command uncanny and bizarre powers, whilst shadowbinders from Asshai are capable of great and terrible feats (including restoring life - of a kind - to the dead and commanding shadows as assassins). In past centuries individuals representing these and other groups have come to Westeros only to find their skills deserting them, but in the past two years the power of magic within Westeros appears to have increased and abilities that were long thought lost now appear to be returning, although this is commonly neither known nor accepted. It is possible the return of magic to the west is related to the return to the world of dragons, but this is not confirmed.

Sothoryos is a continent located to the south of Essos and south-east of Westeros, across the Summer Sea from both. The northern-most part of the continent has been mapped and explored, but the bulk of the landmass remains uncharted.

Sothoryos is a land of hot, humid jungles and, it is reported, boiling deserts farther south. It is also noted as a land of plagues, ruined cities and hostile wildlife.

Geography

Sothoryos is located across the Summer Sea from Slaver's Bay, south-east of Valyria. The north coast of the continent consists of thick jungle, with the ruined cities of Zamettar and Yeen located near the coast. The ruined city of Gorosh lies directly on the coast near the north-eastern tip of the explored portion of Sothoryos.

The explored part of Sothoryos stretches between two peninsulas, Basilisk Point in the west and Wyvern Point in the east. The Cinnamon Straits divide Wyvern Point from the islands of Great Moraq and Lesser Moraq. The Jade Sea washes against the north-eastern coast of Sothoryos.

Several islands stretch along the north coast of Sothoryos, including the Isle of Tears, Isle of Toads, Ax Isle and Isle of Skulls. The Basilisk Isles form a dense cluster of islands of its north-western coast, with Naath located some distance further west.

The size and extent of Sothoryos south of the mapped part of the continent is not known.

Climate and seasons

Located far to the south of even Dorne, Sothoryos is extremely hot and humid. The impact of the long winters on the landmass is unknown, but likely to be even less notable than that on southern Essos. According to some reports the thick jungles of the north coast give way to immense, hot deserts further south.

Size

The mapped portion of Sothoryos extends for approximately a thousand miles from east to west, and more than five hundred miles southwards to the limit of the explored part of the continent. Its size beyond that is unknown.

Population

There are no known inhabited cities on Sothoryos, only primitive tribes who are often raided by the cities of Slaver's Bay to provide slaves for their markets.

History

The ruins of Zamettar, Yeen and Gorosh suggest that Sothoryos once possessed civilisation of a kind. However, these cities appear to have been destroyed by tidal waves during the Doom of Valyria some four centuries ago and never resettled. The history of the continent beyond that is not known.

Ulthos is the smallest, the least-known and most obscure of the known world's four continents. It is located south of Asshai and the Shadow Lands and east of Sothoryos. The continent forms the south-eastern coastline of the Jade Seaf.

Geography

Ulthos is separated from Asshai and the Shadow Lands by the Saffron Straits, which link the Jade Sea to as-yet unknown seas further east. The island of Ulos lies off the north coast of Ulthos.

Only the extreme northern coast of Ulthos appears on maps and is almost entirely lacking in details, save for the existence of a large river emptying into the Jade Sea and a dense covering of dark forest covering much of the surrounding land.

Size

The mapped portion of Ulthos stretches from the south-west to the north-east along the Saffron Straits for just over a thousand miles. The size of the remainder of the continent is not known.

Westeros is a continent located in the far west of the known world. It is separated from the continent of Essos by a strip of water known as the Narrow Sea. Most of the action in Game of Thrones takes place in Westeros.

Author of the series George R.R. Martin has stated that the continent of Westeros is roughly the same size as the real-life continent of South America.

Almost the entire continent, barring only the lands in the furthest north beyond the Wall, is ruled by a single political entity known as the Seven Kingdoms, which holds fealty to the King of the Andals and the First Men, who sits on the Iron Throne in the city of King's Landing. The terms "Seven Kingdoms" and "Westeros" are normally used interchangeably.

Geography

Westeros is bordered to the west by the Sunset Sea, to the south by the Summer Sea and to the east by the Narrow Sea and Shivering Sea. The northern edges of the continent have not been charted, but are believed to extend to the northern polar ice cap. The continent shares similar geography and geometry to the isle of Great Britain, and is narrow, about 900 miles wide at its widest point, but long, extending for almost 2,000 miles from the Summer Sea to the Wall that marks the northern border of the Seven Kingdoms. The extent of the wildling lands beyond the Wall are unknown.

The continent's terrain varies immensely. There are significant mountain ranges, such as the Mountains of the Moon in the Vale of Arryn, the Red Mountains of Dorne and the Frostfangs. There are also several extensive river networks, most notably the River Trident and its numerous tributaries, but also the Blackwater Rush, the White Knife, the Mander and the Greenblood.

Climate varies between extremes of heat and cold across the large continent. The North is the only region in which snowfall is common, even in the middle of the years-long "summers". Beyond the Wall the temperature becomes even lower and hostile, forming the taiga woodlands of the Haunted Forest, reaching into the truly polar regions of the "Lands of Always Winter", in the unmapped farthest north. In the far south the terrain becomes hotter and more arid, and Dorne contains the continent's only deserts. Notable offshore islands include Bear Island, Skagos, the Iron Islands, Tarth, Dragonstone and the Arbor.

The continent is also home to immense woodlands, such as the Haunted Forest beyond the Wall. South of the Wall, within the Seven Kingdoms, there are three major forested regions: the Wolfswood around Winterfell, the Kingswood south of King's Landing and straddling the northern border of the Stormlands, and the Rainwood in the southern half of the same region. Numerous smaller wooded areas dot the continent.

Westeros is separated from the eastern continent of Essos by the Narrow Sea and also by the island chain known as the Stepstones. According to myth, the Stepstones are a remnant of an ancestral land-bridge linking Westeros and Essos together, destroyed in a cataclysm more than ten thousand years ago.

As well as the vast eastern continent of Essos, other lands are known to exist. The Summer Islands lie to the south of Westeros and there is regular trade between the islands and the Seven Kingdoms. A forbidding, mostly-unexplored continent called Sothoryos is also known to exist to the south-east across the Summer Sea, but there is little contact between it and Westeros. Some islands are known to exist in the Sunset Sea to the west of Westeros, but the true extent of this ocean is unknown. To the east of northern Westeros lies the island of Ibben, home to traders and whalers, who occasionally trade with the Seven Kingdoms and the Free Cities of Essos.

Climate and seasons

Westeros's climate shifts from a subarctic wasteland in the furthest north, beyond the Wall, to a desert climate in the furthest south, along the peninsula of Dorne. In the normal course of events, the furthest north still has light snowfalls even in the longest summers while Dorne almost never sees snow, even in the most severe winters.

Westeros and Essos both experience seasons of varying length, usually lasting at least a couple of years each. The length of the seasons is completely unpredictable and varies randomly. The maesters of the Citadel keep a close eye on the length of the days in order to try to predict how long the current season will last, but this is an inexact science at best.

At the time the series opens, the world has been experiencing a summer that has lasted for nine years, which is unusually long, and the maesters fear that an equally long winter will follow. Westeros extends much further north than Essos, so is much more adversely affected by long winters, while Essos, which extends into equatorial regions, is typically warmer.

In the North, the winters are extremely cruel. Lords set aside non-perishable food items for storage against the next winter, while many of the North's most notable strongholds are built in favorable areas, such as Winterfell on hot springs or the Dreadfort of House Bolton on volcanic vents. Some castles, like Winterfell, have elaborate greenhouses which permit the growing of vegetables even in the harshest winters. Despite these precautions, famine and starvation is common during Northern winters, and is one of the reasons the North has a small population despite its vast size.

There is a suggestion that the long seasons are not natural in origin, but may have stemmed from a near-mythical event called the Long Night 8,000 years ago, when it is said that the White Walkers used the cover of a winter that lasted a generation and a night that lasted for years to invade Westeros. They were defeated in the War for the Dawn, thrown back into the furthest north and prevented from returning by the raising of the Wall, but the seasons never recovered. Maesters are highly skeptical of this story, dismissing it as folklore, despite the inarguable presence of the Wall.

History

Twelve thousand years ago, Westeros was inhabited by the diminutive Children of the Forest, a nonhuman race who lived in peace and harmony with nature, worshipping the Old Gods of the Forest. The First Men, a human ethnic group, invaded Westeros across the Arm of Dorne, armed with weapons of bronze. In a significant military conflict, in which the Children allegedly destroyed the Arm of Dorne with magic (resulting in the Stepstone islands) and flooded the Neck, the two sides fought to a standstill and made a pact of friendship and alliance. The First Men adopted the worship of the old gods at this time.

Four thousand years later, Westeros was invaded by the White Walkers during a winter that lasted for a generation. In the War for the Dawn, they were defeated by an alliance of the First Men and the Children, though only at grievous cost. The Children disappeared from Westeros at this time. Brandon Stark, Bran the Builder, raised the Wall to bar the White Walkers from returning and founded the Night's Watch to guard it. He also built the castle of Winterfell and established House Stark as the ruling house of the Kingdom of the North. Two thousand years later, the Andals invaded Westeros from across the Narrow Sea, landing in the Vale and sweeping across the continent. The Andals conquered the southern half of the continent but failed to seize the North, being thrown back several times at the defensive chokepoint of Moat Cailin. A patchwork of numerous small Andal kingdoms took shape across the south, eventually coalescing into several larger nations.

A thousand years ago, the Rhoynar, the warrior-people of the upper Rhoyne (a river network on Essos), fell into warfare with the mighty Valyrian Freehold. The Valyrians destroyed the Rhoynar cities using dragons. Nymeria, warrior-queen of the Rhoynar, led her people across the Summer Sea in ten thousand ships to land in Dorne. Making alliance with Prince Mors Martell of Sunspear, Nymeria conquered the myriad small kingdoms and lordships of Dorne to establish a powerful, proud and independent kingdom.

Four centuries ago, Valyria was destroyed in a volcanic cataclysm, the Doom. A century later, the scions of House Targaryen, who ruled the Valyrian trading outpost on the island of Dragonstone, invaded Westeros with a small army and three dragons. Aegon the Conqueror accepted the fealty of six kingdoms, while several generations later his descendants were able to bring Dorne into the union through peaceful alliance, hence the term "Seven Kingdoms".

For centuries the Seven Kingdoms have been shaped by rebellion and war. However, through civil wars and the loss of their dragons to time and conflict, the Targaryens ruled the entire continent (bar the lands beyond the Wall) for over 280 years until the actions of the Mad King, Aerys II, triggered the civil war known as Robert's Rebellion. At the end of this civil war, Aerys II and most of his family were slain and his surviving children fled into exile in the Free Cities. Robert Baratheon took the throne and at the start of the series has ruled for seventeen years.

Regions

The Seven Kingdoms are divided into nine administrative regions, seven of which were former independent kingdoms before the Targaryen Conquest. Each region, except the Crownlands, is ruled by a Great House, who in turn are commanded by the King on the Iron Throne. These regions are:

The North

Ruled by House Stark from the castle of Winterfell. Bastards born in the North take the surname "Snow". The principal port and city of the North is White Harbor. The North is the largest of the regions of Westeros but also the most sparsely-populated, due the harshness of the long winter. The North also includes the Wall and the lands administered by the Night's Watch, which are technically independent but are almost always thought of in conjunction with the North.

The Vale of Arryn

Ruled by House Arryn from the castle known as the Eyrie. Bastards born in the Vale take the surname "Stone". The principal port and city of the Vale is Gulltown. The Vale is dominated and mostly covered by the Mountains of the Moon and its offshoot chains. Its borders are prowled by hostile hill tribes.

The Riverlands

Ruled by House Tully from the castle of Riverrun. Bastards born in the Riverlands take the surname "Rivers". The principal ports of the Riverlands are Seagard, Saltpans and Maidenpool. Notable towns include Stoney Sept. The Riverlands are dominated by the mighty River Trident and its numerous tributaries, including the Tumblestone. The Riverlands, lying close to the center of the continent, have been the site for battles and conflicts throughout the history of Westeros. Once an independent kingdom, they were overrun by the ironborn a century before Aegon's invasion and are thus not counted as an eighth kingdom, despite their significant size and population. The Riverlands are, as their name suggests, one of the most fertile and populous regions in Westeros, which is in many ways the only reason they have been consistently able to recover from the frequent wars that cross their borders.

The Westerlands

Ruled by House Lannister from the castle of Casterly Rock. Bastards born in the Westerlands take the surname "Hill". The principal city and port of the Westerlands is Lannisport. The Westerlands are noted for their hills and low mountains which are rich in silver and gold, providing House Lannister and their vassals with immense wealth.

The Iron Islands

Ruled by House Greyjoy from the castle of Pyke on the island of the same name. Bastards born on the Iron Islands take the surname "Pyke". The major islands of the chain are Great Wyk, Old Wyk, Harlaw, Blacktyde, Orkmont, Saltcliffe and Pyke itself. The Iron Islands are rain-lashed and cold, home to a hardy, warrior race known as the ironborn. They live for warfare and reaving, and are the most troublesome and rebellious of the Iron Throne's subjects.

The Crownlands

Ruled directly by the King on the Iron Throne from the city of King's Landing, the largest city in Westeros and the capital of the Seven Kingdoms. Bastards born in the Crownlands take the surname "Waters". Other notable townships of the Crownlands include Duskendale and Rosby. The Crownlands stretch along the shores of Blackwater Bay and also across several islands in the Narrow Sea, such as Dragonstone, Driftmark and Claw Isle. The islands are separately administered from Dragonstone.

The Stormlands

Ruled by House Baratheon from the castle of Storm's End. Bastards born in the Stormlands take the surname "Storm". The Stormlands include several offshore islands, most notably Estermont and Tarth. It ranks moderately among the other regions in terms of population and wealth. The Stormlands are wracked by frequent storms off the Narrow Sea, and experience significant rainfall. The Stormlands are also one of the most densely wooded areas in Westeros, particularly south of the Neck. It contains not only the Rainwood (which covers the southern half of the Stormlands), but also shares much of the Kingswood (spilling across the northern border with the Crownlands). As a result, its climate is in general that of a temperate rainforest.

The Reach

Ruled by House Tyrell from the castle of Highgarden. Bastards born in the Reach take the surname "Flowers". The principal city and port of the Reach is Oldtown, the second-largest city of Westeros. The Reach is the second-largest region of Westeros and by far the most fertile and populous, allowing the Tyrells to field vast armies and also results in them being wealthier than any other family but the Lannisters. The Reach also includes several offshore islands, such as the Shield Islands and the Arbor.

Dorne

Ruled by House Martell from the castle of Sunspear. Bastards born in Dorne take the surname "Sand". The principal ports of Dorne are Sunspear itself and the Planky Town at the mouth of the Greenblood. The people of Dorne are isolated from the rest of Westeros by the Sea of Dorne and the Red Mountains, giving them a greater sense of national identity than most of the other peoples of the Seven Kingdoms, even more than the ironborn and the Northmen. Since Robert's Rebellion and the murder of several prominent Dornish nobles during the Sack of King's Landing, the Dornish have pursued a more isolationist path.

Beyond the Wall

A vast, snow-covered wilderness independent from the Iron Throne and separated from the Seven Kingdoms by the Wall. It is inhabited by tribes of people known as wildlings, who often attempt to raid along the Bay of Seals or the Bay of Ice or climb over the Wall for the same purposes.

Population

The population of Westeros extends into many millions, though a precise count has never been attempted. The major cities of the continent have populations in the hundreds of thousands, and each of the Great Houses can field a reasonably-well-equipped army in the tens of thousands. Due to its desert climate, Dorne has the smallest overall population. Due to their extremely small size, the Iron Islands are also among the least populated. The North has one of the smallest overall populations, and is the most sparsely-populated region, with huge regions of deserted wilderness extending between the major towns and holdfasts. Meanwhile, the prosperous and fertile Reach is the most heavily-populated, followed closely by the Riverlands.

Westeros is overwhelmingly populated by humans, to the point that non-human sapient races are considered mythical. However, it is known that the enigmatic White Walkers have returned to the far north of Westeros.

There are several notable human ethnic groups currently extant in Westeros:

First Men

The First Men were the original human inhabitants of Westeros, who crossed the Arm of Dorne and fought with the Children of the Forest before making peace with them. Thousands of years later, the Andals invaded Westeros and displaced or conquered the First Men everywhere south of the Neck. As a result, the First Men are still the predominant ethnic group in the North, though six thousand years of intermarriage with Andal lords has blurred this somewhat.

Free Folk

The people who live beyond the Wall are call themselves the free folk (called wildlings by people south of the wall) and are not held to be subject to the Iron Throne. They are descended from those First Men who lived north of the Wall when it was constructed. The free folk are not a homogeneous single group, but consist of numerous different tribes, townsfolk, farmers, fisher-folk and warriors, who mostly spend more time fighting one another than the forces of the Seven Kingdoms. Occasionally, they are united under an over-chief known as the King-Beyond-the-Wall.

Andals

The majority of the population of Westeros are descended from the Andals who invaded the continent some six thousand years ago. The Andals consider themselves more civilized and cultured than the other peoples of Westeros.

Ironborn

The ironborn are a grouping resulting from the intermarriages between the First Men inhabitants of the Iron Islands and the Andals who invaded them. While ethnically similar to other regions in the south of Westeros, which also have mixed First Men and Andal ancestry, their isolated geography on a harsh and rocky group of islands separate from the mainland resulted in their culture developing very differently. Rejecting the worship of both the old gods and the Seven, they developed their own faith based around the Drowned God and their own culture which favors piracy, martial prowess, and reaving over farming and trading.

Rhoynar

The people of Dorne are descended from the Rhoynar, the hardy warrior-folk of the eastern continent who settled in Dorne after being driven out of their homeland by the Valyrians, and then intermarried with the local Andals and First Men. The blood of the Rhoynar is thus intermingled in the Dornishmen; Rhoynar ethnicity is most strongly represented in those who live near the coasts and rivers, and weakest in Dornishmen who live in the interior mountains. They tend to be olive-skinned with dark curly hair. They have a reputation for being hot-headed and sexually liberal. Unlike the other Seven Kingdoms, they practice equal primogeniture.

Children of the Forest

The Children of the Forest are a legendary race who ruled Westeros for untold millennia before the arrival of the First Men. According to myth, they were diminutive, long-lived, and few in number, but were protected by the powerful magic of the greenseers and the martial prowess of their elite warriors, the wood dancers. They helped the First Men defeat the White Walkers and raise the Wall, but disappeared from Westeros after the Andal Invasion. Maesters of the Citadel today claim that the Children were myths and never truly existed.

White Walkers

The White Walkers are, according to legend, a race of ice-based creatures hailing from the extreme north. Eight thousand years ago, they invaded Westeros and brought cold, terror and death to both the First Men and the Children before they were defeated in the War for the Dawn. According to some, they were not destroyed, only defeated and have spent millennia since this time asleep. Again, these claims are met with extreme skepticism today.

Giants

According to the wildlings, giants still exist north of the Wall and have some contact with the wildling communities.

Settlements

Westeros is home to several distinct types of settlement:

Cities

Westeros has a primarily agrarian population, with few major cities relative to its size. The five major cities of the continent are, in descending order of population:

King's Landing: the capital of the Seven Kingdoms with a population of half a million. The largest city of Westeros, founded by Aegon the Conqueror on the site where he first set foot on the continent.

Oldtown: the oldest major city on the continent, located in the Reach. Ruled by House Hightower for the Tyrells. Almost as large and populous as the capital.

Lannisport: the largest city on Westeros's west coast, approximately half the size of King's Landing. Ruled by House Lannister of Lannisport.

Gulltown: the main city and port of the Vale, with a population in the tens of thousands. Ruled by House Grafton.

White Harbor: the main city and port of the North, with a population in the tens of thousands. Ruled by House Manderly.

The likes of Duskendale, Barrowton, and Stoney Sept, with populations of a few thousand each, are considered to be large towns rather than cities.

Castles

Castles are held by the noble houses of Westeros and range in size from the vast, city-sized edifices of Harrenhal or Winterfell to small towerhouses or fortified farmsteads run by landed knights. The size of a castle and in what state of repair it is kept reflects the wealth and power of its ruling family.

The most notable castles of Westeros include Harrenhal, Storm's End, the Eyrie, Pyke, Riverrun, the Twins, Winterfell, the Dreadfort, Casterly Rock, Highgarden, Sunspear, Dragonstone, and the Red Keep of King's Landing.

Animals

Westeros is home to several notable animal species:

Aurochs

A large, bovine animal. Used as a beast of burden and domesticated livestock, noted for their extreme size. When Dragons were extant in Westeros, the larger ones were known to hunt aurochs.

Dragons

Winged reptiles of tremendous age and ferocity, capable of breathing fire. Originated in the east and enslaved by the Valyrians, who used them to forge their empire. Most dragons were destroyed in the Doom four centuries ago, leaving the few possessed by House Targaryen as the only surviving dragons in the world, which they used in their invasion of Westeros. The last Targaryen dragons died over 150 years ago. The skulls of more than a dozen dragons are kept in the Red Keep.

The dragon is taken as the sigil of House Targaryen.

Direwolves

A larger cousin of regular wolves, only found north of the Wall. In the south, they are considered near-mythical. Occasional sightings of direwolves have been reported by the Night's Watch, but at the time the series starts there have been no confirmed sightings south of the Wall for centuries.

The direwolf is taken as the sigil of House Stark.

Krakens

Massive cephalopods that stalk the world's oceans. So rare that they are largely held to be mythical, though sailors occasionally report seeing them.

The kraken is taken as the sigil of House Greyjoy.

Ravens

Trained messenger-ravens are used as part of a widespread communications network that links all of the major cities and holdfasts in the Seven Kingdoms.

Shadowcats

Large feline predators, found throughout Westeros but most notably in mountainous terrain such as the Vale of Arryn.