Name: Honorax
Lineage: Hatched from the dragon Oathwing
Riders: Never took a rider, bonded with the Princess Syaella Targaryen
Description: No larger than a small dog, mottled stone gray in color with pale gray eyes, large wings.
Chronicle: Honorax was a small gray dragon hatched from a clutch of eggs from the dragon Oathwing on the island of Dragonstone beneath the fires and smoking flames of the Dragonmont. The hatchling would later bond with the Princess Syaella, second daughter of Laena Targaryen, Queen of Skulls and while still far too small to ride, was brought along to the Eyrie when Princess Syaella wed Oswin Arryn, heir to the Vale. The dragon was a common sight in the small castle of the Eyrie, and was known too often perch upon Syaellas shoulder while she entertained the ladies of the court. Honorax fled the castle through an open window, and whilst searching for the hatchling, the Princess Syaella was killed in an accident near the beasts nest, falling from a cliff. Following this Queen Laena would offer a reward to whoever dealt with the beast and several months later, Honorax, now the size of a small sheep would be slain by the crannogwoman Bethany Reed and its remains would be presented to the Queen herself. Some have speculated that the dragon may have laid a clutch of eggs somewhere in the mountains of the moon, though Maesters find this unlikely given the dragon was but a hatchling and not fully grown. Nevertheless, this has not dissuaded treasure hunters from scouring the mountains for eggs, and it is a common sight in the villages and towns in the Vale for merchants to peddle what they claim to be eggs hatched by the long dead dragon, though such tales should be treated with skeptisism and disbelief.
The Summer Isles
The Summer Isles are a chain of well over fifty islands located in the Summer Sea, to the south of Westeros and Essos, and west of the continent of Sothoryos. The islands enjoy a tropical climate, and many are covered in jungle, with many brightly colored species of birds living within, the feathers of which the Summer Islanders often use to make highly elaborate and colorful cloaks, a common sight in many of the trading ports throughout Essos and Westeros. The Summer Islanders are notoriously skilled seafarers, with their large swan ship galleons being a common sight in every port in the known world. By and large the Summer Islanders are a mostly peaceful people, with warfare between rivaling cities and islands being highly ritualized, despite this, their bows and the men and women who wield them are known to be the finest in the world, with their bows being made from the Goldenheart trees found only on the islands of Jhala and Obmoru, with the wood being so precious the princes and princesses of the islands forbid its export. Summer Islanders are often a common sight within mercenary companies and trade ships as well, with their bowmen often being sought over as sellswords, sellsails and escorts. The Summer Islanders worship a wide variety of deities and gods, and consider lovemaking to be a holy act, with prostitution being encouraged and with most summer islanders spending a time serving the goddess of fertility within the many temples of love that dot the islands. Despite the relatively peaceful nature of the Summer Islanders, they are a rather divided people, with many principalities, independent towns and kingdoms existing on the islands, oftentimes many on the same island. Notable islands and regions within the isles include Koj, where three fourths of all the swan ships are built and the Red Flower Vale known for its vast valleys of bright red flowers. At the time of our story, Princess Vaella Targaryen upon the back of her dragon Narrah and with a raiding army of Westerosi and Pentoshi has burned Tall Trees Town on the island of Walano while her mother Queen Laena Targaryen has expelled and killed many traders from Tall Trees Town from the city of Oldtown, souring relations between the Iron Throne and their southern neighbors.
The Free City of Pentos
The Free City of Pentos is one in a period of decline. This decline has largely come due to the increasing influence of their northern neighbors, the Free City of Braavos. Pentos was once a prosperous state and its capital was known for its brick walls and towers, deep harbor, and large amount of manses, palaces and estates within the well-to-do city, with the orange tower on yellow of their banners being a common sight in Westeros due to their proximity to its eastern ports, with Pentos just being a four day journey across the narrow sea from King's Landing. However, the decades have not been kind to Pentos. Like most Free Cities, Pentos was dependent on slave labor, a practice abhorred by their northern neighbors in Braavos. Early in the reign of King Aegon the Conqueror, the Braavosi formed a coalition with the Free City of Lorath and attacked Pentos to end the practice of slavery within Pentos, a war which they won and in addition to liberating the cities slaves, imposed strict regulations on the size of the Pentoshi military. This foreign interference did not end with this however. Further meddling by the Braavosi led to one Colloquo Tendryis, a Braavosi nobleman conquering the city and naming himself the Prince of Pentos. This did not last long and he was pushed out shortly after by the Pentoshi nobility in a bloody war, but the damage had been done and the Tendryis family had gained much influence in the city. Following the failure to keep Pentos within their sphere of influence by force of arms, the Braavosi once again turned to their claimant Colloquo and by bribing the nobility of Pentos managed to install him once again as Prince of Pentos, winning what they could not win with force instead with guile and the influence of the Braavosi continued to increase throughout the decades, with another Braavosi, Ballio Tendryis also being elected as Prince of Pentos some years after Colloquos death, driving the nail into the coffin and furthering Braavos's influence. The decisive moment came when Pentoshi citizens, backed with gold and weapons from Braavos rose up in rebellion against the Pentoshi nobility, ostensibly due to anger over corruption but it was clear enough to see the true power behind the movement. The city of Pentos fell to the rebels and the city was soon afterwards annexed by Braavos, being ruled by Braavosi nobility ever since. The Pentoshi do still hold some influence within their old capitol, the Braavosi allow Pentoshi nobility to retain their palaces within the city following a heavy tax, and ostensibly the defense of the city falls to the Pentoshi nobility who directly control the Sunrise Gate, the main entrance to the city, with the Pentoshi being entitled to levy taxes on visitors to the city, as well as maintain a squadron of more than 400 calvary and almost 2000 guardsman.
In practice however, this arrangement does little to mask the fact that Pentos is all but in name a Braavosi city, with the city proper, its ports and harbors, and all its markets and businesses paying taxes to Braavos as well as following Braavosi law and being patrolled by Braavosi troops. Despite the loss of their capital city, the Pentoshi are not totally insignificant, owning a large amount of fertile lands and farming villages in the Pentoshi Flatlands, Velvet Hills and in the region of Andalos. While Pentoshi ships are a much rarer sight in current times due to their lack of a true port city, they still do some trade across the narrow sea due to their surplus of crops, and overland trading caravans from the Pentoshi hinterlands laden with wheat and barley and apples are a common sight in all Essosi cities. At the time of our story, Pentos has just completed a raid on Tall Trees Town in the Summer Islands along with their Westerosi allies and the two states are bound by marriage and economic interests.