A Song Of Ice And Fire: Wars of The Expanse Chapter 17: CODEX: HISTORY OF THE SISTER-WORLDS, an a song of ice and fire fanfic

WARS OF THE EXPANSE: CODEX

A/N: Hello! I have decided to start adding my notes that I write for the backstory of this fic into the fic itself. This will be a thing where the chapter itself is updated with new information gradually, and if some info is relevant, I will add a blurb at the end of a chapter denoting that you should check out the codex. The codex itself presents the history of the world in this fic, with worldbuilding that doesn't quite translate into the focused story I've been writing thus far.

On that note, I do want to reference something: If you haven't noticed, the story does jump around a bit. However, despite the POV characters, you'll see everything is on a quite linear path. I made the decision to expand upon robert, cersei, joff, and even the Boltons for a little before the main "game of thrones" events. So don't worry, the next chapter is a joff one, but it is about the conclusion of the siege of meander. I'll also never randomly jump to a pov of

An OC character not in the original books

A character who is doing nothing related to the overall two plotlines in the original work.

My goal is to stay as loyal to the overall canon as possible while making vast changes. With that said, after the Joff chapter things will begin moving into the "game of thrones" stuff proper, so I'm excited for that. I also love writing battle scenes, and the one in the upcoming Joff chapter is shaping up really, really well. I can't wait for the six people who care about this to read it.

With that being said, here is the Codex. Forgive me for initial misspellings or anything- these are just my notes, and I won't edit them until I feel like it.

So, without further ado.

CODEX PARCEL: THE VOLANTENE

HISTORY

Volantis began as an outpost belonging to the Valyrians during the early expansion of the Freehold period. The Freehold period of Valyria saw the Valyrians themselves employed as slave soldiers within the greater structure of the Ghis Empire.

The written script of Valyrian itself is heavily influenced by Old Ghis cuneiform, and further, Ghis titles were transliterated into Valyrian, resulting in names such as "Aegon", which is a Valyrian corruption of the Ghis "Aheugog" which means broadly "ruler" but can also mean "prince" depending on the surrounding context.

The Volantese thus held close cultural ties with the overall culture of the Ghis. Even during the Ghis-Valyrian wars, Volantis was seen as being closer (culturally, not politically) with Ghis. Despite this, Volantis was a major mercantile and administrative center within the Freehold and its successors, the two Valyrian Empires.

After the doom, the ruling dynasty of the Valyrian Empire, the Akeyrens, fled to Westeros, taking along with them notable valyrian families, such as the Nohdarys and of course, the Targaryens, who, under Aegon the Conqueror, eventually usurp Akeyren rule.

The doom decimated the core infrastructure of Valyria, and most, if not all, of the ancestral lands of the Valyrians were lost. However, Volantis, some way away from Valyria proper, survived, along with culturally and ethnically Valyrian lands where the Free States stand today. The Akeyren Empire, ruling from Westeros, nominally held political control over Essos. In fact, it was this political control that kept the Valyrian religion, Baelehisidsm, in the hearts of the last two centuries of Akeyren Westerosi rule. The Baelehisids, however, gradually lost influence as Akeyren Westerosi became distant culturally to Essos. The Baelehisid religious structure eventually turned to the Volantenes directly, especially when the Akeyren Emperor, Naemon, outlawed Baelhisidism practice on Westeros.

(This act that led to the eventual genocide of valryian commoners upon Westeros. (More on this within the document 'Valyrians of Westeros')

Once Aegon the Conqueror defeated Aeyen the Lame, the last Akeyren to rule on Westeros, he was quick to make concessions and peace with what remained of the Empire on Essos. Volantis had become the de-facto ruler over the surviving lands of the Akeyren Empire, and by the time of the Targaryen ascension to the throne, Volantis still controlled about a third of what would become the Free States. The Targaryen Kings were content to accept tribute from the Volantene and even some of the now independent city states, even ones at war with Volantene vassals.

The Volantene were the ones that immediately rose to fill the power vacuum once the Targaryens lost the Targaryen-Volantene Wars, an invasion led by Daeron I, hot off of his conquest of dorne. Daeron was killed during the invasion by the Volantene King Aedaeshir Eyrnaekiys. The Volantene were then able to end the period of tribute owed to Westeros. In the ensuing period, the Volantene experienced a short golden age, even intervening on behalf of the Greens during The Dance, led by the Green sympathetic Arsaelys Qaehinid.

Shortly after, The surviving region of the Volanate lands that were conquered during the Akeyren Empire (but not under direct Volentene jurisdiction) either declared or won independence, able to take advantage of Volantis' weakened state due to the conflict, namely the cost of transportation, disease, and of course, defeat.

Interestingly, most if not all of these regions were in fact colonized and ruled by Valyrians themselves, who in turn, at least initially, saw themselves not as new Free States, but rather, the proper continuation of the Valyrian Empire on Essos. It wasn't until an influx of settlers from Andal, Rhoyne, and even areas ruled by the Ghis Empire that the free cities adapted a culture further from the Empire.

Before all of this however, at the time of the doom, Volantis was ruled by a Valyrian named Caelta Siyoarys. Caelta was given one portion of the Akeyren "Twin-Crown," A double crown worn by the Akeyren Emperors. The upper crown Essos, ironically, was taken by the Akeyren King who fled to Westeros, Lucaegon. The lower crown, denoting Westeros, was left with Caelta, who swore fealty to Lucaegon, and married his younger sister. Volantis collected taxes, reinforced the Valyrian caste system upon essos, and was in charge of hunt, capture, and return of low caste Valyrians attempting to escape the brutal system that existed on Essos, but was impossible to truly enforce on Westeros after Baelhidism was outlawed.

The breakup of the Akeyren Empire (on Essos) is typically called the "Volanate" period. The reason for this is due to the fact that the Volantene, possessing the crown of Westeros, held the belief that they too, were true valyrian kings and emperors. As such, they continued the Caenoi system, a ruling style where the sons of the King (first born, second son, and bastard alike) were sent to border regions in order to learn how to rule. During the Volanate era, whenever the holder of the Westeros crown upon Essos died, succession was based not on who was born first, but rather who was able to travel to the Volantene throne first. This system, retained in a self conscious attempt to cling to Akeyren regality, helped hasten the breakup of Imperial holdings.

Religion/culture/magic: The Volantene religion and culture was heavily influenced by (obviously) Valyrian culture, but also the Ghis. Valyrians themselves, already culturally adjacent to the Ghis, adopted the Ghis script as stated previously. Their names also reflected this: While some early Volantene rulers had heavily Valyrian names, more volantene specific names are seen during the latter period.

It should be noted that the Volantene ethnically, for the most part, are still Valyrian. Of the three parties within Volantis, only one of them is headed by a Ghis-Valyrian dynasty. Volantis has a heavily adapted version of the valyrian caste system. The valyrian caste system has been documented previously in the post "History of the valyrians". However, a quick summation of the caste system is as such:

The Rahanyon: The Rahanyon were the highest group of Valyrians. They comprised the leaders of the Valyrian slave armies (used by the ghis) and after the discovery of Dragons, it was the Rahanyon who led the conquests of Essos, and further, Westeros. Rahanyon descended from the sons of tribal leaders, leaders who in turn were chosen by the Ghis to delegate rule amongst Valyria.

The Calgaeron: The Calgaeron were the bulk of the social and military elite. Calgaeron are Valyrians who were taken as children to be trained in the art of warfare and conquest. This practice was also one copied from the Ghis, however the Valyrians were unique in that they did this to their own children.

The Aerdarys:male valyrian children from the age of 7 and upwards. Each Valyrian freehold under the vassalage of Ghis was required to produce 10,000 Aerdarys every twenty years, who in turn would either join the Valyrian Calgaeron, or be shipped off to join the slave armies of Ghis.

Aerdarys training was long, harsh, and brutal. Each Valyrian boy was inspected upon his seventh year- if he had any defects, or was even too short by that age, he would be castrated. However, if the defects were minimal (such as height, short limbs, etc) they (the castrated boys) would still be trained within the Aerdarys, but marked as an "unsulied". Typically these "lesser" Aedarys were sent to the Ghis Calgaeron.

Even cooking was a subdivision within the Melaenor. While serfs, Melaenor were allowed to sell their goods within Valyria, and thus, within the cruel and militarized society of valryia, a small lower middle class was created, gradually growing more political and material strength as the Freehold grew, and eventually transformed into an Empire under the Akeyren dynasty. Melaenor initially had no political power, however as the Freeholds began to eclipse Ghis, Melaenor were able to "hire" Rahanyon to represent them within the Ghis high courts and eventually, within the Akeyren Empire's own political structures.

Melaenor often acted as an intermediary between the higher classes and the lower slave classes.

The Naraeis: the lowest caste. The Naraeis are made up of conquered Valyrian tribes who lived outside the immediate surroundings of Old Valyria, or valyrian colonies conquered by old valyria while vassalized to the Ghis. The Naraeis are slaves, to put it bluntly. They are used for farming, mining, and other services. They can be bought and sold. Valyrians can also be "forced" into the Naraeis. A common political punishment was forcing an entire valyrian house into the Naraeis, and this was a practice that continued until the doom, though it is still practiced within Volantis and its tributary Slave King league (a federation of essosi slave states).

These castes were often based on astrological signs within Volantene Baelhidism. In Baelhidism, each month was assigned a god, and whatever month one was born into would denote their form of worship to said god. These "rites" were created during the freehold period, and if a valyrians "rite" fell onto a month denoting servitude to said god, they would find themselves in a mid- to lower caste. It is important to note that these designations were not based on the date of birth for the actual person, but rather their ancestor. It was common in both Volentene and Valyrian custom to have "two" birth dates. Your "natural" birth, and your "ritual" birth. This practice fell out of custom upon Westeros.

Magic: Volentene magic is heavily influenced by both Valyrian and Ghiscari magic. Magic is comprised of two parts- Blood of the user, and bodies of those of which it is applied upon as the "catalyst."

In times past, Essosian Valyrians had large groups of slaves used directly as fuel to perform magic. It is believed that their magic usage like this is what led to the doom- a natural feedback and consequence. In natural (as in ghiscari) magic, the user of said spell typically has to pay a "price" for said magic. For example:

If a ghiscari priestess wanted to know if it would rain that night, she would need to cut her thumb, go without food, and subside on only water for two days prior in order to "equal" the magic employed. To go further- if a Ghiscari priest wanted to imbue an army with courage or skill alien to the army itself, he would need to fast for 10 months, and then finally, blind himself to equal the cost of the magic that was being used. The greater the spell, the greater the personal cost. This was also a way to gauge ability-

All priests and priestesses had to give up something of their body initially- though the more skilled they are, the lesser the pact's damage, due to their incantation. Powerful users of this craft were denoted by the amount of miracles they had divined, compared to how much of their body was still whole.

Ghiscari mages also realized that they could make "pacts", written codes tattooed on the skin that ensure a certain spell would happen, only if the cost of the spell would be deducted at a later period. For example, creating a pact that would protect your farm from famine, only if you allow yourself to be stricken with sickness ten years after surviving said famine.

The issue with Valyrian blood magic is that it was specifically designed so the user doesn't have to suffer consequences of their magic, but rather they redirect the consequence of exchange upon their slaves. As this practice is seen to have caused the doom, it is heavily looked down upon, and only practiced within the black walls of Volantis. By the time of the War of the Five Kings, one of Daenerys' main adversaries is the Black Princess, a Volantene priestess named Vaeyselkihid; one of the Triach's most powerful allies.

Volantene names (Early period)

Aeridys Talgereon

Vaellaris Laenanyon

Bhaelna Valgaeron

(Late period)

Vaesihid Adaeyses

Baelyisid Oraephi

Aeafas Gahmaeon

Vanaeyhun Nartalor

Sisaekayt (See-say-kahht,) Targisahid

CODEX PARCEL: THE RELIGIONS OF WESTEROS

Hierarchy of the Seven

The Faith of the Seven came to Westeros with the numerous Andal migrations. However, different variations of the Seven came along with the varying Andal tribes, some of which were even enemies within the region of Andalos.

The faith that took hold of Westeros is known as the Gaeliphites. Gaeliphites believe that while the Father is split into seven aspects, he is still "one". Gaeliphites will worship different aspects of the seven depending on the situation (marriage, death, prayers before battle etc) in stark contrast with Monophites. Monophites believe that the seven are one as well, however they worship each aspect of the seven at different periods of the year in large celebrations, and in private or communal worship, the seven aspects are worshiped one at a time at preordained periods.

To explain more clearly: A Gaeliphite may pray to the mother in the morning, and then pray to the warrior that same day for courage. A monophite would only pray to the aspect of the seven that has fallen on that specific day or season- meaning regardless of the reason for the prayer, they would still pray to the Mother, even if the mother traditionally wasn't the patron of the subject of the prayer itself.

Religious communities in Westeros are basically split between Gaeliphites and Monophites, with further divisions amongst each group. The Faith itself is Gaeliphite, while some houses, such as House Arryn or those of Dorne, follow Monophite teachings. Many houses/communities descended from Valaryian emigrants follow Gaeliphism, a stark distinction from their cousins within Essos, who still worship Valaryian gods. It is due to this that many Valaryian wars occurred between the two world empire, and the ensuing conflicts allowed the Targaryens to wrest control from the Akaeyren Empire.

Hierarchy

Septonifas: The septonifas is the highest position within the Gaeliphite sect. Unlike Monophites, there is only one Septonifas- the septonifas resides in the great sept of King's Landing, and is seen as the speaker of the Faith upon Westeros.

Arch-Septonial: Regional religious leaders chosen by the Septonifas. There are four Arch-Septonials, each one presiding over a different region where Gaeliphite religion is the majority. In Monophitism, this position does not exist.

Septons: Local religious leaders. These Septons answer to the Arch Septonials, and are typically tied to either a community church, or in areas less wealthy, a village.

THE HOLLENE: In the north, the old gods are still worshiped. However within Bolton lands and those nearby them, northerns follow a doctrine termed "the Hollene."

The Hollene believe in the teachings of a Septa named Uenielle, an Andal from the Chariente tribe that migrated to Westeros in an event called the second andal migrations. The Chariente were a violent people, warlike and vicious, and often took to flaying unbelievers in order to "purify" them, as they believe sin is embodied by skin. The Chariente and some northern clans mixed, eventually becoming the Boltons and further, influencing a large number of northern firstmen to take on Andal-Chariente culture, names, and customs. The faith of the Hollene led to the Great Northern Pogoms, a crusade against the old gods found within the North.

These crusades caused many northern houses, the Starks included, to retreat further North, resulting in the Boltons becoming the strongest polity within the North for nearly six hundred years, a power balance that wouldn't shift back to the Starks until about two hundred years after the Valaryian invasions.

The Hollene belief system is a syncretic mixture of old god nature worship and Andal doctrine. There are no Septons nor any figureheads within the Hollene, as such depictions are strictly forbidden. The Hollene believe that the Father expresses himself solely through nature, wind, and signs borne from weather. Conversion to the Hollene involves cutting one's palm, and pressing it into a book bound by weirwood bark. These books are not actually read by the Hollene, but rather symbolic for a representation of the teachings of Uenielle, the first and only leader within Hollene doctrine.

The Hollene, while still culturally valuing weirwood itself, views weirwood trees as hersey, and often cut them down as an expression of their faith. The hollene, in times past, were far more tolerated in terms of religious politics than those following Old Gods, as their religion was seen as being "closer" to the Faith.

CODEX PARCEL: IN RELATION TO HOUSE LANNISTER

HOUSE LANNISTER

The Lannisters are an old house, belonging to the ethnic group called the Merovigini. The merovigini are a combination of first men tribes located in the west, and migrations of the Andal group termed the Fressians.

The fressians hail from the regions of Essos close to the former eastern Rhoyne-Andal Empire. Fressians were in fact "rhoynized" andal tribes, and formed a small kingdom meant to defend the southern border of the Rhonyo-Andal empire from neighboring southern Rhoynar, and eventually the Ghiscari.

Fressians were among the first andals to flee to Westeros following the dissolution! of the Rhonyo-Andals.

the former kingdom was overrun by rival southern Rhonyar, who they themselves had reorganized into the tribal confederation termed the "Poliselka", (The poliselka would persist until the valaryian conquest)

Uniquely, the fressians did not bring the faith of the seven with them- however they did bring their distinct language and culture.

Upon mixing with the first men, they became the Merovigini over a process of hundreds of years.

This can be seen in various Lannister names, which still denote Fressian heritage.

House names:

Lannister- an Andal corruption of "Lannisita"

Altirribact- an ancient westmen house subservient towards the Lannisters.

Cluet (KLU-A)

Totilsa

Salabert (SAH-LA-BARE)

Viladomat (VEE-LIDOMA)

Terrades (TEAR-RAhDEE)

Fressian given names are also still common in the west:

Peracaul (PERa-Shall)

Verdaheile (VEr-daelle)

Saechelle (Saw-ell)

Melcior (MEL-Ci-ur)

Malaquis (MA-laques)

Salvadein

Ladíslo (LA-DEss-ol)

Galé (GAHL-aye)

Isaïes (EY-SAHS)

Jaïme (IYM-AY)

Jèret (JURR-AHYE)

Raimonné (RHAE-Mn-ee)

Jofferèt (JOFFER-RHEY)

It should be noted that fully Andal names are still common here, especially in regions of the west that are more homogeneously or culturally Andal as opposed to the far western reaches near the coast.

Culture: the Merovigini have a vibrant and colorful way of dress, with many customs related to dancing and singing. They are a people who are renown for their spicy dishes, calculating ideations, and overall appreciation for the arts. Owing to the hotter (but still green) climate of the west, their dress is somewhat looser than what is found in other regions of Westeros.

They are also a very martial people- and were given the name "Ka-Set" by the children of the forest, meaning "of the bow."

Most westmen houses garb their soldiers in fully detailed masks smelted in the likeness of their specific forebears, in order to strike fear into their enemies and inspire their kin.

The Merovigini were responsible for the technological explosion that occurred in Westeros in the three thousand years before valaryian expansion, and even now their elite soldiers employ railbows as opposed to rifles. The merovigini were often hostile to their migrating Andal cousins, even allying with certain first men tribes to fight off andals fleeing slavery from both resurgent andalos kingdoms and the rising Ghiscari.

By the time of King Robert, aside from the noble elite, Merovigini have more or less assimilated into the overall Andal population. As stated previously, one can denote merovigini/westmen descent by a person's name.

CODEX PARCEL: REFLECTIONS ON VALYRIANS

The Valayrians of Westeros have had a sordid and tragic history. To fully understand their place in westeros, and further, the suffering that their people experienced, one must understand the basic cultural tenets of Valyrians society.

Firstly, the people of Old Valyria were heavily influenced by the Ghis Empire, down to their written language. Yes, Valyrian script is based almost entirely on Ghis, with a few changes to denote sounds and concepts found within Valyrian speech that are alien to Ghis. The Valyrians also adopted the Ghis caste system, which will come into play even on Westeros.

The Valyrian caste system was made up of about five groups, though depending on the location, the caste system could have more subdivisions.

The Rahanyon: The Rahanyon were the highest group of Valyrians. They comprised the leaders of the Valyrian slave armies (used by the ghis) and after the discovery of Dragons, it was the Rahanyon who led the conquests of Essos, and further, Westeros. Rahanyon descended from the sons of tribal leaders, leaders who in turn who chosen by the Ghis to delegate rule amongst Valyria.

Regardless of social status, commoner and elite alike were forced into what was essentially military slavery. The valyrians were allowed by their Ghis overlords to have two cores of Calgaeron- the Calgaeron they sent to Ghis as form of vassal payment, and the Calgaeron kept domestically in order to defend themselves from other Ghis vassals.

The Aerdarys: The Aerdarys are basically male valyrian children from the age of 7 and upwards. You can think of them as "Calgaeron in training". Each Valyrian freehold under the vassalage of Ghis was recruited to produce 10,000 Aerdarys every twenty years, who in turn would either join the Valyrian Calgaeron, or be shipped off to join the slave armies of Ghis.

As stated training was brutal. The Aedarys were beaten, groups of them, with the last standing being given a grand feast. This was done daily, often starting at the age of seven.

At 13, they were left in the wilderness with no protective clothing or means to feed themselves.

At sixteen, they are instructed to kill a slave, but if they are caught in this process, they are severely punished.

The survivors of this arduous journey become Calgaeron, joining a distinct military elite.

Melaenor: The Melanor were Valyrian slaves (though better seen as serfs) who, by order of the Rahanyon, were exempt from the military conscriptions. These were fit children (of both genders) who were kept and trained in various domestic needs- ranging from farming, weapon smelting, and architecture. Even cooking was a subdivision within the Melaenor. While serfs, Melaenor were allowed to sell their goods within Valyria, and thus, within the cruel and militarized society of valryia, a small lower middle class was created. Melaenor initially had no political power, however as Valyria began to eclipse the Ghis, Melaenor were able to "hire" Rahanyon to represent them within the Ghis high courts and eventually, within Valyria's own political structures.

Melaenor often acted as an intermediary between the higher classes and the lower slave classes.

The Naraeis: the lowest caste. The Naraeis are made up of conquered Valyrian tribes who lived outside the immediate surroundings of Old Valyria, or valyrian colonies conquered by old valyria while old valyria was vassalized to the Ghis. The Naraeis are slaves, to put it bluntly. They are used for farming, mining, and other services. They can be bought and sold. Valyrians can also be "forced" into the Naraeis. A common political punishment was forcing an entire valyrian house into the Naraeis, and this was a practice that continued until the doom, though it is still practiced within Volantis and its tributary Slave King league (a federation of essosi states).

Now, onto the valyrians of westeros.

Valyrians traveled to the world of Westeros nearly a thousand years before the doom. The valyrians of westeros controlled both Westeros and Essos (which is why we see rulers of westeros having titles such as "Aegon II and IV", meaning this ruler was the second Aegon ruling Westeros, but the fourth Aegon ruling Essos. The first Valyrians to rule both planets were the Akeyrens, a valyrian house that brought numerous valyrian houses with them to westeros, amongst them the Targaryens.

After the Targaryens conquered the Akaeyrens and usurped control of Westeros, the doom occurred approximately 500 years afterwards. Valyrians settled upon Westeros, and despite the actions of the valyrian elite, it was impossible to enforce the caste system that had ruled their people for thousands of years.

Due to the vastness of Westeros, (especially the riverlands) Valyrian immigrants were able to circumvent controls enacted by both Akaeyrens and Targaryens to keep Valyrians within Essos.

Why were Valyrians fleeing Essos? Ironically, it was due to the Valyrian's own caste system. Slaves, commoners, and even members of the low middle class Melaenor fled essos in droves, settling within Westeros mostly around the stormlands, the west, and areas within the dornish marches.

So what happened to these valyrians?

While some still lived amongst the common people by the time of robert's rebellion, valyrian elite actively targeted valyrian immigrants who arrived without proper clearance. These valyrians were rounded up, re-enslaved, and sent back to Essos. However, Melaenor class valyrians were typically allowed to stay, as they possessed skills that neither the valyrian elite nor the native westerosi had.

However, it was because of this that Melaneor class members were able to etch power amongst the existing institutions of westeros, joining with surviving westerosi houses and increasing native westerosi strength. It is due to this that the Akeyrens of the Middle Period converted to the Seven, so that they could turn the common folk against their new Melaenor allies. This action resulted in the Valyrian Troubles, a three hundred year period where commoner valyrians were killed by their westerosi allies, in actions supported by the Targaryen crown. Again, this was done to curb the growing power of the Melaenor, who could in turn threaten the crown. In fact, after the doom, just as many valyrians were fleeing westeros to return to essos as there were Valyrians fleeing essos to come to Westeros.

These killings, while under the pretex of religion, were entirely dependent on race. People with valyrian features or names were targeted, and unless they were of the elite, they were left to their own deaths at the hands of the westerosi. Even after the Troubles, this racism persisted within Westeros. The Melaenor descended house Nohdaerys, which controlled much of the vast riverlands, fell during the dance due to the Melaenor racisms still present in the area. Westerosi respected the rare, wealthy, Valyrian elite, especially the Valryian "Lordkin", a westerosi term for valryian bloodlines that possessed dragon riders.

Common valryians, after the religious propaganda encouraged by the Akaeyrens and Targaryens, were seen as heathens.

Thus, While westerosi commoners and nobles more or less accepted Valyrian "Lordkin" rule, they did not accept valyrian commoners living amongst them. By roberts day, valyrian commoners still existed within Westerosi society. However many had abandoned their valyrian names, choosing instead to adopt westeroi ones, and marry westerosi women. Now, a person with valyrian features may walk the streets of kings landing safe, experiencing minor racisms. In terms of nobility, only the valyrian elite were spared and were able to keep their positions, however even these elite houses slowly assimilated, and by robert's rebellion very few valyrian elite houses remained.