Arryn of the Eyrie

Customs

Much like the Reach, the Vale, and the Arryns who lead it have tradition forged by the Andals they descend from. The Faith of the Seven is held in the highest regard, higher perhaps even than the Reachlanders who hold the seat of the Faith and with that respect for the Gods Knightly tradition is of the utmost importance to men of the Vale, even those who do not themselves have the honor of a knighthood, the common tenents of chivalry inform how men of the Vale act, and broader themes of faith guide the women.  

Family Tree

 

History

Kings of Mountain and Vale

  The Arryns are considered to come from the oldest and purest line of Andal nobility, which they say reaches back to Andalos and possibly Hugor of the Hill.   When King Robar II Royce began to unite the First Men and defeat some of the petty Andal kings during the Andal invasion, the Andals of the Vale united behind Ser Artys Arryn, the Falcon Knight, a native Valeman esteemed amongst his peers as the finest warrior of his day. Robar was slain in the Battle of the Seven Stars, possibly by Artys, and the First Men houses who remained bent the knee and swore fealty to Artys Arryn, the First of His Name, new-crowned King of Mountain and Vale. From that day, the Vale became known as the Vale of Arryn. Songs of the Vale conflate Artys with the legendary Winged Knight, who is said to have slain the Griffin King atop the Giant's Lance. The First Men who did not accept Artys as their king were forced into the Mountains of the Moon, becoming the Vale mountain clans.   The Arryns initially lived at the Gates of the Moon, but over generations they constructed the Eyrie. They often used the Eyrie as a summer pleasure palace, descending to the Gates of the Moon before winter made the Eyrie inaccessible.   The Arryn kings added Pebble, the Paps, and the Witch Isle to their realm. They battled with the Stark Kings of Winter over the Three Sisters in the War Across the Water, which featured King Osgood Arryn and his son and successor, Oswin the Talon, who burned the Wolf's Den. There were bloody battles wherein the Arryn fleet turned back slavers from Volantis, ironborn reavers, and pirates from the Stepstones and the Basilisk Isles. The legendary Lady Alyssa Arryn gave her name to Alyssa's Tears, a waterfall on the Giant's Lance, when she did not shed a tear for her murdered husband, brothers and children.  

Aegon's Conquest

During Aegon's Conquest the Arryn and Targaryen fleets fought in a battle in the waters off Gulltown, which resulted in the destruction of the Targaryen fleet and the death of its commanding officer, Daemon Velaryon. Visenya Targaryen, on her dragon Vhagar, burned the Arryn fleet in response. Since both fleets were destroyed, the battle was considered a tactical draw, but a strategic defeat for the Targaryens as they were unable to take Gulltown. For House Arryn the trouble did not end there, since the Sistermen on the Three Sisters revolted after the destruction of the Arryn fleet.   Later in Aegon's Conquest, Visenya was charged with subduing the Vale. Sharra Arryn, Queen Regent of the Vale, ruling in the name of her son, the boy-king Rickard Arryn, amassed the Vale's army at the Bloody Gate. Visenya, however, flew on Vhagar to the courtyard of the Eyrie to obtain the surrender of the Vale of Arryn. When Sharra returned to the Eyrie she found her son sitting on Visenya's lap asking if he could ride the dragon with her. Once Sharra yielded and bent the knee, Rickard twice flew with Visenya and Vhagar. The Arryns have since remained Defenders of the Vale and Wardens of the East for the Iron Throne.  

First Dornish War

When Aegon called for men to march to Dorne many houses of the Vale, Arryn included marched for the Conqueror, seeking to prove the quality of the Vales Knights. Despite the skill of the Knights of the Vale, the Dornish sands proved to be a considerable obstacle for the men who had trained all their lives on stone and snow, however the lessons learned in Dorne added considerably to the skill of the Valesmen who took the hard lessons learned and apply them to their training even today.  

Targaryen Dynasty

Queen Rhaenys Targaryen arranged the marriage Lord Rickard Arryn to Rayna Stark, the daughter of Lord Torrhen Stark of Winterfell, in an attempt to knit the new realm together. There are letters at the Citadel which suggest that Torrhen only agreed to this match after much protest, and that his sons had refused to attend the wedding. In 37 AC Rickard was deposed by his brother Paul. When House Royce gathered forces against Paul and besieged him in the Eyrie, Paul threw Rickard and his family through the Moon Door. Queen Visenya and Prince Baelon Targaryen flew to the Eyrie on Vhagar and Balerion, and hanged Pauls supporters. House Arryn continued through a cousin, Artos Arryn.  

Recent Events

   

Seat and Holdings

The Eyrie is an ancient castle and seat of House Arryn, one of the oldest lines of Andal nobility, within the Vale of Arryn. It is situated in the Mountains of the Moon on a shoulder of the peak known as the Giant's Lance, several thousand feet above the valley below. Although small compared to the seats of other Great Houses in Westeros, the Eyrie is considered impregnable to attack. During wintertime, the Arryns seek refuge against the cold in the Gates of the Moon at the base of the mountain.   The Eyrie is the smallest of the great castles, being no larger than a Holdfast. The castle is made of fine white stone. Its seven slim, white towers are bunched tightly together and can hold up to five hundred men. The waterfall known as Alyssa's Tears can be heard from the Eyrie, and falcons fly near the castle.   The Eyrie lacks stables, smithys, and kennels, but its granary is as large as those found in much larger castles, like Winterfell. The Eyrie also contains a sept. The castle's household guard wear sky-blue cloaks.  

• The High Hall is a long and austere hall, with walls made of blue-veined white marble. The High Hall is decorated with rows of slim fluted pillars and a blue silk carpet. At the end of it sit two thrones carved of weirwood, one the high seat of the lord and the other a lesser throne for a consort. It has narrow, arched windows, between which are torches mounted on high iron or silver sconces. Feasts can be held in the High Hall. Entrance to the High Hall is through carved wooden doors.
• The Moon Door is a narrow weirwood door that stands between two slender pillars halfway in the High Hall. A crescent moon is carved into the door, which opens inward and is barred by three heavy bronze bars. The door opens into the sky. Most executions at the Eyrie use this door, which opens onto a six hundred foot drop to the stones of the valley below.
• The Crescent Chamber is the Eyrie's reception hall. Here, guests are given refreshments and warmed by the fire after making the climb up the Giant's Lance.
• A flight of steep marble stairs from the Crescent Chamber bypasses the Eyrie's undercrofts and dungeons and is protected by three murder holes. The portcullis atop the stairs leads to an arcade decorated with tapestries.
• The solar is located at the end of the arcade. The chamber is decorated with a Myrish carpet and has enough room for a trestle table and at least eight heavy oak-and-leather chairs.
• The Lower Hall is a hall in which food and wine can be served.
• The Morning Hall is located above the kitchens and is where people can break their fast.
• The Maiden's Tower is the easternmost of the seven towers of the Eyrie. From a balcony on the tower, one can see the Vale and the Giant's Lance.
• The Moon Tower contains the bedchambers of Lord Arryn, which is protected by an oaken door four inches thick and has curtains of plush blue velvet. The bedchamber's window has small diamond-shaped panes.
• The godswood of the Eyrie is encircled by the castle's towers. It lacks a heart tree, as no weirwood would take root in the stony soil. The garden, which is overlooked by Lady Lysa Arryn's apartments, instead contains blue flowers, grass, shrubbery, thin dark trees, and statuary, including a depiction of a weeping Alyssa Arryn in its center.
• Sky cells are the Eyrie's infamous dungeons. They are shelves on the side of the mountain's sheer cliffs, left open to the cold sky, with slightly sloping floors to unnerve the prisoners. Many prisoners, driven mad by the cold and howling wind, commit suicide rather than remain imprisoned.
• The Eyrie is located six hundred feet above a waycastle, Sky. Using handholds carved into the rock within the Giant's Lance, visitors can climb a ladder-like chimney which leads from Sky up to the castle's undercellar. Alternatively, wicker baskets and six great oaken buckets are drawn on long iron chains between the Eyrie and Sky. Supplies can thus brought from Sky to the Eyrie's winch room, as can visitors unable or unwilling to climb the chimney ladder. Oxen are used to turn the winches, and the animals are slaughtered and left for falcons when the Arryns descend to the Gates of the Moon before winter. When the court returns to the Eyrie after winter, unspoiled meat is served in a spring feast.

  Defenses   The Gates of the Moon with the Eyrie above, by Paolo Puggioni © To reach the Eyrie from the west, an invading army would have to first overcome the Bloody Gate guarding the high road. Within the Vale, the stout Gates of the Moon guards the base of the Giant's Lance.   Steep stone steps carved into the Giant's Lance creep up the mountainside from the Gates of the Moon; they are too narrow for horses, but are accessible by mules. Travelers on the staircase are exposed to defenders in three waycastles.  

• Stone, the first waycastle, is on a path surrounded by forest.
• Snow, the second waycastle, is on a trail steeper than that of Stone. It is nestled into the Giant's Lance so as to command the entire pathway from Stone to Snow.
• Sky, the third waycastle, is on a treacherous path. Handholds carved into the rock lead up to the Eyrie. Baskets and oaken buckets can transport supplies and travelers up to the Eyrie as well.

 

Notes