The North

   

Geography

 

While some say the vast north is nearly as large as the rest of the Seven Kingdoms combined, in actuality it is roughly a third of the landmass controlled by the Iron Throne. The region is sparsely populated, with vast wilderness, rising moorlands, high plains, forests, pine-covered hills and snow-capped mountains, speckled with tiny villages and holdfasts. The cold north is much less fertile than provinces in southern Westeros. Its harsh climate is deadly in winter and occasionally it will snow even in summer. The north has two major land barriers, the Wall to the north and the Neck to the south. The north is bound on each side by major seas, the Shivering Sea to the east and the Sunset Sea to the west.

 

Winterfell, the ancestral seat of House Stark, is a large castle at the center of the north. Nearby is the winter town. The vast wolfswood, the largest forest of the Seven Kingdoms, extends northwest to the Bay of Ice and Sea Dragon Point. Deepwood Motte, the seat of House Glover, lies in the western wolfswood. House Mormont rules Bear Island in the Bay of Ice. The Ice Hills a northern mountain range extend from the wolfswood to the Wall and are inhabited by northern mountain clans.

 

South of the wolfswood is hilly terrain with several large lakes. Torrhen's Square, seat of House Tallhart, is by the largest of these lakes. Farther west along the Sunset Sea is the Stony Shore, which contains fishing villages. Southeast of the Stony Shore and north of Blazewater Bay is the Rills, plains which are ruled by House Ryswell. East of the Rills and south of Winterfell are the barrowlands, hilly plains dotted with the barrows of the First Men. House Dustin rules the large town of Barrowton. There are unnamed rivers which flow south from Barrowton and near Torrhen's Square into the Saltspear, while another unnamed river divides the Stony Shore from the Rills.

 

South of the barrowlands is the Neck, an isthmus forming the border with the riverlands to the south. A vast swamp and the source of the Green Fork, the Neck is home to the crannogmen; House Reed rules from the moving castle Greywater Watch. The ruined castle of Moat Cailin, on the causeway near the Fever River, controls access to the north from the Neck. Here the Kings in the North held off southron invasions.

 

A large peninsula is west of the Neck and south of the Saltspear and Blazewater Bay. Flint's Finger, home of House Flint of Flint's Finger, is on its north shore, and Cape Kraken and the Flint Cliffs are along its western and southern shores. South of the peninsula are Ironman's Bay and the Iron Islands.

 

East of the barrowlands is the White Knife, ruled by house Condon, a major river of the north which has its source at Long Lake northeast of Winterfell. Castle Cerwyn, the seat of House Cerwyn, is near a tributary south of Winterfell. The White Knife runs south to White Harbor, one of the major cities of the Seven Kingdoms and the main port of the north. Southeast of White Harbor is Oldcastle, the seat of House Locke, while farther east are Ramsgate and the Broken Branch, which has its source in the Sheepshead Hills northeast of White Harbor. Widow's Watch, the castle of House Flint of Widow's Watch, is built on an isolated peninsula east of Ramsgate in the Shivering Sea. The Bite separates the southeastern North, much of which is influenced by House Manderly of White Harbor, from the Vale of Arryn.

 

Hornwood, the seat of House Hornwood, is in the Hornwood forest north of White Harbor and south of the Dreadfort, the seat of House Bolton. The Dreadfort lies near the Weeping Water, which flows east to the Shivering Sea. Northeast of the Dreadfort are the forested lands of House Karstark. East of their castle, Karhold, are the Grey Cliffs. In the Bay of Seals are several islands, including Skagos and uninhabited Skane. The largest, Skagos, is said to be inhabited by cannibals and unicorns and is only nominally controlled by the Starks of Winterfell.

 

North of Winterfell and the Dreadfort and northwest of Karhold are the lands of House Umber, whose castle of Last Hearth is in a forest. The Umbers control the Lonely Hills and land along the Bay of Seals. Beginning near Last Hearth, the Last River flows southeast between Karhold and the Dreadfort.

 

The Wall is a colossal fortification that protects the north from threats beyond the Wall, such as wildlings. It is separated from the northern lands owing allegiance to Winterfell by the Gift, which are lands of the Night's Watch north of the Umbers' lands.

 

Winterfell and Moat Cailin are along the kingsroad, which connects Castle Black at the Wall with the riverlands to the south. There are farms, holdfasts, inns, and villages along the road.

 

The land of the north is not seen as valuable by many south of the Neck.

 

Seasons

 

The North is strongly affected during the long winters, with thousands of people killed and famine a common occurrence due to poor harvests before winter or the inability to raise crops during the longer winters that last for years on end. Some greater lords maintain greenhouses at their castles, such as the glass gardens of Winterfell.

 

Once autumn is declared by the Citadel, the lords of the North store away a part of the grain they have harvested. How much is a matter of choice; between one fifth and one fourth seems prudent, however. Additionally food is smoked, salted, and otherwise preserved ahead of winter. Coastal communities depend on fish and inland ice fishing is common on the rivers and Long Lake. Poor harvests before winter will mean famine, however.

 

In winter, snows can fall forty feet deep. Rain falls cold and hard, and sometimes turns into ice that can send men running for cover and ruin crops. Even during summer, snowfalls are not unusual but tend to be brief and not particularly damaging to agriculture.

 

People

 

Most northmen are descended from the First Men, although there have been centuries of intermarriage with the Andals who conquered south of the Neck. The Old Tongue spoken by the First Men of antiquity has been replaced in the north by the Common Tongue, with the earlier language now only spoken beyond the Wall. Northern accents can be considered "frosted."

 

Many northmen, including Karstarks and Umbers, are large in stature and have thick beards, long hair, and heavy cloaks of wool or fur. During the Dance of the Dragons, for instance, Mushroom compared the host of Lord Cregan Stark to armored bears. Northern warriors can ride shaggy horses.

 

The constant cold and the iron grip of winter set apart the northerners from the people of the Kingdoms south of the Neck. The North's terrain and climate do not easily yield the necessities of daily life. Northmen place less of an emphasis on courtly ritual and culture, and instead prefer hunting and brawling. Many northmen disapprove of tourneys and gambling. Northern competitions rarely feature jousting, preferring instead dangerous melees, and northmen also make up their own rules for tourneys.

 

Guest right is treasured in the North. Northmen have long memories, and a lord who does not seek his rightful vengeance threatens to have his own men turn on him. A northern custom is that when someone is condemned to death, he who passes that sentence should swing the sword.

 

Some northmen live in remote, distant areas where they act as little more than clans and tribes. These remote folk, such as the crannogmen, the northern mountain clans, and the Skagosi, are still vassals of the Starks, however, and are allowed to maintain their own ways and traditions as long as they remain loyal to Winterfell. Some maesters believe the blood of Cape Kraken's people is closer to that of ironborn than northmen.

 

Most of the North's people still follow the Old Gods and their heart trees, and have little inclination for newer religions. There are only a few houses who follow the Faith of the Seven, with House Manderly the most prominent. Due to its religious aspect, most northmen refuse to take holy orders and thus cannot become knights, although some northern cavalry are considered knights who still follow the old gods instead of the Seven. Most knights of the North live in the region's southern lands, such as White Harbor and the barrowlands. Heraldry in the north is simpler than that in southern Westeros, showing the lesser influence that chivalry has had there.

 

Northmen hold the Night's Watch in high regard, and many lords send annual gifts to support the black brothers.

 

The North maintaing the old ways more than most Westerosi are more known to practice the right of the first night, or atleast be less discrete in their practice of it compared to Southern Lords.

 

During harsh winters, many farmers and younger northmen seek refuge in the winter town or at the castles of lords. To preserve resources for the younger generations, many older northmen leave their home to hunt during winter, with most not surviving until spring. Men who are old, childless, homeless, or younger sons also traditionally joined winter armies which marched for adventure and plunder with no expectation of survival.

 

Northmen are often considered savage, wild, and fierce by southrons. Northmen are sometimes referred to as "wolves" by ironborn and southerners. Since most northmen pray before heart trees instead of following the Seven in septs, some southrons consider them to be godless or tree worshipers.

 

Economy

As the north is largely uncultivated, there are few roads of import there. Most of the inland trade passes by either the kingsroad or the rivers. Trade items from the north include wool, hides, and timber. White Harbor, the main port town of the north, contains silversmiths and the Old Mint which has been contracted to mint coin for all of Westeros by House Targaryen since Aegon's Conquest, they also, famously, have minted coin for Braavos when the Iron Bank has need for an additional mint. Food can be shipped from the south through the narrow sea to the northern city.

 

Military strength

 

The north can perhaps raise forty-five thousand soldiers, although it takes a long time for armies to be gathered from such a large region. During Aegon's Conquest, King Torrhen Stark raised an army of thirty thousand men which matched the Vale of Arryn. Historically nearly twenty thousand can be raised on short notice near the start of autumn, while thousands more might be raised from more distant houses, such as the mountain clans, if more time is allowed.

 

The infantry-to-cavalry ratio of the North is generally four to one. House Manderly, of southron origins, is known to command the most heavy horse north of the Neck. Mail is the most common armor found in the north. As knighthood is associated with the Faith of the Seven, and the majority of the northmen holds to the old gods, knighthood is rare in the north.

 

The North has had no strength at sea since Brandon the Burner set fire to the remaining fleet of his father, Brandon the Shipwright. Mormont, Manderly, and the Skagosi are the only houses with any notable might at sea, and all together it does not constitute more than a sea patrol, let alone a fleet.

 

History

Dawn Age

During the Dawn Age, Westeros was inhabited by children of the forest and by giants. Maester Kennet has found evidence that giants who lived in what is now the north buried their dead.

 

The human peoples of the north are nearly all descended from the First Men, who settled the land between eight thousand and twelve thousand years ago. Little is known of that time, but cryptic runes carved in old stones and the barrows of the First Men can still be found in the barrowlands. Ancient forts of the First Men are scattered throughout the North, including a ringfort atop Seal Rock near White Harbor and ruins in Sea Dragon Point. The children of the forest also made weirwood circles which though rare, can occasionally be found even now in the Wolfswood.

 

Kings of Winter

 

About eight thousand years ago, the legendary Long Night occurred when the Others invaded from the Lands of Always Winter. The event defined and shaped the North, leading to the founding of the Wall, the order of the Night's Watch, the castle of Winterfell, and the first Kings of Winter from House Stark. Brandon the Breaker is said to have allied with Joramun, a King-Beyond-the-Wall, to bring down the Night's King.

 

The Starks gradually defeated rival kings, such as the Barrow Kings to their south and the Red Kings to their east. During the coming of the Andals, the Kings of Winter stopped Andals at Moat Cailin and the eastern shores, the only kingdom in Westeros to do so.  

King Jon Stark founded the Wolf's Den at the mouth of the White Knife after driving out sea raiders. His son, Rickard Stark, conquered the Neck from the Marsh King and married his daughter. King Rodrik Stark is said to have won Bear Island from the ironborn in a wrestling match. Two thousand years ago the North warred with the Vale of Arryn after the Rape of the Three Sisters, with the Arryns eventually gaining control of the islands in this War Across the Water.

 

Thousands of years before Aegon's Conquest, King Brandon the Shipwright attempted to sail across the Sunset Sea, but never returned back home. His son, also named Brandon, burned the northern shipyards in his grief. The north has since lacked strength at sea.

 

For many centuries the Boltons were bitter rivals of the Starks of Winterfell. The practice of flaying their enemies gave the Boltons a sinister reputation. It is said that a thousand years ago, the Boltons finally swore fealty to the Kings in the North and agreed to abandon their practice of flaying their enemies though few believe the practice has truly been abandoned.

 

Around a thousand years ago, the Manderlys were driven from the river Mander by Perceon III Gardener, King of the Reach, and fled to the north, where they were welcomed by the Starks of Winterfell as their own bannermen. The Manderlys received the Wolf's Den and developed White Harbor, one of the five cities of Westeros and the main northern port for commerce and naval transport. The Manderlys are the most prominent of the few northern noble houses to follow the Faith of the Seven instead of the old gods and still maintain the Wolf's Den, though today it stands in White Harbor as the primary Prison of the North.

 

Recent Events

  The age of house Targaryen has been an expensive and bloody affair for the North, not because of the Faith Militant, or Prince Baelon, but because of the lack of belief that the North should ever have bent the knee to the Dragon. When Torrhen marched to bend to Aegon a number of Northerners fled to Braavos assembling the Company of the Rose in exile, expecting house Targaryen to fall, and they still await that day.   Shortly after the North became one of the Seven Kingdoms they lost a daughter not to illness or violence, but to the Vale in a marriage brokered by Queen Rhaenys. While Torrhen was vocally opposed, he understood the need for unity, and had, after all, bent the knee. His sons however were considerably less invested in serving house Targaryen and would do little to dissuade the Lords who sought to rise against Targaryen rule.   Being so far from King’s Landing the nearer issues of the Realm were what the Crown focused on which initially pleased the sons of Torrhen Stark, but once Torrhen passed and his son Brandon the Boisterous took the seat of Winterfell, the men realized that house Targaryen was not coming to fight those who rose up in the North and that in their apathy and their Fathers advanced age allowed the Wolf to be a target alongside the Dragon. Brandon the Boisterous was slain in battle alongside his two sons, crushing a rebellion by house Bolton and house Hornwood that has already been very nearly “forgotten” except by house Stark.   Rorik Stark took the seat of Winterfell and despite his distaste for house Targaryen used their tactics of marriage to bring unity back to the North, arranging a number of marriages between houses that supported Stark and Targaryen, and those who desired a sovereign North. These marriages would build a lasting peace where rebellion was concerned, however Rorik did not live long enough to see the impact of his diplomacy as he fell sick during a hunt in the Hornwood with the Lord of that seat and died on his return to Winterfell.   His son Beric the Boaster followed him and though the man was known to tell a tall tale now and then, once claiming to have bedded a giantess leaving her ‘as pleased as could be’ he has proven to be a capable Lord. Beric is skilled at turning Northern irritations that remained after rebellion and political marriages toward the South. Beric has led a number of rides into the Riverlands to aid King Baelon in his battle against the Warrior Son’s, offering prizes and payment both in exchange for symbols of the Seven that Northmen return to Winterfell after these expeditions.   Alongside treating southern conflicts like a mercenary sport, the lords of the North have had some matters of their own to deal with ranging from traveling disease to the common wildling raids though the latter have increased in recent years. Tension has grown between men of the Night’s Watch and Lords such as Umber, Norrey and Harclay who claim the Night’s Watch should tend the wall better with the black brothers of the Wall citing the lack of Southern Prisoners who have found the honor of a second chance, though the influx of men who were spared the burning at Blackfield has helped keep a few of the Castles along the wall open, the Northmen hope the many southern wars will have more survivors who take the black.   Beside the Night’s Watch cursing the many executions and battles, the North, generally, has no real opinion about the Faith, the strife, the many marriages made by the King, or anything else south of the neck as Southron politics has no lasting impact on the North, though they have been fond of the chance to fight and leave the mess of a good battle in someone else’s lap. What has stirred the Northern court however is news of the Company of the Rose granting its banner to the Outlaw King.   Rumor of the exiles has unsettled a great many who are Loyal to Winterfell, and spit on those who fled the North when it needed strong men most. Some however have been stirred with a rebellious spirit, reminded of house Bolton and Hornwoods attempt to return to tradition, recalling a time when the North owed their strength to no one. With the call to King’s Landing for ‘good news’ Beric takes his court south to ensure their faith in the true King is known, and hopefully have a chance to crush the exile effort to undermine Northern unity.