The Riverlands

 

Geography

The riverlands encompass a region of plains, forests, hills, and endless rivers, and borders on every single kingdom except Dorne. Their northern border is near the swamplands of the Neck, the southernmost region of the north. To the east, the riverlands extend to the Vale of Arryn's Mountains of the Moon and Crackclaw Point in the crownlands. A stream forms part of the boundary between the riverlands and the crownlands, with the hills of House Wode in the former and the lands of House Hogg in the latter. To the south the riverlands border the crownlands and the Reach. The riverlands extend west to Ironman's Bay and the mountainous westerlands. The heavily fortified Golden Tooth guards the entrance to the riverlands but belongs itself to the westerlands. Some of the eastern hills of what are now the westerlands were once ruled by Kings of the Rivers and the Hills, such as the Mudds and Teagues. Some river kings also fought over territory with the Kings of the Reach to the south.

The riverlands are named for the number of rivers which are present. The Red Fork runs from its source in the western mountains to Riverrun where it combines with the Tumblestone and then runs to the east. The Blue Fork flows southeast from its sources near Seagard, while the Green Fork runs south from swamps in the Neck, near the kingsroad. The three forks come together a short distance from Lord Harroway's Town to form the Trident, which then pours into the Bay of Crabs at Saltpans. The northern Blackwater Rush and a river from the Gods Eye run through the southern riverlands.

The riverlands do not contain any major cities, but have a number of towns, such as Fairmarket, Harrentown, Harroway, Maidenpool, Saltpans, and Stoney Sept. Their major castles include Darry, Harrenhal, Raventree Hall, Riverrun, Seagard, Stone Hedge, and the Twins. Additional noteworthy places in the riverlands are the old ruins at Oldstones, where in ancient times House Mudd had its castle, and the Gods Eye lake with the Isle of Faces in it. The Lady of the Leaves lives in a village hidden in trees, while a ghost is said to be at High Heart. The Quiet Isle is located at the mouth of the Trident.

The river road runs from Casterly Rock in the westerlands to Riverrun and then on to the crossroads, where it meets the kingsroad and the high road. The Duskendale road connects Maidenpool with Duskendale in the crownlands.

The riverlands receive some snow during winter, but less than the Mountains of the Moon.

People and Economy

The riverlands are rich and fertile and populous. The numerous rivers that run across their expanse are used for trading and the transport of goods. In times of peace fisherfolk in skiffs and grain barges pole downstream and merchants on floating ships sail on the rivers. With so much trade on the rivers, villagers will haul their grain and other goods to it to see it sold and carried elsewhere by the merchants. Wine can be made from small, tart grapes grown in the riverlands.

Although they are Lords Paramount of the Trident, the Tullys have historically fielded fewer men than the Blackwoods, Brackens, Freys, and Vances. The Mallisters have a more prestigious lineage than the Tullys, and the Pipers and Mootons are wealthier.

Military strength

While the riverlands are rich, fertile and populous, the region lacks natural borders and suffers from divided leadership. This affects the military strength which House Tully of Riverrun can field. The riverlands can field perhaps some forty-five thousand men, with an estimated infantry-to-cavalry ratio of three to one. However, the number of soldiers who have been described in the field have been far less. When Aegon I Targaryen marched against the Reach during the Conquest with a host of eleven thousand men, most of these soldiers came from the riverlands. This is attributed mostly to the brutality of House Hoare and the impact on the Riverland population of the time.

House Frey alone. though a young house, is capable of raising at least four thousand men, including one thousand knights and three thousand infantry.

History

 

First Men

During the Dawn Age the First Men settled in the riverlands, coming into conflict with the native children of the forest. After centuries of fighting, a pact was signed at the Isle of Faces, the children withdrew to their forests, while the First Men raised their kingdoms in the lands ceded by the mysterious folk.

During the thousands of years that followed, various families ruled the riverlands as river kings, claiming the titles King of the Trident or King of the Rivers and the Hills. Many dynasties claimed these lands during the Age of Heroes, including Fishers, Brackens, Blackwoods, and Mudds, who were the last of the First Men to claim the riverlands as their own.

The time of the First Men river kings came to an end with the coming of the Andals. Remembered in song are the Fall of Maidenpool, the Widow's Ford, the White Wood, and the Battle of Bitter River. King Tristifer IV Mudd raised his armies and met the Andal invaders. Tristifer was said to have won ninety-nine out of his hundred battles against the Andals, but in the final battle he was killed. His son and successor, Tristifer V, was not as successful as his father and the kingdom fell.

Andals

The victorious Andals raised their own kingdoms and dynasties. House Justman united the riverlands for almost three centuries, and King Benedict II Justman expanded their realm east to Duskendale, Rosby, and the mouth of the Blackwater Rush. However, the sons of King Bernarr II Justman were murdered by Qhored Hoare in the Bloody Keep of Pyke in the Iron Islands, and the riverlands fell into anarchy when Qhored sacrificed Bernarr to the Drowned God, ending the Justman line.

The riverlands were then disputed by Houses Blackwood, Bracken, Vance, Mallister, and Charlton for a century. The Hooks were also river kings of old who claimed the mouth of the Blackwater. The various kings were pressured by the Kings of the Iron Islands, the Kings of the Rock, the Vale mountain clans, the Kings of the Reach, the Storm Kings, and pirates from the Stepstones and the Three Sisters. Torrence Teague finally reunited the riverlands, but he and his heirs were disliked by their rebellious subjects. Due to rebellion, House Teague did not have had an uninterrupted rule, instead being contested by other river dynasties for generations.

The last native river kings were Humfrey I Teague and his kin. Humfrey founded numerous septs and motherhouses in his kingdom, and he repressed worship of the old gods. A rebellion began by Lord Roderick Blackwood led to the deaths of the Teagues in the Battle of Six Kings. Some maesters believe that Arlan III Durrandon, the Storm King and Roderick's ally, had intended to restore the Blackwoods as river kings, but Roderick's death in the war led to Arlan being the first invader to claim the riverlands in their entirety.

Storm Kings

The Storm Kings of House Durrandon ruled the riverlands for at least three centuries. The Durrandons had difficulty ruling their vast realm, however, and the riverlords rose in rebellion each generation. Lucifer Justman, Marq Mudd, Lord Robert Vance, Lord Petyr Mallister, Lady Jeyne Nutt, Ser Addam Rivers, Pate of Fairmarket, Ser Lymond Fisher, and a dozen others all ruled briefly as petty kings or queens before being put down by the might of Storm's End.

House Hoare

The Storm Kings in turn were defeated by the Iron King, Harwyn Hardhand, who established his own kingdom from the Iron Islands to the riverlands. The era of the Kings of the Isles and the Rivers is included in The Iron Chronicle. Harwyn's son, Halleck Hoare, made his seat in Fairmarket instead of the Iron Islands.

Harwyn's grandson, Harren the Black, ordered the construction of an immense castle, Harrenhal, as a display of his wealth and power. Construction of Harrenhal took forty years and a huge amount of resources and money to build. Feuding between the Blackwoods and the Brackens during the construction led Harren to punish both houses. Ironically, the same day the most immense castle in history was finished, Aegon Targaryen, the Lord of Dragonstone, landed in Westeros with his dragons.

The Conquest

King Harren Hoare was unpopular within the riverlands when Aegon's Conquest began. Rather than support House Hoare, the river lords rose in rebellion and joined House Targaryen. The first to do so was House Tully, followed by the Blackwoods, Mallisters, Vances, Brackens, Pipers, Freys, and Strongs.

Harren the Black thought if he refused battle to Aegon the Conqueror, the invaders would have to besiege Harrenhal with the river lords. Instead, Aegon let his dragon attack from above. The heat produced by the dragonflame of Balerion was so great that much of Harrenhal burned and melted, killing Harren and his children. After the burning of Harrenhal, Aegon raised Lord Edmyn Tully to dominion over the riverlands, below the sovereignty of the Targaryens, as the Lord Paramount of the Trident.

Rivermen made up the bulk of Aegon's army at the Field of Fire. The Inn of the Kneeling Man on the Red Fork was built where Torrhen Stark, King in the North, is believed to have submitted to Aegon.

Recent Events

  The Riverlands had long been the battleground of Westeros and when the Conqueror landed that did not change. Many of the most instrumental moments in Aegon’s conquest occurred in the Riverlands and by the time the Seven Kingdoms were united, the Riverlands was unrecognizable both physically and politically. House Hoare had been displaced by house Tully. Harrenhal was a ruin and Riverrun, small as it was, guided the Riverlords.   In Aegon’s time Riverrun was often overshadowed by its banners. The young House Frey of the Crossing proving ambitious, the feud between Blackwood and Bracken a nearly overwhelming distraction in any session of Riverland court, and the Pipers of Pinkmaiden bringing scandal to any event they chose to join, though this scandal proved to be a welcome relief from the more grimm and serious matters in the Riverlands.   Despite all this Edmyn Tully, the first Lord Paramount of Iron and Trident was a close friend to Aegon after saving him from Vickon Greyjoy during the conquest of the Iron Islands, and a capable man who repaired a considerable amount of the damage done to the region by Harren the Black earning a place as one of Aegon the Conqueror’s Hands, a role Edmyn departed after two short years to spend time with his family. By his end he left his son Robard a stable and healthy region that he ruled until he was killed in 31 AC by a robber King known as the Giant of the Trident.   Robard and his son Peytor had both been very active in matters of the Riverlands and rode out to settle the growing troubles from the bandit and his men. Petyor led a force South from Fairmarket while Robard led men East from Riverrun. Prince Baelon engaged the Robber King’s forces on the Trident while the Giant of the Trident himself fled West, running into Lord Robards forces who engaged them, leading the Giant to slay Robard. As the Tully forces began to lose the battle with the Giant and his men, Peytor and Baelon both arrived to reinforce them, putting an end to the Robber King’s terror.   While house Tully tended to problems on land, Lord Piper and a force from houses Darry, Erenford, Lychester, Mooton, Piper and Roote set sail for the Iron Islands to put down a rebellion sparked by the Conqueror's death. Lord Piper and a handful of the Knights who commanded the assembled forces were slain in the landing, but so too were the architects of the Ironborn revolt, Jonos One Arm, and Qhorin Harlaw. It is said that the pair were both slain by Olyver Piper, then a squire of only 13 name days to the Piper Master at Arms. Rumors persist to this day however that the armor was worn by another while Olyver hid upon the ships, a lover more than a fighter.   Today, Peytor Tully rules the Riverlands and Iron Islands in as tumultuous a time as it has had in centuries. Peytor has since the fight that killed his father led the Riverlords in battle against Warrior Son’s from the Reach and West, Brigands who tout the ‘Giant’ that slayed his father a hero, and Rebel Ironborn who fought under the banner of Harren the Red. The greatest enemy to peace under Lord Peytor’s rule has surprisingly been consistent skirmishes with the Warrior Son’s who follow the Red Dog of the Hills and the Westermen who support them.   Some Riverlanders have questioned Peytor Tully's integration of Ironborn in Riverlands court, such as representatives of house Tawney, Drumm and Harlaw of Glimmering and they seek action from the Trout for King Baelon taking a Mallister among others to wife. Despite their gripes however few Riverlords are willing to push hard enough to see if they can do better knowing that there is a very real chance that things could only get worse if house Tully was unseated, recognizing that house Tully has managed the problems of the last five decades with a strength and finesse few others possess. There is a hope among the Riverlords who follow Peytor that the good news the King summons them for will put an end to the skirmishes that plague their lands, though in truth it is a small annoyance considering the relative peace they enjoy at the moment.