The Vale of Arryn

 

Geography

The borders of the Vale are held to be the Bite to the north, the Bay of Crabs to the south, the Mountains of the Moon and then the riverlands to the west, and the narrow sea to the east. The Vale consists of various regions: the Vale of Arryn itself; the Mountains of the Moon; the snakewood; the Fingers; and the islands of the Three Sisters, the Paps, and Pebble.

 

The Vale is located on the eastern shore of Westeros, a land of fertile soil, rivers, and lakes, protected by its largely impassable Mountains of the Moon. The Vale tends to be slightly isolated from the rest of Westeros. Its harsh winters make travel only possible through the mountains during warmer years, and rebellious mountain clans make travel even more dangerous. The Vale can be reached through the high road, which connects the Vale and the riverlands, and is protected by the Bloody Gate. The Fingers can be accessed separately by the waterway of Strongsong under the castle of Ninestars at the entrance from the Riverlands, and Strongsong on the other side of the Mountains of the Moon.

 

The mountainous border of the Vale of Arryn proper appears to include the Bloody Gate in the west and the Eyrie and Longbow Hall to the north. The fertile lands within the valley include Ironoaks, Old Anchor, Redfort, and a peninsula containing the city of Gulltown and Runestone. The town of Wickenden is located along the Bay of Crabs, in the mountains south of the valley. Castles north of the Vale proper in the valleys of the Mountains of the Moon and the snakewood forest include Ninestars, Coldwater, Heart's Home, Snakewood, and Strongsong.

 

People and Economy

The Valemen, the people of the Vale, are known as reliable warriors steeped in honor and the worship of the Faith of the Seven. The knights of the Vale consider themselves the finest in the Seven Kingdoms, and the Valemen consider the Eyrie to be the most beautiful castle of the realm. The island people of the Three Sisters are known as Sistermen.

 

Some of the people living in the foothills of the Mountains of the Moon have rejected the authority of the Eyrie and live by their own rules. These mountain clans, such as the Black Ears and the Burned Men, are descendants of the First Men who raid unwary travelers and skirmish with the knights of the Vale.

 

The valley's rich black soil allows the Valemen to grow wheat, corn, and barley. Not even in Highgarden do the pumpkins grow any larger nor is the fruit any sweeter. House Waxley is known for producing scented candles in Wickenden. The candles can be scented with nutmeg and other costly spices. There is at least one rock quarry in the Vale, which produces “white stone” suitable for use in castle walls.

 

The Valesmen consider the purity of their Andal blood a point of pride and will go to great lengths to secure Andal marriages, typically from within the Vale but occasionally from Andal houses of other regions. This pride can sometimes lead to an arrogance that would make a Lannister blush.

 

Military strength

The Vale can raise perhaps as many as forty-five thousand men. Their strength is comparable to the North and Dorne. The houses Royce of Runestone, Waynwood, Hunter, Redfort, Belmore and Templeton together are able to raise twenty thousand men, while the Gates of the Moon can field only three hundred.

 

It is said that the Kings of Mountain and Vale did not neglect their fleets when they still reigned, which might have counted hundreds of ships at Gulltown. Gulltown currently boasts a sea patrol of 50 ships that police the waters between the Vale and Braavos.

 

History

First Men

 

During the Age of Heroes, the Vale was thinly populated and was ruled by a score of petty First Men kings. The Winged Knight is among the legendary heroes of the Valemen from thousands of years ago.

 

Vale of Arryn

The Vale was where the Andals landed when they began their invasion of Westeros. Rather than unite against the newcomers, many of the First Men rulers sought alliances with the Andals, often with disastrous results. House Arryn claimed the Vale after defeating the First Men in the Battle of the Seven Stars. As such, the Arryns are one of the oldest lines of Andal nobility in the Seven Kingdoms. The Arryns ruled as Kings of Mountain and Vale for approximately six thousand years. Those First Men who did not accept Andal rule fled into the Mountains of the Moon, becoming the mountain clans.

 

Following the Rape of the Three Sisters two thousand years ago, the Vale warred with the north for a thousand years. The Wolf's Den was besieged by Osgood Arryn and burned by the Talon during the War Across the Water between the two kingdoms. The Three Sisters swore fealty to the Arryns, although their loyalty remains tenuous. The Bloody Gate withstood three attempts by Halleck Hoare, King of the Isles and the Rivers, to conquer the Vale.

 

Recent Events

  The Vales' recent history begins not at the peaks of mountains, or in the ice and snow in the valley’s around them but at sea, beneath a fog of fire. The beginning of the end for the Vale’s time as its own Kingdom is when Visenya burned the fleet of the boy-king of the Vale in retribution for the death of Daemon Velaryon and the destruction of House Targaryen’s navy. Soon after the Three Sisters raised in revolt against their King and Visenya returned to finish what she started.
  Sharra Arryn, Queen Regent of the Vale ruled in place of her son the boy-king Rickard Arryn, and in his name she called the banners of the Vale to the Bloody Gate. Visenya however, unburdened by a need for roads, flew high to the Eyrie and obtained her surrender without battle, though there was no shortage of implied death. Sharra returned to the Eyrie to find Rickard sitting on Visenya’s lap asking if he could ride her Dragon, a sight that pushed Sharra to bend her knee. Rickard flew twice with Visenya and Vhaegar during her visit that sealed the allegiance of the Vale and there are stories that say in the years that followed Visenya and Rickard remained quite close and she would take him through the sky on every visit to the Vale. In his time as Lord, house Targaryen had no shortage of friendship from the Vale who stand as Defenders of the Vale and Wardens of the East for the Iron Throne to this very day.
  Queen Rhaenys as part of her campaign for unity arranged the marriage between Rickard Arryn and Rayna Stark, the daughter of Torrhen Stark of Winterfell, in an attempt to knit the new realm together. There are letters at the Citadel that suggest Torrhen protested greatly and that his sons refused to attend the wedding but it still came to pass. By the time Aegon passed; Perhaps because Aegon passed, Rickard was deposed by his brother Paul. House Royce was one of the principle supporters of Rickards line, gathering their forces against Paul besieging him in the Eyrie. In response Paul threw Rickard and his family through the Moon Door.
  What Paul Arryn did not realize is that it was not King Aegon who should concern him, but Queen Visenya who had been a long time friend of Rickard, considering him almost a son. When news of Rickards death reached King's Landing, despite Aelyx I wishing to let the Vale handle their own matters Visenya and Vhagar flew to the Eyrie like they had many times over the last four decades, followed close behind by Prince Baelon on the back of Balerion who refused to let his Mother put herself at risk alone. There Visenya dispensed justice for those who had turned on Rickard.
  The men who supported Paul thought that trying and punishing the usurper themselves would earn mercy, however the only mercy Visenya showed them was to have them hanged instead of burnt. Prince Baelon oversaw the hangings and many voices both on the gallows and in the crowd, questioned that the Highborn were not given the honor of a beheading. This critique saw Baelon offer beheading to any others in the crowd who spoke during the execution. The hanging was from that point forward a silent affair.
  Those who were personally involved in Rickards death alongside Paul were "given the honor of feeling what it's like to fly" as Rickard had known upon Vhagar, though while the late Lord Arryn had ridden upon Vhagar's back as a friend to Visenya, the Lords who killed him were picked up in Vhagar's claws one by one and dropped from the sky high over the mountains of the Moon with the specific instruction to any who might hope to find and bury what remained of them, that to do so would be treason.
  Since then Lord Artos Arryn has ruled the Vale as a meek and nervous Lord who seems to overextend himself in keeping his banners, and his King happy. no doubt fearing the fate of Rickard from his banners and the fate of Paul from the Crown if he should fail. The installation of Artos Arryn was not a popular decision, house Grafton among others had spent a considerable amount of coin ensuring Paul’s success and Rickards supporters bemoan Artos’ lack of fitness to rule beyond his name. In either case the Lords of the Vale begrudgingly accepted Artos’s ascendency fearing Dragonfire that had been promised by Visenya. Though many work against House Arryn, especially since Visenya's death.
  The Vale remains a sleeping giant today. The Lords of the Vale are hardly willing to rock the boat too much either way lest Baelon and Balerion return in earnest. However for all the tension surrounding him in no small part because of Lords like Grafton some say Artos is likely one bad day from becoming a monster like Baelon himself.