House Durrandon

**House Durrandon** is the house of the Storm Kings, rulers of the Kingdom of the Storm. They rule from Storm's End, a massive and stout castle built on the coast of Shipbreaker Bay.

## History

### Age of Heroes

It was one of the great heroes of that age, Durran Godsgrief, who legendarily raised Storm's End in defiance of the Storm God. Multiple keeps he built, and each was blown down by the savage storms of Shipbreaker Bay. At last he raised the present-day Storm's End, a castle built with walls so thick it withstood all the Storm God could throw at it. Many whisper that the stones of Storm's End's walls are imbued with magic, which keeps them strong.

### Andal Invasion

The Storm Kings resisted the Andals mightily, and for many years. King Erich the Unready ruled when the Andals landed around Blackwater Bay and points south. Though he perished before the fighting began truly, his next six successors lead the Kingdom of the Storm in a vicious struggle against the Andal invaders. After a seventh failed attempt by the Andals to seize Storm's End, they and King Maldon IV Durrandon made peace. Soon the Andals intermarried with the First Men Stormlords, including the Storm Kings-- King Maldon IV and his heir, King Durran XXIV, both married Andal maidens.

The last topic of note was the conversion of the Stormlands to the Faith of the Seven by King Ormund III Durrandon, some time after peace was made. As they assimilated into the Kingdom of the Storm, the Andals who settled there swore their swords to the Durrandons of Storm's End.

### Resurgent Kingdom of the Storm

Less than a century ago King Arlan I Durrandon reconquered Blackwater Bay, lost during the fighting with the Andals. His grandson, King Arlan III Durrandon, conquered the lands along the Trident-- the northern marches of the Kingdom of the Storm then were the Neck and the Twins, held by House Frey. The Crowned Stag flew from the Twins to Blackhaven, and for these few decades the Kingdom of the Storm rivaled even the Kingdom of the Reach in size, strength, and power.

### The Long Decline

Following the extraordinary rule of King Arlan III Durrandon, the Kingdom of the Storm once again began to shrink, and with it the prestige of House Durrandon. King Arrec I Durrandon was soundly defeated by the Hoares of the Iron Islands, losing those lands north of the Trident. The Ironborn would not be moved from those lands, despite efforts to recover them. The last such attempt claimed the life of King Arlan V Durrandon, and lead to the many houses around Blackwater Bay winning their independence from Storm's End, now too weak and disorganized to hold on to them.

### Recent History

The borders of the Kingdom of the Storm shrunk drastically. The Blackwater Rush now formed the northern border of the kingdom, and it was hemmed in in the east by the Narrow Sea, in the west by the Dornish Marches, and in the south by the Red Mountains. The Durrandons of Storm's End also suffered for their constant struggle in the Riverlands. Successive generations of Storm Kings spending so much time fighting and dying young in the north caused the steady shrinkage of their house, to the point now that the succession is dangerously precarious-- a cause of much concern in the Stormlands.