Crownlands

### Geography

Plains and river valleys, with forests in the south and in Crackclaw Point to the north; temperate/Mediterranean climate on the coast around King's Landing

### Rulers

House Blackfyre
House Targaryen (formerly)

### Towns

Driftmark • Duskendale • Rook's Rest • Rosby • Sow's Horn

### Castles

Antlers • Castle Stokeworth •
Dragonstone • The Dyre Den • The Red Keep • Sharp Point • Stonedance • The Whispers • Parandor Castle

### Places of note

Blackwater Bay • The Blackwater Rush • Claw Isle • Crackclaw Point •
Dragonstone • The Kingsroad • The Kingswood • The Spears of the Merling King

### Founder

{Aegon the Conqueror}

The **Crownlands** is one of the nine constituent regions of the Seven Kingdoms. Instead of being ruled by a Lord Paramount, the Crownlands are ruled directly by the monarch on the Iron Throne from the city of King's Landing, the largest city in Westeros and the capital of the Seven Kingdoms.

## History

The Crownlands were never a sovereign nation, instead being contested between the Riverlands, the Stormlands, and other regions for thousands of years until Aegon the Conqueror seized control of the area during his invasion and made it his primary foothold on the continent. It is therefore the newest of the regions in Westeros, and as a result, does not have much of a distinct "cultural identity", so much as it is shaped by its distinction as the region containing the capital city.

The Riverlands were always more of a borderland frequently changing hands between rival strong kingdoms and were not an independent kingdom at the time of the Targaryen Conquest, and thus are technically not counted as one of the "Seven" Kingdoms. The Crownlands are even younger than the Riverlands (which are loosely the "eighth" kingdom), which at least existed as a loose cultural area for thousands of years even if they weren't always politically independent, thus the Crownlands functionally make up the ninth "kingdom" within the realm anachronistically known as "the Seven Kingdoms". Culturally and historically, the Crownlands were primarily an extension of the Riverlands, but with cultural influences from neighbouring regions which periodically captured territory in the region, such as the Stormlands, the Reach, and even the Iron Islands. One of the main reasons Aegon the Conqueror began his invasion in the area which would become the Crownlands is because it was where the borders between these three powerful rival kingdoms met. None of them wanted to deal with the Targaryen threat directly, and each wasted so much time arguing that Aegon was really the problem of the other two respective kingdoms that the Targaryens were able to land all of their forces and establish a firm beachhead unopposed.

For almost of its two centuries of existence the Crownlands were ruled directly by House Targaryen and their subordinate vassals. When House Targaryen was deposed at the end of The Blackfyre Rebellion, Daemon Blackfyre took the throne, and his new House Blackfyre took up the rule of the Crownlands.

The Crownlands is politically subdivided into two areas: the mainland part administered directly by the King on the Iron Throne and his small council from the city of King's Landing, and the offshore islands under the authority of the Prince of Dragonstone, traditionally the heir to the throne.

Bastards born in the Crownlands are given the surname **Waters**.

## Geography

The Crownlands are located on the east coast of Westeros, on the shores of the Narrow Sea, north of the Stormlands and south of the Vale of Arryn. The Reach borders it to the southwest, and the Riverlands border it to the northwest. The Crownlands do not directly touch the lands of the Vale, as the Bay of Crabs separates them by sea, and a small strip of the eastern Riverlands separates them by land. Gods Eye lake forms the southern part of the border between the Riverlands and the Crownlands, but the northern part of the border with the Riverlands is arbitrary, not defined by geographical features.

The Crownlands consist of two major regions: the mainland area which is ruled from King's Landing itself, and the islands of Blackwater Bay, which are ruled from Dragonstone island by the heir to the throne.

The mainland itself is further divided into three regions. The main region lies between the Blackwater River in the south, and Crackclaw Point in the north. The Blackwater Rush, as it is known, is the major waterway of the Crownlands, flowing out of Gods Eye lake. King's Landing itself sits on the north side of the Blackwater. This area is a warm coastal plain with fertile fields that feed the capital city. Besides King's Landing itself, the major towns of Rosby and Duskendale are also located here.

Crackclaw Point itself in the north is a forested, hilly region filled with bogs and pine barrens. This backwater region is sparsely populated by local hill-lords who have been feuding with their neighbors and each other since the days of the First Men, but who submitted to the Targaryens. South of the Blackwater River, the Crownlands extend to include a narrow strip of the southern coast of Blackwater Bay, ending in Massey's Hook. This southern strip of land is sparsely populated, and dominated by the northern half of the Kingswood, a large forest which spills across the border into the Stormlands.

As befitting the region containing the capital city, many major roads link the Crownlands with the rest of Westeros. The Kingsroad extends south to Storm's End in the Stormlands, and continues north through King's Landing, passing up through the Riverlands, then to Winterfell in the North and ultimately to the Wall. The Roseroad passes from King's Landing to Highgarden in the Reach, before continuing on to Oldtown, the second largest city on the continent. The Goldroad passes from King's Landing through the Riverlands to the west to reach the city of Lannisport in the Westerlands. It is also relatively easy to reach King's Landing by ship from the two other port-cities on the east coast of Westeros, White Harbor in the North and Gulltown in the Vale of Arryn. Finally, the Stoneroad firstly is connected to the Kingsroad, but then extends to Dorne, through the Prince's Pass and through Hellholt and then straight to Sunspear, this was the most recent great road and unlike the others it was built under the administration of Daemon Blackfyre. A multitude of ships and foreign merchants from the Free Cities on the east shore of the Narrow Sea frequently visit the city for trade.

### Settlements and castles

* King's Landing, the capital city of Westeros, currently ruled by King Daemon III Blackfyre.
	+ The Red Keep, the royal castle that towers over King's Landing.
	+ Duskendale, the seat of House Rykker.
	+ Rosby, the seat of House Rosby.
	+ Castle Stokeworth, the seat of House Stokeworth.
	+ Antlers, a holdfast north of King's Landing near the border with the Riverlands.
	+ Sow's Horn , a holdfast north of King's Landing and south of Antlers.
	+ Parandor, the seat of House Parandor, and a coastal town along Blackwater Bay.
	+ The Whispers, a ruined castle on the tip of Crackclaw Point.
	+ Stonedance, castles on a peninsula south of Blackwater Bay.
* Dragonstone, the ancestral home of House Targaryen and House Blackfyre, now ruled by the Blackfyres .
	+ Sharp Point, castles on a peninsula south of Blackwater Bay, sworn to Dragonstone.
	+ Driftmark, the seat of House Velaryon, an island-town west of Dragonstone.

### Forested regions

* Crackclaw Point
* The Kingswood

### Highways

* The Kingsroad
* The Goldroad
* The Roseroad
* The Stoneroad

### Islands and bodies of water

* Dragonstone
* Claw Isle
* Blackwater Bay
	+ The Spears of the Merling King, a string of rocky islets along Blackwater Bay