Westerlands

The westerlands  is a region in the west of the continent of Westeros. Before Aegon's Conquest, it was known as the Kingdom of the Rock. People from the westerlands are known as westermen. .The customary surname of bastards of noble origin born in the westerlands is Hill.The westerlands is ruled from Casterly Rock by House Lannister. Notable bannermen have included Banefort, Brax, Broom, Clegane, Crakehall, Farman, Lefford, Lydden, Marbrand, Payne, Prester, Reyne, Serrett, Swyft, Tarbeck, and Westerling

## Geography

The westerlands is known for its rugged hills, rolling plains, fertile fields, and broadleaf forests. The land contains lakes and rivers, and the hills conceal systems of caves and caverns.The region lies along the coast of the Sunset Sea, with Ironman's Bay and the Iron Islands to the north.A salient of the northeastern westerlands extends near the ruins of Oldstones and the Blue Fork..astles on the northwestern coast include Banefort and the Crag. Faircastle is located on Fair Isle, while Feastfires and the market town of Kayce are found on a peninsula jutting into the sea.Also along the coast is Casterly Rock, the seat of House Lannister, a fortress carved out of a massive hill of solid rock.Near the Rock is Lannisport, a port and one of the largest cities of Westeros.Three days ride from the Rock is the village of Oxcross.Inland castles near the Rock including Ashemark and Sarsfield,Inland castles near the Rock including Ashemark and Sarsfield,as well as the ruins of Castamere and Tarbeck Hall.
The headwaters of the Tumblestone and the Red Fork begin in the westerlands and flow east into the riverlands. The main pass through the eastern hills is guarded by the Golden Tooth, a castle which controls access to the river road leading to Riverrun. Further south is the Goldroad, which runs east to King's Landing. Deep Den watches this road, with Hornvale to the north and Silverhill to the south.

## People and Economy

The westerlands are not the largest, most populous, or most fertile part of the realm, but they are the richest. Full of hills and crags, the land is dotted with mines from which pour gold and silver in astonishing quantities. There are gold mines at Casterly Rock, the Golden Tooth, Castamere, Nunn's Deep, and the Pendric Hills. According to semi-canon sources, there are settlements which become ghost towns once nearby mines stop producing ore.

## Military

A semi-canon source from 2005 estimates the military strength of the westerlands to be fifty thousand men strong, though this count includes even green boys, and depletes most castles of any protection.During Aegon's Conquest, King Loren I Lannister marched a host of twenty-two thousand from the westerlands to battle.The westerlands contributed ten thousand men-at-arms and one thousand knights during the War of the Ninepenny Kings.

## History

### Before the Andals

Little is known of the time before the coming of the First Men. Like the rest of Westeros, the children of the forest and giants lived in the westerlands and fought with the First Men when they came. After the Pact at the Isle of Faces, the children only kept the forests.The hills of the west were once inhabited by lions, but they are believed to all have been slain.First Men lords, some of whom were petty kings, included the Baneforts, Brooms, Crakehalls, Farmans, Footes, Greenfields, Hawthornes, Morelands, Plumms, Reynes, Westerlings, and Yews.

### Kingdom of the Rock

The Lannister Kings of the Rock gradually conquered or acquired neighboring territory, including the lands of the Reynes and the Baneforts. They initially resisted the Andal invasion, but later Lannister kings allowed the Andals to marry into the westermen nobility. New houses formed by the intermarriages included Houses Brax, Drox, Jast, Kyndall, Lefford, Marbrand, Parren, Sarsfield, and Serrett. In contrast to most kings of First Men origin, the support of the Andals allowed the Kings of the Rock to expand their power. When King Gerold III Lannister died without male issue, a council crowned his daughter's husband, Ser Joffrey Lydden, who became the first Andal King of the Rock, Joffrey Lannister.

## Refrences

1. ↑ A Feast for Crows, Prologue.
2. ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 26, Arya VI.
3. ↑ The Princess and the Queen.
4. ↑ A Game of Thrones, Appendix.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 The World of Ice & Fire, The Westerlands: House Lannister Under the Dragons.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 The World of Ice & Fire, The Westerlands.
7. ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Map of the South
8. ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Westerlands
9. ↑ The Lands of Ice and Fire, Westeros.
10. ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Westerlands: Casterly Rock.
11. ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Westerlands.
12. ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 32, Sansa III.
13. ↑ The Lands of Ice and Fire, Westeros.
14. ↑ A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide
15. ↑ *A Game of Thrones: d20-based Open Gaming RPG*.
16. ↑ *The World of Ice & Fire*, The Reign of the Dragons: The Conquest.