The Eyrie

* Appearance
* Location

The **Eyrie** is the principal stronghold of House Arryn. It is located in the Vale of Arryn near the east coast of Westeros. It is situated in the Mountains of the Moon on a shoulder of the peak known as the Giant's Lance, several thousand feet above the valley below. It is approached by a narrow causeway and road.

Those who would approach the Eyrie must pass through three way-castles guarding the ascent - and then, must proceed in single file, making them very vulnerable to archers. For these reasons, the Eyrie is considered impregnable to any attack that does not involve dragons, and its defences have never been overcome. It is currently the seat of Jon Arryn – the Warden of the East.

Although small compared to the seats of other Great Houses in Westeros, the Eyrie is considered impregnable to attack. During wintertime, the Arryn's seek refuge against the cold in the Gates of the Moon at the base of the mountain.

The Eyrie was the ancestral seat of the First Men Mountain Kings until the Andal Invasion, where it was won by Ser Artys Arryn after the Battle of the Seven Stars. He ruled from the Eyrie as King of Mountain and Vale and it became the seat of House Arryn, whose head was also the Lord of the Eyrie. It proved impregnable by the hostile Hill Tribes.

## **Layout:**

The Eyrie is the smallest of the great castles, being no larger than Maegor's Holdfast. The castle is made of fine white stone. Its seven slim, white towers are bunched tightly together and can hold up to five hundred men. The waterfall known as Alyssa's Tears can be heard from the Eyrie, and falcons fly near the castle.

The Eyrie lacks stables, smithies, and kennels, but its granary is as large as those found in much larger castles, like Winterfell. The Eyrie also contains a sept. The castle's household guard wear sky-blue cloaks.

* **The High Hall -** is a long and austere hall, with walls made of blue-veined white marble. The High Hall is decorated with rows of slim fluted pillars and a blue silk carpet. At the end of it sit two thrones carved of weirwood, one the high seat of the lord and the other a lesser throne for a consort. It has narrow, arched windows, between which are torches mounted on high iron or silver sconces. Feasts can be held in the High Hall. Entrance to the High Hall is through carved wooden doors.
* **The Moon Door -** is a narrow Weirwood door that stands between two slender pillars halfway in the High Hall. A crescent moon is carved into the door, which opens inward and is barred by three heavy bronze bars. The door opens into the sky. Most executions at the Eyrie use this door, which opens onto a six-hundred-foot drop to the stones of the valley below.
* **The Crescent Chamber -** is the Eyrie's reception hall. Here, guests are given refreshments and warmed by the fire after making the climb up the Giant's Lance.
* A flight of steep marble stairs from the Crescent Chamber bypasses the Eyrie's under crofts and dungeons and is protected by three murder holes. The portcullis atop the stairs leads to an arcade decorated with tapestries.
* **The Solar** - is located at the end of the arcade. The chamber is decorated with a Myrish carpet and has enough room for a trestle table and at least eight heavy oak-and-leather chairs.
* **The Lower Hall** - is a hall in which food and wine can be served.
* **The Morning Hall** - is located above the kitchens and is where people can break their fast.
* **The Maiden's Tower** - is the easternmost of the seven towers of the Eyrie. From a balcony on the tower, one can see the Vale and the Giant's Lance.
* **The Moon Tower -** contains the bedchambers of Lord Arryn, which is protected by an oaken door four inches thick and has curtains of plush blue velvet. The bedchamber's window has small diamond-shaped panes.
* **The Garden** - is encircled by the castle's towers. It was intended to be a godswood, but no weirwood heart tree would take root in the stony soil. The garden, which is overlooked by Lady Lysa Arryn's apartments, instead contains blue flowers, grass, shrubbery, thin dark trees, and statuary, including a depiction of a weeping Alyssa Arryn in its center.
* **Sky Cells** - are the Eyrie's infamous dungeons. They are shelves on the side of the mountain's sheer cliffs, left open to the cold sky, with slightly sloping floors to unnerve the prisoners. Many prisoners, driven mad by the cold and howling wind, commit suicide rather than remain imprisoned.
* The Eyrie is located six hundred feet above a way castle, Sky. Using handholds carved into the rock within the Giant's Lance, visitors can climb a ladder-like chimney which leads from Sky up to the castles under cellar. Alternatively, wicker baskets and six great oaken buckets are drawn on long iron chains between the Eyrie and Sky. Supplies can thus be brought from Sky to the Eyrie's winch room, as can visitors unable or unwilling to climb the chimney ladder. Oxen are used to turn the winches, and the animals are slaughtered and left for falcons when the Arryn's descend to the Gates of the Moon before winter. When the court returns to the Eyrie after winter, unspoiled meat is served in a spring feast.