Casterly Rock

Casterly Rock, nicknamed the Rock, is a castle and the seat of House Lannister. The capital of the westerlands, it overlooks the harbor of Lannisport and the Sunset Sea. Nearby strongholds include Kayce and Feastfires to the west, Sarsfield to the north, and Cornfield.

## History

### **House Casterly**

The region was probably inhabited by children of the forest and giants before the arrival of the First Men, and numerous animals have made it their home as well.

Legend says that Casterly Rock is named for the family that ruled it in the Age of Heroes, the Casterlys, who no longer exist. The Lannisters trace their rule over it back to Lann the Clever, who tricked the Casterlys out of their castle and claimed it for his own. Some claim that Lann still haunts the fortress, which has never fallen.

### **House Lannister**

he Kings of the Rock from House Lannister took their title from their seat, and members of the family founded nearby Lannisport. During the Andal invasion, the Lannisters eventually invited Andals into their realm and brought Andal youths to serve at Casterly Rock as wards and potential hostages. According to a lost scroll, Valyrian sorcerers believed their downfall would come from the Rock's gold.

Impressed by earlier visits to Casterly Rock and the Hightower, Roland I Arryn ordered the construction of the Eyrie as a replacement for the Gates of the Moon as the seat of House Arryn.

King Gerold Lannister raided the Iron Islands and held one hundred captives in the Rock. Gerold the Great then hanged a captive whenever the ironborn threatened his lands. Before becoming King of the Iron Islands, Harmund II Hoare spent his youth at Casterly Rock as a ward.

During Aegon's Failed Conquest, King Loren I Lannister formed an alliance at Casterly Rock with Mern IX Gardener, King of the Reach, against Aegon the Conqueror. House Targaryen was defeated by the Lannisters and Gardeners at the Field of Valor. After the battle, Loren was known as "The Lazy."

## Layout

Casterly Rock is carved out of a great stone hill colossal rock beside the Sunset Sea. It is popularly believed to resemble a lion in repose at sunset.

The Casterlys of antiquity built a ringfort on the peak, and as millennia have passed its natural defenses have been expanded with walls, gates, and watchtowers. The base of the Rock contains large sea-carved caverns. The stone has been mined for thousands of years, so there are hundreds of mineshafts in the depths of the Rock, as well as yet untouched gold veins.

The Rock has been measured at three times the height of the Wall or the Hightower of Oldtown. It is almost two leagues long from west to east, and contains tunnels, dungeons, storerooms, barracks, halls, stables, stairways, courtyards, balconies, and gardens. In the bowels of the Rock are rooms where caged lions were once kept, and cells for the worst prisoners. The castle contains a sept.

The Lion's Mouth, the main entry to Casterly Rock, is an enormous natural cavern reaching two hundred feet high. Its steps are now wide enough for twenty riders. Its port has docks, wharves, and shipyards and is accessible by longships and cogs. From below the Rock thunder can be heard, where the sea comes in.

The Golden Gallery contains treasures of the Lannisters, including gilded ornaments and walls.The Hall of Heroes is where the Lannisters and their close kin who have died valiantly are interred. The armor of Lannisters of old are also displayed in the hall. The Stone Garden is a godswood with a twisted weirwood a tenth the size of Raventree Hall's.