Oldtown

**Oldtown** is the oldest and the biggest port city in Westeros. It is the seat of House Hightower and the Order of Maesters.

The city is located in the southwest of the Reach, at the mouth of the river Honeywine where it opens onto Whispering Sound and the Sunset Sea beyond. It is the western terminus of the Roseroad from Highgarden and King's Landing.

## Layout

The city is primarily known as the location of the Citadel, home of the order of maesters who serve as councillors, doctors, scientists, and postmasters for the Seven Kingdoms.

The city's Starry Sept was the seat of the Faith of the Seven until the construction of the Great Sept of Baelor in King's Landing. Other septs include the Sailor's Sept, the Lord's Sept, and the Seven Shrines. Oldtown also has a motherhouse. The temples that cater to foreigners, such Summer Islanders and red priests of the Lord of Light, are all located down by the wharves.

Oldtown is one of the most important ports of the Seven Kingdoms. Trading ships from all over Westeros, as well as the Summer Islands, the Free Cities, and other places across the narrow sea, constantly crowd into its harbors.

The city itself is stunningly beautiful; many rivers and canals crisscross its cobbled streets, and breathtaking stone mansions are common. Oldtown lacks the squalor of daub-and-wattle King's Landing, which usurped its position as the pre-eminent city of Westeros. However, Oldtown is a labyrinth of wynds, alleys, markets and streets, such as the Thieves' Market and Ragpycker's Wynd. West of the Honeywine lie guildhalls, which sit along the shoreline.

The largest structure in the city, and also the tallest structure in Westeros, is the Hightower, a massive stepped lighthouse which extends some 800 feet into the sky and is topped by a huge beacon which can be seen for many miles out to sea.

Oldtown is ruled from the Hightower by House Hightower, who were originally kings in their own right but later swore fealty to House Gardener. They became vassals of the Tyrells after the War of Conquest. The Hightowers are known for their loyalty and being stalwart. The current ruler of the city is Lord Arlan Hightower.

## Household

* **Galladon Hightower**, Steward of the City
* **Maester Erryk**, residing Maester
* **Daryn Cuy,** Commander of the City Watch of Oldtown
* **Arys Mullendore**, Captain of the Grey Guard
* **Boremund Bulwer**, Master at Arms
* **Mern Merblood**, Harbourmaster of Oldtown
* **Arwyn Hightower**, Stewardess of the Household
* **Peremore Grimm**, Commander of the Sea Watch
* **Edmund of Honeyholt**, Royal Shipwright
* **Tristan**, Master of Horse
* **Jolly Jon Mander**, Kennelmaster

## History

### Ancient History

The origins of Oldtown are lost to time. The oldest runic records of the First Men, and records from maesters that claim to have lived among the children of the forest, confirm men have lived at the mouth of the Honeywine since the Dawn Age. Maester Jellicoe suggested the settlement at Whispering Sound began as a trading post where ships from Valyria, Old Ghis, and the Summer Isles could resupply and trade with so-called "elder races".

In the Age of Heroes, what is now the Ravenry of the Citadel was supposedly the stronghold of a pirate lord who robbed ships as they came down the Honeywine. House Hightower lived within an ancient fortress of oily black stone on Battle Isle and subsequently built the Hightower above it.

Rival kings, pirates, and reavers coveted Oldtown's wealth as the city grew more powerful, but it was protected by only wooden palisades and ditches. In one century, the city was sacked by Samwell the Starfire, Qhored the Cruel, and Gyles the Woe. Three quarters of the city's inhabitants were reportedly sold into slavery by Gyles, but he failed to conquer the Hightower. Otho II, King of the High Tower, built massive stone walls to protect Oldtown.

Oldtown joined the Kingdom of the Reach when King Lymond Hightower and King Garland II Gardener agreed to marry each other's daughters.

Oldtown survived the Andal invasion by welcoming the Andals, not resisting them. Lord Dorian Hightower married an Andal princess, while his grandson Damon converted to the Faith of the Seven.

### Targaryen Era

King Aegon I Targaryen's reign is dated from his entrance into the city of Oldtown and his acknowledgment as king by the High Septon, who had advised Lord Manfred Hightower to yield without conflict.

During the Dance of the Dragons, Lord Ormund Hightower and Prince Daeron Targaryen marched an army from Oldtown on behalf of the greens.

During the Great Spring Sickness, Oldtown suffered badly, second only to King's Landing. Ser Duncan the Tall met Maester Aemon when he and Prince Aegon Targaryen visited the city while returning from Dorne.

Prince Oberyn Martell and Princess Elia Martell visited Oldtown on their way to Casterly Rock where their mother was to broker their marriage to the Lannister twins, Cersei and Jaime.

During Robert's Rebellion and the fall of the Targaryen dynasty, Oldtown saw little fighting. House Hightower supported their liege lords in defense of the Crown, but supplied only a few men in truth - the city itself was far removed from any sphere of conflict, and thus continued to prosper in peace even after King's Landing was sacked by the forces of House Lannister.

### Baratheon Era

Throughout the reign of the Baratheon Kings, Oldtown has remained a bastion of peace and prosperity. Though the rest of the realm buckled beneath the hardship of war and the chaos of strife, the eldest city of Westeros remained untouched, home to scholars, merchants, and learned men from the world over.

This period of wealth and introspection was caused in part by the reign of Gerold the Gross, who might have beggared the city had his elegant wife the Melessa "the Dragonfly" not worked on his behalf to ensure her people's prosperity. Though Lord Hightower himself was reviled, his wife was dearly loved by the city, and her death during the Second Targaryen Invasion left a mark on the people of the day. Gerold, like his father before him and his son after him, offered support to his liege lord largely in the form of money and supplies from then onwards, keeping the heart of Oldtown's strength at home.

It wasn't until the rule of Alester the Silverhand that Oldtown once more took part in the Realm's affairs, on levels it had not seen since the days of Baelor Brightsmile and his five fair daughters. Alester raised the city to new heights, bringing wealth and fortune both - even as his success bred jealousy, in the form of his

bastard cousin Otto Blackflower. The rivalry between the two would come to a head in 351, where Otto arranged for his cousin to be murdered upon the streets of Oldtown in broad daylight - the resulting chaos saw the death of scores, though Alester himself was whisked away, wounded.

The Silverhand would go on to start many public works within the city, funding renovations and new constructions in many different districts. His eldest son was named to the Kingsguard, eventually rising to become it's Lord Commander, while his youngest, Loras Longhammer, was seen by many to be a preeminent warrior. Only his middle son, Mallador, his then-heir, seemed to boast the same calm and composure that his father had. In this, the city rejoiced.

When the Great Schism occurred in 375AC, the city of Oldtown was hit harder than most. Its large population and already large exposure to foreign philosophy made it a prime breeding ground for the Smith heresy, and it caught like wildfire. Several riots occurred, each more fearsome in the last, and in the end Lord Alester's life was claimed in one such conflict, brought down by a series of bricks and stones that knocked the aged lord from his horse.

Mallador would go on to put down the uprisings, though his own wife was rumoured to favour the teachings of the Smith. His hand in the quelling of the heresy made many of Oldtown dislike his rule - but the birth of Baelor and Baela Hightower won the hearts of many of Oldtown's citizens. The fair-haired siblings stood out from their siblings, and between Baela's good looks and Baelor's bold antics, the people of Oldtown quickly adopted them as their own. With the death of Mallador Hightower in 393AC, and the rise of his son Arlan, the city has remained at peace, the rifts of the Smith now healed - or at least kept quiet. Galladon Hightower, current heir to that noble seat, serves as it's Steward.