The Lords of the Narrow Sea

Narrow Sea isles are ruled by House Targaryen of Dragonstone. It's located to the east of Blackwater Confederation in Blackwater Bay. Islands within Blackwater Bay include Dragonstone, Driftmark, and Claw Isle. Dragonstone is home to the last dragons of Valyria.

Most notable houses of Narrow Sea are house Targaryen, Velaryon, Celtigar, Sunglass and Rambton.

## People and culture

The Narrow Sea isles are ruled by House Targaryen of Dragonstone. It is located to the east of Blackwater Pact in Blackwater Bay. Islands within Blackwater Bay include Dragonstone, Driftmark, Claw Isle, and Sweetport Sound. Dragonstone is home to the last dragons of Valyria.

The most notable houses of the Narrow Sea are House Targaryen, Velaryon, Celtigar, Sunglass and Rambton. These houses, and the people who live in their demesne, are the last remnants of the Valyrian Freehold, and consider themselves her true legacy.

### Appearance

Valyrians are famous for having silver-gold hair and violet-purple eyes, characteristics not found amongst any other peoples of the world. This can vary from white to silver-gold to blond hair, and from lilac, to deep purple, and pale blue eyes. The most noble of Valyrians were considered strikingly, some say inhumanly, beautiful. This has continued to persist through Essos, with Volantene, and Lyseni nobles in particular long desiring to continue their Valyrian traits even after the Doom.

The Valyrian nobility valued purity of blood. Therefore, the practice of incest was common in old Valyria, as the Valyrians would customarily wed brother to sister. These practices were not limited to the Freehold; on Dragonstone the Targaryens continued to practice incestuous marriage and polygamy to keep the dragon bloodline pure. There is an awareness though that successive generational incest can result in complications at birth, amongst other undesirable traits. As such the Valyrians of the Narrow Sea have introduced small amounts of new blood from Andal houses and between themselves, to try and prevent these negative effects.

The language Valyrians speak is High Valyrian. It is the root language from which Dragonstone Valyrian, Ghiscari Valyrian, and Essosi Valyrian are parsed.

For faith the Valyrians worshiped the Fourteen Flames, otherwise called the Gods of Old Valyria. The pantheon of Fourteen Gods are named for the fourteen volcanoes on the Valyrian peninsula. They are considered to have taken mortal form through particularly powerful dragons. House Targaryen of Dragonstone’s patron is Balerion the Black Dread.

### Economy

The Narrow Sea trades in seafood, stone, Valyrian texts and knowledge. They export a modest amount of lumber from Driftmark and Claw Island. The Dragonlords have long held piracy a danger to their continued presence on the island and taken a violent opposition to criminal activity. This produces captured ships and confiscated trade goods that supplement an otherwise traditional island based economy. The largest trade port of the Valyrians is Driftmark, located to the west of Dragonstone, and ruled by House Velaryon. Though Dragonstone is larger in land and ship building capacity. The isles of Blackwater Bay are a desirable early stop trade port for any trader coming towards the large, Blackwater city of Duskendale.

The Valyrian coinage is three denominations of gold, silver, and bronze; respectively called dragons, drakes, and wyrms.

### Culture

The Valyrians of the Narrow Sea continue to hold very close to traditional Freehold Culture. There have been though some notable points of divergence since the Doom. This is most prevalent in their extreme distaste for slavery, as slaves consume food and the Narrow Sea does not have the necessary abundance to support over population. Additionally, in the Freehold all forty of the most powerful families were equal to one another; this no longer holds true. House Targaryen is the undisputed Dragonlord, with vassals in House Velaryon, Celtigar, Baratheon, Scales, Qoherys, and Sunglass.

Valyrian society is patriarchal, and male Valyrians possess political liberty, the right to own land in freehold and rule himself and his house. Virtuous behaviour is considered ideal, but there is no formal marking of a virtuous or honourable man or woman. It is expected that elders are respected, even by the Dragonlord to a degree - the seriousness of this respect is dependent on the age difference between the speakers.

Natural born children of lords receive no second or family name, they are simply provided a first name and rarely brought to their father’s court. New branches of families can be started if a natural born son earns enough virtue to be granted nobility and freehold title.

A conquest mindset is the assumption of Valyrian culture even post-Doom, it permeates most aspects of life including trade, sexuality, and politics. Same-sex relations are free to be pursued without loss of status, so long as it is a position of dominance and does not interfere with the construction of family. This follows on from incestuous blood purity, and historically strong women who partook in battles and claimed victory spoils.

Gender balance is taken as more equal in the Narrow Sea than Essos or Westeros, thanks in large part to the efforts of several notable women breaking away from imposed norms. Daenys the Dreamer led House Targaryen across the sea before the doom, and Baela Targaryen rode Meraxes into battle numerous times. This has not removed all traditional gender roles, women are still expected to birth children, and men are taken as the primary defender of their house. Patriarchy is still dominant though, and it is the eldest male child who is considered the head of house, if not the freehold owner. There have been a number of historical female High Priests of the Fourteen Flames.

## History

Two centuries before the Doom of Valyria, Valyrians settled Dragonstone and built a citadel as the westernmost outpost of the Valyrian Freehold, becoming another power in the region. In time, the middle of the narrow sea came to be controlled by the dragons of House Targaryen of Dragonstone, as well as the ships of House Velaryon of Driftmark and House Celtigar of Claw Isle.

## Faith and Governance

### The Fourteen Flames

The Fourteen Flames are the formal faith of House Targaryen and the Narrow Sea. Named for the fourteen volcanoes of the peninsula they are;

* Arrax - Ruler of Gods, law, order, justice, governance and strength.
* Aegarax - God of all creatures that walk, run, swim or fly. Creator of the first dragon.
* Balerion - God of death and the Underworld.
* Caraxes - God of the sea, twin of Meraxes.
* Gaelithox - God of fire, stars, moon, sun and the dawn, rival of Meraxes.
* Meleys - Goddess of love and fertility.
* Meraxes - Goddess of the sky, twin of Caraxes.
* Shrykos - Goddess of beginnings, endings, transitions and doorways.
* Syrax - Goddess of wine, fruitfulness, parties, festivals, madness, chaos, drunkenness, vegetation, and ecstasy.
* Tessarion - Goddess of music, arts, knowledge, healing, plague, prophecy, poetry, beauty, archery and booty
* Tyraxes - Goddess of reason, wisdom, intelligence, skill, peace, warfare and battle strategy.
* Vermax - God of boundaries, travel, communication, trade, language, and writing.
* Vermithor - God of smiths, crafts and artisans.
* Vhagar - God of war.

There are an assortment of mythical stories, legends, and figures to which the Valryian’s hold dear. Foremost among them is Aerion the First Dragonrider, the Creation Myth of Arrax, Tessarion’s Gift, and the Penance of Vermithor. The faithful are led by the High Priest, who leads prayers on every fourteen day. The next High Priest is selected by the Dragonlord in consultation with the current High Priest.

Valyrian steel is considered divine and the rightful heritage of the ancients of the Freehold. Most historical and legendary figures bare the magical steel. It is considered paramount to respect a wielder of Valyrian steel. Losing Valyrian steel is considered as dishonourable and will result in loss of status, though the return of lost Valyrian steel to its rightful owner is expected and considered highly virtuous.

### Court Titles

The ancient Freehold titles of Valyria were:

1. Imperatyr - Singular, nominally elected ruler of the forty families.
2. Praetyr - five elected freehold judges who ruled on the most serious of legal matters.
3. Autokratyr - A head of family, or Emperor appointed head of a region charged with ruling in the Freehold’s stead. Also referred to as Zaldrīzes āeksio if they were a dragonrider.
4. Quaestyr - family based assessor of economic affairs.
5. Promagistae - a head of family, or commander given authority beyond the land of the Freehold.
6. Aedilus - family based assessor of buildings and food supply.
7. Cenzorus - a public official in charge of making small claims rulings on legal matters, and overseeing general behaviour.
8. Tribunus - an assistant to a higher position.

These titles are no longer in use by House Targaryen of the Narrow Sea, another departure from Old Valyria. Instead they have taken to more Andal courtly titles based on who serves House Targaryen directly. Though many of these positions formally bear Valyrian names, they have come to adopt Common titles for ease of trade and the natural development of Dragonstone Valyrian.

The Targaryen Court is headed by the Dragonlord, who is always the head of House Targaryen. Their courtly titles are more practical in language and construction:

* Wyraeksio (*Wyrmaster*): in charge of courtly secrets and information gathering.
* Geleboaeksio (*Assessor*): in charge of economic affairs similar to historical Quaestyr.
* Voktys Eglie (*High Priest*): master of faithful matters and advisor on theological items
* Paktot Ondos (*Right Hand*): the most senior of the head of courtly positions, can speak with authority of Dragonlord when they are not present.
* Geptot Ondos (*Left Hand*): advisory position to the Dragonlord, often used to treat outside the Dragonlords demesne.
* Aeksio Praetyr (*Law Master*): advice on legal matters, and in charge of keeping a record on every ruling made by the dragonlord.
* Aeksio Lōgor (*Ship Master*): Nominally held by House Velaryon, is in charge of coordinating naval affairs.
* Zaldrīzes Kipagīros (*Dragon rider):* all dragon riders of House Targaryen hold this position and are invited to attend courtly matters when it suits them. They are given variable autonomy based on the Dragonlord of the day.

## Language

### High Valyrian

High Valyrian is the language originating from Valyria and the Valyrian Freehold. Corrupted dialects known as Bastard Valyrian are spoken in the Free Cities, and Ghiscari Empire, now known as Slaver's Bay.

The Valyrian writing system, or at least a Valyrian writing system, is described as involving glyphs. It was also standard practice to write on scrolls, and not in books. The glyphs can also be inscribed, as on an old Valyrian dragon horn, which, when sounded, had "every line and letter shimmering with white fire." Valyrian carvings have been found on obelisks, and are rife throughout Dragonstone today. Valyrian steel is forged with spells, as well as hammers. Some smiths still know them, although not entirely.

House Targaryen of Dragonstone, and their vassals speak High Valyrian still amongst themselves. Though as a trade dialect it is virtually useless and a bastardised form is necessary. It is considered a virtuous endeavour to return High Valyrian language in kind, and traders who do so enjoy better prices, while foreign delegates receive better treatment and terms.

It is a poetic language that forms the basis for several elegant poems, and songs that survived the Doom. It can be sung quite beautifully when known well. All Fourteen Flame prayers are conducted in High Valyrian.

### Dragonstone Valyrian

Dragonstone Valyrian is a form of bastard Valyrian that is used by the common folk in the Narrow Sea isles. It harnesses elements of High Valyrian, and Westerosi Common and has developed over nearly hundred and fifty years of Targaryen, Velaryon, and Celtigar rule. It is also used by some of the nobility as it is notably easier, faster and more readily understood. The jump from Dragonstone Valyrian to Common is relatively easy to make for most with tutors, and it is through Dragonstone Valyrian that noble children are taught both sides of the language.

In Essos Dragonstone Valyrian is seen as nothing more than another dialect of the freehold akin to Slaver’s Bay or Volantis. In Westeros it's highly likely it's seen as just High Valyrian with a touch of regional flair, though the incorporation of Common words makes it slightly more easier to understand.