Winterhold

**Winterhold** is the stronghold of House Bruce and is considered to be the 'capital' of the North. It is located close to a tributary of the White Knife, on the Kingsroad as it winds its way north towards the Wall. The forbidding Wolfswood is located very close to the castle, and the direwolves of the forest give the Starks their heraldic symbol.

## Layout

Winterhold is a huge castle complex spanning several acres and protected by two massive walls. There is a village outside, the winter town. Winterhold has been built around an ancient godswood and over natural hot springs. The water is piped through walls and chambers to heat them, making Winterhold more comfortable than other castles during the harsh northern winters.

Inside the walls, the complex is composed of dozens of courtyards and small open spaces. Weapons training and practice take place in those yards. The inner ward is a second, much older open space in the castle where archery practice takes place. It is located next to the broken tower. Inside Winterholds stands the inner castle, which contains the Great Keep and the Great Hall. Winterholds towers and halls have diamond-shaped window panes.

### Inner Castle

* The Great Keep is the innermost castle and stronghold of the castle complex. It was built over natural hot springs to keep it warm. Its walls are made of granite. The Great Keep contains bedchambers for House Bruce. The building is connected to the armory by a covered bridge. From a window on the covered bridge, one can see the entire yard. Beneath the Great Keep are cellars with narrow windows.

* The Great Hall is used for receiving guests and the place where the household dines together, including the Lord of Winterhold. It is made of grey stone and has wide doors made of oak and iron, which opens to the castle yard, and a rear exit leads to a dimly-lit gallery. Inside it can hold eight long rows of trestle tables, four to each side of the central aisle, and the hall can seat five hundred people. There is a raised platform for noble guests, and the walls are covered with banners. The hall contains the high seat of the old Kings in the North. The seat's cold stone has been polished by the many lords who have sat upon it, and its massive arms are decorated with the carved heads of snarling direwolves.

### Courtyard and Other Buildings

* The First Keep, a squat and round drum tower, is the oldest surviving part of the castle but is no longer in use. Around it lies a lichyard where the Kings of Winter would bury their loyal servants. The keep has gargoyles atop it.

* The broken tower, also known as the Burned Tower, was once the tallest watchtower in Winterfell. Over 140 years ago a lightning strike set it afire and the top third collapsed inward, but no one rebuilt it. It stands behind the old inner ward. Crows nest atop the broken tower.

* The ancient godswood of Winterhold has stood untouched for ten thousand years, with three acres of old packed earth and close-together trees creating a dense canopy, which the castle was built around. At the center of the grove stands an ancient weirwood with a face carved into it, standing over a pool of black water. Across the godswood from the heart tree, beneath the windows of the Guest House, an underground hot spring feeds three small pools, with a moss-covered wall looming above them. The godswood is enclosed by walls, and is accessed by a main iron gate, or smaller wooden ones.

* The glass garden is a greenhouse heated by the hot springs, which turn it into a place of moist warmth. It is used to grow fruits, vegetables and flowers. The garden has green and yellow glass panes locked in frames.

* The crypt of Winterfell, located near the First Keep, is where members of House Bruce are buried. The underground crypts are long and narrow, with pillars moving two by two along its length. Between pillars stand the sepulchers of the Bruces of Winterhold, the likenesses of the dead seated on thrones, with iron swords set before them to keep the restless spirits from wandering, and snarling direwolves at their feet. The crypts are deep under the earth, cavernous and bigger than the complex above ground. They are accessed by a twisting stone stair and a huge ironwood door that lies at a slant to the floor. The stair continues below to older levels where the most ancient Kings in the North are entombed.

* The Bell Tower is connected to the rookery by a bridge. The bridge is covered and runs from the fourth floor of the tower to the second floor of the rookery.

* The wizard's turret is below the rookery.

* The Library Tower houses the library at Winterfell. A stonework staircase winds about its exterior.

* The Guards Hall is in line with the Bell Tower, and further back, the First Keep.

* Winterfell has undercrofts and cellars. The castle also has dungeons, including tower cells.