The North

The **North** is one of the constituent regions of Westeros and was a sovereign nation ruled by Kings in the North before Aegon's Conquest. The largest region of the Seven Kingdoms, the dominion of House Stark extends from the border of the New Gift, which is controlled by the Night's Watch, to the southern edge of the Neck far to the south.

The North has been ruled by the Starks for thousands of years from the castle known as Winterfell. The only city in the region is White Harbour, while the most prominent northern towns are the Winter Town and Barrowton. Notable bannermen of the region include Bolton, Cerwyn, Dustin, Flint, Glover, Hornwood, Karstark, Manderly, Mormont, Reed, Ryswell, Tallhart, and Umber. Bastards of noble origin raised in the North are given the surname Snow.

## Geography

While some say the vast North is nearly as large as the rest of the Seven Kingdoms combined, in actuality it is roughly a third of the landmass controlled by the Iron Throne. The region is sparsely populated, with vast wilderness, rising moorlands, high plains, forests, pine-covered hills and snow-capped mountains, speckled with tiny villages and holdfasts. The cold North is much less fertile than provinces in southern Westeros. Its harsh climate is deadly in winter and occasionally it will snow even in summer. The North has two major land barriers, the Wall to the North and the Neck to the south. The North is bound on each side by major seas, the Shivering Sea to the east and the Sunset Sea to the west.

Winterfell, the ancestral seat of House Stark, is a large castle at the centre of the north. Nearby is the winter town. The vast Wolfswood, the largest forest of the Seven Kingdoms, extends northwest to the Bay of Ice and Sea Dragon Point. Deepwood Motte, the seat of House Glover, lies in the western Wolfswood. House Forrester lives at Ironrath in the Wolfswood while their rivals, House Whitehill, live at Highpoint in the east, between the Wolfswood and the northern mountains. House Mormont rules Bear Island in the Bay of Ice. The northern mountains extend from the Wolfswood to the Wall and are inhabited by northern mountain clans.

South of the Wolfswood is hilly terrain with several large lakes. Torrhen's Square, seat of House Tallhart, is by the largest of these lakes. Farther west along the Sunset Sea is the Stony Shore, which contains fishing villages. Southeast of the Stony Shore and North of Blazewater Bay is the Rills, plains which are ruled by House Ryswell and their vassals, House Glenmore of Rillwater Crossing. East of the Rills and south of Winterfell are the Barrowlands, hilly plains dotted with the barrows of the First Men. House Dustin rules the large town of Barrowton. There are unnamed rivers which flow south from Barrowton and near Torrhen's Square into the Saltspear, while another unnamed river divides the Stony Shore from the Rills.

South of the Barrowlands is the Neck, an isthmus forming the border with the Riverlands to the south. A vast swamp and the source of the Green Fork, the Neck is home to the crannogmen; House Reed rules from the moving castle Greywater Watch. The ruined castle of Moat Cailin, on the Causeway near the Fever River, controls access to the North from the Neck. Here the Kings in the North held off southron invasions.

A large peninsula is west of the Neck and south of the Saltspear and Blazewater Bay. Flint's Finger, home of House Flint of Flint's Finger, is on its North shore, and Cape Kraken and the Flint Cliffs are along its western and southern shores. South of the peninsula are Ironman's Bay and the Iron Islands.

East of the Barrowlands is the White Knife, a major river of the North which has its source at Long Lake northeast of Winterfell. Castle Cerwyn, the seat of House Cerwyn, is near a tributary south of Winterfell. The White Knife runs south to White Harbour, one of the major cities of the Seven Kingdoms and the main port of the north. Southeast of White Harbour is Oldcastle, the seat of House Locke, while farther east are Ramsgate and the Broken Branch, which has its source in the Sheepshead Hills northeast of White Harbour. Widow's Watch, the castle of House Flint of Widow's Watch, is built on an isolated peninsula east of Ramsgate in the Shivering Sea. The Bite separates the south-eastern North, much of which is influenced by House Manderly of White Harbour, from the Vale of Arryn.

Hornwood, the seat of House Hornwood, is in the Hornwood forest North of White Harbor and south of the Dreadfort, the seat of House Bolton. The Dreadfort lies near the Weeping Water, which flows east to the Shivering Sea. North-east of the Dreadfort are the forested lands of House Karstark. East of their castle, Karhold, are the Grey Cliffs. In the Bay of Seals are several islands, including Skagos and uninhabited Skane. The largest, Skagos, is said to be inhabited by cannibals and unicorns and is only nominally controlled by the Starks of Winterfell.

North of Winterfell and the Dreadfort and northwest of Karhold are the lands of House Umber, whose castle of Last Hearth is in a forest. The Umbers control the Lonely Hills and land along the Bay of Seals. Beginning near Last Hearth, the Last River flows southeast between Karhold and the Dreadfort.

The Wall is a colossal fortification that protects the North from threats beyond the Wall, such as wildlings. It is separated from the northern lands owing allegiance to Winterfell by the Gift, which are lands of the Night's Watch North of the Umbers' lands.

Winterfell and Moat Cailin are along the Kingsroad, which connects Castle Black at the Wall with the Riverlands to the south. There are farms, holdfasts, inns, and villages along the road.

The land of the North is not seen as valuable by many south of the Neck.

## Seasons

The North is strongly affected during the long winters, with thousands of people killed and famine a common occurrence due to poor harvests before winter or the inability to raise crops during the longer winters that last for years on end. Some greater lords maintain greenhouses at their castles, such as the glass gardens of Winterfell.

Once autumn is declared by the Citadel, the lords of the North store away a part of the grain they have harvested. How much is a matter of choice; between one fifth and one fourth seems prudent, however. Additionally food is smoked, salted, and otherwise preserved ahead of winter. Coastal communities depend on fish and inland ice fishing is common on the rivers and Long Lake. Poor harvests before winter will mean famine, however.

In winter, snows can fall forty feet deep. Rain falls cold and hard, and sometimes turns into ice that can send men running for cover and ruin crops. Even during summer, snowfalls are not unusual but tend to be brief and not particularly damaging to agriculture.

## People

Most Northmen are descended from the First Men, although there have been centuries of intermarriage with the Andals who conquered south of the Neck. The Old Tongue spoken by the First Men of antiquity has been replaced in the North by the Common Tongue, with the earlier language now only spoken beyond the Wall. Northern accents can be considered "frosted".
Many Northmen, including Karstarks and Umbers, are large in stature and have thick beards, long hair, and heavy cloaks of wool or fur. During the Dance of the Dragons, for instance, Mushroom compared the host of Lord Cregan Stark to armoured bears. Northern warriors can ride shaggy horses.

The constant cold and the iron grip of winter set apart the northerners from the people of the kingdoms south of the Neck. The North's terrain and climate do not easily yield the necessities of daily life. Northmen place less of an emphasis on courtly ritual and culture, and instead prefer hunting and brawling. Many Northmen disapprove of tourneys and gambling. Northern competitions rarely feature jousting, preferring instead dangerous melees, and Northmen also make up their own rules for tourneys.

Guest right is treasured in the North. Northmen have long memories, and a lord who does not seek his rightful vengeance threatens to have his own men turn on him. A northern custom is that when someone is condemned to death, he who passes that sentence should swing the sword.

Some Northmen live in remote, distant areas where they act as little more than clans and tribes. These remote folk, such as the crannogmen, the northern mountain clans, and the Skagosi, are still vassals of the Starks, however, and are allowed to maintain their own ways and traditions as long as they remain loyal to Winterfell. Some maesters believe the blood of Cape Kraken's people is closer to that of Ironborn than Northmen.

Most of the North's people still follow the Old Gods and their heart trees, and have little inclination for newer religions. There are only a few houses who follow the Faith of the Seven, with House Manderly the most prominent. Due to its religious aspect, most Northmen refuse to take holy orders and thus cannot become knights, although some northern cavalry could be considered knights who still follow the Old Gods instead of the Seven. Most knights of the North live in the region's southern lands, such as White Harbour and the Barrowlands. Heraldry in the North is simpler than that in southern Westeros, showing the lesser influence that chivalry has had there.

Northmen hold the Night's Watch in high regard, and many lords send annual gifts to support the black brothers.

The First Night was allowed in the North until Queen Alysanne Targaryen convinced King Jaehaerys I Targaryen to abolish it. Some northern lords still discretely practice it, however.

During harsh winters, many farmers and younger Northmen seek refuge in the Winter Town or at the various lordly castles. To preserve resources for the younger generations, many older Northmen leave their home to hunt during winter, with most not surviving until spring. Men who are old, childless, homeless, or younger sons also traditionally joined winter armies which marched for adventure and plunder with no expectation of survival.

Northmen are often considered savage, wild, and fierce by southrons. Northmen are sometimes referred to as "wolves" by Ironborn and southerners. Since most Northmen pray before heart trees instead of following the Seven in septs, some southrons consider them to be godless or tree worshipers.

## Economy

As the North is largely uncultivated, there are few roads of import there. Most of the inland trade passes by either the Kingsroad or the rivers. Trade items from the North include wool, hides, and timber. White Harbour, the main port town of the North, contains silversmiths and the Old Mint. Food can be shipped from the south through the narrow sea to the northern city.

## Military strength

The North's exact military strength has not yet been revealed. The North can perhaps raise around forty-five thousand soldiers, although it takes a long time for armies to be gathered from such a large region. The North's military strength is about equal to that of the Vale of Arryn, and Dorne. During Aegon's Conquest, King Torrhen Stark raised an army of thirty thousand men. Nearly twenty thousand can be raised on short notice near the start of autumn, while thousands more might be raised from more distant houses, such as the mountain clans, if more time is allowed. Their infantry-to-cavalry ratio at four to one. House Manderly, of southron origins, is known to command the most heavy horse North of the Neck. Mail is the most common armour found in the north. As knighthood is associated with the Faith of the Seven, and the majority of the Northmen holds to the Old Gods, knighthood is rare in the North.

The North has had no strength at sea since Brandon the Burner set fire to the remaining fleet of his father, Brandon the Shipwright.

## History

### Dawn Age

During the Dawn Age, Westeros was inhabited by children of the forest and by giants. Maester Kennet has found evidence that giants who lived in what is now the North buried their dead.

The human peoples of the North are nearly all descended from the First Men, who settled the land between eight thousand and twelve thousand years ago. Little is known of that time, but cryptic runes carved in old stones and the barrows of the First Men can still be found in the Barrowlands. Ancient forts of the First Men are scattered throughout the North, including a ringfort atop Seal Rock near White Harbour and ruins in Sea Dragon Point. The children of the forest also made weirwood circles.

### Kings of Winter

About eight thousand years ago, the legendary Long Night occurred when the Others invaded from the Lands of Always Winter. The event defined and shaped the North, leading to the founding of the Wall, the order of the Night's Watch, the castle of Winterfell, and the first Kings of Winter from House Stark. Brandon the Breaker is said to have allied with Joramun, a King-Beyond-the-Wall, to bring down the Night's King.
The Starks gradually defeated rival kings, such as the Barrow Kings to their south and the Red Kings to their east. During the coming of the Andals, the Kings of Winter stopped Andals at Moat Cailin and the eastern shores, the only kingdom in Westeros to do so.

King Jon Stark founded the Wolf's Den at the mouth of the White Knife after driving out sea raiders. His son, Rickard Stark, conquered the Neck from the Marsh King and married his daughter. King Rodrik Stark is said to have won Bear Island from the Ironborn in a wrestling match. Two thousand years ago the North warred with the Vale of Arryn after the Rape of the Three Sisters, with the Arryns eventually gaining control of the islands in this War Across the Water.

Thousands of years before Aegon's Conquest, King Brandon the Shipwright attempted to sail across the Sunset Sea, but never returned back home. His son, also named Brandon, burned the northern shipyards in his grief. The North has since lacked strength at sea.

For many centuries the Boltons were bitter rivals of the Starks of Winterfell. The practice of flaying their enemies gave the Boltons a sinister reputation. It is said that a thousand years ago, the Boltons finally swore fealty to the Kings in the North and agreed to abandon their practice of flaying their enemies.

Around a thousand years ago, the Manderley's were driven from the river Mander by Perceon III Gardener, King of the Reach, and fled to the North, where they were welcomed by the Starks of Winterfell as their own bannermen. The Manderley's received the Wolf's Den and developed White Harbour, one of the five cities of Westeros and the main northern port for commerce and naval transport. The Manderley's are the most prominent of the few northern noble houses to follow the Faith of the Seven instead of the Old Gods.

### Targaryen Era

The Starks led the North to war during Aegon's Conquest. After the Field of Fire, however, King Torrhen Stark knelt to Aegon the Conqueror rather than face his dragons. The North was included in the Seven Kingdoms and owed allegiance to the Iron Throne of House Targaryen. The Stark Kings in the North became the Lords of Winterfell and Wardens of the North. Some Northmen who refused to bend the knee fled into exile in Essos and formed the Company of the Rose.
Queen Alysanne Targaryen convinced her husband, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, to grant the New Gift to the Night's Watch despite the objections of Lord Ellard Stark.

During the Dance of the Dragons, the Starks supported the blacks against the greens. Lord Roderick Dustin led two thousand northern soldiers, known as the Winter Wolves, during the war, while the Manderlys had knights from White Harbor also support the claim of Rhaenyra Targaryen. Lord Cregan Stark led a great host of Northmen to King's Landing, where he briefly ruled as Hand of the King for Aegon III Targaryen during the Hour of the Wolf.