First Men

They came with bronze swords and great leathern shields, riding horses.
- A Game of Thrones

The First Men are the descendants of the first humans to settle Westeros, who walked across the Arm of Dorne from Essos in the Dawn Age. During the Coming of the Andals, the term was used mainly by the Andals to describe all the peoples already in Westeros when they crossed the Narrow Sea.

The First Men were never a homogenous people however, as they their migrations took place over millennia into Westeros, led by legends such as Garth Greenhand, Durran Godsgrief, and Brandon the Builder, bringing with them traditions, customs, values, and strange religions from region to region that were as different to each other as the Andals were to the First Men.

But all First Men since the days of their ancestors, from Dorne to Beyond the Wall, wielded bronze. With this weapon they conquered Westeros and overpowered the elder races. Now a stronger metal in the hands of strangers has appeared, and the First Men do not forget how they took their land.

History

The Dawn Age

The First Men began to enter Westeros across the Arm of Dorne approximately seven thousand years before the Coming of the Andals, though the migrations never took place all at once, despite myths of a single leader and migration. The migrations came to an end with the breaking of the Arm of Dorne roughly two thousand years after the First Men first step foot onto Westeros, permanently separating Westeros and Essos. Though it is debated whether it came about as the 'Hammer of the Waters' sent by the Greenseers of the Children of the Forest or more mundane natural causes.

Dorne was the first region the First Men arrived in and settled, but the vast majority found it barren and unappealing and moved northwards to more fertile lands. The next regions they migrated to over the next few centuries were the Reach, the Stormlands, and the Riverlands. The Mountain and Vale and the North were the last to be settled. The Ironborn also begin to appear during these migrations, launching raids on the First Men kingdoms immediately, but it is unknown whether these were also First Men or an entirely different people.

In every region they settled, bar Dorne, the First Men encountered the elder races of the Giants and the Children of the Forest. Initially they cohabited together, but as the First Men began to farm, erect ring-forts and build settlements in the early days of their arrival, they chopped down woods and weirwoods alike. Enraged by the desecration of their woodland gods the Children attacked the First Men and war broke out between the two races.

However from the beginning of the conflict, the First Men had many advantages over the Children brought with them, such as horses, stoneworking techniques, and above all else, bronze. The First Men slaughtered the Children, cut down vast swathes of weirwoods - fearful of the strange Children watching them through their bleeding eyes, and claimed large tracts of land throughout Westeros.

The wars between men, giants and the children were many and terrible, but as the conflict continued over centuries and generations, the Children turned in desperation to their Greenseers who gathered together and with their combined magics broke the Arm of Dorne and swamped the Neck, putting a stop to the migrations and separating Westeros from Essos permanently. This occured about two thousand years after the First Men began migrating westwards.

Despite the disastrous losses that befell the First Men, and the mass-death wrought by the first and second 'Hammer of the Waters', they had already been established in Westeros for centuries, and outnumbered both the Children and the Giants three-to-one even after this event. And the conflict continued over millennia. Eventually, the Children acknowledged they could not win and continuing would spell the end of their people. The kings of the First Men agreed, tired of a war their ancestor's started a both sides met on what would become the Isle of Faces at the centre of the God's Eye, and there sealed the Pact. The First Men would claim the highlands, the bogs, the plains, and other lands, while the Children would live in the deep forests, and the Giants the mountains, in exchange no more weirwoods would be cut down.

The First King

Legends persist of a 'First King' of the First Men, with tales of Garth Greenhand or the ancestor of House Dustin leading the First Men over the Arm of Dorne and establishing First Men rule in Westeros. But it is unknown whether these tales have any basis in historicity.

Northmen, claim that the North was the earliest settled region on account of their ancestor the 'First King', alleged leader of all the First Men, who led them to the North and was buried beneath the Great Barrow. Other landmarks such as Oldcastle and First Hollow would also seem to suggest the First Men of the North see themselves as the descendants of the original settlers. Beyond the North, Brandon the Builder is seen as a foundational figure in the emergence of kingdoms elsewhere in Westeros, though this seems unlikely. The notion of the North being settled first is contradicted by the tale of the second Hammer of the Waters, when the Children of the Forest summoned their magics to turn the Neck into a swamp to safekeep the North for themselves, something that would surely seem folly if the First Men were well established in the region.

Similarly, the Reachmen nobility claim to be descended from the First King in Westeros, in their tradition Garth Greenhand, or Garth the Green. However, the Greenhand himself is a contradiction as he both lead the First Men to Westeros, but also dwelt alone in Westeros for millennia beforehand, treating with the giants and the Children of the Forest. It is possible this confusion comes from the fact that Oldtown is known to be the only confirmed settlement to predate the First Men, and may have been a site of cultural exchange between the elder races and an as yet unknown culture of men, who may have colonised certain coastal parts of Westeros during the Dawn Age.

Garth Greenhand as a potential First King in Westeros who settled in the Reach is also called into question by the existence of the Green Kings - the self-proclaimed High Kings of Dorne who dwell near the mouth of the Greenblood. The similar associations of these kings with the harvest, fertility and a sense of community call into question the unique circumstances of Garth, and the kingdom his declared descendants forged in the Reach.

The Age of Heroes

Some would claim that the Long Night was the beginning of cooperation between men and the children, whilst others would claim that the two races had begun to interbreed to the point that the boundaries between their interests were becoming ever more blurred. The identification of 'the Last Hero' as the saviour from the Others during the Long Night is a puzzling one if this is the case, for the sealing of the Pact is oft associated the beginning of the Age of Heroes, not the end. Whatever the case, the Pact was agreed on the island at the centre of the Gods' Eye - the First Men would have the fields and hills to live on, the Children the deep forests. The First Men would not cut down any more weirwoods, and in fact the majority of the First Men took the gods of the children for their own. From this time onwards, the First Men have lived in peace with the Children of the Forest - if sometimes uneasily. The Pact is still maintained, but it has been broken in certain places, leading to dire consequences. The Green Men of the Isles of Faces are said to maintain the Pact - though none are sure how, and almost no one was permitted to reach the shores of the Isle of Faces by the time of the Coming of the Andals.

The Age of Heroes is sometimes referred to as the Age of a Hundred Kingdoms, though it would be more accurate to describe this as the state of Westeros during the high point of these untold centuries, before a myriad of petty kingdoms began to congregate into larger, more regional realms. Most of the great tales and epics of the First Men come from the Age of Heroes, along with many of their greatest and most powerful Houses. Most of the towns and larger settlements built by the First Men came into existence gradually during this period, including Duskendale, Maidenpool, Barrowton, Sisterton, Fairmarket, Kayce, Lordsport, and most recently Lannisport and Lord Hewett's Town.

The Coming of the Andals

During the earliest phase of Andal arrival in Westeros, the First Men were welcoming - perhaps not too dissimilar to how the Children had welcomed them during the earliest years of the Dawn Age. This appeared to continue during the immediate years prior to 1 A.I., however that all changed with the career of Corwyn Corbray.

Andal mercenaries taking service with First Men kings had become ever more common, escalating the endless conflicts between the petty kings in Mountain and Vale. The Andals were not entirely unknown to the First Men in this period, and so the First Men responded to their increasing numbers with a largely pragmatic attitude. The uprising that occurred from the conflict between King Jon Brightstone and King Dywen Shell however, changed all that. After Corwyn Corbray seized the title of Lord of the Five Fingers, First Men Kings and lords have become

Culture

Personal Honour

The First Men are guided by a code of honour, personal strength and traditions that have been developed over the course of thousands of years since first coming to Westeros over the Arm of Dorne. First Men are judged by their adherence to these ancient codes, and to act with honour and integrity in all things. Some of these are in matters of justice - where a Lord or King is expected to swing the sword himself, whether to judge a man innocent, or merely to take his head. Guest Right is deemed sacred, and rituals of hospitality including guest gifts are of great importance in maintaining bonds of fealty and friendship amongst men of status.

Honour is also considered to act with strength, cunning and wisdom. First Men follow those who practice these highest of virtues - and are quick to show contempt for those who do not. While being honest and acting with fidelity is not always necessarily tied strongly to First Man honour - the idea of oath breaking is considered anathema. When word is given, especially before a Heart Tree or in the form of a promise, a man is only worth so much as his keeping of it.

Marriage

First Man marriage practices stand in stark contrast to that of the Andals, and naturally vary in ritual depending on the location. What is fairly universal amongst First Men is that betrothal is not something that is simply arranged between Lords as might be expected. Women are considered to be great prizes, to be earned - not given. Therefore, a potential husband must prove himself as a suitor, either through some deed, quest - or even in certain parts by stealing her from her father’s holdfast. Whichever is the case - betrothal is something that must be done with the woman’s approval - excepting perhaps in the Iron Islands - where it is said a woman must not even be present at her own wedding ceremony for the ceremony to be valid. Wedding Ceremonies are a short and direct affair - an exchange of vows, either before a heart tree, or in the case of First Men who have not accepted the gods of the weirwoods, in a particular sacred site. The feasts following the wedding however, have all the magnificence that the ceremony itself may lack. First Men value hospitality above all - and a wedding is merely a part of that larger performance of benevolence and guest right.

During a marriage itself, a man is expected to continue to prove himself worthy of a woman. If he should be cuckolded by another man, it is seen less of a shame on the woman for her infidelity, and more a sign of weakness in a man that his wife should seek comfort and pleasure elsewhere - and that his guards would not be able to prevent it or inform him. As partners in marriage - noble women are expected to provide learning - whether in the form of lore, healing - or other forms. Men on the other hand, are expected to lead, provide - protect.

Succession

First Men succession practices, like many others, vary throughout the various lands and kingdoms of the First Men. What is almost universal however, is the notion that any man who would be a king or rule over his land cannot hope to do so without winning the support of his fellows. Whether this takes the form of an official Kingsmoot on the Iron Islands, the choosings that occur on the banks of the Greenblood in Dorne - or merely members of a single dynasty vying for support or even fighting one another for the right to rule - succession amongst the First Men is extremely rarely a mere matter of uncontested father to son succession, whether he were a great king, or a small master of lands.

Technology

The First Men have some knowledge of iron in certain parts, but predominantly they still use bronze and leather as weapons and armour. Moreover, they do not have heavy cavalry, or siege weapons more advanced than a ram made from a tree or a basic catapult - not that more is particularly needed to breach the ringforts and wooden gates of the First Men. Nonetheless, stoneworking had advanced to the stage where smaller castles do exist, though with simple walls and square towers, and without many of the luxuries that would be associated with later ages.

The First Men do not use coinage, for unlike the Andals they did not have more complex systems of taxation and donation to religious orders. Instead, they rely on barter and trade - and in certain cases measured weights of precious metals in the form of rings, bars, ingots or even in more extravagant shapes. The weight makes the worth.

The First Men do not have a written culture. They do leave certain runes on stone when marking the landscape, however they should be understood as primarily an oral culture where history is passed down through song, stories, memorisation, and the sharing of traditions. This is by no means to say that their culture is lesser for memory is highly prized, which in many ways leads to some highly skilled individuals within the culture. Leaning is embodied not by books, but by sharing of traditions and word of mouth, a far more social and less restrictive form than that hoarded by the septons of the Andals. Women too have a role in embodying learning amongst the First Men, which gives them prestige and an air of wisdom in First Men society.

Religion

Unlike the Andals, who have lived more or less as one people in one land for many centuries, the First Men have spread out across Westeros, living far away from one another in greatly different environments. As a result - they too have diverged greatly in their beliefs. The majority of First Men who live in mainland Westeros revere the Gods of the Weirwoods, nameless spirits of rock and stream, bird and beast. These were the gods of the Children of the Forest first, but were adopted by the First Men following the signing of The Pact thousands of years ago. Worship of the Old Gods is a combination of personal oaths, relating to First Men conceptions of honour, with deference and protection of sacred natural sites, and even offering them blood sacrifices. Weirwoods and their groves are seen as sacred, and any desecration of them is a crime on a par with kinslaying or breaching guest right.

Nonetheless, not all First Men have adopted the worship of these gods. The First Gods, the gods the First Men carried with them when they first came to Westeros, endure still in certain pockets of Westeros. In Dorne, where weirwoods never grew and the Children never roamed, the First Men kept their old beliefs in their truest form, recognising the true gods of the world to be the forces of nature; the sun, the winds, the earth, and the seas. What aspect of these the First Men of Dorne focus primarily upon depends on their environment. In the Red Mountains, the earth and its powers and riches are of chief concern. In the dread deserts, the sun alone holds sway. Along the Greenblood, it is the waters that give the life to the earth to grow their precious crops. To these men still, the Gods of the Weirwoods are strange, sinister, and foreign. In other isolated places where Weirwoods have not taken root, these gods survive as well. The Sistermen revere the sea as their mother, and the sky their father. The Ironmen speak of a God in his Watery Halls beneath the waves, and the dread forces of the Storm God. The Gods of the storm are recalled within the ancient traditions of the Stormlanders as well, even if most of them have long since turned away from their fearful worship.

Trivia

• Durran Godsgrief was one of the leaders of the First Men who led his followers to the Stormlands. And he or his son Durran the Devout may have been present at the sealing of the Pact.