First Men

The First Men is a overarching term that applied to the descendants of the first peoples to settle Westeros, walking across the Arm of Dorne during the Dawn Age. During the period of the early Andal Invasions, the term was used in the main by the Andals to describe the peoples they found dwelling in Westeros when they crossed the Narrow Sea. The First Men themselves would likely more identify with their locality, their region, their gods, and their ruler than consider themselves part of one homogenous people - though certain kings and cultural traditions do preserve the idea of common descent from a single ancestral figure - though the nature of this personage varies greatly from region to region.

History

The First Men began to enter Westeros approximately seven thousand years before the Coming of the Andals, though this period itself took place over a significant period of time, despite myths of a single leader and migration. This period came to an end with the breaking of the Arm of Dorne approximately 5000 B.I. - whether it came about as a result of natural forces, or supernatural ones.

It remains unclear in which order the First Men settled Westeros, whether Dorne was barren and unappealing, or whether it was settled first which prompted other groups to continue northwards beyond the Red Mountains. The peoples of the North would claim that the North was the earliest settled region, on account of the grave of the First King beneath the First Barrow. Other landmarks being given names 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. Brandon the Builder is also 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 also contradicted by the tale of the second Hammer of the Waters, which was supposedly an attempt by the Children to safekeep the North for themselves, something that would surely seem folly if the First Men were well established in the region.

The men of the Reach similarly claim to be descended from the First King of men in Westeros, in their tradition Garth the Green. In their traditions however, Garth himself is a contradiction - both leading the first men to Westeros, but also having dwelt alone in Westeros for centuries 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.

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.