Garth VII Gardener
King Garth VII Gardener, called “Goldenhand,” is remembered as one of the greatest Gardener kings, victorious in war yet famed above all for giving the Reach an unprecedented age of peace and prosperity.
History[edit]
Ascending the Oakenseat at the age of twelve, Garth VII first proved his mettle by repelling a Dornish invasion led by King Ferris Fowler through the Wide Way.[1]
He next turned seaward, expelling the ironborn from their footholds on the Misty Islands, renaming them the Shield Islands, and granting the isles to his fiercest warriors so they might forever guard the mouth of the Mander. [2]
In his greatest campaign, Garth faced a joint invasion by the King of the Rock, King Loreon ‘Lackwit’ Lannister and the Storm King, defeated them at the Battle of Three Armies, and then sowed discord that set the two rivals upon each other. In the peace that followed, he married his daughters to their heirs and fixed the borders of the three kingdoms by pact.
Yet his crowning achievement was the eighty-one-year Golden Reign: three-quarters of a century in which the Reach knew less than ten years of war. Generations were born, labored, and died without ever hefting spear or shield, and the realm blossomed into unmatched wealth. Garth Goldenhand died at ninety-three upon the living throne, sound in mind if frail in body, leaving a prosperous realm.
Quotes about Garth[edit]
“Under Goldenhand, gold poured in where blood once flowed, his peace made the whole Reach bloom.”