Mountain and Vale
Regions and Cultures of Mountain and Vale
The lands of Mountain and Vale are that of soaring mountains, fertile valleys, and coastal harbours, separated from the rest of Westeros by the Mountains of the Moon. Though often spoken of as a single region, at the coming of the Andals, it is divided into many distinct areas, including the rich lowlands of the Vale proper, the windswept Fingers, and the rugged highlands and passes.
By the coming of the Andals, the region was home to numerous First Man petty kingdoms, each with its own somewhat differing customs, but bound by a shared worship of the old gods and the land.[1] The First Men already began to feel the first tremors of change. The newcomers see opportunity in forging alliances with the some petty kings, offering marriage ties in place of open war. Some rulers welcome this chance to strengthen their hold, while others resist, and blood of both First Men and Andals is being spilled across the land.
The Bronze Kings and the Men of the Vale Proper
The Vale proper is home to some of the most ancient houses of the First Men. Among these are the Royces of Runestone, renowned for their bronze clad kings, and the Redforts, who hold strongholds in the southeastern portion of the Mountains of the Moon. House Waynwood, from the stronghold of Ironoaks near Runestone, is another ancient family with deep ties to the region. House Hunter rules the eastern coast, their lands stretching along the shorelines that lead into the Narrow Sea. House Shett, one of the First Men houses to embrace the Faith of the Seven, having allied through marriage with House Grafton, rules the nascent port of Gulltown on the Bay of Crabs.[2]
Notable Houses of the Vale Proper
The First Men of the Mountains
In the rugged and mountainous regions of the Vale, several powerful First Men houses hold dominion. House Belmore of Strongsong commands the fertile lands of the northwest foothills, while House Topp rules the high mountains of the Giant's Lance and the steep valleys surrounding the crude wall that defended their lands from the rest of Westeros. House Crown, lords of the Crowncrests, claim the central heights and valleys.
Notable Houses of the Mountains
The Andals of the Fingers
As the Andal influence spreads, House Corbray has taken control of the Fingers, though they refuse to call themselves kings of the region, despite their undeniable power.[3] Houses Elesham and Templeton lent their swords to House Corbray, but House Hersy at Northbreach, on the coast of the Bite, chose to influence the First Men not with steel, but with words and blessings in the name of the Seven. These houses grow in strength as the Andal knights arrive in droves, one of which, is a young man showing great promise by the name of Artys Arryn.
Notable Andal Houses of the Fingers
The First Men of the Fingers and the Bite
Not all in the lands of Mountain and Vale accept the Andal dominance. Many First Men houses hold out against the Andals. One of the most notable of whom, House Coldwater, ever hostile to the invaders, harass their holdings in the Fingers and Northbreach, constantly looking for opportunities to drive them out and reclaim the land for the First Men. Their resistance is a reminder that the old ways still have defenders, and the First Men will not surrender their lands without a fight.
Notable First Men Houses of the Fingers and the Bite
Geography
The Mountains of the Moon
The Mountains of the Moon are a towering range that borders the Vale Proper, forming a formidable natural border between the region and the rest of Westeros. These rugged peaks, steep and often impassable, have long served as a barrier, isolating the Vale from the rest of Westeros.[4] The highest of which is the Giant's Lance, where House Topp resides in their stronghold. The mountains are dotted with deep valleys and remote strongholds, many of which are perched high on cliffs, offering both strategic advantage and a sense of foreboding. The harsh terrain makes travel difficult and has kept the region relatively untouched by outside influences. The highlands are also home to dangerous wildlife, including prowling shadowcats[5] and, according to local legend, the dwindling remnants of giants. Among the First Men who dwell in or near these ranges, some hold these creatures sacred, while others seek them out as a test of strength and courage.
The Vale Proper
The Vale proper is a land of lush, fertile plains and rolling hills, renowned for its abundant agriculture and verdant beauty. The region is blessed with rich soil, nourished by the rivers that flow down from the Mountains of the Moon, giving it the potential to be one of the most productive and prosperous areas in Westeros. By the coming of the Andals, the Vale’s fertile lands are gradually being shaped, with smaller fields of oats and barley scattered throughout the region. The true scope of the Vale's agricultural wealth is yet to be realized, but the land holds great promise for the future. This fertile foundation supports the towns, castles, and villages scattered across the lands of Mountain and Vale, from the ancient strongholds of Runestone to Strongsong.[6]
The Fingers
The Fingers, a set of five rocky and isolated peninsulas jutting out into the Narrow Sea, is a land marked by its stark, rugged beauty. It is composed of a series of narrow, craggy peninsulas and sharp cliffs that rise steeply from the sea, creating a jagged coastline dotted with caves, coves, and small inlets. The landscape is harsh and unforgiving, with only small stretches of arable land nestled between the rocky outcrops, making it difficult for large scale farming to take hold. The region is sparsely populated, with a few scattered villages and settlements clinging to the edges of the land, relying on fishing and trade for survival. The fingers themselves serve as a natural defense against invaders, though their isolation leaves the region vulnerable to the shifting tides of power that the arrival of the Andals brings. The difficult terrain and the surrounding sea make the Fingers a place where only the hardiest men and women can thrive, and it is on this rugged land that Andal settlers begin to assert their rule.
History
The Dawn Age and the Coming of the First Men
During the Dawn Age, the lands of Mountain and Vale were a wild and ancient land, its hills and forests thick with the presence of the Children of the Forest. These small, mysterious folk dwelled in the deep woods and in the shadowed valleys of the Mountains of the Moon, carving faces into the weirwoods and living in harmony with the natural world.[7] But their age began to end when the First Men crossed the land bridge from Essos, bringing bronze, fire, and sharpened axes. The First Men carved a path of conquest through Westeros, including the lands of Mountain and Vale, burning the sacred groves of the Children and driving them from their hidden halls and green domains.[8] In time, the First Men claimed these lands as their own, building their ringforts and strongholds, and establishing the foundations of the ancient houses that would come to rule the region. Though the Children vanished into the deepest wilds, traces of their presence, old weirwoods, whispered legends, and strange ruins, remained scattered through the land.
The Coming of the Andals
By the coming of the Andals, the lands of Mountain and Vale were a fractured realm of petty kings, border skirmishes, and simmering feuds. Yorwyck Royce, a grizzled and unyielding king, carried on a brutal war against Osgood III Shett, the King of Gulltown, whose forebears had slain Yorwyck's father. The conflict escalated into a bitter and near unending blood feud, with the Shetts seeking help from across the sea, and finding it in the form of Andal swords.
The Andals came not as one horde, but in waves. Some seeking refuge, others conquest. Among them was Corwyn Corbray, a hardened mercenary who had grown disillusioned with Essos and Valyria’s creeping dominion. When Dywen Shell and Jon Brightstone bickered over land and clamoured for his service, Corwyn saw opportunity in the Vale’s disunity and took it, turning on his First Men patrons and carving out a realm in the Fingers for himself and his Andal kin. Brightstone was captured, tortured, and beheaded. Shell roasted alive in his own longhall. Their doom crowned Corwyn Corbray's rise. He took Shell’s wife for his bed and Brightstone’s daughter for his bride, claiming the Fingers as his domain. He rejected the title of king, but there was no doubt that his hand ruled firm across the coast.[9]
In Gulltown, desperation drove Osgood Shett to abandon the gods of his fathers. Besieged by Royce, he bent the knee to the Seven and wed his kin to Andal newcomers like Ser Gerold Grafton, an ambitious knight eager to carve out a future. Ser Gerold's motives, however, remained his own. His loyalty as yet untested, his ambitions vast.[10]
The Vale, on the eve of a new age, stands divided. The mountains remain the domain of the old blood, ruled by hard men of bronze and memory. But the coasts are now dotted with Andal keeps and new gods. The conflict is not merely one of steel and fire, but of culture, creed, and identity. The First Men remember. The Andals believe. The Vale hangs in the balance.
References
- ↑ George R. R. Martin, The World of Ice and Fire, (Random House Worlds, 2014) p. 163.
- ↑ Martin, The World of Ice and Fire, p. 163.
- ↑ Martin, The World of Ice and Fire, p. 163.
- ↑ Martin, The World of Ice and Fire, p. 168.
- ↑ Martin, A Game of Thrones, (Harper Voyager) p. 233.
- ↑ Martin, The World of Ice and Fire, p. 163.
- ↑ Martin, The World of Ice and Fire, p. 6.
- ↑ Martin, The World of Ice and Fire, p. 8.
- ↑ Martin, The World of Ice and Fire, p. 163.
- ↑ Martin, The World of Ice and Fire, p. 163.