Stormlands: Difference between revisions
Bingus Khan (talk | contribs) Added the Wendwater |
Bingus Khan (talk | contribs) Added Hook, Cape Wrath, and Eastern Marches descriptions |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
[[File:TheStormlands.png|thumb|The Stormlands is violent and fickle, and constantly beset by hurricane winds and fierce storms.]] | [[File:TheStormlands.png|thumb|The Stormlands is a violent and fickle land, and constantly beset by hurricane winds and fierce storms.]] | ||
== Regions and Culture of the Stormlands == | == Regions and Culture of the Stormlands == | ||
The Stormlands is located to the south-east of Westeros, | The Stormlands is located to the south-east of Westeros, renowned for its autumn storms that rip through deep forests, stony mountains, and wind-battered cliffs, and beyond. The Stormlands has been nominally ruled by [[House Durrandon]] since the Age of Heroes, and for millennia the men of this land have existed as a largely homogenous group with shared customs, traditions, and heritage. | ||
Life is never easy here, and success is largely defined by defiance against the elements and uncompromising stubbornness. While competition is fierce between the martial [[First Men|First Man]] houses, outsiders face a united front if they encroach on the hard-earned prosperity in the Stormlands. | Stormmen are a harsh, martial people, where strength and resilience are highly prized, and a man's ability is respected above bloodline. Life is never easy here, and success is largely defined by defiance against the elements and uncompromising stubbornness. While competition is fierce between the martial [[First Men|First Man]] houses, outsiders face a united front if they encroach on the hard-earned prosperity in the Stormlands. | ||
But during the [[Coming of the Andals]] much of Durrandon control has eroded, with the Hook of Massey, much of Cape Wrath and the Rainwood, and the Isle of Tarth paying little head to the Storm Kings, and existing largely independently. | |||
== Shipbreaker Bay == | == Shipbreaker Bay == | ||
Rocky, wet, and | Rocky, wet, and wild, the storms that assault the stout stone keeps of Shipbreaker Bay are legendary. Here prosperity is ripped from the ground and sea in the form of stone, metal, and some of the finest sailors in all of Westeros. The lords of arguably the most hostile lands in the kingdom have made them long-acquainted with the fickleness of the weather, and guest right here is oft sought-after and highly respected. | ||
Dominated by the Stag Kings, the lords of this region are at the nexus of royal power in the Stormlands, where | Dominated by the Stag Kings of House Durrandon, the lords of this region are at the nexus of royal power in the Stormlands, where guest right and hospitality has a centuries-spanning tradition. The lords of the bay regularly break bread with each other, sharing salt, hearth, and home to those in need, and are perhaps more attuned than most to the struggles of their leal smallfolk. Loyalty, brotherhood, and a shared sense of commitment dominate local politics due to the storms that threaten all, with proud families such as [[House Konugtun]], [[House Gale|Gale]], and [[House Reaper|Reaper]] coexisting for mutual benefit and support. | ||
=== Notable Houses of Shipbreaker Bay === | === Notable Houses of Shipbreaker Bay === | ||
| Line 28: | Line 30: | ||
== The Hook == | == The Hook == | ||
A windy, and mountainous peninsula, the Hook has long dominated the eastern [[The Blackwater|Blackwater]] where ships must sail around it to reach the isles in the Gullet, the richer plains and fields of [[Duskendale]], or the banks of the Blackwater River. Nominally apart of the Stormlands, [[House Massey]] has broken away from Storm King control and has reigned as Kings in their own right over the Hook since the reign of [[Durwald the Fat]]. | A windy, and mountainous peninsula, the Hook has long dominated the eastern [[The Blackwater|Blackwater]] where ships must sail around it to reach the isles in the Gullet, the richer plains and fields of [[Duskendale]], or the banks of the Blackwater River. Nominally apart of the Stormlands, [[House Massey]] has broken away from Storm King control and has reigned as Kings in their own right over the Hook since the reign of [[Durwald the Fat]]. During the Coming of the Andals, large numbers of immigrants flocked to the Hook, and isles off the coast were put under Andal rule. | ||
Natural traders, opportunists, and merchants, the men of this peninsula charge high tolls for safe passage along their shores and profit is a common aspiration among the lords of the Hook. | Natural traders, opportunists, and merchants, the men of this peninsula charge high tolls for safe passage along their shores and profit is a common aspiration among the lords of the Hook. Closer than most Stormmen to the growing numbers of Andals from over the sea, and the wildly different cultures from the Blackwater, and the Narrow Sea, the men of the Hook are more amenable to change, and tend to look past cultural differences if a beneficial partnership can be reached. | ||
=== Notable Houses of the Hook === | === Notable Houses of the Hook === | ||
| Line 46: | Line 48: | ||
== The Cape of Wrath == | == The Cape of Wrath == | ||
, | The largest peninsula within the Stormlands, Cape Wrath juts out into the Narrow Sea, bordering Shipbreaker Bay, the Eastern Marches, the Sea of Dorne, and encompassing the Estermont Isles. Dominated by the primeval Rainwood, this region bears the brunt of storms sweeping through from the Summer Sea, and is rich in timber, furs, amber, and fertile soil. Though since the reign of the incompetent Durrandon king [[Durwald the Fat]], most of the region has fallen away from the Storm Kings and are now under the influence of the mysterious [[Green Queen]], where many Stormmen houses pay greater heed to the words of this woods-witch rather than any missives from Storm's End. | ||
The men of Cape Wrath are a varied lot. Those woodsmen of the Rainwood and the Estermont Isles dwell in quiet, murky subsistence in their wet forests - preferring to uphold the laws of weirwood and root above bronze and stone, holding the [[The Pact|Pact]] signed on the Isle of Faces in especially high esteem. The scions of [[House Wylde]] and [[House Greenstone]] have learnt to live in tune with nature, to the beats of thunder on the coasts, and the breath of wood and branch - with most of Cape Wrath following suit. But for a few the ancient traditions of Durran Godsgrief, that of the primordial god-couple of Sea and Sky, still hang heavy in the minds of Houses [[House Crow|Crow]] and [[House Slayne|Slayne]] - to overcome the gods and grow strong in a often cruel and uncaring world. | |||
=== Notable Cape Wrath Houses === | === Notable Cape Wrath Houses === | ||
| Line 52: | Line 56: | ||
<div style="column-count:3"> | <div style="column-count:3"> | ||
* [[House Wylde]] | * [[House Wylde]] | ||
* [[House Greenstone]] | * [[House Greenstone]] | ||
* [[House Lush]] | * [[House Lush]] | ||
| Line 60: | Line 63: | ||
* [[House Brownhill]] | * [[House Brownhill]] | ||
* [[House Shaw]] | * [[House Shaw]] | ||
* [[House | * [[House Crow]] | ||
* [[House Slayne]] | * [[House Slayne]] | ||
* [[House Densmore]] | * [[House Densmore]] | ||
* [[House Gore]] | |||
* [[House Redwind]] | |||
* [[House Tudbury]] | * [[House Tudbury]] | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
== The Eastern Marches == | == The Eastern Marches == | ||
Hundreds of leagues of grassland, moors, and plains stretch across the northern border of the Red Mountains. Existing in a constant state of battle-readiness, the marchers of these lands have fought back and forth with the [[Dorne|Dornish]] for thousands of years, and have garnered a reputation for their grinding martial culture and century-long feuds. Dominated by the great castles of the marcher lords, the Houses of the Eastern Marches keep a tight grip on their power and maintain some of the finest fighting men in Westeros. | |||
Harsh, stubborn, and avenging, marchers are slow to forgot slights and pursue vengeance for misdeeds true or false at great cost to themselves. The continuous wars and raids from both sides of the marches has left little room for higher culture or religion, bar lengthy ballads of conflict in the marches. They have a highly secular approach to ruling - trusting in themselves above any god and tree. As such they keep their godswoods neat, small, and pragmatic, and weirwoods do not take easily to the dryer soil here. | |||
=== Notable Marcher Houses === | === Notable Marcher Houses === | ||