Long before the reign of Targaryen kings, the First Men ruled over Westeros, migrating
through the arm of dorne and waging war against the children of the forest to claim the land.
For thousands of years, they prospered, ruling kingdoms large and small, even making peaces
and becoming allies of the ancient children who retreated into the deep woods, even adopting
their faith in the Old Gods and veneration of heart trees.
Yet in time, the First Men lost many of their holdings, when a new people from across the
sea began their migration west.
Although many date the start of the Andal invasion to 6000 years before Conquest.
Some maesters argue it was nearer to 4000, while others still say 2000.
Nevertheless, when the tall fair haired men of Essos descended upon the First Men, they
were relentless in their pursuit of land and riches, threatening to supplant them all across
the continent.
Legends say that it was their destiny to inherit these lands, as it was a promise made by their
god who appeared before them in the form of Seven different dieties, to crown Hugor of
the Hill as the First King of the united Andal tribes.
With the blessing of the gods and the promise of a mighty kingdom in foreign lands, they
left Andalos and sailed west.
Yet most maesters disregard such tavern tales and over the years sought to more properly
understand the Andal migration in a historical context.
From their work many have come to believe that the Andals originated in the lands of
the Axe, though some others claim they may have come from the area south of the Silver
Sea.
For centuries they were a migratory people, and in their travels learned ironworking from
the civilization of the Rhoynar.
Eventually they settled the lands of Andalos, driving out the hairy men who previously populated
the area.
While dwelling in Andalos they came to worship the faith of the Seven and thrived for many
years, until the rise of the Valyrian Freehold in the east.
The Dragonlords of the Valyrian peninsula first conquered the Old Empire of Ghis before
turning to the west to defeat the Rhoyar.
It is therefore believed that as the Valyrian began expanding, many of the Andals sailed
to Westeros seeking to escape their fury.
Those that remained behind fled into the north for a time, but were eventually conquered.
Yet those who went into the west found great success, spreading their religion and culture
throughout the south.
The Andals also made war against the children of the forest, bruning their sacred trees
while hunting and slaughtering them wherever encountered.
As a result the children were largely wiped out, with those that survived retreating into
the far north.
Journeying across the narrow sea, the Andals first sailed into the fingers of the vale
were they encountered House Shell and Brightstone, ancient enemies that each claimed kingship
over the area.
Unwisely the men chose to hire Andal warlords to continue their wars against each other,
yet when the warriors arrived they turned against the First Men instead, slaughtering
the Kings they were meant to serve.
As the fighting went on, an Andal knight named Corwyn Corbray conquered these lands and named
himself Lord of the Five Fingers.
Understanding the larger threat these invaders pose,d King Yorwyck VI Royce and his descendant
united many of the First Men houses of the vale in opposition.
While this alliance succeeded in delaying the conquest, some refused to unite behind
the Runestone kings.
House Shetts of Gulltown, chose a similar path to those in the Fingers, attempting to
ally with the Andals against their fellow First Men, only to be betrayed by House Grafton,
and replaced as the Lords of the city.
Eventually House Royce was defeated and the Andals of House Arryn came to rule the territory
from their fortress of the eyrie.
Those first men unwilling to bend the knee to these foreign invaders, fled into the mountains
of the moon, where they formed clans and lived as free men, raiding and plundering to survive.
After conquering the Vale, the Andals went into the riverlands and spent years warring
with local powers.
Stories from this period speak of the fall of maiden pool and the alliance of Blackwoods
and Brackens that was crushed by 777 charging Andal knights.
There were also the 3 sons of Lord Darry who held off Vorian Vypren, killing hundreds of
Andal enemies before they were slain.
Although some claim the Children had fled the Riverlands before the invasion, others
say they remained in the territory for some time, and used their magic to send a hundred
wolves upon a group of Andal invaders in the White wood.
Considering the Children of the Forest to be abominations, the Andal warrior Erreg the
Kinslayer attacked High Heart, killing the children, their First Men allies and cutting
down the sacred weirwood trees.
It was only under the First Men king Tristifer IV Mudd that significant opposition could
be assembled.
Legends claim he fought a hundred battles, winning 99 of them and even beheaded King
Roland II Arryn who invaded from the vale.
However Tristifer was defeated and killed in his hundredth battle, when seven Andal
kings went against him, uniting their forces.
With the death of King Tristifer, the First men could no longer withstand the invaders,
with most houses submitting to Andal authority and intermarrying.
Yet the invaders had less success with Crackclaw point, later marrying into this region when
it could not be conquered.
They also failed in their attacks upon the Isle of Faces, defended by the Green Men sworn
to protect their weirwood trees.
As a result, stories say some of the Children of the Forest who dwelt in the area may have
survived the years of war, by seeking refuge with their allies on the island.
The Andal conquerors then went on to war against each other for centuries, until House Justman
rose to rule the riverlands.
Embroiled in their own conflicts, the House Durrandon paid little attention to the Andals
until they married into House Massey, long time enemies of the Storm Kings, and took
possession of Massey’s Hook.
For years the Durrandon Kings waged war against the invaders, winning at least 6 major confrontations,
including the battle of Bronzegate where King Monfryd V Durrandon died while vanquishing
the Holy Brotherhood of the Andals.
Nevertheless the invaders made some significant gains eventually conquering Tarth and Estermont.
Other Storm kings like Baldric the cunning manipulated Andal warlords to attack each
other, while Durran XXI joined the Children of the Forest in the Weirwood alliance, defeating
their enemies at Black Bog, the Misty Wood, and the Howling Hill.
Later King Cleoden I allied with three Dornish kings to defeat Drox the Corpsemaker at the
battle on the river Slayne.
After failing to capture Storm’s End for a seventh time, the Andals were at last ready
to make peace with the Storm Kings, marrying into House Durrandon.
In the Westerlands, King Tybolt Lannister successfully repelled an attempted invasion,
as did his successors, until they made peace and intermarried.
When King Gerold III died without a male heir, his daughter’s Andal husband Joffrey Lydden
chose to take the Lannister name and so the Kings of the Rock continued to rule and even
expanded their power during the Andal Migration.
Seeing so many other territories of westeros fall to the eastern invaders, the Houses of
the Reach spent decades preparing their defences.
Yet war never came, thanks to the 3 sage kings of House Gardiener, who chose a policy of
accord and assimilation rather than open warfare.
Beginning with King Garth Gardener IX, he brought a septon of their faith to court and
allowed the construction of the first sept in highgarden.
His son Merle Gardener I then converted to the faith of the seven, funding septs, septries
and motherhouses, as well as taking an Andal maiden as his wife.
Then came Gwayne Gardener V, the first king born into their new faith, earning his knighthood
and like his father, married an Andal maiden.
Under King Gwayne, the Andal knight Alester Tyrell was made champion and sworn shield
allowing him to form House Tyrell.
Alester’s second son Gareth then later became the royal Steward of House Gardener.
Gareth and his own son Leo did so well in this position; High Steward of Highgarden
became a hereditary title for the descendants of House Tyrell.
Further south in the deserts of Dorne, the Andal houses of the Ullers, Qorgyles, Vaiths,
Allyrions, Jordaynes, and Santagars all established their own realms, as well as House Martell
which defeated the First Men houses of the Wades and Shells to claim the lands near the
mouth of the Greenblood.
Having conquered so many of the southern realms, Andal language, culture and religion became
prominent, yet it failed to properly take root in the Iron Islands.
The easterners, having allied with the First Men Houess of Drumm, Greyjoy, Hoare, and Orkwood
defeated the ironborn king Rognar II Greyiron.
And while their new king Harras Hoare intermarried with the Andals and allowed the faith of the
seven to be practiced, their faith and traditions never took hold, and the population largely
remained faithful to the Drowned God and the old ways.
The Andals had even less success with the invasion of the North, where their advance
was at last halted.
The Kings of Winter met the southern conquerors in battle on a number of occasions, beginning
with their raids along the eastern coast.
Ready to aggressively defend his realm, King Theon of House Stark made common cause with
House Bolton to defeat the Andal warlord Argos Sevenstar at the battle of the weeping water.
Afterward, the Hungry Wolf as he was known, sailed his ships across the narrow sea and
attacked Andalos in retribution, slaying many and displaying their heads along the eastern
coast of his territory to deter future attacks.
Later the Andals once against attempted to invade, this time from the riverlands, but
were thrown back time after time by the crannogmen of the Neck.
Unable to defeat this ancient kingdom, they eventually relented and accepted First Men
rule in the north.
As a consequence of the years of war and migration, the Andals of the south came to mix with the
First Men significantly and many adopted a policy of compromise, allowing for the worship
of the old gods in the south, even permitting many of the castles and fortresses throughout
the land to keep their godswoods.
Nevertheless it was the Andal language, system of writing, use of iron, traditions of Knighthood
and chivalry which took hold in the southern realms, leaving the North, as the only major
territory where first men culture and traditions survived.