Thousands of years before the rise of Valyria and the Andal migration West, the continent
of Westeros was populated by the First Men who passed through the arm of Dorne, and warred
with the Children of the Forest, before establishing the peace of the pact.
In the Westerlands, many noble houses traced their ancestry to the legends of these early
ages, such as the Farman’s of Fair Isle who were said to have defended their lands
from Ironborn Reevers.
The Greenfields who raised a castle called the Bower made entirely of Weirwood,and the
Reynes of Castamere who built a rich system of mines and tunnels to serve as their subterranean
seat.
There were also the Crakehalls who claimed descent from the mighty hero Crake the Boarkiller,
the Baneforts who traced their lineage to the Hooded Man, the yews who come from the
Blind Bowman Alan o’ the oak and the Morelands born from Pate the Plowman.
Yet while many of these families grew to be rich and powerful, none could rival House
Casterly of Casterly Rock.
According to legend, their ancestor Corlos son of Caster tracked down and slayed a lion
and lioness who were threatening the sheep of his village, but to appease the Old Gods,
he sparred the newborn cubs and so was rewarded with a great light which suddenly appeared,
illuminating a thick vein of gold inside the cave wall.
Following the trail, Corlos was led to a great stone hill overlooking the sea, and there
build a fortress to protect his family, while they burrowed deeper into the hill, discovering
vast quantities of the precious stone.
From their seat at Casterly Rock, the Casterlys ruled for a century as the wealthiest family
in the continent, but as the Dawn age came to a close and the Age of Heroes emerged,
their fortunes fell when a man appeared from the east, destined to inherit the wealth and
power of this noble house.
Known to history as Lann the Clever, some legends claim he was an early Andal adventurer
who sailed across the narrow sea and made his way west.
Others however say he was more likely of First Men blood, since the Andal migration was still
thousands of years away.
In the Reach some believed Lann was the bastard born grandson of Garth Greenhand through Florys
the Fox or Rowan Gold-Tree, while in the Westerlands, they say he merely posed as one of Greenhand’s
grandsons to make off with part of the family’s inheritance.
However nearly all the stories agree that he was a man of quick wit and fierce cunning
who swindled the Casterlys out of their holdings.
Some say Lann did this by discovering a secret way into the castle by means of a cleft so
narrow he had to strip nude and cover himself with butter to squeeze through.
Once inside, he began a campaign of physiological terror against the Casterlys, whispering threats
in their ears as they slept, howling from the darkness like a demon, stealing treasures
from one and placing it in the bedchamber of another and even rigging traps.
Over time the Casterlys became convinced their home was haunted and abandoned The Rock, allowing
for Lann to set up his own Household.
Other stories are less elaborate and claim he simply loosed a plague of rats into the
castle, while a cruder tale insists he impregnated Lord Casterlys daughters while they slept,
and gave them children of his blood which inherited the castle.
Yet some like the Maesters of Westeros were sceptical of these fantastic claims, and so
put forth more practical possibilities, such as Lann being a household guard who impregnated
and married a daughter of House Casterly.
If the Lord then died without male heir, Lann might have come to inherit Casterly Rock,
through his wife, founding House Lannister.
And while the truth of these tales might never be known, all mention of the Casterlys ceased
as the Age of Heroes went on, with the Lannisters becoming known as the Lords of Casterly Rock.
Remembered as a larger than life hero, Lann the clever was said to have lived 312 years,
producing hundreds of sons and daughters, with his descendants growing so numerous that
a branch of House Lannister left to found the rich and powerful city of Lannisport.