North of Sothoryos was the great continent of Essos, stretching from the narrow sea in
the west to the very edges of the known world in the east.
Yet while it’s furthest reaches were mysterious lands of myth and magic, the Free Cities,
directly across the narrow sea to Westeros were well known to the Maesters of the Citadel.
Engaging in trade, diplomacy and occasionally warfare, the histories of the lands were intertwined
since the dawn age, when the First Men of Essos migrated west over the arm of Dorne.
Years later, this connection continued between the Seven Kingdoms and Free cities, 9 powerful
city states, 8 of which were founded or conquered by Old Valyria before eventually gaining their
independence when the once a lush, beautiful lands of the Valyrian peninsula were shattered
and left a smoking ruin.
Known as the Doom of Valyria, it was believed the 14 Flames volcano chain erupted, either
naturally or by some unknown means, wiping out the local population.
What remained was a land plagued by terrible diseases and a haunting presence where travel
was eventually forbidden by Westerosi Kings.
After such a sudden tragedy, that fallout resulted in a century of blood, where former
Valyrian settlements like the Free Cities struggled to secure their newly won independence.
Starting in the North, there was Lorath the poorest and most isolated of the free cities.
A bleak settlement upon a stony island ruled by a council of magisters under the Harvest
Prince, Fisher Prince and prince of the streets, the Lorathi isles were originally inhabited
by ancient mazemakers but after their fall were contested by numerous peoples until united
under the Andal King Qarlon the Great.
Expanding his empire, Qarlon conquered much of the Andal north, but met his end after
attacking nearby Norvos, a city of the Valyrian Freehold, which sent their dragonlords to
destroy the enemy king in the Scouring of Lorath.
In 1436 BC, Valyrian worshippers of the blind god boash settled a colony on the largest
island, where they practised their strict religious beliefs, like absolute egalitarianism,
refusing to eat flesh or drink wine, following eunuch priests, walking barefoot, wearing
simple clothing and denying the self in their speech, referring to themselves as “a man”
or “a woman” instead of I or me.
The city Qarlon could not conquer, Norvos was once populated by an ancient civilization
before finding itself settled by Hairy Men who were then driven off by the Rhoynar.
Left abandoned for a time, it was claimed by religious dissidents from Valyria, seeking
to establish a theocracy ruled by secretive bearded priests that hid the name of their
god and practised ritual flagellation.
As only priests were allowed to grow beards, men favoured long moustaches while women shaved
off all of their hair but wore wigs to receive guests.
A unique feature of this region was that they people’s lives were governed by the ringing
of three bells, which determine when they must sleep, rise, work, rest, pray, and have
intimate relations.
South east of Norvos, Qohor was renowned as the City of Sorcerers, founded over a lumber
colony by yet another sect of religious dissident from Valyria, though these worshipped the
Black Goat, a dark god that demanded daily blood sacrifices, including animals for regular
days, human criminals for holidays and the children of nobles during times of war.
When Qohor stood on the precipice of total annihilation during the century of blood,
facing a Dothraki army of 25000 which quickly crushed most of their forces, the defence
of their city was left to 3000 brave unsullied slave soldiers trained their whole lives for
combat.
Though only 600 Unsullied survived, they killed 12000 dothraki including their leader Khal
Temmo and his sons, which in addition to the 5000 killed in the initial fighting caused
the Dothraki to surrender, cutting off their braids in shame.
From that point forward Qohor was primarily protected by Unsullied who tied the braids
of defeated Dothraki to their weapons.
The nearest Free City to the capital of Westeros, the history, politics and culture of Pentos
was often intertwined with their neighbours across the narrow sea, existing as an Andal
town before submitting to Old Valyria.
Growing into a wealthy trade port ruled by a council of magisters, the city also had
a Prince who lived in abject luxury, responsible for overseeing balls and feasts, in addition
to deflowering 2 virgin girls each year in a religious ritual that ensured continued
prosperity.
However, this life of luxury came at a cost, as any famines or lost wars meant slitting
the prince’s throat to appease the gods and win back their favour.
Located in the south west of the continent, the sister cities of Myr, Lys and Tyrosh shared
culture, customs, language and religion but were nonetheless embroiled in endless wars
over the fertile lands near their borders.
Ruled by a conclave of wealthy magisters, Myr was an artisan city known for producing
goods of exceptional quality, founded by Valyrian adventurers that conquered an Andal city.
While the island realm of Lys was famous for training pleasure slaves, as they were a people
of incredible beauty sharing the physical traits of old valyria, including silver-gold
hair, fair skin and violet eyes.
Ruled by a conclave of wealthy Magisters, under the First Magister, Lys was founded
as a trade port by wealthy Valyrian merchants, and while some few Dragonlords on the island
survived the doom of Valyria, the people rose up and killed their dangerous dragons.
Founded as a military outpost for old Valyria, dye production allowed Tyrosh to explode into
a wealthy trade city, known for it’s aggressive merchants and slavers.
Ruled by a conclave of wealthy nobles under an Archon, Tyroshi wore bright colors and
crafted ornate helmets and armor but ultimately considered trade more honerable then warfare.
Constantly hiring mercenary companies to wage wars over the disputed lands, the sister cities
have known times of peace and cooperation, including when they formed the Kingdom of
the Three Daughters.
Yet this ended in disaster after they sided with the usurper king Aegon II in the Westerosi
Dance of the Dragons civil war, losing so many ships it sparked a political crisis leading
to the dissolution of the kingdom and fresh conflict between them.
Oldest of the free cities, Volantis was founded as a Valyrian colony at the mouth of the Rhoyne
river, eventually leading to the conquest of the local Rhoynar city-states around 700
BC.
A large, wealthy city with deep ties to the Freehold, they considered themselves the heirs
to Valyria’s legacy, attempting to conquer the other Free cities after the Doom.
Yet after conquering Lys and Myr, their efforts were halted during the invasion of Tyrosh,
when a great alliance of local powers pushed them back to their city.
Ruled by 3 Triarchs elected by the citizenry each year, they had 2 major political parties,
with the Tigers representing the old aristocracy, while the Elephants spoke for the merchant
class.
Braavos The only free city never under the rule of
Old Valyria, Braavos was founded by runaway slaves of mixed ethnicities, cultures and
beliefs, which created a prosperous trade port in a hidden lagoon, where all religions
and peoples were accepted.
However it was sometime before they freely allowed outsiders into their realm, keeping
the existence of their city hidden from possible Valyrian reprisal.
Yet eventually they revealed themselves and financially compensated Valyria for the losses
incurred during their escape, which satisfied the dragonlords.
Despite banning the slave trade, Braavos became the wealthiest of the free cities and home
to the famous Iron Bank, using their mighty fleets to intervene in foreign wars when they
deemed necessary.
Intertwined in the history of nearby Westeros as well as other Free Cities, their influence
was most profoundly felt in Pentos, which after losing a series of wars was forced to
abandon the slave trade.