Far to the east of Westeros, and North of mainland of Essos, is the island nation of
Ibben, whose population lives primarily on Ib, the largest island in the Shivering Sea.
The Ibbenese are a race similar to men but smaller, harrier, with broad chests and shoulders,
and well-muscled with shorter legs and longer arms.
Their heads have sloped brows, heavy ridges, small eyes, large, square-shaped teeth and
rasping voices.
They are also said to chew blubber and carry shaggy brown shields and axes into battle.
And while they have difficulty reproducing with mainland humans, they are just as intelligent,
surviving mostly off of fishing and sea trade.
From the Port of Ibben, their largest city, the Ibbenese were ruled by a succession of
mighty god-kings who held absolute authority and over time led them to expand beyond their
islands, establishing colonies and settlements in Essos by conquering the forested lands
of the Wood Walkers.
The Kingdom of Ifequevron as it was known by the Dothraki, was home to a race of diminuative
forest dwellers said to be shy, and gentle folk.
And while they were aslo believed to wield powerful magic, they were eventually conquered
by the Ibbenese with the survivors fleeing deeper into the forests or else escaping to
other lands.
In addition to their conquests in Essos and the establishment of the thriving city of
Ibbish, they journeyed east settling Far Ib and the town of Ib Sar, where they sent their
worst criminals after mutilating them so they might never return.
Further east they also journeyed to Leviathan Sound and the Thousand Islands and also moved
west, with evidence of settlements in the Axe, the Lorathi Isles, along bitterweed bay,
and the bay of tusks.
The Ibbenese even attempting to invade the mouth of Sarne, engaging in a bloody battle
with the sister cities of Saath and Sarys.
Following the Doom of Valyria, the Ibbenese rebelled against the King, replacing him with
a Shadow Council to govern the realm, elected by an assembly of wealthy guildsmen, nobles
and priests known as the Thousand.
Although the Council administered their holding effectively, the fall of ancient Valyria sent
all of Essos into chaos, and heralded the western migration of the Dothraki, who destroyed
the realms of central essos during the century of blood.
The Dothraki are believed to have kept their distance from Ifequevron, out of reverence
or fear of the native Forest Dwellers.
But with the Ibbenese now populating the land, the Horselords began incursions into the area.
However the Ibbenese fought back, winning several victories and destroying the great
army of Khal Onqo.
But eventually the relentless Dothraki sacked the city of Ibbish under Khal Scoro and then
again under Khal Rogo.
Finally the Ibbenese were forced to abandon the area as Khal Dhaqo approached to raid
them yet again.
Enraged by their departure Khal Dhako burned the city as well as a large portion of the
surrounding countryside, earning the nickname Dragon of the North.
The Dothraki then came to call Ibbish by Vaes Aresak, meaning city of cowards.
With the loss of most of their holding in Essos, the Ibbenese established New Ibbish
in an attempt to regain some of the economic trade and prosperity found in Ibbish, but
instead the new city became a gloomy place of relatively minor trade.
Relations between the Ibbenese and outsiders have always been rocky, with the Islanders
deeply mistrustful of foreigners.
And while they’re work as sailors has taken them as far south as the summer isles and
summer sea, they are known to keep to themselves even when in foreign lands.
Outsiders are meanwhile only allowed in certain section of the Port of Ibben, and never permitted
outside the city unless escorted by the army.
The Ibbenese living along the coast and in cities primarily make their money in the sea
trade, boarding fat bellied whaling ships to travel the open ocean seeking cod, herring,
whitefish, eel, whales and leviathans.
With Port of Ibben Famed for it’s trade in whale bone, blubber and oil.
Beyond the city however are the Ibbenese of the woods and mountains who are even more
distrustful of strangers then their cousins along the coast.
And even keep their distance from their own kind to some degree, preferring to live in
isolation in caves or dwellings built into the ground, only gathering together in larger
groups for wedding, ceremonies and celebrations.
The inland Ibbenese primarily made their living from the extraction of resources directly
from the island, through harvesting timber, amber, and collecting the pelts from hundreds
of varieties of forest creatures.
Many also mined gold, iron and tin from the mountains.
Despite their general desire to be among their own kind, by the third century after Aegon’s
conquest of Westeros, the Ibbenese had spread throughout the known world, with some serving
as sell swords and merchants in the Free Cities, Westeros and beyond.