Surrounded by the Narrow, Summer, Shivering and Sunset seas, the continent of Westeros
was originally populated by Giants and Children of the Forest during the Dawn Age, before
the migration of First men through the arm of Dorne in the south. After a lengthy war
that saw this land bridge sink into the ocean, a peace pact gave way to the legendary Age
of Heroes where men spread throughout the continent while giants retreated into the
far north and children into the deep forests. Adopting the Old Gods of the Children, the
First Men prospered for millennia, even defeating a horrifying invasion by White Walkers during
the Long Night around the year 8000 before conquest. Yet in time the First Men too were
supplanted by foreign invaders, conquered by the fair haired, Seven worshipping Andals,
from the Axe in Essos, who migrated West to escape the expanding power of Old Valyria
and their Dragonlords. After some time living in Andalos, the Andals led a religious crusade
against Westeros, conquering every kingdom of the continent save for the large and powerful
Northern territory, where House Stark ruled over the last realm of the First Men. Although
the Andals ruled over the south, they intermarried with and adopted the traditions of the defeated,
most noticeably in the Iron Islands, where many abandoned the Seven, to worship the Drowned
god of the local population. Around 700 years before conquest, the last
major migration into Westeros occurred when Princess Nymeria led what remained of a 10000
ship Rhoynar refugee fleet, escaping the Dragonlords of Valyria who conquered their city states
along the Rhoyne river in Essos. After failing to settle Sothoryos, Naath and the Summer
Isles, Nymeria arrived in Dorne and married the Andal leader of House Martell, creating
an alliance that conquered the territory, finally created a new homeland for her people.
Intermixing with the local population, Westeros was then on known as a land of Andals, Rhoynar
and First Men. Carving up the continent into Seven Kingdoms south of the ice wall marking
their northern border, Westeros became a target for yet another invasion in 2BC, when the
dragonlord Aegon the Conqueror of House Targaryen, patriarch to the last of the 40 great Valyrian
families, led his army west from his home of Dragonstone, to establish the Aegon Fort,
which later became the capital of King’s Landing. Conquering six of seven kingdoms,
Dorne was eventually brought into the realm through a marriage alliance in 187 AC. Though
the Targaryens seemed invincible, the Dance of the Dragons civil war and aftermath led
to a significant loss in power and influence due to the loss of all their dragons and dragonriders,
allowing Lord Robert Baratheon to overthrow Mad King Aerys II in 283 AC, ending the First
Targaryen Dynasty. Although the history of Westeros was no doubt
fascinating to the Scholarly Maesters of the citadel, it was only one continent in a great
wide world, with many other lands and peoples to explore. Yet as difficult as it was to
write the history of their own lands, relying on legends, rumors, physical evidence and
whatever written records survived the long years, it was even more difficult to discern
truth from fiction when relying on second hand accounts of other lands from sometimes
dubious sources, with few opportunities for first hand knowledge or travel to these regions.
As a result information about the outside world was increasingly unreliable the further
one ventured from Westeros, becoming a mix of myth, legend and reality.
Moving South there were the Summer Isles surrounded by the Summer Sea, a largely peaceful, friendly,
trade oriented region populated by a seafaring ebony skinned people. Consisting of 3 relatively
large territories surrounded by smaller islands, the cultural centre of these lands was Tall
Trees Town, where priestesses carved their history onto enormous talking trees. An intelligent,
relatively enlightened, polytheistic people who spoke the Summer Tongue, their most revered
deities governed love, beauty and fertility, believing intimacy a holy virtue and prostitution
a noble profession, practised by nobles and commoners alike.
Preferring trade to battle, the Islands never attempted to invade another land, but were
nonetheless subject to many raids from slavers and pirates throughout the years. While unification
did occur, they were traditionally governed as independent islands, with disputes settled
through ritualistic warfare, where teams of warriors battled on consecrated grounds with
spears and slings. Resembling a Westerosi tourney more than a battle, the winners took
the disputed prize while the loser were exiled. As a result Island warfare did not harm civilians
or property. Some notable information: Throughout their
early history they thought they were alone in a world of ocean.
The islands produced some of the best archers and bows in the world.
They produced famed Swan ship. They may have explored southern Sothoryos
but kept the information and maps to themselves The isle of woman was populated by Rhoynar
refugees. Robert Baratheon considered invading the islands
on behalf of Jalabhar Xho, the exiled prince of the Red Flower Vale who was living in his
court. Moving east across the Summer Sea was the
Island of Naath, or Isle of butterflies, populated by a beautiful, gentle, dark skinned people
with golden eyes, committed to pacifism even in self defence, or for sustenance, eating
fruit rather than flesh, and making music rather than war. A monotheistic people who
worshipped the Lord of Harmony, they believed the many butterflies of the island were messengers
of their deity, charged with their protection and indeed it was the illness butterfly fever
that prevented any outside power from conquering the island. Due to their reputation for non-violence,
the Naathi were often targeted by slavers, however any outsider who spent more than a
few days on the island contracted the fatal Butterfly fever forcing them to leave or die.
Yet even so coastal raids were still possible, forcing the Naathi to migrated further inland.
East of Naath and Northwest of Sothoryos, were the infamous Basilisk Isles, named for
the beasts that once roamed these lands. A hot, humid region plagued by stinging flies,
sand fleas and bloodworms, life on the isles was nasty, brutal and short, yet ruins on
several of the islands and the native people on the Isle toads, suggest an ancient civilization
may have ruled over these lands in the distant past. In more modern times, the Old Empire
of Ghis founded the colony Gorgai on the isles, which was later conquered by the Valyrians
and turned into the penal colony Gogossos. Though Gogossos thrived as a slave port, for
a time after the Doom of Valyria, the outbreak of red death plague wiped out 9/10ths of the
population, leaving it to the become a lawless backwater home to murderers, exiles, pirates
and sell swords. The worst of the humanity gathered seeking others of their kind.
Bordered by the Summer and Jade Seas, stories name Sothoryos a land of viscious wildlife,
savage natives and deadly diseases, with only its Northern coast properly mapped. A vast
land of bountiful resources, Sothoryos was populated by the Sothoryi of Brindled men,
a large, relatively primitive, well muscled people, with thick dark skin brindled in white
patterns, considered intellectually inferior by some but valued as slave pit fighters due
to their strength and skill as warriors. Yet while natives of the north were often raided
and enslaved, travelling further south or inland meant encountering populations far
more fearsome and territorial, which were believed to practice cannibalism and horrific
religious rituals in worship of dark gods. Yet the native Sothoryi represented only a
minor danger when compared to the far deadlier threat of viscious wildlife and deadly disease,
with Archmaester Ebrose claiming 9 of every 10 Westerosi travellers to Sothoryos would
contract an illness, and of those half would die.
Similar to the Basilisk isles, ruins like the mysterious, abandoned city of yeen constructed
from oily black stone, suggested an ancient civilization once populated the region. Though
the Ghiscari Empire established the walled city of Zamettar at the mouth of Zamoyos river
and the penal colony of Gorosh at Wyvern Point, these colonies were eventually conquered by
the Dragon Lords of old Valyria. Yet as the years went on and harsh condition kept migration
sparse, these colonies were slowly abandoned to piracy and ruin.
Some notable information: During the Age of Valyria, the dragonrider Jaenara Belaerys flew
her dragon Terrax as far south as possible, hoping to find the southern most edge of Sothoryos,
but after three years returned home, claiming to have found only jungle, deserts, and mountains,
calling it a "land without end." For a time Princess Nymeria and her Rhoynar
refugees settled the region, yet over the course of their first year, suffered so many
raids and plagues they had to depart. The final calamity occurred when a ship discovered
the entire population settled in Yeen, vanished overnight.
At the height of their power, Gogossos was considered the Tenth free city.