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Houses of The Crownlands House Buckwell
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Antlers
Arms: A rack of golden antlers on vair
Motto: Pride and Purpose
A minor house not far from King’s Landing.
House Chelsted
Ranking: Major
Arms: Per bend green and white, a crossed spiked mace and silver dagger
A powerful supporter of the Throne.
House Cressey
Ranking: Landed
Arms: Seven silver coins upon a red bend sinister, between two helmets, silver on blue.
House Cressey is a small noble family of the crownlands.
House Gaunt
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Three black lances upright on pink, between black flanches
A minor family of the crownlands.
House Harte
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Three red hart’s heads caboshed on a white bend on vair
Another minor house of the crownlands.
House Mallery
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Six white mullets, 3-2-1, on violet
A minor family of which little is known.
House Rykker
Ranking: Landed
Lands: Duskendale
Castle: Dun Fort
Arms: Two black warhammers crossed on a white saltire on blue
House Rykker is a house sworn to Darklyn.
House Staunton
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Rook’s Rest
Arms: Two black wings upon a white fess on checkered black and grey
House Staunton is a minor family of the crownlands.
House Blount
Ranking: Minor
Arms: A red bend sinister between two black porcupines on a green field
House Blount is located in the crownlands, which were under the direct control of House Targaryen. A noble family sworn to King’s Landing.
House Boggs
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Crackclaw Point
One of many houses to lay claim to the lands of Crackclaw Point.
House Brune
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Dyre Den
House Brune rules their lands from Dyre Den, a small castle with three crooked towers atop a wind-carved cliff overlooking the narrow sea.
House Byrch
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Quarterly, gyronny white and black, a silver axe on green
A house sworn to the Iron Throne.
House Bywater
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Fretty blue on white, three silver fish on blue chief
A small house in the crownlands.
House Cargyll
Ranking: Landed
Arms: A golden goose on bendy sinister black and red
An inconsequential house sworn to the Throne.
House Cave
Ranking: Minor House
One of the many houses located on Crackclaw Point, House Cave is sworn to the Iron Throne. One of the house ancestors served in the Kingsguard.
House Chyttering
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Three golden bendlets enhanced on white
House Chyttering holds lands near King’s Landing but has long held close ties to House Baratheon.
House Crabb
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Whispers (formerly)
Another house of Crackclaw Point, House Crabb long ago ruled a mighty fortress known as the Whispers, but their castle has stood in ruins for at least a thousand years. The Crabbs, as a family, still haunt the Point though they are far diminished from their storied roots. Indeed, House Crabb produced no less than three knights who served on the Kingsguard. One tale involves Ser Clarence Crabb, a massive knight so large he rode an aurochs into battle. According to legend, Ser Crabb fought and defeated dragons, wizards, and knights, claiming their heads and delivering them to his wood witch wife, who could tease out their secrets in whispers, hence the name of their castle.
House Darklyn
Ranking: Major
Lands: Duskendale
Castle: Dun Fort
Arms: Fusily black and gold, seven white escutcheons upon a red tierce
In ages past, long before the Andals crossed the narrow sea, the Darklyn family ruled their lands as kings. Eventually, their holdings were swallowed up by another kingdom, then again by the Andals, and later by the Targaryens. Through it all, the Darklyns ruled Duskendale and its environs.
House Edgerton
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Quartered, black and white half-fusily, a wheel of flame on indigo
House Edgerton is a small noble family of the crownlands.
House Farring
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Per pale purple and white, two knights combatant with swords, counter-charged
House Farring is a noble house sworn to the Crown.
House Follard
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Gyronny of twelve red and white; in a gold canton, a two-peaked fool’s cap of red and white with silver bells
Motto: None so Wise
House Follard is a minor noble family of the crownlands.
House Hardy
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Cracklaw Point
A minor house sworn to House Targaryen.
House Hayford
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Green fretty over gold, a green pale wavy
House Hayford maintains a castle only about a half-day’s ride to the north of King’s Landing along the kingsroad.
House Hogg
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Sow’s Horn
A minor family in the crownlands.
House Hollard
Ranking: Minor
Castle: None
Arms: Barry red and pink, three golden crowns on a blue chief
House Hollard is a house sworn to House Darklyn of Duskendale, and since the time when the Darklyns ruled as kings, the Hollards were among their greatest allies.
House Langward
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Per fess undy; a crown of white stars on burgundy above black
House Langward is a minor family in the crownlands.
House Manning
Ranking: Minor
Arms: A red sea lion between two black pallets on white
House Manning is a minor family in the crownlands.
House Massey
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Massey’s Hook
Castle: Stonedance
Arms: A triple spiral, red, green, and blue on white
House Massey rules a long peninsula called Massey’s Hook that stretches out from the mainland south of Dragonstone and northeast of the kingswood. There, they command a castle named Stonedance.
House Pyle
Ranking: Landed
Arms: An iron greathelm on white
House Pyle is a minor family in the crownlands.
House Pyne
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Crackclaw Point
House Pyne is one of the many families to hold lands on Cracklaw Point.
House Rambton
Ranking: Minor
Arms: A white ram’s head with golden horns on red
House Rambton is a minor family with close ties to House Baratheon, known for their devotion to the Faith.
House Rollingford
Ranking: Landed
Arms: Six roundels fountain, 3-2-1, on grey
House Rollingford is a minor family in the crownlands.
House Rosby
Ranking: Major
Castle: Rosby
Arms: Three red chevronels on ermine
House Rosby’s lands and castle lies just north of King’s Landing, and Lord Rosby regularly attends court.
House Stokeworth
Ranking: Major
Castle: Stokeworth
Arms: A white lamb holding a golden goblet on green
Motto: Proud to be Faithful
House Stokeworth holds lands and a castle north of King’s Landing.
House Thorne
Ranking: Minor
Arms: A silver flail on red within a black border rayonne
House Thorne is a powerful, if minor, house on the cusp of significance, sworn to the Targaryens.
House Wendwater
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Wendwater
Arms: A green engrailed pall, inverted on white, dividing three trees, green, red, and bare
Motto: For All Seasons
House Wendwater controls lands along the river Wendwater, a waterway inside the kingswood and southeast of King’s Landing.
House Tyrell House Tyrell
Ranking: Great
Lands: The Reach
Castle: Highgarden
Arms: A golden rose on green
Motto: Growing Strong
The Tyrells have held dominion over the Reach since Aegon the Conqueror raised them up from their status of stewards after destroying the Gardener line at the Field of Fire. The Tyrells have proven to be just rulers, and the Reach has continued to prosper under their dominion. Of course, ruling over a region that was prosperous to begin with makes the task that much simpler, as some of the Reach’s other houses would likely point out. The current ruling members of House Tyrell have taken their family motto very much to heart. Not satisfied with simply the Reach, the Tyrells hope they can grow stronger by intermarrying into the other major houses.
Banners of the Reach
Since the Reach is one of the most populous places in Westeros, it follows that it is also home to one of the larger collection of noble houses found in the Seven Kingdoms. Like the Tyrells, many of these houses can trace their heritage back to King Garth Greenhand—some of these claims may even be true. These claims are cause for some resentment for a small number of bannermen who believe the Tyrells benefited from their circumstances rather than having a stronger ancestral claim. That the current Lord of Highgarden is blessed with naked ambition has not done much to assuage this perceived injustice. But with the flowers still in bloom and winter a distant concern, grumblings are the only resistance to authority these houses are currently willing to offer.
House Blackbar
Ranking: Landed
Castle: Bandallon
Arms: A black fess on silver
The seat of House Blackbar is in Bandallon, which overlooks the Sunset Sea on one of the Reach’s westernmost points.
House Bulwer
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Blackcrown
Arms: A bull’s skull, bone on blood
Motto: Death Before Disgrace
Blackcrown Castle and Three Towers serve as the watchtowers of Whispering Sound, with Blackcrown located on the northern shore.
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House Cockshaw
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Three feathers, red, white, and gold, on black
House Cockshaw is a minor house in the Reach
House Cuy
Ranking: Landed
Lands: Sunhouse
Castle: Sunflower Hall
Arms: Six yellow flowers on blue
Sunflower Hall is a keep located within the village of Sunhouse, which is situated at the south end of the Reach next to the Summer Sea.
House Fossoway
Ranking: Major
Castle: Cider Hall
Arms: A red apple on gold
Motto: A Taste of Glory
The House Fossoway makes its seat at Cider Hall, a keep located near the junction of the Cockleswent and Mander rivers.
House Hastwyck
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Barry olive and ivory
Motto: None so Dutiful
House Hastwyck is one of the minor houses of the Reach.
House Hightower
Ranking: Major
Lands: Oldtown
Castle: Hightower
Arms: A white tower crowned with flames on smoke grey
Motto: We Light the Way
The Hightower of Oldtown is the central point from which the rest of the city grew, and serves as both a beacon to incoming ships and as the ancestral seat to House Hightower. The family is as old and proud as the building they live in, dating all the way back to the time of the First Men. The Hightowers were kings in their own right, but they eventually chose to bend the knee to the Kings of the Reach rather than battle for supremacy. This is not unusual for the house, as they generally prefer to deal in trade goods instead of cold steel, and pledging fealty to the lords of the Reach has not prevented them from continuing their commerce.
In addition to being instrumental in making Oldtown a center of trade, the Hightowers were also responsible for making the city known for its learning and religious tolerance, for it was due to their initiative that the Citadel was established and the Starry Sept and numerous smaller temples to other faiths were allowed to flourish. Since they are known for eschewing combat, it is little surprise the Hightowers are themselves enamored of both learning and the Faith, though there have been some family members who have dabbled in the knightly arts.
While the size of their dominion has shrunk with the passage of time, the history of Westeros is littered with the names of Hightowers who have left their indelible mark in both good and bad ways. Ser Otto Hightower was once Hand to a Targaryen king; while he was a learned man, he is remembered as one of the worst Hands the realm has ever known.
House Lowther
Ranking: Minor
Arms: A silver dolphin on a blue-green field
House Lowther is a minor house of the Reach.
House Oakheart
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Old Oak
Arms: Three green oak leaves on gold
Motto: Our Roots Go Deep
House Oakheart is one of the noble families that claims descent from Garth Greenhand. Their family is greatly esteemed as their preceding Lord, Ser Olyvar Oakheart, called the Green Oak, was a Sworn Brother in the Kingsguard of Daeron I and died during the conquest of Dorne at his king’s side. Their castle lies on the sea road near the Sunset Sea, closer to the westerlands than Highgarden.
House Osgrey
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Standfast
Arms: A lion, checkered green and gold, on white
Once a great and noble house, having held the title of Marshall of the Northmarch for a thousand years, House Osgrey began their decline after the Field of Fire, dwindling and dying out in the Reach. During the reign of Maegor the Cruel, Lord Ormond Osgrey spoke out against Maegor’s suppression of the Stars and Swords, only to have his lands and Castle Coldmoat ripped from him and given to the Webbers.
House Redwyne
Ranking: Major
Lands: The Arbor
Motto: Ribe For Victory
Arms: A burgundy grape cluster on blue
The Redwynes of the Arbor possess some of the most desirable land in the seven kingdoms, due to the rich soil and the crops of grapes that grow there. Both the red wines and the white (in particular a variety known as Arbor gold) of the Arbor are renowned as far away as Qarth. But of far greater importance than these fine vintages are the hundreds of ships at the Redwyne’s disposal. This fleet makes the house of vital importance to the Reach.
House Rowan
Ranking: Major
Castle: Goldengrove
Arms: A golden tree on silver
Lord of Goldengrove’s seat is located in the northern section of the Reach, near the border of the westerlands. The Rowans claim they can trace their lineage to Garth Greenhand, giving them a claim to Highgarden, though, for now, they are content to let the Tyrells rule the Reach.
House Serry
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Southshield
Castle: Southshield Castle
Arms: A white rose upon a red escutcheon upon white, a red embattled border
The ruler of the southernmost of the Shield Islands.
House Tarly
Ranking: Major
Castle: Horn Hill
Arms: A striding red huntsman on a field of green
Motto: First in Battle
Some of the houses of the Reach have power, some wealth, and a limited number have both, but only the Lord Tarly has Heartsbane, a greatsword forged of Valyrian steel that has been passed down through his family for centuries. Lord Tarly is known throughout the realm not only for his Valyrian steel blade, but also because of his success in wielding it. It is because of both his ferocity in battle and his tactical knowledge that a Lord of Horn Hill has served in the Tyrell’s vanguards whenever Highgarden has had cause to call its banners.
Horn Hill is located due south of Highgarden, between the roseroad and the Dornish Marches. The strong keep has been the home of the Tarlys for a thousand years. The land in the area is rich and the game plentiful, which probably served as the inspiration for the Tarly’s striding huntsman sigil.
House Varner
Ranking: Major
Arms: A white weasel on ermine
One of the greater houses of the Reach.
House Webber
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Coldmoat
Arms: A white and red spider on a silver web over black
House Webber gained their titles and lands from Maegor the Cruel, giving them the castle and lands torn from the Osgreys when Lord Osgrey dared speak out against the king. For years, tensions have run hot between the impoverished Osgrey house and the Webbers.
House Westbrook
Ranking: Landed
Arms: Two green bars gemel on gold
House Westbrook is a minor house of the Reach.
House Wythers
Ranking: Minor
Arms: A grey squirrel on a white field with a red border.
A minor House.
House Ambrose
Ranking: Landed
Arms: A yellow field covered with red ants
Motto: Never Resting
A politically strong, if weak-landed, house of the Reach.
House Appleton
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Appleton
Arms: Quarterly - An apple tree on yellow, a grey gatehouse on white
House Appleton is a minor house of the Reach.
House Ashford
Ranking: Major
Lands: Ashford
Castle: Ashford Castle
Arms: A white sun-and-chevron on an orange field
Motto: Our Sun Shines Bright
Lord Ashford stands at the ready to further the glory of his house; however, he may have some reservations about using his town in order to achieve it.
House Ball
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Three white plates upon a chevron red on a white field
House Ball is a minor house of the Reach. They have a member serving as Aegon IV’s Master-at-Arms.
House Beesbury
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Honeyholt
Arms: Three yellow beehives on a black pale on a black and yellow paly field
Motto: Beware Our Sting
Honeyholt castle is located on the Honeywine River, south of Brightwater Keep, north of Oldtown, and about equidistant from them both. House Beesbury is relatively minor in status.
House Bridges
Ranking: Minor
Arms: A black stone bridge with three arches upon a golden chief above three blue pallets on white
House Bridges is a minor house of the Reach.
House Bushy
Ranking: Minor
Arms: A green fess embattled on white
House Bushy is a minor house of the Reach
House Caswell
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Bitterbridge
Arms: A yellow centaur with a longbow on a field of white
The seat of House Caswell, Bitterbridge, sits next to the titular bridge at the point where the roseroad crosses the Mander. It is a relatively modest affair, made of stone and timber and barely tall enough to be called a tower. Its great hall is called that more out of courtesy than as a true measure of its stature.
House Chester
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Greenshield
Castle: Greenshield Castle
Arms: A green hand on a gold escutcheon on a green field, a border of red rayonne
Lord Chester is one of the four Shield Islands that guard the mouth of the Mander.
House Conklyn
Ranking: Minor
House Conklyn is a minor house of the Reach.
House Cordwayner
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Hammerhal
Arms: Black boots on a field of green and gold diamonds
House Cordwayner is a minor house of the Reach.
House Costayne
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Three Towers
Arms: A silver chalice on black and a black rose on yellow, presented on a quartered field
Three Towers castle is on the south shore of Whispering Sound, comprising one half of the watchtowers guarding that waterway. The current lord is Tommen Costayne, who is the Lord of the Three Towers. The most famous member of the house is Ser Tom Costayne, known as Long Tom, who served as a member of the Kingsguard for sixty years. Unfortunately, few now remember him.
House Crane
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Red Lake
Arms: A flight of golden cranes, in a V shape, on a field of pale blue
Many of the members of the Crane family will be found in other houses. Red Lake is the only lake of significant size within the Reach and is situated not far from the forest that surrounds Crakehall in the western portion of the region.
House Dunn
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Per pale black and pink, a countercharged two-headed pelican
House Dunn is a minor house of the Reach.
House Durwell
Motto: Minor
House Durwell is a minor house of the Reach, with holdings near those of Osgrey and Webber. They have a dire reputation for being thieves.
House Florent
Ranking: Major
Castle: Brightwater Keep
Arms: A red fox in a circle of blue flowers on ermine
Of all the houses within the Reach, the Florents are one of the only families that strive to outdo the Tyrells when attempting to better their station through marriage. Of course, the Florents have a bit higher to climb since House Tyrell has dominion over the Reach, and the Florent’s domain doesn’t extend far beyond his castle walls. This is none too pleasing to the Florents, whose blood ties to the extinct House Gardener are stronger than the Tyrells, a fact they will recite with little prompting to any who appear interested.
House Footly
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Tumbleton
Arms: A field of silver caltrops on black
Motto: Tread Lightly Here
The village of Tumbleton lies very close to both the source of the Mander and the kingswood. House Footly is a minor house in the Reach.
House Gardener
Ranking: Extinct
Lands: The Reach
Castle: Highgarden
Arms: A green hand on white
The Gardeners were a house claiming lineage to the First Men, specifically Garth Greenhand. The last Gardener was King Mern, who perished along with four thousand knights in a conflagration of dragonfire at the Field of Fire during Aegon’s Conquest.
House Graceford
Ranking: Landed
Castle: Holyhall
Arms: The Mother’s face upon white pale wavy dividing a brown field
Motto: Work Her Will
A minor house pledged to the Tyrells.
House Graves
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Green and white gyronny, a double-headed eagle counter-charged, gold beak and talons
House Graves is one of the minor houses of the Reach.
House Grimm
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Greyshield
Castle: Greyshield Castle
Arms: An iron escutcheon with silver studs on a grey-green field strewn with longships proper
Lord Grimm is the Lord of Greyshield and is charged with guarding the Mander with the lords of the other Shield Islands. Grey-shield is one of the four islands north of the mouth of the Mander.
House Hewett
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Oakenshield
Castle: Oakenshield Castle
Arms: An oaken escutcheon studded with iron, a field bendy of undulating blue and white
Lord Hewett rules over the isle of Oakenshield and is tasked with providing the ships and crews to do their part in watching the Mander’s mouth. His castle is small but sturdy, with thick walls built to withstand sieges and oaken doors studded with iron that mimic the house’s sigil. Oakenshield sits above the harbor of Lord Hewett’s Town.
House Hunt
Ranking: Minor
Arms: A brown deer, bound and slung on a pole, on white
House Hunt is a minor house in the Reach, sworn to Horn Hill.
House Hutcheson
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Two red bendlets on gold, a red hand below pointing to a red sun above
House Hutcheson is a minor house of the Reach.
House Inchfield
Ranking: Minor
Arms: A bend sinister, checked black and white, on pale grey
House Inchfield is a minor house of the Reach.
House Kidwell
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Ivy Hall
Arms: Pale green ivy bendy on black masonry
House Kidwell is a minor house that rules their holdings from Ivy Hall in the Reach.
House Leygood
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Three black thunderbolts on orange
House Leygood is a minor house in the Reach.
House Lyberr
Ranking: Landed
Arms: Per bend sinister - a grey cat’s face on black, a brown jug on white
House Lyberr is a minor house of the Reach.
House Meadows
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Grassy Vale
Arms: A border of flowers of many colors and varieties on green
Grassy Vale is located near the source of the Blue Bym River, relatively close to the kingswood.
House Merryweather
Ranking: Major
Castle: Longtable
Arms: A golden horn of plenty spilling out apples, carrots, plums, onions, leeks, turnips, and fruits of many colors on a white field bordered in gold
Motto: Behold Our Bounty
The Lord of Longtable is the purveyor of one of the greatest orchards of the Reach, and a powerful and old house.
The Merryweathers seat is situated where the Blue Bym and Mander rivers meet.
House Middlebury
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Quarterly, a black saltire on yellow, green and white diamonds
House Middlebury is a noble house of the Reach.
House Mullendore
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Uplands
Arms: Butterflies of orange and black, spread on a field of white
Their seat of Uplands is located within the Dornish Marches in the vicinity of Oldtown.
House Norridge
Ranking: Minor
Arms: A flight of flaming arrows rising bendwise on a blue field
House Norridge is a noble house in the Reach.
House Oldflowers
Ranking: Landed
Arms: Ten white hands on green, 4-3-2-1, beneath a red bend sinister
House Oldflowers is a minor house of the Reach.
House Orme
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Per fess - three golden harps on black, gold and silver bendy sinister
House Orme is one of the minor houses of the Reach.
House Peake
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Three black castles on a field of orange
A minor house in the Reach.
House Pommingham
Ranking: Minor
Arms: A red pomegranate on white, a double tressure red
House Pommingham is one of the minor houses of the Reach.
House Redding
Ranking: Landed
Arms: A golden flagon on burgundy, a border of gold and white checks
House Redding is a minor house of the Reach.
House Rhysling
Ranking: Minor
Arms: An oaken door banded with iron, in a grey stone doorway, on black masonry
A minor house in the Reach, squandering into extinction.
House Risley
Ranking: Minor
Arms: A black knight on a black rearing horse on white, bearing a golden lance and a white shield, upon which is seen the same scene in miniature
House Risley is one of the minor houses of the Reach.
House Roxton
Ranking: Minor
Castle: The Ring
Arms: A saltire of interlocked golden rings, upon a sky blue field
House Roxton is a minor house of the Reach.
House Shermer
Ranking: Landed
Lands: Smithyton
Castle: Smithyton Castle
Arms: A field of copper nails on blue, a copper border rayonne
House Shermer rules their modest holdings from a castle in Smithyton.
House Sloane
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Per pale, white stars strewn on indigo, an orange sun on yellow
House Sloane is one of the minor houses of the Reach.
House Stackhouse
Ranking: Minor
House Stackhouse is a minor house of the Reach.
House Uffering
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Oak and iron paly, beneath a white chief with seven green hands
House Uffering is one of the minor houses of the Reach.
House Vyrwel
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Darkdell
Arms: A silver wyvern within a red double tressure on sable
A minor house, known for its skill in sciences.
House Willum
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Three silver longswords crossed on black beneath a dragon’s skeleton on a white chief
House Willum is a minor house of the Reach, under the rule of Lord Willum.
House Woodwright
Ranking: Minor
Arms: A red pall on a field of oak
House Woodwright is a minor house of the Reach.
House Yelshire
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Barry green and gold, a black battering ram with a gold head on a black chief
House Yelshire is a minor house of the Reach.
House Stark House Stark
Ranking: Great
Lands: The North
Castle: Winterfell
Arms: A running grey direwolf, on an ice-white field
Motto: Winter is Coming
The lions of Lannister may pay their debts, and the hawk of House Arryn may soar as high as honor, but the direwolf of House Stark is a different sort of animal. A Stark lives for duty and dies for honor. He may ride laughing in the sunshine, joyously harvest his crops, and bask in the warmth of the long summer, but in his heart, a Stark knows even the brightest days end. Winter comes to Westeros as surely as death comes to every man. Since the most ancient of times, the family motto has been “Winter is Coming”.
Banners of the North
Like all the other great houses of Westeros, House Stark has many retainers and other lesser houses who have sworn fealty to the dire wolf. Also like the other great houses, the Stark’s bannermen are a mixed lot, ranging from House Holds with spotless honor and unquestioned loyalty to less reliable individuals who chafe at their Lord’s oversight and even attempt to undermine House Stark’s authority. All, however, must come should Lord Stark call his banners, though some may come more readily than others.
House Bolton
Ranking: Major
Castle: The Dreadfort
Arms: A red flayed man on a pink de sang
The houses of the North have been good and bad, noble and treacherous, but some houses live under a dark and sinister cloud, and of them, few can compare to House Bolton. In ages past, the Boltons and the Starks were sworn enemies, and they fought against the Kings of Winter in all things, as recently as the time of Bael the Bard, a famous King-beyond-the-Wall. Eventually, the Bolton host submitted to Stark rule, though it was a grudging surrender at best.
House Flint of Widow’s Watch
Ranking: Major
Castle: Widow’s Watch
Arms: A blue field strewn with whitecaps, a pair of blue eyes on a yellow chief with crested line
Motto: Ever Vigilant
The senior branch of the extended Flint family, House Flint of Widow’s Watch commands a peninsula east and north of White Harbor. These Flints have ties to House Stark, having married into the family a few generations back.
House Glover
Ranking: Major
Castle: Deepwood Motte
Arms: A silver fist on a scarlet field
House Glover has strong ties to House Stark and rules their ancestral lands of Deepwood Motte, a rugged domain located north of Sea Dragon Point and on the opposite side of the wolfswood from Winterfell, near the tidal flats of the Bay of Ice. A simple wooden fortress perched on a hill, Deepwood Motte is nevertheless an important strategic location for the Starks, as it can be used to supply an army from the sea, and its remote location makes sieges difficult. Deepwood Motte’s garrison is small, but the folk of the domain are tough and determined, adapted to a life in the wilds.
House Ironsmith
Ranking: Landed
Arms: A black sword, upright, between four black horseshoes on a field of gold, with a grey-green border
House Ironsmith is a minor family with holdings in the North and sworn to House Stark.
House Karstark
Ranking: Major
Castle: Karhold
Arms: A white sunburst on black field
Motto: The Sun of Winter
Like many of the northern houses, House Karstark claims to have directly descended from the First Men, and they claim with pride their close ties to House Stark, having been raised to lords one thousand years ago when Karlon Stark put down a rebel lord. For his service, the King of Winter granted this cadet branch of Starks lands to the northeast of Winterfell, in the midst of a forest beyond the Last River. Eventually the so-called Karhold Starks became the Karstarks, a House Hold quite separate from the Starks of Winterfell. They are big, fierce men with great beards and long hair, and they wear cloaks of bear, wolf, and sealskin.
House Locke
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Oldcastle
Arms: Bronze crossed keys on a white pale on purple
House Locke is a minor family who hold lands in the North.
House Manderly
Ranking: Major
Lands: White Harbor
Castle: White Harbor
Arms: A white merman with dark green hair, beard, and tail, carrying a black trident on a blue-green field
The castle at White Harbor was built by King Jon Stark to defend against eastern sea raiders. Driven from the lands of the river Mander (which the Manderlys insist was named for them rather than the other way around), the Manderlys were granted the fortress and surrounding lands and have served as loyal bannermen to House Stark ever since. As they were from the south, the Manderlys continued to follow the faith of the Seven rather than the old gods of the North and are quite devoted to the principles of chivalry and knighthood. Today, the White Harbor region is prosperous, with considerable mercantile trade from the east and rich fishing grounds.
House Marsh
Ranking: Landed
Arms: Ten frogs, 4-3-2-1, green on yellow
A minor family of little merit.
House Mormont
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Bear Island
Arms: A black bear in a green wood
Motto: Here We Stand
Old and poor, the Mormonts are nevertheless a proud and honorable family, and they have served Stark loyally for many generations. It is said King Rodrik Stark won Bear Island from its original owners, the Woodfoots, in a wrestling match and gave it to the Mormonts. No one knows whether this story is true, but Bear Island is certainly a beautiful place, covered in ancient forests and flowering thorn bushes, its lands crisscrossed by rushing streams and creeks. The Mormont’s hall is built from huge logs and is surrounded by an earthen palisade. It is sparsely populated and wild, consisting only of a few crofters and fisherfolk.
The Mormonts are a storied and celebrated house. In the past, it is said that the women were forced to defend themselves against the raiding ironmen and wildlings while their men were away fishing, and today, they are known to be as tough and fierce as she-bears. A carving at the entrance to Mormont Keep memorializes this story, depicting a woman in a bearskin, holding an axe in one hand and a suckling babe in the other.
House Moss
Ranking: Minor
Arms: A bend orange on vairy green and grey
A minor house in the North, they owe their allegiance to House Stark.
House Overton
Ranking: Landed
Arms: A checkered silver and gold fess on black
A minor house in the North, they owe their allegiance to House Stark.
House Ryswell
Ranking: Major
Lands: The Rills
Arms: A black horse’s head, red eyes and mane, on bronze with black engrailed border
House Ryswell commands the hilly lands known as the Rills southwest of Torrhen’s Square.
According to legend, seventy-nine men deserted the Night’s Watch and sought refuge with the then Lord Ryswell, as one of their numbers was the lord’s son. Lord Ryswell rounded them up and marched them back to the Wall, where they were each sealed up inside the Wall, such was the lord’s honor. In his dying days, Ryswell took the black so he could stand watch next to the son he consigned to death.
House Tallhart
Ranking: Major
Castle: Torrhen’s Square
Arms: Three sentinel trees, green on brown
Motto: Proud and Free
Torrhen’s Square is a small domain centred on a strong fortress that rises from a lakeshore in the rugged lands south of the wolfswood and north of the barrowlands. Though relatively few in number, the Tallharts are an important ally to House Stark, as Torrhen’s Square is one of few fortresses in the region, and it would form a vital bulwark against invasion or raids from the west. The ironmen are well aware of the fort’s strategic importance, and it would be one of their first targets should war ever break out again.
House Umber
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Bay of Seals
Castle: Last Hearth
Arms: A roaring giant with brown hair, wearing a skin, with broken silver chains, on flame red
The Umbers control the harsh land along the Bay of Seals, a place of wild hills and ancient forests of oak and pine. They are a hardy people, tempered by the rough northern climate and often called upon to help defend the Wall against wildling raiders. The Umbers’ most celebrated victory was as part of the host that defeated the brothers Gendel and Gorne, who had, together, declared themselves Kings-beyond-the-Wall over three millennia ago. Today, the house has a rather fearsome reputation, and some tales claim that the Night’s King was not a Bolton at all, but an Umber.
House Waterman
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Brown crossed oars on white, between a pair of blue flanches
House Waterman is a minor house with lands in the North and is sworn to House Stark.
House Whitehill
Ranking: Minor
Arms: A white pile inverted on indigo, an arch of four-pointed stars above
House Whitehill is a minor house with lands in the North and is sworn to House Stark. Like few other houses in the North, House Whitehill keeps the Faith.
House Cerwyn
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Cerwyn Castle
Arms: A black battleaxe on silver
Motto: Honed and Ready
House Cerwyn is a minor house sworn to House Stark.
House Condon
Ranking: Landed
Arms: Eagle’s head between crossed tridents, red on white
House Condon is a minor house sworn to House Cerwyn.
House Dustin
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Barrowlands
Castle: Barrowton
Arms: Two rusted longaxes with black shafts crossed, a black crown between their points on a yellow field
House Dustin is a minor house sworn to House Stark.
House Fenn
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Three black water lilies on a violet field
House Fenn is a minor house sworn to House Stark.
House Flint of Flint’s Finger
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Blazewater Bay
Castle: Flint’s Finger
Arms: A grey stone hand upon a white inverted pall on paly black and grey
This branch of the Flint family has ties to the Flints of Widow’s Watch and the far smaller Flint clans of the northern mountains. Their lands consist of the southern shores of Blazewater Bay.
House Hornwood
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Hornwood
Arms: A brown bull moose with black antlers on orange field
Motto: Righteous in Wrath
House Hornwood holds lands east of Winterfell, along the edges of House Bolton’s lands.
House Lake
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Seven pommes, 2-2-2-1, green on brown
House Lake is a minor family with holdings in the North and sworn to House Stark.
House Lightfoot
Ranking: Minor
Arms: A line of white footprints in bend sinister, on a dark brown field
House Lightfoot is a minor family with holdings in the North and sworn to House Stark.
House Poole
Ranking: Landed
Arms: A blue plate on white, with a grey tressure
A minor house in the North, they owe their allegiance to House Stark.
House Reed of Greywater Watch
Ranking: Major
Lands: Greywater
Castle: Greywater Watch
Arms: A black lizard-lion on grey-green
The crannogmen’s oath to House Stark
“To Winterfell we pledge the faith of Greywater. Hearth and heart and harvest we yield up to you, my lord. Our swords and spears and arrows are yours to command. Grant mercy to our weak, help to our helpless, and justice to all, and we shall never fail you. I swear it by earth and water. I swear it by bronze and iron. We swear it by ice and fire.”
The crannogmen of the Neck are among the strangest of House Stark’s allies, but they are also among the most valued. The rest of Westeros calls the swamp-folk “frog-eaters” or “mudmen” and sees them as hopelessly primitive rustics. Lord Eddard sees the crannogmen’s value as scouts, and their bloody hit-and-run tactics have brought many a powerful foe to grief. Crannogmen and -women fight with nets, slender frog spears, and bronze knives, striking from hiding and vanishing into the swamp.
Many strange tales surround the crannogmen, for they are diminutive and claim to know some of the secrets left by the children of the forest. It is said they practice some of the ancient spells, and a few crannogmen have the greensight, the ability to see other times and places. They are, for the most part, a peaceful people who live in thatched reed huts on floating islands and fight only if they have to.
Though the crannogmen disdain nobility, knights, and the tenets of chivalry, they do have a ruling house, the Reeds of Greywater Watch. This fortress is the center of the crannogmen’s realm, though no one can say for certain exactly where it is. Greywater Watch is said to drift and move, never in the same place twice, as elusive as the folk who dwell in the bogs of the Neck.
The crannogmen are the reclusive people of the Neck. Subsisting on fishing and frogging, most people suspect them of all sorts of queer acts, which is only reinforced by their unusual customs and manners. Crannogmen collect in small villages formed of reeds and thatch that sit atop floating islands in the mire.
House Slate
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Pale grey, double tressure white
House Slate is a minor house with lands in the North and is sworn to House Stark.
House Stout
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Goldgrass
Arms: Chevronny russet and gold
House Stout is a minor house with lands in the North and is sworn to House Stark. Lord Stout commands his holdings from his castle, Goldgrass.
House Wells
Ranking: Landed
Arms: Per fess - five black roundels on grey over green and white lozengy
House Wells is a minor house with lands in the North and is sworn to House Stark.
House Woolfield
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Three wool stacks, white on purple, a white border
House Woolfield is a minor house with lands in the North and is sworn to House Stark.
Houses of the Mountain Clans
Although these families were raised to nobility by Stark lords, the mountain peoples do not see themselves as such, and their people do not follow the customs of the southron houses.
House Burley
Ranking: Clan
Arms: A white knife in a blue pile on white
House Burley is one of the northern clans. Burley, or Lord Burley at Winterfell, is the head of this house.
House Norrey
Ranking: Clan
Arms: Six green thistles, 3-2-1, on yellow
House Norrey is another minor clan of the North, with lands in the mountains north of the wolfswood. Lord Norrey, called “the Norrey,” is the clan’s chief.
House Harclay
Ranking: Clan
Arms: Three blue moons - waxing, full, waning, on a white bend, on blue
House Harclay is one of the northern clans and holds territory in the foothills north of the wolfswood.
House Knott
Ranking: Clan
Arms: A brown fret on white
House Knott is one of the northern clans and holds lands in the mountains north of the wolfswood. Knott, or Lord Knott at Winterfell, is the head of this clan.
House Liddle
Ranking: Clan
Arms: Per pale white and green, a fir tree line between, three brown pinecones on the white
Another of the northern mountain clans, House Liddle governs the highlands north of the wolfswood.
House Wull
Ranking: Clan
Arms: Three wooden buckets, brown on blue, with a border of grey and white checks
House Wull is one of the more significant northern clans and holds lands west of the northern mountains along the Bay of Ice.
House Lannister House Lannister
Ranking: Great
Lands: Westerlands
Castle: Casterly Rock
Arms: A roaring lion, gold on crimson
Motto: Hear Me Roar! (a Lannister always pays his debts)
Ever since Lann the Clever took Casterly Rock from the Casterlys, the Lannisters have ruled over the westerlands, first as kings, and then after the Targaryen conquest, as lords in service to their new king.
History
The history of House Lannister is closely tied to the history of the westerlands, and so the events that unfolded in these lands almost always involved this famous family. In the eyes of many peoples of the Seven Kingdoms, there cannot be a westerlands without the Lannisters and vice versa. This has been especially magnified in recent years by the actions of Tywin Lannister, as he’s worked to secure the safety and prosperity of his house, and the Lannisters stand as one of the most feared and hated families in all the Seven Kingdoms.
The Lannister family descends from the mingling of the peoples who claimed lineage to Lann the Clever and those Andal adventurers who carved new kingdoms from the old, with, presumably, a warrior or chieftain wedding the descendant of that ancient trickster. The result of this union produced an uncommon bloodline: a family noted for their canniness, ambition, and propensity for violence. These traits have helped them survive thousands of years as one of the principle houses in these lands.
The early years of House Lannister lay undocumented and buried amidst a mountain of half-truths, myths, and misdirection. It’s known that at some point King Tommen II made a foolish venture to Valyria, taking with him the family sword, Brightroar. He never returned, and thus, the ancestral blade was forever lost. The allure of this missing weapon has lured at least one Lannister to seek it out, finding his doom instead.
Word of Aegon’s arrival spread through the Seven Kingdoms like wildfire, prompting the Andal kings to mount a response. While others knelt before the might of Aegon’s dragons, Loren Lannister, King of the Rock, and his ally, King Mern of the Reach, had no intention of setting aside their authority for some foreign upstart. Together, the Two Kings, as they were called, gathered a mighty force comprising some six hundred banners, five thousand mounted knights, and ten times that many freeriders and men-at-arms. Arrayed in all their splendor, they awaited Aegon and his far smaller host in a great field.
At first, the battle seemed to go the way of the defenders, for Aegon’s conscripts included a menagerie of broken and defeated men, peoples who had been conquered and pressed into fighting for the Targaryen warlord. Against the numbers fielded by the Two Kings, they stood no chance, and in short order they were slaughtered, driven back beneath the savage ferocity of the warriors sworn to the Two Kings. Aegon and his sisters were not impressed. Even as their soldiers quit the field, the Targaryens unleashed their mighty dragons. For the first and only time, all three dragons were freed to vent their wrath on mankind. In horror, King Loren watched as the dragons wiped out some four thousand knights, roasted King Mern, and broke the back of his armies. Faced with annihilation, Loren did the only thing he could do: he surrendered.
Aegon was in need of useful servants, especially ones with the charisma and command to master such a large host, and so Aegon spared Loren’s life and named him Lord Paramount of the westerlands. Loren aided Aegon in crushing the last resistance in the Seven Kingdoms and helped establish the dynasty that would rule for two centuries.
Over the generations that followed, the Lannisters’ fortunes rose and fell, but they never waned for long. If the Lannisters were good at anything, it was taking care of themselves. Their control over Lannisport ensured they were among the wealthiest of families, making it easier to arrange favorable marriages, including cementing unions with the Baratheons, among others. Through it all, the Lannisters were checked in their growth, as were the Tullys of the riverlands, by depredations and attacks from the Iron Isles. Whenever the Iron Throne was at its weakest, it seemed the ironmen were quick to mount raids on the rich and verdant coastlines. For these reasons, the Lannisters invested their coin in ships, soldiers, and arms to increase their influence and dominance.
Banners of the Westerlands
Like all great houses, the Lannisters enjoy the service of a wide range of noble families, each pledged to support them in times of trouble. If any of these houses harbor resentment toward House Lannister, they are wise to keep it to themselves.
House Kenning
Ranking: : Major
Lands: : Kayce
Castle: : Kayce Castle
Arms: : Four sunbursts countercharged on quartered orange and black
House Kenning rules the town of Kayce, neighbors to the holdings of House Prester.
House Lefford
Ranking: : Major
Castle: : Golden Tooth
Arms: : A golden inverted pile on sky blue, a yellow sun in the first
House Lefford’s seat is the Golden Tooth, one of the richest gold mines in the westerlands, and it’s well positioned to block traffic between the westerlands and the riverlands.
House Lydden
Ranking: : Major
Castle: : Deep Den
Arms: : A white badger on per pale green and brown
The Lords of Deep Den are considered one of the more powerful families in the westerlands.
House Payne
Ranking: : Landed
Arms: : Checkered purple and white, within each square a gold coin
House Payne is a minor house in the westerlands.
House Prestor
Ranking: : Minor
Castle: : Feastfires
Arms: : A red ox on ermine
Motto: : Tireless
House Prester rules their lands from their castle called Feastfires, perched on the end of a peninsula west of Casterly Rock.
House Algood
Ranking: : Landed
Arms: : A golden wreath on blue, a gold border
House Algood is a minor house of the westerlands.
House Banefort
Ranking: : Minor
Castle: : Banefort
Arms: : A hooded man, black on grey, within a fiery tressure
House Banefort commands their holdings from their castle, Banefort.
House Bettley
Ranking: : Minor
Arms: : Three blue beetles on gold
House Bettley is a minor house in the Westerlands.
[B] House Brax
Ranking: : Major
Castle: : Hornvale
Arms: : A purple unicorn on silver
House Brax has the distinction of being one of the principle houses sworn to the Lannisters.
House Crakehall
Ranking: : Major
Castle: : Crakehall
Arms: : A black and white brindled boar on brown
Motto: : None so Fierce
Lord Crakehall rules much of that which the Lannisters do not, a premier house of the West.
House Dogget
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Per bend a white unicorn on green, a black raven on white
House Dogget is a minor house in the westerlands.
House Drox
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Three black crossbows, on gold, a black border
House Drox is a minor house in the westerlands.
House Estren
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Wyndhall
Arms: A green saltire between four red double-headed eagles on white
House Estren is a minor house in the westerlands.
House Falwell
Ranking: Minor
Arms: A fool in red and gold motley juggling five suns on black
House Falwell is another of the minor houses with holdings in the westerlands.
House Farman
Ranking: Major
Castle: Faircastle
Motto: Three silver ships on blue, a border of crimson and gold
House Farman is one of House Lannister’s bannermen and commands the Fair Isle from their keep Faircastle.
House Ferren
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Per saltire, red and gold checks, a silver and black ferret on green
House Ferren is another of the minor houses with holdings in the westerlands.
House Garner
Ranking: Minor
Motto: Three grey owls upon white plates on green
House Garner is another of the minor houses with holdings in the westerlands.
House Hamell
Ranking: Minor
Arms: An erminois maunch on pink, an erminois border
House Hamell is a minor house in the westerlands.
House Hawthorne
Ranking: Minor
Arms: A ring of black thorns and a ring of pink flowers, inter-locked, on green
House Hawthorne is a minor house in the westerlands.
House Jast
Ranking: Minor
Arms: An inverted pall between three lion’s heads, yellow on black
A minor house in service to the Rock.
House Marbrand
Ranking: Major
Castle: Ashemark
Arms: A burning tree, orange on smoke
Motto: Burning Bright
One of the major houses of the westerlands.
House Moreland
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Per pale barry - russet and green
House Moreland is a minor house of the westerlands.
House Myatt
Ranking: Minor
Arms: A spotted tree cat, yellow and black, on mud brown
House Myatt is a minor house in the westerlands.
House Parren
Ranking: Extinct
Arms: Per saltire - burgundy and white stripes, a black lion’s head on gold
A minor house in its day, it has since died out.
House Plumm
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Three purple roundels on gold
Motto: Come Try Me
House Plumm is a minor house in the westerlands.
House Reyne
Ranking: Major
Castle: Castamere
Arms: A red lion rampant reguardant with a forked tail, armed and langued gold, on silver
The Reynes are among the richest and most powerful houses in the westerlands.
House Serrett
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Silverhill
Arms: A peacock in his pride on cream
Motto: I Have no Rival
House Serrett is a major house with holdings south of the goldroad near one of the river Mander’s tributaries.
House Stackspear
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Crossed black spears on checkered silver and gold
House Stackspear is a minor house of the westerlands.
House Swyft
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Cornfield
Arms: A blue bantam rooster on yellow
Motto: Awake! Awake!
House Swyft is an important house in the westerlands with strong ties to House Lannister.
House Tarbeck
Ranking: Major
Castle: Tarbeck Hall
Arms: A seven-pointed star, countercharged, on gyronny silver and blue
The Tarbecks of Tarbeck hall are a powerful house with eyes on unhorsing the Lannisters if they get half the chance.
House Turnberry
Ranking: Landed
Arms: Nine strawberries on a white saltire, on green and red vairy in point
House Turnberry is a minor house in the westerlands.
House Westerling
Ranking: Minor
Castle: The Crag
Arms: Six white seashells on sand
Motto: Honor, Not Honors
Jeyne Westerling was the wife of King Maegor and Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. The Crag, the ancestral seat of this house, sits along the western coast, and in olden days, it was well regarded. As their gold mines were exhausted, they were forced to sell off their best lands to make ends meet. Unfortunately, this has left little for the Westerlings to sustain their keep, and much of it is ruins.
House Yarwyck
Ranking: Minor
Arms: Two bronze halberds crossed between four red diamonds, on white
House Yarwyck is another of the minor houses in the westerlands.
House Martell
House Martell
Ranking: Great
Lands: Dorne
Castle: Sunspear
Arms: A red sun pierced by a golden spear on orange
Motto: Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken
House Martell is the greatest house in Dorne, and until they joined the Seven Kingdoms through treaty, this ancient family ruled the deserts and mountains and all its people. Prior to the arrival of the Rhoynar, Martell was one of many petty kings that had carved up Dorne, but with the added strength of ten thousand shiploads of people, including craftsmen, warriors, and more, Martell rose in power and esteem, joining with the warrior queen Nymeria to become rulers. The union of their peoples saw the Martells abandon many of their older customs in favor of those of the Rhoynar. Specifically, they began to call themselves princes instead of kings, and their lands and title passed down to the eldest child and not just the eldest male.
Banners of Dorne
The following houses have pledged their fealty to Sunspear.
House Allyrion
Ranking: Major
Castle: Godsgrace
Arms: A golden hand on gyronny red and black
Motto: No Foe May Pass
Godsgrace castle is situated near where the rivers Scourge and Vaith meet.
House Dalt
Ranking: Landed
Castle: Lemonwood
Motto: Lemons strewn on purple
Lemonwood castle lies just south of where the Greenblood River empties into the narrow sea.
House Dayne of Starfall
Ranking: Major
Castle: Starfall
Arms: A white sword and falling star crossed on lilac
Of all the houses sworn to the Martells, few are as storied as the Daynes—and perhaps none as burdened by recent loss.
The seat of House Dayne is Starfall Castle, which lies on the Torentine where it pours into the Summer Sea. The Daynes possess Dawn, a greatsword as pale as milkglass that legend tells was forged from the heart of a fallen star thousands of years ago. Both blade and star are depicted on the house’s arms. Unlike other storied weapons, Dawn does not simply pass from one head of the house to the next. Instead, only those members of the family who have proven themselves worthy are permitted to wield the weapon. These men are known as Swords of the Morning.
House Dayne of High Hermitage
Ranking: Minor
Castle: High Hermitage
High Hermitage is situated on the Torentine between Blackmont and Starfall.
House Fowler
Ranking: Major
Castle: Skyreach
Arms: A blue hawk on silver
Motto: Let Me Soar
Skyreach is located near Prince’s Pass, and the head of the house also inherits the title of Warden of the Prince’s Pass.
House Jordayne
Ranking: Major
Castle: The Tor
Arms: A golden quill on checkered dark and light green
Motto: Let It Be Written
The Tor lies on the edge of the Sea of Dorne, where visitors can witness the tug of the surf as it endlessly braids itself into the strand.
House Manwoody
Ranking: Major
Castle: Kingsgrave
Arms: A white skull crowned with gold on black
The seat of House Manwoody earned its name when the founding member of the house slew a King of the Reach in the distant past, a deed also commemorated on the family arms. The castle lies approximately halfway through the Prince’s Pass.
House Qorgyle
Ranking: Major
Castle: Sandstone
Arms: Three black scorpions on red
Sandstone is located in the southwest portion of Dorne’s desert, not far from the mountains.
House Yronwood
Ranking: Major
Castle: Yronwood
Arms: A black portcullis grill over sand
Motto: We Guard the Way
The Yronwoods are one of the older houses in Dorne, having existed prior to Nymeria’s landing when they were minor kings in their own right. They fought against the Rhoynar and the houses that supported them, an effort that was ultimately unsuccessful. Because of this, the Yronwoods and Martells, who fought with Nymeria to unite Dorne, have often found themselves on the opposite sides of a cause. The Yronwoods also maintain a rivalry with House Fowler that extends back to the time of the Rhoynar conquest, when the Fowlers chose to support the Martells.
In addition to his familial title, the Lord of Yronwood is also known as the Bloodroyal (most likely a reference to the house’s heritage prior to Nymeria’s landing) and the Warden of the Stone Way. The latter title refers to the Yronwood’s duty to protect Dorne from invaders traveling down the Boneway, a responsibility the house is uniquely qualified to fulfill since Yronwood Castle sits at the southern end of that route.
House Blackmont
Ranking: Major
Castle: Blackmont
Arms: A black vulture with a pink infant in its claws on yellow
The eponymous seat of House Blackmont sits near the point where the two rivers flowing south from the Dornish Marches meet to form the greater Torentine. The Blackmonts have a history of being an unruly house, mounting endless raids into the Dornish Marches as well as attacks against their neighboring houses. They are considered one of the great houses of Dorne.
House Gargalen
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Salt Shore
Arms: A red cockatrice holding a black snake in its beak on gold
Lord Gargalen’s seat is located on the Summer Sea coastline almost due south from Godsgrace.
House Ladybright
Ranking: Landed
A minor house in service to the Prince.
House Santagar
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Spottswood
Arms: Per bend sinister blue and white, a spotted leopard with golden axe
The Santagars are a family who were granted status and lands for recent service.
House Toland
Ranking: Major
Castle: Ghost Hill
Arms: A green dragon biting its tail on gold
The dragon inscribed on the Tolands’ arms is meant to signify that time is an everlasting cycle, with no end or beginning. Their castle resides in the northeastern section of Dorne, near the Broken Arm. Nymella Toland is the current Lady of Ghost Hill.
House Uller
Ranking: Major
Castle: Hellholt
Arms: Rayonne yellow over crimson
Hellholt Castle earned its name from a past incident when a set of unwelcome visitors were locked in the keep’s great hall and burned to death. Their arms were also inspired by this incident, with the yellow and crimson colors depicted rayonne to mimic the deadly flames. This may also be the reason behind the saying that “half the Ullers are half-mad, and the other half are worse.”
Hellholt is located, aptly, near the source of the Brimstone River in Dorne’s desert region.
House Vaith
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Red Dunes
Arms: Three black leopards standing on a yellow pile on orange
Vaith castle sits near the source of the river of the same name.
House Wyl
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Boneway
Castle: Boneway Castle
Arms: A black adder biting a heel on yellow
Appropriately, the Wyl stronghold, Boneway Castle, lies near the halfway point of the Boneway.
House Greyjoy
House Greyjoy
Ranking: Major
Lands: Pyke
Castle: Pyke Castle
Arms: A golden kraken on black
Motto: We Do Not Sow
The Greyjoys have served as lords of the Iron Islands since Vickon Greyjoy was elected from among his fellow ironborn in the time of Aegon the Conqueror, and sworn to peace. Yet the reaver’s words that compose the motto of House Greyjoy perfectly encompass the desire to, once again, bring the Old Way back to prominence.
Banners of the Iron Islands
Here are the major families and select individuals who owe their allegiance to the person sitting the Seastone Chair.
House Drumm
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Old Wyk
Arms: A white, skeletal hand on a field of red
Ancestor Hilmar Drumm acquired (by Iron price) the sword Red Rain, which was forged of Valyrian steel and is passed from one generation of Drumms to the next.
House Goodbrother
Ranking: Minor (in multitude!)
Lands: Great Wyk, Old Wyk, and Orkmont
Castle:s Hammerhorn, Shatterstone, Downdelving, Crow Spike Keep, and Corpse Lake
Arms: A black war horn with a band of gold, on a field of red
A large family with a number of lesser branches, House Goodbrother has a presence on most of the Islands. The main branch is the Goodbrothers of Hammerhorn, found on Great Wyk, about six leagues from the shore. The castle is a hulking structure, dark and brooding, and is fashioned from great stone blocks quarried from the cliffs behind it. Beneath its walls, one can find mines and caves, each yawning like toothless mouths.
Powerful, they posses nearly forty longships. The Goodbrothers are distinguished primarily for their unique practice of wearing sashes woven of goat hair. Unusually, these Goodbrothers style themselves like the lords of the green lands and even keep the council of a maester.
The other branches include the Goodbrothers of Shatterstone, headed by Norne Goodbrother on Old Wyk. The Goodbrothers of Crow Spike Keep, Corpse Lake, and Downdelving have their holdings on Orkmont, and they are considered minor lords at best.
House Harlaw
Ranking: Major
Lands: Harlaw
Castle: Ten Towers
Arms: A silver scythe on black, but many variations exist
After Greyjoy, the Harlaws are perhaps one of the most influential houses in the Iron Islands. The Lord makes his seat at Ten Towers.
There are a number of Harlaw cousins spread out across the island, each of whom has created a variation of the traditional sigil of their house. The master of Harridan Hill places his scythe upon a field of pale blue. Humpback, the master of the Tower of Glimmering, uses the same device and field but with an embattled border. Another Harlaw, who carries the Valyrian steel blade Nightfall, rules at Grey Garden. Finally, Silverhair displays two scythes counterchanged on a field divided bendwise.
House Myre
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Harlaw
Arms: Ten black nooses, 4-3-2-1, on a field of white with a blood-red border
House Myre is a minor house with lands on the isle of Harlaw. The members of House Myre were once responsible for seeing ten men hanged in a day, a feat they saw fit to memorialize on their family device. They once thought to challenge the Harlaws and Kennings for supremacy of Harlaw Island, but the attempt was quashed, and the Myres were reduced to the status of vassals as a result.
House Sparr
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Great Wyk
Arms: Oak saltire on blue
A minor house sworn to the Seastone Chair, the Lord with the hereditary title of The Sparr.
House Stonehouse
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Old Wyk
Arms: Black brazier on a grey masonry field
The head of this house is known simply as The Stonehouse.
House Volmark
Ranking: Landed
Lands: Harlaw
Arms: A black leviathan on a sea of grey
The Volmarks are another house on Harlaw who control large parcels of land. Volmark has large holdings, numerous ships, and fierce warriors, but they are sworn to Harlaw.
House Wynch
Ranking: Minor
Arms: A bloody moon on a field of purple
Lord Wynch is the head of this house, one of the stronger ones on Pyke; his seat is in the town of Iron Holt.
House Blacktyde
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Blacktyde
Castle: Blacktyde Castle
Arms: Vairy, green and black
The Blacktydes are sworn to the Seastone Chair.
House Botley
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Lordsport on Pyke
Castle: Lordsport castle
Arms: A school of silver fish on a field of pale green
The Botleys rule Lordsport from the keep that overlooks the village.
House Codd
Ranking: Minor
Motto: Though All Men Do Despise Us
The Codds are a proud family who have taken the low opinion their fellow ironborn hold of them and incorporated it into their motto. Its warriors are known for fighting with nets.
House Farwynd
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Lonely Light and Sealskin Point
Arms: Per fess - below a black sea with crested line, a black longship, outlined against a red setting sun on orange
The Farwynds are mostly located along the western shoreline of Great Wyk and the small isles within its vicinity. They are viewed as odd by their fellow ironborn, and rumors abound that the Farwynd branch living on Lonely Light—a small island some eight days sail to the northwest—are actually skinchangers.
Another prominent branch of the Farwynd family is the Farwynds of Sealskin Point
House Kenning
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Harlaw
Arms: The cloudy hand of the Storm God, rendered in pale grey with yellow lightning flashing from his fingertips, presented on a field of black
House Kenning is a bitter rival of House Harlaw, but the Kennings are clearly being defeated by the Harlaws. Some branches serve their conquerors as vassals, but not all have yielded.
House Merlyn
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Pebbleton
Castle: Pebbleton Tower
Arms: Green, intertwined waterspouts on a field of white
House Merlyn makes rules it’s demesne from a towerhouse that sits above the village of Pebbleton.
House Orkwood
Ranking: Landed
Lands: Orkmont
Arms: Dark green pine trees bunched together on a field of yellow
House Orkwood is another minor house of the Iron Islands, with holdings on the isle of Orkmont.
House Saltcliffe
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Saltcliffe
Arms: A nine-headed serpent, black on silver
House Saltcliffe presumably controls the entirety of Saltcliffe, one of the smaller isles in the Iron Islands
House Stonetree
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Harlaw
Arms: A grey stone tree, devoid of leaves, on a black field
House Stonetree is a vassal of House Harlaw. The Stonetrees have considerable holdings, many ships, and fierce warriors, but they kneel before the scythe.
House Sunderly
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Saltcliffe
Arms: A pale pink drowned man, hair streaming upwards and fish nibbling at his limbs, floating upright on a blue-green field,
House Sunderly is one of the houses that lays claim to the small island of Saltcliffe.
House Tawney
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Orkmont
Arms: A scourge of red and black nettles on a white field
House Tawney is a minor house on Orkmont.
House Baratheon of Dragonstone
Banners of Dragonstone
There are a number of houses sworn to Dragonstone. This list is far from exhaustive, but it gives some of the more interesting houses and a bit of description about each. Stannis has described the houses sworn to Dragonstone as being a poor crop with little money or men.
House Sunglass
Ranking: Minor
Castle: Sweetport Sound
Arms: Seven golden stars, each with seven points, arranged in a ring on white
House Sunglass is a minor house sworn to Dragonstone.
House Velaryon
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Driftmark
Castle: Driftmark
Arms: A silver seahorse on sea green
Motto: The Old, the True, the Brave
Just west of Dragonstone lies the isle of Driftmark. The established Velaryon family rules here; they claim descent from ancient Valyria and have three times provided brides for Targaryen princes. The current lord, who styles himself Lord of the Tides and Master of Driftmark is a hasty and impulsive man, who often acts without thinking, and is elder brother to the Master of Waters for the former King Aegon IV.
House Bar Emmon
Ranking: Minor
Lands: Massey’s Hook
Castle: Sharp Point
Arms: A leaping blue swordfish on fretty silver on white
House Bar Emmon is a minor house of Dragonstone. Sharp Point Castle is located at the end of Massey’s Hook and includes a watchtower in which they burn a great fire to mark the end of the outcropping for ships that sail in the area.
House Celtigar
Ranking: Major
Lands: Claw Isle
Arms: Red crabs strewn on white
This house is old and long established, they are astonishingly wealthy, commanding such treasures as Myrish carpets, Volantene glass, gold and silver plate, jeweled cups, a Valyrian axe, chests of rubies, a legendary horn able to summon krakens, trained hawks and eagles, and a cellar of valuable and eminently drinkable wines.
Claw Isle is located on an island north of Dragonstone, just off Crackclaw Point. The Celtigars claim Crackclaw Point falls under their control, but the people there disagree because they were freed long ago from bending the knee to anyone but the Iron Throne for helping Visenya during the Wars of Conquest. The Red Crab has sent a number of tax collectors to Crackclaw Point, but none of them have ever returned.