THE NORTH
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The North is one of the seven kingdoms of Cephri and is the northern most kingdom. Prior to being in the seven kingdoms it was it's own kingdom known as 'The Kingdom of Winter', however in 1 AC it would formally be part of the seven kingdoms after King Wayen Forrester bent the knee to the conqueror King Aemon Blackfyre. From then on it was known as 'The North'.
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The North is ruled by House Forrester who have ruled for thousands of years, the current ruler is Lord Cregan Forrester. House Forrester was created approximately 6,000-7,000 years ago:the first member of House Forrester was Brandon Forrester who according to legends built Storm's End and WinterFort. House Forrester have had an almost undisputed reign over the north however they have had many wars against House Bolton, many years both sides fought for the north but House Forrester in the end won and let House Bolton stay alive on grounds that the vicious act of Bolton's ,impaling their enemies on spears and being left to die, be outlawed and if any were found practicing the act they would face the capital punishment.
CONTENTS
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GEOGRAPHY
While some say the vast north is nearly as large as the rest of the seven kingdoms combined, in actuality it is roughly a third of the landmass.
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The region is sparsely populated, with vast wilderness, forests, pine-covered hills and snow-capped mountains, speckled with tiny villages and holdfasts. Its climate is cold and harsh in winter and occasionally it will snow in summer. Preventing huge masses of people going north is The Winter Waste, a mountainous region with the highest mountains in Cephri and one of the biggest mountains in the known world. However that has not stopped a group of people known as 'The Freefolk' to live beyond the waste.
WinterFort is a large castle centrally located in the north. Nearby is the winter town just south of WinterFort. The vast wolfswood, the largest forest of the Seven Kingdoms, extends east to The Bay of Bears and some parts extend to the south coast to The Frozen Shore. BoneCross, the seat of House Cross, lies in the eastern wolfswood. Mountains are just north of Last Stand providing a natural defence for The North. The regions by the North and Old River are mountainous, in the end some of these mountains join the range of The Winter Waste but they are massively smaller than the mountains in The Winter Waste. Skirling Pass, seat of House Rowan is in the most northern-east point of The North-a group of mountains lie to the west of the castle.
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The rest of the land is hilly as seen in west portion of the grounds but most are icy flatlands, there are not many villages in the remote places on The North.
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There are several bodies of water in The North, on the east coast there is the Bay of Bears which ends up becoming The North Sea. The North Sea see's many traders travel through it to trade in Lios and New Rios. This area has been nicknamed Trader's Triangle for it's constant flow of traders. This means the east side of The North has more trade than the rest of The North with the biggest city of The North, White Harbour, being located South-East of WinterFort. The west coast has it more difficult The Frozen Shore and Death's Hold all encamp the west coast. It is renowned for it's choppy and dangerous waters, many tales have been told about the west coast. In The Frozen Shore it is said half the water is ice and the rest is a cruel mix between ice and water. Death's Hold is named it's name for the amount of sailor's who have lost their lives there and one story tells of an ice dragon that blocked the sky's light, flying unparalleled in the sky.
SEASONS
The north is strongly affected during the long winters, with thousands of people killed and famine a common occurrence due to poor harvests before winter or the inability to raise crops during the longer winters that last for years on end. Some greater lords maintain greenhouses at their castles, such as the glass gardens of WinterFort
Once autumn is declared by the Institute of Sunworth, the lords of the north store away a part of the grain they have harvested. How much is a matter of choice; between one fifth and one fourth seems prudent. Additionally food is smoked, salted, and otherwise preserved ahead of winter. Coastal communities depend on fish and inland ice fishing is common on the rivers. Poor harvests before winter will mean famine.
In winter, snows can fall 5 feet deep every month. Rain falls cold and hard, and sometimes turns into hail that can send men running for cover and ruin crops. Even during summer, snowfalls are not unusual but tend to be brief and not particularly damaging to agriculture.
PEOPLE
Most northmen are descended from the First men, although there have been centuries of intermarriage with the Nishans who conquered south of the Last Stand. The Old Tongue spoken by the First Men of antiquity has been replaced in the north by the Common Tongue, with the earlier language now only spoken beyond the range with the Freefolk. Northmen are known for their strong build with thick large beards. They are also called "wolves and bears" by the southerners.
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The constant cold and the iron grip of winter set apart the northerners from the people of the kingdoms south of the Last Stand. The north's terrain and climate do not easily yield the necessities of daily life. Northmen place less of an emphasis on courtly ritual and culture, and instead prefer hunting and brawling. The Northmen value honour highly albeit it is hard to achieve due to the Northmen's tough nature. Honour can be obtained by saving a comrade from certain death in battle or by doing the right thing such as serving justice when it needs to be served however these are only just a few examples.
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Most of the north's people still follow the old gods and their Mythood trees, and have little inclination for newer religions. Due to its religious aspect, most northmen refuse to take holy orders and thus cannot become knights, although some northerns are knights who still follow the old gods instead of the Seven.
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STORIES
Along Death’s Hold there is said to be a ghost ship to sails about the sea, there is a whole crew of men which suggests it was an expedition. This can be linked to the group of northerners who went to sail the Never Sea lead by Captain Michel Vorm, the ship supposedly froze in the waters of the sea where a civil war occurred between all members of the crew where Captain Vorm was butchered and eaten and the last living crew member only known as Jock, he went mad and lived out the end of his days in the frozen ship haunted and plagued by his own crewmates.
The ship now supposedly appears where a blizzard occurs in the zone, people can hear men “shouting,screaming and fighting”, after a few minutes people hear “sounds of squelching’ and one account tells us a phrase is told once “ The captain was a good man but a better meal now”. That isn’t the only time the ghost ship appears. The ship can appear a second time where it appears head on to your ship but it freezes in the waters and your ship passes through it.
MILITARY STRENGTH
Though much of the North is an icy wasteland, the north benefits from it's hardened warriors and loyal men. It is not said how many forces the North can muster up but it is thought that the North can provide a force of 50,000-55,000 men. A common saying amongst northmen is "one northerner is worth at least 5 southerners". A testament to the skills of the northerners in the field of battle however unlike the south the north has few knights.
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During Aemon's conquest King Wayen Forrester brought up a force of 30,000 before bending the knee and during the dance of dragons Lord Torrhen Forrester gathered a force of 35,000 under short notice.
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The North has had no strength at sea after Brandon the Burner set fire to the remaining fleet after his father Brandon the Shipwright was lost at sea sailing in the Never Sea.
HISTORY
DAWN AGE
Not much is known from the Dawn Age but it is known that the Northmen are descended from the First Men, who settled into Cephri some 12,000 years ago. Paper was not invented so all we know about this is from stories told from generations to generations and rune carvings from the First Men.
Ancient Forts of the First Men are still found scattered amongst The North and Freefolk lands. Last Stand's original(inner) defence is said to be a fort from the First Men.
KINGS OF WINTER
About 7,000 years ago the Others attacked the North, bringing a long lasting winter that lasted generations on end. This event shaped The North with the creation of WinterFort and House Forrester coming out as the most powerful and influential house.
The Forresters gradually defeated rival kings, such as the Barrow Kings to their south and the Red Kings to their east. During the Nishan invasion, the Kings of Winter stopped Nishans at Last Stand and the eastern shores, the only kingdom in Westeros to do so.
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The Forresters had a deadly reputation as brutal warriors who would marry the defeated enemy's daughters, the only House to rival them was said to be House Bolton who practiced impaling their prisoners on spears and leaving them in the open to die. It brought them a terrifying reputation and when the Forresters and Boltons had their first war it was brutal. The wars would be continuously on and off as whenever the Bolton's would have peace they would again rise up against House Forrester. In the end it is said about 1,000 years ago House Bolton bent the knee to House Forrester and agreed to end their practice of impaling on spears.
BLACKFYRE CONQUEST
During the Blackfyre Conquest the kingdoms were falling one by one and The North was the last kingdom to face against the dragons. By now the strength of the Blackfyre's had greatly increased after the defeat of the 6 kingdoms. It would not be an easy fight as the Blackfyre's had the dragons and after the fall of each kingdoms now had their total manpower. However after hearing about the Field of Fire, where The Hunter King and the Golden King had joined forces to attempt to defeat the Blackfyre forces. They totalled to an army of 50,000 one of the biggest ever seen at that time however 5,000 were burnt alive and tens of thousands wounded by the flames and fighting. The Hunter King had died by the flames, The King of Winter, King Wayen Forrester meet with King Aemon Blackfyre and bent the knee, giving up his crown so his men would not face the flames. However due to this he became a polarising figure in the North's history.
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The North was now part of the seven kingdoms under Blackfyre rule. The Blackfyre's never visited the North much leading to bitterness In some Northmen's mouths, many held the thought that they should rule themselves and the Blackfyre's never visited much to know the lands they were ruling. However one Queen made an everlasting memory towards the North- the Queen Daraeon Blackfyre visited the North with her dragon during 124 AC and was amazed by the North's icy landscape and had her own holiday home in the North now called 'The Queen's Nest' in her name.It was said she had many friends in the North and lords fell over each other to host her in their castles.
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During The Dance of Dragons, the civil war between Garlayx Blackfyre and his older brother Jaeson Blackfyre, The North, under Lord Torrhen Forrester, supported Jaeson Blackfyre, the rightful king, the situation was harder as the Waterlands had supported Garlayx, so much of the North's fighting occurred in the Waterlands. 20,000 men fought in the Waterlands and 15,000 fought in other kingdoms. However when Garlayx won and become king, it left the North feeling indifferent to the kingdoms now, the rightful king they choose was killed and Garlayx was power hungry.
THE YOUTH REBELLION
The North mostly stayed away from the war. Lord Cregan Forrester wrote a letter to Crazed King Casterly saying "he was holding the North in his name". The North had been subject to much insults by the Crazed King who called the North "an iced dump". The North would be shown as neutral however The Bronze Isles who had been neutral swore for the rebels and raided the east coast of the North and some members of the Waterlands tried an offensive push into the North with the Bronzemen attacking the coast but the North fought back going as far as besieging the 3 River Stronghold before the war was over. One of the main reasons the North did not join the rebellion was that after centuries of being ignored by the crown they had no interest in "southern politics".
RECENT EVENTS
A CROWN FOR A KING
The North pledges their allegiance to King Aeyron, by command of Lord Cregan Forrester the Northern army rides down south. The Northern army then splits off with the majority of them riding east to invade the Proudlands led by Lord Cregan Forrester, a small minority go with King Aeyron to King's Landing. Those under Aeyron arrive at The Battle of King's Landing late and repel Nestor's army, those under Lord Forrester successfully take North's Node, Northwatch, Blackstone and besiege Knife's Edge.
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The Bronzemen with help from Lord Bolton's treachery take parts of The North. The Northern host remeets at GoldGIft and fight in the Battle of the Bloodwater. After a short stay in King's Landing, by sea, they return to the North.
A MATE FOR DARKNESS:SUN AND SNOW
According to Lord Moss, the harvests in The North are late and the weather is depleting rapidly. Lord Cregan Forrester has Lord Darion Bolton, Soniya Cross and Ser Jon Darklyn go and find his son Gerold Forrester, whom he believes isn't dead. Darion Bolton's army is still fortified in WinterFort despite it being nearly a year since WinterFort burnt. The search fails and Bolton has Soniya and Jon be left for dead, somewhere near Last Stand.