(Back)World of
Westeros - A Game of Thrones
A Game of Thrones is set in the world of Westeros, a fictional setting
created by award winning author and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. The
following sections provide information about our persistent world and the
setting we have chosen to use. To learn more about a particular topic, simply click
on the appropriate link below.
Westeros is a world roughly equivalent in size to South America. The northern lands of Westeros are less
densely populated than the southern lands despite their roughly equivalent
size, and much of the far North remains unmapped. This is due in large part to
the extreme cold and the presence of hostiles known as wildlings that inhabit
the region.
Westeros was originally divided into several
independent kingdoms. But in the War of Conquest, these various kingdoms were
united under the rule of House Targaryen into what is known as the Seven
Kingdoms. House Targaryen divided the Seven Kingdoms into four principal
regions - North, South, East, and West - and named one of its bannermen as the
Wardens and Lord Protectors of each; House Stark the North, House Tyrell the South, House Arryn the East, and House Lannister the West. The five major
cities of Westeros are, in order of size: King's Landing, Oldtown, Lannisport,
Gulltown, and White
Harbour.
Two other continents share the world in which
Westeros resides: The continent of Sothoryos, about which little is known, lies
to the South, and a vast, unnamed continent lies to the East, across the narrow
sea. The closest foreign nations to Westeros are the Free Cities, a collection
of independent city-states along the western edge of the eastern continent. The
lands along the southern coastline of the eastern continent, collectively
called the Lands of the Summer
Sea, include Ghis and the
ruins of Valyria, the former home of Westeros' Targaryen kings.
Tradition tells us that the known history of
Westeros extends back for 12,000 years. Prior to this, little is known of the
peoples and tribes that populated the continent. The children of the forest
were perhaps the most advanced race, but their uncharted history is lost to
myth and legend. Giants may have walked far and wide in these primeval days;
other peoples may have vanished into the mists of time as well, such as those
who left the Seastone Chair behind on the Iron Islands.
Eventually, all would either disappear or fall to invaders from the east.
There are many renown strongholds throughout
Westeros. These castles and fortresses frequently serve as the seats of power
for the major houses and other large factions within A Game of Thrones.
Though steeped in several millennia of history,
Westeros continues to have an undeveloped feeling compared to the rich
traditions of the east. There are few major cities in the Seven Kingdoms, and
much of the land maintains a rough and provincial feel. The vast uncharted
lands serve to emphasise the hidden horrors of the North, providing the
schemers of King’s Landing with a degree of isolation from the rest of the world.
There are many kinds of people found in Westeros;
Rugged wildlings, honorable warriors, ignoble knights, unscrupulous
mercenaries, power hungry nobles, venerated kings, mysterious assassins, and
just about any other sort of character, from denizens of seedy seaside ports to
the masters of lavishly adorned palaces. In Westeros, virtue and vice are not
the province of any specific class. Rather, they exist freely in both
ordinary and extraordinary characters in Westeros.
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