Prologue: The Eight Kingdoms of Westeros

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Game of Thrones series or any other ideas that I might have obtained my ideas from…Except for my OCs.

For thousands of years, from the Age of Heroes to the last remaining days of the Hundred Kingdoms, Great Houses have arisen and forged vast and powerful kingdoms that stood against the face of adversity many times in the recent millennia. Each and every one of them possesses unique traits and history that defines who they are. Songs of ancient heroes can be heard in every corner of Westeros, but only a few was considered to be significant and are remembered. Today, every living man, woman, and child refers the regions of Westeros as the Seven Kingdoms. However, there are still many, especially the maesters, who remember that when Aegon the Conqueror came to unify Westeros, there were eight kingdoms that stood before him, not seven:

Kingdom of the North

The Starks of Winterfell are an ancient house of First Men descent, founded by Brandon the Builder, who raised Winterfell, the seat of the Starks, as well as the Wall. As Kings of Winter for 8,000 years, they are said to have fought the Night's King, the attainted 13th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. However, the Starks were not always the uncontested Kings in the North. They once served the Barrow Kings before rising up against them and forced them capitulate. Afterwards, they continue to fight long and hard to dominate the North, driving out pirates from the White Knife, claiming the eastern coast, marrying the Marsh King's daughter for dominion over the Neck, and wrestling with the Ironborn for Bear Island and much more. Eventually, the Stark faced their primary opponents: the Red Kings from House Bolton of the Dreadfort. For centuries, House Bolton continued to fight the Starks until they finally bent the knee and swore fealty, ending their flesh-flaying ways. The North is the only Kingdom in Westeros to not come under Andal influence, thus they kept to the Old Gods of the Forest instead of the Faith of the Seven, which dominates the rest of the Kingdoms. The last Stark King in the North was Torrhen Stark, the King Who Knelt. He submitted to Aegon I Targaryen during his Conquest after dominating most of the southern kingdoms. Since then, the Starks have held the North for the Targaryen Kings of the Iron Thrones as Wardens of the North. House Stark's sigil is the head of a grey direwolf across a field of white. Their words are "Winter is Coming", one of the few house words to be a warning rather than a boast.

Kingdom of the Rock

The Lannisters of Casterly Rock appear as First Men in historical records in the Age of Heroes, ruling large portions of the Westerlands from Casterly Rock just as House Casterly vanished from the chronicles. They claim descent from Lann the Clever, who swindled the Casterlys from their seat, Casterly Rock. Members of lesser branches of the Lannisters left Casterly Rock and developed a nearby village into the city of Lannisport. Meanwhile, the Lannisters of Casterly Rock grew to become Kings of the Rock. The gold of Casterly Rock, Castamere, the Pendric Hills, and the Golden Tooth has made House Lannister the wealthiest of the Great Houses. The keep at Casterly Rock sits on top of a gold mine, built into the very rock. From that lofty yet uncomfortable position, House Lannister rules over the Westerlands and influences all of Westeros, by virtue of the kingdom's purse strings. When the War of Conquest began with Aegon the Conqueror sweeping through the land, King Loren I Lannister sided with King Mern IX Gardener of the Reach against the Targaryens. The two armies met in open field, where the combined might of 55,000 broke the Targaryen army of 10,000. Aegon and his sisters unleashed all three dragons at once and their combined fires scoured the battlefield, immolating more than 4,000 men, including King Mern and all of his heirs, and giving the battle its name: The Field of Fire. After he was captured, King Loren the Last bent the knee and was allowed to remain Lord of Casterly Rock and became the first Warden of the West. House Lannister's sigil is a golden lion on a field of crimson. Their official words are "Hear Me Roar!" However, their unofficial words, equally well known, are "A Lannister always pays his debts."

Kingdom of Mountain and Vale

The Arryns of the Eyrie are considered to come from the oldest and purest line of Andal nobility, which they say reaches back to Andalos and possibly Hugor of the Hill. During the Andal invasion, the Andals of the Vale united behind Ser Artys Arryn, the Falcon Knight, a native Valeman esteemed amongst his peers as the finest warrior of his day. King Robar II Royce was slain in the Battle of the Seven Stars, possibly by Artys, and several houses of the First Men who remained bent the knee and swore fealty to Artys Arryn, the First of His Name, new-crowned King of Mountain and Vale. From that day, the Vale became known as the Vale of Arryn. The First Men, who did not accept Artys as their king, were forced into the Mountains of the Moon, becoming the Vale mountain clans. Over the next few millennia, the Arryn kings battled with the Stark Kings of Winter over the Three Sisters in the War Across the Water and fought bloody battles against slavers from Volantis, ironborn reavers, and pirates from the Stepstones and the Basilisk Isles. During Aegon's Conquest, his sister, Visenya Targaryen, was charged with subduing the Vale. Sharra Arryn, Queen Regent of the Vale, ruling in the name of her son, the boy-king Ronnel Arryn, amassed the Vale's army at the Bloody Gate. Visenya, however, flew on her dragon Vhagar to the courtyard of the Eyrie to obtain the surrender of the Vale of Arryn. When Sharra returned to the Eyrie, she found her son sitting on Visenya's lap asking if he could ride the dragon with her. Once Sharra yielded and bent the knee, Ronnel twice flew with Visenya and Vhagar. The Arryns have since remained Defenders of the Vale and Wardens of the East for the Iron Throne. House Arryn's sigil is a white falcon flying towards a crescent moon on a blue field, and their words are "As High as Honor".

Kingdom of the Reach

The Gardeners of Highgarden claimed descent from the mythical Garth Greenhand, who is said to have been the High King of the First Men and common ancestor of numerous noble houses from the Reach. His firstborn child was Garth the Gardener, the legendary first King of the Reach, reigned in the Age of Heroes. According to legend, Garth the Gardener made his home on the hill atop the Mander river that in time would become known as Highgarden, and wore a crown of vines and flowers. From his loins sprang House Gardener, whose kings would rule the Reach for many thousands of years. The Gardener kings initially ruled the Reach proper, although over time they expanded their territory. Among the greatest of the Gardener Kings was King Garth VII Gardener, known as the Goldenhand, for his deeds both in war and in peace. Following his reign, House Gardener has faced different periods of harmony and crisis while constantly warred against and allied with the Kings of the Rock, the Storm Kings, the River Kings, and the many petty kings from Dorne. House Gardener was wiped out in the Aegon's War of Conquest on the Field of Fire. Harlen of House Tyrell, who was the High Steward of Highgarden, surrendered the castle to Aegon. Thus, heads of House Tyrell was named Lord Paramount of the Mander and the Lord of Highgarden, holding dominion over the Reach for the Iron Throne. House Tyrell's sigil is a golden rose on a green field, and their words are "Growing Strong."

Kingdom of the Storm

The Durrandons of Storm's End was founded by King Durran "Godsgrief", a legendary hero who built castles against the wrath of the gods. His seventh castle, Storm's End, withstood the great storms and became House Durrandon's seat of power. The Storm Kings once ruled much of the southeastern part of Westeros, an area reaching from Cape Wrath to Blackwater Bay. Their dominion holds the Rainwoods and was protected from Dorne and the Kingdom of the Reach by noble houses residing in the Dornish Marches. However, the Storm Kings are often troubled with hostilities from every side. They had the Kings of the Reach at their west, who nibbled at their domains, and Dornishmen at their south while Harren the Black had taken over the Trident. King Argilac Durrandon had managed to preserve the Stormlands' defenses. But by the time of the Conquest, however, Argilac had grown old and his prowess at arms had faded. During the War of Conquest, Orys Baratheon, one of Aegon I Targaryen's fiercest generals, and rumored bastard brother, slew Argilac the Arrogant, last of the Storm Kings, and married his daughter, Argella. In respect for the old king's valor, Orys adopted the sigil and words of his wife's ancestral line, so creating House Baratheon of Storm's End, with his descendants having the blood of the Durrandons flowing in their veins. Both Houses Durrandon and Baratheon's sigil is a crowned black stag on a field of gold, and their words are "Ours is the Fury".

Kingdom of the Isles and the Rivers

Known as the black line, or the black blood, the Hoares became the Kings of the Iron Islands after the Andal settlers on the islands ended the rule of First Men House Greyiron. Unlike the rest of Westeros, the ironborn worship the Drowned God with the famous saying, "What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder and stronger." Like almost every House on the Iron Islands, they claim descent from the legendary Grey King, who slew Nagga, the first sea dragon. In a new age of expansion, the ironborn under King Harwyn "Hardhand" Hoare took over all of the Riverlands as his successors, Halleck and Harren, ruled from the Riverlands as Kings of the Isles and the Rivers. When not unsuccessfully warring against the other Kingdoms, Halleck ruled from Fairmarket instead of the Iron Islands. Harwyn's grandson, Harren the Black, ordered the construction of Harrenhal, the greatest castle of Westeros, on the northern shores of the God's Eye in the Riverlands, far from the sea. The construction took 40 years and was finished on the day Aegon I Targaryen and his sisters landed in Westeros. When the Rivermen joined the cause of House Targaryen, Harren decided to remain within his castle. Aegon burned it with his dragon Balerion, however, incinerating Harren and his sons alive. The Hoare line thus ended in the burning of Harrenhal. Aegon then chose Edmyn Tully of Riverrun, the first of the Riverlords to rebel against Harren, to replace the Hoares in the Riverlands as Lord Paramount of the Trident. House Tully's sigil is a silver trout leaping on a blue and red striped field. Their words are "Family, Duty, Honor." The Iron Islands fell into chaos after Harren's death. Aegon then allowed the ironborn to select a new ruler under him. They chose Vickon Greyjoy of Pyke as the new Lord of the Iron Islands. House Greyjoy's sigil is a golden kraken on a black field, and their words are "We Do Not Sow."

Principality of Dorne

The Martells of Sunspear was founded by Morgan Martell, an Andal adventurer who settled between the mouth of the Greenblood and the Broken Arm. At the time, they did not rule as kings but were cautious vassals of petty kings of Houses Jordayne, Allyrion, and Yronwood, as well as petty kings of the Greenblood. Centuries later, Nymeria, the warrior princess of the Rhoynar, came with her people to Westeros from Essos in 10,000 ships, took Mors Martell as her husband and, combining their strengths together, the two managed to unite all of Dorne under their rule in Nymeria's War. House Nymeros Martell has reigned since. The union of their peoples caused the Martells to abandon many of their older Andal customs in favor of those of the Rhoynar. Nymeria named Mors Martell, the Prince of Dorne, instead of king, and their lands and title passed down to their eldest child, regardless of gender. After Aegon I Targaryen waged his War of Conquest, he came to invade Dorne in the First Dornish War. His army was bled dry by guerrilla warfare in the desert, a situation in which his dragons were of little use. Deciding that conquering Dorne would be too costly, the Conqueror opted to leave the Martells as sovereign princes. House Martell kept Dorne independent from the Targaryens for two centuries, the only one in Westeros to manage such a feat. After repeated failed attempts by King Daeron I Targaryen, Dorne eventually join the fold through marriage between the two houses. The alliance was a dual one, with the future King Daeron II Targaryen marrying Princess Myriah Martell and Prince Maron Martell later marrying Daeron's sister Daenerys. Due to this, the Martells retain their title as Prince and Princess of Dorne. House Martell's sigil is a combination of the old Martells and Nymeria's: a gold spear piercing a red sun over an orange field, and their words are "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken."

Kingdom of the Blackwater

Renowned for their patronage of civilization, House Kardenal of Dawnspyre possessed mixed blood of First Men, Andals, and Valyrian. Among the Great Houses, House Kardenal is the youngest of them all. Through the male line, they are descended from Karden the Sage, a wandering scholar who laid the foundations for the Kingdom of the Blackwater in the Crownlands, formerly known as the Coastlands at the time. Throughout his youth, Karden roamed and explored Westeros and much of Essos, collecting new knowledge while gathering a vast community of various outcasts from different origins, but mostly Westerosi, to join him on his travels. To keep them safe from the Valyrian dragonlords and the dangers of slavery, Karden took them to Westeros. Crossing the Narrow Sea, they landed in the Coastlands, which was heavily contested by petty kings. With the devoted help of his followers, Karden was able to prevent these belligerent rulers from destroying their settlements and raised the castle, Dawnspyre. Later, his grandnephew took the titles, King of the Blackwater and Guardian of the Coastlands. The future kings continued Karden's work, establishing House Kardenal as a powerful house, building the small city of Kardenport, and subjugate neighboring houses into vassals through both force and mediation. In the following centuries, they proved themselves to be steadfast, successfully defending their vassals and fending off unwanted invasions from the River Kings, Arryn Kings, Storm Kings, Gardener Kings, and even Ironborn reavers. The Kardenals reigned as rulers of the Coastlands until they bent the knee to the Targaryens when Harren the Black and his Ironborn reavers breached their northern defenses and besieged Dawnspyre. As Aegon the Conqueror landed, he accepted the Kardenals into his kingdom when they pleaded his aid against the ironborn. Afterwards, House Kardenal served Aegon faithfully throughout his Conquest. They were then given the responsibility in managing the defense over the newly-renamed Crownlands under the direct subordination to the Crown. House Kardenal's sigil is a red phoenix soaring above a blue sea beneath the golden sun. Attributing their stewardship of society and culture, their words are "Our Wings Shall Guide."

To this day, House Targaryen, a family of dragonlords who survived the Doom of Valyria, ruled as the Kings on the Iron Throne in King's Landing and as the Great House of the Crownlands for nearly three centuries with House Kardenal serving as the Keeper of the Crownlands, defending the region from unwanted incursions as they have done for a millennium. Now, under the reign of King Aerys II Targaryen with Lord Tywin Lannister as Hand of the King, Westeros continues to live in peace and prosperity. But the future is uncertain for fate has no way of comprehension. Time will tell how long this peace shall last. Should the realm fall into chaos once more, there will always be a few who will guide Westeros into a new future.

- Lucas, Maester of Dawnspyre

Next Time:

Chapter I - Reunion in Winterfell

King Robert Baratheon, the Royal family, and the rest of his entourage arrives to Winterfell to visit the Starks. With them is Robert's older sister and her two sons, joining the journey to reunite with Cassana Kardenal, Donar and Jocelyn's only daughter...

Author's Note: Hello everyone, Seraphius here. Let's be honest. Game of Thrones is perhaps one of, if not, THE best TV series ever! I have always loved the show and the fanfic stories that are written. But I have decided to be a bit original. My story will include some details from "A Song of Ice and Fire" books but not too much. Just to let everyone know, don't expect a Gary Stu story. My characters are made based on the World of Ice and Fire and the story will not include farfetched additions...Well, maybe a few. But don't expect much of it.

Big thanks to Psykic Ninja for beta-reading this prologue. This is actually inspired by his "A Game of Vengeance and Justice", so go and check it out if you haven't seen it. And as always, review for anything including holes & errors, as well as possible improvements. Also, I welcome new ideas anytime. It will inspire me and prevent writer's block from happening so don't be afraid to share! See ya!