Westerlands

The Westerlands are bounded by three natural defenses - sea, mountains, and forest. While these three barriers have aided in keeping this region safe, it is impossible to deny that it is the people of the Westerlands who make up its mighty reputation.

Though not the largest, most populous, or most fertile of regions, the Westerlands are the richest, gaining wealth through the deep veins of ore that run beneath it's soil. Though smallfolk do fish and farm, many of the greatest strongholds in this region once began as gold mines, and such ancient houses as Lannister, Reyne, and Lefford can trace their rise to power back to that precious metal.

The region of the Westerlands holds more than just gold and silver, however. Lannisport is one of the largest cities in the realm, and it's City Watch is one of the finest trained in all of Westeros. Soldiers in all corners of the region are outfitted and trained better than they are anywhere else, and the Westerlands can raise an army larger than that of any realm but the Reach.

House Lannister has ruled this region since the Age of Heroes and the fall of House Casterly, and beneath them lies a host of great and ancient Houses that have done them fealty for centuries. Crakehall, Marbrand, Farman and Banefort - all have legends and tales of their own, but all yield before the lion of Casterly Rock. Though the reputation of the Westerlands has declined in recent years no man antagonizes them without thought, for few are the armies that can invade the Westerlands, and no beast is more feared than the lion.

300-301AC - The Second War of Conquest
Though most of the Westerlands had already been fighting for months by the time Aegon VI Targaryen arrived in Westeros, his appearance, and the subsequent arrival of Daenerys Targaryen, signaled the beginning of the end for western resistance. With Cersei and Tommen trapped in besieged in the capital, some of the Westerland forces in the Riverlands begin to withdraw, moving to defend their nominal liege. After the revelation of Tyrek Lannister, and the deaths of both Tommen and his mother, the war-weary west quietly bent the knee, and Tyrek was made Lord of the Rock.

326-329AC - The Winter of Wolves
The Westerlands suffered through the Winter of Wolves much like the rest of the realm, though Lannister gold helped keep nearby smallfolk in better conditions than their neighbours elsewhere.

331-334AC - The War in the Narrows
When King Rhaegar I Targaryen gave the call to arms, many Westermen offered their swords to his aid. The royal fleet departed from King's Landing to put the rogue dragonrider down, taking with it men from Crakehall and Lannisport, Nunn's Deep and the Golden Tooth, and all across the region.

332AC - The Red Reaving
The arrival of Dagon the Skinner in the Westerlands served as a sharp reminder for many that the Iron Islands were no idle backwater, but a constant threat to the peace and well-being of those who dared to forget them. It had only been thirty years since Euron Crow's Eye swept the west coast with fire and sword, and so the sons and grandsons of the men who fought that day now rose to defeat this new threat.

335AC - The Red God Revival
Lannisport was one of many cities in Westeros that saw a surge of Red God faithfuls, as the events across the Narrow Sea and the legend of the saviour who fought the Others with a flaming sword began to spread. Though they did not prove as troublesome here as they did in other regions, the City Watch of Lannisport kept a careful eye, and the faith did not spread far from its centers within the city.

339AC - The Summer Sickness
The Westerlands was terribly afflicted by the effects of the Summer Sickness, with Lannisport being the most heavily affected settlement due to its constant exposure to incoming trade. Many grew fearful and suspicious of strangers, most especially the red god faithfuls who had begun settling in the city only four years before. Some were ousted, their property revoked, and either turned to banditry in the hillside or returned to the lands of the east.

Deeper in the countryside the plague still took root, leaving thousands dead or grieving.

346AC - The Southern Schism
The starry rites traveled up the coast, septons who favoured the Starry Sept travelling along the ocean road before heading inland. Already a reasonably pious place, many of the smallfolk in the Westerlands favoured the ideals of the Starry Septon, and agreed that the decadence of both the royal family and King's Landing were offensive to the gods.

351-356AC - the Mead Summer
The greatest years in recent Westerosi history, the Mead Summer saw bountiful harvests across the Westerlands, and a general air of peace and plenty. New veins of ore were discovered in the hills, making the fortunes of many merchants and miners, and to the surprise of all a small pride of lions was discovered in the countryside, though the animals were thought to have been wiped out.

352AC - The Blackwater Tourney
Many Westerlanders participated in the Blackwater Tournament.

360AC - The Royal Tour
When Crown Prince Aenys Targaryen and other members of the royal court traveled around the continent, they took special care in the Westerlands, stopping at half a dozen holdings.

366AC - the Half-Blood Incursion
Mara Halfblood's fury would rock the Westerlands from Banefort to Fair Isle, as the remnants of her raiders burnt the coast and hunted for plunder, hoping to gather enough coin to field another army. The Lannister fleet would rise to answer them, meeting the Salt Queen of the Iron Islands in the Battle of the Strait - and defeating her, slaying both the queen and the rest of her host.

379AC - The Kingswood Tourney
Many Westerlanders participated in the Kingswood Tournament.

388-390AC - The Hammer Uprising
The peasant revolts sparked by the death of Brynden Hammer would eventually cause trouble in the Westerlands. Smallfolk threw down their tools or refused to pay taxes, forcing the lords of the region to respond. Riots in Lannisport were widespread but short lived, the City Watch quickly stamping down any signs of dissent. After a time, the general feeling of dissatisfaction faded, but many still remember the events of the period.

392-394AC - The Great Famine
A period of hunger that affected the Westerlands as well, though mayhaps not so strongly as other regions. Rationing was common, and many were careful with coin and grain both.

396-402AC - The War of the Three Thieves
Just as in the past, when the King called, the Westerlands answered. Hundreds of knights and thousands of soldiers embarked from the West to fight for the king, the Lannister fleet arriving in the Stepstones during the latter part of the war. Westermen fought for King Aenar and aided in the capture of several islands, even finding themselves well-represented in the final battle that took place on Grey Gallows.

402-405AC - The Scarlet Winter
Many ports in the Westerlands froze near solid, stifling both trade and travel in the region. Many fairs and festivals were held regardless, to keep the smallfolk happy and the nobles from dying of boredom. Attempts by House Lannister to break up the ice surrounding Lannisport would cost several dozen men their lives.

On the Night With No Moon, many saw the lunar eclipse, where the moon hung scarlet in the sky.

407-408 AC - The Mummer's War
After the death of King Aenar, the Realm witnessed a shortlived civil war. After Visaera Targaryen was crowned Queen, Maekar Targaryen and Maegor Waters both rise up against her rule, before quickly perishing. The Westerlands first sent men into the Riverlands, led by Lord Marshal Reginar Crakehall, quickly securing Riverrun against the rebels after Landon Tully fled his home. Westermen also marched into the Reach, under Lord Marbrand, though they saw no action there. Most of the West's fighting was done on the Iron Islands. In a pre-emptive strike against the Greyjoy menace, Lord Loreon assembled a coalition of fleets and systematically crushed the Ironborn threat to the mainland in what is now known as the Fool's Gambit. No fighting ever reached the lands of the Westerlands, and so life went on much as usual for most smallfolk.

The War ends in 408 AC with Visaera secure on her throne.

409-418 AC - Peace In Our Time
With the war over and Lord Lannister's niece crowned Queen, the Westerlands settled down for what promised to be a time of prosperity and contentment. As they had always done, the lands of the West grew wealthy during times of peace, and the smallfolk were largely content.

In 413 AC, as the High Septon spoke out against the influx of Rhllor faithful into Westeros after the establishment of the new Red Temple in King's Landing, Lord Loreon Lannister announces the construction of a new Great Sept at Lannisport built to rival any other in the Realm. The vast majority of the cost was fronted by House Lannister itself, though donations were taken from Houses across the Seven Kingdoms, such as: [ ]. Construction would finish in the 12th Moon of 417 AC.

News that winter is fast approaching reaches the Westerlands in early 418 AC. By order of House Lannister, warehouses and stores are filled with grain and foodstuffs in preparation for the coming snows. A commission is set up to investigate how best to keep commerce and trade flowing into the West during the winter, in order to avoid the troubles of the Scarlet Winter.

Major Characters

 * Loreon Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock, Shield of Lannisport, Warden of the West.
 * Tya Lannister, future Lady of the Rock.
 * Tybolt Lannister, future Lord of the Rock.
 * Reginar Crakehall, Lord Marshal of the Westerlands.
 * Malcolm Westerling, Lord Admiral of the Westerlands.