The Iron Islands

Off the western coast of Westeros lies the archipelago of the Iron Islands. Home to the Ironborn, fierce raiders and reavers that worship a deity called the Drowned God, it has been the subject of nightmares and legends since the Age of Heroes.

Once the rule of these sea-faring folk extended to the Arbor in the south, Bear Island in the north, and swept over the entirety of the Riverlands up to the shore of Blackwater Bay. Over time these vast holdings were lost to nearer kings, and the once fabled rule of the Ironborn declined. Where they had once held sway over everywhere the sea could be heard, they ruled only the lands of the Trident when Aegon the Dragon first landed.

The people of this region are known as cruel, unyielding, and murderous, worshiping a god that demands sacrifice by drowning, and engaging in raiding and reaving as a way of life. Though their fleet is mighty, they are the smallest of all the regions of Westeros, and have oft been defeated and sacked by neighboring foes. Beneath the rule of the Targaryens these ironmen often chaffed, but it was not until King Robert that they first truly attempted to revolt. Time and time again they have been cast down, only to prove their common saying - that what is dead may never die, but rises again, harder and stronger.

300-301AC - The Second War of Conquest
During the Second War of Conquest, the majority of Ironborn fought alongside their King, Euron Crow's Eye. Some of those that remained behind in the Isles, or returned there after their lords abandoned the Greyjoy's cause, aided Asha in her successful coup, restoring the Iron Islands to the daughter of Balon Greyjoy. After her victory at home and her uncle's defeat abroad, Asha Greyjoy bent the knee to House Targaryen.

308AC - The Dancer's Revolt
Claiming the legacy of Euron Greyjoy and stating that Asha's surrender to King's Landing made her weak, Euric the Dancer drew upon those Ironborn who survived Euron's defeat, and those unhappy under their new leader's rule. With five thousand men at his command, Euric the Dancer descended upon the island of Pyke, attacking Lordsport and attempting to fight his way to the castle proper. Men from across the Iron Islands stood with their liege, defeating Euric thrice over before his death.

327AC - The Winter of Wolves
The Winter of Wolves proved hard on the Islands, as the ground froze and crops failed and children wailed in their beds. The old died, the young died, the strong and weak alike; lords across the Isles were hard set to provide for their people, and the suffering was great. Many men followed the latest of the Sons of the Kraken, joining Hrothgar Ironshod in his invasion of the North, and forming with him a new kingdom in Sea Dragon Point. Others, however, took to the Old Ways, setting sail in the hunt for supplies and sustenance. In this way the Ironborn too contributed to the name of the season; roaming the seas like hungry wolves, preying upon the weak.

331AC - The War in the Narrows
When Baelon Targaryen and his ambition brought war to Westeros, his power at sea proved mighty. The Ironborn were once more called to aid the realm in its time of need; for though the dragons were strong, the risk to them was great, what with Baelon himself mounted upon a beast.

Many ships departed the Isles, answering the call of House Greyjoy and the Targaryens. They swept along the southern coast of Westeros and drove the Lysene navy further north, into the waiting arms of the royal navy. On the return trip, many Ironborn scoured the Stepstones; raiding and reaving as they did in the days of old.

332AC - The Red Reaving
Having won renown for himself in the War of the Narrows, Dagon the Skinner set his ambitions higher than wealth or fame. As he returned to the Iron Islands, he set about manipulating the lords of the Isles, using murder and deceit to accomplish his goals, and operating out of Old Wyk. When he was found out, the Skinner fled from the Iron Islands, harried by the loyal lords who still bent to Pyke.

Exiled and defeated, Dagon turned his eyes upon the western shore. He and his remaining followers descended upon the villages of the coast, sacking and burning from Seagard to Fair Isle. The Battle of the Strait saw Dagon defeated - the survivors limping back to the Isles.

338AC - The Fourth War of the Kraken
The collapse of the Kingdom of the Northern Seas saw many Ironborn return to the Isles, filling the ports with the disappointed and the dispossessed. The mainland was awash with rumour, word of a strange new sickness leading many to believe that an opportunity was on its way. Regnar Twice-Crowned was the one to take advantage of this opening, raising his own band of hopefuls to wage war upon the mainland.

339AC - The Summer Sickness
Traders from Oldtown and Lannisport would eventually carry the sickness to the Iron Islands, though this land of chill winds and damp weather would prove anathema to the warmth-loving illness. The Drowned Gods marked the curse as a punishment against the unfaithful and the unrighteous, but most especially the followers of the False Gods of the Seven. They pointed to the terribly afflicted southern kingdoms, and called for all to remember the Old Ways.

351-356AC - the Mead Summer
One of the greatest summers in memory, punctuated by the capture of a whale off Harlaw that fed commoners and lords alike for nearly a fortnight. This period of plenty was a breath of relief following the hardships of decades past, and many began to hope that the time of strife was finally at an end.

In late 356AC, a strange man arrived in a tattered longship, sailing in from the west. He claimed to have been descended from those Ironborn who had gone questing across the Sunset Sea centuries before, and brought with him many strange wonders.

360AC - the Royal Tour
The Crown Prince Aenys Targaryen, as well as several members of the royal family and court, stopped in major strongholds across the Iron Islands as they toured the Seven Kingdoms.

366AC - The Halfblood Incursion
The last gasp of the Sons of the Kraken, and their most recent rebellion to date. Maron and Mara, claiming to be the twin offspring of Regnar Twice-Crowned, emerged with a fleet won raiding in the south and east, raising mercenaries and hopefuls to their cause. It took four kingdoms to bring them down, inflicting defeat after defeat, but it was the Ironborn who faced the hard heart of Maron's army, slaying him and breaking his strength in the Battle of the Red Prince.

390AC - The Rattle Rebellion
Across the Iron Islands, thralls threw off their shackles and rose up against their lords. Several major uprisings had to be put down, costing the lives of many and resulting in the destruction of ships and settlements.

392-394AC - the Great Famine
Food is always scarce upon the Isles, but the famine of the mainland made conditions nearly unbearable. Many turned to the Old Ways to provide where the New could not, paying the iron price for all that could not or would not be bought with the gold. Old rivalries flared to the fore, and new enemies were forged in blood and steel. The end of the famine saw an end to hunger, but not to hardship.

395AC - The Second Rattle Rebellion
Brought on in part by the hardship of the Great Famine, the thralls once more rose up against their masters and fought for freedom and rights upon the Iron Islands. Tragic, bloody, and most of all savage, the rebellion nearly succeeded when Harlon the Hewer, a thrall from the Reach, took an axe to the pillars of Nagga's Hill in the midst of the Battle of the Cradle.

396-402AC - The War of the Three Thieves
The Iron Throne called upon all its naval strength when it came time to face the Three Kings. The men of the Iron Islands complied, sailing forth with a fleet of a two hundred vessels.

402-405AC - The Scarlet Winter
A harsh winter that reminded many of the Winter of Wolves, the Scarlet Winter laid the Isles low, and caused much suffering. Compounded due to the recent famine, the Iron Islands is perhaps more insular and recalcitrant than ever before.

Major Characters
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