Casterly Rock

Casterly Rock, nicknamed the Rock, is a castle and the seat of House Lannister. The capital of the Westerlands, it overlooks the harbor of Lannisport and the Sunset Sea. Nearby strongholds include Kayce and Feastfires to the west, Sarsfield to the north, and Cornfield to the south.

Layout
Casterly Rock is carved out of a great stone hill colossal rock beside the Sunset Sea. It is popularly believed to resemble a lion in repose at sunset.

The Casterlys of antiquity built a ringfort on the peak, and as millenia have passed its natural defenses have been expanded with walls, gates, and watchtowers. The base of the Rock contains large sea-carved caverns. The stone has been mined for thousands of years, so there are hundreds of mineshafts in the depths of the Rock, as well as yet untouched gold veins.

The Rock has been measured at three times the height of the Wall or the Hightower of Oldtown. It is almost two leagues long from west to east, and contains tunnels, dungeons, storerooms, barracks, halls, stables, stairways, courtyards, balconies, and gardens. In the bowels of the Rock are rooms where caged lions and other exotic beasts are kept, along with cells for the worst prisoners. The castle contains a sept.

The Lion's Mouth, the main entry to Casterly Rock, is an enormous natural cavern reaching two hundred feet high. Its steps are now wide enough for twenty riders. Its port has docks, wharves, and shipyards and is accessible by longships and cogs. From below the Rock thunder can be heard, where the sea comes in.

The Golden Gallery contains treasures of the Lannisters, including gilded ornaments and walls. The Hall of Heroes is where the Lannisters and their close kin who have died valiantly are interred. The armour of Lannisters of old are also displayed in the hall. The Stone Garden is a godswood with a twisted weirwood a tenth the size of Raventree Hall's.

House Casterly
The region was probably inhabited by children of the forest and giants before the arrival of the First Men, and numerous animals have made it their home as well.

Legend says that Casterly Rock is named for the family that ruled it in the Age of Heroes, the Casterlys, who no longer exist. The Lannisters trace their rule over it back to Lann the Clever, who tricked the Casterlys out of their castle and claimed it for his own. Some claim that Lann still haunts the fortress, which has never fallen.

Kings of the Rock
The Kings of the Rock from House Lannister took their title from their seat, and members of the family founded nearby Lannisport. During the Andal invasion, the Lannisters eventually invited Andals into their realm and brought Andal youths to serve at Casterly Rock as wards and potential hostages. According to a lost scroll, Valyrian sorcerers believed their downfall would come from the Rock's gold.

Impressed by earlier visits to Casterly Rock and the Hightower, Roland I Arryn ordered the construction of the Eyrie as a replacement for the Gates of the Moon as the seat of House Arryn.

King Gerold Lannister raided the Iron Islands and held one hundred captives in the Rock. Gerold the Great then hanged a captive whenever the ironborn threatened his lands. Before becoming King of the Iron Islands, Harmund II Hoare spent his youth at Casterly Rock as a ward.

During Aegon's Conquest, King Loren I formed an alliance at Casterly Rock with Mern IX Gardener, King of the Reach, against Aegon the Conqueror. House Targaryen defeated the Lannisters and Gardeners at the Field of Fire, however. After the battle, Loren the Last surrendered his crown to Aegon and was confirmed as Lord of Casterly Rock and Warden of the West. Visenya Targaryen is said to have been grateful that Loren rode to war instead of seeking refuge in his castle, as the Rock may have withstood even dragonflame.

Before the Second Conquest
The young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen was once courted during a feast at Casterly Rock by the twins Jason Lannister and Tyland Lannister. At the start of the Dance of the Dragons, Tyland sent a quarter of the royal treasury to the Rock. The castle was left in disarray after the death of Lord Jason in the Battle of the Red Fork and the Lannister defeat in the Battle by the Lakeshore. Although Dalton Greyjoy, Lord of the Iron Islands, was able to sack Lannisport, Casterly Rock was too strong for the ironborn once Lady Johanna Lannister barred its gates.

Lady Ellyn Reyne, the wife of Ser Tion Lannister, held a splendid court at the Rock as Lord Gerold Lannister declined in health. After the weak rule of Lord Tytos Lannister, his son Tywin restored the power of Casterly Rock.

For much of 267 AC, King Aerys II Targaryen resided at Casterly Rock with Lord Tywin, his Hand of the King. Tywin repaid the late Jaehaerys II Targaryen's debts to Braavos with gold from the Rock.

Aeron Greyjoy was captured after the sea battle off Fair Isle, taken to Lannisport in chains, and spent the rest of Greyjoy's Rebellion imprisoned in Casterly Rock.

After the Second War of Conquest
House Lannister was divided and broken; ravaged by the chaos of the War of the Five Kings, and torn apart by rivalries and machinations. Eventually lordship over the Rock was granted to Tyrek Lannister. By the end of his rule the Rock was once more flourishing, it's court a mirror of that of Highgarden thanks to the efforts of his wife Margaery Tyrell.

During the Red Reaving Ironmen led by Dagon the Skinner raided the Westerlands, and Lord Tyrek hid behind the walls of the Rock with his wife as his people suffered.

As the Summer Sickness plagued the Westerlands and Lannisport in particular, the Lions of the Rock were slow to react again. In the end all Lord Tyrek chose to do was to put his court into seclusion, barring entry to the Rock to any and all visitors.

During the Mead Summer yet more veins of ore were found deep within the Rock, ushering in a new era of prosperity for all the Westerlands.

During the Hammer Uprising riots in Lannisport were put down by forces sent from the Rock. As the Great Famine swept across the Realm the granaries and stores of the Rock were opened to the people of the Westerlands, alleviating much suffering.

Recent History
Following the campaigns of Loreon Lannister on the Iron Islands, the Seastone Chair was brought to the Golden Gallery as a trophy.