Four Year Winter

The Four Year Winter was one of the harshest on record, with snows descending as far as the Red Mountains of Dorne. The Four Year Winter has led to speculation of worsening weather patterns in Westeros, given the increasing rate of long, terrible winters; the most recent of which given the name The Scarlet Winter, and before it, the Winter of the Wolves.

The Four Year Winter began shortly following the Bleeding, and concluded early in 438 AC, when the Maesters announced that winter was once again coming to an end.

The Winter's Bite
The conclusion of the Bleeding saw peace descend once more upon the Seven Kingdoms, and whilst the realm had seen the apex of the bloodshed reach a conclusion, winter would take its due from the land as war had taken from its inhabitants.

So prolonged a series of conflicts had wreaked havoc upon the earth itself. Supply lines had been decimated in the strife, often as a means of attrition between opposing factions - thus, production and supply was severed to a level of deprivation that would see the poorest regions worry for starvation. Those who had not seen their reserves well-tended found themselves fearing an untimely audience with The Stranger.

Compounding such worries, a significant number of premier powers found had to contend with dispensing justice against the perpetrators of the Second Hammer Uprising just as the seasons began to shift in 434 A.C. The due process of the law would not wait for winter, and it was paramount that such proceedings be swiftly concluded. It was perhaps this engrossment that saw a number of lords return to holdfasts unprepared for the brunt of what was to come.

At the height of winter’s grip in 436 A.C, unwieldy snow flurries were troublesome as far south as the Reach. Frozen vapor sapped the life from crops, and the breadbasket of Westeros found itself unable to keep up with the demands of the hungry. The Honeywine, the agricultural capital of the Reach, was hamstrung. Snows were at times knee-deep, making the little river road near enough impossible to traverse, be it by foot or carriage. As a result, prices soared beyond any sane prediction, crippling any who were not wealthily landed. A large portion of produce was being imported; Oldtown, Gulltown, Lannisport and White Harbor were amongst the ports who saw the most traffic outside of the capital, if only because they had the gold to pay. Unfortunately, the latter was eventually frozen over by the ice, with ships unable to dock for weeks at a time, whilst the southron ports remained free-flowing.

It was not only farmlands, however, that suffered. Conditions made mineshafts inaccessible, still water was frozen over and much industry ground to a halt in the worst of the moons, when snow fell so thick through the night that doors were half-barred come the morning.

By 437 A.C the frost had taken more lives than many could comprehend. In the aftershocks of the hostilities there was little time to prepare, for the change in season was fast upon them. Where food and warmth were not assured in ample amount it was unlikely the young, elderly or weak could survive. Beyond the North only a scant few were accustomed to such bitter climates, a fact that resulted in several houses falling prey to the same hardships as the smallfolk.

Spring came early in 438 A.C, sweeping the land free of the rime and bringing forth a resurgence of agriculture. The fertile heartland of Westeros enjoyed more than enough sun and rain, and crop yields were as high as any could remember even in years preceding wintertime.

The smallfolk rejoiced that the mercy of the Seven had bestowed upon them an end to one of the most gruelling and prolonged nights in recent years. Amongst the Lords Paramount, talk was abundant of the need to foster a greater investment in agronomy, that their regions might never again suffer quite so drastically when circumstances did not well align to the descent of a harsh, unyielding winter.