Westeros

Westeros is the western continent of the known world in A Song of Ice and Fire, the land in which most of the story unfolds. It is dominated by the Seven Kingdoms, the realm ruled from King's Landing and the Iron Throne, though Westeros also extends far north of the Seven Kingdoms, beyond the Wall, into the wild lands of the Free Folk and the cold heart of winter.

Westeros lies across the Narrow Sea from the eastern continent of Essos. It is a long continent, far greater in length north to south than in breadth, and its climate ranges from the frozen lands beyond the Wall to the deserts of Dorne in the far south.

Geography

Westeros is conventionally divided into the regions that became the Seven Kingdoms: The North, the Riverlands, the Vale, the Westerlands, the Reach, the Stormlands, Dorne, the Iron Islands, and the Crownlands around King's Landing. North of all these lies the Wall, and beyond it the lands of the Free Folk, the haunted forest, and the Lands of Always Winter.

The continent's great geographic features include the Wall in the north; the Neck, the narrow isthmus joining the North to the south; the Trident and its forks in the riverlands; the mountains of the Vale and of Dorne; and the vast plains of the Reach. The capital, King's Landing, stands on the east coast at the mouth of the Blackwater Rush.

History

Westeros was first peopled in the Dawn Age by the children of the forest and the giants. The First Men crossed from Essos by a land bridge, the Arm of Dorne, later broken by the children. After long wars the two peoples made the Pact, and the First Men adopted the worship of the old gods.

The Long Night, a generation-long winter, brought the Others from the far north, until they were driven back. The Andals later crossed the Narrow Sea and conquered most of Westeros, bringing the Faith of the Seven and iron, though the North held against them. Thousands of years later, Aegon the Conqueror and his dragons forged six of the seven realms into one; Dorne was joined later by marriage. The Targaryen dynasty ruled until Robert's Rebellion cast it down.

In the story

The events of A Song of Ice and Fire span Westeros from the Wall to Dorne, with the contest for the Iron Throne, the threat gathering beyond the Wall, and the return of Daenerys Targaryen from across the sea all bearing on the fate of the continent.