The Song Of Ice and Fire (120 page)

For thousands of years, raiders from the Iron Islands—called “ironmen” by those they plundered—were the terrors of the seas, sailing as far as the Port of Ibben and the Summer Isles. They prided themselves on their fierceness in battle and their sacred freedoms. Each island had its own “salt king” and “rock king.” The High King of the Isles was chosen from among their number, until King Urron made the throne hereditary by murdering the other kings when they assembled for a choosing. Urron’s own line was extinguished a thousand years later when the Andals swept over the islands. The Greyjoys, like other island lords, intermarried with the conquerers.

The Iron Kings extended their rule far beyond the isles themselves, carving kingdoms out of the mainland
with fire and sword. King Qhored could truthfully boast that his writ ran “wherever men can smell salt water or hear the crash of waves.” In later centuries, Qhored’s descendents lost the Arbor, Oldtown, Bear Island, and much of the western shore. Still, come the Wars of Conquest, King Harren the Black ruled all the lands between the mountains, from the Neck to the Blackwater Rush. When Harren and his sons perished in the fall of Harrenhal, Aegon Targaryen granted the riverlands to House Tully, and allowed the surviving lords of the Iron Islands to revive their ancient custom and chose who should have the primacy among them. They chose Lord Vickon Greyjoy of Pyke.

The Greyjoy sigil is a golden kraken upon a black field. Their words are
We Do Not Sow
.

BALON GREYJOY, Lord of the Iron Islands, King of Salt and Rock, Son of the Sea Wind, Lord Reaper of Pyke,

• —his wife, LADY ALANNYS, of House Harlaw,
  
• —their children:
  
  • —{RODRIK}, their eldest son, slain at Seagard during Greyjoy’s Rebellion,
    
  • —{MARON}, their second son, slain on the walls of Pyke during Greyjoy’s Rebellion,
    
  • —ASHA, their daughter, captain of the
    Black Wind
    ,
    
  • —THEON, their sole surviving son, heir to Pyke, a ward of Lord Eddard Stark,
    
• —his brothers:
  
  • —EURON, called Crow’s Eye, captain of the
    Silence
    , an outlaw, pirate, and raider,
    
  • —VICTARION, Lord Captain of the Iron Fleet,
    
  • —AERON, called Damphair, a priest of the Drowned God,
    

Lesser houses sworn to Pyke include Harlaw, Stonehouse, Merlyn, Sunderly, Botley, Tawney, Wynch, Goodbrother.

HOUSE MARTELL

Nymeria, the warrior queen of the Rhoyne, brought her ten thousand ships to land in Dorne, the southernmost of the Seven Kingdoms, and took Lord Mors Martell to husband. With her help, he vanquished his rivals to rule all Dorne. The Rhoynar influence remains strong. Thus Dornish rulers style themselves “Prince” rather than “King.” Under Dornish law, lands and titles pass to the eldest child, not the eldest male. Dorne, alone of the Seven Kingdoms, was never conquered by Aegon the Dragon. It was not permanently joined to the realm until two hundred years later, and then by marriage and treaty, not the sword. Peaceable King Daeron II succeeded where the warriors had failed by wedding the Dornish princess Myriah and giving his own sister in marriage to the reigning Prince of Dorne. The Martell banner is a red sun pierced by a golden spear. Their words are
Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken
.

DORAN NYMEROS MARTELL, Lord of Sunspear, Prince of Dorne,

• —his wife, MELLARIO, of the Free City of Norvos,
  
• —their children:
  
  • —PRINCESS ARIANNE, their eldest daughter, heir to Sunspear,
    
  • —PRINCE QUENTYN, their elder son,
    
  • —PRINCE TRYSTANE, their younger son,
    
• —his siblings:
  
  • —his sister, {PRINCESS ELIA}, wed to Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, slain during the Sack of King’s Landing,
    
  • —their children:
    
  •  —{PRINCESS RHAENYS}, a young girl, slain during the Sack of King’s Landing,
    
  •  —{PRINCE AEGON}, a babe, slain during the Sack of King’s Landing,
    
  • —his brother, PRINCE OBERYN, the Red Viper,
    
• —his household:
  
  • —AREO HOTAH, a Norvoshi sellsword, captain of guards,
    
  • —MAESTER CALEOTTE, counselor, healer, and tutor,
    
• —his knights and lord bannermen:
  
  • —EDRIC DAYNE, Lord of Starfall,
    

The principal houses sworn to Sunspear include Jordayne, Santagar, Allyrion, Toland, Yronwood, Wyl, Fowler, and Dayne.

The Old Dynasty
HOUSE TARGARYEN

The Targaryens are the blood of the dragon, descended from the high lords of the ancient Freehold of Valyria, their heritage proclaimed in a striking (some say inhuman) beauty, with lilac or indigo or violet eyes and hair of silver-gold or platinum white.

Aegon the Dragon’s ancestors escaped the Doom of Valyria and the chaos and slaughter that followed to settle on Dragonstone, a rocky island in the narrow sea. It was from there that Aegon and his sisters Visenya and Rhaenys sailed to conquer the Seven Kingdoms. To preserve the blood royal and keep it pure, House Targaryen has often followed the Valyrian custom of wedding brother to sister. Aegon himself took both his sisters to wife, and fathered sons on each. The Targaryen banner is a three-headed dragon, red on black, the three heads representing Aegon and his sisters. The Targaryen words are
Fire and Blood
.

THE TARGARYEN SUCCESSION
dated by years after Aegon’s Landing

Therein the line of the dragon kings ended, when Aerys II was dethroned and killed, along with his heir, the crown prince Rhaegar Targaryen, slain by Robert Baratheon on the Trident.

THE LAST TARGARYENS

{KING AERYS TARGARYEN}, the Second of His Name, slain by Jaime Lannister during the Sack of King’s Landing,

• —his sister and wife, {QUEEN RHAELLA} of House Targaryen, died in childbed on Dragonstone,
  
• —their children:
  
  • —{PRINCE RHAEGAR}, heir to the Iron Throne, slain by Robert Baratheon on the Trident,
    
  •  —his wife, {PRINCESS ELIA} of House Martell, slain during the Sack of King’s Landing,
    
  •  —their children:
    
  •   —{PRINCESS RHAENYS}, a young girl, slain during the Sack of King’s Landing,
    
  • —{PRINCE AEGON}, a babe, slain during the Sack of King’s Landing,
    
• —PRINCE VISERYS, styling himself Viserys, the Third of His Name, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, called the Beggar King,
  
• —PRINCESS DAENERYS, called Daenerys Stormborn, a maid of thirteen years.
  

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The devil is in the details, they say.

A book this size has a
lot
of devils, any one of which will bite you if you don’t watch out. Fortunately, I know a lot of angels.

Thanks and appreciation, therefore, to all those good folks who so kindly lent me their ears and their expertise (and in some cases their books) so I could get all those little details right—to Sage Walker, Martin Wright, Melinda Snodgrass, Carl Keim, Bruce Baugh, Tim O’Brien, Roger Zelazny, Jane Lindskold, and Laura J. Mixon, and of course to Parris.

And a special thanks to Jennifer Hershey, for labors above and beyond the call …

A GAME OF THRONES:
THE GRAPHIC NOVEL

George R. R. Martin—dubbed “the American Tolkien” by
Time
Magazine—has created a masterwork of modern fantasy with his landmark series,
A Song of Ice and Fire
. His much-beloved characters and settings have not only made the books bestsellers in multiple countries, but have spun off a host of affiliated products, from calendars, card games, and board games to swords, figurines, and coins.
Game of Thrones
, HBO’s stunning adaptation of George’s world to the small screen, premiered to rampant fan excitement.

And now comes the next exciting chapter in
A Game of Thrones
adaptations: the graphic novel! From a joint partnership between Dynamic Forces and Random House comes a stunning visual representation of George’s seminal world, adapted by acclaimed novelist Daniel J. Abraham, and illustrated by Tommy Patterson. As you can see from this handful of character sketches and rough sample pages, this will be an absolutely stunning-looking series—and one that we hope will give George’s long-time fans a new way to appreciate his world, as well as providing a new entry-point for more recent converts.

We hope that you will share our enthusiasm for watching how this amazing world unfolds, visually, over the course of the planned twenty-four issues … because we are all enormously excited!