Epilogue

Excerpt from "Discourse upon the Advent of the Age of Even Seasons and the many Distinguished Personages therein"

by Maester Corwyn, published at the Citadel of Oldtown, 404 AC

Children growing up today in our Seven Kingdoms of Westeros might not believe that once winter and summer were of indeterminate length, but all the records kept by the Order of Maesters, including geologic records, verify the fact. In that age, farmers would break their backs to store up grain against a barren, frozen period where the earth would yield but little, and had no notion of when spring might come again. This, we have been spared for a century.

The Pact of Ice and Fire, writ in blood and honor by heroes that come down to us through history as household names: Domeric Bolton, Eddard Stark, his daughter Arya, Daenerys Targaryen, and more, won for the race of man a more ordered existence where simple folk might look to the future with hope. This volume shall inquire into the various noble lineages that descend from the tumultuous time at the start of the fourth century after Aegon's conquest.

It would be wise, therefore, to begin at the top, with Queen Daenerys, first of her name, and Restorer of the Targaryen dynasty. At the great tourney of Rivendell in 307 BC, the youth Bran Stark, called the Dragonwolf, was champion in the lists. For this, the Hand himself knighted the lad. The tourney celebration became a wedding feast, and half the realm witnessed the royal couple wed beneath the pale boughs of the great heart tree.

Their union proved a fruitful one, but it is beyond the scope of this book to document the entirety of the royal house. The firstborn, the Princess Rhaella, was a spirited lass, squiring for none less than Lady Arya Stark of Dreadport. With auburn hair and indigo eyes, men said she was the greatest beauty of her day, as many surviving paintings can attest. And what better match for the greatest beauty than the greatest knight? She wed Ser Royce Bolton, heir to the Dreadfort, who won more tourneys than any other. A peerless warrior. Some even say Royce Bolton was a match for his legendary father. The question was never put to the test, for the two refused to fight each other. House Bolton of present day descends from Ser Royce and Princess Rhaella.

Next came the heir to the throne, whose royal mother named him Baelor. Prince Baelor Targaryen shared his coloring with his father and Tully grandmother. He was a puissant knight as well, choosing instead to squire for Ser Domeric directly. His queen was his cousin, Sanselle Stark, the songbird of the North. No singer could ever match her, and Queen Daenerys' court had a surfeit of singers. Her compositions are enjoyed by many even now. Courtly and elegant, young Sanselle was oft at odds with her knightly mother, the Lady Arya, preferring silk over steel.

Good Queen Dany and Bran, her beloved king-consort, had other children, but Princess Rhaella and Prince Baelor are most prominent in the histories.

As to Lord Domeric Bolton, little need be said. His deeds have been recorded in other books too numerous to name. He had many children, both by his wife Alyx, born a Frey, and his concubines Mordaena Solel and Nymeria Sand. Half the North and Dorne claim descent from him. The close kinship of those two kingdoms was new in his day, but now has become a byword. Nevertheless, there are some notable cases.

Princess Arianne Martell demanded of her father a Northern husband, who finally relented on her twenty-fifth nameday. She was hastily wed to Eddard Karstark, and grew heavy with child within the year. Their son, called Domeric Martell, the first of many named after The Domeric, also craved a Northern match when he grew to manhood. His bride was Arya Bolton, daughter of the Hand of the Queen himself. Arya Bolton was very fond of Dornish cooking, especially as it developed in later years when that land grew more lush and fertile. When she became Arya Martell, the daughter of the Hand developed Dornish cooking into an art form, creating many new dishes, especially those utilizing the sweet pork of pigs the Dornish allowed to root around in fields of flowers and fruit orchards. Dornish cuisine is now well known, even across the Narrow Sea, thanks to her.

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It was Domeric Bolton's unique tolerance and open-mindedness that allowed a highborn girl to work in a kitchen, something that would've been frowned on a generation ago. Now many nobles of our time pride themselves on entertaining guests with food they cooked themselves. In the time of peace that followed the return of the dragons, many young people were allowed to pursue occupations that might've been deemed inappropriate in another age. The very first lady knight was Elia Frey, called Lady Lance, and she only received the accolade in 298 AC. Now lady knights are quite common.

Sansa Stark, the lesser-known sister of the famous Arya, wed Lord Edric Dayne, becoming the Lady of Starfall. The lands about the Torrentine had been repurposed to grow cotton, and Sansa Dayne developed a reputation as the greatest weaver of cotton in all the Seven Kingdoms. She made summer dresses for even the queen herself. As skilled with the knitting needle as Arya Stark was fighting with Dark Sister, Sansa's mercantile activities developed to the extent of becoming Westeros' first true fashion house.

Lord Edric and Lady Sansa's daughter and heir, Lyanna Dayne, married Morgan Uller, one of the Beauties of the Brimstone. Lady Carmyn Uller and her husband Ser Jon held Sunrise Castle, a small keep sworn to the Ullers of Hellholt, and had many children famed for delicate features. These Beauties were highly coveted, marrying even into houses of lords paramount.

As for the rest of the Starks in that generation, Robb Stark, heir to Winterfell, wed Jynessa Blackmont, one of the first notable matches with Dorne, and the youngest son, Rickon Stark, married Bess Bracken, inheriting Riverrun from his mother, the last Tully.

Perhaps most notable of all, save for heroes like Lord Domeric or Queen Daenerys, was Willem Martell, lord of Barrowton, called the Mad Maester. First cousin to the Hand, and terrifyingly intelligent, even as a boy. Willem was the only son of Prince Oberyn Martell and Lady Barbrey Dustin, born a Ryswell, the Hand's aunt.

Young Willem forged a maester's chain with links of every metal in less than a year, leaving without swearing a vow. It was the Hand who realized his potential, encouraging the lad to think, explore, and experiment. With Grandmaester Marwyn and Lady Sarella Blackwood for mentors, the young Willem bloomed, making discoveries in many fields.

The Differential and Integral Calculus were his, as well as the Mechanics and the Optics. He built finer roads than the world had seen since the days of Old Valyria. He made the first steam engine and the first cast-iron bridge. Our Seven Kingdoms truly became one thanks to him. Rivendell only became the Garden City when he was given charge of its waste-disposal system. The clean streets and fresh air in the capital remain a standard that all the civilized world envies.

Our Industrial Age, with the familiar manufactories and railroads, had its beginnings in his discoveries and prototypes. Lord Domeric Bolton remained hand for half a century. When he felt it was time to retire to the Dreadfort, he named none other than Willem Martell as his successor.

Martell married a princess too, Arya Targaryen, the last and youngest child of Daenerys the Restorer and Bran Dragonwolf. Their children and grandchildren remain prominent in the academic life of Westeros to this day.