Valyria

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Valyria is a long-dead city of wonderment, and was once the capital of a great empire called the Valyrian Freehold, but has since fallen to ruin. At its prime, the Valyrian Freehold was an advanced civilization and the dominant military and cultural power of the known world. The city was located on a peninsula of the eastern continent, and is the ancestral home of House Targaryen.

History

Valyria was once a minor civilization populated by shepherds until the Valyrians discovered dragons living in the Fourteen Fires, a ring of volcanoes on the Valyrian Peninsula. The Valyrians mastered the technique of raising and training the dragons into devastating weapons of war. The mighty Ghiscari Empire tried to stop the city's expansion, fighting five major wars that were each won by the Valyrians. The last battle destroyed the Ghiscari Empire and its capital of Old Ghis. Over the years the Valyrians continued to conquer, building great cities and roadways that all led to Valyria. Many smaller nations, such as those of the Andals and Rhoynar, fled west to avoid Valyrian expansion. Valyria took many slaves from its conquered lands and used them to mine deep into the earth. At the height of its power, the Freehold stretched over most of the eastern continent. Cities built by the Valyrian Freehold include Oros, Mantarys, Tyria, and all of the Free Cities except Braavos.

The Valyrian Freehold was destroyed in the Doom of Valyria, an as-yet undescribed cataclysm, about one hundred years before Aegon's Landing. The Doom fragmented the land surrounding the city itself into numerous smaller islands, creating the Smoking Sea between them. The area is now described as "demon-haunted", and most people are afraid to go there, as it is said, "The Doom still rules in Valyria."

Legacy

The Valyrian Free Cities survived the Doom and became independent nations, continuing to speak a dialect of Valyrian. The House Targaryen and the bannermen they brought with them to Dragonstone also survived. The Targaryens used their three remaining dragons to conquer Westeros, ruling the Seven Kingdoms and continuing some of their Valyrian customs, such as incestuous marriage. Weapons made of Valyrian steel, a magical alloy invented by the Valyrians, are highly valued, but the secrets of its creation were lost in the Doom, along with most of Valyria's culture.

References and sources

This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Across the narrow sea.
The list of authors can be seen in the page history of Across the narrow sea.
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