History of Westeros

Valar Rereadis: TWOIAF - Casterly Rock

What's it like inside the giant mountain castle? And what role does GRRM (and HBO) have for it coming up?

Joanna Lannister: twoiafart: The World of Ice and Fire - Casterly.....

Valar Rereadis: TWOIAF - Casterly Rock (livestream)

We're going to talk about one of the most anticipated locations we have not actually seen yet in the books....Casterly Rock! 

In 2016, at Mysticon, Ashaya asked George R.R. Martin a question about Casterly Rock: When asked how they transport food and whatnot within the Rock, GRRM said there were NO winches or eleva...

May 22nd Poll

Casterly Rock won last week's poll but it was *close*.

So close that none of the options were eliminated because there was a tie. So there are 3 repeat choices instead of the usual 2. BUT this week you can vote for more than one. Usually you will only be allowed one choice but I think we'll handle tie...

Valar Rereadis: TWOIAF - The Stepstones

Perhaps the busiest shipping region in the world, also an anarchic haunt of pirates and slavers. Westeros will suffer greatly if the wrong people take over the islands... Featuring: Princes Daemon, Aemon and Baelon, Oakenfist, Racallio Ryndoon, the Golden Company, Maelys and the Band of Nine, the Kingdom of the Three Daughter...

Valar Rereadis: TWOIAF - The Stepstones (livestream)

We are back at our usual time and day (Sunday at 3 pm eastern) and ready to talk about the Stepstones!

Valar Rereadis: TWOIAF - Yi Ti w/Chris Stewart

Yi Ti and its best real life analogue China! Gemstone emperors, history and lore, gods and monsters such as the Lion of Night, the Five Forts, courts made of solid gold, dragons of all kinds and armies of unimaginable size.

History of China podcast: 2022-05-11 19:18:51 +0000 UTC View Post

May 15th Poll and Mini Update

The pod version of the Yi Ti episode will be up late tonight or early tomorrow!

I had a medical procedure yesterday that involved me not eating any solid food on Sunday so I needed an extra day to recover. (everything went well)

House of the Dragon Trailer Discussion (livestream)

A full trailer for House of the Dragon has been released, so let's analyze it screenshot by screenshot! This is at another unusual time for us: Friday night at 8:30 pm eastern. All of the images in this episode can also be found here.  2022-05-05 23:00:17 +0000 UTC View Post

Valar Rereadis: TWOIAF - Yi Ti w/ Chris Stewart (livestream)

Join us at the UNUSUAL time of Saturday 5/7 at 10 pm eastern, due to our very special guest Chris Stewart of the History of China podcast. If you aren't familiar with his podcast, you can check it out here.

Mini Update & Episode Poll

- due to all the visual elements, there's no audio-only post for the Con of Langs episode. The livestream post always serves as the link to the video afterwards, it never expires.

- TIME CHANGE - This week's Yi Ti livestream will be at 10 PM Eastern Saturday Night. The reason for this i...

A Con of Langs (livestream)

At the usual time of 3 Eastern on Sunday:

We've got *deep* cuts from HBO's shows past, present and future straight from language creator David J Peterson AND a report from Ice & Fire Con 2022 featuring a ton of pictures - including Ash, Sean and Aziz as Green Men...

David created Dothraki, High Valyrian, And...

Ice & Fire Con 2022 Schedule

It's Wednesday and we are off to Ohio for Ice & Fire Con - we won't have a livestream this Sunday due to being out of town, but if you are going to be at the con, here are the events we will be at!

Valar Rereadis: TWOAIF - The Kingdom of Sarnor

A kingdom dominated by corrupt nobles who ignore an existential threat while fighting each other... sound familiar? A realm that finds itself suddenly confronted with a huge mass of Dothraki united under one leader... sound familiar? An ancient culture's history and art burned by people from a culture that values destruction....

Valar Rereadis: TWOIAF - The Kingdom of Sarnor (livestream)

Sarnor got second place in our Patreon poll three weeks in a row, so we are enacting the Sarnor Rule: it's our next topic! We recommend reading The Doom That Came to Sarnath by Lovecraft in preparation for this Sunday's episode at 3 pm eastern.

Valar Rereadis: TWOIAF - The Barrow Kings

One of the great powers of the north, who can trace their bloodlines to the First King of the First Men. We discuss their wars against the Starks, Lady Barbrey Dustin, the Corpse Queen and Night's King, Brandon & Lyanna Stark, Domeric, Roose & Ramsay, Barrowton and the Barrowlands.

Valar Rereadis: TWOIAF - The Barrow Kings (livestream)

Y'all voted, and the next topic is the Barrow Kings! Join us at 3 pm eastern on Sunday, or catch the episode later, as always.

The Buildings of Brandon

(For members only!) Long-gone Legends are less certain than structures that still stand. But how were they built in the first place? Why did giants work with humans? Were they forced? If so... how? This episode stretches from the Wall to Storm's End and spans characters ranging from Night King to Sandor Clegane, from ancient ...

The Buildings of Brandon (video)

(For members only!) Long-gone Legends are less certain than structures that still stand. But how were they built in the first place? Why did giants work with humans? Were they forced? If so... how? This episode stretches from the Wall to Storm's End and spans characters ranging from Night King to Sandor Clegane, from ancient ...

March/April 2022 (big) Update

Hello my fellow Westorians, here's what's going on now and soon:

- The Buildings of Brandon (patrons only) should be up this week!

- Quite a while back, those of you with votes chose Lomas Longstrider as a topic, and it's finally time to get back on that track! Related, we wrote...

Next Topic Poll for April 10th

The topic with the fewest votes (and the one that wins) gets removed, the 2nd and 3rd place finisher is joined by two new topic suggestions.

A general update post is coming later today or tomorrow as well, including plans for the next scripted topic and more.

Valar Rereadis: TWOIAF - Crannogmen & The Neck

Protect the Neck! Lots of topics here: swamps, crannogs (real and GRRM-world), moving castles, lizard-lions (with skinchanger mounts?!), knights beneath the bogs... and lots of quotes. 

Valar Rereadis: TWOIAF - Crannogmen & the Neck (livestream)

We had you all vote, and Crannogmen and the Neck won by a landslide (by a hammer of the waters, you might say). We're going to dive into the real world crannogs and other inspirations for this mysterious culture, so join us live Sunday at 3 pm eastern.

Next Topic Poll for April 3rd

The Free Folk took down a close vote last time, this time it will be... 

Valar Rereadis: TWOIAF - The Free Folk

How the peoples separated, Kings Beyond the Wall, legends and culture, prejudice, what does "freedom" mean? and much more.

Valar Rereadis: TWOIAF - The Free Folk (livestream)

Y'all voted and chose the Free Folk as our topic for Sunday, so come join us live at 3 pm eastern to chat about their history, songs, legends, and tribes!

Valar Rereadis Next Topic Poll

We're at a fork in the road with regards to potential next topic, so we're going to let you choose! 

Valar Rereadis: TWOIAF - The Century of Blood

The Free Cities, Aegon the Conqueror, Argilac the Arrogant, Harren the Black, refugees, power vacuums, eruptions, and more. The ladders really come out...?

Valar Rereadis: TWOIAF - The Century of Blood (livestream)

After a couple of weeks with guests, we are back to deal with the fallout of the Doom of Valyria: the Century of Blood. Catch us live at our usual time of 3 pm eastern on Sunday, or listen to the podcast later!

Brandon the Builder

From the first Brandon to the Last, from the Crypts to the Wall, we discuss everything there is to know about the founder of House Stark.

Brandon the Builder (video)

Now featuring subtitles, including on the Patreon credits.