The Reach is one of the constituent regions of the Seven Kingdoms on the continent of Westeros. It was formerly a sovereign nation ruled by the Kings of the Reach before the War of Conquest. It is the second-largest of the kingdoms behind the north and is considered the most fertile and heavily-populated part of Westeros.
The Reach is considered the home of chivalry in Westeros. It is the place where knighthood is looked upon with the greatest reverence and esteemed the most. It is also the place where the rules to tournaments are the most stringent and managed.
The Reach is ruled from the castle of Highgarden by House Tyrell . Noble bastards born in the Reach are given the surname Flowers.
Geography[]
The Reach lies in the most fertile part of Westeros. The Sunset Sea is found to the west, while the hills of the Westerlands are to the northwest and the Blackwater Rush of the Riverlands is to the north. The Reach borders the Crownlands to the northeast, while to the east and southeast are the Stormlands and their Dornish Marches. South of the Reach is the Red Mountains of Dorne and the Summer Sea. The Roseroad links Oldtown with King's Landing through Highgarden, while the Ocean Road links Highgarden with Lannisport.
The Reach is watered by the immense river Mander and its tributaries, including the Blueburn and the Cockleswhent. The Reach proper is centred around the Mander. Oldtown is located at the mouth of the Honeywine. The region also includes several islands, including the Shield Islands near the mouth of the Mander and the Arbor south of the Whispering Sound and the Redwyne Straits
The Reach is the second wealthiest region in the Seven Kingdoms behind the Rock, but the most fertile and populous, with numerous well-populated towns and villages in addition to the ancient city of Oldtown. Among its produces are melons, fireplums, peaches, apples, and grapes. The Arbor is said to make the finest of wines, from dry fruity reds to a rich golden vintage. Woodharps made in Oldtown are highly sought after.
History[]
The beginnings of the Reach can be traced back to Garth Greenhand, the legendary High King of the First Men who lived in the Age of Heroes. The royal line of House Gardener of Highgarden claimed descent from Garth as do many current houses in the region.
Its relationship with Dorne and the Stormlands have also been uneasy, with the Dornishmen warring against the Reach for thousands of years; rivalries include the feud between House Oakheart and House Dayne. The Kings of the Reach also warred with the Storm Kings of House Durrandon, and the Dornish Marches, the lands just north of the Red Mountains of Dorne, have long been disputed. The lords of Highgarden count Defender of the Marches amongst their titles, although most of the marcher lords now owe allegiance to House Baratheon of the Stormlands.
The mighty host of Reachmen and Westerlanders were vanquished by Aegon the Dragon at the Field of Fire along with the last of House Gardener. As the conqueror marched to the gates of Highgarden, House Tyrell, the stewards of the Gardeners, surrendered to Aegon the Conqueror and were rewarded with both the castle and the position as overlords of the Reach.
House Tyrell played a particularly large role in the War of Seven Kings as the main supporter of the victorious Renly Baratheon, with Margaery Tyrell as his queen. Yet since then, the Iron Throne had done nought but to abuse this loyalty, exploiting the Reach as an indefinite source of resources and men.
Lord Tyrell has not forgotten the lack of favour the throne has given him. He has not forgotten the humiliation he suffered when the Ironborn raided the Reach, he has not forgotten the vengeance he swore when he discovered that his daughter had absconded with the youngest Greyjoy son. But most of all, he has not forgotten his friend, Lord Blackfyre of Summerhall.
Wars and Battles[]
War of the Seven Kings[]
The Reach was Renly Baratheon's supporter from the start, after the man's marriage to Margaery Tyrell at Highgarden not long after King Robert's death. Some lords remained neutral, mainly House Hightower.
Their first major engagement would be against Stannis Baratheon at Storm's End, a bloody battle through Renly's vastly superior numbers allowed them to ultimately prevail. With the combined might of Highgarden, Storm's End, and the lords of the Narrow Sea all bearing down towards the capital, Tywin Lannister reaches to Dorne for aid. Prince Oberyn Martell was sent at the head of 4000 Dornish spears - a meek force compared to Renly's host, yet wreaked havoc upon the larger army's rear and supply lines. An army of Reachmen was sent along with former Stannis supporters to deal with them, none returned.
Eventually, Renly was forced to turn and route the Dornish himself, a costly victory with four of his men dead for every one of the Red Viper's. The third son of Lord Mace Tyrell, Ser Loras slew the Red Viper, himself wounded mortally in the process.
A battle between Kevan Lannister and Renly resulted in the death of the former but the retreat of Renly's army due to their king's injuries. When news of this, as well as an engagement between the Redwyne Fleet and the Crown Fleet off Massey's Hook arrived at the Red Keep, the boy king flew into a rage marched south at the head of a small host, meeting with the remanents of Kevan's army. They were defeated in a hard fought battle by Reachmen led by Mace Tyrell, with Joffrey slain and his head mounted upon a pike.
By then, the Reachmen numbered less than half of what they left Bitterbridge with.
Renly's army would continue northwards, routing Tywin's army and slaying the Lord of Casterly Rock, and taking King's Landing from what's left of its defenders.
The peace would be shortlived, however, and ravens again flew as news of another pretender landing on the coast of the Stormlands arrived at the capital. In the ensuing battle, Lord Randyll led the vanguard, slaying Jon Connington, and the self-named Aegon VI yielded after a day of hard fighting. Mace Tyrell urged his king to execute the boy, "A dragon, yielded or not, is still a dragon, and for three hundred years the lords of Westeros bowed under the dragon banner." "As you did during Robert's Rebellion?" Thus Renly ended the argument.
Yet, the Hand was not present during the ceremony that named Aegon Blackfyre the Lord of Summerhall.
War of the Exiles[]
When news of Danaery's host reached King's Landing, Mace Tyrell, Hand of the King and Lord-Paramount of the Reach advised for to ask for aid from the Starks, a suggestion King Renly quickly dismissed. The Reach would soon assemble the largest army ever amassed, the first region to answer their king's call for war.
Whilst the Arbor Fleet sailed around Westeros to defend the islands of Tarth and Greenstone, Ser Barristan Selmy's army of sellswords raided across Renly's largest kingdom, eventually stumbling upon the camp of the Reachmen. This would be a victorious battle for the Reach, with Barristan the Bold himself was slain, though at the cost of Mace Tyrell's life.
With Dorne in chaos over whom to support, Randyll Tarly took charge of the majority of the Reachmen army, bearing down upon Prince's Pass. At the same time, the Arbor Fleet blockaded Ser Jorah Morment's army off the coast of the Stormlands, sinking the entire host as Jorah attempted a retreat.
Eventually, Randyll and Anders Yronwood were able to push the rebels out of Dorne; Lady Toland and Lord Santagar captured and executed for their crime.
Maesters often mark this is a sudden and stark end to the Tyrell and Reach influence over the thrown. They would never achieve this level of influence again. Were once four of the King’s Seven advisors (which included a Grandmaester and Lord Commander of the Kingsguard) had been from the Reach, the number dwindled to merely one - Orton Merryweather, the Master of Whisperers - following Lord Randyll Tarly's retirement.
The First War of Reclamation[]
The Redwyne and Dornish fleets came as reinforcement to the stepstones, where they made the royal fleet of the Kingdom of the North, that brutally invaded the Stepstones, become bogged down.
In a brutal battle off the shore off the coast of Bloodstone, in which they attempted to reclaim the island, Jon Stark was killed. Lord Redwyne and Prince Martell chose to pull away from the islands like the Ironborn as the pirates became pests against the Iron Throne forces and news of a Northern Army pushing on King’s Landing concerned them.
Afterwards, Loras I Baratheon called his banners. Lord Tyrell was granted the command of parts of his armies. Tyrell was marching north into the Riverlands.
Lord Tyrell and nearly ten thousand men began to harry the southern edges of the Riverlands, dipping their toes in the proverbial pond that was the Riverlands. For several days, Tyrell sent raiding parties across the border to pick and plunder at the villages of the Trident. Lord Mallister and an army of nearly six thousand arrived to counter Lord Tyrell’s archaic attacks. They began to establish defenses for the farms and towns that were being attacked. Within a moon, Tyrell’s success rate dropped from near one-hundred percent to five percent. Tyrell ordered the raidings to cease and decided it was time to commit to hardline campaign. His first target was Pinkmaiden, where Mallister was holding his camp.
Mallister had not forgotten to fortify his own lands, however. Pinkmaiden had been turned into a fortress and would take more than just a quick assault to capture. Lord Tyrell began a slow march towards Pinkmaiden, all the way he was harried by Mallister’s counter raiding forces. They were too small to do real damage to the army but were enough to slow him down every day, picking off a dozen or so soldiers for every one defender killed along the way. By the time Tyrell reached Pinkmaiden his forces had dwindled from ten thousands to eight thousand two hundred. Mallister, meanwhile, had only lost three hundred men. Pinkmaiden was more than ready for a siege. If Tyrell wanted his prize he would need to claim it. Tyrell began construction of siege equipment in preparation to take the castle. Mallister all the while stayed inside Lord Piper’s castle. His ravens were shot down, isolating him in his keep. After nearly two moons of siege Tyrell was ready to attack.
The Dornish Rebellion[]
When Houses of the Reach and Stormlands sided with the dornish rebels, Lord Tyrell was ordered to extinguish any and all houses found directly assisting the rebels in Dorne.
His men marshalled at Highgarden. The Reach Rebels were lead by the Red Apple Fossoway’s. In order to ensure they could not attack the exposed Crownlands as they marched south with Edric and Steffon, Lord Tyrell encircled from the North, sweeping down on the Rebel’s camp. It was a costly victory, but a victory all the same. The Reach Rebels retreated down the Prince’s Pass. Tyrell would follow them, leading his forces down the Pass as well.
Lord Hightower assembled his fleet to the Royal and Stormlands fleet to assault Dorne from the south. He and the Royal Fleet sailed up the Brimstone to Hellholt. Rather than siege the castle from the ocean, Lord Hightower ordered his forces to land and assault the Keep of Lord Uller. The battle was resounding success however, Lord Hightower himself was killed. His second in command, Lord Bar Emmon assumed command of the fleets and Hellholt.
Houses Sworn to House Tyrell of Highgarden*[]
The principle noble houses sworn to House Gardener of Highgarden are:
- House Ambrose of Ambrose Keep
- House Leygood of Thunderrest
- House Yelshire of Ramstown
- House Ashford of Ashford
- House Risley of Crown Tent
- House Caswell of Bitterbridge
- House Bushy of the Hedges
- House Durwell of Durring Down
- House Footly of Tumbleton
- House Chester of Greenshield
- House Grimm of Greyshield
- House Hewett of Oakenshield
- House Serry of Southshield
- House Crane of Red Lake
- House Bridges of Red Crossing
- House Graceford of Holyhall
- House Hutcheson of Suncage
- House Shermer of Smithyton
- House Fossoway of New Barrel
- House Blackbar of Bandallon
- House Fossoway of Cider Hall
- House Middlebury of Middle Borough
- House Uffering of Iron Hand
- House Hightower of Oldtown
- House Beesbury of Honeyholt
- House Bulwer of Blackcrown
- House Costayne of Three Towers
- House Cuy of Sunhouse
- House Mullendore of the Uplands
- House Merryweather of Longtable
- House Hastwyck of Straw Hall
- House Meadows of Grassy Vale
- House Westbrook of West Brook
- House Oakheart of Old Oak
- House Graves of the Graveyard
- House Norcross of Iron Cross
- House Oldflowers of Oldhands
- House Peake of Starpike
- House Lowther of Dustonbury
- House Orme of Whitegrove
- House Redwyne of the Arbor
- House Cochshaw of the Roost
- House Dunn of Deep Dunn
- House Willum of Willowfield
- House Rowan of Goldengrove
- House Conklyn of Leafy lake
- House Osgrey of Standfast
- House Osgrey of Coldmoat
- House Roxton of the Ring
- House Stackhouse of Horseshoe Hill
- House Tarly of Horn Hill
- House Hunt of Hunter's Rest
- House Appleton of Appleton
- House Varner of Varner Keep
- House Cordwayner of Hammerhal
- House Sloane of Star Sloane
- House Ball of the Pouch
- House Vyrwel of Darkdell
- House Rhysling of the Gates
- House Wythers of Great Grove
- House Woodwright of Woodworker Rest
- House Redding of Red Rest
- House Inchfield of Inch Keep
The minor houses sworn directly to Highgarden are[]
- House Kidwell of Ivy Hall
- House Lyberr of Lyfort
- House Norridge of Quiver Keep
- House Pommingham of the Seeds
- House Tyrell of Brightwater Keep