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  ==Westeros ==
  The story takes place primarily on a continent called '''Westeros''', which is roughly the size of South America. The continent is home to the Seven Kingdoms and lands beyond the great Wall, which makes up a large chunk of Westeros, being roughly the size of Canada, with most of it largely unmapped and unexplored.
  At the novel's beginning, the majority of Westeros is united under the rule of one king, with each of nine regions controlled by a different major house. Martin here drew inspiration from medieval European history, in particular the Hundred Years' War, the Crusades, the Albigensian Crusade, and the Wars of the Roses.
  The first inhabitants of the continent were the Children of the Forest, a nature-worshipping anthropoid species who carved the faces of their gods in weirwood trees. Some time later, the First Men's attempts at cultivating the land led to a war with the Children of the Forest that eventually was settled by an agreement known as "The Pact". This was the beginning of the Age of Heroes. During that time, the First Men adopted the gods of the Children of the Forest. Those gods later became known in Westeros as the Old Gods.
  Eight thousand years before the events of the novels, an enigmatic species called the Others emerged from the furthermost north during the decades-long winter known as "The Long Night". The Children of the Forest and the First Men jointly repelled the Others and then built a massive wall barring passage from the far north.
  Sometime later, the Andals invaded Westeros and established the Faith of the Seven, writing, and steel. Only the North remained unconquered. The Children of the Forest disappeared from Andal lands. Over time, '''seven kingdoms''' were forged across Westeros: The North, The Iron Islands (inclusive of the riverlands and parts of the crownlands), The Vale, The Westerlands, The Stormlands (inclusive of the remaining parts of the crownlands), The Reach, and Dorne. The Seven Kingdoms were constantly at war with one another, and no kingdom remained dominant for long.
  Three hundred years before the novels begin, Aegon the Conqueror and his two Targaryen sister-wives came from Dragonstone and landed at present-day King's Landing. The three assembled a temporary bastion, known as "Aegon's Fort", which grew into the capital city, later known as King's Landing. Their powerful dragons overwhelmed six of the Seven Kingdoms through conquest or treaty, with Dorne remaining independent for another two hundred years until it was absorbed through a marriage-alliance. The Targaryens built the Iron Throne, which consists of the swords of defeated rulers, fused together by dragonfire. They also established King's Landing as their capital city and consolidated parts of surrounding regions of the riverlands and stormlands into the crownlands region. They remained the ruling power on the continent until deposed by a rebellion led by Robert Baratheon.