The island of Estermont, a solitary isle in the Narrow Sea, lies just east of the storm-beaten shores of Cape Wrath. Small, mountainous, and often cloaked in mist, Estermont is home to House Estermont, whose seat, Greenstone, perches resiliently upon the isle’s rugged heights. Estermont is a place often overlooked, its damp and windswept cliffs offering little by way of wealth or grandeur, a fact noted by Archmaester Gyldayn, who described the island as "damp, windswept, and poor." Yet, beneath its austere surface, Estermont holds a quiet significance within the history of the stormlands.
The island came under the banner of the Storm Kings of House Durrandon during the reign of King Erich the Sailmaker, a ruler who expanded his realm to encompass the smaller islands to the south. With each conquest, the Storm Kings solidified their claim over the surrounding seas, and Estermont became one of many outposts from which the Durrandons watched over their domain. In later generations, some Storm Kings even stationed war fleets here, guarding their waters from the ever-present threat of piracy and foreign invaders.
The arrival of the Andals brought change to Estermont and the stormlands as a whole. Like Tarth and other nearby islands, Estermont fell to the Andals’ swift conquests, and while bloodshed was fierce, peace eventually came through marriage and alliance. The Durrandons and their First Men bannermen intermarried with the Andal conquerors, forging bonds that would define the stormlands for centuries to come.
Greenstone itself has seen more than its share of history. Near the end of 55 AC, the Targaryen princess Rhaena, ever-restless and seeking refuge, chose Greenstone as a temporary retreat. There she was joined by her cousin and dear friend, Larissa Velaryon. For a time, the castle’s lonely walls held echoes of their laughter and companionship, a brief glimmer of warmth against the island’s windswept isolation.
Though Estermont is not a seat of power or great wealth, it is a place of hardy resilience, embodying the endurance of House Estermont amid the storms that forever lash its shores.
The island came under the banner of the Storm Kings of House Durrandon during the reign of King Erich the Sailmaker, a ruler who expanded his realm to encompass the smaller islands to the south. With each conquest, the Storm Kings solidified their claim over the surrounding seas, and Estermont became one of many outposts from which the Durrandons watched over their domain. In later generations, some Storm Kings even stationed war fleets here, guarding their waters from the ever-present threat of piracy and foreign invaders.
The arrival of the Andals brought change to Estermont and the stormlands as a whole. Like Tarth and other nearby islands, Estermont fell to the Andals’ swift conquests, and while bloodshed was fierce, peace eventually came through marriage and alliance. The Durrandons and their First Men bannermen intermarried with the Andal conquerors, forging bonds that would define the stormlands for centuries to come.
Greenstone itself has seen more than its share of history. Near the end of 55 AC, the Targaryen princess Rhaena, ever-restless and seeking refuge, chose Greenstone as a temporary retreat. There she was joined by her cousin and dear friend, Larissa Velaryon. For a time, the castle’s lonely walls held echoes of their laughter and companionship, a brief glimmer of warmth against the island’s windswept isolation.
Though Estermont is not a seat of power or great wealth, it is a place of hardy resilience, embodying the endurance of House Estermont amid the storms that forever lash its shores.
