Northern mountain clans

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Northern mountain clans, are northmen groups who dwell in the mountains north of Winterfell and in their foothills along the shore of the Bay of Ice.

Description

The quarrelsome clans of the rugged northwest are a hardy people who, like other northmen, claim descent from the First Men and worship the old gods. There are roughly forty mountain clans, large and small, the most prominent of which are the First Flints, the Wulls, the Norreys, the Burleys, the Harclays, the Liddles, and the Knotts. They have inhabited the mountains north of the Wolfswood for thousands of years.

The Wulls and Flints are currently the strongest of the clans. The Flints and Norreys live closest to The Gift, and are thus the most exposed to wildling raiders who cross the Gorge. Clan Norrey in particular is a noted friend of the Night's Watch. Living along the Bay of Ice, the Wulls and other clans have also clashed with the ironborn in the past. These threats and their own inter-clan feuds have instilled a fierce martial spirit in the mountain folk. In battle, clan champions fight with huge two-handed greatswords. The common men sling stones or wield staffs of mountain ash. Given their home terrain, it is unlikely that they have a strong cavalry tradition.

Although they do not consider themselves truly highborn, the chiefs of these clans are given the treatment of “lord” by their lieges, the Starks of Winterfell. Among themselves, the clansmen style their leaders as “The [clan name]”; i.e. the chieftain of Clan Liddle would be known as The Liddle. This practice extends to other usage; Lord Eddard Stark is called “The Ned” by the clans.

Given their high latitude and sparse resources, the clans suffer population strain during winter years. The young are sent to the Starks’ winter town, and old men often announce that they are “going hunting.” Some are found the next spring; more are never seen again.

Recent Events

While the clans sent some men south to fight alongside King Robb in the War of the Five Kings, most of their strength remained in the mountains. Later, when Stannis I Baratheon tried to curry favor with the northern lords by freeing their western strongholds from the ironborn, he began by enlisting the aid of Old Torghen Flint and Hugo “Big Bucket” Wull. Stannis was the first king the clans had seen since Torrhen Stark knelt before Aegon the Conqueror, and by observing the courtesies suggested by Lord Commander Jon Snow of the Night’s Watch, Stannis was able to rally the mountain folk and liberate Deepwood Motte, earning the loyalty of House Glover and House Mormont. During the army’s snow-plagued march toward Bolton-occupied Winterfell, Stannis’ own southron knights struggled even to survive, while the snowshoe-clad clansmen were able to soldier on with relative ease. As the outcome of the ensuing battle remains unknown, so does the current state of the clans.