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House Targaryen, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, Prince of Dragonstone. A noble family of Valyrian descent, House Targaryen is the only family of dragonlords who survived the Doom of Valyria. They left Valyria twelve years before the Doom occurred and resided for more than a century on the island of Dragonstone, until Aegon the Conqueror and his sister-wives began their conquest in 2 BC. House Targaryen ruled as the kings on the Iron Throne and as the Great House of the crownlands for nearly three hundred years. A total of thirteen Targaryens kings sat on the Iron Throne, until the reign of Aerys II Targaryen ended with Robert's Rebellion, in which the Targaryens were overthrown. The typical Targaryen features remind strongly of the typical Valyrian features: pale skin, silver, platinum, or gold hair and eyes in a variety of shades of purple, or light blue.

“Madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin. Every time a new Targaryen is born...the gods toss the coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land.”

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House Stark, Lord of Winterfell, Warden of the North. Historically, Kings of the North, House Stark is an ancient house of First Men descent. The Stark look consists of a long face, a lean build, dark brown hair and grey eyes. Steadfast, honorable, tragic. Snow and crypts. Wolves and weirwoods.

“The winters are hard, but the Starks will endure.”

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House Seaworth, Lord of Cape Wrath in the Stormlands. A fledgling house, House Seaworth was founded when Stannis Baratheon knighted Ser Davos for his bravery in smuggling food to his forces during the Siege of Storm’s End. For his years of smuggling, however, Stannis took some of Davos’ fingers.

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House Reed, Lord of Greywater Watch, Sworn to Stark. Rules the crannogmen, small men who live in swamps and marshes in the Neck. They share a deep connection to the Children of the Forest. There is no maester there, nor any knights or masters-at-arms.

“Their houses move, even the castles like Greywater Watch.”

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House Redwyne, Lord of the Arbor, sworn to House Tyrell. Redwyne is a powerful house and their fleet provides a significant portion of the fleet of the Reach, owning 200 warships and five times as many merchant vessels. The Redwynes claim descent from Gilbert of the Vines, a legendary son of Garth Greenhand, who taught the people of the Arbor how to make wine. Their wines are still renowned the world over.

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House Mormont, Lord of Bear Island. Their hall is made of huge logs, surrounded by an earthen palisade. On the gate is a carving of a woman in a bearskin with a child in one arm suckling at her breast and a battleaxe in the other. Like the other women of Bear Island, the women of House Mormont learn how to defend themselves.

Legend has it that King in the North Rodrik Stark won Bear Island in a wrestling match and gave it to the Mormonts.

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House Martell, Lord of the Sandship, Lord of Sunspear, Prince of Dorne. Salty Dornishmen, with dark eyes, dark hair in ringlets, and olive skin. When the warrior queen Nymeria came with her people to Westeros from Essos, the Martell lands were dwarfed by other dornish houses, Nymeria took Mors Martell, as her husband and the two united all of Dorne under their rule. House Nymeros Martell has reigned since.

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House Manderly, Lord of White Harbor, Warden of the White Knife, Shield of the Faith, Defender of the Dispossessed, Lord Marshal of the Mander, Knight of the Order of the Green Hand.

“A thousand years before the Conquest, a promise was made, and oaths were sworn in the Wolf's Den before the old gods and the new. When we were sore beset and friendless, hounded from our homes and in peril of our lives, the wolves took us in and nourished us and protected us against our enemies. The city is built upon the land they gave us. In return we swore that we should always be their men. Stark men!”

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House Mallister, Lord of Seagard, sworn to House Tully. One of the most prominent noble houses from the riverlands. Seagard is a fortress built to defend the coast against the reavers from the Iron Islands, and dates from before Aegon's Conquest--the Mallisters distrust the Ironborn. Exceedingly loyal to Catelyn Tully and Eddard Stark during Robert’s Rebellion.

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House Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock, Shield of Lannisport, Warden of the West.Fair-haired, tall, and handsome, the Lannisters are the blood of Andal adventurers who carved out a mighty kingdom in the western hills and valleys. Proud, ambitious, clever. Gold and arrogance. Lions and emerald eyes.

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House Karstark, Lord of Karhold, the Sun of Winter. The Karstarks are descendants of the First Men and have the blood of the Starks of Winterfell in their veins from a thousand years before. Karstarks are big, fierce men, bearded and long-haired, with brown hair and blue-grey eyes, and favor wearing cloaks made of the pelts of seals, bears, and wolves.

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House Hightower, Lord of the Port, Voice of Oldtown, Defender of the Citadel, Beacon of the South, sworn to House Tyrell. The Hightowers are among the oldest and proudest of the Great Houses. They have often preferred trade instead of war, and have avoided many wars because of their support for the Faith of the Seven. Some Hightowers are said to have dabbled in alchemy and necromancy...

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House Greyjoy, King of Salt and Rock, Son of the Sea Wind, Lord Reaper of Pyke. Descended from the Grey King of the Age of Heroes, who ruled not only the western isles but the sea itself, and took a mermaid to wife. Harsh, traditional, merciless. Iron and Rock. Sea spray and salt.

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House Frey, Lord of the Crossing, sworn to House Tully. One of the younger houses in Westeros, dating back some six centuries when its founder was awarded lands and nobility. The founding Frey had a vision of building a great bridge spanning the Green Fork of the Trident.

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House Florent, Lord of Brightwater, sworn to House Tyrell. Descendants of Garth the Gardener, through Florys the Fox. Known for having prominent ears.

“Every great lord has unruly bannermen who envy him his place. My father had the Reynes and the Tarbecks, the Tyrells have the Florents,..”

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As the series begins to wind down, I’m more and more interested in what happens in Westerns after Dany’s arrival. As any fan might, I have my own endgame in mind--not necessarily the one I want most, but the one that I think makes most sense. So keeping that endgame in mind, I’ve been thinking of writing a thing...maybe...

Twenty years after The Mother of Dragons’ Return, Queen Daenerys rules in relative peace. The Houses that reigned during Robert’s Rebellion have been entirely reshaped, some having gone extinct altogether. House Tyrell still struggles to recover from the Burning of Baelor’s Sept, but is led steadily by Ser Garlan Tyrell and his wife, Lady Leonette. While the pair loves their five daughters dearly, as they near their fifties, the Tyrells are losing all hope of a male heir. Without one, and with the recent death of Willas, the Tyrells of Highgarden face a constant threat of usurpation from the Florents, who retook Brightwater Keep after the death of Mace Tyrell.

But these are background worries. Most days, the family revels in delight as its daughters succeed and stun the land. The Golden Roses, they are often called, each a different shape. The garments that Cassana spends hours embroidering are in such high demand that she must be careful of aspiring ladies-in-waiting who only long for a chance at one of her shawls. Her thorn-less rose variety has revolutionized the landscape of Highgarden. Myrielle’s voice sparked rumors that, while her mother was pregnant with her, the expecting Lady Leonette spent all of her free time listening to the Bard of Highgarden, crying over the death of the late Lady Margery whom she loved like a sister. All of that teary sweetness blooms when Myrielle sings. Gwynesse’s strength and agility are unparalleled in the Reach—her respect for swordsmanship comes from her father and her determination to serve in the Queensguard comes from tales of the Lady Brienne of Tarth, who she has admired since she was a child. Sarella is blessed with all of the incandescent beauty that the gods bestowed on her legendary aunt, but she pairs it with a modesty and sincerity that garners as much admiration from the other ladies of the Reach as it does from her suitors. Her company is the most sought after outside of Queen’s Landing. Helaena was the first woman from the Reach admitted entrance into the Citadel, where she promptly determined the genealogy of the Tyrells, finally and officially linking them to the real man who inspired legends of Garth the Gardener. Her strategic mind makes her an invaluable member of her father’s council.

Ser Garlan knows that the world still belongs to man. But the world is changing, with or without him. And the world may one day belong to his daughters.

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House Dayne, Lord of Starfall, Historical King of the Torrentine. Ten thousand years old from the Dawn of Days. Ancient, dignified, tragic. Dawn and lavender. Swords and stardust.