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Harrenhal’s Layout & Structure:
• Harrenhal is built on a gigantic scale; its colossal curtain walls are sheer & high as mountain cliffs, its castle covers 3 times as much ground as Winterfell, & its buildings are so much larger that they can scarcely be compared
• Harrenhal’s gatehouse is as large as Winterfell’s Great Keep
• Harrenhal’s walls & towers are made of black stone
◦ Princess Daenerys Targaryen (with the aid of other dragon-riders & their dragons, as well) uses both her dragon & her knowledge of (arcane arts, dragonfire, & sorcery) crafting fused black Valyrian dragonstone to repair & improve upon the walls & towers of Harrenhal; she used both magic & dragonflame to work the stone, turning it into liquid before shaping & fusing it
• the castle has an inexhaustible source of fresh water (a well located amidst the Hunter’s Hall, smithy, armory & Barracks Hall, & the new sept, rechristened the Silver Sept [connected to the Gods Eye lake, perhaps?])
• of the castle’s 5 towers, the shortest is half again as high as the tallest tower in Winterfell (so, Winterfell’s tallest tower is only ⅔s the height of Harrenhal’s shortest tower); the towers remained bent, lumped, & cracked (from the melting of the stone during the burning of Harrenhal by Balerion, the dragon of King Aegon I Targaryen) until Princess Daenerys Targaryen had them restored, & reshaped in the likeness of Old Valyria’s topless towers
• **fresh, clean water is piped through walls & chambers throughout the castle’s complex via a connecting series of [glazed] pipes & tunnels made of Valyrian steel, designed, crafted, & outfitted by Daenerys herself; she based her designs off of the pipes in Winterfell’s castle’s complex, & Harrenhal’s series of pipes & tunnels provide water (heated or unheated, as needed) year-round to the castle’s inhabitants**
• The Names of the 5 Towers of Harrenhal:
◦ Tower of Dread, now renamed the Dragon’s Tower (named in honor of both Balerion & Aegon I Targaryen, who freed the Riverlands from Black Harren Hoare’s tyranny), is near the middle bailey & the mews
◦ Widow’s Tower, now renamed the Crone’s Tower (named in honor of the Crone, 1 of the 7 aspects of the deity worshipped by the Faith of the 7), connects to the Maiden’s Tower (formerly the Kingspyre Tower) via a stone bridge, & underneath there is a great cell (that was originally used to keep prisoners), renamed the Scribe’s Cell, where [silver] acolytes perform their scribing duties
‣ **though each of Harrenhal’s 5 towers contains a library, the Crone’s Tower contains Harrenhal’s main—& largest—archives & library**
◦ Wailing Tower, now renamed the Mother’s Tower (named in honor of the Mother, 1 of the 7 aspects of the deity worshipped by the Faith of the 7), contains storerooms on the ground floor & cavernous [huge subterranean] vaults beneath (all of which are well-stocked with provisions)
◦ Tower of Ghosts, now renamed the Stranger’s Tower (named in honor of the Stranger, 1 of the 7 aspects of the deity worshipped by the Faith of the 7), is near the postern gate & the rebuilt sept
◦ Kingspyre Tower, now renamed the Maiden’s Tower (named in honor of the Maiden, 1 of the 7 aspects of the deity worshipped by the Faith of the 7), contains the castellan’s chambers, & it connects to the Crone’s Tower (formerly the Widow’s Tower) via a stone bridge
• Harrenhal’s [Known] Gates:
◦ the main gate has walls so thick that no less than a 12 murder holes are passed before a man or woman reaches the yard on the other side
◦ the east gate is smaller than the main gate, & is located near the the Stranger’s Tower (formerly the Tower of Ghosts)
• Harrenhal’s Hall of the Hundred Hearths is the castle’s great hall; it in truth has only 35 hearths (33-35 hearths in the canon-timeline), which Princess Daenerys Targaryen proclaimed was [ostensibly] to honor each of the aspects of the 7—that is, 5 hearths for each member of the 7 (since 5 x 7 = 35), but this hall is said to be able to entertain an army, & its floors are smooth slate & there are steps to 2 galleries above
• Harrenhal’s kitchens are located in a round stone building with a domed roof containing nothing but kitchens, & the kitchens are as large as Winterfell’s Great Hall
• Harrenhal’s Barracks Hall above the armory is where the women-at-arms take their meals
• adjoining Harrenhal’s armory is the smithy, a long building in the shape of a tunnel; it has 20 forges, stone water troughs, & a high roof
• Harrenhal’s Hunter’s Hall is another hall of the castle
• Harrenhal’s mews are said to be haunted by the spirits of dead falcons
• Harrenhal’s long stables have slate roofs & can house 1,000 horses
• Harrenhal’s godswood is walled over 20 acres, & has a small stream running through it; the wood contains oaks, pines, & sentinels; its heart tree, a weirwood, appears to have a terrible visage full of hatred, with a twisted mouth & flaring eyes
• Harrenhal’s Flowstone Yard is where women-at-arms exercise & drill & girls/young women clean arms & armor; it has a relatively smooth surface (before Princess Daenerys had it repaired, it had a lumpy surface) & is located near the Mother’s Tower (formerly the Wailing Tower); there is a covered gallery above the yard with arches looking towards it
• Harrenhal’s bear pit is 10 yards across & 5 yards across, walled in stone, floored with sand, & encircled by 6 tiers of marble benches; it is located in the middle ward; this structure is no longer used as a bear pit (Princess Daenerys loathes cruelty to beasts, & forbade it being used as such), & instead is used as a place for girls & women to also drill with wood & steel, & to give demonstrations & lessons of skill at arms
• Harrenhal’s bathhouse is a low-ceilinged room filled with great stone tubs large enough to hold 6-7 people after the fashion of the Free Cities; the bathhouse is made of stone & timber, with 2 entrances to the room (before Princess Daenerys had it rebuilt, the bathhouse had only 1 entrance)
Harrenhal’s Surroundings:
• Harrenhal’s holdings are some of the richest in Westeros, claiming vast tracts of green fertile land, which reach as far as the hills of House Wode near the Crownlands
• the great castle of Harrenhal & its town, Harrentown a.k.a. Harrenton (Harrentown itself is found outside the western walls of Harrenhal), sit astride the Gods Eye lake’s northern shore, while an unnamed town is along the southern shore
◦ Princess Daenerys Targaryen (with the aid of other dragon-riders & their dragons, as well) uses both her dragon & her knowledge of (arcane arts, dragonfire, & sorcery) crafting fused black Valyrian dragonstone to repair & improve upon the walls (& some of the buildings) of Harrentown
◦ at Harrentown, hundreds of women (who attend &/or live in Harrenhal) meet their husbands in the Maidens’ Markets & Widows’ Fairs that are held there yearly
• the Gods Eye is the largest lake of the 7 Kingdoms, & is located south of the Trident & west of the Iron Road** in the southern Riverlands
• the Gods Eye is said to have odd currents & hungry fish
• when warm, the water of the Gods Eye is blue & green, & glimmers in sunlight, but during winter its pewter waters resemble cold steel
• at the lake’s center is a lone island, the Isle of Faces, which was where the Pact between the Children of the Forest & the First Men was created
• black swans live in the vicinity of Gods Eye lake, & there is a lake road near Harrenhal; the landscape near the great castle is a patchwork of rolling hills, meandering streams, sunlit fields, & holdfasts, while further south it is forested
• the Gods Eye feeds an unnamed river that flows south to the Blackwater Rush, & the holdfast of Briarwhite is south of the lake & east of the river
• among the lake’s feeder streams is the Rippledown Rill
• Note - the Riverlands:
◦ ‘the Riverlands are rich & fertile & populous; the numerous rivers that run across their expanse are used for trading & the transport of goods; in times of peace fisherfolk in skiffs & grain barges pole downstream & merchants on floating ships sail on the rivers; with so much trade on the rivers, villagers will haul their grain & other goods to it to see it sold & carried elsewhere by the merchants; wine can be made from small, tart grapes grown in the Riverlands’
Harrenhal’s [Current] Household:
• Ruling Lady of Harrenhal: Princess Daenerys Targaryen, the Darling of the Realm (& later known as Daenerys the Daring, Daenerys the Devout, etc.)
• Castellan: Lady Lyarra Mormont**
◦ Lady Lyarra Mormont**, a younger sister to the then-current Lord of Bear Island, was appointed the castellan of Harrenhal, as Princess Daenerys desired a woman with experience & skill in arms/warfare to take up this position
• High Steward/Lady Steward: Lady Jessamyn Manderly (daughter of Lord Theomore Manderly; she acted as Alysanne’s cupbearer while the Queen was at White Harbor in 58 AC, & had least 3 brothers & a [older] sister, Lady Mara Manderly)
• Mistress-at-Arms: Xanda Xaq**, a warrior woman from southwestern Jhala of the Summer Isles
• Captain of the Household Guards: Lady Lythene Vypren**, the youngest daughter of the then-current Lord Vypren
• Septa Morya [Rivers]**: maintains the castle’s sept a.k.a. the Silver Sept
• Septa Carolei [Hill]**: instructs the younger children at Harrenhal
• Mistress of Horse: Bethany Rivers**, natural-born daughter of Lord Bracken, Lord of Stone Hedge
• Kennelmistress: Lady Jyana Blackmyre**, a younger daughter of the then-current Lord Blackmyre
• Head Blacksmith: Bellena Waters**, to those living in & near Harrenhal, she is known as “Bellena the Blacksmith”
• Head Cook: Petra Flowers**
• Head Brewer: Wylla Stone**
Harrenhal’s Rebirth:
• Princess Daenerys Targaryen is granted Harrenhal in perpetuity in 73 AC by her father King Jaehaerys I Targaryen & Queen Alysanne I Targaryen, & the rebuilding of Harrenhal begins (overseen by Princess Daenerys); the justification for this is given as such:
◦ Princess Daenerys Targaryen is thought to be barren, according to all of the maesters & midwives that have examined her thus far, & as such, giving her hand in marriage would be construed as a less-than-fruitful match for any prospective husbands (as it is very unlikely she could ever conceive & bear heirs)
◦ she is recorded as having said, quite wryly, to her companions at one time, “I must confess that I do not have the makings of a septa or a Silent Sister, as I am not given overmuch to meekness & silence.”
◦ she pondered the choices available to her, & after consulting her grandmother Alyssa, her aunts Rhaena & Vaella, her sisters Maegelle & Alyssa, her cousin Aerea, & her mother’s septas & Septon Barth, she then privately confided in her father & mother, asking them as to what her future might hold
◦ Jaehaerys & Alysanne offered to let her remain in her rooms at the Red Keep, or to set her up in a nearby manse in King’s Landing, or to let her establish a household in Dragonstone’s castle, or to perhaps even find her lands & have a castle built for her (anything within reason, her father appended)
◦ Daenerys gently declined the offer, stating ruefully that while she loved her family dearly, she had no inclination to live in the shadow of her father & mother, or her younger brother Aemon, the heir to the Iron Throne (& by extension, the Prince of Dragonstone); she explained to them that “Almost all of the lands are taken, almost all of the castles occupied. If I am to do this, & do it well, I need lands, people, a castle”… “& yet, for all my boldness, I will not incur the well-earned anger of some Lord by unjustly taking away a portion of his lands, merely because I lack them.”
◦ “Well then, if that is not to your liking, what do you propose instead?”, her father inquired.
◦ she paused, then added “I would prefer to have a place where no lord may threaten me, banish me, or trouble those I have taken under my protection, & I have just such a place in mind. Harrenhal.”
◦ “Why ever would you choose Harrenhal, of all castles?” Jaehaerys looked bemused, “It is a vast, hulking ruin with a sinister reputation, & has been abandoned for years.”
◦ “Just so,” Daenerys replied, “That is precisely why I desire to have it as my seat. The castle’s vast size & lands make it a suitable fit for a Princess of the blood, & room enough for my dragon, too, & since no Lord holds it presently, no one can in truth gainsay (contest) my becoming its Lady, as I am not forcibly nor unlawfully seizing a Lord’s castle or lands. I have other reasons as well, if you would hear them out.” “I would indeed.” Jaehaerys leaned towards her, curious.
◦ “Very well. As you recall, I have made it a habit these past few years of attending some of the meetings of the small council, as well as the times when you or mother sit the Iron Throne, & enact laws, issue decrees, make proclamations, & pass sentences…”. Her father nodded, “I do indeed, since I myself requested your presence, as well as Aemon’s & Baelon’s.” “Then you should know that I have attended many, if not most, of my mother’s women’s courts, & there I have heard of the many injustices & cruelties that those womenfolk have endured.”
◦ “I also recall how mother proposed to the archmaesters that they should consider admitting highborn girls to their Citadel, though they have yet to make good on that proposal…”
◦ “You see, mother, father, I do not ask for Harrenhal only because I desire seat of my own… I wish to do as you & mother have done. I wish protect & provide for those less fortunate than us, & give them a chance to take part in bettering the realm, as septon Barth & Septa Lyra have done. And who is less fortunate in all our realm than the dispossessed girls & women living in it?”
◦ “My aim is thus: I wish to have a place to gather as many of the unlucky girls & women of this realm as I can… female orphans, smallfolk, baseborn, & bastards all, & take them under my protection, where I will give them food, a safe shelter, a way to earn their keep, & the choice to marry, if any of them so will it. It’s a far better fate than starvation, or thievery, or whoring, you must admit.”
◦ Queen Alysanne I Targaryen appeared pensive “My darling girl, we already have many almshouses, motherhouses, & orphanages set aside for such things, all across the 7 Kingdoms,” “We do indeed, mother,” Daenerys nodded agreeably at her words, “but at almost every one of those places that we have visited, we have been told time & time again that they lack the room & coin & food necessary to care for all of these poor souls, though not from indolence on the septas’ & septons’ part”. “That is why I ask for Harrenhal. It is a massive castle, with plenty of room to spare, & its lands are as vast as they are rich & fertile. It will be no true hardship to house myself & the people that join me, once everything has been sorted out.”
◦ “It is as you say, perhaps in the future”, her mother replied, “but as of now, Harrenhal is in a state of severe disrepair, & its size means that to rebuild would require a great deal of time & effort & coin, & I know well that you yourself do not have coin enough to do this. How do you propose to solve that issue, my daughter?”
◦ “I may not have enough coin by myself, presently, but I certainly do have a great many jewels, & it is no difficulty for me to pledge most of those jewels to cover the remaining costs. I think, too, that the Most Devout & quite a few nobles could be persuaded to make their contributions as well, seeing it as an act of charity & as a way to gain favor with the Iron Throne.”
◦ & so King Jaehaerys I Targaryen & Queen Alysanne I Targaryen granted Princess Daenerys Targaryen Harrenhal & its surrounding lands, by right, to do with as she would.