Oldtown

This page has not yet been updated from the Age of the Dance of the Dragons. While everything is historically correct, it does not represent things as they currently are.

Location Details
Address: The Reach
Coordinates: Southwest Coast
Owner: House Hightower
Type: City, Grid Location
Wealth: Destitute - Opulent

Oldtown is the oldest of Westerosi cities and one of the premier ports on the continent. It is on the Whispering Sound, at the southwestern edge of the continent of Westeros.

The Citadel, where Maesters are trained, is located here, making Oldtown the seat of Westerosi history and learning. The Starry Sept is here. It was the original Seat of the Faith of the Seven and after the Wildfire explosion of the Great Sept of Baelor in King's Landing, it is once again.

The lords of Oldtown are House Hightower, one time kings of the First Men. In the recent upheavals, wars, and rebellions, House Hightower managed to stay out of things enough that they were awarded the lands of many houses that weren't so lucky. So while they are now bannermen to House Bronn, the Hightowers' lands and vassal houses now cover everything south of Highgarden. Their seat is the Hightower, a great white lighthouse and the tallest structure in Westeros. Its beacon is visible several miles out to sea, and it is one of the Nine Wonders Made by Man written about by Lomas Longstrider.

Oldtown is an ancient and gracious city, with clean, stone-cobbled streets that cross over little rivers and canals. These tamed tributaries to the Honeywine are strictly patrolled where they are uncovered and cleverly diverted by old fitted stone, such that all but the worst neighborhoods have a stream fit to drink from and another for dumping filth. There are stone buildings that have stood and been maintained for thousands of years, some breathtakingly grand and some simple. Between the main thoroughfares, the city is a labyrinth of twisting wynds and allies. Oldtown lacks the widespread squalor of King's Landing and most of the stink and is considerably safer for gentlefolk. Less-than-gentle-folk might be made unwelcome by the watch if they visit the wrong neighborhoods. It's the largest and most beautiful city on the continent, and a draw for many people.

Oldtown is a maze of alleys, streets, and canals, thousands of places to explore, visit or get lost forever in. The locations listed focus on several main areas throughout Oldtown. Starting with the main waterway that goes through the city, Honeywine River. The river's source is north of the city at Brightwater Keep. It flows in a variety of turbulence depending on the area of the river. The Citadel straddles the river on the northern side of the city, it and it's bridge act as a dam to keep the river from flooding or tempering its flow. The next major bridge over the Honeywine is the Starry Bridge, named for the Sacred Quarter it connects to. The Hightower bridge arches over the southron most part of the river where it empties out into the Whispering Sound. Battle Island the foundation of the Hightower forks the river around it with a drawbridge that attaches the island with the namesake bridge.

On the west bank of the river there is a smaller portion of the city than there is on the east bank, but to the west is still many an important location in the Tourney District, the Sacred Quater, and the Whispering Wharf.

Oldtown is known to be where chivalry and Knighthood were born, so as could be imagined, tournaments and knightly pursuits and accommodations are important in the city. The entire northwest portion of the city is dedicated to knighthood, tourneys, armorsmiths, weaponsmiths, and stables for knights steeds.

The Sacred Quarter is the religious heart of the city and is the location of the Starry Sept, the seat of the Faith of the Seven among other smaller shrines, temples and the like to the other gods and goddesses of the world.

The southeast most side of the city is dominated by The Wharves and houses the smaller sailing vessels that have trouble should the Whispering Sound become turbulent.

The east bank is home to Arts District which is east of the Citadel and north of Oldtown Street, which is north of Hightower Street to the east of Battle Island that is at the base of The Hightower. The further east in the city, the older and seedier it gets with places like Ragpyker Wynd where the secretive entrance into the most dangerous part of Oldtown, the Undercity, can be found. There is one place in the east of town that's a stark contrast from the slums to the south. In the northeast most part of the city is Beacon Boulevard that goes up Highborn Hills. The Boulevard leads to the main gate in and out of the city and along with the tree-studded immaculate road noble estates and houses cast long shadows over the slums to the south.

Directory

A B C D
1 Tourney District - A,1 Citadel Bridge - B,1 Arts District - C,1 Highborn Hills - D,1 1
2 Sacerd Quarter - A,2 Starry Bridge - B,2 Market - C,2 Undercity - D,2 2
3 Whispering Wharf - A,3 Hightower Bridge - B,3 Harbour - C,3 Commons - D,3 3
A B C D

Besides the town there are several surrounding environs of Oldtown:

  • The Honeywine River & Canals goes through the center of the city.
  • The Beach on the southeast side of the city.
  • The Tidal Pools to the east of the harbor below the Commons
  • Blackcrown Road goes out of the Tourney District's Champion's Gate leading southwest to Blackcrown.
  • Rose Road goes northeast out of its gate in Highborn Hills all the way to Highgarden and then to King's Landing
  • River Road goes north through the River Gate in the Arts District all the way to Brightwater Keep in a picturesque route hugging the east bank of the Honeywine River.
  • Beacon Wood spans both sides of the Honeywine River to the north of the city it is large though not too dense.
  • The Whispering Sound is a large bay to the south of the city, its source is the Honeywine River and it empties out into the Redwyne Strait.

The Neighborhoods of Oldtown

Arts District (C-1)

An area for the rich and famous to live and indulge in some of the finest products.

A district that is mostly dedicated to the fine arts, filled with shops dedicated to the selling of supplies and the more finished products in painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and poetry. It also features the performing arts including theatre and dance. The renowned Whimsy Theater is here and people come from all over Westeros and the world to catch the productions performed there. Because of the upper echelon residents that live here, shops cater to those with rich tastes. Baubles, musical instruments, jewelry, silks, satins and various other shiny things that are meant to catch the eye of rich city-dwellers with stags or dragons burning holes in their purses. In Oldtown, the different neighborhoods or districts have different brightly colored clay-tiled rooves. In the Arts District, perhaps because of all of the apple trees found around the area the architects chose bright apple red for the roofing here.

Locations found here:

River Road

Whimsy Way

Appletree Wynd

Citadel Bridge (B-1)

The location of The Citadel is surrounded by businesses of scholarly pursuits.

The Citadel, seat of all Maesters spans the entire river, high arches of indestructible stone in the foundation allow the Honeywine to flow north to south through the rest of Oldtown. The bridge itself is wide and at the center of the bridge's peak is the drawbridge on the northern side into the Citadel itself. The gates are flanked by a pair of tall green sphinxes with the bodies of lions, the wings of eagles and the tails of serpents. One has the face of a man, the other a woman. Of the three major bridges in Oldtown, the Citadel Bridge is the most austere. Strong, simple, but stunning. The only real thing of note about them is that the chains of previous Archmaesters and legendary Maesters are transfixed to the bridge, be it hanging from the wrought iron lamps or set into the stones of the bridge. The precious metals are left alone by the ilk of Oldtown for it is said that anyone that should steal even a chip of a link and anyone that touches it thereafter will face a most horrific slow death.

Locations found here:

Commons (D-3)

A poor area for smallfolk, typically craftsmen and laborers to live, congregate, and sell their raw products.

The Commons is a place for the salt-of-the-earth, labor-force smallfolk to live and congregate. Where the Market is the place to sell products it is in the Commons where those things are crafted. Tanners, candle works, smithies, livestock pens, butcheries, mills, weavers, and the like are stacked up against each other. Narrow twisting alleys are sometimes dark tunnels between buildings. Shambling timber buildings perch precariously atop them. Ragpyke Wynd is one of the main thoroughfares in the Commons and there is scarce enough room for three grown men to walk side-by-side. The buildings here are heavily pitted and scarred, the stoneworking showing its age.

The gutters here aren't covered in fancy iron grates like they are in the richer parts of town. Simply trenches in the packed dirt to either side of the poorly cobbled "roads" filled with effluvia and wastewater from the townspeople. Occasionally chamber pots and other less savory things are emptied from above, requiring travelers to watch the windows of the timber shambles above them. This combined with the odors of the surrounding crafts makes the commons a place where many wear veils over their noses and highborn nobles hold citrus fruits riveted with cloves when they visit.

It is rather easy to tell one neighborhood from the other in Oldtown. An architect centuries ago thought to dye the clay of the roof tiles put on buildings in the different areas.

Locations found here:

Ragpyker Wynd

The Shambles

Washer Wynd

Harbor (C-3)

A place for tall ships, galleys, carracks, all manner of large sea-going vessels and their crews.

The harbor isn't just a row of docks or piers that large ships anchor to. It is the dry dock, the lodgings to house the crews when they come to shore, the eateries and taverns that support them, and the Portmaster's office. Lined with aged stone buildings, these support the weight of timber-framed over-hanging houses that look none too steady. The dockside can be seen quite clearly from the street, with the Whispering Sound beyond.

The shops here deal with the business of the sea. Warehouses, import and export mercantile, taverns and brothels, like the Black Mermaid Inn, await the coin of sailors fresh from the docks. The shabby Hammock House stands at a lean, awaiting tenants. At the south end of the Square, nearest the docks, stands the Beakhead House, a structure made from the wood of a wrecked ship, with the curved beakhead tip of her bow serving as an awning over the door.

Locations found here:

River Road

Harbor Square

Ships in Harbor:

Highborn Hills (D-1)

An opulent area only for those of great noble status.

While from the bird's eye view, Oldtown is a rather perfect circle of the city within the high walls protecting it; from sea-level, the city is quite dynamic and comes in a variety of heights and angles. The cove the city sits within slopes up to great hilly heights on the northeast most side. Providing the best views for the residents of the sprawling estates found in the area known as Highborn Hills. Beacon Boulevard is a large, stately passage, wide and well-furnished with green grass, trees, and flower-gardens. There are smooth grey stone benches for one to sit and rest a bit between their travels. Almost every major noble house has a manse or estate in Oldtown. The homes away from home of most of the Great Houses can all be found in the hilly area, hence the name of the neighborhood, Highborn Hills.

While the exterior of the walls and gatehouse is austere, the inside of the walls and gatehouse are buttressed and filigreed with images of sphinxes and many columns are fashioned to replicate the Hightower. Intricate and breathtaking as only a noble quarter should be. Running diagonally through The Hills is the Rose Road, the parade area to the southwest is the source of the main thoroughfare that goes from Highborn Hills, through the massive main gates and the flanking Watch House out of the city all the to King's Landing via Highgarden. Crossing the Rose Road in its northwest to southeast curvature almost paralleling the city walls is Beacon Boulevard. Here along this magnificent tree-lined double road with a median full of fountains and gardens is estates that only the most opulently wealthy could afford.

Locations found here:

Beacon Boulevard

Hightower Bridge (B-3)

The governing houses of the Reach and Westeros are located off this bridge

Where the Citadel bridge is austere and the Starry Bridge is pious, Hightower Bridge is Majestic. Statues of the old Hightower Kings line the white stone arches that cross the Honeywine River. Braziers which are miniature replicas of the Hightower are always lit night or day. A massive drawbridge is what connects Hightower Bridge with Battle Island to the south where the tallest building in all of Westeros literally towers high over its city. Guards of House Hightower are always patrolling the bridge. Sometimes they are joined by the Tyrell and Targaryen Guards as well.

An elegant green marble bridge with gilded railings and starlings that resemble woven rose bushes arches from Hightower bridge to the northwest connecting to Garden Isle where the Estate of House Tyrell can be seen towering over the walls hidden by verdant hedges.

Another bridge that connects the island to the northeast is undoubtedly the Royal Estate in Oldtown. Stone Dragons soar and twist together along the black marble bridge. Even when there is no royal at home, the island is well guarded and its household on premises awaiting any sudden royal visitor.

Locations found here:

Market (C-2)

A comfortable area for those of smallfolk that have been prosperous enough

Along the east bank of the river is a stunningly beautiful white castle stone street with arching rails set with wrought iron street lamps on the riverside. River Road travels the whole length of the river within the city, but it is clear when the road is in the Art District as many of the large rectangles of white stone are painted with murals. This street goes from the Harbor Plaza on the southern side of the city to the River Gate in the city wall on the northern side of the city.

This area puts the old in Oldtown. The city is the oldest in Westeros and this part of it is where it all started. Between older but well-kept buildings are ruins of the First Men. Every era of Westeros can be seen in the nooks and crannies of this neighborhood.

Usually, it is packed with people from all walks of life. Food vendors offer sizzling, toothsome-smelling dishes, and peddlers offering every sort of thing one can possibly buy with coin line the cobbled walkways crying carpets, weapons, wines, scrolls, armor, cloth, tools, cookware, and myriads of cheap trinkets and useful oddments. There is a general babble of voices as the city folk tries to negotiate with the sharp street vendors of Oldtown, and the occasional scuffle as the City Watch snatch up pickpockets and cutpurses from the crowd. The cacophony is made even greater by the constant stream of boys herding small groups of cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock across the square from the stockyards to the Shambles, and the wagonloads of grains, flour, and other foodstuffs rolling out from the stockyards to make their way to other points throughout the city.

There are some worn stone benches here and there, and small grassy swards for the smallfolk to gather upon. In the center of the square stand a set of four heavy wooden pillories, where wrongdoers are frequently held fast for public punishment.

Hawker Stalls found here:

Locations found here:

River Road

Oldtown Square

Silver Wynd

Sacred Quarter (A-2)

A religious center, all manner of shrines, temples and the Great Starry Sept

This is a wide, relatively quiet street, leading to the prestigious Starry Sept of Oldtown. The large and gracious manses of the wealthy line the street on either side, their doors flanked by armed guards. The Sept rises skyward at the western end, dominating the street. The long stretch of Sphinx Street runs north up the western side of the river, with the towers of the Citadel at its end. Running south is the Guildhall Row with its somber, semi-fortified halls and guild-owned docks.

There are poles all along Starry Street, each bearing a banner depicting the Seven-Pointed Star in gold, on a white field. The cobblestonehttps://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ghostly_auras are heavily worn, smoothed to a shine by the treading of the pious on their way to the Sept. The stones are kept immaculately clean, as are the balusters of the bridge.

Locations found here:

Starry Street

Starry Bridge (B-2)

Public places like parks, a zoo, and the such for all walks of life.

The Starry Street Bridge with its seven arches and the multitude of seven-pointed stars decorating its stonework makes up the eastern end of the street. It spans the Honeywine to connect with Oldtown Square.

Locations found here:

Tourney District (A-1)

Wealthy Nobles and some smallfolk both fill the area adjoined to the Tourney Grounds.

Sphinx Street is where many a pious or studious sort live. It is a mixture of styles of homes and range from poor but well kept, to austere or stately. Nothing hower as grand as that which is found on Beacon Boulevard. It gets its name from the two great green stone sphinxes that flank the gates of the citadel to the east. One has the face of a man, the other that of a woman. On the westerly side of the neighborhood lies the tourney grounds just outside the city.

The long street runs along the west side of the Honeywine River. It is wide, and the large paving stones are well-maintained. The rows of genteel houses that line it are broken up on the west of the street by alleys and wynds, and on the east by a few small riverfront gardens, each occupied by handsome twisted old apple trees, flower beds, and a stone bench or two.

Locations found here:

Champion's Way

Gallant Wynd

Sphinx Street

Undercity (D-2)

A destitute area for those that have nothing.

An unseemly stench of unwashed bodies, sewage, litter, and other unpleasant things assails one's nose here. The cramped, twisted streets of the Undercity are almost reminiscent of the pens of an abattoir, and, indeed, there are mysterious red marks not too different from that of blood here and there. The buildings here look as like to crumble any moment. Some are leaning precariously, propped up with blocks of stone and timbers. Others are so heavily built-over with crude timber, that they can barely be perceived under the wood. It is always wet in this low lying area, and the tops of the overcrowded buildings are so close together that the sunlight barely reaches through.

Poxy whores, sellswords, thieves, footpads, cutpurses, hedge wizards, robber knights, pirates, and pickpockets roam the claustrophobic little streets, on the prowl for some coin, an unsuspecting victim from the city proper, or merely the next big adventure. There is a throng of smallfolk all about the gateway to the Thieves' Market. There are very few City Watchmen here, and when there are, they travel in a tight, almost phalanx-like formation, shield to shield, spears out and at the ready.

Locations found here:

Canal Street

Underhill Hovels

Whispering Wharf (A-3)

Guildhalls, banks, and boats, the only place in town Ironborn aren't spit at.

The docks of the wharf are lined with a vast array of wood-and-stone piers, cranes, and winches dedicated to the unloading and loading of cargo and passengers alike. The protection of the white stone wall jetty that bends like a hugging arm around the docks makes this the perfect place to anchor smaller vessels. Such as the riverboats, small pleasure ships, fishing boats, and the like. Nicely tucked away from any turbulent waters of the Whispering Sound or river.

Fishmongers with carts and stalls, heaped full with fish of all kinds, cry their wares.

Locations found here:

Dolphin Drive

Guildhall Row

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