Castamere

Before it became a byword for ruin, Castamere was nothing more than a gold and silver mine in the Westerlands, south of the Crag and near Ashemark and Tarbeck Hall. It took its name from a small lake that ran past its entrance.

The Reynes sealed the mine's mouth with a gate of oak and iron between two towers, and as the ore ran thin they kept digging, turning the mine into halls, galleries, even an underground ballroom. Above ground the castle looked like the seat of any minor lord; below, nine tenths of it lay underground. On that gold, House Reyne grew rich enough to rival the Lannisters themselves during the Age of Heroes.

In 51 AC, Princess Rhaena Targaryen passed through Castamere after leaving Ashemark, though she stayed only briefly before moving on to the Golden Tooth.

Four years later, in 55 AC, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen himself came through as part of his royal progress across the Westerlands.

Kevan Lannister, the second son of Lord Tytos Lannister, served as page and later squire to Robert Reyne, Lord of Castamere, in a time when the two houses still lent each other their sons.

That changed over the years: after the War of the Ninepenny Kings, Tytos's weak rule let tension between Reyne and Lannister build. It was at Castamere that a hostage exchange was struck, freeing Lord Walderan Tarbeck in return for three captured Lannisters.

The Reyne-Tarbeck rebellion ended with Tarbeck Hall in ruins and the Reynes holed up in their own castle. With Roger Reyne wounded and many of his men dead in the field, his brother Ser Raynard abandoned the upper castle to take shelter behind the mine's walls.

Tywin Lannister, heir to Casterly Rock, turned down every offer that came out of the mine. He had his miners seal its entrances with stone and dammed the lake to flood the tunnels, drowning those still trapped inside, then had the surface buildings burned. What was left of it became a song.

During the War of the Five Kings, the Greatjon Umber seized Castamere's gold mines after the Battle of Oxcross.

For his part in House Stark's downfall, Ser Rolph Spicer was made a lord and given Castamere.