Old Oak
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Old Oak is the seat of House Oakheart, at the western edge of the Reach near the Ocean Road.
Long before the Targaryens united the Seven Kingdoms it already held a line of kings of its own, and after the conquest it kept welcoming those who wore the crown — princes and monarchs passed through its halls, none of them ever staying.
Origins
Joining the Reach
House Oakheart's petty kings did not come into the Reach by force but by agreement: they joined the realm under Garth III Gardener in exchange for friendship and mutual defence in war.
The castle keeps tapestries recalling a far older feud, the one the house fought against Dorne, and Old Oak still remembers the misdeeds of the Wyl of Wyl.
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Lancel Lannister's War
The Rock's king Lancel I Lannister pushed his war south all the way to Old Oak's gates, but he did not live to enjoy the conquest — he fell in battle soon after.
His son, Loreon III Lannister, inherited ground he could not hold, and what the father had won was lost again under the son.
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Targaryen Era
Tourney of 73 AC
Aegon I Targaryen spent half of every year travelling the realm, and Old Oak was one of the stops he returned to again and again.
In 73 AC, the castle's lord held a tourney for the birth of his son. Among the knights appeared one with no known name or arms, who turned out to be Prince Baelon Targaryen — he was knighted there on the spot.
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Royal Progresses
In 88 AC, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen flew from Crakehall to Old Oak on Vermithor, the first leg of a progress that would continue through the Westerlands.
Almost half a century later, in 137 AC, Lord Torrhen Manderly — Hand to the young Aegon III — drew up a royal progress that also listed Old Oak among its stops. The plan never left paper: once Aegon came of age, he called the whole journey off.
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On the map
On the map
Books and show
Where it appears
In the books (4)
- The World of Ice & Fire
- Fire & Blood
- A Feast for Crows
- A Dance with Dragons