The Rainwood: Our Lore
The Rainwood is a large rainforest located on Cape Wrath in the Stormlands. Cape Wrath is a peninsula south of the Red Keep and is surrounded by the Dornish Sea, the Narrow Sea, and Shipbreaker Bay—it is a short sea journey to Dorne. The Rainwood is described as “misty and green” and is a rainy yet fertile region famed for its fur, timber, and amber. Trees in the Rainwood include cedars, hemlocks, maples, oaks, redwoods, sentinels, soldier pines, worm trees, and occasionally weirwoods. The wood is full of caves and there are rumors of elephants being seen there.
In the year 462 AC the Rainwood, which now includes most of Cape Wrath, was declared an independent Free Trade Region to be run and governed by the Seaworth Alliance of Merchants (SAoM). Though this agreement effectively frees the SAoM of any direct political ties or direct commitments to any kingdoms, House Seaworth maintains a loyalty to House Stark and to providing for the general well-being of the North and the six kingdoms. Meanwhile, the SaoM trade empire extends to all corners of the world and trades extensively in Essos and the Southern island regions as well.
Ser Davos Seaworth, a former smuggler out of Flea Bottom in King’s Landing that was made a landed knight and given the titles Lord of the Rainwood and Admiral of the Narrow Sea by King Stannis Baratheon, founded the Seaworth Alliance of Merchants in 312 AC after retiring his duties as King Bran’s Master of Ships. The founding Houses for the Alliance were House Seaworth, House Rogers, and House Wylde. Ser Davos spelled-out the ethos on which the SAoM and his own family should be based in a historical document lovingly referred to as “The Onion Skin” which he presented in 311 AC. To this day that document and the ethos put forth therein is the basis and means for which decisions are made and has been the purpose for the tremendous success of the SAoM. In the 300 years since its founding, the SAoM has developed into a very prosperous international HUD for trade and business, a “merchant’s Mecca” which now includes all eight major houses of the Rainwood and Cape Wrath.
The SAoM’s journey to this point has been rocky and fraught with bouts of sadness and joy, intrigue and compromise. House Seaworth has remained at the helm throughout the journey and, navigating according to our guiding principles, has held a mostly even keel through the turmoil of politics, religion, and greed that have sought to sink and destroy us along the way.
It is now 540 AC, trade, commerce, and tourism is thriving in the Rainwood and throughout the Merchant’s Alliance. Lord Sameth Seaworth has recently returned from the North with his new family and taken over leadership of both House Seaworth and the Seaworth Alliance of Merchants. What lies ahead is up to those that come and write the story with us.