The Eyrie



The Eyrie is the principal stronghold of House Arryn. It is located in the Vale of Arryn near the east coast of Westeros. The Eyrie straddles the top of a peak in the Mountains of the Moon several thousand feet above the valley floor below. It is approached by a narrow causeway and road. Those who would approach the Eyrie must pass through three way-castles guarding the ascent. For these reasons, the Eyrie is considered impregnable to attack.

The High Hall of the Eyrie is the main audience chamber, where the Lord of the Vale greets visitors from a throne made of weirwood. A notable feature of the chamber is the Moon Door, a hatch built into the floor through which people can fall to the floor of the Vale far below. Being thrown through the Moon Door is the preferred method of execution at the Eyrie.

Prisoners at the Eyrie are incarcerated in the 'sky cells', cells which are open on one side to the air. There is a very slight slope in the cells, and prisoners must be careful not to roll out of the cell in their sleep and plummet to their deaths.

Unlike the novels, where the Eyrie is a traditional castle sitting on a shoulder of a very tall mountain, the TV version of the castle appears to completely enclose the top of a much smaller butte.

Notable residents of the Eyrie

 * Lord Jon Arryn, former ruler of the Vale of Arryn, and Warden of the East. Named Hand of the King before his death.
 * Lady Lysa Arryn, the current ruler of the castle.
 * Lord Robin Arryn, Lysa's son and titular head of House Arryn, although he will not formally inherit the title for many more years.
 * Ser Vardis Egen, captain of the guards, now dead.
 * Mord, the castle's jailor and keeper of the sky cells.

In the books
In the Song of Ice and Fire novels, the Eyrie is a mountain-top fortress located on a shoulder of the Giant's Lance, one of the tallest mountains on the continent. It is inhabited by the Arryns during the long springs and summers, before the family removes to the Gates of the Moon at the bottom of the mountain to sit out the winters. The Eyrie is only a small castle itself, but is almost impossible to reach. An invading army would have to overcome the Bloody Gate at the mouth of the Vale before taking the Gates of the Moon. Then, as it advanced up the mountain path to the Eyrie, it would come under sustained attack from the Eyrie and the three way-castles up the path, all of which can drop rocks, boulders and oil on an advancing foe at will.

The Eyrie consists of several towers, a great hall, a sept and a number of unique 'sky cells'. The "Moon Door" is not a hatch that opens to the hollow vault beneath the Eyrie, but a massive door that opens to a precipice.

According to myth, the first Andal invaders landed on the coast of the Vale. The first Lord Arryn flew on the back of a giant falcon to slay the Griffin King atop the Giant's Lance and then built a fortress atop the mountain.