A song of Fire and Ice reloaded.
There should be a much greater variety of weird creatures in Westeros. I'm thinking hoop snakes and Goldenaxe-type beasties! And the Maesters actually invited the Targeryns to invade Westeros.
In their citadel at Oldtown, the Maesters have access to highly advanced technology. They are able to access most Maester's residences via an advanced underground tube network. The North, meanwhile, has the remnants of a railway line. The dragons, it turns out, were all killed by the Targeryns' efforts at industrialisation.
The tactics used by the Westerosi really ought to reflect the (past) existence of dragons, so a main development would not be mounted knights (heavy cavalry) but light mounted archers. Heavily armoured knights would be used only as a kind of police force to quell rebellions. Training for this would be the tournament, which would hold jousts. Perhaps the term "sheriff" would be used; or perhaps "counter-insurgency battalions" of "assault knights"?
OK a feudal system exits but one which is more thought out. Peasants with names are bound to their land. They cannot be made to pay rent or tithes but they have responsibiltities specific to their locale. In theory and in general they manage the land on behalf of the King. If they abandon their land they become dispossessed. A name is important and Bastards with no land have no Name. One can apprentice and be named. One way is to be a Retainer Apprentice ("squire") for a minor Lord or Sheriff ("knight") or to be part of a noble family, usually via marriage. Certain lords can rent castles from the king, others are entitled to raise or hold their own armies for their own protection in return for providing these armies to the king in time of war.
Revised backstory:
The Andals conquered the North and were used as a mercenary force by an empire consisting of most of the Southern kingdoms. Andal crusaders were happy to kill Westerosi who had already converted to their religion but would try to capture, rather than kill, enemies on the battlefield in order to covert them. The Southern Empire made the Andals' religion the official one while the North remained mostly unconverted. Instead, the Andal crusaders, who ordinarily gave vows that they would not marry or hold property during their period of Holy Service to the Seven Gods, married into the local nobility and converted to the Old Religion. Some, however, joined the Night's Watch, hoping to win new converts that way while viewing their continued service as a kind of penance.
When the Targaryns arrived they conquered most of the North up to Molestown. At this time various alchemists and mages were experimenting with gunpowder, but the arrival of dragons made using firearms a risky prospect and the technology never fully caught on. Dorne was colonised by refugees from Essos, in return for the adult males agreeing to fight for the Targeryns. This created a female-dominated society in Dorne. It was Dornishmen who conquered the Iron Islands and their leader, the Queen Nymeria, agreed to marry the last Iron king. Robert's rebellion, nearly seven hundred years after the assimilation of Dorne and the conquest of the Iron Islands, finally brought the whole of the North into the Seven Kingdoms.
The Targaryns adopted incestuous relationships as, previously, it was custom for Valyrian men to marry multiple women. Having multiple wives gave an indication of one's position in society. It also prevented multiple affairs as men were expected to marry any woman or girl they slept with (and polygamy was not taboo). Marrying within families was not allowed in both Valyrian and Westerosi law, so the incest practice continued when the Targeryns had established their reign: the men simply didn't get married but acknowledged their bastards as their heirs or pretended to be celibate, knowing their offspring would still be acknowledged as Targeayn.
Short note on the Targaryn Empire:
It's like the Roman Empire. Or specifically, if the Western empire survived the Eastern empire instead of the other way around.
People can become "non-bastards", or the equivalent to Citizens, by joining the army or navy. This aspect of the military slowly becomes (or has slowly become) more limited to individuals joining the Night's Watch and, what remains of, the navy. Almost from the start of their reign the Targaryns used knight-equivalents as military retainers and the nobility followed this practice for their own servants and retainers.
There should be a much greater variety of weird creatures in Westeros. I'm thinking hoop snakes and Goldenaxe-type beasties! And the Maesters actually invited the Targeryns to invade Westeros.
In their citadel at Oldtown, the Maesters have access to highly advanced technology. They are able to access most Maester's residences via an advanced underground tube network. The North, meanwhile, has the remnants of a railway line. The dragons, it turns out, were all killed by the Targeryns' efforts at industrialisation.
The tactics used by the Westerosi really ought to reflect the (past) existence of dragons, so a main development would not be mounted knights (heavy cavalry) but light mounted archers. Heavily armoured knights would be used only as a kind of police force to quell rebellions. Training for this would be the tournament, which would hold jousts. Perhaps the term "sheriff" would be used; or perhaps "counter-insurgency battalions" of "assault knights"?
OK a feudal system exits but one which is more thought out. Peasants with names are bound to their land. They cannot be made to pay rent or tithes but they have responsibiltities specific to their locale. In theory and in general they manage the land on behalf of the King. If they abandon their land they become dispossessed. A name is important and Bastards with no land have no Name. One can apprentice and be named. One way is to be a Retainer Apprentice ("squire") for a minor Lord or Sheriff ("knight") or to be part of a noble family, usually via marriage. Certain lords can rent castles from the king, others are entitled to raise or hold their own armies for their own protection in return for providing these armies to the king in time of war.
Revised backstory:
The Andals conquered the North and were used as a mercenary force by an empire consisting of most of the Southern kingdoms. Andal crusaders were happy to kill Westerosi who had already converted to their religion but would try to capture, rather than kill, enemies on the battlefield in order to covert them. The Southern Empire made the Andals' religion the official one while the North remained mostly unconverted. Instead, the Andal crusaders, who ordinarily gave vows that they would not marry or hold property during their period of Holy Service to the Seven Gods, married into the local nobility and converted to the Old Religion. Some, however, joined the Night's Watch, hoping to win new converts that way while viewing their continued service as a kind of penance.
When the Targaryns arrived they conquered most of the North up to Molestown. At this time various alchemists and mages were experimenting with gunpowder, but the arrival of dragons made using firearms a risky prospect and the technology never fully caught on. Dorne was colonised by refugees from Essos, in return for the adult males agreeing to fight for the Targeryns. This created a female-dominated society in Dorne. It was Dornishmen who conquered the Iron Islands and their leader, the Queen Nymeria, agreed to marry the last Iron king. Robert's rebellion, nearly seven hundred years after the assimilation of Dorne and the conquest of the Iron Islands, finally brought the whole of the North into the Seven Kingdoms.
The Targaryns adopted incestuous relationships as, previously, it was custom for Valyrian men to marry multiple women. Having multiple wives gave an indication of one's position in society. It also prevented multiple affairs as men were expected to marry any woman or girl they slept with (and polygamy was not taboo). Marrying within families was not allowed in both Valyrian and Westerosi law, so the incest practice continued when the Targeryns had established their reign: the men simply didn't get married but acknowledged their bastards as their heirs or pretended to be celibate, knowing their offspring would still be acknowledged as Targeayn.
Short note on the Targaryn Empire:
It's like the Roman Empire. Or specifically, if the Western empire survived the Eastern empire instead of the other way around.
People can become "non-bastards", or the equivalent to Citizens, by joining the army or navy. This aspect of the military slowly becomes (or has slowly become) more limited to individuals joining the Night's Watch and, what remains of, the navy. Almost from the start of their reign the Targaryns used knight-equivalents as military retainers and the nobility followed this practice for their own servants and retainers.
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