The Iron Islands

The Iron Islands are a group of seven islands to the west of Westeros Pyke, Great Wyk, Old Wyk,
Harlaw, Saltcliffe, Blacktyde and Orkmont lying in Ironman's Bay off the western coast of the
continent.[34] Ruled by House Greyjoy of Pyke,[35] the isles are described as bare and barren, and the
local weather as "windy and cold, and damp".[36] The members of this seafaring nation are known in
the rest of Westeros as Ironmen,[35] and to themselves as Ironborn.[37] Illegitimate children born in the
Iron Islands are given the surname Pyke.[38][39]
For fierce raids, the Ironmen are titled the "terror of the seas".[35] They worship the Drowned God,
who "had made them to reave and rape, to carve out kingdoms and write their names in fire and
blood and song".[40] The appendix of A Game of Thrones summarizes that the Ironmen once ruled
over the Riverlands and much of the western coast of Westeros. When Aegon the Conqueror
extinguished Black Harren's line, he chose House Greyjoy as the new rulers of the Ironmen.