Leader
Lady
Maria Mormont
Additional Family Members
Household
Hereditary Titles
- Lords of Bear Island
- Masters of the Stoney Shipyard
- Admirals of the Ironwood Fleet
Holdings
- Bear Island
- The Stoney Shore
- Fisherton Port
- The Stoney Shipyard
- The Ironwood Plantation
Sworn Houses
- House Glover
- House Woods
- House Darksky
- House Poole
- House Slate
A direct vassal of House Stark since the rule of Queen Sansa Stark, House Mormont has endured many of the North's tragedies and continued to prove their loyalty to the Starks with each passing crisis or war. While originally only Lords of Bear Island, and boasting only a small, albeit powerful, population to levy troops from, House Mormont would eventually grow to become a Great House of the North in recent years. They first began their true rise to power during the latter half of the Century of Blood under the leadership of Lord Robert Mormont and would solidify that power and influence in the events following the death of King Johnathan Stark through the actions of Robert's granddaughter, Maria Mormont.
Robert Mormont attempted to foster unity among much of the western coast in support of the Starks against the Vale, and he first attempted this through arranged marriages. His three sons would go on to take wives from House Glover, House Forrester, and House Darksky and his four daughters would be married off to House Poole, House Branch, House Bole, and House Woods. These marriages would seal several alliances and agreements between the many houses to organize their forces in times of war and work together towards a common prosperity. These efforts were not perfect, but they were effective to a certain degree.
Only House Darksky, House Poole, and House Woods would honor the alliances formed through these marriages, with House Forrester unwilling to send troops nor ironwood to the frontlines and House Glover claiming they should be the ones to lead their combined forces and refusing to send troops otherwise. House Bole and House Branch seemed to rally behind House Glover, while their vassal House Woods betrayed them to honor the agreement with House Mormont. Robert would not simply allow this breach of trust though, starting a minor civil war within the west coast of the North. Ultimately House Mormont's forces were strong enough at this point to decidedly defeat all these enemies in just under three months of conflict, in large part thanks to the help of those who honored the agreements. House Poole and House Darksky put pressure on House Bole and House Branch and House Woods turning on their former liege was enough to keep House Glover busy long enough for Robert and his army to siege both Long Branch and The Bole.
House Bole and House Branch were effectively wiped out in this conflict and that is often seen as Roberts greatest criticism, but it is unclear how much of that is to blame on the aggressive counterattack led by Lord Bole and the alleged arson of Long Branch committed by Lord Branch's son. Following their defeat, Lord Glover conceded defeat knowing they couldn't defeat the rest of the allied forces alone, and House Forrester was attempting to remain neutral. This would be the first large blow to House Glover that would mark them as a falling power, though they would not yet be sworn to House Mormont. The Mormonts would continue to own much of the land once held by House Branch and House Bole, and after negotiating with House Forrester they were given several saplings as recompense for breaking their agreement. Rodrik would assign his son Jorah to cultivate these saplings and start an Ironwood Plantation in the conquered lands, and Jorah was able to learn from his wife the secrets to caring for and harvesting Ironwood.
Though much of these accomplishments would set the foundations for House Mormont to continue building power, they would only be the beginning. Robert's son and heir, Jeor Mormont, took over as Lord when Robert died in 394, and it was then that Roberts vision would begin to take shape. Jeor began to distribute the lands taken in the War for the Wolfswood, with much of it being entrusted to House Woods along with the duty of caring for and growing the Ironwood Plantation. When Glover once again rose up with violent resistance, this time against House Stark in support of House Umber, Jeor led the combined forces of the Northwest to end their uprising, forcing a young Rodrik Glover to swear fealty to House Mormont.
Then in 407 AC Jeor and his wife would die defending against a raid by Ironborn ships, attempting to drive them off with a counter attack using what few ships they had. Maria Mormont, having become head of the family, quickly took this as inspiration for what would become one of her most defining achievements. Using the web of alliances and vassals to organize the construction of ships and weapons, and using the Ironwood plantation along with the other abundant lumber sources throughout the Wolfswood to produce the materials for those ships and weapons, Maria quickly managed to build and maintain a rather large fleet of well built and well equipped ships. To help with this massive undertaking and to ensure the fleet could be easily maintained, she worked together with House Poole to have a massive shipyard and dry dock built along the Stoney Shore, a construction that is still ongoing to this day despite being started in 408 AC.
Though the construction of the Ironwood Fleet and the Stoney Shipyard were not needed for their intended purpose of fighting the Iron Fleet, these achievements still earned the respect of many lords in the region who could now feel safe from the Ironborn and their reaving. Because of this, House Poole and House Darksky would finally join the others in swearing fealty instead of simply remaining allies, and House Mormont would finally be cemented as a Great House of the North. And their status would only continue to grow from there.
Despite all of this though, House Mormont teeters on the brink of extinction with only two living members in the present day. Maria has yet to marry, and it is a well known fact that Jorah refuses to remarry as well. Many fear what would happen should Maria die before having an heir, though few dare to speak of it publicly.
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