Andals

The Andals are one of the three major ethnic groups of Westeros. Their arrival caused the fall of many of the kingdoms of the First Men which had developed in the wake of the Pact with the children of the forest and brought the Faith of the Seven to the Seven Kingdoms.

The Andals originated in the Hills of Andalos in the eastern continent, where legend tells that they were visited by the incarnations of the Seven, who crowned their first king, Hugor of the Hill. About six thousand years ago, they sailed west into Westeros, first landing in the Fingers and attacking the Vale. The original Andal invaders painted and carved the seven-pointed star of the Seven on their bodies. They destroyed the weirwood trees and killed the children of the forest that they came across. After several hundred years of war, the Andals conquered the six southern kingdoms of the First Men and created their own. Only the Kings of Winter resisted the Andals successfully, stopping them at Moat Cailin. Andals learned the art of working iron from the Rhoynar who lived along the Rhoyne.