A stout castle at the foot of the Giant's Lance, guarding the mouth of the high valley beneath the Eyrie. It was the first seat of the Arryn kings after they won the Vale, and remains their winter castle still, for when snow and ice close the heights the court descends the mountain to shelter behind its walls.
The Keeper
The castle is held for House Arryn by a Keeper of the Gates of the Moon, an office long entrusted to Lord Nestor Royce of the junior branch of that ancient house, who rules the valley in the Arryns' name.
The Ascent
From its gates a narrow trail winds up the Giant's Lance, past the waycastles Stone, Snow, and Sky, climbing by switchback and stone step until it reaches the Eyrie itself. No lord may come to the high castle save by this road, and none may hold it against the will of the Gates below.