"…of IRONWOODS as old as the realm itself."#GameOfThrones: A @TelltaleGames Series #IronFromIce pic.twitter.com/NCeVFNwZKI
— Telltale (@telltalegames) October 9, 2014
Note that the following speculation will include spoilers from the book, so if you’re not up to date read at your own peril.
Just like another teaser the studio dropped in August, it features a quote from one of Martin’s books — this time the first book, A Game of Thrones. The quote comes from a passage in a Catelyn chapter where she describes the ancient, dark and oppressive godswood of House Stark at Winterfell. The quote highlights “ironwood,” which is a type of tree found in the far north of Westeros and beyond The Wall. It is also what the doors to Winterfell’s crypt are made of. This points towards the games’ events being set in the north, corroborating the previously tweeted quote which referenced the northern keep of Deepwood Motte.
The game’s producer confirmed to us that its events would transpire concurrently to events in the show. The hashtag #IronFromIce followed by references to Deepwood Motte and Winterfell are starting to paint a pretty clear picture of what events might frame it. House Greyjoy (the Ironborn) launches their assault on the north by taking Deepwood Motte, which is located on the Bay of Ice — hence “Iron from Ice.” After the Greyjoys have secured Deepwood, Theon disobeys his father’s orders and captures Winterfell without enough men to hold it, which had been left relatively defenseless once the Starks were gutted. Soon thereafter Winterfell is retaken by Roose Bolton, leading to Theon’s imprisonment and tortured transformation into Reek.
Related: Exploring Telltale Games’ master plan to evolve modern storytelling
So it looks like we’ll be embroiled in House Greyjoy’s attempts to fill the power vacuum in the north left by the fall of House Stark. House Forrester, which was highlighted in the first teaser, is vassal to House Glover, who originally held Deepwood Motte. They have been alluded to a few times in the series, but never in any detail, making them a prime target for at least some of the game’s characters that are canon but leave room for Telltale to fill in their own, original story.
