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Telltale teases Deepwood and ironborn connections for its Game of Thrones series

Telltale Games hasn’t had much to say about its upcoming Game of Thrones series, but a new tweet from the studio seems to indicate that the story could be set in the northern region of Westeros, in the lands overseen (at least early on in the series) by House Stark of Winterfell.

The tweet has little to say; just a hashtag — #IronFromIce — and a title card bearing a presumably telling quote from one of the books by George R.R. Martin.

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"…with clan names like FORRESTER"#GameOfThrones: A @TelltaleGames Series
Based on the @HBO Series#IronFromIce pic.twitter.com/Bm99n7qaie

— Telltale (@telltalegames) August 29, 2014

From the series’ fifth book, A Dance With Dragons, we have this partial quote: “…trackers and hunters sworn to Deepwood with clan names like Forrester and Woods, Branch and Bole.” We already know that the game is based on the HBO series, and Telltale founder Dan Connors also told Digital Trends that the game will unfold inside of the same timeline that the TV show follows.

The Martin quote references Deepwood, a castle in the north belonging to House Glover, a vassal of House Stark. It’s also — and this amounts to a spoiler for the HBO series, so beware — the first target attacked and taken by House Greyjoy during the show’s second season, mostly for strategic reasons because of its proximity to the coast of the Bay of Ice.

Related: Mapping out the road ahead for Telltale Games with Borderlands, Game of Thrones, and more on the horizon

That’s where our other clue comes in, the #IronFromIce hashtag. Iron could be a reference to the ironborn of the Iron Island, a region ruled over by House Greyjoy. Once a nation of seafaring conquerers that raided the coasts of Westeros, the ironborn remain quiet early on in the HBO series. The attack on Deepwood, Winterfell, and other northern regions of Westeros marks the beginning of a push to reclaim their past glories. And it’s the Bay of Ice that ferries the ironborn ships into battle.

One last item to point out: The Telltale tweet specifically calls attention to House Forrester. Viewed by some as a clan, Forrester has sworn fealty to House Glover of Deepwood. They’ve only been mentioned briefly in the books, which reveal that House Forrester is based is wolfswood, and they’ve never featured into the HBO series.

Remember: There’s a whole lot of speculation here. None of this is confirmed. We’re just drawing some possible conclusions based on what Telltale’s chosen to share. We’ll presumably hear more in the coming days as PAX Prime 2014 gets started. We only know the few tidbits that Connors shared back in March 2014.

I think the show provides a timeline, but the world is huge. You’re talking about the politics of an entire– it’s like Europe and some other continent,” he said. “There’s so much going on and it’s so rich. Every decision that King Joffrey makes impacts so many people. Any microcosm in that world [looking at how] people are affected by the decisions that are made plays out across the whole thing.”

Adam Rosenberg
Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…
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