Characters in a song of ice and fire

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Figures in the Song of Ice and Fire is an overview of the in by George RR Martin devised Fantasy A Song of Ice and Fire (both the book series and the film adaptation Game of Thrones ) living persons. Due to the large number of figures, only a selection is mentioned here. As a rule, the name form of the current German translation is used, and the original names, which were also used in the older German version, are mentioned in the first mention.

The German-language book edition differs from the English one mainly in that each volume was published in two books. The following list provides an overview:

Index of the acting
persons by first name

House Stark

House of Stark coat of arms

The Starks ruled north from Winterfell for several thousand years before the Targaryens arrived. Brandon the builder is considered the founder of the House of Starks. At the time when Aegon the conqueror conquered Westeros, Torrhen Stark was the king of the north, he bent his knee and is therefore nicknamed "The kneeling king". Since then, the Starks have acted as "Guardians of the North". They are the only big house that has not given up belief in the old gods. Her coat of arms shows a gray direwolf on an ice-white field, her motto is Winter is approaching .

Eddard Stark

Eddard Stark (also called "Ned" by his family and friends) is the Lord of Winterfell and "Guardian of the North". He first grew up in Winterfell, but was handed over as a ward to the Lord of the Green Valley, Jon Arryn, as a child and from then on spent his youth at Hohenehr, the seat of the Arryn family. There he met another ward, the future King Robert Baratheon, with whom he has built a close friendship that continues even after Robert's coronation. Eddard is married to Catelyn Stark, with whom he has five children: Robb, Sansa, Arya, Brandon and Rickon. Jon Schnee (originally Jon Snow ) is Eddard's bastard son , who was conceived during the Targaryen Civil War. Eddard's father Rickard, older brother Brandon, and sister Lyanna were killed during the war. Eddard, who attaches great importance to honor, fulfillment of duty and character, is 35 years old at the beginning of the book series.

Plot A Game of Thrones

To King Robert Baratheon request, is Eddard hand of the king and goes to the capital king mouth (in the original King's Landing ). In the new environment, which is characterized by political intrigue, he tries above all to maintain his integrity and to solve the death of Jon Arryn. There is a dispute with Robert when the king orders the murder of Daenerys Targaryen, whereupon Eddard temporarily resigns from his office. At the same time, tensions rise with the Lannisters after Catelyn captures Tyrion. Meanwhile, Eddard reveals the secret of the royal couple's children and confronts Queen Cersei with the fact that Jaime is the father and advises her to flee with the children. After Robert returned from the hunt, fatally injured, he dictated his will to Eddard on his deathbed, the wording of which Eddard changed so that it came down to Roberts brother Stannis as heir to the throne. Eddard doesn't have the heart to tell the king the truth about his supposed children with Cersei. Eddard believes he can trust Petyr Baelish enough to eliminate Cersei in a bloodless action, but falls into a trap: Eddard's men are massacred in the throne room, he himself is imprisoned in the Hofburg and refuses to accept Joffrey as the rightful king to acknowledge and confess his alleged treason. Only when the life of his family is threatened does he necessarily consent. Before the Great Septe of Baelor, he publicly admits his “betrayal” to Robert and recognizes Joffrey as the legitimate heir. Instead of being able to join the Night's Watch as he was promised, however, he is publicly executed on Joffrey's orders, which breaks out a new civil war in the empire.

Catelyn Stark

Catelyn "Cat" Stark is Eddard's wife and was born Tully from the Riverside Lands. She was originally promised to Eddard's older brother Brandon. However, when he and his father had been murdered by then King Aerys II Targaryen years before, Eddard took her as his wife. Both have developed a deep affection, even if Catelyn still feels like a stranger in the north. She has a strong sense of class. In their view of the world, Jon Schnee, as a bastard, has no place in his father's household; she sees him as a constant insult and a potential threat to her children's rights.

Plot A Game of Thrones

While Eddard goes to the capital to take up his position as the hand of the king, she stays in Winterfell with her son Bran, who is initially in a coma after his fall. After the attempted murder of Bran with a dagger, she secretly goes to King's Landing with Ser Rodrik to tell Eddard about it. Her childhood friend Petyr Baelish tells her there that the assassin's dagger supposedly belongs to Tyrion Lannister. On the way back north you meet Tyrion. She captures him, trusting Petyr's testimony, and takes him to Hohenehr, where her sister Lysa rules, but who shows more and more signs of madness and who also accuses Tyrion of the murder of her husband Jon Arryn. Tyrion is released, however, while the Lannisters invade the riverlands in retaliation. When Robb moves south to free Eddard, Catelyn goes to her son and advises him. In order to get across the Green Arm of the River Trident, Catelyn negotiates with the lord about the twins, Walder Frey, an engagement between her son and a daughter of Walders and ties part of Walders forces to Robb. When Catelyn receives news of Eddard's execution, she is desperate.

Plot A Clash of Kings

Most of all, Catelyn worries about her daughters (at least Sansa is still held hostage at court). As Robb heads west, she first travels south to see Renly Baratheon. After his murder she goes back to Schnellwasser and is henceforth accompanied by Brienne von Tarth, who is accused of murdering Renly. Back in Schnellwasser, she and Brienne set Jaime Lannister free so that Catelyn's daughters can be set free in return.

Plot A Storm of Swords

Jaime's release turns out to be a serious mistake, because Lord Rickard Karstark, whose two sons were killed by Jaime in a battle, feels that his revenge has been betrayed. Robb returns victorious from the west while the Lannisters have allied themselves with the Tyrells and at the same time the men of the Iron Islands have invaded the north. Winterfell has fallen, her younger sons apparently murdered by the Starks' former ward, Theon Greyjoy, and the situation is therefore very grim for the Starks. Catelyn accompanies Robb to the twins , where Catelyn's brother Edmure is supposed to marry Frey instead of Robbs. At the "Red Wedding" the Starks and their allies are betrayed by the Freys and Robb and his men are betrayed and murdered. Catelyn dies too; her throat is slit open and her body is thrown into the nearby river.

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At the end of A Feast for Crows it turns out that after a few days Catelyn's corpse was washed up on the banks of the Trident and resurrected by Beric Dondarrion and since then has led the brotherhood without a banner under the name of Lady Stone Heart . She is terribly disfigured by her time in the water and by cuts on her face and can only speak with greater effort. Since then, Lady Steinherz only wants to take revenge on those who betrayed Eddard, Robb and the rest of the family. Among other things, Brienne von Tarth is arrested by the brotherhood and identified as loyal to Lannister because of the sword she has entrusted to Jaime. Lady Steinherz therefore orders Brienne and her companions to be hanged.

Robb Stark

Robb is the eldest son of Eddard and Catelyn Stark. He is 14 years old at the beginning of the book series and a few years older in the TV series. His wolf is called gray wind.

Plot A Game of Thrones

Since Eddard has gone to the capital, Robb acts as the deputy lord. After his mother also left, he is solely responsible. When he receives news of his father's imprisonment, Robb summons the Winterfell vassals and marches south. He allies himself with the Frey family (where he makes a promise of marriage), defeats Jaime Lannister and takes him prisoner. Robb is shocked to learn of his father's execution. His Lords (in A Game of Thrones also the Lords of the River Lands present) proclaim him King of the North.

Plot A Clash of Kings

Although still very young, Robb has military talent and surrounds himself with capable soldiers. He invades the Westlands to devastate the Lannisters' territories as they previously did with the Riverlands. Robb is militarily successful and is therefore also called the "young wolf", but makes a big political mistake when he falls in love with the lowly aristocratic Jeyne Westerling (in the television series with another young woman, a healer named Talisa Maegyr from Volantis) and she hastily marries. In doing so, however, he breaks his promise to marry one of Lord Walder's granddaughters in return for the alliance with the Freys. At the same time, the plan to lure Lord Tywin westwards fails after Edmure Tully stopped the Lannisters and gave them enough time to ally themselves with the powerful House of Tyrell, which completely reshuffled the political cards.

Plot A Storm of Swords

Robb goes back to the Riverside and plans to march north, where the Iron Men have invaded and destroyed Winterfell. On the way north, he visits the Freys to find a balance. His uncle Edmure Tully is supposed to marry Roslin Frey in the castle of the Freys (the twins or twins in the original). But during the wedding, which is later only called the "Red Wedding", Robb is betrayed by the Freys and the Boltons, the old rivals of the Starks, with Tywin Lannister apparently acting in the background. Contrary to the hospitality law, the Stark loyalists are attacked and massacred. Robb, already badly injured by crossbow bolts, is personally killed by Lord Roose Bolton. Robb's head is later chopped off and that of his direwolf sewn on as a mockery of the "young wolf" and the resulting mixed body is publicly displayed. Since then, the Boltons have been the guardians of the north, after Tywin Lannister was able to secure Lord Bolton's loyalty in secret negotiations.

Sansa Stark

Sansa is the eldest daughter of Eddard and Catelyn and a pretty, but at the beginning of the story very naive young girl who completely submits to the rules for noble ladies. When King Robert comes to Winterfell to make Eddard his hand , she is delighted to be engaged to Prince Joffrey, son of King Robert and Queen Cersei. She is 11 years old at the start of the book series and two years older in the TV series. Her wolf's name is Lady. Sansa is very talented at handicrafts and Septa Mordanne's darling.

Plot A Game of Thrones

Sansa is extremely happy to be queen in the future. She imagines her life with Joffrey and strives to please him. However, when Eddard explains to her in view of the tense situation at court that they will be heading north again, a world collapses for Sansa. After Eddard's capture (she had given the queen a hint about her father's plans) she still believes that she can trust Cersei and therefore writes a letter to Robb, who is to take the feudal oath. When Eddard publicly confesses his alleged betrayal of Robert, but is subsequently executed on Joffrey's orders, it is a shock for her, which also makes it clear to her that she does not trust anyone at court. When Joffrey forces her to look at her father's impaled skull, she contemplates killing Joffrey by throwing him down, but Sandor Clegane intervenes.

Plot A Clash of Kings

Joffrey holds on to the engagement for the time being, but often lets Sansa be beaten by the Royal Guards. When Tyrion Lannister comes to court as the reigning hand, the court puts an end to it. Still, Sansa's position at court remains dangerous as she hopes for Robb's victory. An offer from Sandor Clegane during the Battle of Schwarzwasser to flee with her from King's Landing, she rejects.

Plot A Storm of Swords

Sansa continues to distrust the people at court, but eventually confides in the Tyrells. A possible marriage to a Tyrell is thwarted by the Lannisters, who marry her off to Tyrion. When he is arrested, Sansa is isolated again. But it is smuggled out of the capital by Petyr Baelish and brought to the valley of Arryn. Petyr, who sees in Sansa the image of his only love Catelyn, passes Sansa off as his bastard daughter Alayne Stein. Sansa, who at first was about to be murdered by Lysa Arryn herself, witnesses Petyr's murder of Lysa, but does nothing and keeps the crime a secret.

Plot A Feast for Crows

Petyr Baelish, now de facto governor in the valley of Arryn, gives Sansa hope: Petyr is working to marry her to the alleged heir of the valley, Harrold Haryng, who will reign after the expected death of the ailing Robert Arryn. After that, Sansa should also receive her birthright: Winterfell.

Arya Stark

Arya is the youngest daughter of Eddard and Catelyn and the counterpart of Sansa. She often behaves more like a boy and refuses to do the things noble girls her age should learn, such as handicrafts, dressing appropriately, and hoping to be married well one day. Before he leaves for the wall, she receives a thin sword from her half-brother Jon Schnee, which she baptizes "needle". She regularly argues with her sister. She is eight years old at the beginning of the book series and a few years older in the TV series. Her wolf is called Nymeria.

Plot A Game of Thrones

Arya is not very enthusiastic about going to King's Landing. On the way there comes a dispute with Prince Joffrey, whose true character she recognizes early on. Arya has to release the she-wolf after Nymeria attacks Prince Joffrey, otherwise she would have been killed. In the capital, Arya was delighted to receive fencing lessons from the sword master Syrio Forel from Braavos. When her father is captured, Arya escapes thanks to Syrio's help. Left to her own devices, she wanders around the capital and has to watch her father being publicly executed. Arya is brought out of town by Yoren, a member of the Night's Watch who recognized her, who poses her as a boy for her protection and gives her the name Arry .

Plot A Clash of Kings

Together with Yoren, who wants to take her to Winterfell, and other recruits for the Night's Watch, Arya reaches the Riverlands. There they meet soldiers of the Lannisters. Yoren is killed, Arya is able to flee with some recruits, including Gendry, who, without knowing it, is King Roberts' illegitimate son, and Jaqen H'ghar, who is apparently more than he initially pretends to be. They are captured by Ser Gregor Clegane and taken to the vast Harrenhal Fortress. The fortress is taken by the Stark soldiers in a coup. Jaqen H'ghar, apparently an assassin of the dreaded “faceless men”, gives her a coin and the password of Valar Morghulis , with which she can allegedly find him everywhere in the Free Cities.

The new master of Harrenhal is initially Lord Roose Bolton, Commander of Robb's Southern Army. Arya still does not reveal herself and remains in the fortress as servant Nan. She runs away again with Gendry and another boy.

Plot A Storm of Swords

Together, the group roams the riverlands and meets Lord Beric Dondarrion, whom Arya's father had sent to fight Lannister raiders. One of the men recognizes her as Arya Stark. There are plans to release them to Robb for money, while Gendry joins the group, which includes Thoros von Myr and the very young Edric Dayn, Lord von Sternenfall ("Starfall" in the original) in Dorne. Arya is disappointed with the so-called brotherhood; she is finally kidnapped by Sandor Clegane, who wants to hand her over to Robb for a rich reward. Arya witnesses the “red wedding” of the twins (the seat of the Frey family) from afar. She leaves Sandor, who was seriously injured, and goes on a ship to the Free City of Braavos, giving her the coin and the password ( Valar Morghulis , Valyrian for “all men must die”, in the television series as “all men must die "reproduced) help.

Plot A Feast for Crows

In Braavos she doesn't find Jaqen H'ghar, but the "faceless men" with whom she starts training. As before, she is primarily driven by hatred of the Lannisters and now seeks revenge for her murdered family members, some of whom, however, are still alive, of which she has no idea. She learns a lot of tactics and also the local language.

Plot A Dance with Dragons

Temporarily blind, Arya regains her eyesight and fulfills her first assignment. Your training is now being intensified. At the same time, her former she-wolf Nymeria is building a large and dangerous pack of wolves that the Seven Kingdoms have ever seen; it should include several hundreds of animals.

Brandon "Bran" Stark

Bran, named after Eddard's dead brother Brandon, is the second youngest son of Eddard and Catelyn. He is a happy boy and an avid climber. After a fall, he is paraplegic and is carried by the huge, mentally retarded but good-natured Hodor. He's seven years old at the start of the bookstore and a few years older in the TV series. His wolf is called Sommer ( Summer in the original). He has green vision skills.

Plot A Game of Thrones

During a climbing tour, Bran observes Jaime and Cersei having sexual intercourse and is pushed from the tower by Jaime, but survives the fall. He is initially in a coma and an unsuccessful attack is carried out on him. When Bran wakes up, he is paralyzed from the waist down and cannot remember the fall. At first he is very bitter, but later he partly regains his courage to face life. A special saddle designed by Tyrion Lannister helps him ride. When Robb moves south, Bran and Rickon are left in Winterfell.

Plot A Clash of Kings

Bran befriends the prisoner Osha and develops ever stronger psychic abilities that connect him with his direwolf Sommer. After Robb is in the south, Bran becomes governor of Winterfell. The fortress, however, is taken by surprise by the iron men under the command of Theon Greyjoy. Bran and Rickon are now trapped there, but with the help of Meera and Jojen Reet they can escape and flee north. Theon has two other boys killed and pretends to be Bran and Rickon, which is why it is assumed that the two youngest Stark children are dead. Jojen recognizes Bran's special abilities, such as the visions he receives, and urges him to look for the three-eyed crow from his dreams beyond the wall. Bran agrees, while Rickon and Osha leave for another location.

Plot A Storm of Swords

Bran's group reaches the wall, meets Samwell Tarly and is able to reach the land beyond the wall through a secret passage. There they meet the inscrutable cold hand ( Coldhands in the original) who guides them.

Plot A Dance with Dragons

They meet one of the last children in the forest and the three-eyed crow, a man named Brynden who has lived there for a long time. Brynden helps Bran explore his new skills. Bran even witnessed events hundreds of years ago in Winterfell and in one scene he can taste the blood that is being shed there.

Rickon Stark

Rickon Stark is the youngest son of Eddard and Catelyn Stark. It was named after Eddard's dead father Rickard Stark and is three years old at the beginning of the book series and six years old in the television series. His wolf's Struppel (original Shaggydog ), but often calls himself Tintin .

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He hardly plays a role in A Game of Thrones , but apparently develops a flair for future events. In the following books, his plot runs largely parallel to that of Bran (see above), although Rickon only plays a marginal role. After the death of his father, however, he is conspicuous by a certain sudden anger, which is also transmitted to his wolf. Struppel is then locked up in the Götterhain together with Sommer until further notice. Rickon accompanies Bran, Osha, Hodor, and the Reeds north as they flee Winterfell. When the group separates, it is initially unclear where Rickon is going with Osha and Struppel. In A Dance with Dragons it becomes clear that she apparently took him to the mysterious and not harmless island of Skagos in the north.

Benjen Stark

See Benjen

Brandon Stark

Brandon Stark was the older brother of Eddard Stark. As the eldest son, he would have become the next Lord of Winterfell and was engaged to Catelyn Tully. In a night fight between him and the ward of the Tullys, Petyr Baelish, he cuts Baelish's stomach "from navel to collarbone". Baelish survived this duel. While trying to free his sister Lyanna, he and his father Rickard were cruelly murdered by King Aerys II. These murders were the cause of the ensuing civil war that ended with the fall of the Targaryens.

In the series, Brandon is mostly mentioned in passing, while his character is described in more detail in the later books. Brandon was temperamental (and thus Eddard's opposite), and a good fighter.

Rickard Stark

Before Eddard, Rickard Stark was Lord von Winterfell and his father, as well as Brandon's, Lyanna's and Ben's father. He was married to Lyarra Stark, his paternal cousin. He and his son Brandon were cruelly murdered by King Aerys II while trying to secure the release of his daughter Lyanna. These two murders were the cause of the ensuing civil war and the overthrow of the Targaryens.

Lyanna Stark

Lyanna Stark was the daughter of Rickard Stark and sister of Brandon, Eddard and Benjen Stark. She was engaged to Robert Baratheon. During the great Harrenhal tournament, she met Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, who won the tournament and declared Lyanna, although Rhaegar's wife Elijah was present, to be the "Queen of Love and Beauty". Soon after, Lyanna was apparently kidnapped by Rhaegar. As a result, Brandon first tried to get their release from King Aerys II. Brandon and some noble companions were captured and Rickard Stark was ordered to court because Aerys considered the Starks' actions to be treason. Both Brandon and Rickard were subsequently executed on Aerys's orders. In the civil war that followed, Eddard and Robert Baratheon managed to defeat the Targaryens. Eddard found Lyanna too, but under as yet unexplained circumstances she died in his arms. She was around 16 years old at the time.

House Lannister

Coat of arms of the House of Lannister

The Lannisters ( Lannisters in the original and in the older German translation) from Casterlystein ( Casterly Rock in the original) descend from the old kings of the west and are a widely ramified family. They got their castle from the previous ruling house, the Casterlys. According to a legend, Lenn the Sly is said to have won the castle by a trick without shedding blood. They are the richest aristocratic house in Westeros, thanks to their many gold mines, and have great influence. Her coat of arms is a golden lion on a red background, her motto is Hear me roar . A common saying, however, is a Lannister always pays his debt .

Tywin Lannister

Tywin Lannister (originally Tywin Lannister ), Lord von Casterlystein and Guardian of the West , is a capable politician and general, but reserved in personal dealings and often rather cold. He was the hand of the Targaryen king Aerys II for 20 years, with whom he had a deep friendship in her youth, but fell out during Aerys' reign. In the civil war led by Robert Baratheon, he took the side of the houses of Baratheon and Stark very late and with his troops took the capital, which was sacked. He married his cousin Joanna Lannister, who is said to have been the only one who ever made him laugh. He hated laughter very much because his father (a weak lord) was always laughed at by the people. His children are Jaime, Cersei and Tyrion, although he values ​​the latter very little, as he was born with a handicap and his mother died in childbirth.

Plot A Game of Thrones

After Tyrion is captured, he marches into the river lands, as he cannot allow the House of Lannister to be feared and respected any longer. Upon his release, Tyrion joins his father and Tywin defeats a Stark army. While only 2000 men were sent against Tywin in the series, in A Game of Thrones Tywin beats Robb's southern army under the command of Lord Roose Bolton, who, however, can pull himself off with a good part of the troops. After Jaime's capture by the Starks, Tywin is shocked and realizes that Tyrion knows how to interpret the political situation correctly. He then sends Tyrion to the capital to act as a hand in his place.

Plot A Clash of Kings

Tywin marches to Harrenhal to regroup his troops. After learning that Robb has invaded the Westlands and defeated a Lannister army, he wants to conquer the Starks in the West. Edmure Tully, however, delays the Lannisters' march through fighting, which turns out to be a serious mistake: Robb had planned to lure Tywin to the west in order to then beat him. Edmure's actions leave enough time for Tywin to find out about Stannis Baratheon's march on the capital. It comes to an alliance with the house of Tyrell and Stannis is crushed on the river Schwarzwasser ( Blackwater in the original).

Plot A Storm of Swords

In King's Landing, Tywin then takes his place as the hand of King Joffrey. He brusquely rejects Tyrion's claim to Casterly Stone; He never forgot that when Tyrion was born, his mother, Joanna, Tywin's beloved wife, died. Tywin married Tyrion to Sansa Stark instead. Apparently he had already contacted Lords Frey and Bolton beforehand. After the “Red Wedding”, the royal peace seems to have been restored. Tywin is disappointed with Jaime's decision to remain Lord Commander and thus in the Kingsguard and not to rule over Casterlystein after Tywin. Tywin recognizes Joffrey's weaknesses and warns him that violence is the only way to rule, as the Targaryens learned. Joffrey dies at Joffrey's wedding party with Margaery Tyrell, and Tyrion is suspected. Tyrion is imprisoned and Tywin, along with Maes Tyrell and Oberyn Martell, leads the lawsuit against his son. Since Tyrion does not believe that justice can be expected in this, he demands a court battle, which his warrior Oberyn loses. Tyrion eventually faces his execution, but is freed by his brother Jaime. On the way out of the fortress, however, Tyrion takes a detour into the tower of the hand and there places his father on the toilet. After a conversation in which Tywin confronts his son with ugly details from the past, Tyrion kills his father with a crossbow.

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In the later books it is indirectly mentioned how Tywin, as a young lord , brutally and successfully fought rebellious vassals - the houses of Tarbeck and Regn (in the original Reyne ) - and thus restored the supremacy of the house of Lannister in the western lands . People close to Lannister believe that no one can replace Tywin. It turns out that in fact no one can inherit Tywin, the position of the House of Lannister is becoming more and more precarious.

Jaime Lannister

Jaime Lannister (originally Jaime Lannister ) is the twin brother of Cersei and the eldest son of Tywin Lannister . He's handsome, blonde, and an excellent fighter, but often quite reckless. Jaime joined Aerys II's Royal Guard at a very young age, much to his father's annoyance. At the end of the civil war he killed Aerys (hence the inglorious epithet Kingslayer ), which even many opponents of the Targaryens viewed with contempt, as the Royal Guards swore lifelong loyalty. Jaime, unlike most of the others, feels affection for his brother Tyrion. He has had a forbidden incest relationship with Cersei since his youth and also has three children, Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen.

Plot A Game of Thrones

Jaime accompanies King Robert to Winterfell. His relationship with Cersei is in danger of being discovered when Bran Stark watches Jaime and Cersei having sex. Jaime pushes him down the tower. Bran, paralyzed by the fall, cannot remember anything afterwards, so the secret seems to be kept. Jaime's relationship with Eddard and Robert is quite tense, with Jaime openly despising the king, while he has respect for Eddard. After Tyrion's capture, he ambushes Eddard and wants to get his brother released. When they meet, he has Eddard's men killed, but only injures himself. Then Jaime leaves King's Landing and travels to Lord Tywin's army. Jaime and his troops are supposed to lay siege to Schnellwasser, but he is surprised by Robb Stark's troops. Jaime is captured and is a bargaining chip for the Starks.

Plot A Clash of Kings

Jaime is a prisoner of the Tullys in Schnellwasser. In the series, Robb Stark keeps him in a cage directly with his army because he doesn't want to trust Jaime to any of his vassals.

Plot A Storm of Swords

Jaime spends his time in the dungeon of Schnellwassers before he is released by Lady Catelyn, who confronted him, who wants to obtain the release of her daughters. Jaime is accompanied by Brienne von Tarth. Jaime tells her a lot about the earlier years during the trip. It turns out that Jaime only joined the Kingsguard to be around Cersei, who was then at court. He reveals to Brienne that Cersei is the only woman he has ever slept with. He remembers his youth, the knights he knew then, as well as the other famous royal guardsmen. Even to the Targaryens he was not entirely devoid of loyalty and even wanted to fight for Rhaegar, but King Aerys wanted him close because he was afraid of Tywin Lannister. When Jaime learned that Aerys was planning to set fire to the capital and wipe out all life there, he killed the king and all members of the court privy to the plan. When he then sat down on the Iron Throne, Eddard had come in and just eyed him coldly; then Jaime knew what the world would think of him later. On the way to King's Landing Jaime is captured by the mercenary Vargo Hoat and his right hand is cut off. He meets Lord Roose Bolton in Harrenhal. Bolton has Jaime taken care of and continues south; Brienne is to be detained, but Jaime frees her and together they travel to the capital. The news of the “Red Wedding” has now arrived there. Tywin wishes Jaime to become lord after him, but Jaime insists on his post in the Guard. His relationship with Cersei has cooled; Jaime seems to have changed and Cersei also meets him with some rejection. The sexual relationship between the two has also ended. He disagrees with Cersei or Tywin on many issues. He orders Brienne to keep Sansa's safety. He wants to speak to Tyrion, who is now sitting in the dungeon, but a dispute ensues and Tyrion reveals to Jaime that Cersei had many other lovers.

Plot A Feast for Crows

After Tyrion's escape and Tywin's death, Jaime is unsettled about the future. He rejects Cersei's offer to become the new hand of their son Tommen. Jaime goes to Schnellwasser, which is still held by Stark loyalists. The siege has reached a dead end as winter is slowly approaching. Jaime persuades the prisoner Edmure Tully to hand over the castle and threatens with the murder of Edmure's unborn child. Schnellwasser surrenders, but Brynden Tully escapes. When Cersei asked to come to her aid in the capital, Jaime did not respond.

Plot A Dance with Dragons

Jaime organizes the surrender of the last of the Stark loyalists. On the way, he trains Ser Ilyn Payn to wield his sword with his left hand. When Brienne suddenly appears and explains that he has found the missing Sansa Stark, which is why Jaime has to accompany her, he complies.

Cersei Lannister

The blonde and very good-looking Cersei comes from the Lannister family and is Jaime's twin sister, with whom she has had an extremely close relationship since she was a child; her relationship with her younger brother Tyrion, however, is almost entirely the opposite. Cersei was supposed to marry the heir to the throne of the royal family, Rhaegar Targaryen. However, this was refused by King Aerys II, so that she was married by her father Tywin to the victor Robert Baratheon at the end of the civil war, so that the Lannisters could keep their influence at the royal court. Cersei cleverly plays with her beauty and good manners, but doesn't shy away from more unconventional methods to achieve her ambitious goals. Despite her machinations, she is repeatedly described as a self-sacrificing mother who puts her hand in the fire for her children.

Plot A Game of Thrones

Cersei is reluctant to accompany Robert to Winterfell, since she has nothing left for the north. Cersei also feels little or nothing for Robert, who is still mourning his childhood sweetheart Lyanna Stark. In contrast, she pampers her children and continues to desire Jaime. Almost nobody knows that Jaime is actually the father of Crown Prince Joffrey and his two siblings Myrcella and Tommen. Politically, Cersei believes that he is equal to all men. After Eddard Stark reveals to her that he knows her secret and gives her time to flee, she arranges that Robert get more and more drunk on a hunt and ultimately be fatally injured by a boar. She then lets Eddard fall into a trap and arrest him. Joffrey becomes king and she acts as regent, but her son often turns out to be unpredictable, as Eddard's execution, which has not been agreed upon, shows.

Plot A Clash of Kings

Cersei is bitter that Tyrion comes to court as a proxy for her father. She tries to outmaneuver him, but Tyrion turns out to be a more adept political actor. With Jaime trapped by the Starks, Cersei takes several other lovers. When Stannis attacks the city, she holds a banquet and already believes that all is lost when suddenly the troops of the Lannisters and Tyrells arrive and repel Stannis' attack.

Plot A Storm of Swords

After Tywin comes to court, Cersei is politically sidelined. When Joffrey dies, she is horrified and accuses her hated brother Tyrion of the crime. He is charged and convicted, but can escape before the sentence is enforced and first kills Tywin.

Plot A Feast for Crows

Cersei is reigning regent for Tommen after the death of her father, but she is not up to the situation. Relationships with House Tyrell have grown strained as Jaime has changed and is no longer so easily bowing to her desires. Cersei becomes increasingly paranoid, suspecting conspiracy and betrayal almost everywhere. In addition, it acts extremely short-sighted and incompetent: it withholds interest payments from the notorious Iron Bank , to which the Reich owes large sums. As a result, it rehabilitates the ailing budget of the Krone in the short term, but the Iron Bank is known for overthrowing even kings in order to get money back.

The new High Septon, an ascetic and deeply religious person, does not allow himself to be influenced by Cersei like his corrupt predecessor. Since the crown also owes the church immense sums, he sees himself in a strong position. Again, Cersei acts very short-sightedly: For a cancellation of the debt she recognizes the right to an armed force for the church. Centuries ago, the Church was stripped of this privilege in a bloody conflict by the Targaryens, as can be seen for good reason: The High Septon, enormously popular among the impoverished refugee masses, can quickly recruit hundreds of soldiers. These "sparrows" establish themselves as the new house power of the church.

Cersei slips more and more control and it comes to a de facto break with the Tyrell house when she has Margaery Tyrell, who has now married Tommen and whose popularity Cersei fears, accused of treason and adultery. Some of her own lovers are said to be calling themselves lovers of the Queen by "confessing" their betrayal to the King. But it also comes into conflict with the new High Septon, and now all of their previous transgressions are repelling them. Under the torture, Cersei's lovers fall over and accuse the Queen Regent of having incited her. Cersei is charged with grave moral offenses and several crimes by the High Septon, and eventually has to confess some of them, although she denies the incest and involvement in Robert's death. Neither her uncle Kevan nor Jaime come to her aid while the Tyrells are mobilizing.

Plot A Dance with Dragons

Kevan Lannister can communicate with the Tyrells, but Cersei has to go naked on a humiliating penitential walk through town. She then demands a court battle to restore her honor; her fighter is Gregor Clegane, who - actually half dead - was resuscitated by her confidante Qyburn as "Ser Robert Strong". What is clear, however, is that Cersei will not be able to regain her old power.

Tyrion Lannister

Coat of arms of Tyrion Lannister

Tyrion Lannister (originally Tyrion Lannister , sometimes called a dwarf , half-man or gnome ) is Lord Tywin's youngest child. Tyrion's mother, Joanna, died at birth, for which his family - especially his father Tywin and sister Cersei - hold direct responsibility. He is short and has a vicious life. He is despised by many people around him, including his father, and overall he did not have a happy youth. He once married a whore who he thought was a poor woman. The marriage was annulled 2 weeks later. Tyrion feels sympathy for Jon Schnee, Bran Stark and other people who are despised or pityed by society. He has a keen mind and sense of humor. He is nine years younger than his siblings Jaime and Cersei.

Plot A Game of Thrones

When King Robert visits Winterfell, Tyrion is in his entourage. Tyrion is curious to see the wall and accompanies Jon Snow there, where they both become friends. Tyrion has no illusions about reality or the state of the night watch. On the way back he handed over the plans for a special saddle in Winterfell to enable the paralyzed Bran to ride. In an inn in the Riverside, he meets Lady Catelyn, who accuses him of being responsible for the attack on Bran. Tyrion has no choice, he has to accompany Catelyn to Hohenehr, where he protests his innocence and uses the opportunity to get into conversation with the mercenary Bronn. At Hohenehr he is also accused of the murder of Jon Arryn and locked in a heavenly cell. In order to be heard, he allegedly wants to confess, and although he lists numerous "offenses" in a humorous speech, he denies being responsible for the attempt on Bran and the murder of Jon Arryn. He demands a verdict through a fight, with Bronn agreeing to fight for Tyrion. Bronn wins and he and Tyrion leave Hohenehr.

In the mountains of the Arryn Valley, both members of the local tribes meet. They want to kill the two, but Tyrion is able to convince their leader Shagga, son of Dolf, that it will pay off if he accompanies them to his father. Once there, Tywin gives him a frosty welcome. A Stark army is advancing from the north and Tywin believes Robb will have an easy time of it, but Tyrion cautiously expresses doubts. The battle (in A Game of Thrones Tyrion fights, while in the series he is incapacitated by an accidental collision with a warhammer right at the beginning) ends victorious for the Lannisters, but Robbs was a ruse to buy time and Beat Jaime. Some Lords, in a subsequent interview, suggest that one should perhaps ask the Starks for peace; Tyrion bitterly interjects that this is not an option, as Robb would never be brought to the negotiating table after Eddard's execution. Tywin surprisingly agrees and sends Tyrion to the capital, where he is supposed to rule as a deputy hand, since apparently nobody at court has the overview. Tywin warns Tyrion, however, to take his "whore" with him; meant is Shae, a young woman who Tyrion met in the camp. Tyrion defies this order and takes her to King's Landing.

Tyrion also tells Shae the story of his first “wife”: As a boy, he happened upon a woman named Tysha, who was threatened by two robbers who tried to rape her. Tyrion distributed these. After providing them with food and wine, Tysha slept with Tyrion. Tyrion fell in love and proposed marriage to her, which she accepted. However, Tyrion's father, Tywin, revealed that Tysha was just a whore and that Jaime had planned everything to do Tyrion a favor. The marriage of the two is declared invalid. To teach Tyrion a lesson, his father promised Tysha a silver coin for every man in the castle crew she slept with. Tyrion was forced to see this; Tysha left the castle with numerous coins. This event accounts for much of Tyrion's cynicism.

Plot A Clash of Kings

In King's Landing Tyrion takes action shortly after his arrival: He makes it clear to Cersei that he knows about her secret with Jaime and that he intends to rule. He pits the various parties at court against each other, gets rid of unreliable people - for example, the commander of the city watch, Janos Slynt, is forced to join the night watch - and prepares the city for the attack by Stannis Baratheon. At the same time he plans to enter into an alliance with Dorne and for this purpose to marry Cersei's daughter Myrcella to Prince Trystan Martell. He puts Shae in a safe hiding place. When he is brought an offer from Robb Stark to exchange Jaime for Sansa and Arya (nobody at court knows that the latter has fled) and to renounce all claims of the Crown in the north and in the river lands, Tyrion refuses. Instead Robb should swear allegiance to the Iron Throne and release Jaime, then Robb's siblings would also be released; at the same time, Tyrion starts an unsuccessful attempt to rescue Jaime. At first glance, Tyrion pays little attention to a request for help from the Night's Watch. When it is known that Renly Baratheon is dead, Tyrion takes everything to get House Tyrell to the side of the Lannisters, which previously declared itself for Renly. The attack by Stannis on the capital can be repulsed thanks to Tyrion's preparations, although he himself actively intervenes in the battle and is deliberately badly wounded by a Royal Guard. Troops from Houses Lannister and Tyrell arrive just in time.

Plot A Storm of Swords

After the battle of the Blackwater River (originally Blackwater ), Tyrion needed a long time to get back on his feet; however remains heavily drawn. In addition, he has to watch how all the glory goes to his father, who after his arrival in the capital takes over the office of the hand, while Tyrion is appointed master of the coin. When Tyrion brings up his father's desire to become the heir of Casterlystein, Tywin harshly rejects this and Tyrion realizes that he can never win his father's respect. Tyrion has to marry Sansa Stark, a humiliation for Sansa, although Tyrion has always been friendly towards her. The wedding turns into a disgrace, Tyrion cannot even kiss his wife due to the size difference, much to the pleasure of Joffrey, who has learned to fear Tyrion as the hand of the king. Tyrion continues his affair with Shae. At Joffrey's wedding party, Joffrey dies; it is suspected that he was poisoned. Tyrion and Sansa - who fled during Joffrey's agony - are accused of this and other acts and then imprisoned. Lord Maes Tyrell and Prince Oberyn Martell will conduct his trial under the chairmanship of Tywin. Tyrion - ultimately provoked by Shae's testimony at the trial, which only intensifies the charge of guilt against him - protests his innocence and demands an arbitration battle. Prince Oberyn offers himself as his fighter. He is full of anger at the Lannisters, especially at Tywin, as Oberyn's beloved sister Elia, the wife of Rhaegar Targaryen, was killed in the sack of the capital by Lannister allegiance, as were their two young children. Oberyn takes on Gregor Clegane and seems to win, but then he is cocky and killed by his opponent. Tyrion loses all hope until suddenly his brother Jaime frees him. This now also admits that Tyrion's first wife Tysha was not a whore he paid for Tyrion; rather, she actually loved Tyrion, but Tywin forced Jaime to twist the truth. Tyrion tells Jaime, furious at this betrayal, that Cersei had several lovers, including her cousin Lancel Lannister. He also claims to be actually responsible for the death of Joffrey - Jaime's son. Jaime turns his back on Tyrion afterwards. Tyrion meets Varys, who has been forced by Jaime to help Tyrion escape. Although, according to Varys, it is urgent, Tyrion takes a detour and climbs up the tower of the hand into his father's apartment, where he finds Shae in his father's bed, whom he finds both for her betrayal at the trial and for the obvious fornication with his Father strangled. He finds his father on the toilet and threatens him with a crossbow. In the conversation between the two of them they come across Tysha, although Tywin cannot remember this whore of his son. Tyrion urgently warns him not to call Tysha a whore again, which Tywin ignores: He does not know "wherever whores go". Tyrion then shoots his father with the crossbow.

Plot A Dance with Dragons

Tyrion goes to Pentos, where Varys' friend Illyrio Mopatis receives him. Tyrion himself is inwardly haunted by the last words of his father - "wherever whores go" - and has since asked several people where it is, but receives no satisfactory answer. In a conversation, Illyrio offers Tyrion the opportunity to take revenge on his family by helping Daenerys Targaryen ascend the throne. Tyrion is taken with the idea and travels further east, where Daenerys rules in Meereen. Tyrion accompanies a knight named Greif (in the original Griff ) and his alleged son. But Tyrion realizes that both are not what they appear to be. He confronts them: The boy is Aegon Targaryen, the son of Rhaegar, whom everyone thinks dead, and Griffin Lord Jon Connington, a close friend of Rhaegars and a former hand of King Aerys II. Griffin warns Tyrion, but Tyrion promises that Keep a secret. Soon after, Tyrion is recognized in the city of Volantis by Jorah Mormont, who kidnaps him to bring him to Daenerys and thus rehabilitate himself. Penny, a dwarf, joins them on the way, but the group is caught by slave traders. They are taken to Meereen to fight in the arena for entertainment, but they escape. They join Ben Pflum's mercenary unit and Tyrion ponders how they could go over to Daenerys, who is now missing.

Kevan Lannister

Kevan Lannister (originally Kevan Lannister ) is Tywin's younger brother and 55 years old at the beginning of the plot. He is absolutely loyal to Tywin and has certain skills as a commander and politician, but without being able to compete with his brother.

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In A Game of Thrones , Kevan appears as Tywin's right-hand man during his campaign in the river lands without appearing particularly well. In A Clash of Kings he takes part in Tywin's campaign against Robb and against Stannis. His son Willem dies in the Starks captivity while his eldest son Lancel is wounded defending the capital. In A Storm of Swords , Kevan is named Master of Law by Joffrey. Unlike Tywin, Kevan sometimes shows a very understanding side, for example towards Sansa Stark or Tyrion. In A Feast for Crows , after Joffrey's and Tywin's deaths, he rejects the position as a hand that Cersei offers him. He doubts Cersei's competence as a mother and regent and also suggests that he knows her secret. He demands from her the title of regent and rule over Casterlystein, which Cersei furiously refuses; instead, she appoints Dawen Lannister ( Daven Lannister in the original) as Guardian of the West and Damion Lannister as Castellan of Casterlystein. Kevan withdraws, but after Cersei's arrest by the High Septon he is called back by the Privy Council to rule as regent. In A Dance with Dragons , Kevan receives news from the south telling of the landings of mercenaries who may be under the command of Lord Jon Connington, a Targaryen loyalist. At court, Kevan also notices the increasing influence of the House of Tyrell, with whom he has at least superficially made up after Cersei provoked a rupture. He believes that not Maes Tyrell, but Tyrell's henchman, Lord Randyll Tarly, is the more dangerous man and thinks about how to drive a wedge into the Tyrell camp. When he is called to Pycelle, he finds him dead and is met by Varys, who wants to see the Targaryens back on the throne and tells Kevan that he is a good man, but in the service of a bad cause. Then Varys kills him.

Lancel Lannister

Lancel Lannister is the eldest son of Kevan Lannister. He is described as a blond, handsome young man who shares similarities with his cousin Jaime. At the start of the plot, he is around 16 years old.

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In A Game of Thrones , Lancel and his cousin Tyrek serve as a squire for King Robert Baratheon. He is also involved in Robert's death, as he pours him enormous amounts of strong wine on the hunt, which quickly makes Robert drunk and easy prey for the boar, who ultimately kills him. In A Clash of Kings , Lancel is knighted for his services. He also shares a bed with his cousin Cersei during Jaime's captivity in Schnellwasser. Tyrion quickly learns of the affair and gets Lancel to provide him with information on Cersei's machinations in exchange for Tyrion's silence. Lancel is wounded during the Battle of Blackwater and later rewarded for his service in the battle with the title of Lord of Darry in the Riverside Lands. During his recovery in A Storm of Swords , he finds the Faith of the Seven. He marries a granddaughter of Walder Frey and leaves King's Landing to take possession of his land. In A Dance with Dragons , however, it turns out that Lancel has joined the warrior's sons , who are dedicated to serving the Faith of Seven. He is one of the religious warriors who escort Cersei through King's Landing on their penitential journey.

House of Baratheon

Coat of arms of the House of Baratheon

The Baratheons are climbers who made a name for themselves under Aegon the Conqueror around 300 years ago during the unification of the kingdoms of Westeros; Orys Baratheon, the founder of the house, is said to have been a half-brother of Aegon I. Since then they have ruled Storm's Cape (in the original Storm's End ). There they adopted the coat of arms and motto of the previous Lords and the Stormlands. Since the fall of the Targaryens, they have also ruled all of Westeros. Her coat of arms has been a crowned black stag on a golden field since Robert was king. Their motto is Ours is anger .

Robert Baratheon

Robert Baratheon (with full title: Robert, the first of his name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Empire) has ruled since his victory in the civil war (in the book about 14 years, in the Series approx. 17 years) Westeros. Robert, who lost his parents at an early age, has been friends with Eddard Stark since his youth, when they both lived as wards with Jon Arryn on Hohenehr. As a young man he was engaged to his great love Lyanna Stark - Eddard's sister. When Lyanna was kidnapped by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and his father, King Aerys II, had several high-ranking figures killed, including Eddard's father and brother Brandon, a rebellion broke out. With the death of Rhaegars, whom Robert personally killed during the Battle of the Trident, as well as Aerys' II and the sack of King's Landing, the civil war ended. In his youth he was considered a handsome, handsome fighter, but he has grown significantly in recent years and, unlike in the past, has grown a wild beard. He likes to have fun at parties and with other women. He has relatively little left for his wife Cersei. He married Cersei on the advice of Jon Arryn, who thought a connection with the Lannisters would be advantageous. Jon Arryn died immediately before the start of the action, which is why Robert and a large part of his court make their way north.

Plot A Game of Thrones

King Robert goes to Winterfell to appoint Eddard Stark to be the king's hand . Eddard only reluctantly accepts and both men also agree to connect their two houses through the marriage of Sansa Stark to Prince Joffrey. Robert himself hardly devotes himself to government business. In the event of a conflict, he sometimes reluctantly takes the stand of his wife Cersei, even though he has nothing to do with the Lannisters. Robert argues with Eddard mainly about the surviving Targaryens, whom Robert would like to have killed, whereas Eddard objects and briefly resigns from his position as a hand. Eddard complains that Robert is no longer the man he used to be, but both ultimately remain friends. When Robert is seriously injured by a wild boar after a long hunt and lies dying, he dictates his will to Eddard on his deathbed and appoints his friend as Lord Regent of the Empire until his son Joffrey is of legal age. Eddard changes the wording of the will while dictating, which now shows Robert's brother Stannis as the legal heir. Eddard cannot bring himself to tell Robert the truth about his children, who come from the incest of Jaimes and Cersei. After Robert's death, Eddard insists on the last will of the king, but Cersei tears it up in front of the assembled court and thus consolidates the power of Robert's son, Joffrey.

Cersei Baratheon

See Cersei Lannister

Joffrey Baratheon

Coat of arms of King Joffrey Baratheon

Joffrey is considered the eldest child of Robert Baratheon and is thus Crown Prince of the empire. He is usually quite charming, but is very self-absorbed, often reacts maliciously to supposed insults and is above all concerned with his own benefit. He often shows his cruel and sadistic streak and loves to harm living beings and likes to use his power in the process. He is pampered by his mother Cersei, who has inoculated him from early childhood on her own philosophy that the power is there to twist reality the way you want it. He is twelve years old at the beginning of the bookstore and a few years older in the series. His royal coat of arms shows the crowned stag of the Baratheons, black on gold, and the lion of the Lannisters, gold on purple.

Plot A Game of Thrones

In Winterfell, Joffrey only shows feigned pity for Bran Stark. Joffrey is also indirectly responsible for the death of Arya's friend Mycah, who is killed by Joffrey's "dog" Sandor Clegane. Eddard Stark finds out that Joffrey and his siblings actually come from the incest of Cersei with their brother Jaime, but cannot make this public. At first, Joffrey appears to be courteous towards Sansa, but arbitrarily orders the execution of her father, which turns out to be a serious political mistake. From then on he still behaves more arrogantly than before and does not always listen to Cersei.

Plot A Clash of Kings

Joffrey becomes more and more unpredictable and often shows his brutal side; it also shows that it was he who hired the assassin to kill Bran. He only knows how to respond to criticism with anger and violence, but he is relatively powerless when Tyrion actually ignores him. As a king, Joffrey is unpopular, and there are even riots in the capital. When starving people gather in front of the castle gate and demand bread, Joffrey shoots the crowd with a crossbow and calls out to the people to eat their dead. At the battle of the Schwarzwasser he hardly appears as the actual commander of his army.

Plot A Storm of Swords

When the news of the "Red Wedding" arrives, Joffrey is in a triumphant frenzy, but Tywin rebukes him, realizing that Joffrey is not very good as a ruler in this condition. Joffrey marries Margaery Tyrell and dies of a poison attack during the festivities; later it becomes increasingly clear that Olenna Tyrell was involved, as she could not accept a king like Joffrey. Only Cersei seems to be genuinely mourning Joffrey, his biological father Jaime has to admit that the death of his child leaves him practically indifferent.

Myrcella Baratheon

Myrcella is the second child and only daughter of Robert Baratheon. Myrcella is described by her uncle Tyrion as as beautiful as her mother Cersei, but without her negative character traits. She is around eight years old at the start of the plot.

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Myrcella travels to Winterfell with the royal family in A Game of Thrones . She takes part in the celebrations and later shows sympathy for Bran, who fell while climbing. Even with her it turns out that she comes from the incest of Jaime and Cersei, but this is not publicly known. In A Clash of Kings , she is sent to Dorne by her uncle Tyrion Lannister, who acts as the king's hand. She is supposed to marry Trystan Martell, the youngest son of Prince Doran Martell. This alliance, Tyrion hopes, will improve relations between Dorne and the Iron Throne. When she arrived in Dorne, she got along well with Trystan, with whom she shared a passion for the board game Cyvasse . In A Feast for Crows , after the news of King Joffrey's death, Arianne Martell, Prince Doran's heiress, plans to crown Myrcella Queen of the Seven Kingdoms according to Dornish inheritance law. Arianne kidnaps Myrcella together with some loyal followers, including Ser Arys Oak Heart from the Royal Guard, whom Arianne seduced. This plan fails, however, as they are stopped by Prince Doran's men under Areo Hotah. Ary's oak heart loses its life in the ensuing tumult, Myrcella loses an ear. In A Dance with Dragons , the Royal Guard Ser Balon Swann (the successor of Arys Oakheart as Myrcella's protector), who has traveled to Dorne, learns of the events in a slightly falsified representation of Myrcella. At the urging of Ariannes Gerold Dayn (original Gerold Dayne ), who was involved in the kidnapping, she also accuses Ser Arys of the murder and charges him as a mastermind. Ser Balon swears to her to bring down Gerold Dayn.

Tommen Baratheon

Tommen is the youngest child of Robert Baratheon. Tommen is usually described as a plump and kind-hearted child. He loves cats and, unlike his brother Joffrey, shows empathy for other people and living beings. He is around seven years old at the start of the plot.

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In A Game of Thrones , Tommen, like his siblings, is on the trip to Winterfell. Back in King's Landing, Eddard Stark learns that Tommen and his siblings are the result of the incest of Jaime and Cersei; however, this does not become public. After the outbreak of war, Tommen in A Clash of Kings is to be brought from the capital and to Rosby at the behest of his mother Cersei. However, the convoy is attacked by the men of his uncle Tyrion Lannister and from then on Tommen is brought by them to Rosby, where he stays until after the battle of the Schwarzwasser. After Joffrey's death in A Storm of Swords , Tommen is crowned the new king on the Iron Throne. He is married to Margaery Tyrell - who was previously in a relationship with his brother - who soon wins him over and gradually manages to withdraw him from the strong influence of his mother. In A Feast for Crows, Cersei, who is now Queen Regent after Lord Tywin's death, disagrees with the Tyrells' enormous increase in power at court and intrigues against Margaery, who is soon imprisoned by the church for adultery. When Cersei himself is charged and imprisoned, Tommen tries to deal with the small council as best he can. Kevan Lannister, Tommen's great-uncle, is appointed as the new Lord Regent. He has Tommen locked up in A Dance with Dragons during his mother's penance in the Red Keep to save him the sight of the humiliated Cersei.

Stannis Baratheon

Coat of arms of Stannis Baratheon

Stannis Baratheon is the eldest of the younger Roberts brothers. He is considered a very stubborn, disciplined man with an iron will, who is distant and humorless in personal dealings. But he is also considered a very good strategist and commander, who successfully held Storm Cape for a year against the siege of the Targaryen loyalists in the civil war and later destroyed the fleet of Greyjoy. Stannis is considered to be extremely fair-minded: When supplies ran out during the siege in Storm Cape, the smuggler Davos managed to reach the fortress with a small ship. Thanks to the supplies he had brought with him, Stannis managed to hold out the siege. Since Davos had saved him, Stannis gave him the title of knight and a castle and lands. However, since Davos was a long-time smuggler, a criminal offense for which the smuggler's hand was usually severed, Davos should also lose his hand. In view of Davos' merits, however, he should only lose the first phalanges of the left hand. Davos agreed, provided Stannis himself would carry out the enforcement, which Stannis did. Stannis rules Drachenstein (originally Dragonstone ), the old island fortress of the Targaryens and the former seat of the heir to the throne, who was Stannis before the birth of Robert's son Joffrey.

Plot A Game of Thrones

In A Game of Thrones he is only mentioned by name. Stannis knows that Robert is not the father of Cersei's children and seems to have suspected this long ago; he expressed this suspicion to Jon Arryn, who then investigated further. After Robert's death, Stannis declares himself rightful king. He sees himself practically forced to fulfill his duty and not out of ambition, as he had previously loyally served his older brother Robert, but never received thanks for it. His resources are very limited at the beginning.

Plot A Clash of Kings

In his vicinity is the mysterious priestess Melisandre from Asshai, who sees Stannis as the Messiah (Azor Ahai) of her god R'hllor. Melisandre is gaining increasing influence at the court of Stannis, although Stannis himself is quite skeptical at first, but uses the rapidly spreading belief among his people for his own purposes. He attacks Storm Cape, whereupon Renly rushes there. Renly refuses to recognize Stannis as king and makes fun of his older brother. The following night, Renly dies, Melisandre apparently using supernatural powers. Parts of Renly's army move over to Stannis, although the Tyrells now turn to the Lannisters. Stannis attacks the capital in a combined sea-land operation, but fails and is defeated by the enemy troops.

Plot A Storm of Swords

Stannis withdraws with the remaining troops to Drachenstein. Its situation seems hopeless, as it is only a matter of time before the enemy attacks it here too. Tension spreads among the men. Melisandre thinks that a human sacrifice must be made, but Stannis' confidante and new hand, Lord Davos, vehemently oppose it. He suggests going to the wall, where the night watch is harassed. Surprisingly, Stannis agrees and beats the wildlings, saving the night watch.

Plot A Feast for Crows

Stannis negotiates with Jon Schnee, whom he wants to make the new Lord of Winterfell, since the name Stark still has great weight in the north, but Jon refuses. On the other hand, Stannis has more success in his negotiations with the Wildlings and also secures secure bases on the wall.

Plot A Dance with Dragons

Stannis intends to secure a new power base in the north in order to intervene again in the fight. To do this, he has to beat the Boltons, who betrayed the Starks and who are now the new guardian of the north. But Jon declares it insane, since winter is approaching and Grauenstein, the seat of the Bolton family, is difficult to take. Instead, on Jon's advice, Stannis marches to the mountain clans, who are still loyal to the Starks, and recaptures territories that the Iron Men still hold. Then Stannis plans to march on Winterfell, where Roose Bolton wants to marry off his bastard son Ramsay to an alleged Arya Stark. But the train towards Winterfell ends in the snow chaos when winter falls brutally.

Selyse Baratheon

Selyse Baratheon (nee Florent) is the wife of Stannis Baratheon and the mother of their daughter Sharin. Selyse is described as not very attractive and easy to influence. She becomes an ardent advocate of the religion of the red god R'hllor and worships the red priestess Melisandre.

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Selyse stays with her family on Drachenstein during the plot of A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings , where she discovers her belief in the god R'hllor for herself. She supports the priestess Melisandre, who is rapidly gaining influence at Stannis' court. Some R'hllor believers among Stannis' men soon call themselves "the Queen's men" because of Selyse's piety. When her uncle Alester Florent is charged with treason in A Storm of Swords and is later cremated, Selyse does nothing to save him. On the advice of Davos Seewert, Stannis decides to sail north to assist the night watch. Selyse and her daughter Sharin are also taken on the trip. In A Feast for Crows , Stannis arrives at the wall. He himself travels on to the Black Fortress, while Selyse and Sharin initially stay in Ostwacht and only follow him later. They are to later move into the empty night festival that was left to Stannis by the night watch.

Sharin Baratheon

Sharin (originally Shireen ) Baratheon is the only child of Stannis Baratheon and his wife Selyse Florent. She is a smart and quiet child who fell ill with gray scale ( greyscale in the original) as a toddler , a disease that affects the skin and turns it into stone. Mostly fatal for adults, children can survive the gray scales, including Sharin, whose left half of the face has been disfigured since then. She maintains a great friendship with the fool Flickenfratz , who seems to alleviate her mostly sad state of mind a little. She is around nine years old at the start of the plot.

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Sharin first appears in A Clash of Kings on Drachenstein, where she lives with her parents. After Stannis spreads the information that Cersei Lannister's children Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen are in truth Cersei's incestuous relationship with her brother Jaime, Tyrion Lannister in return lets rumors spread about Sharin, who is also alleged to be a bastard, sired either by the fool Flickerface or from Axell Florent, her mother's brother. However, these rumors soon fade without having had much effect.

In A Storm of Swords , Sharin befriends Edric Sturm, an illegitimate son of Robert Baratheon, on Drachenstein. When Stannis sets off north to the wall with his fleet and army, he takes Selyse and Sharin with him, but initially leaves them in Ostwacht at the sea. Only in A Dance with Dragons does Stannis have his wife and daughter follow him to the Black Fortress.

Renly Baratheon

Renly, Lord of Storm's Cape, is Roberts' youngest brother and also a member of the royal council. He is handsome and open, but has his own goals. He is a good friend of Loras Tyrell, the third son of Maes Tyrell, the mighty Lord of Rosengarten. A love affair between him and Loras is explicitly shown in the television series, while this is only hinted at in the books. As Lord of Storm's Cape, Renly, which the king gave him after his accession to the throne, carries the same banner as his older brother Robert.

Plot A Game of Thrones

Renly tries to get along with all the groups at court as well as possible, but Robert has little interest in him. When Robert is seriously injured, Renly offers Eddard Stark his support in vain. Renly realizes that he can take advantage of the hour himself and goes south with Loras Tyrell. There he forged an alliance with the House of Tyrell, married Loras' sister Margaery and, like his brother Stannis, laid claim to the title of king.

Plot A Clash of Kings

Renly has gathered a vast army from the Reach and the Stormlands when Catelyn Stark arrives at his place. Renly is friendly, but only wants to advance slowly and thus take advantage of the fact that the Lannisters and Starks are fighting each other. When he receives news of Stannis' landing at Storm Cape, he rushes there with part of the army. Of course, he does not recognize Stannis and believes that he has all the trumps in hand, but he is murdered by magic by Stannis on the night. The alliance of House Baratheon with House Tyrell then breaks apart. His lover Ser Loras is appalled by Renly's death.

Targaryen house

A coat of arms showing a red three-headed dragon on a black field over a scroll reading "Fire and Blood."
Coat of arms of the House of Targaryen
family tree of House Targaryen, from George RR Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series
Family tree of House Targaryen with English labeling

The Dragon Kings ruled Westeros for over 280 years. They are descended from the nobility of old Valyria and outwardly differ from other people in Westeros, mainly through their unusual eye and hair color. Aegon Targaryen conquered six of the seven kingdoms of Westeros with three dragons and a small army of Dragonstone; later the southern kingdom of Dorne was added by marriage. After their defeat in the Civil War, there are only three Targaryens left, two of whom have sought refuge on the eastern neighboring continent of Essos. The house of Targaryen's coat of arms is a three-headed red dragon on a black background, their motto is fire and blood .

Daenerys Targaryen

Daenerys (often called "Dany") is the youngest child of King Aerys II. She is considered a true beauty, is intelligent, and quick to grasp and empathize. She was not yet born when her older brother Rhaegar died on the Trident and her father was murdered. She has never seen Westeros and initially only knows Viserys' stories from her old home. At the beginning of the bookstore she is 13 years old, at the beginning of the television series she is about 16/17 years old.

Plot A Game of Thrones

Daenerys had always expected to marry her brother Viserys . This was the custom of the Targaryens and already in ancient Valyria, in order to keep the bloodline of the nobility "pure". She was all the more shocked that she should marry the “barbarian” and Dothraki prince Khal Drogo. But she comes to terms with it, finally develops feelings for Drogo and learns very quickly what it takes to assert herself. She emancipates herself from her brother and develops in the course of the plot from a shy girl, often frightened by Visery's, into a self-confident and determined young woman. She also realizes that Viserys is incapable of ruling, and so accepts his death relatively calmly; on the other hand, she makes sure that Dothraki prisoners are treated as well as possible. Ser Jorah Mormont, who acts as her confidante and is secretly in love with her, says she really is the sister of her brother Rhaegar.

At the age of 14 she becomes pregnant by Drogo; she is prophesied that her son will be the "stallion who will climb the world". She wishes to return to Westeros, but Drogo ignores this at first. Only after an assassination attempt ordered by Robert does he rethink and plan the invasion. But first he is wounded. The opaque maegi Mirri Maz Duur, for whom Daenerys had campaigned, takes care of him, but the wound becomes infected. Daenerys loses her child in a ritual and is said to never be able to have one again, while Drogo's condition is critical. Almost all of Drogo's men leave her. Mirri Maz Duur explains that the Dothraki deserved this because they destroyed everything that they loved. Daenerys redeems Drogo and sacrifices the Maegi on a pyre on which Drogo's corpse and three petrified dragon eggs are placed. She herself also climbs into the fire. The next day, Daenerys herself is unharmed while the dragons have hatched. With only a few followers, she faces an uncertain future.

Plot A Clash of Kings

Daenerys names her three dragons Viserion , Rhaegal and Drogon ; they should now be their children. She is also determined to return to Westeros and drive out the usurper Robert, of whose death she only learns later. She crossed a desert with her few followers and reached an abandoned city from where she sent out scouts. Eventually she arrives in the rich trading city of Qarth, where one is completely fascinated by her dragons, but is not interested in helping her to conquer Westeros. The influential trader Xaro Xhoan Daxos advises her against the plan, but Daenerys sticks to her decision. Quaithe of Asshai gives her ominous advice while the warlock Pyat Pree leads her into a house where Daenerys has visions of the future and the past. But she notices that the warlocks are acting against her; then she lets Drogon destroy the house. In doing so, however, she has created more powerful enemies. An assassination attempt on Daenerys only just fails. At the docks she receives news that Magister Illyrio has sent Mopatis ships to bring her to Pentos. Daenerys then goes west by sea, now accompanied by a man named Arstan.

Plot A Storm of Swords

Daenerys is on the trip to Pentos, where Arstan tells her stories from Westeros and especially about Rhaegar. She decides to travel to the slave city of Astapor in order to acquire the “Immaculate”, famous, specially trained soldiers with whom she hopes to conquer Westeros. The slave cities of this region had been defeated by Valyria long ago, so that Daenerys, who is proud of her Valyrian heritage, is not welcomed very warmly here, although her priceless dragons arouse greed in the traders. In Astapor she buys soldiers in exchange for one of her dragons. But the slave masters were deceived by Daenerys because a dragon can never be a slave and therefore does not obey them. The soldiers kill the slave masters on behalf of Daenerys; then she explains that they are all no longer slaves, but free people. Many follow it out of loyalty while a new government is being established in Astapor. She continues to Yunkai, where she meets the mercenary Daario Naharis, whom she is attracted to. Yunkai also falls and the army moves on to Meereen, the largest slave city. During this time, Daenerys proves that she also has a certain strategic talent. However, Meereen is too well fortified to be taken in a storm. Meanwhile, Daenerys learns that Arstan is really Ser Barristan Selmy. He enters her service and tells her that Jorah Mormont spied for Robert. Deeply hurt by this betrayal, she banishes Mormont, who has confessed his love to her. Meereen eventually falls through a commando operation and Daenerys decides to stay here for the time being and learn how to rule. She says to Ser Barristan that precisely because she is a dragon and not a harpy (the old coat of arms of the slave cities), she cannot leave the people here to their fate.

Plot A Dance with Dragons

Daenerys is confronted with the fact that her dragons are getting bigger and more and more uncontrollable; now they even kill people hunting for food. At the same time Daenerys' rule in Meereen is threatened inside by the "sons of the harpy" who are waging a shadow war against their rule, since Daenerys has broken with many old (sometimes very bloody) customs and stopped the slave trade. Outside there is danger from a coalition of slave cities like Yunkai or from cities that are dependent on slaves. In addition, Daenerys is feared by other rulers of the region because of her successes and her dragons, whereas the people freed by her call her "mother". Astapor, where there is now a tyrant, is first conquered by the enemy coalition. Then the army marches against Meereen. Xaro Xhoan Daxos from Qarth arrives and offers her a safe crossing. But there are too few ships for all of her followers, and Daenerys does not want to simply let Meereen down. With this decision, she also makes Qarth an enemy, which is dependent on the slave trade. An epidemic breaks out in the south, so Daenerys has the city cordoned off.

The Shadow War spreads in the city, with more and more of Daenerys' men and their followers being murdered. She falls in love with Daario Naharis, although she knows that the mercenary cannot actually be trusted. Daenerys is offered to marry the influential Hizdahr zo Loraq because he has the power to end the shadow war and to make peace with the enemy coalition. At the same time, Prince Quentyn Martell von Dorne appears at her court and reveals that a secret marriage agreement between the houses of Targaryen and Martell exists; he has now come to lead Daenerys home, but she rejects him. To ensure peace, Daenerys sees no other option and agrees to marry Hizdahr; Before that, however, she sleeps with Daario.

Hizdahr enforces that the arenas are reopened, which Daenerys feels repulsed by. Daenerys' dragons are becoming increasingly uncontrollable. During the wedding celebrations in an arena, Drogon appears and spreads death and panic. He seems to be attacking Daenerys, who can mount him with difficulty and rides away on him. In Meereen, most of them consider them dead, while the other two dragons are now free (for which Quentyn Martell is inadvertently responsible, who was fatally injured in the process) and are causing fear among the population. War is back with the coalition and Hizdahr now rules the city before being deposed by Ser Barristan, who defends Daenerys' interests. Meanwhile, Daenerys has flown a long way with Drogon, pondering her mistakes. She and Drogon are finally found by Dothraki under Khal Jhaqo, whom they calmly awaits.

Viserys Targaryen

Viserys claims the Crown of the Seven Kingdoms as the eldest surviving child of King Aerys II. As a young boy, he and his sister Daenerys were brought to safety in the Free Cities by loyalists, but funds have now been completely exhausted. He has the typical appearance of a Targaryen, but his character is weak and has a rather choleric temperament. He is also called the "Beggar King", because despite his claim to the throne he has to fight his way through the Free Cities at the expense of others.

Plot A Game of Thrones

In order to regain power and take revenge on the Starks, Baratheons and Lannisters, Viserys can use any means. Illyrio Mopatis, Magister of the Free City of Pentos, arranges for him to marry his sister Daenerys with the Dothraki warlord Khal Drogo, who in return is supposed to win the throne for Viserys. But Drogo is not behaving as Viserys had hoped; his influence on Daenerys is also waning. Viserys feels increasingly isolated and is pushing for the invasion to begin quickly. However, Daenerys realizes that Viserys will never lead them home and that he is not fit to rule. When he finally threatens Daenerys' life and that of her unborn child, Drogo kills him by pouring molten gold over him. Although Daenerys often suffered from him, she names one of her dragons after him: Viserion .

Aemon Targaryen

See Aemon

Rhaegar Targaryen

Rhaegar was the eldest son of King Aerys II and thus crown prince of the empire. He was handsome, very intelligent, and extremely adaptive. As a child he was infatuated with books and showed no interest in weapons until one day he read something that made him rethink. He then became a well-known knight, at the same time he was also considered a talented musician. Rhaegar was very popular with the people and was attractive to women, while he was mostly charismatic to men. His closest friends included Ser Arthur Dayn, a famous Knight of the Kingsguard, and Lord Jon Connington, his father's hand.

Rhaegar was married to Elia Martell von Dorne and had two children with her, Aegon and Rhaenys. He seems to have been attracted to Lyanna Stark, because after his victory in the big tournament in Harrenhal he crowned her instead of Elia as queen of the tournament. A few months later, he is said to have kidnapped Lyanna, which led to the rebellion of the Stark and Baratheon houses. The background is unclear; it is also possible that both had a child together. Rhaegar eventually returned to the capital from the south and gathered troops. He pointed Jaime opposite on to regulate the power again after the war, as it the government inability to recognize his father. But it never came to that, because the army of the Targaryens was defeated on the River Trident and Rhaegar himself was killed by Robert in a duel. Rhaegar's wife and children were brutally killed in the sack of the capital, although A Dance with Dragons reveals that Aegon allegedly survived.

Daenerys named one of her dragons Rhaegal in memory of him .

Aerys II. Targaryen

King Aerys II, popularly called the Mad King by his enemies and after the successful rebellion of Robert Baratheon , was the father of Rhaegar, Viserys and Daenerys. As is often the case with the Targaryens, he was married to his sister Rhaella. His rule began hopefully, especially since the often very spirited Aerys could also be generous and engaging. He had a deep friendship with Tywin Lannister, his future hand, even in their youth. Over time, especially after his captivity in Dämmertal ( Duskendale in the original) by the rebellious Lord Finsterlyn ( Darklyn in the original) - whose family and house the king had wiped out after the end of the hostage situation - he changed greatly, became paranoid and increasingly violent. In the end he even no longer trusted his children, above all he feared the wrath of Tywin, with which he had fallen out during his reign. He was showing increasing signs of mental illness and deteriorating physically. When he murdered Rickard and Brandon Stark, he started an open civil war. None of his advisors showed themselves really capable, so that Rhaegar returned from the south and took command of the army of the empire, but fell on the Trident. Shortly afterwards, Tywin's army also appeared outside the capital. Aerys was persuaded that Tywin had come to his rescue, but King's Landing was sacked instead. Aerys ordered the city to be destroyed by sea ​​fire (see also Greek fire ). Jaime Lannister got ahead of this and killed him. This gave Jaime the derisive nickname regicide .

Aegon I. Targaryen

Aegon I. Targaryen, also called Aegon the Conqueror (originally Aegon the Conqueror ), was the founder of the United Kingdom of Westeros. Aegon I united six of the seven kingdoms under his rule around 300 years before the start of the plot, thus establishing the rule of the House of Targaryen in Westeros, which lasted until the fall of Aerys II.

Aegon's family had relocated to the westernmost outpost of the Free State, the island of Drachenstein, before Valyria's fall. According to the Valyrian custom, he married within the family and took his two sisters Visenya and Rhaenys as wives. With them, their three large dragons (Vhagar, Meraxes and Balerion) and a small army, he landed on the spot where he later had the capital of King's Landing built. Aegon was a skilled strategist who succeeded in conquering the kingdom of the Iron Islands, which stretched into the river lands, and the realm of the Storm King. He defeated the united armies of the expanse and the west, and the houses of Arryn and Stark also submitted. Only Dorne was able to maintain its independence and was later only integrated into the empire through a marriage connection. Aegon had the Iron Throne forged from the swords of the vanquished.

The successors of Aegon the Conqueror:

  • 037-42 0Aenys I.
  • 042–48 0Maegor I, the Cruel
  • 048–103 Jaehaerys I, the arbitrator
  • 103–129 Viserys I.
  • 129-131 Aegon II.
  • 131–157 Aegon III., The dragon death
  • 157–161 Daeron I, the young dragon
  • 161–171 Baelor I.
  • 171–172 Viserys II.
  • 172-184 Aegon IV., The unworthy
  • 184–209 Daeron II, brought Dorne into the empire
  • 209-221 Aerys I.
  • 221-233 Maekar I.
  • 233–259 Aegon V, the improbable
  • 259–262 Jaehaerys II.
  • 262–283 Aerys II, the mad king

House Tully

House Tully coat of arms

The Tullys have ruled the river lands since the time of Aegon the Conqueror, but they had already ruled the great Schnellwasser Castle (in the original Riverrun ). Her coat of arms shows a jumping silver trout on a red and blue wavy background, her motto is family, duty, honor .

Hoster Tully

Lord Hoster Tully is the Lord of Schnellwasser. He used to be an agile man and capable politician who stood on his side during Robert's rebellion against the Targaryens and during that time had to fight several of his vassals who remained loyal to the Targaryens (including the Houses of Mooton, Darry and Ryger). He is now very old and is seriously ill. His children are Edmure, Catelyn (Stark) and Lysa (Arryn).

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In A Game of Thrones , Lord Hoster has been sick for years and is therefore unable to organize the defense of the river lands against the Lannisters; this task falls to Edmure. However, he is delighted to learn of the victory over Jaime Lannister. During the action in A Clash of Kings his condition deteriorates further, in A Storm of Swords he finally dies.

Catelyn Tully

See Catelyn Stark

Edmure Tully

Edmure is the only son of Lord Hoster's heir to Schnellwasser. Edmure is of medium height, has the typical red-brown hair of the Tullys and has a beard. He is a cheerful young man, but not particularly deliberate.

Plot A Game of Thrones

When the Lannisters invade the river lands, he opposes them, but is defeated and captured by Jaime. When the Starks lift the siege of Swiftwater, Edmure is freed, who joins Robb Stark like the other River Lords.

Plot A Clash of Kings

Edmure remains in rapid water while Robb invades the west. When the Lannisters want to retreat west, Edmure hinders their advance and delays it for a long time. This soon turns out to be a big mistake, however, as Lord Tywin thus learns of Stannis' advance and can ally himself with the Tyrells.

Plot A Storm of Swords

Robb makes serious accusations upon his return to Edmure for not having ordered him to prevent the Lannisters from marching west. Edmure was not privy to Robb's plan to lure Tywin west and put him in a convenient location. Edmure's actions meant that the Lannisters had now triumphed over Stannis in alliance with the Tyrells on the Schwarzwasser. Since there was also a break with the Freys, Edmure is now to marry Roslin Frey; then Robb would head north. Edmure reluctantly agrees, but takes a liking to Roslin. When the "Red Wedding" comes, Edmure is with Roslin and does not witness the events.

Plot A Feast of Crows

Edmure is now a prisoner of the Freys, who lead him to a gallows every day during the siege of Schnellwasser in order to demoralize the defenders, but this has no effect. Edmure, on the other hand, is almost tired of his life. When Jaime arrives, he calmly anticipates his execution, but is treated surprisingly well. Jaime wants Edmure to force his uncle Brynden to hand over the castle. Edmure, Roslin, and his child would be treated appropriately, but otherwise rapid water would be bloody and Edmure's child would be killed. Edmure is left with no choice; he arranges the handover, but first makes sure that Brynden can escape. The angry Jaime has Edmure brought to Casterlystein under close guard.

Lysa Tully

See Lysa Arryn

Brynden Tully

Brynden "Black Fish" Tully coat of arms

Brynden Tully, called "Black Fish", is the younger brother of hoster Tully and thus the uncle of Catelyn, Edmure and Lysa. Bryndens relationship with Hoster is quite tense, as Brynden has gone his own way apart from the family (hence his nickname "Schwarzfisch" or "Blackfish" in the original). He is considered a good fighter, whom even Jaime Lannister admired in his youth.

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In A Game of Thrones , Brynden serves the Arryns, but when Catelyn appears in the valley, he joins her. He then serves Robb as a reliable commander and is decisively involved in several battles in the following time. In A Clash of Kings he accompanies Robb to the west, where he is instrumental in the campaign, and returns with him in A Storm of Swords . During the "Red Wedding" he stays in Schnellwasser and successfully holds the castle against the Lannisters in A Feast of Crows . Jaime tries to persuade him to surrender, but Brynden sarcastically replies that he only talks to him to pass the time during the siege. His men might fall in a charge, but they were prepared while the Lannisters would lose thousands. First Edmure persuades Brynden to give up, but first helps him to escape. Nothing is known about Brynden's further fate.

House Arryn

Coat of arms of the House of Arryn

The Arryns, one of the purest and oldest lines of the Andalusian nobility, ruled the kingdom of the mountains and valleys before the arrival of the Targaryens, before they submitted to the invaders and since then acted as "guardians of the east". Their headquarters in Hohenehr (in the original Eyrie ) is considered to be de facto impregnable due to its location. Her coat of arms is the white moon-falcon symbol on a blue field, her motto is high as honor .

Jon Arryn

Jon Arryn, who had just passed away at the beginning of the novel and the series, was like a second father to Robert Baratheon and Eddard Stark, who grew up with him as wards. Out of love for them, he had risen against the Targaryens, and several of his family members died. Jon then served Robert as the king's hand until his death. He uncovered the secret of Cersei's children, but could no longer inform Robert about it. It is implied that he was poisoned, possibly by the Lannisters; in A Storm of Swords it turns out that it was his wife Lysa and Littlefinger.

Lysa Arryn

Lysa is the youngest daughter of Lord Hoster Tully, who she married to the much older Jon Arryn to strengthen the Stark-Baratheon-Arryn-Tully alliance, which she was never happy about. She was rather shy and a pretty girl in her youth, but later changed to her disadvantage. After Jon Arryn's death she withdrew to the valley of Arryn in Hohenehr. She doesn't seem to be in her right mind all the time lately.

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In A Game of Thrones, she warns Catelyn in a letter that the Lannisters were behind the murder of Jon Arryn. When Catelyn and Tyrion arrive at Hohenehr, Lysa is beside herself and Catelyn realizes how much her sister has changed. After Tyrion's successful defense and his onward journey, Lysa and Catelyn's relationship remains frosty as Lysa refuses to take sides in the civil war. Lysa only appears again in A Storm of Swords when her childhood sweetheart Petyr Baelish comes to Hohenehr with Sansa Stark. Lysa is happy that Petyr is with her now, but jealous of Sansa, who resembles the young Catelyn, with whom Petyr once fell in love. Now it is also revealed that Petyr was the actual initiator of the events that led to the civil war: he persuaded Lysa to poison Jon Arryn, who wanted to send Robert Arryn to Stannis; Petyr also persuaded Lysa to write the letter to Catelyn, blaming the Lannisters. In the end, Petyr Lysa plunges from Hohenehr into the depths and accuses the singer Marillion of the act.

Robert Arryn

The still very young Robert Arryn (in the series: Robin) is the son of Jons and Lysa and thus heir to the Valley of Arryn. He is very sickly and also seems to be a little retarded mentally.

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In A Game of Thrones he appears as a sickly boy, pampered by his mother and often tearful. At the end of A Storm of Swords and A Feast for Crows , Sansa, who the boy is very fond of, takes care of him. Robert is often given sleeping pills on Petyr's orders, otherwise he will start screaming in his sleep and wake up the whole castle.

House Tyrell

House Tyrell Coat of Arms

Prior to the arrival of the Targaryens, the Tyrells acted as stewards of House Gardener, the ruling house in the Kingdom of the Wide, the most fertile and populous of the seven kingdoms. When King Mern from the House of Gardener fell in the battle against the Targaryens, Harlen Tyrell handed over the Rosengarten Castle (in the original Highgarden ) to Aegon Targaryen, who installed him there as the new lord. The Tyrells are not as rich as the Lannisters, but they can muster more troops. Her coat of arms shows a golden rose on a green field, her motto is Grow vigorously .

Maes Tyrell

Maes Tyrell (originally Mace Tyrell), Lord of Rosengarten, "Guardian of the South" and High Marshal of the Expanse, is one of the most powerful men in the Seven Kingdoms. He was loyal to the House of Targaryen during Robert's Rebellion, but at the end of the war he submitted and continues to seek to defend his house. Although he is now prone to obesity, he is still quite a handsome figure. His oldest friend is Paxter Rothweyn (originally Redwyne ), the Lord of the Arbor.

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In A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings he is only mentioned indirectly as a supporter of Renly, who joins the Lannisters after Renly's death. With his help, the Lannisters and the troops stationed in King's Landing succeed in repelling the attack by Stannis Baratheon. In A Storm of Swords he takes part in the wedding celebrations of his daughter Margaery and King Joffreys in the capital and receives the property of the Florents, who supported Stannis, for his house. He is also given a seat on the Small Council. In A Feast for Crows he is supposed to besiege Storm's Cape; but when he learns that his daughter has been arrested by Cersei, he marches towards the capital and orders Lord Randyll Tarly to advance with his troops from the north to King's Landing. In A Dance with Dragons it comes to the preliminary reconciliation between Tyrell and Kevan Lannister after Margaery was released. Kevan acts as regent and Maes acts as the hand of King Tommen; but tensions remain between the growing influence of the Tyrells and the Lannisters. At the same time, Maes received news from the south, where iron men were invading the expanse and mercenaries had landed in the Stormlands.

Willas Tyrell

Willas Tyrell is the eldest son and heir to Lord Maes Tyrell. He is described by other characters as an educated and kind man who loves breeding falcons, horses, and dogs. He has also suffered from a crippled leg since a riding accident at his first tournament, which he played against Oberyn Martell. The relationship between the Tyrell and Martell houses, which had always been difficult, cooled noticeably after the incident. Willas, however, did not blame Oberyn for his accident and even remained in friendly correspondence with him for a longer period of time.

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Willas is first mentioned by name in A Storm of Swords to a greater extent than his grandmother Olenna Sansa Stark mentions to her plan to marry her off to Willas. However, those plans are dashed when Sansa's wedding to Tyrion Lannister is arranged. Tywin Lannister proposes that his daughter Cersei marry Willas, which both the Tyrells and Cersei reject. In A Feast for Crows , Willas, who represents his father during his stay in King's Landing as Lord of Rosengarten, orders the defense of Altsass after the first attacks by the iron men under Euron Greyjoy in the south.

Garlan Tyrell

Garlan Tyrell, also known as "Ser Garlan the Cavalier", is the second son of Maes Tyrell. Similar to his younger brother Loras, he is a talented swordsman and was knighted at a young age. He wears two gold Tyrell roses on his shield as a sign of his status as a second-born son. Garlan is described as a tall, strong man with a beard.

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Garlan appears for the first time in A Clash of Kings , in which he takes part in the Battle of Schwarzwasser on the side of the Lannister Tyrell Army. He wears the armor of the late Renly Baratheon to panic the opposing army. In A Storm of Swords he receives the fortress Klarwasser (in the original Brightwater Keep ), the former seat of the House of Florent, for his services . He attends the wedding between Sansa Stark and Tyrion Lannister and that of his sister Margaery with Joffrey Baratheon. In A Feast for Crows, Garlan retreats with a large part of the Tyrell forces, where he soon hears of Euron Greyjoy's attack on the Shield Islands and decides to regroup troops and retake the islands.

Loras Tyrell

The young, good-looking, but sometimes arrogant Loras Tyrell is the third son of Maes Tyrell and is considered an excellent fighter. At the beginning of the plot, Loras Tyrell is 16 years old. The "Knight of Flowers" is close friends with Renly Baratheon. A homosexual relationship between the two is suggested by several characters during the plot.

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In A Game of Thrones , he takes part in the tournament in King's Landing and is almost killed by Ser Gregor Clegane before Sandor Clegane comes to his aid. Loras supports his friend Renly as he strives for royal dignity. In A Clash of Kings , Loras is part of Renly's Royal Guard; after Renly's murder, Loras is furious, but takes part in the decisive battle against Renly's older brother Stannis Baratheon on the side of the Lannisters. In A Storm of Swords he is inducted into Joffrey's Kingsguard and seems above all anxious to protect his sister Margaery. His relationship with Jaime and Cersei Lannister is quite strained. In A Feast for Crows he is manipulated by Cersei to lead the storming of Dragonstone, where he is badly wounded by boiling oil; in A Dance with Dragons he is still fighting for his life.

Margaery Tyrell

Margaery Tyrell is the only daughter of Maes Tyrell. The brown-haired Margaery is described as a beautiful young girl and is 14 years old at the beginning of the plot. It is a protégé of its extremely politically savvy grandmother Olenna Tyrell and performs a close relationship with her brother Loras.

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Margaery marries Renly Baratheon in A Game of Thrones and accompanies him on his campaign. After Renly's death, she marries Joffrey in A Storm of Swords . Before that, she befriends Sansa, who reveals to her and Olenna what kind of monster Joffrey really is. Olenna also appears to be responsible for Joffrey's murder in order to protect Margaery, who is now marrying Tommen. In A Feast for Crows , the rivalry with Cersei breaks out, who feels threatened by Margaery. Margaery, in turn, makes herself popular with the people and is generous and friendly. When the iron men burst into the distance, she tries to explain to Cersei the seriousness of the situation. She is accused of adultery by Cersei and eventually charged by the High Septon (the highest clerical dignitary), but Margaery realizes the political intrigue and confronts Cersei directly. When the Tyrells appear with troops outside the capital, they are handed over to Randyll Tarlys in A Dance with Dragons .

Olenna Tyrell

Olenna Tyrell (nee Rothweyn) is the mother of Lord Maes Tyrell and unofficially the head of the family. The Queen of Thorns , as she is also called, is described as a small, clever older lady who always stands up for the needs of her family and does not shy away from extreme measures.

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In A Storm of Swords, Olenna travels to King's Landing with her granddaughter Margaery to attend the wedding between her and Joffrey Baratheon. Soon after arriving, she invites Sansa Stark to learn more about Joffrey. When she reveals to her what kind of monster Margaery is going to marry, Olenna is not enthusiastic, but does not prevent the marriage. She offers Sansa to marry her grandson Willas Tyrell and move to Rosengarten, but this is prevented by the Lannisters' surprising wedding between Sansas and Tyrion Lannister. After Margaery and Joffrey's wedding and his demise, Olenna stays in King's Landing for a while before returning to Rosengarten in A Feast for Crows . It is revealed to the reader that Olenna was one of the co-conspirators in the murder of King Joffrey and was actively involved in it.

House Martell

Coat of arms of the House of Martell

House Martell (full name house Nymeros Martell of solar Peer ) ruled for several centuries mandrels - the southernmost of the Seven Kingdoms - from the capital Sundays peer (the original Sunspear ) from. In contrast to the other six countries, Dorne was not conquered by the Targaryens, but united by a marriage contract with the crown. This happened almost 200 years after the landing of Aegon the Conqueror in the reign of Daeron II. Based on this agreement, the Martells rule Dorne de facto autonomously from the crown. Dorne is also culturally different from the other six realms and has a fairly warlike history. The rulers in Dorne bear the title of prince or princess , since women can also succeed the throne in Dorne; other members of the house bear the titles of prince and princess, respectively . The Martell's coat of arms shows a sun pierced by a spear, their motto is Unbending, untamed, unbroken . During the Targaryen Civil War, House Martell was a loyalist due to Elia Martell's marriage to the Crown Prince. Elia and her children were murdered by Lannister loyalists at the end of the war, as a result of which the Martell family, but also all of Dorne, felt a deep hatred of the Lannisters.

Doran Martell

Doran Nymeros Martell is the ruling prince of Dorne and has been suffering from gout for years. Doran is over 50 years old at the start of the plot.

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Prince Doran agrees in A Clash of Kings the association of his son Trystan with Myrcella Baratheon, the daughter of Cersei, although numerous people in Dorne are pushing for war with the Lannister family. After Prince Oberyn dies in King's Landing, almost all of Dorne demands that they finally go to war. Doran seems to react lethargic, so that his daughter and heiress Arianne forges a plan of her own, but it fails; She and others are briefly arrested by Prince Doran ( A Feast for Crows ). In the course of the further novel plot in A Feast for Crows , however, it becomes clear that Doran is pursuing a far-reaching political plan aimed at the re-establishment of the House of Targaryen on the throne. Doran also wants to avenge the death of his beloved sister Elijah, who was brutally murdered with her two children during the sack of the capital. For this purpose, his eldest son Quentyn also travels to Daenerys Targaryen in Meereen. Doran finally lets Arianne in on this plan.

Oberyn Martell

Oberyn Nymeros Martell is Doran's younger brother. He is a handsome man in his early 40s who has numerous lovers (allegedly of both sexes) and children. He has eight bastard daughters who are known as "sand snakes " (in the original sand snakes ). He is also considered a very good warrior, but also a hothead. His nickname is Rote Viper (originally Red Viper ).

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In his youth, Oberyn was closely associated with his sister Elia. Oberyn (like Doran) never forgot or even forgive her death and that of her children at the hands of the Lannisters. In A Storm of Swords he travels to the capital. When Tyrion Lannister insists on his right to a divine judgment through combat at the trial, Oberyn surprisingly offers himself as his fighter. Oberyn seeks revenge on Ser Gregor Clegane - who is his opponent in this fight - who raped Elijah and killed her and her children. In the duel, Oberyn seems to gain the upper hand when Gregor manages to kill him. Oberyn's spear, prepared with poison, nevertheless causes Ser Gregor to die slowly but apparently certain.

Arianne Martell

Arianne Martell is the oldest child and the only daughter of Prince Doran and according to the Dornish inheritance law, according to which the oldest child (regardless of gender) is entitled to inheritance, the heiress of Dorne. She is described as a beautiful and ambitious young woman who is aware of her high position, but who is not always sure of the recognition of her father and suspects that he would prefer to appoint her brother Quentyn as heir. She maintains a close friendship with her cousin Tyene Sand, one of the "sand snakes".

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In A Feast for Crows , she plans with some confidants - including Myrcella's bodyguard, the Royal Guard Arys Eichenherz - to make Myrcella the new Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, although this would only be legal according to the Dornish inheritance law. To this end, she seduced Arys too. However, the plan fails when Prince Doran finds out about it. Arys is killed and Arianne is imprisoned in Sunspear for several days and only then allowed to see her father. Only now does he take her into his confidence and reveal to her that he has never forgotten his revenge on the Lannisters and that he intends to reinstate the Targaryens on the Iron Throne, which is why Quentyn set off to the east.

Quentyn Martell

Quentyn Martell is the eldest son of Prince Doran, who grew up with Lord Andres Isenwald ( Anders Yronwood in the original) due to a blood debt . He is described as a not particularly handsome and very serious young man.

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Quentyn travels to Meereen under a false identity in A Dance with Dragons . There he reveals to Daenerys Targaryen that years ago House Martell signed a secret treaty with Daenerys' then guardian Willem Darry, who had brought the Targaryens to safety. Daenerys is now to marry Quentyn and House Martell and House Targaryen will fight for the crown together. The plan fails, however, as Daenerys marries someone else in order to keep the peace in Meereen. When Quentyn then tries to steal one of the three dragons, it costs him his life and has the consequence that the remaining two dragons are released.

Trystan Martell

Trystan (in the original Trystane ) Martell is the youngest child of Prince Doran Martell.

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He is first mentioned in A Clash of Kings when Tyrion Lannister considers marrying off his niece Myrcella to Trystan to strengthen the alliance between Dorne and the Iron Throne. Myrcella soon set out for Dorne. She and Trystan get on well straight away and share their passion for the board game Cyvasse .

House Greyjoy

Coat of arms of the House of Greyjoy

The House Greyjoy ( Greyjoy in the original) prevails on the Iron Islands, where the "Drowned God" (for many generations Drowned God is worshiped in the original). The iron men , as the inhabitants of the archipelago call themselves, are a warlike seafaring people. The head of House Greyjoy bears the title Lord Schnitter von Peik ( Lord Reaper of Pyke in the original). Her coat of arms shows a golden octopus on a black field, her words are We do not sow .

Theon Greyjoy

Theon Greyjoy ( Theon Greyjoy in the original) is the youngest and only surviving son of Lord Balon Greyjoy , who rebelled against King Robert Baratheon a few years before the start of the series action. After Balons defeat this Theon had to hand over to the Starks as hostage and ward. Theon, who is very self-confident and ambitious, has lived in Winterfell ever since - and is supposed to prevent his father from further uprisings - and grew up with the Stark children, but he only has a reasonably good relationship with Robb. Theon is handsome, has black hair and is 19 years old to start with. The relationship with his sister Asha is quite tense.

Plot A Game of Thrones

Theon, who sometimes argues with Robb, travels with him south, fights for the Starks and supports Robb in his proclamation as King of the North.

Plot A Clash of Kings

Robb sends Theon to Lord Balon to secure military support from the Iron Men and their strong naval fleet. But Lord Balon plans to take advantage of the war and found a kingdom himself that will encompass parts of the north. Theon hesitates briefly to support his father. But when he lets it shine through that Theon has been softened by living on the mainland, Theon agrees to his father's plans. The iron men subsequently invade the north and meet hardly any resistance. Theon manages to occupy Winterfell in a surprising campaign. Theon enjoys life as a lord there, although Bran and Rickon escape him, whereupon he has two other boys killed and passes them off as the Stark children, since he cannot find Eddard's sons and wants to demonstrate hardship to the people of Winterfell. Soon a young man named Stinker ( Reek in the original) appears and promises Theon help from the Boltons and Theon sends him. When Stark troops appear in front of Winterfell, Stinker appears with Bolton soldiers and beats them. Stinker reveals himself as Ramsay Schnee, Lord Bolton's bastard son. The Boltons capture Theon and set fire to Winterfell.

Plot A Storm of Swords

Lord Bolton tells Robb that Theon is responsible for everything in Winterfell and that he is now a prisoner in Grauenstein.

Plot A Dance with Dragons

Theon is brutally tortured by Ramsay for a long time. Ramsay imposes a new identity on Theon and calls him Stinker from now on , referring to his former servant. Theon is no longer the man he used to be, but completely broken and outwardly massively aged and spends a miserable existence. Again and again he has to be of service to Ramsay and obeys him for fear of further torture. Theon also gets to know Ramsay's father Lord Roose better, who mentions to him that the Boltons also owe their new position of power to him; because when Winterfell fell, the Starks in the north were effectively done for. Theon realizes that Ramsay's new bride is not Arya Stark, but Jeyne Pool - a friend of Sansa's - but he keeps it to himself. In Winterfell, where Ramsay's wedding is supposed to take place, he is approached by wildlings who have sneaked in there to save the supposed Arya. Theon helps them and flees with Jeyne to Stannis, where he meets his sister, who has been captured by Stannis in the meantime.

Balon Greyjoy

Balon Greyjoy ( Balon Greyjoy in the original) is the head of the House Greyjoy at the beginning of the books and, as Lord of the Iron Islands, bears the title Lord Reaper of Peik . Several years before the books began, he rebelled against the Iron Throne and called himself King of the Iron Islands . However, the rebellion was suppressed with great losses, in particular by Stannis Baratheon's fleet. His sons Rodrik and Maron lost their lives and his son Theon was taken to Winterfell as a hostage and ward.

Plot A Clash of Kings

After Theon's arrival in Peik, Balon explains his plan to take advantage of the civil war in the empire, invade the north and declare himself king again. He wants to pay the Iron Price for it - which means something like the violent conquest of countries for the iron men. The iron men succeed in attacking and taking several castles in the north - although they are very understaffed due to the withdrawal of the Stark armies to the south - including Tiefwald Motte, Torrhenschanze and even Winterfell.

Synopsis A Storm of Swords Balon assumes the title of Balon as king after the first military successes , the ninth of his name since the Gray King, King of the Iron Islands and the North, King of Salt and Stone, Son of the Sea Wind in addition to Lord Reaper of Peik . He dies during a violent storm while crossing a bridge in the Iron Islands. The exact circumstances are unclear.

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Balon Greyjoy's death leaves a void that is difficult to fill. His demise triggers an inheritance dispute, which is decided in favor of his brother Euron Graufreud on the Königsthing (a consultation of the grown-ups). Since Euron only reappeared a short time after Balon's death, the question arises for many iron men whether Euron is connected to Balon's death.

Asha Greyjoy

Asha Graufreud (in the original (book) Asha Greyjoy , in the original (series) Yara Greyjoy ) is the only daughter of Lord Balons and the sister of Theon. After the death of her brothers Rodrik and Maron and the taking of Theons hostage by the Starks, she remains the only child of Balons on the Iron Islands. She was raised to be a warrior and is described as a smart, assertive, and proud woman. As the captain of the Black Wind , she is responsible for her own team.

Plot A Clash of Kings

Asha first appears on Theon's return to the Iron Islands. Since Theon does not recognize her after many years, she pretends to be Esgred , the wife of a shipbuilder, and flirts with him in order to get to know and assess him better. When Theon learns her true identity, all she says is that she really does have a husband, and weighs her ax in her hand.

When the iron men invade the north, Asha sails to Tiefwald Motte in thirty longships, led by her Black Wind . When Theon requests reinforcements from her after taking Winterfell, she comes to Winterfell and summons Theon to come with her to Deep Forest Motte, since she sees his position in Winterfell endangered, but he refuses. She leaves him ten men to defend and leaves Winterfell.

Plot A Feast for Crows

After the death of her father, Asha returns to Peik to claim the throne of the Iron Islands. On a king's thong she makes her claim that she is the only remaining child who thinks she has balons on the Iron Islands. In the election, however, Euron Graufreud, the brother of Balons, prevails, who has returned to the Iron Islands shortly before after a long journey.

Plot A Dance with Dragons

After the King Thing, Asha is married to Erik Eisenmacher, a marriage arranged by her uncle Euron to bring Asha under control. However, after their wedding she returns to Tiefwald Motte, where she is attacked and captured by Stannis Baratheon's army. She is taken on the way to Winterfell. An extreme snowstorm slows the army down considerably. Many soldiers demand the sacrifice of Asha to appease R'hllor. She meets Theon, who fled Winterfell with Jeyne Pool and found his way to Stannis' army.

Euron Greyjoy

Euron Greyjoy coat of arms

Euron Greyjoy ( Euron Greyjoy in the original), also known as the crow's eye , is the oldest of Balon Greyjoy's younger brothers. He is the captain of the silence ( Silence in the original), with whom he claims to have sailed to Asshai and Valyria in Essos. Balon had already exiled him before the books began. He is described as a dark-haired, handsome man who wears an eye patch over his left eye. Because of his ruthless, cunning, and unpredictable nature, he is hated by his brothers.

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Euron Greyjoy appears for the first time after Balon's death and lays claim to the throne of the Iron Islands in A Feast for Crows during the King's Thing. Given the timing Euron chose to return from exile, many suspect it may be related to the death of his older brother. Nevertheless, Euron can win the King Thing by promising the iron men present great campaigns of conquest with the help of dragons, which he can allegedly tame with a horn that is in his possession. In A Dance with Dragons he gives this horn to his younger brother Victarion on the journey to Meereen soon after his declaration as King of the Iron Islands and the North . He is supposed to find Daenerys Targaryen and her dragons for him and bring them to the Iron Islands.

Victarion Greyjoy

Victarion Graufreud is the second youngest brother of Balon Graufreud. He bears the title of Lord Captain of the Iron Fleet and commands the ship Iron Victory . Victarion is described as a strong, conscientious, and loyal man who, in Theon's view, lacks intelligence and ambition.

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Victarion first appears in A Clash of Kings when Balon reveals his plans to invade the north. Victarion is commissioned to take Maidengraben with most of the fleet, which he succeeds. After Balon's death, Victarion returns to the Iron Islands in A Feast for Crows to claim the throne. However, he loses the election against his recently returned brother Euron. This instructs him to sail with the fleet to Meereen and to bring Daenerys Targaryen and her dragons to the Iron Islands so that Euron can take them as his wife. However, Victarion makes a plan to marry Daenerys herself. On Victarion's ship to Meereen is also the R'hllor priest Moqorro, who wins Victarion more and more for himself and his religion.

Aeron Greyjoy

Aeron Greyjoy ( Aeron Greyjoy in the original) is the youngest brother of Balon and a priest of the Drowned God , who is worshiped on the Iron Islands. He holds his God in honor of his hair always wet, so he nicknamed wet hair wearing. He is described as a strict, humorless person. This gloomy being and the desire to dedicate his life to the drowned God , however, Aeron only developed after he almost drowned himself during the Greyjoy Rebellion.

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Aeron receives his returning nephew Theon in A Clash of Kings and immediately blesses him with salt water, as is the custom on the Iron Islands. During the attack on the north, Aeron is on board one of the eight ships that are supposed to plunder the stony coast under Theon's command. Aeron demands that Benfred Tallhart von Torrhenschanze, whom the iron men take prisoner during the looting and fighting, sacrifice to the drowned god . The iron men obey his orders. When Theon attacks Winterfell, Aeron and the rest of the Ironmen remain under Dagmer Cracked Chin to continue the looting of the coast. After Balon's death, Aeron uses his influence and authority as a priest to convene a royal thing. He wants to prevent Euron Balon from succeeding the throne and demands the election of a godly man. Aeron hopes that Victarion will be elected as king whom he believes will be the most suitable to continue Balon's course. After Euron's victory at the Königsthing, Aeron disappears. His current whereabouts are unknown.

House Frey

The coat of arms of the House of Frey shows twin towers. It comes from the fact that the castle, over which House Frey rules, are also called twin towers . In the book, the castle is described less as a fortress than as a bridge. The Freys are seen as a derisive, power-driven family, which, according to a quote from Catelyn Stark, “never failed to collect taxes”. Their motto is "Always connected".

Walder Frey

Walder Frey is the head of the family at the time of the plot. An old man who has married several times. During the plot, his women stand out as young girls. He has a very bad reputation for having produced countless legitimate sons and daughters and other bastards.

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He is first mentioned in the book A Game of Thrones , where Robb Stark and his mother Catelyn want to access his troops. Robb Stark is supposed to marry one of Walder's daughters for this purpose. Catelyn Stark wants to advise her son against it, because Walder Frey's troops have not always been reliable in the past. She calls him the late Lord Frey . After Robb Stark announces that he does not want to marry any of his daughters, Walder Frey (some of his sons are involved) forges a plot with Roose Bolton and Tywin Lannister. In the course of this plot, Walder Frey offers the Stark troops hospitality (salt and bread) at the wedding of Edmure and Roselin, who are to be married to compensate for Robb's renunciation, but he arranges musicians who are in fact assassins. He has Robb Stark and all of his entourage killed that night. This is called the Red Wedding .

Clegane house

Coat of arms of the House of Clegane

Their coat of arms shows three black dogs on a yellow field.

Sandor Clegane

Sandor Clegane, also called "the bloodhound" (originally "The Hound"), is the younger brother of Ser Gregor Cleganes and has been enemies with him since childhood. Sandor's face is disfigured by severe burns; he is quite impressive physically and a good fighter whose actions sometimes run counter to his bad reputation.

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Sandor is Joffrey's bodyguard. In A Game of Thrones , he kills Arya's friend Mycah, who offended the prince. He saved Ser Loras Tyrell from Gregor Clegane at the tournament of the hand and is declared the winner of the tournament. He seems to be attracted to Sansa Stark, although he mocks her for her naivete. Nevertheless, he tried several times to at least partially protect her from Joffrey. Joffrey appoints King Sandor to be a Knight of the Royal Guard, although the latter despises all knights and therefore refuses to accept the title Ser. In A Clash of Kings he fights in battle against Stannis, but then escapes from the capital, offering Sansa to take her with him. In A Storm of Swords he appears at the "Brotherhood without Banners" led by Beric Dondarrion, which aims to protect helpless people from war. He is charged with the Lannisters' war crimes; in the duel he kills Lord Dondarrion, who is resuscitated by the priest Thoros of Myr. Sandor is allowed to go; but he returns again and kidnaps Arya Stark, who was also with the Brotherhood for a short time. He plans to sell her to her brother Robb for money, but they witness the betrayal of the Boltons and Freys and the fall of the Stark Army. On the way he is wounded and Arya leaves him behind. His further fate is unknown, although in A Feast for Crows the bloodhound's death is confirmed by a friar who found him wounded.

Gregor Clegane

Ser Gregor Clegane, also known as "The Mountain That Rides" or just "The Mountain", is Sandor Cleganes' older brother and has been enemies with him since his youth. He is one of the tallest people in Westeros, of impressive strength and a good fighter.

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Gregor first appeared during the tournament of the hand in A Game of Thrones . There he lost the lance walk in the semifinals because his horse shies away, which he almost decapitates with one stroke. Thereupon he attacked his opponent Ser Loras Tyrell, because he was riding a horse-like mare, and was only prevented from killing him by his brother Sandor. Farmers in King's Landing later reported how he roamed the rivers and set fire to it. A punitive expedition sent by Eddard Stark was successfully attacked by Ser Gregor and his men. He then took part in the battle of Tywin Lannister against Roose Bolton before making the river lands unsafe again. In A Clash of Kings Ser Gregor showed himself to be a brutal, cruel troop leader who plundered and pillaged several villages and castles, raped and brutally murdered prisoners. He was tasked with retaking Harrenhall in A Storm of Swords and was successful. In the duel against Oberyn Martell he was brought to the ground by this, but Gregor did not give up and still managed to grab Oberyn and kill him. Gregor long fought for his life in A Feast for Crows , because he was poisoned with a slow-acting poison in the previous fight, his fate remained uncertain for a long time. As requested by the Prince of Dorne, House Martell was given a large head that was supposed to have been Gregor's. In A Dance with Dragons , Ser Robert Strong was assigned a new member of the Royal Guard. Height and appearance could match Ser Gregor's body; but it is unclear whether he is himself, or just a mindless puppet made from his remains.

House thatch

The Reet house ( original Reed ) is one of the oldest vassals of the Starks of Winterfell and rules the swampy southern border marks of the north, the so-called "Eng" , from its seat at Grauwasserwacht ( Original Greywater Watch ). The inhabitants of the Eng are referred to as pile dwelling men (in the original crannogmen ). Its leader, Lord Howland Reet, is an old friend and comrade in arms of Eddard Stark, both of whom fought side by side during Robert's Rebellion. The coat of arms of the Reets shows a black lion lizard on a gray-green field.

Howland thatch

Howland Reet is the head of House Reet and fought in Robert's Rebellion. He is the father of Jojen and Meera Reet.

Jojen Reet

Jojen Reet is the son and heir to Howland Reet. When he first appeared, he was around 13 years old. Like many of the inhabitants of the Eng, Jojen is small in stature. Its unusually moss-green eyes are particularly noticeable. Jojen is a green seer , which means that he gets insights into the future in dreams. Because of his accumulated knowledge, he appears wise despite his young age.

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In A Clash of Kings , Jojen arrives in Winterfell with his sister Meera as Lord Howland Reets' envoy. Jojen soon recognized Bran's warg skills and kept encouraging him to develop his skills. When the Iron Men under Theon Graufreud take Winterfell, Bran, Rickon, Hodor, Osha and the Reet siblings go to safety in the crypt under Winterfell. After the destruction of Winterfell by the Boltons, the group left Winterfell and turned north, where Jojens predicted that Bran would find the three-eyed crow whom Bran had already visited in dreams. After the separation of Osha and Rickon, the group crosses under the wall and finally finds a cave with the help of the mysterious Kalthand , where they meet the children of the forest and the three-eyed crow in A Dance with Dragons . The march had weakened Jojen so much that his sister Meera had to carry him the last part of the way. Jojen, suspecting his fate in Grauwasserwacht, wishes to return home and becomes increasingly depressed.

Meera thatch

Meera is Jojen Reets 'older sister and Lord Howland Reets' eldest child from Grauwasserwacht. Like her brother and most of the stilt-dwelling men of the Eng, she is short and thin in stature and has brown hair. Meera is also extremely adept at fighting with a trident and a net. She is also a skilled hunter. Meera has a happy nature, in contrast to her serious brother Jojen, whom she always protects.

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In A Clash of Kings, Meera travels to Winterfell with her brother Jojen to pay their respects to Robb Stark as her father's envoy, Howland Reet. After Theon Greyjoy took Winterfell, the Reets hide in the crypt under Winterfell with Bran and Rickon Stark, Hodor and Osha. You leave Winterfell after its destruction and turn north. Before arriving at the wall, Osha and Rickon leave the group that crosses under the ice wall in A Storm of Swords and travels to the seat of the three-eyed crow that Bran saw in his dreams. In the end, the path weakens her brother so much that Meera has to carry him on her back for a while. In A Dance with Dragons , the group finally arrives at their destination with the help of the mysterious Coldhand that Meera distrusts. Meera worries about her brother, who is increasingly plagued by bad premonitions and depression in the cave of the three-eyed crow.

House Payn

Coat of arms of the House of Payn

Your coat of arms is a purple and white checkered shield with gold coins on each diamond.

Ilyn Payn

Ser Ilyn Payn ( Ilyn Payne in the original) is the royal executioner under the kings Robert, Joffrey and Tommen Baratheon. He is described as an almost bald, thin man with a somber and unsettling aura. Aerys II. Targaryen, the "Mad King", had his tongue removed many years before the action began. Ser Ilyn is a loyal supporter of the Lannisters.

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In A Game of Thrones , Ser Ilyn is introduced as the royal executioner. He accompanies King Robert Baratheon and his court on the way back to King's Landing. After Eddard Stark's imprisonment, he takes his sword ice . On the orders of Joffrey Baratheon, he later executes Stark with the valuable blade. In A Clash of Kings , Ilyn reappears during the Battle of Blackwater. Cersei Lannister keeps him close in the Red Keep so that if Stannis Baratheon takes the city, he can kill her and Sansa Stark. At all costs she wants to prevent both she and Sansa from falling into Stannis' hands. Jaime Lannister, who has since lost his sword hand and later returned to King's Landing, asks Ser Ilyn in A Feast for Crows to come with him to Schnellwasser. Jaime, ashamed of his poor sword fighting skills with his left hand, chooses Ilyn as his training partner because of his secrecy. You begin sword fighting training on the way to Schnellwasser.

Podrick Payn

Podrick Payn ( Podrick Payne in the original) comes from a branch of the Payn family and is a distant relative of Ser Ilyn Payn. He served Tyrion Lannister as a loyal squire for a long time. He is a polite and helpful boy.

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When Tyrion Lannister joins his father's troops in A Game of Thrones , Podrick is assigned to him as a squire. In the Battle of Blackwater in A Clash of Kings , Podrick saves Tyrion's life by killing the attacking Ser Mandon Moore of the Kingsguard. He continues to serve Tyrion until his imprisonment in A Storm of Swords . In A Feast for Crows he accompanies Brienne von Tarth on her search for Sansa Stark. When they meet the Brotherhood without Banners under the resurrected Catelyn Stark alias Lady Steinherz , Podrick and Brienne want to hang up.

In the capital, King's Landing

Petyr Baelish

Petyr " Littlefinger " Baelish (often called Littlefinger in the original ) is a childhood friend of Catelyn's who was also in love with her. He is quite short in stature, but handsome; he has black hair and a beard. He comes from a small noble family, is very intelligent, politically very cunning, has charm and ruthlessly uses every advantage for himself. Baelish rose to Robert's court up to the privy council, where he is responsible for finances. He has the talent to always open up new sources of money.

Plot A Game of Thrones

In addition to his official position as the king's treasurer, Petyr runs other businesses (he owns several brothels) and maintains a spy network. When Catelyn comes to King's Landing, he is delighted and tells her that the dagger used by Bran's assassin is supposed to belong to Tyrion Lannister. His relationship with Eddard Stark is strained. However, he assures him of his support after Robert's death, but then betrays him to Cersei, who has promised him a rich reward for it.

Plot A Clash of Kings

Petyr serves on Joffrey's council and is very good at dealing with finances despite the tight financial situation. After Renly's death, Tyrion sends him to the Tyrells to forge an alliance with House Lannister, which he succeeds in doing. He seems to be attracted to Sansa Stark, who looks a lot like her mother Catelyn. Petyr continues to gain influence and is named Lord of Harrenhal. In return, however, he has to hand over his position as treasurer to Tyrion.

Plot A Storm of Swords

Petyr prevents Sansa Stark from marrying a Tyrell and later smuggles her out of the capital. He goes to the valley of Arryn to his lover Lysa Arryn, whom he now marries. He pretends to be Sansa as his illegitimate daughter. When he kisses Sansa and Lysa watches this, she gets angry. It is now revealed that Petyr manipulated many of the actors in the background and was jointly responsible for the outbreak of the war. Among other things, Lysa murdered Jon Arryn at his insistence and blamed the Lannisters. Petyr appeases Lysa, but then kills her and gains formal control of the valley.

Plot A Feast for Crows

Petyr manages to manipulate and split an anti-him coalition of Lords of the Valley, so that he can continue to function formally as Robert Arryn's guardian. He also reveals to Sansa his secret plan to marry her to Harrold Hardyng, who will rule the valley after the ailing Robert's foreseeable death.

Varys

Lord Varys is a eunuch originally from the Free City of Myr. In Westeros he already rose to "Master of Whisperers" under Aerys II and in this position he collected information from his numerous spies. He also retained his position under Robert Baratheon. He is familiar with the intrigues at court and apparently has plans of his own for the future of the empire.

Plot A Game of Thrones

Varys appears as a devious but shrewd member of the court who only hints at what he really knows. He keeps all options open and supports the side that has the upper hand, although he believes that he serves the empire above all, not a single ruler. In this way he does not prevent Eddard Stark from falling into Cersei's trap, but does his best to ensure that he keeps his life, even though Lord Stark is executed by Joffrey a little later. Varys later manipulates Joffrey when he initiates the release of Ser Barristan, knowing he is now turning to Daenerys.

Plot A Clash of Kings

While Varys officially continues to serve Joffrey and the regent Cersei, he secretly allies himself with Tyrion and provides him with information. At the same time, he ensures that Robert's illegitimate son Gendry can leave Königsmund safely.

Plot A Storm of Swords

Varys remains in the background and never reveals all of his information. He helps Tyrion to escape from the dungeon and the capital and goes into hiding himself. After Cersei Lannister learns that Varys helped Tyrion to escape, she appoints Qyburn, a maester who has been removed from his chain, as lord and new "master of the whisperers", although this does not have as good a network as Varys.

Plot A Dance with Dragons

Tyrion Lannister learns from Magister Illyrio that Varys has been planning the return of the Targaryens for a long time. Varys therefore also knew of Greif, who is actually Lord Jon Connington, and his "son", who is said to be Aegon, the son of Rhaegars. Illyrio also reveals to Tyrion that Varys had been a king of thieves in Myr and had to start over in Pentos, with both becoming partners. Varys was a master at training spies (especially children) and gathering information. At the end of the book, Varys gains access to the Hofburg in Königsmund and kills both Pycelle and Kevan Lannister, believing that this will increase tensions between the Tyrells and the Lannisters, which is good for the Targaryens.

Pycelle

Pycelle, who has now reached a very old age, serves as grand maester at the court of the empire. He came to Königsmund under King Aegon V, the grandfather of Aerys II, and has been a member of the Small Council ever since. On his advice, King Aerys II is said to have opened the gates of the capital at the end of Robert's rebellion and allowed the Lannister troops to march in, as Pycelle is said to have persuaded the king that they were fighting for him, which ultimately turned out to be a fatal wrong decision. After Robert's accession to the throne, Pycelle is pardoned by him and continues to serve in the Small Council, but at the same time seems to be pursuing his own goals.

action

In A Game of Thrones , Pycelle appears as a trustworthy man, but who in reality serves the Lannisters entirely, especially Cersei. He continues this in A Clash of Kings , where he supplies Cersei with information. When Tyrion found out, he had Pycelle thrown into dungeon for having shown himself disloyal to the Crown too often. Tywin reinstates him in his old position in A Storm of Swords , but he is a broken man. He testifies against Tyrion, but his relationship with Cersei in A Feast for Crows deteriorates . After Cersei's arrest by faith, Pycelle effectively rules the Privy Council and calls Kevan Lannister back. At the end of A Dance with Dragons , he is killed by Varys.

In the night watch

Coat of arms of the night watch

Jeor Mormont

Already over 60 years old, Jeor Mormont was formerly Lord of Bear Island in the far north of Westeros, before he joined the Night's Watch and rose to Lord Commander there. He is a dutiful man, but he is aware that the night watch is slowly but surely bleeding to death and may soon no longer be able to fulfill its task. His son Jorah is a fugitive convict.

Plot A Game of Thrones

Mormont hopes in vain for support from the capital. He appoints Jon Snow as his personal chamberlain and admonishes him to remember his duty. Jon saves his life from an undead, for which Jeor gives him his Valyrian long sword; he has Jon watched after he learned of Eddard's fate.

Plot A Clash of Kings

Mormont orders an expedition to the country beyond the wall to clarify what is going on there and leads the 300 men himself. The men of the night watch find abandoned villages and notice that the wildlings under Manke Rayder are apparently on the march to the wall. At an old fortification, the Fist of the First Men , he lets his men take a stand to await Manke Rayder.

Plot A Storm of Swords

The men of the night watch are attacked surprisingly by the others ; Mormont has difficulty in getting some survivors to Craster's keep, which has a fortified house. A mutiny ensues there, in which both Mormont and Craster are killed.

Jon Snow

Jon Schnee ( Jon Snow in the original) is the bastard son of Eddard Stark, who was conceived when Eddard was years ago in the war against the then still ruling royal house Targaryen. Eddard has never made a secret of the fact that Jon is of his blood (according to various suggestions, but not necessarily his son). He had brought Jon home as a baby after the war and never said anything authoritative about his mother; Jon is also not known who his mother is. Eddard's wife Catelyn had to accept that her husband was raising a bastard in the castle, but she never built a good relationship with Jon, which she openly lets Jon feel. However, he has a very good relationship with his half-siblings - especially Arya. Jon is not a member of the Stark House due to his extramarital conception. He's 13 at the start of the bookstore and a few years older on the TV series. His wolf is called Geist (in the original Ghost ).

Plot A Game of Thrones

When Eddard goes to King's Landing, Jon decides to go as a guard on the wall high up to the north that protects the kingdom from the dangers beyond. As a member of the guard, however, Jon is never allowed to marry and must serve until death. He rides to the wall with his uncle Benjen, a brother of Eddard and as the first border guard also a member of the night watch. At the beginning still a recruit, the trainer Ser Allisar Thorn makes life difficult for him, but Jon befriends some recruits, especially Samwell Tarly. Jon is a good swordsman, but after taking his oath he is not assigned to the border guards, but serves as a chamberlain directly to Lord Commander Mormont, whose life he saves from an undead. When Jon learns the news of his father's execution, he wants to desert and join his half-brother Robb in the war against the Lannisters and the Reich, but his friends hold him back. He finally accompanies the Lord Commander on his expedition to the land beyond the wall.

Plot A Clash of Kings

Jon goes exploring with the famous border guard Qhorin Halfhand. You will meet wildlings (people who live beyond the wall). Jon spares Mrs. Ygritte's life, but the group is discovered soon after. Qhorin orders Jon to pretend to join the Wildlings and even lets Jon kill him for it.

Plot A Storm of Swords

Jon is received suspiciously by the wildlings and begins a love affair with Ygritte. Meanwhile, the Night's Watch's expedition to the north ends in disaster when the undead Others ( Others in the original, White Walkers in the series) attack them. Jon flees the camp of wildlings, who flock to the wall in great numbers. He warns the night watch and organizes the resistance; Ygritte is also killed in the fighting. When Ser Thorn arrives, Jon is arrested as a deserter, but later released after Stannis Baratheon and his troops arrive and beat the wildlings. Jon unwillingly becomes the new Lord Commander thanks to Samwell Tarly's skilful support, but finds himself confronted with many external and internal enemies.

Plot A Dance with Dragons

As the newly elected Lord Commander, Jon is unsure how to deal with Stannis, as the Night Watch has vowed not to engage in any conflict in the realm. Nevertheless, he gives Stanni's advice, but does not accept his offer to become Lord of Winterfell as Jon Stark . Jon makes an agreement with the wildlings and allows them to settle this side of the wall, something many in the station have reservations about. However, Jon believes that this is the only way he has a chance against the danger from the north. When he decides to go against Winterfell and the Boltons, who betrayed Robb, parts of the Night's Watch mutiny and attempt an assassination attempt on Jon, although it remains unclear whether he will survive.

Benjen

Benjen is Eddard's younger brother and, after the deaths of Brandon and Lyanna during the rebellion against the Targaryens, the only other survivor of his siblings. He is a respected member of the Night's Watch and their first border guard at the beginning of the story . By converting to the Night's Watch, he lost any claim to any Stark inheritance. The rather reserved Benjen has strong feelings for his family. The reasons for his joining the Night Watch are not yet known.

Plot A Game of Thrones

Benjen visits his brother Eddard on Winterfell while the royal family is staying at the castle. Benjen tries to prevent his nephew Jon from joining the night watch. When he persists, they make their way to the wall together. Benjen is soon sent on an exploration tour beyond the wall, from which he does not return.

Another bookstore

In the books, the further fate of Benjamin is so far unclear. It is sometimes assumed that he is behind the figure Kalthand . This is an undead who wears the clothes of the night watch and hides his face under a hood. In contrast to other undead, Kalthand has reason and consciousness and does not seem to be controlled by the "others". However, it is not possible for him to enter a tunnel through the wall on his own. However, the verdict of the green seer that Kalthand had been dead for many years spoke against Benjen .

Samwell Tarly

Samwell "Sam" Tarly is the eldest son of Randyll Tarly, head of an old and respected noble house from the vastness in the south of the kingdom and Lord von Hornberg. He is a fat young man who is not infrequently fearful, but is friendly, intelligent and has a good character. However, his father, Randyll Tarly, who is considered an excellent soldier, was so disappointed with his son that he forced him to join the Night Watch so that Samwell's younger brother Dickon could later become lord.

Plot A Game of Thrones

Samwell is not at all used to life on the Night Watch and finds it difficult to find his way around. His trainer Ser Allisar Thorn in particular makes life difficult for him - but not only for him. But he quickly makes friends with Jon Schnee, who supports him. Sam, like Jon, takes his oath in the name of the old gods and prevents his friend from deserting.

Plot A Clash of Kings

Sam is responsible for the ravens, who act as courier birds, during the expedition to the north. At Craster's keep he befriends the pregnant Goldy.

Plot A Storm of Swords

Sam is one of the survivors of the Battle of the Fist. His group is attacked by the others ; Sam, who wears a dragon glass dagger, uses it to kill one of the attackers. After the mutiny at Craster, Sam escapes with Goldy. You are attacked again by others and saved by a mysterious man named Coldhand . Sam and Goldy reach the wall, which they pass through a secret entrance, and meet Bran Stark; Sam swears he won't tell Jon about Bran or the others. Sam finally reaches the headquarters of the Night's Watch, the Black Fortress (originally Castle Black ), where the Lord Commander is elected after Mormont's death. Sam proposes Jon Schnee and through clever negotiations he can secure a majority of the votes.

Plot A Feast for Crows

Jon sends Sam to Altsass (in the original Oldtown ) to act as the new maester in the black fortress. Sam is unwilling, because he fears the wrath of his father, since no Tarly has ever joined the order of maesters, but Jon prevails. Goldy accompanies Sam on the voyage on which maester Aemon dies and her companion Dareon deserted. Sam and Goldy sleep together on the ship according to old age. Upon arrival, Sam sends her to Hornberg (in the original Horn Hill ), his home castle, where she is supposed to pass her child off as his so that it has a secure future. Sam is received by Marwyn at the Order's Citadel. When he hears Aemon's last words, according to which Daenerys must be the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy, he sets off to the east to act as Daenerys' maester.

Aemon

Maester Aemon Targaryen, who is about a hundred years old, is a great-great-uncle of Daenerys and Viserys and the third son of King Maekar I. In childhood, he was sent to the Citadel by his grandfather King Daeron II to learn the trade of a maester. Daeron II believed that too many Targaryens could fight for the throne later. Aemon's father was against it, but couldn't get his way. Following his training as a maester, he first served a little lord. After his father's accession to the throne, Aemon was offered a seat on the Small Council, which he refused. After Maekar I died, a Grand Council decided not to consider the descendants of Aemon’s older brothers - who were different before their father - for the line of succession and to offer the crown to Aemon instead. He also refused this, so that his younger brother ascended the Iron Throne as Aegon V. As a result, Aemon joined the Night's Watch, thereby losing any further claim to the throne. He has lived unrecognized by most - since his origins have been forgotten over the decades - since then as maester in the Black Fortress. He is one of the closest advisers to Lord Commander Jeor Mormont, who, like many others in the Night's Watch, has a high opinion of him.

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In A Game of Thrones , Aemon reveals himself to Jon Schnee as a Targaryen. When Jon receives news of his father's death, Aemon talks to Jon and tries to make it clear to him that he was once in a similar situation and can therefore understand his feelings well. At that time, he himself decided to remain true to his oath. Otherwise, Aemon is an intelligent advisor, but his age is troubling him. In A Clash of Kings , Aemon is too old to accompany the expedition north and therefore remains behind at the wall. In A Storm of Swords , he cares for the injured Jon Snow and believes his warnings regarding the impending attack by the wildlings. He also stands by Jon, whom Aemon values, and doubts Stannis is actually Azor Ahai . In A Feast for Crows, Aemon travels to Altsass with Samwell Tarly, but falls ill during the trip. In Braavos he hears news about Daenerys, who he is convinced is the promised prince of an ancient prophecy (since the word prince is a neuter in Valyrian ). Before they reach Altsass, he dies at the age of 102.

Allisar Thorn

Ser Allisar Thorn (originally Alliser Thorne ) is around 50 years old and is the armorer of the night watch in the black fortress. During the Civil War he fought for the Targaryens and then had to wear the black to avoid being executed.

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In A Game of Thrones , Thorn appears as a bitter man who trains the new recruits very hard and has a particular dislike for Jon Snow, whom he constantly provokes. In A Clash of Kings he travels to King's Landing, where he is supposed to appear before the Iron Throne and ask for support for the Night's Watch, but he has little success. In A Storm of Swords he is subject to the election of the new lord commander Jon Schnee, which Thorn also irritates. In A Dance with Dragons he is forced to lead a patrol beyond the wall.

Edd Tollett

Eddison Tollett, also often called "Moody Edd", is a brother of the Night Watch. He belongs to the Order of the Chamberlain. He is described as a thin, gray-haired man with a melancholy charisma. His sarcastic and cynical nature can be seen in conversations and his comments.

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In A Clash of Kings, Edd takes part in the expedition of the Night's Watch under Lord Commander Mormont. He is one of the survivors of the massacre on the Fist of the First Men and also escapes the mutiny in Craster's keep in A Storm of Swords . Back at the Black Fortress and after Jon Schnee's election as the new Lord Commander, he becomes his personal chamberlain in A Dance with Dragons . Jon later sends Edd as chief chamberlain to the fortress Langhügel on the eastern part of the wall, where spear women of the wildlings were quartered as a garrison.

The wildlings

The wildlings or (as they call themselves) the free people are at home on the other side of the wall. They mostly live in tribal associations and only have flat hierarchies. From the perspective of the seven kingdoms, they are robbers and enemies of the kingdom. Many of their wives are also well versed in the art of war and are called "spear women".

Manke Rayder

Manke (in the original Mance ) Rayder is a former brother of the Night Watch, but who has joined the Wildlings. He is described as an inconspicuous looking man who loves music and plays the lute himself.

Plot A Clash of Kings

Manke, who has had the title of King Beyond the Wall for some time , succeeds in uniting most of the tribes in view of the coming hard winter and the approaching Long Night . He plans to lead his army south, but still lingers in the frost pens to gather the tribes for the march.

Plot A Storm of Swords

Manke leads his army south towards the wall. In the meantime, Jon Snow has crept into the wildlings under a false flag. He learns something from the king on the other side of the wall about his plans: that he intends to move south and overcome the wall and save his people from the others on the other side of the wall, but he will open the wall with the horn of Joramund , that he thinks he has found would tear down should it be necessary.

Manke soon leads a large-scale attack on the wall, but is stopped and captured by the arriving army of Stannis Baratheon. Manke's wife, Dalla, gives birth to a son during Stannis' attack on the wildling army.

Plot A Dance with Dragons

At the Black Fortress Manke is apparently burned alive by Stannis and his priestess Melisandre, but at the last moment Jon Schnee has him killed with arrows in order to grant him a quicker death. However, it turns out that the man who was cremated is The Lord of the Bones / Rattle Shirt and was able to switch places with Manke through Melisandre's illusion magic . This exchange remains secret, except for a few insiders like Jon Schnee, who later learns about it.

After the supposed Arya Stark's wedding, Manke is sent to Winterfell with Ramsay Bolton, where he and six spearwomen help Jeyne Pool (the fake Arya ) and Theon Greyjoy to escape. However, as apparently apparent from a letter from Ramsay Bolton to Jon Schnee, he himself is captured.

Ygritte

Ygritte is a wildling spearwoman who goes south with Manke Rayder's army. She is described as relatively small, round-faced, with crooked white teeth and flaming red hair. Among the wildlings, red hair is a sign of good luck and they call redheads “kissed by fire”. She was 18 when she first appeared in the books.

Plot A Clash of Kings

Jon Schnee meets Ygritte for the first time when she camps with a small group of wildlings and is ambushed by Jon's scouts. Jon, unable to kill her according to his orders, lets her escape. Later, when Jon Qhorin has to kill Halfhand to sneak into the wildling army, she is in the group that Jon brings to Manke Rayder.

Plot A Storm of Swords

Ygritte joins Tormund Riesentod's group after Jon Schnee was added to the group. She lies down to sleep next to Jon, who initially rejects her advances. When the army passes the first man's fist on its way south , where the night watch was stationed and ultimately smashed by the others , Manke is furious because Jon hadn't told him about this stationing. Ygritte tells Manke that she and Jon are a couple to save him. Manke sees this as a sign that Jon has actually switched sides and spares him. Jon and Ygritte actually start a love affair.

Ygritte and Jon join a raiding party that is supposed to overcome the wall and attack the Black Fortress from the south. South of the wall, however, the group encounters a rider whom Jon was ordered to kill. When he refuses, Ygritte cuts the rider's throat. Jon flees and escapes the wildlings, but is wounded by an arrow that Ygritte shot at him. During the attack of the wildlings on the Black Fortress, Ygritte is killed with an arrow by the Night Watch, who was warned by Jon. She dies in Jon's arms, who finds her on the battlefield.

Styr

Styr, the Magnar of Thenn , is one of the leaders of the Wildlings.

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In A Storm of Swords , Styr first appears when Jon Snow is brought into Manke Rayder's tent. Jon mistakenly thinks he is Manke, who bears the title of King Beyond the Wall , greets him with a bow and addresses him with "Your Grace". Styr leads the wildling squad who later overcome the wall and attack the Black Fortress from the south. The group also includes Jon Schnee and Ygritte. He is killed in the battle for the Black Fortress.

Orell

Orell is one of the wildlings who joined Manke Rayder. He is a body changer and can scout the area through the eyes of animals. His preferred animal is an eagle.

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Orell is in A Clash of Kings together with Ygritte in the scout group of the wildlings, which is ambushed by Jon Schnee and Qhorin Halfhand. When he is killed by Jon, his spirit takes refuge in the body of an eagle. From then on, the eagle seems to harbor strong hatred and lust for revenge against Jon and helps the wildlings in the search and capture of Jon and Qhorin. When Varamyr (another body changer) also mentally takes over the eagle in A Storm of Swords and lets him fly to the wall to scout the Black Fortress, Melisandre kills the eagle with her fire magic. Orell, or whatever is left of him inside the eagle, dies in the process.

Val

Val is a woman of the wildlings. She is Dalla's sister and therefore Manke Rayder's sister-in-law. Val is described as a beautiful woman with blonde hair.

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Val moves south with Manke Rayder's wildling army. In A Storm of Swords , she helps her sister Dalla give birth to her child and is then taken as a prisoner to the Black Fortress after the attack by Stannis Baratheon. Stannis promises her hand to Jon Snow, should he leave the Night's Watch and become Lord of Winterfell, but Jon refuses. The men of the night watch, impressed by her beauty, soon call her a princess. After his appointment as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, Jon sends Schnee in A Dance with Dragons Val with an offer of peace on Tormund Giant Death. She manages to successfully carry out the mission, which Jon is impressed by, as several border guards had failed to locate the wildlings.

Osha

Osha is a spearwoman from the area beyond the wall.

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In A Game of Thrones , Osha and several other wildlings flee south, apparently on the run from the others. She meets Robb and Bran Stark and is captured. Osha then lives in Winterfell and becomes friends with Bran. Osha is convinced that Robb should move north, not south, as the real danger lurks elsewhere. In A Clash of Kings she is released by Theon, but helps Bran and the others escape. In A Storm of Swords , they split up and Osha goes with Rickon Stark to an unknown location that, according to a hint in A Dance with Dragons , appears to be the island of Skagos.

Craster

Craster is a man who lives in his keep on the other side of the wall and is different in his way of life from most other wildlings. He offers shelter to the passing border guards of the night watch and lives with his 19 women, some of whom are also his daughters, isolated from the other wildlings and their tribes. He is said to be the son of a brother of the Night Watch with a wildling wife and is described as an old, sullen and bossy man. He sacrifices the sons he fathered with his many wives to the others and is thus left in peace by them.

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In A Clash of Kings he gives shelter to the expedition of the Night's Watch under Lord Commander Jeor Mormont in his keep. He is not enthusiastic about the many visitors, but gives Mormont information about Manke Rayder's whereabouts. When he is offered to seek refuge south of the wall in view of the approaching winter, he refuses. After the massacre on the Fist of the First Men, he again gives shelter to the surviving men of the Night Watch in A Storm of Swords . Some members of the Night's Watch suspect that he is hiding supplies, and so, like Lord Commander Mormont, is killed in the mutiny by brothers of the Night's Watch.

Goldy

Goldy (originally Gilly ) is one of Craster's wives and daughters and has lived in Craster's keep on the other side of the wall since she was born.

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Goldy first appears in A Clash of Kings when the Night Watch stops at Craster on their grand expedition. Although Craster's wives are forbidden from talking to the men of the Night's Watch, she soon becomes friends with Samwell Tarly. At this point she is already pregnant and confesses to Sam the fear she has for her child should it be born as a boy, as Craster sacrifices all of his sons in the forest. In A Storm of Swords, when the survivors of the massacre on the fist of the First Men come back to the keep on their return, she gives birth to a son. In the chaos caused by the murder of Craster and the mutiny of the Night's Watch, she escapes with Samwell and her child and flees to the Black Fortress. On the way they are followed by one of the others , but Sam is able to kill him. In A Feast for Crows, she travels by ship to Altesass with Sam, Maester Aemon and Manke Rayder's son (whom Jon Schnee exchanged for her own son to protect Manke's son from Melisandre). At first she finds it difficult to get over the absence of her child, but after Maester Aemon's death she can calm down again. On the further voyage, Goldy and Sam get closer and sleep together. Sam plans to send Goldy and the child to his family in Hornberg, where he believes they are safe.

In Essos

Jorah Mormont

Coat of arms of the House of Mormont

Ser Jorah is the eldest son of Jeor Mormont and was his heir as Lord of Bear Island before he was charged with slave trade by Eddard Stark. He then fled to Essos. Jorah is described in the books as a tall, stout, middle-aged man who is not particularly handsome. The coat of arms of the Mormonts shows a black bear on a green field, their motto is Here we stand .

Plot A Game of Thrones

Ser Jorah joins the Targaryens, but secretly sends reports to Lord Varys hoping for a pardon. He accompanies Daenerys to the Dothraki and is evidently attracted to her. He saves her from an assassin and stays with her when Drogo dies.

Plot A Clash of Kings

Jorah is now in love with Daenerys and will not send any more reports from Qarth on. In an attack on Daenerys, she is rescued by Belwas and Arstan, who now accompany her.

Plot A Storm of Swords

Jorah confesses his love to Daenerys, but she rejects him. On his advice, they set course for the slave cities to acquire soldiers. Jorah keeps trying to convince Daenerys that she can't trust anyone but him. Her shock is all the greater when Arstan, who is actually Ser Barristan Selmy, tells her about Jorah's betrayal. Angry, she banishes him from Meereen and warns him never to return.

Plot A Dance with Dragons

Jorah is getting drunk in a brothel in Volantis when he suddenly sees Tyrion Lannister. He takes him prisoner and wants to bring him to Daenerys to be in her favor again. They are caught by slave traders who bring them to Meereen. But chaos soon breaks out there and Daenerys is missing. They join the mercenary Ben Plumm, with Mormont guessing Tyrion's mind about bringing the mercenaries back to Daenerys' camp.

Khal Drogo

Drogo is a famous warrior and leader ( khal ) of the greatest horde ( khalasar ) of the equestrian people of the Dothraki. He was never defeated in battle and is considered an excellent warrior who, like all Dothraki, does not shy away from extreme violence.

Plot A Game of Thrones

Magister Illyrio Mopatis from Pentos arranges his wedding to Daenerys Targaryen. Drogo and Daenerys develop feelings for each other over time, but he doesn't want to know about their plans for Westeros. Only after an assassination attempt on Daenerys does Drogo decide to begin the invasion of Westeros. Soon afterwards, however, he is wounded (in the series this is shown explicitly and modified in a departure from the book); the treatment by the imprisoned healing priestess Mirri Maz Duur only makes things worse. Drogo's men leave him and Daenerys eventually kills him so he doesn't have to suffer any further.

Illyrio Mopatis

Illyrio Mopatis is a powerful and wealthy trader from Pentos. He grew up in poverty and along with Varys became a rich man. Together with Varys, he works in secret to reestablish Targaryen rule in Westeros. His reasons for this are unclear.

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In A Game of Thrones , Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen live in his house for some time before arranging the wedding between Daenerys and Khal Drogo. In A Dance with Dragons he receives Tyrion Lannister in his mansion. He offers Tyrion to take revenge on the Lannisters and become ruler of Casterlystein by helping Daenerys Targaryen ascend the throne.

Xaro Xhoan Daxos

Xaro Xhoan Daxos is a merchant prince from the city of Qarth and a member of the Thirteen , a group of Qarth's most influential merchants. He is described as a rich and smart man with flashy clothes that make him look like a bird of paradise. He also wears a conspicuous amount of jewelry as an additional demonstration of his wealth.

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In A Clash of Kings , Xaro Daenerys welcomes Targaryen and her Dothraki followers to the city of Qarth after their journey through the Red Desert and offers her to live in his palace. He gives her advice on whom to get in town for her support, but denies her help in the form of ships. Daenerys later learns that Xaro is primarily concerned with its own advantages. By marrying Daenerys, Xaro wants to try to get one of her dragons into his possession. However, she rejects his request. In Daenerys himself, Xaro does not seem to have any interest in his marriage ideas, since he mainly surrounds himself with young men in his palace and does not seem to be interested in women. After Daenerys has destroyed the house of the immortals with her dragon Drogon and she again rejects one of Xaro's requests, he asks her to leave Qarth. He later reappears in A Dance with Dragons in Meereen, where he comes before Daenerys' throne and asks her to leave Slave Bay and sail to Westeros, as the abolition of slavery in the bay has driven the slave trade for Qarth and other towns in Essos made impossible. He offers her thirteen ships for this. Daenerys refuses, however. It is to be expected that Qarth will officially declare war on her, which is already indicated by a sign Xaros, a blood-stained glove, which he leaves behind for her.

Daario Naharis

Daario Naharis is one of the leaders of the Storm Crows (originally Stormcrows ), a mercenary force in Essos. Originally from the city of Tyrosh , he wears his hair and beard long and dyed blue according to his origins. He is described as handsome and, like many mercenaries, is ruthless and brutal. He is also skilled with the arakh , an originally Dothraki weapon.

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Daario Naharis appears for the first time in A Storm of Swords , where he, along with other Storm Crows officers and their troops, was hired to defend the city of Yunkai against Daenerys Targaryen's army. However, Daario murders the other leaders of the mercenary force and runs over to Daenerys, now with the Storm Crows under his sole command. After moving to Meereen and taking the city in A Dance with Dragons , Daario becomes Daenerys' lover. He is not enthusiastic about Daenerys' plans to marry the marine noble Hizdahr zo Loraq. Daario even suggests that they hold a bloodbath among the disloyal nobles of Meerens at the wedding. Daenerys refuses, however. During their wedding, Daario stays with other Daenerys' followers in Yunkai, who have warlike intentions against Meereen in mind. Daario and the others were sent to Yunkai by Daenerys as a token of goodwill. After Daenerys' disappearance, the rulers of Yunkais demand the death of the two remaining dragons in exchange for the release of Daario and her other guests.

Hizdahr zo Loraq

Hizdahr zo Loraq comes from one of the great Ghiscarian noble families in Meereen. He is described as a tall, scrawny, red-haired man of wisdom and ambition. Hizdahr's motives and political points of view remain mostly unclear despite many assurances.

Plot A Dance with Dragons

Hizdahr zo Loraq first appears after Daenerys Targaryen conquered the city of Meereen and freed all the slaves. As the spokesman for the noble upper class of Meereen, he made it his business to convince them of the necessity of old Meereenian customs. So he calls on her several times to persuade her to reopen the arenas that she closed after her arrival. When Daenerys' rule begins to falter in the face of threats within Meereen (triggered by the radical sons of the harpy, among others ), she decides to marry Hizdahr to express her solidarity with the local population of Meereen and to end the violence on the streets . On the occasion of the wedding, suggested by Hizdahr, the arenas will be reopened. During the arena fights, Hizdahr offers his new wife spiced grasshoppers, but she refuses. A loyal Daenerys, the Strong Belwas , however, nibbles on it and almost dies from it. It is unclear whether it was Hizdahr who poisoned the locusts. Shortly afterwards, Drogon, Daenerys' black dragon, appears. She rides away on him in the resulting mess. After their disappearance, chaos reigns for a short time. Hizdahr, now sole king, tries to regain control, but Barristan Selmy imprisons him and takes over the affairs of state. He suspects Hizdahr is behind the poisoned grasshoppers and wants to keep him prisoner until his guilt is proven.

Jon Connington

Jon Connington was formerly Lord of Greifenhorst, a fortress south of Storm's Cape in the Stormlands. He was a close friend of Rhaegar Targaryen. For a short time he was the hand of King Aerys II Targaryen during the Civil War. However, after Connington lost a battle, he was sent into exile.

Plot A Dance with Dragons

In Essos, Jon takes care of the education of Aegon Targaryen, the alleged son of Rhaegar Targaryen, who is said to have survived the massacre in the capital. He contacts the Golden Company , the largest and best mercenary company in Essos, which is campaigning for the Targaryens to return to power. He sails with her to Westeros, where he conquers his headquarters in Greifenhorst and plans an attack on Storm Cape.

Other people

Barristan Selmy

Ser Barristan Selmy is from the Stormlands. Even in his early youth he participated anonymously in tournaments and showed his great courage. He was nicknamed the Bold by the first-born son of King Aegons V , as the Crown Prince praised Barristan's courage to want to prove himself at a tournament in his early youth. Under King Jaehaerys II - father of the future King Aerys II - Barristan was accepted into the Royal Guard. He saved that same son during his reign during a hostage-taking that lasted several months. He was badly wounded in the Battle of the Trident and then appointed Lord Commander of the King's Guard by Robert. Selmy is a very honorable knight who has long been considered one of the best soldiers in the empire, although he has now reached a rather old age (he is around 60 years old at the beginning of the story).

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In A Game of Thrones , Barristan is dismissed after Joffrey's accession to the throne, whereupon he reacts with incomprehension and anger and decides to only serve the rightful ruler. In A Clash of Kings he meets Daenerys in Qarth and thwarts an attempted assassination on her. He joins her under the false name Arstan Whitebeard . In A Storm of Swords , Barristan accompanies Daenerys and serves as her advisor, still under a false identity. He wants to get to know her better before he goes into her service completely. He told Daenerys that he once heard a story from her grandfather: Whenever a new Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin and the world holds its breath to see if the result is madness or greatness. But after he has convinced himself of Daenerys' character and mental sanity, he reveals his true identity to her during the siege of Meereen. Daenerys takes him into her service, and he often tells her about her ancestors, especially her brother Rhaegar. In A Dance with Dragons , Barristan Lord is in command of the Queens Guard and begins training young men to be knights. He urges Daenerys to leave Meereen and go to Westeros, but she wants to sort everything in town first. Barristan remains loyal to her. When she was killed by her dragon Drogon after her wedding, as many report, he does not believe it and maintains that she is still alive. He protects her interests in Meereen and eventually rules the city at the head of a council until Daenerys returns.

Roose Bolton

Roose Bolton is the Lord of Grauenstein (originally Dreadfort ) and one of the most powerful vassals of the Starks. Before the conquest of Westeros by Aegon I Targaryen, the Boltons rivaled the Starks for rule in the north for several centuries, often skinning their opponents. House Bolton eventually submitted to the Starks after numerous battles and recognized them as kings of the north. The Boltons' banner shows a skinned man on a pink field (in the TV series a skinned man upside down on an X-shaped cross on a dark blue background), their motto is Our blades are sharp (in the original Our blades are sharp ).

Roose Bolton is an average middle-aged man with very pale eyes and frequent leeches. He is described as a cold-blooded, aloof and intelligent man who always keeps all options open.

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In A Game of Thrones , Robb Stark appoints Bolton to command the troops intended to stop Lord Tywin. Bolton loses the battle, but can withdraw in an orderly fashion. In A Clash of Kings he succeeds in taking control of Harrenhal. He marries a daughter of Lord Walder Frey. After the defeat of Stannis Baratheon on the Schwarzwasser and the formation of the Lannister-Tyrell Alliance, Roose orders a senseless advance on Dämmertal; The goal, as it later turns out, was probably to make the Stark loyalists in his army bleed. In A Storm of Swords it becomes clear that he is secretly in contact with Tywin Lannister; After Winterfell fell and things changed in the south, Roose now sees an opportunity to capitalize on it. Together with Walder Frey, who feels betrayed by Robb, Roose plans the "Red Wedding" and personally kills Robb. Joffrey named Roose the new Guardian of the North and marched back north in A Dance with Dragons . He tries to cover up the details of his betrayal on the surface, realizing that the lords in the north may fear the Boltons, but love the Starks. At the same time he reveals to Theon Greyjoy that he has no illusions about the kind of person his bastard son Ramsay is. In Winterfell he organizes Ramsay's wedding to the alleged Arya Stark, but the situation among the lords present remains tense. Roose learns of Stannis Baratheon's advance on Winterfell and plans to wait for him there while winter falls.

Jon Umber

Lord Jon "Großjon" Umber (often called "Greatjon" in the original) is one of Winterfell's vassals and an experienced warrior. The Umbers are the Lords of the Last Hearth (in the original Last Hearth ), their coat of arms shows a dark haired, roaring giant in fur skins with broken chains on a light red background (in the TV series four silver chains, with a connecting ring in the center on dark red Reason).

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When Robb Stark heads south in A Game of Thrones , Umber demands command of the vanguard and an argument ensues in which Robb's direwolf bites off a few fingers. Umber then turns out to be Robb's loyal follower. After a speech he also proclaims Robb king of the north.

In A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords , Umber remains an important advisor and commander to Robbs, who unconditionally follows his king. At the "Red Wedding" one of his sons is killed and he himself is taken prisoner. In A Dance with Dragons it is emphasized several times that only the capture of Großjon prevents the other Umbers from taking revenge for him in the north. Nevertheless, like several other houses in the north, the Umbers remain secretly strong loyalists even among the Boltons who are now in power there.

Rodrik Cassel

Ser Rodrik Cassel is Winterfell's armorer and trained many of the Stark soldiers. He's absolutely loyal to the Starks.

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In A Game of Thrones he accompanies Lady Catelyn on her journey south. In A Clash of Kings, Ser Rodrik travels to Winterfell again. When the men of the Iron Islands invade the north, he tries to place them further south at Torrhenschanze. However, after Winterfell is captured by the Iron Men, he rushes back to the rescue of Bran and Rickon. Troops under Lord Roose Bolton's bastard son Ramsay arrive at Winterfell, but they suddenly attack the Stark soldiers and also kill Rodrik. In the series, however, he is beheaded by Theon, whom he insulted several times after conquering Winterfell.

Luwin

Luwin serves as maester for House Stark on Winterfell. He is one of the few scholars who have studied mysteries and is allowed to wear a chain link made of Valyrian steel on his maestral chain. In addition to his other duties, Maester Luwin teaches the Stark children. He is described as a friendly little old man and is loyal to the Stark house.

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In A Game of Thrones , Maester Luwin receives a raven with a message from Hohenehr from Lysa Arryn to her sister Catelyn Stark. Together with Catelyn he works on Eddard Stark to accept the office of the hand of the king to watch over King Robert. After Robb's departure south in A Clash of Kings , Luwin assists young Bran in his duties as Lord of Winterfell. When Theon Greyjoy storms and takes Winterfell, Maester Luwin is injured, but he still manages to send ravens to allies. On Theon he worked several times unsuccessfully to change his cruel course. Maester Luwin is fatally wounded when Ramsay Snow and the Bolton troops capture and destroy Winterfell. The group around Bran and Rickon, who last hid in the crypt, find the dying Luwin in the grove of the gods. He asks the wildling woman Osha to shorten his suffering and a quick death, which she grants him after Bran and the others have left him.

Hodor

Hodor is a stable boy on Winterfell. He is above average - the wildling woman Osha suspects giants to be among his ancestors - and has a good natured character. He is mentally retarded and can only say the word Hodor , which earned him his nickname. Old Nan, his great-grandmother, reveals that his name is actually Walder (in the TV series Willis).

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After Bran's accident in A Game of Thrones, Hodor acts as a carrier for the boy. Maester Luwin later designed a basket that Hodor could use to transport Bran on his back. After Theon Greyjoy in A Clash of Kings conquered Winterfell, he stayed in the Winterfell Crypt with Bran, Rickon, the Reets and Osha. After Osha and Rickons departure, he accompanies the group in A Storm of Swords and A Dance with Dragons to their destination north of the wall. In the meantime, Bran discovers his warg abilities and, in addition to the spirit of wolves, can also penetrate and control the spirit of Hodor, which, however, makes Hodor very insecure. When the group reaches the cave of the Three-Eyed Crow , they are attacked by the undead. Bran uses Hodor to fight them and put them to flight. In the cave, Bran often takes over Hodor's ghost (who seems to be getting used to it) to explore the cave system.

Melisandre

Melisandre is a priestess of the "red god" R'hllor . She comes from the city of Asshai in the far east of Essos. Melisandre is a mysterious, beautiful woman with long red hair who always dresses in long red robes. She serves R'hllor with great passion and uses extreme means. Melisandre's true intentions mostly remain a mystery. In particular, she often makes use of magical rituals to achieve her goals. There are parallels to the Grand Grimoire , one of the most important magical books of modern times, whose actual title The Red Dragon is similar to the coat of arms of the House of Targaryen.

Plot A Clash of Kings

Melisandre serves Stannis Baratheon on Drachenstein, whom she believes to be the reborn Azor Ahai , a legendary hero who appears as a champion for the god R'hllor. She can particularly impress Selyse Baratheon, Stannis' wife, and she soon converts to her faith. Several R'hllor believers among Stannis' men therefore call themselves the "men of the queen". However, some of Stannis' followers who still belong to the Faith of the Seven are concerned about Melisandre's growing influence at court. The attempt of Maester Cressens on Drachenstein to poison Melisandre in order to remove Stannis' influence fails. Soon after, Melisandre has Stannis pull a sword out of the fire in a ceremony and announces that he is the reborn Azor Ahai. When Stannis' brother Renly also declares himself king, Melisandre gives birth to a shadow before the seemingly inevitable battle, who kills Renly. His followers are then scattered and partially run over to Stannis. Courtney Fünfrosen, who is desperately trying to hold Storm Cape against Stannis, is also killed by one of Melisandre's shadows. During the Battle of Schwarzwasser, Melisandre is back on Drachenstein.

Plot A Storm of Swords

When Davos Seewert arrives at Drachenstein again, Melisandre soon realizes that he was planning to murder her and has him incarcerated. Melisandre would like to help Stannis rule over Westeros with "royal blood". She asks Stannis, Edric Sturm, to be allowed to sacrifice a bastard son of King Roberts, but she receives nothing more than a little blood that has been sucked up by leeches. She had these leeches burned to Stannis and recited the names of the “false kings” Balon Graufreud, Robb Stark and Joffrey Baratheon; all three kings died soon after. Melisandre accompanies Stannis north to the wall to support the night watch.

Plot A Feast for Crows

At the Black Fortress, Melisandre asks Stannis to be allowed to sacrifice Manke Rayder's newborn son, because she still wants to use the power that is in the royal blood. Jon Schnee, however, secretly exchanges the baby with Goldy's son, who is about the same age, and sends Sam and Goldy with Manke's child on a voyage to Altsass.

Plot A Dance with Dragons

When Stannis and his troops leave for Winterfell to fight the Boltons, Melisandre stays at the Black Fortress. She has several visions, including seeing Jon Snow surrounded by daggers. She warns Jon, who doesn't care much about her visions. In the flames she also sees a girl riding towards the Black Fortress, which she takes to be Arya Stark. However, it turns out that it is Alys Karstark, who seeks refuge from an unwanted marriage. Before Manke Rayder's planned death by fire, she works on Manke and another wildling, rattle shirt, an illusionary spell that switches the shape of the two. Instead of Manke, the rattle shirt is burned, which Jon Schnee only finds out later. Manke Rayder is later sent to Winterfell by Melisandre to save the supposed Arya Stark. When Melisandre later tells Jon about a vision of a wildling attack on Ostwacht an der See, Jon has an expedition to Hartheim north of the wall prepared because he has meanwhile taken Melisandre and her magic seriously. However, she urges Jon to abandon his plan, since she has also seen that none of the ships sent will return.

Davos sea value

Coat of arms of Davos Seewert

Lord Davos Seewert (originally Davos Seaworth ), also called "Onion Knight ", is a former smuggler and a loyal follower of Stannis Baratheon. He is described as a simple and inconspicuous man. During Robert Baratheon's rebellion, he had smuggled food - mainly onions, for which he was later nicknamed - into the Storm Cape fortress, which was besieged by royalists, and thus saved Stannis and his crew from starvation. For his services he received the accolade from Stannis, but for smuggling he punished him by removing the foremost phalanges of the left hand except the thumb. Davos took an onion on a gray field as a coat of arms, based on the many onions that he had smuggled to Sturmkapelle. Davos is also the captain of the Black Betha .

Plot A Clash of Kings

Davos supports Stannis Baratheon, who claims the Iron Throne after Robert's death. At the beginning of the book he is on Drachenstein with Stannis and his family. Davos has great distrust of the R'hllor priestess Melisandre, because he - herself a devout supporter of the Seven Gods - considers her fanaticism and her methods to be dangerous. Davos is sent out several times by Stannis to find supporters; He had success with the Lysenian pirate Salladhor Saan, but he looked in vain for a hearing from most of the Lords of the Stormlands. It is also being sent out to spread the word about the exposure of Cersei's children as bastards with their brother Jaime. Davos rejoins Stannis' troops during the campaign against Storm Cape. After Renly Baratheon's death, Davos is assigned to bring Melisandre under Storm's Cape, where he witnesses her shadow magic, which kills the castellan of the castle, Ser Cortnay Fünfrosen, and leaves the fortress without a leader. Stannis can then take Storm Cape without losses. In the following battle on the Schwarzwasser against Joffrey Baratheon, Davos is in command of the Black Betha . He survived the attack with sea fire with difficulty and tried to get himself out of danger in the midst of the spreading chaos.

Plot A Storm of Swords

After the battle on the Schwarzwasser, Davos found itself on a small island in the bay of Königsmund. After several days, a ship belonging to his friend Salladhor Saan finds him and takes him back to Drachenstein. As he blames Melisandre for the misfortune on the black water and works out the plan to kill her, he is imprisoned shortly after his arrival. However, after a short time he is released again by Stannis, who appoints him lord of the rainforest and the hand of the king. However, Davos continues to distrust Melisandre and withdraws Robert Baratheon's bastard son Edric Sturm from her access by secretly having him taken away from Drachenstein. With this act he hopes to have prevented Edric's sacrifice to R'hllor. When Davos learns of the night watch's call for help, he advises Stannis to sail north and rush to the night watch's help, which the night watch does later.

Plot A Feast for Crows

While Stannis is at the wall, Davos travels to Weisswasserhafen with an alliance request to Lord Wyman Manderly. However, since Wyman's son and heir are in the captivity of the Lannisters, who are demanding the death of Davos Seewert for his release, a rumor soon finds its way to King's Landing, according to which Davos' head and hands were cut off and now adorn the walls of Weißwasserhafen. The actual events in A Dance with Dragons are anticipated here, since from Cersei Lannister's perspective actually told at the same time as the events.

Plot A Dance with Dragons

Davos sets off by sea to Weißwasserhafen together with the pirate Salladhor Saan and his fleet. Several storms, however, cause problems for the ships; part of the fleet sinks, which is why Salladhor Saan changes his mind, gives up his alliance with Stannis and develops the plan to sail to Essos. He offers Davos to come with him, but Davos refuses. Davos sails on to Weißwasserhafen, but ends up stranded at the Sisters' archipelago, where he is briefly imprisoned but soon released. Arrived in Weißwasserhafen, he is confronted with the presence of the Freys and imprisoned by Wyman Manderly and sentenced to death. Before the sentence can be carried out, however, Lord Wyman has another prisoner take the place of Davos and execute in his place. Manderly had the man's head attached to the walls of Weißwasserhafen with his hands, some of which had the foremost phalanges removed like in Davos, to convince the Freys and Lannisters of his loyalty and to buy his son out. After Wyman's son Wylis has returned safely, Lord Wyman Davos promises to swear allegiance to Stannis. First, however, Davos is supposed to bring Rickon Stark, who is suspected to be on the island of Skagos, to safety.

Bronn

Bronn is a mercenary and for some time in the service of Tyrion Lannister. He comes from a lowly background, is mostly completely unscrupulous and a capable fighter.

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Bronn first appears in A Game of Thrones . He is one of the men who took Tyrion prisoner for Catelyn Stark. On Hohenehr Bronn is available as Tyrion's fighter in a legal duel; he wins and leaves the castle with Tyrion. Tyrion promises Bronn a high reward and from then on he remains in Tyrion's service. In A Clash of Kings he serves as Tyrion's bodyguard in King's Landing and successfully participates in repelling Stannis' attack on the capital. He is knighted and also works for Tyrion in A Storm of Swords . When he is charged with the murder of King Joffrey, Bronn does not make himself available as a fighter in the duel against Ser Gregor Clegane. He marries Lollys Schurwerth, a noblewoman who was raped several times during an uprising in Königsmund and is now pregnant, but the father cannot be identified. As a way out she is married to the mercenary Bronn, who is actually not at all appropriate. In A Feast for Crows, however , Bronn names his wife's child Tyrion, which reinforces Cersei's belief that Bronn was involved in the murder of Joffrey and Tyrion's escape. Cersei convinces a lowly noblewoman that Bronn must die. The plan fails, however, when Bronn challenges the nobleman to pierce his lance and kills his opponent.

Shae

Shae is a young, beautiful prostitute and for a time Tyrion Lannister's lover.

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In A Game of Thrones she is brought to Tyrion by Bronn. Tyrion promises her a good life as long as she remains loyal to him. In A Clash of Kings, he even takes her to King's Landing, contrary to Tywin's instructions, to find her a house and servants, and to make sure that she is safe there. After Tyrion marries Sansa Stark for political reasons in A Storm of Swords , Shae is still close to Tyrion as her servant. Although Tyrion knows deeply that he must not trust her completely, he seems to genuinely love Shae. However, after Tyrion's charges, Shae testifies against him. When Tyrion breaks out of the dungeon with Varys' help and goes to Tywin's apartment, he meets Shae there, who has now turned to Lord Tywin. Disappointed with the betrayal, Tyrion kills her.

Gendry

Gendry is an apprentice blacksmith who works in Tobho Mott's forge in King's Landing. At the start of the plot, he is around 14 years old. He is described as a tall and strong boy for his age. He is said to have inherited his striking thick black hair from his father.

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In A Game of Thrones , Eddard Stark visits Tobho Mott's forge while investigating Jon Arryn's death. There he meets Gendry, whom he immediately recognizes as Robert's bastard son. After Eddard's imprisonment and execution, Gendry finds himself in the group around the Night Watch brother Yoren, who is supposed to bring recruits to the Black Fortress. Arya Stark is also in the group that moves north in A Clash of Kings . After an attack by Lannister soldiers and Yoren's murder, the children are taken to Harrenhall, where Gendry can work in a forge again. After Harrenhall is taken over by the Northmen under Lord Bolton, Arya arranges the escape, which is also joined by Gendry and a baker boy named "Hot Pie". They try to reach fast water but are captured by the Brotherhood Without Banners in A Storm of Swords . Gendry, impressed with the group, decides to join the Brotherhood and is knighted by Beric Dondarrion. In A Feast for Crows, however, Brienne von Tarth meets Gendry at the inn on the Kreuzweg, where he lives with some children and works as a blacksmith again. He helps Brienne kill Rorge and Beißer, two former prisoners who were also in Yoren's group.

Rickard Karstark

Heraldic banner of the House of Karstark
Family tree of the Karstark family

Lord Rickard Karstark is a vassal of the Starks and also widely related to them. Its seat is Karholt Castle (in the original Karhold ). Karlon Stark, an ancestor of Lord Rickard, was a younger brother of the then Lord von Winterfell and was given a castle and the right to found his own house for a successful fight against the Boltons. Over the centuries the "Karholt-Starks" became the Karstark house. The coat of arms of the Karstarks shows a white sun on a black field, their motto is The Sun of Winter .

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In A Game of Thrones , Lord Karstark and his troops accompany Robb Stark south. Two sons of Lord Karstark are killed by Jaime Lannister. Karstark seeks revenge and kills two captured sons of Kevan Lannister in A Storm of Swords . For this reason he is personally executed by Robb. Karstark's troops then leave Robb, which significantly weakens him. In addition, the Karstarks in the north later (during the plot of A Dance with Dragons ) support the Boltons.

His third son Harrion and daughter Alys are still alive.

Beric Dondarrion

Coat of arms of the House of Dondarrion

Beric Dondarrion is a fairly young man and Lord of Blackhaven (originally Blackhaven ) in the Stormlands. He later became a member and leader of the Brotherhood without Banners . The coat of arms of the House of Dondarrion shows a purple branched lightning bolt with four-pointed stars on a black background.

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As a young, free knight, Beric Dondarrion wants to take part in the tournament of the hand in the capital in A Game Of Thrones and win it, but is already eliminated in the preliminary round. Later he and other knights are called by Eddard Stark to lead a punitive expedition against Gregor Clegane when he was plundering the river lands. However, this disappears without a trace. It is only in A Storm of Swords that you learn that Clegane attacked the troops and Beric was killed in the process. He was able to be resuscitated by Thoros of Myr, a priest of the "Red God". When he spoke the traditional words of his religion for his friend, with which the dead are honored, Beric opened his eyes again. Beric, Thoros and the rest of the troops fled and gathered a troop of deserters, free warriors, farmers and artisans who, under the name Brotherhood without Banners, try to protect the population of Westeros from the arbitrariness and looting of the warring parties. During one of their forays into A Storm of Swords they meet Arya Stark and her companion and take them prisoner. The also captured Sandor Clegane can kill Beric during a court battle, but Thoros immediately revives him and lets Clegane go. Shortly afterwards, he succeeds in kidnapping Arya.

After the "Red Wedding" the Brotherhood finds the body of Catelyn Stark floating in the Trident. Thoros refuses to revive her because she has been dead too long. So Beric speaks the same magic words. Catelyn comes back to life, but Beric loses his life for good. From then on, Catelyn leads the Brotherhood without Banners and carries out acts of revenge against Lannister troops and their allies, especially against House Frey.

Thoros of Myr

Thoros of Myr is a priest of the "red god" R'hllor . He is described as a tall, corpulent and humorous man who loves to drink. He later becomes a member of the Brotherhood without a Banner .

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In A Game of Thrones , Thoros takes part in the tournament of the hand in King's Landing and manages to throw Dondarrion out of the saddle at Tjost Beric. He is one of the men under Beric's command that Eddard Stark sends out to hunt down Gregor Clegane for his looting in the riverside lands. In A Storm of Swords , it is revealed that Gregor attacked the men, with Beric Dondarrion fatally wounded. A burial ritual based on the belief of the "Red God", performed by Thoros, brings Beric back to life. Under Beric's command they found the Brotherhood without Banners . Thoros has to revive Beric several times; he succeeds one last time during the duel between Beric and Sandor Clegane. When Beric wants to have Catelyn Stark's body resuscitated by him after the "Red Wedding", Thoros refuses and so Beric performs the ritual himself, which costs him his life. Thoros renounces to lay claim to the leadership of the Brotherhood and lets the resuscitated Catelyn Stark take command.

Brienne from Tarth

Brienne of Tarth is the only daughter of Lord Selwyn of Tarth, who rules the island of the same name, which belongs to the Stormlands and is off the Storm Cape to the east.

Plot A Clash of Kings

Brienne is accepted into the bodyguard of Renly Baratheon, whom she secretly worships, which also goes back to an event in the past. After Renly's murder - for which she is first held responsible - she escapes with Lady Catelyn Stark into the river lands and swears her an oath that binds her to Catelyn. Together with Catelyn, she enables Jaime Lannister to escape from rapid water after Catelyn has wrested the oath from him to send her her daughters.

Plot A Storm of Swords

As a result, Brienne also agrees to escort Jaime to King's Landing in exchange for Catelyn's two daughters. After Brienne and Jaime initially act hostile to each other, a certain friendship develops over the course of their journey. It is also Jaime who frees her from the clutches of the Brave Comrades after he has actually already left her. After the two arrive in King's Landing, Jaime hires her to look for the missing Sansa Stark.

Plot A Feast for Crows

On this trip she is accompanied by Podrick Payn. The journey through the rivers and crowns remains fruitless for a long time until they are captured by a group of the former Brotherhood without a banner , including the resurrected Catelyn Stark ( Lady Stone Heart ), who does not believe her not to search for Sansa for the Lannisters . Lady Steinherz then orders Brienne and her remaining companions to be hanged. Her further fate - including her death - is still unclear.

Areo Hotah

Areo Hotah is the captain of the guard in the Dornish capital Sonnspeer, but also accompanies Prince Doran on his travels, for example to the nearby water gardens. As the youngest of six children in a family from the Free City of Norvos, he was sold at an early age to the Bearded Priests, who took over his education and training. At the end, he was ritually with a Langaxt married , which he always carries with him. He came to Dorne with his prince and Mellario von Norvos, Doran's wife. Previously dark-haired, Areo is now gray, but he has not lost his fighting power.

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Areo stays with Prince Doran in the water gardens near Sonnspeer, who doesn't want to show himself in the Dornish capital because of his gout disease, which weakens him. After Oberyn Martell's death, one of his daughters urges the prince to retaliate for her father. The prince asks for time to think it over and returns to Sonnspeer the next day with his maester and Areo. Little by little, other daughters of the prince's brother - the sand snakes - approach him. Doran then orders Areo to have all of his brother's daughters in Sonnspeer taken into custody because he fears a coup; Areo obeys. Some time later, Arianne Martell, the prince's eldest daughter, kidnaps the king's sister, Myrcella Baratheon, together with her subordinates, in order to crown her queen and provoke a war with the king's land. The prince, however, learns of these plans early and sends Areo and other guards out to fetch them back. Areo kills the Royal Guard Arys Eichenherz, who is involved in the conspiracy. After returning to Sonnspeer, Arianne is placed under arrest and only after several days of pleading is finally allowed by Areo to see her father.

Ary's oak heart

Coat of arms of the house Eichenherz

Arys Eichenherz (originally Arys Oakheart ) comes from Alteich, the seat of his family in the western expanse. He became a member of the Kingsguard during the reign of Robert Baratheon.

Plot A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings

Arys is present when Eddard Stark wants to deny his supposed son Joffrey the claim to the throne in the throne room after the death of Robert Baratheon. On Cersei's orders, the King's Guard arrests Eddard, and Arys locks Sansa Stark in Maegor's stronghold. He is the only knight of the Kingsguard who, despite Joffrey's orders, does not beat Sansa, or only beats it very lightly. After Tyrion Lannister takes over the office of the King's Hand , he plans to send Joffrey's sister Myrcella to Dorne. She is to later marry Prince Doran's son Trystan there. Arys accompanies Myrcella to Dorne.

Plot A Feast for Crows

After Doran Martell's return from the water gardens, the Prince receives Arys in Sonnspeer. Doran tells him that he will soon take Myrcella back to the water gardens with him and that Arys should not tell anyone about this. However, Arys has had an affair with Doran's eldest daughter Arianne for some time, to whom he reveals the prince's plans. Arianne persuades Arys to support her in crowning Myrcella Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, because as an elder she has the right to the throne before her brother Tommen - but only according to Dornish law. Together with Arianne, Myrcella and other conspirators, Arys heads west, but is caught on the way through the desert by the guard from Sunspear under the leadership of Areo Hotah. Areo orders the conspirators to surrender, but Arys refuses and attacks the guard. During the fight he is beheaded by Areos long ax.

Ellaria sand

Ellaria sand (bastard daughters, as Oberyns daughters from previous relationships, the mistress of Oberyn Martell and the mother of his four youngest daughters Elijah Obella, Dorea and Loreza sand snakes are called). She is a bastard daughter of the Dornish nobleman Harmen Uller von Höllhain. She is described as a formidable, exotic woman with black hair who is smart and good natured.

action

She comes to King's Landing with Oberyn in A Storm of Swords and attends Joffrey's wedding. After Oberyn's death, she returns to Dorne in A Feast for Crows , where she lives in isolation for some time. She worries about her daughters and fears that, following the example of her half-sisters Obara, Nymeria and Tyene (the three oldest sand snakes ), they will soon seek revenge for their father Oberyn. Ellaria herself is patient and, like Doran Martell, seems to have bigger developments in mind.

The sand snakes

As sand snakes all bastard daughters Oberyn Martel are called, which he has fathered with different lover. The term sand snakes is based on Oberyn's nickname The Red Viper . There are eight sand snakes in total. The four youngest girls are Oberyn's daughters with his long-time lover Ellaria Sand. As Martell bastards, they all have the surname "Sand".

After the death of their father Oberyn in King's Landing, the older sand snakes Obara, Nymeria and Tyene, who are close friends with their cousin Arianne Martell, seek revenge for their loss.

Obara sand

Obara is the eldest daughter of Oberyn Martell. She is the daughter of an old-fashioned prostitute and is described as not very handsome. Obara is a warrior who is excellent at handling the spear and whip.

Nymeria sand

Nymeria is the daughter of a noblewoman from Volantis. Often called Lady Nym , she uses her considerable beauty and intelligence to accomplish her goals.

Tyene sand

Tyene differs from the other sand snakes both visually and in terms of its origin. She is the daughter of a septa and very devout herself. She has long blond hair and is rather quiet. Like her father, she is very knowledgeable about poisons. She has a particularly close friendship with her cousin Arianne.

Sarella sand

Sarella is the daughter of a woman from the Summer Islands. At the beginning of the action in Dorne, she is out of the country. It is believed that she studies at the citadel of Altsass under a false name.

Elia Sand

Elia is the eldest daughter of Ellaria Sand. It got its name in memory of Oberyn's murdered sister Elia Martell. She seems to have a particular enthusiasm for knightly activities such as riding and jousting.

Obella sand

Obella is the second daughter of Ellaria Sands. Together with her sisters and mother, she is in A Feast for Crows in the water gardens outside of Sonnspeer.

Dorea Sand

Dorea is the third daughter of Ellaria Sands. During the plot of A Feast for Crows, she is in the water gardens, where she is picking oranges from the trees with her morning star.

Loreza sand

Loreza is the fourth and youngest daughter of Ellaria Sands. When she is sent to the water gardens with her sisters and mother, she is about seven years old.

People from pro and epilogues

Here those people are represented from whose point of view the novels are told in the pro and epilogues. Kevan Lannister, featured in the epilogue of A Dance with Dragons , is listed above .

Want

Will was a poacher in the riverside lands. When he was caught, he was offered to join the night watch or he would have lost a hand. He decided to put on the black and has been wearing it for about four years when the story begins. After taking his oath he was assigned to the border guards. He is considered very experienced.

The prologue to Will is the only part of the book series so far that does not reproduce any inner monologues or trains of thought of the character from whose point of view the story is being told.

Plot A Game of Thrones

Will is north of the wall with his brother Gared under the command of Weymar Rois. The group is several days' ride away from the wall and is chasing wildlings. Will apparently found some of them dead the day before. While Will and Gared feel persecuted and want to return to the wall, Weymar wants to convince himself of the dead on site. When it is already night, the group reaches the camp of the dead wildlings. While Gared is supposed to guard the horses, Will goes to the camp with Weymar and discovers that the bodies of the wildlings have disappeared. Weymar makes fun of it and demands that Will climb a tree and look for smoke from campfires. However, Will only discovers a white shadow that quickly disappears. His fear increases and he wants to warn Weymar, but his voice fails. Weymar can now sense that something is wrong. When he calls for Will, an eerie figure appears with ice-blue eyes and in armor that is constantly changing in color. Weymar faces her to fight. Another five of these figures appear and stand to watch. After a short period of struggle, the figure Weymar can be badly wounded. When the latter attacks again and strikes his sword against the blue one of his opponent, Weymar's steel shatters. When Weymar is dead, the other five figures also come up to the corpse and stick their blades into him several times. Will then closes his eyes and prays. When he dares to open it again, the figures have disappeared. He climbs down from the tree to look for Gared and to bring Weymar's broken sword to the Lord Commander as evidence. When Will turns around, Weymar has got up again and his one undamaged eye is shining ice blue. He puts his ice-cold hands on Will's neck.

Cressen

Maester Cressen serves the Baratheons on Drachenstein. He had previously been a maester in Storm's Cape under the father of Robert, Stannis and Renly and took over the upbringing of the sons after the death of the parents, but feels most closely connected to Stannis. After Robert's coronation, Stannis received Drachenstein as his heir to the throne at that time and the maester followed him. Cressen is around 80 years old, had a serious fall and broken hip two years before the plot began. The following year he fell so seriously ill that the citadel in foresight sent a new maester with Pylos, but Cressen recovered, so that two maesters have been serving on Drachenstein since then; However, Cressen secretly feels that Pylos is unsuitable for his successor. Cressen has a particularly good relationship with Stannis' daughter Sharin, for whom he also feels great pity for her life so far.

Plot A Clash of Kings

A white raven from the citadel arrives at Drachenstein, bringing the news of the end of summer. Cressen is visited by Princess Sharin and the jester Flickenfratz, who want to take a look at the animal. After Cressen learned from Pylos that Davos Seewart had returned to Drachenstein, he immediately rushed to the king. On the way he meets Davos, who reports that Stannis cannot hope for any significant support for his claim to the throne in the Stormlands, as many big houses have declared themselves in favor of his younger brother Renly. When Cressen meets Stannis, his king lets him feel that he is not necessarily dependent on the maester's advice: Stannis vehemently rejects Cressen's proposals for alliances with both Renly and Robb Stark; He is also averse to a marriage between Sharin and Robert Arryn for an alliance with the Green Valley. When Queen Selyse joins the conversation and holds out the prospect of a possible death for Renly - whom the Red Priestess Melisandre saw in her visions - Cressen protests sharply, but Stannis sends him away. After returning to his apartment, Cressen weighs his options. Since the entire royal family is influenced by Melisandre, Cressen decides to poison the priestess during the next meal. After he has fetched the poison, he wants to go to sleep for a moment; however, he wakes up after hours. By the time he reached the dining room the company had already started the meal. On the way to his seat, Cressen is pushed by Flickenfratz and falls. Since he cannot get up on his own, he is helped - by Melisandre. Then she allows herself a joke with the maester and puts the bucket on his head, which Flickenfratz uses as a helmet, exposing him with it. When Cressen reaches his seat, he realizes that it is occupied by Pylos. Cressen learns that Stannis had insisted not to send for him because he was not needed and Pylos should now take over his duties. Deeply affected by these words, he asks for a seat at the table; Davos offers its own. From there, Cressen is too far away to give Melisandre the poison he had brought with him. When he asks his king one more time to ally himself with Robb or the Arryns, he is mocked by the queen and Melisandre and Patch Face puts his helmet back on him. In the situation, Cressen recognizes that the moment is right and feigns a change of heart: He recognizes Melisandre's approach and wants to share a cup of wine with her that he borrows from Davos. He notices that Cressen has put something in the wine and wants to stop him, but he is ignored by the maester. Melisandre also gives him the opportunity to repent, but he rejects this too and both empty the chalice. While Melisandre seems unimpressed by the enjoyment of the wine and alludes to the power of her god, Cressen collapses and suffocates.

Chett

Chett comes from Hexensumpf ( Hag's Mire in the original), a village on the Blue Arm of the Trident in the river lands. He has not learned a trade. His face is littered with pimples and boils that have marked him since childhood, which is why his peers avoided him. A prostitute also refused to serve him, which he then stabbed in anger. After the crime he fled, but was arrested and given to the night watch. There he works as a chamberlain in the service of Maester Aemon and carries out menial duties there until Samwell Tarly takes his place with the Maester. Then Chett is assigned to the dog kennels. He is part of Lord Commander Mormont's expedition north of the wall that is on the fist of the First Men .

Plot A Storm of Swords

Chett has not gotten over the fact that Samwell has taken over his position with Maester Aemon, and therefore holds a grudge against Samwell and Jon Snow, who previously stood up for Samwell. There are reports that the wildlings under Manke Rayder marched with 20,000 to 30,000 people towards the wall and soon passed the fist . While Chett is of the opinion that the expedition must return to the wall as soon as possible, the Lord Commander wants to defend himself on his fist , which Chett considers hopeless because of the much smaller manpower (approx. 300). For this reason, together with a few other brothers, he forges a plan to kill the Lord Commander and other brothers and to break away from the expedition. The conspirators - who want to strike at night - have therefore occupied all the important posts from which they can carry out the action. At a meeting of the camp that evening, the Lord Commander explained his new plan to march further north the next morning with the entire expedition and attack the wildling army from behind. Chett now sees his conspiracy in jeopardy, and a sudden snowfall also drives his despair. So at least he wants to kill Samwell, who is sleeping in his tent. When Chett has already drawn the knife, a horn sounds. Chett first thinks of the return of his brothers when the horn sounds a second time: He tells Samwell, who has just awakened, that they are now likely to be killed by wildlings. Then a third horn sounds, which announces an attack by the others ; Chett then notices that he's wet himself.

Later in the book it is described that Chett was killed by the Others and resurrected as a revenant . He is among those revenants who attack Samwell and Goldy on their return to the wall.

Merrett Frey

Coat of arms of the House of Frey

Merrett Frey is the ninth legitimate son of Walder Frey, whom he fathered with his third wife. As a child he was sent to Rallenhall in the Westland and grew up with his mother's family. Jaime Lannister, who was serving as a squire in Rallenhall at the same time, remembers Merrett as simple-minded, cocky and stupid. Merrett himself became a squire early on and should have been knighted later. However, he caught the plague during sexual intercourse and was kidnapped at another time. In addition, a little later he was hit in the head by a morning star, so that since then every shock, no matter how small, has caused him a severe headache and a life as a knight became impossible. After his return to the twins, Merrett was married to a Darry, before their family became massively less important after Robert's rebellion over their allegiance to the Targaryens. His wife despises him and did not give birth to a son until after five daughters - only three of whom were older than infants. Merrett's eldest daughter became a widow when her husband decided to challenge Gregor Clegane in a duel; his daughter Walda was married to the mighty Lord Roose Bolton shortly before the Red Wedding , but only because Roose had her weight - which is very high - outweighed in silver as a dowry. Because of all these events and humiliations, Merrett always feels unlucky. He is involved in the execution of the Red Wedding . Merrett is in his mid-30s at the start of the plot.

Plot A Storm of Swords

Merrett rides to Altsteinen to buy Petyr Frey - the grandson of his late half-brother Stevron - from the detention of the outlaws. On the way he is lost in thought, brooding especially about his family and the time after his father will pass away. Shortly before Altstein, his headache increased, but he reached the place on time as agreed. There he meets several of the outlaws who surround him. Merrett explains that he has the requested ransom but wants to see Petyr first. They go together to a godly grove, where Petyr is supposed to stay; but there Merrett finds him hanged from a tree. Merrett points out that he had fulfilled the conditions of the outlaws and that they had promised him Petyr's safety, but they counter that they lied and tie Merrett's hands behind his back. The outlaws hang a rope around his neck and swing the other end over a strong branch. But they offer Merrett a way out if he tells them what Sandor Clegane was doing with a child of about ten during the Red Wedding with the twins , but Merrett is not aware of any such thing. This does not satisfy the outlaws and the order is given to hang Merrett. In his desperation, he declares the Red Wedding as revenge on the Starks and their allies for the victims in his own ranks and downplays his role during the massacre to a mere spectator: he cannot be personally proven to have an active role. But the outlaws contradict and let a woman in a long coat step forward; Merrett is completely shocked when he recognizes Catelyn Stark, whom he has seen die with his own eyes. Her face is puffy and her eyes are full of hatred. Since she cannot speak, she confirms with a nod that Merrett was to blame for the Red Wedding ; the outlaws hang him up before he can justify himself.

Patient

Pat ( godfather in the original) comes from the Westlands. He came to the Citadel in Altsass at the age of 13 to learn the trade of a maester. After five years (at the beginning of A Feast for Crows ) as a novice, he has not yet forged a link for his maestral chain; In two trades he was rejected by the respective maester, on the third attempt it turned out late that the maester was mentally no longer able to teach Pat anything. In other respects, too, he had a difficult position in Altsass: He was accused of theft by a fourth maester, but this turned out to be a mistake; the image of the thief has stuck with some people ever since. Pat is deeply in love with a barmaid named Rosi, but her mother has exposed a gold dragon on her virginity, which Pat has not yet been able to use.

Plot A Feast for Crows

Pat is sitting with his friends in the tap house where Rosi works. They are celebrating one of Pat's friends who has acquired a link for his maester chain. In the same pub, Pat met a mysterious man who offered to pay a gold kite for a Citadel master key from a maester, which Pat could use to pay the price for Rosi. In the meantime he has stolen the key and would like to meet the man in the pub that day. After a while, Leo Tyrell, a relative of the Lord of Rosengarten, appears and provokes the group; including Pat, who wants to beat up Leo, but is stopped in time. Leo reports of a newly burning glass candle in Maester Merwyn's room, but the other novices do not believe him, since glass candles cannot actually be lit, but Leo insists on his representation. After the day has already started and the mysterious man has not shown up, Pat leaves the restaurant disappointed after his friends and goes back to the Citadel. On the way, the mysterious man comes up to him and reveals to him that he has been in the restaurant the whole time, but whether Pat's friends have refrained from making them known. After asking Pat for the key, the man asks Pat to follow him. The handover finally takes place in a side street: Pat first receives the gold coin, then the man asks for the key, but Pat hesitates and asks about the man's motives, but he refuses to answer. Since Pat does not know the man's face, which has always been veiled, he demands that the man remove his hood; the young man who appears underneath is unknown to Pat and he hands him the key. Shortly after Pat has left the alley, the paving stones laid under him seem to give way and he falls. He loudly states that he doesn't understand why he's falling and what's happening to him, and an unfamiliar voice tells him that he never will either.

At the end of A Feast for Crows , Samwell Tarly meets a novice named Pat in the apartments of Maester Merwyn - who is showing Samwell the lit glass candle - after he has arrived in Altsass. It is not clear whether this is the same Pat from the prologue.

literature

  • George RR Martin : Fire & Blood. 300 Years Before A Game of Thrones. Bantam Books, New York 2018, ISBN 978-1-5247-9628-0 .
  • George RR Martin, Elio Garcia, Linda Antonsson: The World of Ice & Fire: the Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones. Bantam, New York 2014.

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ So the translation in the German books, in the original is " direwolf ", which can also be translated as "Schreckenswolf".
  2. ↑ This later turns out to be a lie, although Catelyn does not find out; in reality, Prince Joffrey ordered the assassination.
  3. ↑ According to his own statements ( Westeros.org ), Martin was inspired by the black dinner when the Scottish Earl of Douglas and his brother were murdered in 1440 ( History behind Game of Thrones ).
  4. ↑ It is implied that it is Brynden Strom ( Brynden Rivers in the original), an illegitimate son of King Aegon IV Targaryen. Brynden is known from Martin's short stories ( The Sworn Sword and The Mystery Knight ). A good 100 years earlier he rose to become one of the most powerful men in the empire, but then had to join the Night's Watch and finally disappeared.
  5. ↑ According to the series, she died of excessive blood loss while giving birth to a child.
  6. Jump up ↑ Game of Thrones Season 1, Episode 1: Viserys talks about having waited 17 years to ascend the throne.
  7. ↑ The Throne of the Seven Kingdoms - Appendix ; de.eisundfeuer.wikia.com, accessed December 15, 2016
  8. ↑ This is the translation in the books. The English original "Growing Strong" can also be translated as "become stronger" or "strengthened".
  9. ↑ In the television series, a love affair between him and Renly is explicitly shown.
  10. ↑ In the German translation the ship is first translated as silence : "Theon was looking for the silence of his uncle Euron." (Martin, George RR (2011): The song of ice and fire. The throne of the seven kingdoms. Munich: Random House GmbH, p. 214.)
  11. ↑ The name Schnee (or Snow) below is the surname of all illegitimate children in the north, but recognized by Lords.
  12. ^ Westeros.org
  13. ↑ In the fifth episode of the sixth season of the television series, it is thematized that the name Hodor stands for “Hold the Door” (in the German version “Keep the gate”).
  14. ^ EM Butler, Ritual Magic, "The Solomonic Cycle," CUP Archive, 1979, ISBN 978-0-521-29553-6
  15. ↑ This is a reference point of pop culture that appears again and again in the television series Sleepy Hollow , the Final Fantasy computer game series or the album of the same name by the music group God Dethroned .