[Robb Stark — Characters]
Tywin Lannister's forces have been attacking Catelyn's home in the Riverlands ever since she arrested Tyrion. It's not that he cares so much about Tyrion, he explains to Jaime, but because even though Tyrion is the least of them he is still a Lannister, and if they allow one of their own to be taken so easily, they risk losing the respect of the other Houses. The hill tribesmen deliver Tyrion to his father's army, where he learns that Robb Stark is leading an army to war. Tyrion warns his father that Robb should not be underestimated. Tywin agrees to honor Tyrion's alliance with the hill tribes. When Shagga says they will only fight if Tyrion is with them on the field, Tywin also agrees, to Tyrion's dismay.
Cersei thanks the High Sparrow for his actions, and he proceeds to give her a speech about the history of the Sept. He tells her that the Tyrells' falsehoods will be revealed for all the world to see, as in the case of everyone, including Cersei herself. The High Sparrow reveals that Lancel confessed his adulterous affair with Cersei following Jaime's capture by Robb Stark, and orders Cersei arrested, to her horror. She is taken to a cell by a group of septas, but threatens them that her face is the last thing they will see before they die for what they are doing to her.
During the War of the Five Kings , Jaime fought for his house, but was captured by Robb Stark and kept prisoner. He came to an agreement with Catelyn , who decided to release him on condition that her daughters would be safely returned to her. Jaime was paired with Brienne , whom Catelyn tasked to have him brought back to the capital. During their travel, Jaime lost his right hand, and revealed the actual reasons why he murdered Aerys. Upon his return to the capital, he continued to serve as Lord Commander to Joffrey, and then to Tommen, but was dismissed from his position after a tense confrontation with the Faith Militant . He became the new Commander of the Lannister forces, but left his position in order to help the North face the Army of the Dead . After the dead were defeated, he was horrified at the fate his sister would await back in the capital, so he went back to help her.
Tywin hosts a war council, and Arya serves food and drink. She moves to pour wine, but Tywin stops her, demanding water. He questions her origin, realizing that she is a northerner. He rejects Arya's first lie that she is from the Riverlands , but her second lie withstands his scrutiny. Upon being questioned about the northerners' opinions of her brother, Robb Stark , she repeats rumors that he has a supernatural link to his direwolf and that he is invulnerable. Tywin asks if she believes this and she replies, "No, My Lord, anyone can be killed." She leaves to fetch water and encounters Jaqen, now a Lannister man-at-arms. Jaqen says that because she saved his life, and those of his two fellow prisoners, he owes her three deaths and offers to kill three people of her choosing. She first targets the Tickler. He is soon found dead in the courtyard. Arya notices Jaqen on the walkway above and he smiles and holds a single finger to his face to signify his responsibility.
While the daughter and sister of traitors, Sansa is a very valuable hostage. If Robb Stark dies, she becomes "the key to the North" as the Lady of Winterfell , greatly increasing the power of whichever house she marries into. To prevent Littlefinger from gaining power, Varys suggests to Olenna that a Tyrell marry Sansa.
In A Song of Ice and Fire , Bran is seven years old when the story begins. He has a love of climbing, and has been known to climb the walls of Winterfell and go exploring its ancient nooks and crannies. He dreams of one day being a great knight, but he is also fascinated by magic. Bran is described as having red-auburn hair like his mother, full brothers, and oldest sister, though on the series he has brown hair. Robb Stark 's hair was also similarly darkened for the television series, while Rickon's is lightened to blond.
Theon suggests that they kill Jaime and send his head to his father Tywin, but Robb refuses, fearing that Sansa and Arya will be harmed in retaliation. When Robb laments the loss of 2,000 of his men in the feint at the battle on the Green Fork , Theon assures him that songs will be sung of their bravery. Robb responds that they will not hear them. After news arrives of Eddard's execution, Robb Stark is proclaimed the King in the North by his lords bannermen. Theon asks first if they are brothers, now and always. When Robb's answer is yes, Theon swears his sword and fealty to Robb's service, proclaiming Robb as his King.
Roose Bolton 's bastard son Ramsay Snow has been sent to secure Winterfell from the Ironborn and bring Theon back to Robb Stark alive. However, Roose plans to double-cross Robb and after the Ironborn turn on Theon and surrender themselves to Snow's forces, he has them all killed and secretly captures Theon. Theon is imprisoned at the Dreadfort , although Theon is unaware where he is. Bound to a rack, he is repeatedly tortured by a group of men, some of whom are dressed in the garb of Greyjoy men. One of them pries off Theon's fingernails with a knife while the others drive a screw through his foot.
Before his capture by Ramsay Snow, Theon is shown to be arrogant, narcissistic and vain, but fundamentally not malicious. For example, when he returned to the Iron Islands, he expected to receive a hero's welcome for being the only living heir of Balon Greyjoy. He was both baffled and offended that he did not receive such a welcome when he landed in Pyke. Also, in order to appear like a strong, accomplished young man, he would gloat over things in an almost ridiculous way - he gloated to Osha that he was the man who captured her, even though Robb Stark fought and captured her.
In A Song of Ice and Fire , Theon was a young boy when his father's rebellion was crushed and his two brothers were killed. He has one surviving sibling, his sister Asha (called Yara in the TV series).
Theon has been raised at Winterfell since the age of ten; of all the Starks, he has become close friends with Robb Stark . He considers Robb as a younger brother, more a brother to him than his brothers Rodrik and Maron; that does not stop him from betraying Robb, though.
Ramsay's torture of Theon serves no real logical purpose, and he is only doing it out of pure sadism. He basically just picked Theon at random - indeed, part of Ramsay's sadistic glee in torturing people is outright gloating that it isn't happening for any reason whatsoever. The only possible reason to keep Theon alive instead of simply killing him, but not inform the ironborn that he was held captive, might have been to throw the ironborn into internal conflict over who exactly Balon's heir was (as both Asha and Theon's uncles felt they were actually Balon's heirs, due to the unusual succession laws in the Iron Islands). Even if Ramsay emasculated Theon in the books, this doesn't necessarily mean that he cannot "further the Greyjoy line." Unlike the honorable Robb Stark or Jon Snow, Theon greatly enjoyed having sex with prostitutes (as also seen in the TV continuity when he has sex with Ros); Theon has at times mockingly remarked that he may have bastard children that he doesn't know about. He also had sex with the Captain's daughter in the books (who outright wanted him to take her as his salt wife ), and specifically joked to her that if she became pregnant, it would be an honor to have a future king's bastard. So far in the books, however, there has been no mention of Theon fathering any known bastards.
Despite his accomplishments and supreme tactics, Stannis was extremely stubborn. He refused to ask Robb Stark or his brother to assist his army, ignoring that Robb and his goals could help each other, claiming he stole the North from his kingdom. Stannis equates this with everything, viewing everyone who does not support his claim as foes and lords of different parts of the Seven Kingdoms without his say-so as usurpers. The prime example of Stannis's rigidity is what caused his demise. The first example of this was choosing to assassinate Renly instead of allying with him to defeat the Lannisters, a mistake that not only laid the seeds of his death, but led to the Tyrells joining forces with the Lannisters and defeating his army at the Battle of the Blackwater. Later on, ignoring the loss of half his forces and Melisandre abandoning him, he continues his siege on Winterfell anyway and is quickly destroyed by Ramsay Bolton 's forces. With his faith broken, his ambition quashed and his family destroyed, Stannis does not attempt to avoid his fate and calmly accepts his death.
One of Stannis's main flaws is the lack of charisma, which his brothers had plenty of. In the beginning of the second novel, a very few houses answer his summoning, while Renly gathers rather easily a very large host in a relatively short time. Stannis is decent enough to admit his flaw, " My brother made them [his enemies] love him, but it would seem that I inspire only betrayal ." His tactless attitude is another serious flaw: it alienates people who potentially could have become his allies, as he did with Robb Stark: during the parley with Renly and Catelyn, Stannis bluntly told Catelyn, " I am the rightful king, and your son no less a traitor than my brother here. His day will come as well ," thus ruining any chance of an alliance between himself and the Starks.
In the Riverlands , en route to the Twins , Robb Stark 's army is forced to make camp, their progress delayed by heavy rain. Catelyn warns them that the prickly Lord Walder Frey will take the delay as a deliberate insult to him, but Edmure Tully points out that Frey is getting the wedding he wanted; his sister counters that he is getting a wedding, but not the one he wanted, glaring at her son and his wife as she says so, pointing out that Frey wanted one of his daughters wed to a king . Robb retorts that Edmure is the best match House Frey has been offered in its history.
Brienne joins the forces of King Renly Baratheon in the War of the Five Kings . She proves herself by winning a tournament amongst his men, including a victory over Renly's favorite – and Lord Commander of the Kingsguard – Ser Loras Tyrell . She asks to be named to his Kingsguard as a reward. Renly grants her request, despite her gender and consequent lack of knighthood. Catelyn arrives in the camp to negotiate an alliance between Renly and her son, King Robb Stark . Brienne takes offense when Lady Catelyn does not refer to Renly as "Your Grace," and later, escorts her and Renly through the camp as they talk. She tells Catelyn to call her just "Brienne," as despite her birth, she does not consider herself a "Lady."
As they arrive at the Twins, the massacre of Stark bannermen begins. Arya escapes and attempts to enter the castle, but is knocked unconscious by Sandor. Realizing that it is too late to do anything, Sandor mounts his horse with Arya. They are both shocked to see Robb Stark's mutilated corpse, but are able to flee the castle yard during the chaos, using a banner of House Frey to cover themselves.
However, after Robb Stark 's victory over Jaime necessitates Tywin's withdrawal of his forces to Harrenhal , he orders Gregor to take five hundred men and "set the Riverlands on fire" from the Gods Eye to the Red Fork .
Margaery is younger in the books, sixteen at the time of her marriage to Renly making her the same age as Robb Stark . However, Margaery has been further aged in the series, making her slightly older than Robb Stark, as Natalie Dormer is four years older than Richard Madden. The TV series producers enjoyed Dormer's audition so much that they decided to overlook this minor difference. Thus while Margaery is the youngest of Mace's children in the books, TV-Margaery is officially a year or two older than her brother Loras - though in the male-dominated culture and inheritance system of the Seven Kingdoms (with the exception of Dorne), this does not change Margaery's place in line of succession, or significantly change her character.