Lyonel Baratheon

== Personality ==
=== Personality Description ===
Lyonel is known for acting on his own and doing what he thinks is right. If he deems something as dishonorable or wrong, he won’t do it. But if he is unsure himself, he often finds it hard to ask for help among his councilors. He feels that it shows weakness when asking for help and will avoid it at all costs.
Granted he won’t flat out say no, rather he’ll spin it in a way that sounds like he can’t. Two faced, Lyonel uses his knowledge on human behavior to get people to like, trust and listen to him as well as passively make people intimidated and manipulated by him. He’s secretive and most people don’t know how he truly feels about them. 
Nonetheless - he loves his family and would do everything to protect them from harm. And once he is loyal and once he swore an oath, he will hold that. He is also a very caring and empathetic person, with him showing his great empathy skills when visiting the common folk or when talking with his younger siblings if they should have problems. 
=== Goals and Motivation ===
To secure the safety of his family. Furthermore, by the time of his death, he wishes to leave the realm, especially the Stormlands, in a better place than it was when he took power. If possible, he would also love a closer alliance with the crown and maybe a seat on the small council to help the rightful Queen rule Westeros. 
=== Reputation ===
Despite being young, he is considered to be competent and with a good mind. However, critics will claim that he is inexperienced and too weak, giving the commoners too much of his attention and not doing anything about the true issues of the Stormlands. 
== Backstory ==
Lyonel Baratheon was born in Storm's End as the first son to Lord Edric Baratheon. With both his elder siblings being daughters, the Lord was overjoyed with him finally being the heir he had wanted for so long. He would eventually get three more siblings. 
In his youth, his father always seemed to be disappointed in him. Due to this, young Lyonel tried all he could to gain his father's love and affection. But no matter what he did, it was never good enough. 
He tried to study and learn about war tactics, after all - two of his fathers biggest interests were war strategies and history. Lyonel also began training with the sword. By the age of thirteen, the heir of Storm's End was considered to possess talent for sword fighting.  
But still - it wasn't good enough for his father. 
But Lyonel didn't give up. On the contrary - he gave everything he could and it paid off when he was 17. In a tourney for his father's 35th name day, he managed to secure the win in the melee. It wasn't a strong field but yet, there were some decent knights among the participants.  He was very keen on his achievement but as usual, his father showed no signs of affection. 
Lyonel was also known for doing a lot of charity work which has lasted ever since he visited the common folk in a small village nearby Storm's End. At the beginning, it was another attempt of him to gain his father's love but soon he realized the importance of his work and visits. After all - they were no different than a king or a Queen. The commoners were just happy to see him. He still visits them regularly up to this day which causes to be very popular amongst the common folk in the Stormlands. 
The relationship with his siblings was good and as he grew older and older, Lyonel began to watch after his younger siblings. After all, he loved his family and tried his best to keep them happy, often neglecting his own interests and needs. 
During a brief stay in King's Landing when he was 16, he had a brief romance with Princess Rhaenys Targaryen which only lasted for the duration of the tournament for King Aegon's name day. Luckily for them both, that never got discovered and it never got really serious either. One could say that they were children back then after all. After the tourney, Lyonel returned home with his father but not before promising the princess that he would ensure her place on the Iron Throne one day as Lord of Storm's End. They remained in contact via ravens to this day. Until today, he still has fond feelings and an attraction towards the Queen but due to her new position, he will have to keep that a secret. After all this can be viewed as treason. 
When he was 19 (just recently), his father was dying because of an injury due to a hunting trip. Before he passed he told Lyonel that he was proud of him, for the first time ever. That was when he realised that he wasn't good enough for his father. His father didn't want him to stop learning and training. He wanted to keep Lyonel down to earth and have him keep pushing no matter what. 
After his death, Lyonel took on the title of Lord of Storm's End and Lord Paramount of the Stormlands. 
But his journey doesn't stop there. News from the capital changed the state of the Realm and now, with a potential civil war across the horizon, Lyonel will seek to support the rightful Queen, Rhaenys Targaryen.
Category:Characters