Robert Baratheon

Lord **Robert Baratheon** is the Lord of Storm's End and the Lord Paramount of The Stormlands. He is the head of House Baratheon, he has two younger brothers, Lord Stannis and Ser Renly Baratheon.

He is married to Lady Cersei Lannister of House Lannister, he and Cersei had three children: Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen. However, unbeknownst to Robert and most of the realm, all three were actually fathered by Cersei's twin brother, Jaime Lannister. On the other hand, Robert had many bastards from other women, including Gendry, Mya Stone and Edric Storm.

## **Appearance and Character:**

Robert has the classical Baratheon look: black hair and bright blue eyes. His heavy black hair is thick on his chest, and coarse around his sex. He is a very tall man. As a young adult, Robert was a handsome, clean-shaven man, with rough and hard hands. He was strong and powerful, and muscled "like a maiden's fantasy".

However, after he lost his rebellion, Robert's appearance changed. Due to excessive feasting and drinking, Robert gained a significant amount of weight. Now, he is often red-faced from drink, with dark circles underneath his eyes, and walks as if he is half in his cups, while sweating through his silks. Robert's beard, a wild, thick and fierce thing, hides his double chin.

Robert Baratheon, as a young man, possessed the typical talent for warfare and leadership as his brothers, as expected of Baratheon men, gentler than his brother, Stannis, and less intelligent than Renly. He was a charismatic and fearsome military commander and a formidable warrior.

Robert was considered a very good man at heart, and he ultimately was, but people often couldn't see this because externally he appeared to be a brutal, heavy-drinking party animal. He had a fondness for strong drinks, women, tourneys, and extravagant parties, which he heavily immersed himself in after the end of his Rebellion against the Mad King- perhaps to drown his grief over having lost Lyanna to Rhaegar.

Robert's greatest strength lay in his ability to win himself allies after battle and his charismatic leadership. Stannis recounts that men who he had fought with during the day would often be drinking, feasting, and laughing with him the same evening. He did have a good sense of humor and took slights well openly on most occasions unless they were towards people he loved, and his temper was fearsome when roused.

His charisma also made him loved by many women, and he was noted for his womanizing even while he was betrothed to Lyanna Stark. It was said Lyanna did not appreciate this nor did she expect him to change with marriage to her, which may have pushed her away from him to a degree.

Robert's relationship with Eddard Stark brought out the better side of Robert. Since he did not have a particular fondness or relationship with either one of his actual brothers, he considered the Stark lord a surrogate brother. Ned was the only person who could genuinely counsel Robert on any subject, and the only person he appeared to want to listen to, since he seemed extremely impatient with anybody else, especially his wife (something he didn't make any attempt to hide). Robert trusted Ned deeply and had a very strong sense of empathy and reason for him, Robert openly told Ned that he was a loyal friend, showing his extreme admiration of Ned's character.

In addition to this, Robert had a deep personal love for Lyanna Stark, Ned's sister and often lamented about her marrying Rhaegar, but this lamenting often gave way to Robert intensely trading about his hatred for the Targaryens - he called Rhaegar Targaryen a monster and scorned him as he believed that he had kidnapped and raped Lyanna. Robert's love for Lyanna went to such a vast extent that, on their wedding night, he visited Cersei in their bed (critically drunk) and openly mistook her for Lyanna, showing that he was unable to accept that Lyanna was apart from him.

Despite plunging into the temptations of drinking, feasting, gambling and suchlike, Robert Baratheon was not a stupid man in some respects. Robert still had a sound mind when it came to military matters. He was also able to recognize and lament for his mistakes, and apologized to Joffrey that he has never been a particularly good parent, although it never really changed anything between the two.

## **History:**

Robert was the first born child of Cassana Estermont and Steffon Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End, Lord Paramount of The Stormlands, and head of House Baratheon. He was a scant year older than his brother, Stannis, who was born. When Robert was already in his teens, his youngest brother, Renly, was born.

From an early age onwards, Robert had been fostered by Lord Jon Arryn in The Eyrie, together with Eddard Stark of Winterfell. The two boys became fast friends, and Jon Arryn, who had no children of his own, became like a second father to them. During the period in which he was fostered, Robert visited Storm's End on multiple occasions. At some point, Robert was knighted.

After reaching manhood, Robert divided his time between Storm's End and The Eyrie. Robert's father was sent on a mission by King Aerys II Targaryen, to travel to Volantis to find a bride for Robert's cousin, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. The mission failed, and Steffon, accompanied by his wife, returned home. Robert and Stannis watched their parents' ship, *Windproud*, sink in a storm in Shipbreaker Bay while nearing Storm's End. With his father's death, Robert became the Lord of Storm's End.

Robert fell in love with Lyanna Stark, Eddard's younger sister. In time, Lyanna's father, Lord Rickard Stark of Winterfell, agreed to betroth her to Robert. At the time of their betrothal, Robert already had a bastard daughter, Mya Stone, in The Vale of Arryn, which led to Lyanna commenting that Robert would never keep to one bed, despite his love for her. Eddard would later state that Robert saw only Lyanna's beauty, and never recognized her boldness and strength of will.

Robert was present at the tourney at Harrenhal, where he took part in the melee. He held a drinking contest with Ser Richard Lonmouth, and swore to unmask the mystery knight known as The Knight of the Laughing Tree, although he failed to do so. It was Robert's cousin, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, who won the final joust of the tourney. The prince crowned Lyanna, by then long betrothed to Robert, the queen of love and beauty, instead of his wife, Princess Elia Martell. There are some who say that Robert had laughed, stating that Rhaegar had only paid Lyanna her due, though according to men who knew Robert better, he felt it had been an insult, on which he brooded long, causing him to harden against Rhaegar.

The next year, Prince Rhaegar ran away with Lyanna to marry, which most of Westeros believed at the time, that Rhaegar had kidnapped Lyanna Stark, which set in motion a chain of events leading to Robert's Rebellion.

News of Lyanna Stark's kidnapping led her eldest brother, Brandon, and later her father, Lord Rickard, to King's Landing demanding justice. Both were executed by order of King Aerys II Targaryen. Robert Baratheon rose in Rebellion against the throne, because of Prince Rhaegar 'kidnapping' his betrothed, Lyanna Stark. With the death of his father and brother, Robert's friend, Eddard Stark became the new Lord of Winterfell, joined Robert in his war and called his banners, for justice for his family and to bring his sister home. Lord Jon Arryn as the man who fostered both Robert and Ned, called his banners in support of Robert against the crown, although the lords of The Vale were split in loyalty between House Arryn and House Targaryen.

Robert fought at Gulltown, where Marq Grafton and other loyalists from The Vale blocked the port. Robert slew Marq and sailed back home to Storm's End to call his banners.

However, some of his own remained loyal to the throne. When Robert learned that Lords Grandison, Cafferen, and Fell had gathered their hosts and planned to join forces at Summerhall in order to march on Storm's End, he rode ahead with his knights. He fought each of the lords in turn, defeating them all. Robert returned to Storm's End with his captives, and there won the loyalty of Lords Cafferen and Grandison, as well as, Silveraxe Fell, the son of Lord Fell whom Robert had slain.

Free to march north so he could join forces with Jon Arryn and the Northmen, Robert marched out again, leaving his younger brother Stannis in charge of Storm's End. Stannis was torn between loyalty to his brother or to the king, ultimately siding with his family.

Aerys wanted someone young and vigorous to match Robert, and so replaced Lord Owen Merryweather with Lord Jon Connington as his Hand of the King. Connington personally led a mighty army into the field, giving chase to Robert, whose march became gruelling. Wounded and separated from his men, Robert took refuge at Stoney Sept. When Connington and his army arrived at the town and began searching the houses, the residents actively aided Robert, keeping him hidden from the king's men. In the end, they hid him in a brothel. When Lords Eddard Stark and Hoster Tully arrived with a rebel army, Robert came out of hiding and fought with Connington, almost killing him.

King Aerys began to realize that Robert was the greatest threat to the Targaryen dynasty since Daemon I Blackfyre, and exiled Connington, naming Lord Qarlton Chelsted as his Hand in Connington's stead. To secure the aid of House Tully, Jon Arryn and Eddard Stark married Lord Hoster's daughters, Lysa and Catelyn. Robert attended the wedding at Riverrun.

After the wedding, Prince Rhaegar and Lyanna Stark offered the chance to parley and talk of terms of peace with, Robert Baratheon, Lord Eddard Stark, Lord Jon Arryn and Lord Hoster Tully. They told the Lords how Lyanna had ran away with Rhaegar out of love, that she didn't kidnap him. When Jon Arryn questioned on what would happen with Princess Elia Martell and her children, they were shown signed letters between Elia and Rhaegar and Lyanna, that showed she was happy with the marriage, that she would stay married to Prince Rhaegar, nothing would change with Elia Martell. Robert was furious when he heard this, he was almost tempted to smash Rhaegar's face in with his warhammer, even if he knew Ser Arthur Dayne would of killed him.

It didn't finish their though, Prince Rhaegar offered them the chance to end the rebellion, to give Ned justice for his brother and father. He would take the throne from King Aerys, he knew his father had done to much evil to carry on the throne. Prince Rhaegar offered them the choice to take their armies home and end the rebellion, while he joined his army and marched on the capital, which would be joined by armies from Dorne and The Reach. Eddard Stark, Hoster Tully and Jon Arryn accepted the offer, which led to a furious **Robert** reluctantly accepting the offer, after his allies had left him.

By the time he got back to Storm's End a siege had just been lifted. After he had left Storm's End at the start of the war, an army of crown loyalists had Storm's End under siege, his brother Stannis had only just managed to survive the siege due to a lack of food, it was only thanks to a notorious smuggler known as Davos Seaworth managed to sneak through the ships from The Reach led by Lord Paxter Redwyne, with food. But after Robert got back to Storm's End he was met by a garrison that was starving and had no food, which was now going to be hosting more men, who had just come back from the war.

When word reached Storm's End that King Aerys II Targaryen had died, Robert thought it was Atleast something had gone right, Atleast one Targaryen had died. Due to the lack of food, Robert reluctantly send out a request for aid, for some food. House Tyrell answered the request and some enough food to restock Storm's End to what it would usually have, not asking for anything in return, just a sly message from Lady Olenna Tyrell that hopefully House Baratheon should remember who came to their aid, quite a few years later, Loras Tyrell came to Storm's End to squire for Robert's younger brother, Renly.

Robert was ordered to come to King's Landing for the coronation of King Rhaegar I Targaryen, Robert and Stannis were both made to come, while Renly stayed at Storm's End. He did come to the coronation and bent the knee to Rhaegar, which took all of his pride and he felt humiliated, kneeling down to the man who stole his betrothed. He was at the feast after the coronation when he saw Lyanna for the first time, holding her son, Prince Jaehaerys, seeing her holding Rhaegar's son was enough for Robert to walk out of the feast and ride straight back to Storm's End. He very rarely came to King's Landing after that, he got married there and he went when he was needed but he tried to actively avoid it.

Robert married Lady Cersei Lannister, the only daughter of Lord Tywin Lannister, to gain political stability and Tywin's support. Robert and Cersei were married in the Great Sept of Baelor, with Robert draping her with a heavy golden cloak decorated with an onyx stag. A tourney was held to celebrate the wedding. However, during their wedding night, a drunken Robert accidentally whispered, "Lyanna" into Cersei's ear while consummating the marriage, an act that would set the tone for their marriage. That was the only night when sex between Robert and Cersei was consensual.

While Robert "claimed his rights" frequently during the early years of their marriage, his drinking led to him hurting Cersei during those encounters. When she confronted him once during their first year of marriage, Robert claimed it was because of the drink, and he was not to blame. Over time, Robert came to Cersei's bed less frequently, not even once a year. Cersei began to loathe her husband, and her cold attitude towards him created a distance between them. Robert remained in love with Lyanna for years after her marriage to Rhaegar, placing further strain upon the marriage.

Cersei has had an incestuous relationship with her twin brother, Jaime Lannister, for years, and they continued their illicit relationship after Cersei's marriage to Robert. Cersei gave birth to three children: Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen. Though everyone, including Robert, believed them to be Robert's children, Jaime is the biological father of all three. Robert did not attend any of the births; whenever Cersei's time was due, he left for a hunt, returning only after the birth. Cersei became pregnant by Robert only once. Refusing to give birth to Robert's child, she had Jaime find a woman to cleanse her.

Though Robert loves him, he does not have a close bond with his heir, Joffrey Baratheon. Robert disliked that Joffrey always cried when he picked him up as a babe, as his bastard children gurgled at him happily. Nor was he fond of Joffrey's nature. For instance, when Joffrey cut open a pregnant cat to see if there were kittens inside its belly and then shown his father what he'd done, Robert hit the boy, knocking out two of his teeth.

Due to his frequent whoring, Robert has sired several bastards during his marriage to Cersei, though he has kept them out of sight. The eldest, Mya Stone, was born to Robert while he was still in The Vale of Arryn. Robert once suggested bringing Mya to court after Joffrey assaulted the cat. When Cersei threatened the girl's life, Robert hit his wife, but he refrained from for bringing Mya to court.

The king's current squires are Lancel and Tyrek Lannister, cousins of Lady Cersei.