Edric Baratheon

"*Edric never wanted to rule, but he's loyal to his brother. If Gendry truly needs him, he'll come.*"
―Devan Seaworth to Tyrion Lannister, following Edric's appointment as Hand of the KingLord **Edric Baratheon**, formerly known as **Edric Storm**, was a bastard son of King Robert I Baratheon and Delena Florent.

Following the death of Stannis Baratheon, Edric became the Acting Lord of Storm's End. He was brought to Dragonstone by Davos to participate in the Great War, where he met his older half-brother, Gendry, who was eventually legitimised by Daenerys Targaryen. Edric fought at Winterfell, Dragonstone and at King's Landing, surviving all three key battles of the Great War.

Edric was later legitimised himself by his half-brother after he ascended the Iron Throne following the death of Daenerys, and Gendry granted Edric his old titles from before he became king. Edric married Alynne Connington and had three children (one of which was born posthumously of Edric). Gendry later named Edric as Hand of the King following the (ultimately temporary) resignation of Bran Stark, and served his brother faithfully during the War of the Narrow Sea, despite the tension and conflict between them, until Edric ultimately perished during the final battle of the war. Upon Edric's death, he was succeeded as Lord of Storm's End by his son, Orryn Baratheon, with his widow Alynne serving as regent.

## Biography

### Background

In 284 AC, King Robert Baratheon visited his old seat of Storm's End during a royal progress of the Realm. Lord Renly Baratheon organised a great feast while hosting his brother. During the feast, Robert carried off Delena Florent and got her with child. As Delena was not only a woman of noble birth, but the sister of Selyse Florent, the wife of Robert's brother, Stannis Baratheon, he was thus compelled to formally recognise the child as his own.

Edric, who was assigned the surname of 'Storm' as a noble bastard from the Stormlands, was born the next year in 285 AC. After his mother was married, Edric was sent to Stonehelm to be fostered by Lord Gulian Swann. Lord Gulian raised Edric as one of his own, and Edric grew close not only to Lord Gulian, but his children; Lilith, Donnel and Balon Swann.

From a young age, Edric demonstrated himself as an excellent forthcoming fighter with both swords and particularly bows, capable of besting squires fout years his senior at the age of twelve, although his perceived deficient social status led him to develop a somewhat introverted personality, apathetic to many of the highborn people around him.

Following the death of Robert Baratheon and the execution of Lord Eddard Stark, Gulian grew concerned for the wellbeing of Edric as one of Robert's bastards, and sent him into hiding in the Free Cities under the protection of Lilith Swann and her husband, Aemon Estermont. Gulian's fears were soon vindicated after King Joffrey Baratheon ordered a massacre of all of Robert's bastards in King's Landing, fearing the threat they posed to his legitimacy. Edric remained in Lys for around three years, until he returned to Stonehelm following Joffrey's death.

Following the death of Stannis Baratheon, Edric was called to Storm's End by it's castellan, Devan Seaworth, to be made the acting Lord of Storm's End, as many of the storm lords refused to bend the knee to King Tommen Baratheon, correctly viewing him as a Lannister bastard with no claim to the Stormlands nor the Iron Throne. Although Edric only begrudgingly accepted the new role, he soon befriended Devan and settled into his rule.

Edric later oversaw the return of Stannis Baratheon's royal fleet to be anchored at Storm's End. Around the same time, Devan's father, Davos Seaworth made it known to Storm's End that he had survived Stannis Baratheon's northern campaign. He also informed Edric and Devan on the existence of Gendry; another bastard of Robert's alive and living in King's Landing. Edric, not fond of ruling, made his intent to endorse Gendry's claim over his own.

### *Game of Thrones*: Season 7

In 304 AC, Edric and Devan travelled to Dragonstone with around one hundred men on Davos' request. Shortly after arriving, Edric met with Davos and his long-lost brother Gendry, before accompanying them to the Night's Watch fortress of Eastwatch-by-the-sea where Gendry and Edric planned to participate in Jon Snow's Wight Hunt. Davos and Devan remained at Eastwatch-by-the-sea, while Edric and Gendry, alongside Jon Snow, Jorah Mormont, Beric Dondarrion, Thoros of Myr, Sandor Clegane and Tormund Giantsbane, travelled beyond the Wall. After several encounters with wights and White Walkers, the entire Army of the Dead was alerted to the group's presence by their captive wight. Knowing their grave situation, Jon Snow sent Edric running back to Eastwatch to alert Daenerys Targaryen. Edric barely made it, instructing Davos to send ravens to Dragonstone.

Following the conclusion of the Wight Hunt, Edric remained at Eastwatch with Devan and Gendry until he had recovered enough to travel to Winterfell. Some time later, Edric rode out of Eastwatch alongside Gendry and Devan, but within minutes of their departure, the Night King attacked the Wall atop Viserion. Edric and his companions watched in horror as the dragon destroyed Eastwatch and a large part of the Wall, creating a breach for the Army of the Dead to pass through. The three men turned south and rode for Winterfell as fast as they could with the Night King's army fast on their heels.

### *Game of Thrones*: Season 8

Edric and his companions rode into Winterfell shortly after the arrival of Daenerys Targaryen and her armies, informing Daenerys Targaryen, Sansa Stark and Jon Snow of the breaching of the Wall and how the Army of the Dead will likely reach Winterfell within a few days. While in Winterfell anticipating the arrival of the White Walkers, Edric mostly spent his time training inexperienced soldiers, as well practising his own combat skills with Jorah Mormont, Brienne of Tarth, and Gendry himself. He also spent time exchanging life stories with Gendry and Devan and taking night's watches. Edric witnessed the rebirth of House Baratheon after Daenerys Targaryen legitimised Gendry as Gendry Baratheon, naming him Lord of Storm's End and heir to the Iron Throne.

During the Fall of Winterfell, Edric fought beside his brother Gendry, operating one of the scorpions that were instrumental in taking down Viserion. Edric was eventually forced to abandon his position and continued to fight off wights breaching the walls right until the end. Edric was one of the very few surviving combatants, managing to escape on Rhaegal. Edric eventually reached Castle Cerwyn and thus was among the handful of survivors able to retreat south of the Neck and regroup at the Trident.

Upon reaching the Trident, and on Daenerys Targaryen's request, Edric, Gendry, Devan and Brienne departed for and rode day and night to Storm's End, in the hope of raising an army from the Stormlands to assist in the upcoming last stand at King's Landing against the dead. Ravens were sent out prior to their departure, and by the time Edric and his companions arrived at the seat of House Baratheon, a force of ten thousand men had amassed at the castle, with another ten thousand set to arrive within three days. Among the Baratheon bannermen who answered the call to arms was Edric's foster father, Gulian Swann. Edric was made a captain of the ship *Winter Storm*, and departed Storm's End along with the rest of the Stormlander army aboard what was formerly Stannis Baratheon's royal fleet on the fourth day after his arrival.

Edric later participated in the Battle of Dragonstone against the forces of Euron Greyjoy, accompanying his brother in leading one of the landing boats to the shores of the fortress island. After Rhaegal and Viserion arrived the scene of the battle, Edric narrowly avoided being incinerated by Viserion's blue flames, and later witnessed the same dragon being sent crashing down into the fortress by Rhaegal. After finally breaching the Targaryen fortress, Edric discovered a large open structure, containing a large cache of wildfire being guarded and worked on by members of the Alchemist's Guild, potent enough to engulf the castle and a large part of the island. Edric killed them all after they threatened to destroy the entire fortress with him and his men still inside.

Despite playing a large part in securing a Baratheon/Targaryen victory, Edric was forced to abandon the island alongside the rest of the living due to the Night King's raising of the battle's fallen. While sailing away and watching on helplessly as the Night King raised the battle's fallen and began to raise Viserion for the third time, Edric noticed an opening facing his direction to the structure containing the wildfire cache. Edric fired a flaming arrow into the chamber, and within seconds, the centuries old Targaryen fortress was engulfed in green flame and destroyed. Edric's actions incinerated every corpse and every member of the Army of the Dead on the island aside from the Night King himself, as well as the couple ships of Euron Greyjoy's Iron Fleet that were still anchored in the Dragonstone harbour, trapping the Night King on Dragonstone for several days.

Edric later fought in and ultimately survived the Battle of King's Landing to see the end of the Great War, fighting astride the Gate of the Gods, the Street of the Sisters, and finally the Red Keep itself, before the Night King and the Army of the Dead were finally destroyed by Bran Stark and Jon Snow. Edric was among the many who witnessed Rhaegal and Daenerys Targaryen being shot down during the assault on Aegon's Hill.

With both Daenerys Targaryen and Cersei Lannister killed during the final battle against the dead, Edric's brother, Gendry Baratheon, was left to inherit the Seven Kingdoms. With this, a number of stormlords objected to Gendry being allowed direct control over both the Crownlands and Stormlands, insisting that he defer the latter to Edric as Robert did to Renly. Despite his reservations on ruling and aspirations to leave Westeros for the Free Cities, Edric accepted legitimisation as Edric Baratheon, and upon Gendry's modest coronation, he inherited his brother's old titles to become the Lord of Storm's End, Lord Paramount of the Stormlands, and Warden of the South.

Some time after his brother was crowned, Edric travelled to Oldtown to conclude a deal with Lord Baelor Hightower. House Hightower was granted dominion over the Reach, inheriting the title of Lord Paramount of the Reach from the now-extinct House Tyrell. Lord Baelor sent his son and heir, Ser Garlan Hightower, to pledge fealty to King Gendry I Baratheon in person.

Edric participated in the tourney preceding the White Wedding, winning the archery competition and achieving second place in the joust, after he was bested in the final tilt by Brienne of Tarth.

### Lord of Storm's End

Edric was offered a position on his brother's small council as either Master of Ships or Master of Laws, but declined both offers and returned to Storm's End. In 306 AC, Ser Ronald Connington presented his daughter, Alynne Connington, to Edric's court as a potential suitor for marriage. Edric saw the match as an opportunity to mend the frayed bonds between House Baratheon and House Connington that were fractured during Robert's Rebellion, and thus agreed to the match with Alynne, the restoration of House Connington to full-fledged Lords, and the return of around half of their confiscated lands. In 308 AC, Edric sired a son with Alynne, a boy named Orryn Baratheon. The couple had a second child in 312 AC, a girl named Cassandra Baratheon.

### *A Dream of Spring*

In early 314 AC, Bran Stark resigned as Hand of the King to conduct an expedition to the Lands of Always Winter to confirm the fate of the White Walkers. Gendry considered numerous replacements, including Davos Seaworth, Edmure Tully and Baelor Hightower, but ultimately chose to appoint his brother, to which Edric reluctantly accepted. While in King's Landing, Edric faithfully and effectively performed his duties as head of the Small Council, but grew to loath the political intricacies of the royal court, and regularly left the Red Keep in disguise to mingle with the smallfolk, both in King's Landing and beyond.

With the Lord of Storm's End in King's Landing, Euron Greyjoy's Iron Fleet took the opportunity to land forces of the Second Triarchy led by King Aeron Blackfyre, and his sister-wife, Queen Naerys Blackfyre, at and around Stonehelm in the southern Stormlands. The Blackfyre siblings decried King Gendry and Queen Arya as illegitimate and tyrannical monarchs and stated their intentions to overthrow and replace them, while working in conjunction with Euron Greyjoy's intentions to take back the Seastone Chair and restore the Old Way to the Iron Islands. They were supported by Asaro Trellos, the leader of the Second Triarchy, who led a secondary force landing in the Crownlands. Upon learning of the invasion, Edric raced back to Storm's End and began amassing his banners to drive the Blackfyres from his lands. The Battle of Stonehelm concurrent with the Blackfyre landing saw the death of Edric's father figure, Gulian Swann.

Triarchy forces soon began taking over Cape Wrath and much of the southern Stormlands, and as the Triarchy forces threatened Storm's End, Lord Edric Baratheon had amassed a large force at the castle to meet the Blackfyre pretenders. While the Battle of Storm's End initially went promisingly for Edric's forces, the arrival of Euron Greyjoy's Iron Fleet in Shipbreaker Bay led to the walls of the Baratheon fortress being breached while Edric desperately rotated his men to face the new threat from the sea. Before the castle fell however, Queen Arya Stark rode in from the north with a host of cavalry raised from the Crownlands, and eventually managed to break through to the gates of Storm's End. Edric engaged Euron Greyjoy in single combat, however, Edric was exhausted and eventually knocked down by the Ironborn warrior, right before Arya engaged Euron. Euron and Arya exchanged blows on the walls of Storm's End, before the former was able to land a hit on Arya's leg, and knock her out, taking her captive. Shortly after, Edric and his remaining forces were forced to break out of Storm's End and retreat north along the Kingsroad to King's Landing.

Following the Battle of Storm’s End, much of the Stormlands fell into the hands of the Triarchy. Mistress of Whisperers Myrielle informed the Small Council she believed Arya was still alive and being held in Evenfall Hall on Tarth. Gendry authorised Edric and Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Brienne of Tarth, to lead a covert rescue mission to retrieve Arya. While the duo succeded in freeing Arya, as well as killing the wounded Aeron Blackfyre, the group were confronted by Euron Greyjoy before they could escape the castle. Euron duelled Arya again, this time killing her outright, and Edric and Brienne were forced to flee the Sapphire Isle empty handed. Gendry was distraught following Arya's death, and immediately stripped Brienne of her white cloak, and began to increasingly distrust Edric.

The armies of Asaro Trellos and Euron Greyjoy (who had succeeded Aeron Blackfyre as leader of the southern host) linked up east of King's Landing and marched on the capital. The Baratheon forces prepared for a siege, but after being informed of a Stark-Tully-Arryn-Lannister army fast approaching from the north, Gendry and Edric attacked the Coalition forces in the Battle in the Tourney Grounds. The decision to attack proved decisive, as it masked the approach of the northern army, and the Coalition army was smashed upon it's arrival. Among those taken prisoner was Asaro Trellos himself, who was imprisoned in the Black Cells, but was soon broken out by Euron Greyjoy when Edric went to interrogate him the following day. Edric was subsequently removed from office as Hand of the King.

Despite Asaro Trellos's escape, the Coalition forces still lacked any coherent army, and Asaro, Euron and Naerys Blackfyre retreated to Storm's End. Edric led an army in pursuit, and upon reaching his occupied castle, he prepared to lay siege. However, Euron Greyjoy rode out under a peace banner to present Edric with Naerys Blackfyre, gagged, chained and naked. Euron left without a word as he and his forces departed Storm's End aboard Euron Greyjoy's Iron Fleet. Edric initially took pity on Naerys and wished to spare her, but fearing the optics of letting her live given that his loyalty was already being questioned, he chose to execute her the following day, bringing a final end to House Blackfyre.

Even though the deaths of both Blackfyre claimants should have heralded the end of the campaign, the Triachy continued to wage war against the Seven Kingdoms, leading Gendry to become even more suspicious of Edric. However, he tried to give Edric a chance to prove his loyalty, by sending him to lead Westerosi forces in the Battle of Bloodstone and the Battle of Lys, of which he won both. Shortly after the Battle of Lys, Triarch Malaquo Maegyr of Volantis offered to host peace talks, specifically requesting Edric Baratheon as the Westerosi envoy, to which Gendry very reluctantly agreed. Edric, along with Devan Seaworth departed for Volantis, but after they failed to make contact with King's Landing, Lady Myrielle, the Mistress of Whisperers, informed Gendry that Edric and Devan had turned their forces over to the Eastern Coalition and pledged themselves to Asaro Trellos. Enraged, Gendry denounced Edric and Devan as traitors before the Small Council, leading to the resignation of Davos Seaworth as Master of Ships. Gendry replaced Edric and Davos with Myrielle and Bronn Blackwater as Hand of the King and Master of Ships respectively.

In reality, Edric and Devan had been ambushed along the Volantine coast and taken captive by Triarchy forces, before being imprisoned in Myr. While in Myr, Edric and Devan discovered evidence of Euron and the Triarchy's true plans for the Realm, the fact that the Iron Bank was funding their invasion, and that there were various saboteurs. in Gendry's court working for the Triarchy. Edric learned these spies were being led by Gendry's former lover, Lady Myrielle, and that in light of Aeron Blackfyre's death, they were working to turn Gendry against Edric himself in order to destabilise the Seven Kingdoms enough for them to carry out their plans. Soon thereafter, Edric managed to escape from Myr, but at the cost of Devan's life, and was eventually shipwrecked on the shores of Dragonstone. They found the island completely abandoned save for Drogon, who was nesting on the island but soon departed after discovering Edric's prescence. Edric was ultimately able to get a message to King’s Landing through using stray ravens. After arriving on Dragonstone, Gendry confronted Edric alone, and the two dueled in the ruins of the castle. Gendry was eventually forced to yield, and Edric presented him with the evidence of the Triarchy’s true intentions and the traitors within Gendry’s court.

Gendry and Edric soon reconciled. Upon learning that their plan had failed, Lady Myrielle and her fellow saboteurs led an attempted coup in King's Landing, hoping to seize the city until reinforcements from the Second Triarchy could arrive. The coup failed, owed in part by the return of Bran Stark to the capital, and all the participants were either killed or later executed. Gendry reconciled with Davos, but due to Devan's death and Davos's advanced age, he did not resume his position of the Small Council.

Shortly after, the Battle of the Crossroads occurred where Baratheon, Tully, Arryn, Stark and Lannister troops successfully drove the Coalition from the shores of Westeros for good. During the battle, Euron Greyjoy was killed in a climatic duel by Gendry Baratheon.

As Westerosi forces converged on Myr, Edric chose to lead the vanguard in the final all-out attack against the de-facto capital of the Triarchy. The Battle of Myr ensued. While initially promising for Westerosi forces, Lord Edric’s forces were cut off as they breached the palace district walls, and Edric was mortally wounded as his men were picked off one by one. Asaro Trellos emerged from his palace, eager to deliver the final blow, until from the east, Drogon flew in from the east and incinerated Asaro and his armies. Edric collapsed and slowly bled out, as the battle and the war drew to a close.

Edric Baratheon's son, Orryn Baratheon, succeeded his father as Lord of Storm's End at just seven years old. Edric's widow, Alynne Baratheon, ruled the Stormlands as their son's regent for the next nine years until he came of age. The next year, Edric's posthumous daughter was born. She was named Arya Baratheon in honour of the queen who had saved Edric's life during the Battle of Storm's End.

## See also

* Edric Storm on Wiki of Westeros
* Edric Storm on A Wiki of Ice and Fire