House Lannister

**House Lannister of Casterly Rock** is one of the Great Houses of Seven Kingdoms, and the principal house of the Westerlands. Their seat is Casterly Rock, though another branch exists that is based in nearby Lannisport, and further afield in Castamere. Their sigil is a golden lion on a field of crimson. Their house words are *Hear Me Roar!* However, their unofficial motto, equally well known, is *A Lannister always pays his debts*. The current head of House Lannister is Lord Gerold Lannister.

The Lannisters are the blood of Andal adventurers who carved out a mighty kingdom in the western hills and valleys. Through the female line they boast of descent from Lann the Clever, the legendary trickster of the Age of Heroes who tricked the members of House Casterly into giving him Casterly Rock during the era of the First Men. The Lannisters reigned as Kings of the Rock until they fell to the Targaryen conquest, but were allowed to remain the liege lords of the Westerlands. The Warden of the West is a Lannister by tradition. Members of the family tend to have golden hair and emerald green eyes.

## History

### **The Fall of the Stag**

By all accounts, King Aerys II was livid with his former Hand, Lord Tywin Lannister, and vice versa. Though the Lion’s troops had eventually joined the Crown, it was only after the Crown’s victory was a certainty; realizing that continuing to rest on his haunches would result in detrimental treatment after the war’s end, the Lord Lannister raised his levies and met with the Crown’s forces at Fairmarket and at Storm's End. The Lannister's involvement was the final nail in the coffin of the rebellion that destroyed the men at both locations.

Following the mysterious manner in which King Aerys II was found dead on his throne, Lord Tywin was one of many men suspected of involvement; the real culprit was never found. It was by Rhaegar’s will that Tywin return to his position as Hand, and remembering the efficiency with which the Realm operated during Tywin’s tenure, Rhaegar’s first act as King was to name the Westerman his Hand. Tywin was ostensibly opposed to the mercy offered Lord Eddard Stark, but he could do nothing about it; the King’s word was ultimate.

The remainder of his life was spent in King’s Landing, with only brief trips elsewhere, always on business. The daily affairs of the Westerlands were handled by Lord Kevan Lannister. Not one to let loyal service go unrewarded, Kevan’s line was granted what remained of Castamere; over the course of the past seventy years, renovations have begun, but the castle is still a shadow of its former glory, haunted by the ghosts of Reynes long dead.

During Rhaegar’s reign, the Hand of the King attempted to resume the duties he had held while in office for Aerys II. While King Aerys allowed his hand a modicum of freedom and power, King Rhaegar was not so willing; he had seen a realm torn apart by war, and in part blamed this on the loose control King Aerys exhibited over the realms. Rhaegar wished to be behind the reins of the Kingdom in a way few other Kings have ever been. This was a source of friction between the King and his Hand, Lord Tywin being marginalised while King Rhaegar became more active in the ruling of his Kingdom, and a constant source of conflict between the Hand and Prince Doran, as the King’s good-brother supported his increased control, and stunted any control the Hand could wrestle away for his own.

### **The Succession of Casterly Rock**

The succession of House Lannister was a matter that haunted Lord Tywin until the day he died. By rights, Casterly Rock would pass to his youngest child Tyrion Lannister upon his death; Ser Jaime was a Sworn Brother of the Kingsguard, and though King Rhaegar held sympathy for the Lord of the West's predicament, the oaths were not to be broken. His life’s work became ensuring that Tyrion would not inherit his seat. Cersei was married to a Lannisport Lannister (in order to ensure that her children would be Lannisters, should she inherit), and more than a few Westerland houses received boons from their Lord, the Hand of the King. In 290, after he demanded he be made the official heir, Tyrion was disinherited entirely, removed from Casterly Rock. Though many assumed that would be the end of the crisis, it became the beginning of a succession of events that would leave House Lannister in pieces.

Tyrion traveled for a time, moving from castle to castle whereever they might host him. Eventually, he ended at Riverrun, where Edmure Tully had recently come of age. Lord Edmure despised the Lannisters--after all, it was they who beat his family in Robert’s Uprising, they who sullied the good name of the Tullys. He saw in Tyrion an opportunity; his sister, Lysa, had remained unmarried after the end of the War. None had wanted her hand; after all, she was traitor’s blood, and her honour was tarnished, after she had been bedded by Petyr Baelish and Jon Arryn both. That did not stop Tyrion, though, and the unlikely pair were wed in early 292AC. They made an odd match, (the Imp and his Whore, according to Tywin), but it was a dangerous one. With the marriage, Tyrion aligned himself with House Tully and the Riverlands.

### **The Crisis of Casterly Rock**

When Tywin died in his bed in early 312AC, events moved quickly. Despite attempts to convince him to take up the Lordship, then-Lord Commander Jaime Lannister insisted that he would remain faithful to his vows. The Lord of Lannisport did not hesitate to install his wife, Lady Cersei, as the Lady Paramount of the Westerlands. Lord Edmure, upon hearing news of the Lion’s demise, was quick to raise his troops against the advice of near all his councillors, intending to press his good-brother’s claim upon the Westerlands.

Lady Cersei, in one of her wiser moments, managed to rally the Westerlands behind her; Tyrion was a foreign invader, the Imp who had killed the Lady Joanna, and their way of life had to be defended. What followed was two years of bloody conflict-- open field battles at first, but as armies tired and winter loomed, they descended into brief skirmishes throughout the mountains and as low as roguish assassination attempts.

By the end of the two years, with winter a few months away and food stores dwindling, the two Kingdoms agreed to peace. There was no final battle, no storming of the Rock or of Riverrun. The peace that came was a white one; the thousands of deaths accomplished naught. Though his wife and child remained in Riverrun, Tyrion was cast out from his brother-in-law's court. He died soon after.

### **The War of Fire and Faith**

The West was silent for almost two decades, humbled for a time by the events of the Crisis, but when King Aelor set fire to The Great Sept, they would not sit idly by. Lord Loren Lannister, the young grandson of Lady Cersei Lannister and newly-made Lord of Casterly Rock, was quick to raise his banners for the faithful Prince Maekar. Lord Loren's affections for the sister of the bastard Princess Rhaella were public knowledge, and in exchange for his loyalty and assistance in taking King's Landing, her hand in marriage was to be his prize. Apathetic to the fact that Lord Tully was doing much the same, the Lannister forces marched directly along the Gold Road, eventually meeting the Tully host just south of The God’s Eye in what would later be known as The Battle of the Blackwater.

Maekar’s forces, despite being outnumbered by the combined forces of The Riverlands and The Crownlands, achieved a decisive victory. King Aelor was slain in the conflict, and King’s Landing threw open their gates to the would-be King and his forces. Maekar was coronated Maekar II Targaryen, legitimizing his sister Rhaella in the process, who was married to Lord Loren as a token of gratitude for his loyal service. Though Princess Rhaella had envisioned a life as a Septa, not a lady of the House Lannister, she was dutiful to her brother and new husband, and bore him four children, each more beautiful than the last.

## Recent Members

### Lord Loren Lannister

The grandson of Lady Cersei Lannister of Casterly Rock and Lord Gerrard Lannister of Lannisport, Loren came into his seat a young man. He was deeply enamoured with the bastard daughter of King Aegon VI named Rhaella Waters, who though of low standing and little social ranking, he proposed marriage to a number of times. During her brother's war for the Iron Throne, Loren was promised her hand in return for his loyalty to Maekar. They were married a year following the War of Fire and Faith, and had four children together.

## Family Tree

* Cersei Lannister (b. 266AC, d. 317AC), Lady of Casterly Rock, Warden of the West, and her husband, Lord Gerrard Lannister (b. 260AC, d. 308AC) of Lannisport
	+ Loreon Lannister (b. 283AC, d. 317AC), Lord of Casterly Rock, Warden of the West, and his wife Lady Elinor Crakehall (b. 283AC, d. 328AC)
		- Loren Lannister (b. 301AC,d. 365AC), Lord of Casterly Rock, Warden of the West, and his wife, Princess Rhaella Targaryen (b. 307AC, d. 366AC)
			* Gerold Lannister (b. 335AC), Lord of Casterly Rock, Warden of the West, and his wife, Lady Alyssa Crakehall (b. 339AC)
				+ Martyn Lannister (b. 355AC), Heir to Casterly Rock
				+ Senelle Lannister (b. 356AC)
				+ Tommen Lannister (b. 358AC)
				+ Tyana Lannister (b. 360AC)
			* Cersei Lannister (b. 305AC)
			* Tya Lannister (b. 310AC)
		- Tywald Lannister (b. 286AC, d. 332AC), a knight in service to House Lannister
		- Cerell Lannister (b. 290AC, d. 351AC)
		- Lanna Lannister (b. 300AC, d. 362AC)
* Ser Jaime Lannister (b. 266AC, d. 316AC), Lord Commander of the Kingsguard
* Tyrion 'The Imp' Lannister (b. 273AC, d. ?), and his wife, Lady Lysa Tully (b. 266AC, d. 310AC)
	+ Gerhard Lannister