Martyn Lannister

## Heir to the Westerlands

Martyn Lannister is the eldest son of Gerold Lannister, Heir to the Westerlands, and an annointed knight. He's handsome, charming, and clever, but he's squandering his gifts by drinking to excess and gambling away his coin.

## Biography

If Martyn hadn’t been born to Gerold Lannister, Lord Paramount of the Westerlands, he might have made a decent living as some brand of travelling troubadour, as a con man. Not only has he convinced Westeros, the world, that he’s a devil with steel in his hand, he’s also got them thinking he’s a noble, selfless lad who’ll fight to set the world right.

The truth is he’s a lying, selfish prick, and the only thing he’s going to fight is the hangover after a night out in the city. More likely to ensure his own safety than rescue a damsel in distress, to deflower your daughter before bringing her home safely, to lie, cheat, and steal his way through life.

But he’ll never, ever, let a friend down. Unless, that is, not letting them down involves honesty, courage, and integrity.

Growing up, Gerold was distant. Not a bad father, not a brute, but distant. He no more showed Martyn love than the Dothraki show mercy. Perhaps that’s where this fear of trusting, of letting people in, began. We learn from the ones we’re closest to, after all.

He never much connected with his siblings. They were akin to night and day, Martyn and the other three. They spoke and they loved each other, but they were never close. That said, the Rock is a bad place to be lonely, so starting aged 7 Martyn started taking trips down to visit the guards stationed in the lower levels and began to learn their games. They were hesitant to include him at first, the eldest child of their Lord, but after repeat visits Martyn grew to be their mascot of sorts.

He grew to appreciate the dice, the table. To him it was a thrill. He liked the games that involved blind luck best, for there was a bigger rush to be found there. As he grew so did his skill in deception, in lying and bluffing and blustering his way through games, and also numbers. Before long he graduated to relying on these skills for more than just gambling. He watched, he saw the evidence of how effective the subtle art of manipulation could be, and this started him on a road better left untraveled. He sought out books on the great Game, it’s past players and how they handled things. He was a big fan of Tywin Lannister, looking up to him almost like a hero.

Martyn was a voracious reader, once upon a time, enjoying mostly the books on strategy and military tactics. Oftimes he’d imagine himself as a soldier, shiver, and return to reading about the men whose hands were behind the armies. As he grew, as he began to notice girls, his reading slipped.

Aged 9 he began training with the blade, and though he was possessed of some skill he was no Arthur Dayne. He was left with bruises, with cuts, and decided ultimately that the cost of single combat was too high to risk. He kept with it, kept with it up until he was 16, whereupon he had the best he could find to journey to the Rock and knight him.

In recent history Martyn attempted, rather unsuccessfully, to charm his way into his cousin, a Lady Johanna Lannister. There, alone in her bedchamber, they talked, he joked, she stared at him like a horse been asked to plan a complex urban sewage service, and her husband entered the room. Though they both tried to explain the man wouldn't take the reason as fact. He grew violent, and in self-defense, Johanna killed her husband. Lest he be implicated in the murder of a Marbrand, Martyn aided his cousin in hiding the body. Johanna pinned the murder on her brother, Lucion, and again, lest he be implicated in the murder of a Marbrand, Martyn backed her up at the trial, and Lucion was promptly executed.

It would be prudent, however, to note that age old adage; *'All who play the Game wear a mask to some degree...'*

## NPCs:

Ser Tytos Brax - When a plain-looking brute of a (quite literal) bastard drops into your lap, you don't turn him away if he's offering his mace. Tytos grew up with Martyn, in a sense, and nowadays acts as a cross between a bodyguard and a lost puppy.

Cadwyl - A man as dangerous with ledgers and diplomacy as Tytos is with his mace. Old, wise, and slimy as a snake, Cadwyl makes maidens fear for their lives and gives Lords pause. Martyn's steward. In other words, his carer.

Justice - A loyal hound. Not to be mistaken for Tytos Brax.

## Timeline:

354AC - Martyn Lannister is born

361AC - Martyn Lannister begins to learn the art of being a delinquent, a cheat, and a vagrant

370/371AC - Johanna's husband is murdered, lies at trial to help her out

372AC - In King's Landing, drunk more often than not