House Baratheon

**House Baratheon** is one of the Great Houses of Westeros, and is the principal house in the stormlands, which they rule as Lords Paramount of the Stormlands. Their seat, Storm's End, is an ancient castle raised by the Storm Kings from the now-extinct House Durrandon. The Baratheon sigil is a crowned black stag on a field of gold.

## Appearance and Traits

Members of the family tend to be tall and powerfully built, with black hair and blue eyes, as well as strong, square jawlines. They are known for their mercurial tempers, and their words are "*Ours is the Fury*".

## History

### **Targaryen Era**

House Baratheon was created when Orys Baratheon, one of Aegon I Targaryen's generals, his closest companion, and his rumored bastard half-brother, took Argella Durrandon, the only daughter of Argilac Durrandon, the last Storm King, to wife. Orys took the sigil and words of House Durrandon for his own and became the first Lord of Storm's End. Through the female line, House Baratheon descents from King Durran Godsgrief, who founded the kingdom of the Storm Kings during the Age of Heroes.

Ser Raymont Baratheon, a younger son of Lord Orys Baratheon, was a member of the Kingsguard of King Aenys I Targaryen, and saved the life of his king during the Faith Militant uprising, when the Poor Fellows attempted to murder the king in his bed.

During the Dance of the Dragons, Lord Borros Baratheon sided the House with Aegon II Targaryen and the greens, despite his late father, Lord Boremund's support of the blacks and relation to Rhaenys Targaryen (through his sister, Jocelyn Baratheon). Prince Aemond Targaryen was sent to Storm's End, to get Lord Borros to side with Aegon II, by offering a betrothal between himself and one of Lord Borros' four daughters. It is unknown whether this marriage occurred prior to Aemond's death the next year. Lord Borros was reluctant to face the dragons during the war, but marched with his army towards the end of the conflict, seizing King's Landing for Aegon II during the Moon of the Three Kings, restoring the city to order. He was promised that his eldest daughter would marry King Aegon II, who had lost both his Queen, Helaena Targaryen, as well as both of his sons, during the war. Borros then marched against the approaching riverlander army, and fought in the Battle of the Kingsroad, where he was killed by young Lord Kermit Tully.

### **Staedmon's Folly (185 - 185 AC)**

A conspiracy led by Lord Staedmon launched a realm wide rebellion shortly after the death of King Monterys. Lord Dondarrion and Staedmon rallied other Marcher Lords like Caron and Selmy to their cause. Their host was vast and a genuine threat to Storm's End. Instead, the Rebel forces of ten thousand men, attacked Wyl without warning and sacked it viciously (**Sacking of Wyl)** before marching north to try and link up with the armies of Lord Tarly.

### **The Revolt of Sapphire Isle (188-188 AC)**

A disgruntled Lord Lyonel Tarth assembled an army of mercenaries and bold propaganda to take control of the Stormlands for himself. With disloyalty rampant and ambitious lesser knights defecting to the invaders, the Stormlanders desperately attempted to pull together a force to defeat the growing threat only for another cycle of desertion to destroy their efforts. Realizing that most of their own peasants were compromised, Lord Baratheon called upon loyal units from the Marches to assemble a force and grudgingly called upon King Maelor to restore order.

The King's intervention turned the tide for the Stormlanders, but without commoners to bolster their armies, progress was slow. Eventually Maelor was called away to attend to yet another uprising, and it was left to the Stormlords to decide how to tackle the rebellious Tarth. All of them had differing opinions on how to best combat Tarth's tactics, and Lord Baratheon seemed indifferent to this particular conundrum, leading the noblemen to (non-violent) conflict, now that they lacked a royal authority to rein in their pride. The sellswords continued to maintain an active influence in the Kingswood, and Baratheon's subjects were ineffective in rooting it out. This in particular prolonged the war more than anything else. The men of the Stormlands failed time and again to actually encounter the main strength of the traitor, only coming across individual cells prone to ambush.

It was only when the two armies met that - combined with the fact that the Tarth army was deserting for the harvest or lack of pay - the force could be finally cornered and eradicated, with the few survivors fleeing deep into the Rain Wood first as guerillas but later as petty bandits. Lord Lyonel Tarth himself was found attempting to slip away to Essos and was beheaded, with the mainline of Tarths being imprisoned, the seat of Tarth itself being given to a loyal branch of Tarth knights.

### **Darklyn Rebellion (195 - 196 AC)**

When Lord Robin Darklyn rebelled against King Maelor, Lord Baratheon joined the Stormlands onto the Rebel side of Darklyn.

#### **Battle of Harroway's Town**

Lord Darklyn, reinforced by Lord Baratheon, Buckler, Morrigen and Estermont totalling 13,000 men in total, forced Maelor to pull back from Harroway, and put the crossings in rebel hands.

#### **Dorne Presses the Assault**

Meanwhile, the loyalist Dornish invaded the Stormlands, catching them at their back foot at the start of the war, but the Stormlords would quickly regain a semblance of order. Lord Caron and Dondarrion were met by Lord Connington, who had orders from Lord Baratheon to repulse the Dornishmen at all costs. Their combined host was made up of 3,000 footmen and 4,000 heavy horse. This army was commanded by the three lords in the center, right and left, respectively. However, they were far slower than their Dornish foes. By the time they reached the Boneway, they were exhausted. When the army finally stopped to rest, they were beset by Dornish archers and light cavalry. A stray arrow took the life of Lord Connington in the **Battle of the Boneway.**

#### **War's End**

Having heard news of the dire state of the West and Stormlands, King Maelor launched a final all or nothing gambit at Harrenhal. The **Battle of Harrenhal** was a ferocious one, concluding with the King pushing his dagger in a captured Lord Darklyn's neck, putting an end to the wasteful conflict.