Jaime Lannister

Ser **Jaime Lannister**, also known as the **Kingslayer**, is a knight from House Lannister and a member of the Kingsguard. He is the second child and first-born son of Lord Tywin Lannister of Casterly Rock and his wife, Lady Joanna, also of House Lannister.

He is two siblings, he has a twin sister, Cersei Lannister and a younger brother, Tyrion Lannister.

He was involved in an incestuous relationship with Cersei, and unknown to most, he was the biological father of her three deceased children, Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen.

## **Appearance and Character:**

As young children, Jaime and his sister Cersei looked so much alike, that not even their father was able to tell them apart. Jaime grew into a tall, handsome man, with curled hair the colour of beaten gold. He has flashing cat-green eyes, and a smile that cuts like a knife.

As a Kingsguard knight, Jaime wears a white armor and a white cloak. On occasion he wears golden armor decorated with the Lannister lion, with gilded longsword and ornate lion's helmet. Jaime wields a lance of golden wood.

Jaime is a born warrior, with little interest in politics and court intrigue. He takes few things seriously. By his own admission, Jaime only feels truly alive when fighting or making love. He comes across as arrogant, amoral, and dishonourable.

At first glance, outsiders perceive Jaime to be arrogant, cocky, cold, dishonourable, extremely dangerous, ruthless, disdainful, and sarcastic. To a large extent he is arrogant about his own abilities, but not without cause. Even all of his enemies admit that he is unarguably one of the greatest swordsmen who has ever lived with very few able to match him. Jaime is unquestionably one of the greatest warriors in the world, he is an extremely lethal fighter, a highly skilled warrior, and he has incredible combat skills.

Jaime is famous throughout the world for being one of the greatest warriors of all time and for being a "brilliant swordsman" which he is widely feared for. Jaime does not mock others over minor insults the way Cersei does, and he can muster up polite behaviour, but he is usually very blunt and straightforward. Much like his brother Tyrion, he typically just says what he is thinking, and has no reservations about mocking those he perceives as incompetent.

Despite this, there were men that Jaime admired (like Ser Barristan Selmy, for whom he squired, Ser Arthur Dayne and Ser Gerold Hightower) and, underneath this cold and sarcastic attitude, Jaime is a very complicated man.

Tywin Lannister has raised Jaime and Cersei with the principle of ruthlessness as a virtue. Yet even though Jaime Lannister often behaves unapologetically amoral, in his own warped way, Jaime is the only member of the core Lannister family (Tywin and his three children) aside from Tyrion who shows any hint of honor or principles, whilst Tywin claims to see family as his highest priority but simultaneously is willing to have Tyrion, whom he views as an incalculable disgrace, killed, and Cersei herself ironically sees no immorality whatsoever in anything she does. This is largely based on his arrogance and pride at being a member of the Kingsguard.

Tywin was a stern man feared and resented by all of his children, ignoring Cersei for her gender and scorning Tyrion for both his stature and 'killing' his wife in childbirth. However, Jaime is on reasonably good terms with Tywin - not so much that he is "proud" of Jaime so much as he has the "least shame" for him compared to his brother and sister. Even so, Tywin is upset that Jaime willingly joined the Kingsguard, as while it is considered the highest honor for a knight, its members give up the rights to marry or inherit lands, meaning that Jaime cannot be Tywin's heir.

Jaime wasn't in a position to act as a father to his biological children with Cersei, though he is generally supportive of Tommen and Myrcella. However, in sharp contrast with Cersei, Jaime isn't particularly fond of Joffrey, nor will he defend his actions the way Cersei does.

## **History:**

Jaime was as the first-born son of Ser Tywin Lannister, the heir to Casterly Rock, and his wife, Lady Joanna. Jaime was born shortly after his twin sister Cersei, while holding her foot. King Aerys II Targaryen sent both Jaime and Cersei their weight in gold as a nameday gift, and commanded Lord Tywin to bring the children to court when they were old enough to travel. It is currently unknown whether this visit to King's Landing actually occurred, as the royal court came to Casterly Rock following the death of Tytos Lannister.

Jaime and Cersei were inseparable in their early childhood. As children, they played together in bowels of Casterly Rock, where the caged lions of his late grandfather, Tytos, were kept. Jaime and Cersei would dare each other to climb into the cage. Cersei and Jaime slept together in the same bed when they were very young, and even went as far as to experiment together in a sexual manner at a young age. During one of these encounters, they were caught by a servant who informed their mother. Jaime's bedchamber was immediately moved to the other side of the castle, whilst a guard was placed near Cersei's bedchamber. The twins were told never to do anything like that ever again, as Joanna would otherwise be forced to tell their father.

Jaime's mother died not long thereafter, when giving birth to Jaime's younger brother, Tyrion. Even though Tyrion is a malformed dwarf, and both his father and sister despise the young Lannister, Jaime developed an affection for his youngest sibling, and treated him with kindness and respect. Shortly after Joanna's death, the Princess of Dorne visited Casterly Rock with her two youngest children, Elia and Oberyn Martell. When she eventually proposed a betrothal between Elia and Jaime, she was refused.

Jaime was ten years old, Lord Tywin hosted a tourney to celebrate the birth of young Prince Viserys Targaryen. During this tourney, Tywin suggested to King Aerys that Jaime could squire for Rhaegar Targaryen, Prince of Dragonstone, but Aerys refused and named the sons of other lords to the position instead.

Jaime went to Crakehall at the age of eleven, and spent four years squiring for Lord Sumner Crakehall, alongside Merrett Frey. He occasionally visited Casterly Rock during this time, and raged when, his sister Cersei was brought to King's Landing by their father. At the age of thirteen, while still a squire, Jaime won his first tourney melee. Whilst a squire to Lord Sumner, Jaime was sent to Riverrun, as Lord Tywin and Lord Hoster Tully had been considering betrothing Jaime to Hoster's younger daughter, Lysa. According to Sumner, the message Jaime was to bring to Hoster could not be entrusted to a raven. He spent a fortnight at Riverrun, being seated next to Lysa during meals. Jaime ignored her, however, being more interested the stories of Hoster's younger brother, Ser Brynden, a famous warrior who had fought in the War of the Ninepenny Kings, and whom Jaime asked for stories about the war.

At the age of fifteen, Jaime participated in the campaign against The Kingswood Brotherhood, during which he saved Lord Sumner Crakehall from Big Belly Ben and crossed swords with the psychotic Smiling Knight. After the brotherhood had been defeated, Jaime was knighted on the battlefield by Ser Arthur Dayne, a member of the Kingsguard of King Aerys II Targaryen.

Now a knight, Jaime was to return to Casterly Rock. He decided to stop in King's Landing on route, to visit his sister, from whom he had been separated for years. There, Cersei informed him that their father, Lord Tywin Lannister, intended to betroth him to Lysa Tully, and had gone as far as inviting Lord Hoster to King's Landing, to discuss the dower. Cersei suggested that Jaime become a member of the Kingsguard instead, replacing the recently-deceased Ser Harlan Grandison. Though this would require Jaime to give up his claim to Casterly Rock and his position as Tywin's heir, it would allow him to be close to Cersei and free himself of the unwanted marriage to Lysa. After a night of passionate sex, he gave his consent to Cersei's plan. While the siblings expected Tywin to oppose it, Cersei claimed he could not openly object.

She promised to do the rest, and a month later, Jaime received news at Casterly Rock that he had been chosen for the Kingsguard, and was to present himself to the king during the grand tourney at Harrenhal, where he would say his vows and don his cloak. Jaime's and Cersei's plan did not entirely work as expected. Their father, furious about the king's decision, pleaded illness and resigned his position as Hand of the King. He returned to Casterly Rock, taking Cersei with him, which separated the siblings once more.

Jaime was raised to the Kingsguard by its Lord Commander, Ser Gerold Hightower, in a ceremony at Harrenhal, making him the youngest knight ever to be raised to the order. That night, however, King Aerys soured the honour by sending him back to King's Landing to guard Queen Rhaella and Prince Viserys, depriving Jaime of the chance to participate in Lord Walter Whent's tourney. It was that moment during which Jaime realized that the king had only chosen him for the Kingsguard to slight Lord Tywin, of whom Aerys was insanely jealous, and to rob him of his heir. Jaime left for King's Landing at once. When a mystery knight appeared at the tourney, King Aerys became convinced that it was Jaime, who had defied his orders and secretly returned. However, the mystery knight disappeared, and nothing further came of the king's suspicions.

Raised to the knightly order, Jaime served in King Aerys II Targaryen's Kingsguard for two years. Jaime grew more and more disillusioned, witnessing the Mad King's growing insanity and tendency for burning men alive. Jaime witnessed the executions of Brandon and Lord Rickard Stark, standing at the foot of the Iron Throne as the two Starks were dying. Jaime coped by "going away inside", focusing on thoughts of Cersei instead of the events occurring in front of him. Afterwards, he was reminded by his Lord Commander, Ser Gerold Hightower, that he swore a vow to guard the king, not to judge him. Jaime would later advise others to "go away inside" as a way to deal with a harsh reality and making an appalling task tolerable.

Following the deaths of Brandon and Rickard Stark and the disappearance of Lyanna Stark, Robert Baratheon, Eddard Stark and Jon Arryn raised their banners in rebellion of The Mad King. It became apparent to Aerys that Robert was a serious threat to Targaryen rule. He devised a plot with the help of his chief pyromancers, which involved the placement of caches of wildfire all throughout the city. The plan was to burn the entire city to the ground rather than lose it to Robert.

His new Hand, Lord Qarlton Chelsted, failing to convince Aerys to give up his plan, Chelsted resigned the office, flinging his chain of office to the floor. For that, Aerys burned him alive. As Aerys did not trust his newest addition to the Kingsguard, Jaime was kept close by, and therefore heard and saw it all.

Aerys grew aroused by burning people, and the night Chelsted was burned, Aerys visited the chambers of his wife. Jaime and his sworn brother, Ser Jonothor Darry, stood guard outside Queen Rhaella's bedchamber while Aerys raped her, listening to her cries. When Jaime, feeling conflicted, eventually commented to Jonothor that they were sworn to protect the queen as well, Jon replied, "but not from him."

Shortly after, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen left The Red Keep to meet with the rebels on The Trident. The day the prince left, Jaime begged Rhaegar to take him along, suggesting one of the other Kingsguard knights could remain at the king's side instead. Rhaegar refused the suggestion, admitting that King Aerys wanted to keep Jaime close as a hostage against his father, Lord Tywin. Rhaegar promised an angry and disappointed Jaime that changes would be made when he returned from the battlefield, and charged Jaime with keeping his wife, Elia Martell, and their children safe.

When Prince Rhaegar returned to the capital, King Aerys had been informed of his sons plans to dethrone him and ordered Ser Jaime to prove his loyalty to him and to bring him his son's head, he then ordered the pyromancer Rossart to set of the wildfire caches around the city, planning to kill everyone in King's Landing, 'Burn The All' The Mad King shouted at his pyromancer. Jaime cut down Rossart before he could leave the Throne Room, the frightened Aerys then ran towards the Iron Throne. Jaime hauled him off the steps, and killed his king with a single slash across the throat, thereby preventing him from giving the command to burn the city to some other pyromancer.

Jaime didn't know what to expect when Prince Rhaegar entered the throne room to see Jaime sat on the step below the Throne, with The Mad King dead at the bottom of the steps, but when he explained what happened to Rhaegar the prince thanked him for saving the people of King's Landing. In the following days, Jaime secretly hunted down and killed the two other pyromancers involved in Aerys's wildfire plot, Belis and Garigus, under the orders of Prince Rhaegar and undersaw the removal of all wildfire from the city.

Jaime was already being called "Kingslayer". He is known to himself, other Kingsguard, and as far as Westeros and Essos by the nickname. Though reviled by the realm for his betrayal, Jaime considers the slaying of Aerys to be his finest act. His true motivation for killing King Aerys remains unknown to the masses.