House Baratheon

**House Baratheon of Storm's End** is currently led by Roy Baratheon, son of the former lord Raymont. Founded amidst storm and battle by Orys Baratheon, its members are known for their black hair and blue eyes as well as their fierce temperaments. The head of House Baratheon is also the Lord Paramount of the Stormlands as well as Lord of Storm's End.

## History

House Baratheon was founded in 1 BC during the Last Storm, a battle of Aegon's Conquest, in which Orys, the first Baratheon, slew Argilac Durrandon and took his castle, lands, and daughter for his own, as well as adopting his sigil in his honor. House Baratheon would go on to rule the Stormlands in the name of House Targaryen, with heroes such as Davos and Rogar Baratheon placing their name alongside Orys.

### The Regency of Jaehaerys

When Jaehaerys Targaryen was made regent, Rogar Baratheon was one of his supporters, having kept him and his mother safe in Storm's End in defiance of Maegor, even threatening to slay the king himself. Though this did not come to pass, Rogar was still remembered for his courage, even being permitted to marry the Regent's mother. With this match, Rogar enjoyed much influence throughout the kingdom. His line was continued through his only child with Alyssa, Raymont, born in 53 AC.

However, things were not all fine for Rogar. In 61 AC, his brother Borys fled to join the Vulture King in the Red Mountains, who had been raiding the Dornish Marches for some time. In retaliation, Rogar raised an army large enough to defeat his foes and engaged in guerilla warfare with the Vulture King, managing to corner and kill both. Though this made him a kinslayer, and cursed in the sight of the gods, he would not live long enough to suffer from the blight on his name, dying later that year.

### Raymont Baratheon

The young lord was only 8 years old at the death of his father, and vastly underprepared to rule. His uncle Garon, brother to Rogar, would be the one to rule the Stormlands in his name for the next eight years, as Raymont was sent as a ward to House Blackwood, where he would become good friends with the future lord. On his return to Storm's End 8 years later, he was quick to assert his authority as Lord Baratheon and made certain that any outstanding grievances were addressed while he was gone.

An intelligent if belligerent lord, he was well known for being somewhat scholarly alongside his more martial pursuits, and was well known for his interest in surrounding himself with Maesters and Septons. Yet his detractors would often say that alongside this he was a cunning, manipulative man who played others against each other. Whatever the case, that he was prudent in his alliances was undoubtedly true, cultivating ties in the Riverlands with houses close to the throne such as Blackwood and Darry.

In 73 AC, Raymont would wed Jeyne Caron, daughter of the Lord of Nightsong. Their marriage would prove a fruitful one, as two years later a daughter, Cassandra, would be born, and three years after that a son, Roy. More children would follow yet; Serra, Devan, and Richard, in that order.

Yet Lord Baratheon's reign was not all well. In 83 AC Lord Yronwood made incursions into the Stormlands against House Dondarrion, provoking the Fourth Dornish War. As the Dornishmen swept through Blackhaven onto Stonehelm, the Baratheon army beat back the Dornish in the Battle of Stonehelm, driving them from Blackhaven soon after. With support from the Throne, Raymont managed to defeat the Yronwoods at the River Wyl, and even managed to sack the castle Wyl in retaliation for all its crimes against the Stormlands during the First Dornish War. Yet after that, the war stalled, and Raymont was happy to see peace achieved when Prince Nymor Martell negotiated with King Rhaegar Targaryen and came to an agreement.

Things would only get worse, though. Jeyne would die in 88 AC, having never truly recovered from the strenuous birth of Richard Baratheon. With this weighing on him, Raymont grew irritable and turned his eyes towards his heir. Roy was a charismatic lad, to be sure, but he also seemed to lack a grasp of anything further than friends and enemies, and showed no particular interest in training. When Roy was twelve, in 90 AC, he was sent to squire for Aemon Targaryen, perhaps one of the greatest commanders in Westeros. Raymont expected his son to be toughened up as much as he learned what it meant to be lord. And so Roy trained with Aemon, and would prove himself much more open to the techniques Aemon employed to get him to take martial pursuits seriously, even becoming a master of the halberd in time. Yet this was not to be forever.

In 93 AC, the Rosegold Rebellion broke out when Viserys Targaryen ascended to the throne, and in doing so managed to insult Lords Tyrell and Lannister as his coronation feast. The two lords would lead their regions into revolt, and sensing opportunity, Raymont declared for the king. Roy, with a desire to fight alongside his father and show him how he had grown, was knighted by Aemon before setting out to join with the Baratheon army.

### Rosegold Rebellion

At first, the war went well for the Baratheon forces. The Fall of Grassy Vale was a swift victory over House Meadows, and though the Battle of Blueburn proved a difficult test for the Stormlanders they prevailed yet again. But the Reachmen regrouped at the Battle of Longtable, and Lord Raymont was forced to retreat, harried as he rushed to join with the royal forces led by the King.

With their combined army, it seemed certain that the Reachmen would fall. But the Slaughter of Bitterbridge proved otherwise. Well entrenched, the Reachmen managed to turn aside all Royal attacks over the course of seven days. On the second day, Lord Raymont was killed by Lord Lucas Osgrey in a duel, only to be avenged by a grief-stricken Roy.

With House Baratheon having suffered losses in both levies and to its family, Roy was ready to accept the peace that came afterward. Unfortunately, Raymont was not the only loss. Lord Lucas Blackwood, whom Raymont was good friends with and Roy knew as something of as a second father, would perish alongside his friend. Roy delivered his body home personally, before seeing to the funeral of his own blood. Though the war was five years ago, Roy still retains some hatred for the Reachmen and what they did to his family.

### The Glorious Reign of Roy Baratheon

While Roy had learned much during his days squiring for Aemon Targaryen, he remained inexperienced at best in the political arena. Fortunately for him, his older sister Cassandra Baratheon would assist him, and though he was far from perfect she managed to mitigate many of his mistakes. His younger brother Devan, however, would prove to be a headache for Roy; Devan had fallen in with a faction within the Stormlands supporting secession from the Iron Throne, while Roy was personally friends with many of the Targaryens.

Although he was not the most experienced lord, Roy was slowly beginning to learn without much challenge to his rule until the death of his former mentor Aemon in 96 AC. In his mentor's memory, he called for the Tourney of Storm's End, inviting many to join in feast and sport to honor the man who taught him to be a man, as he so put it. Things did not go quite as planned however; while the Tourney was supported by King Viserys, and attended by some of the royal house themselves, the factionalism brewing in the Stormlands began to come to a head. Minor outbursts of support for independence were clear, with pushback from supporters of the throne, including Roy himself. Perhaps the most egregious moment was when the Estermonts spoke ill of the deceased himself, almost earning the everlasting ire of Roy until Lord Clyve Caron stepped in to mediate.

The following year would only bring more instability, as a bandit group supported by Lord Toyne and led by one of his relatives would begin raiding loyalist houses. In response, Lord Wylde led his own men against them, but turned to the same manner of barbarism as they did, only against those supporting independence. Though Roy originally intended to help Wylde, he was disgusted by his actions. Though his sister encouraged him to take action, Roy would dither until a battle occurred between the two at a town outside Mistwood, the keep of House Mertyns. Finally roused to anger by the sheer amount of lives lost in the fighting, Roy led a campaign against them and saw order restored. Civilian casualties were numerous, and for the damage done the year began to be known as the Year of Skulls and Daggers.