Loren Lannister

Lyonel Lannister, b. 363 AC

Myranda Lannister, b. 366 AC

Loren Lannister is the second born son of Tommen Lannister. He is a Knight of House Lannister and is husband to Lady Agnes Tully. He is younger brother to Ser Manfred Lannister.

## Appearance and Character

Loren may not be one to ever tower over another man, his build still showed a man with obvious strength and power. With a face that more often than not held a disapproving scowl, Loren embodied the usual traits of an entitled Lannister.

As proud and confident as anyone in Westeros, there is no mistaking that Loren is a Lannister, and there is certainly no mistaking that Lannister is the greatest and most powerful house in any of the seven kingdoms in his mind. Loren has had troubles his entire life forming any “real” friendship with others, always seeing people he meets as either beneath him or in his way to power.

## History

Loren Lannister was born soon after the end of the Sundering of the Reach, after the Lannister forces had settled down from their efforts to secure the rebel’s side. In typical Lannister style, Loren was born into a life filled to the brim with every physical want or need to live a childhood as lavish as only those rich as Lannisters could live. Even as a young child, Loren was not one to back away from any challenge, legitimate or otherwise, and in particular rushed to do whatever his older brother Manfred did.

Jealousy began early with Loren, and he felt like he was always living in the shadow of someone else: his cousins were the “true” Lannisters who ruled Casterly Rock, even the cadet branches who ruled both Lannisport and Castamere were always looked upon more highly than his own family. Being the second son, even his own immediate family was a source of conflict with him, as Manfred, his older brother, was given the attention normally given to the eldest son. Tales of the great Jaime Lannister only fueled the boy’s fierce ambitions. He was determined to be the next great swordsman so gallant and talented that all Seven Kingdoms would know his name. Loren spent every chance he could find in the training yard, much to the displeasure of his other tutors and maesters. His childlike dreams and ambitions made it difficult for the young lad to befriend his siblings or other boys his age, Loren could never fully separate training with competition and he became alienated from family and friends alike.

In 368 AC, when he turned nine years of age, Loren left Casterly Rock for the first time to squire under the talented Benedict Marbrand in Ashemark. Even with the realm seeing relative peace, Benedict still became the strict and determined mentor that Loren needed to further his own personal goals. Loren thrived under Benedict’s demanding and rigorous tutelage, and so many of his young days and nights were spent following Benedict around in his shadow. Despite the relative peace and calm throughout the Westerlands, Loren still constantly strived to learn what he could about warfare from Lord Marbrand, and although he struggled to comprehend how to apply what he learned in theories into practice, Loren had a relatively easy time wrapping mind around the less glorified aspects of leading men.

In 377 AC, the day Loren turned eighteen, he was knighted under the light of the Seven and returned home to Casterly Rock a fully fledged knight, eager to finally begin making a name for himself. He’d heard whispers of his brother’s renown while squiring at Ashemark, but until he returned home Loren had no idea Manfred, known as the Red Lion, was so infamous throughout the entirety of the Westerlands due to his skill on both the horse and other types of saddle. Thoroughly disgusted at the shame that Manfred’s actions brought to their name, his already incredibly strained relationship with his brother grew only more tense.

With his return to Casterly Rock, Loren spent more and more time, when outside the training yards, around his cousin, Eleyna. Eleyna’s personality seemed to draw Loren’s interest to her more and more every day; her conviction and passion to acquire what she desires struck a chord within the young Lannister and the two of them became close as if they were brother and sister instead of mere cousins. Loren’s ambitions made it easy for his mind to be twisted with any complaint or sneer about her brother’s, Jason Lannister, ineptitude. As a boy, Loren had dreamed of becoming one of the greatest swordsman like Jaime Lannister, but thanks in no small part to Eleyna, Loren began dreaming of a new goal in his life. One that seemed obtainable to the teenage: remove his weak cousin from his position and assume the role as *the* Lord of Casterly Rock himself.

One person stood completely in his way: his annoyingly popular and loved older brother, Manfred. Even if he could get Jason removed then the title would just pass to Manfred instead… Loren knew he needed to figure some way to ruin Manfred’s popularity and propel himself into the good graces of the westerners.

Unfortunately, before Loren could attempt to begin to make his own name for himself throughout the Westerlands, Daena Targaryen invaded Westeros.

Despite the fear and trepidation Loren felt when imagining fighting against the largest dragon known in history, he couldn’t help but feel a burst of eagerness to fight. Would this be his chance to outshine his brothers, his opportunity to make a name for himself? Loren Lannister, the hero from Casterly Rock… With his naive sense of yearning and resolve burning within him, Loren joined the main Lannister force to relieve his mother’s home, Crakehall.

Though given no real command over any significant amount of troops, Loren saw his first real taste of battle at Crakehall and the young man thrived in the horrors and gore of combat. At the least, the practice and work he spent mastering the sword thrived for Loren; his talents and abilities as a leader of men had left much to be desired. Always eager to fight his enemies in duels, he’d often forget his duties as a commander in the effort to kill with his own blade.

The skirmishes that ravaged the southern borders and the chaos that ensued, however, met Loren’s strengths well. No longer burdened with leading men in pitched battles, Loren was “freed” to hunt down and kill whoever he could find. Acting much like his elder brother, any Golden Company prisoner joined their afterlife soon after being captured.

The Battle at the Goldvein played out much in the same way as the Siege of Crakehall for Loren: many times over he would forsake his duties as commander to fight and pursue his enemies to fight in single combat. Despite his failings as a commander, Loren still managed to make a name for himself as he fought his way to a handful of Golden Company lieutenants and killed them all himself, causing a rout of a section of the sellsword line.

After Daena’s dragon and snatched her own victory from the jaws of defeat before moving to fight the rest of Westeros, Loren remained in his homeland to help the Westerners lick their wounds and rebuild. Learning of his brother leaving his battered home to fight still failed to surprise him but still infuriated Loren. He knew his fool hearted brother would always seek out the most glory…

Loren spent the entirety of the war following the Battle of the Goldvein travelling nearly the whole of the Westerlands. He focused on helping those noble families that had lost so much, men, gold, castles themselves, to rebuild and hopefully find some way to muster another force to beat back Daena once again should she return. Bandits and vagabonds who tried using the chaos and destruction of the war to fill their own pockets soon learned of their folly when Loren arrived, for none of them were ever truly a match for the Lannister, and the lion refused to take prisoners.

Though Loren spent the majority of his time and efforts along the southern border, he met the beautiful and fair Agnes Tully during this time during a brief stint in the north. Loren lusted after the woman from the time he met her, never truly falling in love, but appreciating Agnes’ looks and outgoing personality, Loren kept her near him at all times as he travelled the Westerlands. As she grieved for the loss of her lord uncle and cousin, Loren found her easily enough to convince of his grand and ambitious plans.

With the War of the Last Dragon ending, Loren returned finally to Casterly Rock, feeling an undeniable sense of ambitious satisfaction. Daena and her followers were defeated, his cousin Eleyna whispering her encouraging words in his ear, both his father and brother had perished in the war, and he would be claiming a woman with a name that could give him pull in the Riverlands. It seemed the Gods began to smile upon Loren. In 382 AC, Loren and Agnes married in Casterly Rock as Agnes turned of age.

Everything seemed to be going pleasantly according to plan, if not a bit slowly for the ambitious man’s taste, until without warning his despised older brother returned home. Thought to be dead, Loren had to suddenly deal with one of the largest troubles in his schemes while showing the “proper” face of a brother happy to see a family member seemingly return from the dead.