Orys Baratheon

**Orys Baratheon** was the eldest son and heir of Arlan Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End and Lord Paramount of the Stormlands. A tall and handsome man, he was known for a gregarious personality and a love of living his life to excess.

## Appearance & Character

The heir to Storm’s End stood six feet and six inches tall - even taller than his lord father. With black hair and bright blue eyes, Orys Baratheon bore all the traditional hallmarks of his house, to the point where some around Storm’s End sometimes whispered that he appeared as the second coming of Robert Baratheon, Myrcella I’s royal father.

Strong and powerful, Orys oft wielded various sorts of polearms or war hammers as his weapons of choice over swords. He was a proud man with a temper that was great to behold once roused, albeit his usual joviality did not frequently give way to bouts of anger. He was fond of his vices, in the form of drink, food, revelry, and of course most particularly in women. Pretty women of all stations of birth could easily attract his attention, though Orys was not known for his dalliances to enjoy long durations of time.

## History

### Early Life, 361 - 369 AC

Born in 361 AC to Arlan Baratheon and Amerei Tyrell, Orys was the eldest sibling of four and followed by a brother Edgar, then twin sisters Johanna and Jenelyn. A year later his father ascended to lordship following the death of his grandfather from a winter illness and soon, too, the halls of Storm’s End rang with the sounds of squires in the form of Androw Hightower and Willas and Loras Redwyne.

Of his early years in life there is little of note to expand on. As the heir to a lord paramountcy Orys was of course privileged in a manner that few in the stormlands enjoyed, or sometimes even beyond, and was the beneficiary of a house writ large in the years since Lady Shireen was granted the seat.

In his fifth year, however, Lady Amerei passed from the earth as the result of a failed pregnancy, leaving her children motherless. This left Orys, young though he was, determined to ensure that his brother Edgar did not spend his days lost in sadness, and perhaps this was where the heir’s predilections towards gregariousness and a zest for life emerged.

Orys was eight when his father opted to remarry to Lady Maris of House Tarth. Theirs was a relationship that did not unfold smoothly, with the boy deeply skeptical of the woman as he knew that his sisters had been too young to remember their true mother. It did not help that his father rather quickly trusted his new wife to rule in his name whenever it occasioned that he departed the castle.

### Adolescence & Wardship, 370 - 378 AC

As early as he could Orys was keen to start his martial training, which came primarily from his bastard kinsman Ser Barristan Storm and his father for the first several years. By the time he was nearing his fourteenth year in 376 AC, Lord Arlan arranged for Orys to be fostered at the Parchments with House Penrose, into which the lord’s sister had married.

For the most part Orys’s training at Parchments was left to the castle’s master-at-arms, for the Penrose lord that shared his father’s name was not the most approachable man in the realm. Only from time to time did the lord choose to personally step into the training yard, which did not particularly bother the Baratheon heir. Proud though he might have been even at an early age, he still preferred the company of others more jovial than his uncle.

Lord Penrose’s best efforts to reign in his protege’s tendencies towards excess were only intermittently successful, with the adolescent Baratheon finding himself rather quickly fond of beer and mead and other drinks as he matured. So, too, did parties appeal greatly to him, where there were often grand feasts of succulent food. Not to be outdone were the girls, of course - whether they were nobleborn or commoners, he cared little. Orys was more than happy to flirt with all of them so long as they were pretty.

One such frequent recipient of his attention was his cousin Aelinor, who was injured at a Gulltown tournament in 376. As she recovered Orys sat at her side often, or entertained her with antics and stories to try and help the girl maintain her spirits.

### A Time for War & Returning Home, 378 - 381 AC

When Daena Targaryen invaded the Seven Kingdoms in 378 AC, Orys vowed to stay at his lord’s side. For the next several years the fighting throughout the realm was fierce and bloody, but the Baratheon heir kept his word. Every battle in which his uncle and his cousin Ser Steffon fought, so too was Orys there, wreaking bloody havoc amongst the enemy.

The final battle of the war was fought at Stoney Sept and it brought with it a heavy toll not merely for the kingdoms writ large but for the houses Baratheon and Penrose individually as well. Lord Penrose and Ser Steffon both lost their lives, whilst Orys - recently knighted whilst on the march to the town - and his cousin Robert Penrose narrowly survived the grueling, horrific battle.

After the fighting was done Orys learned of his uncle and cousin’s deaths, the former whose body was recovered by Ser Alaric Seaworth, the Slayer of the Last Dragon. Orys and Robert thus traveled with Alaric to the Parchments to see their kin returned home for the final time.

From there Orys went to his own home at Storm’s End, only to learn of yet more death. His father’s brother Triston had died during the war and his sister Johanna was missing after running off to try and fight in the waning days of the war. Despite his father’s best efforts to search for Jo, the mission was ultimately unsuccessful.

Depressed over the many deaths suffered as a result of the war, Orys did not in truth linger overly long at his home before setting out into the countryside as a means of clearing his mind. Only a few days into that trip did he stumble upon a fair-haired young woman with whom he became quickly enchanted. Lucy was her name, and a child of the woods she called herself.. For several weeks the two entertained one another, riding or walking in the forests, sharing swims in nearby streams, and oft retiring to the tower house that was once the residence of House Seaworth. He awoke one morning after another night of lovemaking to find that she was departed without a farewell.

Several moons later, however, the woman reappeared in his life at Storm’s End, her belly swollen with a child she claimed was his. At the insistence of his father and Lady Maris, Lucy was welcomed into the castle, where she remained through the birth of a little girl that Orys opted to name Johanna. Soon thereafter she disappeared like a wraith once more, leaving behind only a letter made out to her lover and of course their child.

When Queen Myrcella’s royal progress visited the castle, he reconnected with one of his many past subjects of flirtation - Johanna Hightower, sister to Lord Androw Hightower who once served his father as a squire. Johanna had visited Storm’s End herself from time to time and always attracted his attention on those occasions. This time around they tumbled into bed together, much to his great pleasure.