Mace Tyrell is Lord of Highgarden, Defender of the Marches, High Marshal of the Reach, and Warden of the South. Mace Tyrell is a prematurely old and rather tedious man lacking in political savvy. His sole military accomplishment is the Siege of Storm's End. Though he has tried to use the Battle of Ashford as evidence of strategic brilliance, he actually had little to do with the fighting. He now serves only as the figurehead of his powerful house for his more intelligent family members.
Olenna Tyrell, known as the Queen of Thorns, is the widowed mother of Mace Tyrell. She travels with two large knights that are so identical they are only refered to as Left and Right. She is a well known woman of power whose own powers of manipulation are quite devious.
Loras Tyrell is Mace Tyrell's third son. Known as the Knight of Flowers he is a highly skilled knight and jouster. His tournament successes, dazzling good looks, and ostentatious showmanship have made him a celebrated figure in the courts of the Seven Kingdoms. Despite his youth and slender frame, he is a capable warrior, using swords, axes, and morning-stars to deadly effect. He is the secret lover of Renly Baratheon, though their forbidden relationship is known to various others at court.
Margaery Tyrell is the only daughter of Mace Tyrell and his wife, Alerie Tyrell. She is an intelligent and shrewd young woman, very much the protégé of her cunning grandmother, Olenna Tyrell.
Robert Baratheon is a former member of House Baratheon and a former king of the Seven Kingdoms. Robert Baratheon was crowned king of the Seven Kingdoms after winning the War of the Usurper. A large man, Robert was once a renowned warrior, but grew fat from excessive alcohol and food consumption. He was known for his gregarious personality and remarkable ability to turn enemies into friends.
Stannis Baratheon is the elder of Robert Baratheon's younger brothers. A brooding, humorless man known for a hard and unyielding sense of justice, he is obsessed with slights real and imagined.
Renly Baratheon is the younger brother of Robert and Stannis Baratheon. He ruled as Lord of Storm's End, and served as Master of Laws on Robert's small council. He is a handsome and charismatic man, winning friends easily, but also strikes some people as frivolous.
Shireen Baratheon is the daugher of Stannis Baratheon and his only child. Her mother is Lady Selyse Florent. When Shireen was an infant she suffered from an infection called greyscale. The disease, which almost killed her, left much of her face deformed. She resides in Dragonstone, where she is usually seen in the company of the castle's fool, Patchface.
Gendry Waters was born in King's Landing not knowing who his father was. Tobho Mott, a master smith, took him on as an apprentice after being paid double the customary fee by a man who concealed his identity.
Edric Storm is the bastard son of King Robert Baratheon and Delena Florent. Edric is a sturdily attractive youth, with coal-black hair and deep blue eyes common to the Baratheon line, although he also has the large ears common to House Florent.
Tywin Lannister is Lord of Casterly Rock, Shield of Lannisport and Warden of the West. A calculating, ruthless, and controlling man, Tywin is one of the most powerful lords in Westeros. He is the father of Jaime, Cersei, and Tyrion Lannister. He loves his children Jaime and Cersei, but despises Tyrion. This is partly because Tyrion is deformed, but also Tywin blames his son for causing his beloved wife Joanna's death, as well as shaming the family name with his frequent whoring.
Jaime Lannister known as the Kingslayer is the second child, and first-born son, of Lord Tywin Lannister of Casterly Rock and his wife Lady Joanna Lannister. He received his nickname after slaying the Mad King Aerys II Targaryen. Prior to that he became the second-youngest ever member of the Kingsguard.
Joffrey Baratheon is the eldest of the royal Baratheon children, and Robert's heir. He is 12 years old at the beginning of the series. Joffrey is already strong-willed as a child and has an uncontrollable temper not unlike his mother's and an unchecked sadistic streak.
Princes Myrcella Baratheon is the second oldest of the royal Baratheon children. She is delicate, beautiful, and courteous. For her age, she displays courage, a strong will, and high intelligence. She is eight at the beginning of the series.
Tommen Baratheon, is known to the realm as the youngest child of King Robert Baratheon and Queen Cersei Lannister, though like all of Cersei's children his father is in truth Cersei's brother Jaime.
Cersei Lannister is Tywin's eldest child by mere moments and the twin sister of Jaime Lannister. After Robert's Rebellion she married the new King, Robert Baratheon, and became Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. A willful and ambitious woman, Cersei resents the restrictions put on her for her sex. She is always concerned for the safety of her royal children, Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen, and stops at nothing to protect them.
Tyrion Lannister, is Tywin's third child, a misshapen dwarf nicknamed "The Imp" and "The Halfman". Though he is shrewd, educated, and calculating, he receives little respect from Tywin because of the death of his mother during his birth. He is capable of cruelty to his enemies, but also has great sympathy for fellow outcasts and the mistreated.
Kevan Lannister was Tywin Lannister's younger brother. He served for years as Tywin's most trusted captain. He is known for his reliability and loyalty. Kevan recognized the superiority of his brother at an early age and was comfortable doing his duty to realize his brother's wishes, though this meant perpetually living in his shadow. It is said that Kevan never had a thought that Tywin hadn't had first.
Lancel Lannister is the oldest son of Ser Kevan Lannister. A young blond-haired man, he is said to closely resemble his cousin, Jaime Lannister. Lancel serves as King Robert's squire.
Eddard Stark, sometimes called "Ned", is Lord of Winterfell, Lord Paramount of the North, and Warden of the North. He and Catelyn Stark have five children, and he has a bastard son, Jon Snow. Eddard is known for his sense of honor and justice.Though his family finds him kind, some consider his reserved personality a sign of coldness and disdain.
Catelyn Stark is the wife of Eddard Stark and lady of Winterfell. She had five children: Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon. Catelyn was born into House Tully. She is the daugther of Hoster Tully and Minisa Tully, and her siblings are Edmure and Lysa. Catelyn is seen as honorable and upright by acquaintances, holding duty over desire as a governing principle of behavior. She has a deep love for family and a strong faith in the Seven. However, she regards the bastard Jon Snow as an outsider to her family, and has never forgiven Eddard for bringing him into her household.
Robb Stark is the eldest son of Eddard Stark and Catelyn Tully and the heir to Winterfell and the North. Upon his father's imprisonment for treason he raises his banners and marches south with a host to aid his allies in the Riverlands and to free his father. After his father's execution he is named King in the North by his followers. Called "The Young Wolf" by many of his followers and foes alike, he shares his father's devotion to honor and is frequently accompanied by his direwolf, Grey Wind, whom he always takes with him into battle.
Sansa Stark is the elder daughter of Catelyn and Eddard Stark. She possesses the traditional feminine graces of her milieu and is a strong believer in the world of chivalry portrayed in stories and songs. She is beautiful and excels at many female leisure activities, including singing, dancing, playing musical instruments, sewing, fashion, and social graces. She does not always have a good relationship with her sister Arya, whose interests are opposite in many respects and bewildering to Sansa.
Arya Stark is the third child, and second daughter, of Lord Eddard and Lady Catelyn Stark. She is nine at the start of A Game of Thrones. A spirited girl with an interest in fighting and exploring, she is a foil of her proper sister Sansa, whom she often describes as "stupid". She is particularly close to her bastard half-brother Jon Snow. Throughout her travels, Arya displays great resourcefulness, cunning, and an unflinching ability to accept hard necessity. She is said to take after her fiery aunt Lyanna in temperament. Like her siblings, she is a skinchanger, and bonded a direwolf she named Nymeria, a reference to a Rhoynar warrior-queen.
Brandon Stark, typically called "Bran", is Eddard and Catelyn's second son. He is named after his uncle, whose death was one of the series of events that led to Robert's Rebellion. Bran enjoyed climbing and exploring Winterfell until he was crippled. Like his siblings, he is dutiful and tough-minded. He is usually accompanied by a direwolf named Summer, with whom he shares a strong warg connection.
Rickon Stark is Eddard and Catelyn's youngest child, only three years old when the series begins. Rickon is a naturally aggressive and strong-willed child, but his youth makes it difficult for him to cope with the terrible changes that come to his family and life. He is usually accomompanied by a direwolf named Shaggydog.
Jon Snow is presumably the bastard son of Eddard Stark, by a mother whose identity is not widely known. He was raised by his father alongside his true-born half-siblings, but joins the Night's Watch when he reaches adulthood. He is constantly accompanied by his albino direwolf Ghost.
