Tywin's eldest child by mere moments, Cersei is the twin sister of Jaime Lannister and matches his beauty, with golden hair, bright green eyes and a lush, curvaceous body. 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.

Jon Snow is the bastard son of Eddard, by a mother whose identity is not widely known. His direwolf companion is the mute, albino Ghost (due to his albinism and eerie silence, cementing Jon's outsider status as a bastard).

Tyrion, is Tywin's third child, a misshapen dwarf nicknamed "The Imp" and "The Halfman". He is a personal favorite character of George R. R. Martin. Though Tyrion shares his father's talent for political maneuvering, he receives little respect from Tywin because of his deformity, sharp tongue, penchant for whoring, and 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.

Younger twin to Cersei, and son of Tywin and Joanna, Jaime Lannister is one of the most famous knights in all of Westeros. At fifteen, he became a knight and ascended to the elite Kingsguard, the members of which can neither hold lands nor marry. Two years after his induction he murdered Mad King Aerys during the sack of King's Landing, earning him the epithet "Kingslayer". Though he shares his sister's arrogance, amorality, and striking good looks, he is much more reckless and easily amused.

The eldest of three sons, Robert Baratheon was crowned King of the Seven Kingdoms after winning the War of the Usurper.

In Robert's Rebellion, they claimed the Iron Throne, with the support of House Stark, House Lannister, House Tully, and House Arryn. Their sigil is a crowned black stag on a field of gold, and their words are "Ours is the Fury".

One of several Brandon Starks over the centuries, including Brandon the Builder, Brandon the Burner and, most recently, his late uncle Brandon Stark, Bran (a point-of-view character) is the son of Lord Eddard and Lady Catelyn Stark, the fourth eldest child but second eldest boy, therefore heir to Winterfell after his brother Robb. Bran dreams of one day becoming a knight.

Arya is a nine-year-old tomboy who flouts convention and authority. If her older sister Sansa represents Ned Stark's idealism, then Arya has his hard practicality. Obviously, the two never quite got along.

Elder daughter of Lord Eddard Stark and Lady Catelyn Stark, Sansa (a POV character) loves the pageantry and buzz of the court, and may have been the only Stark happy to go to King's Landing. Though far more feminine, beautiful and ladylike than her younger sister Arya, she is also moon-eyed and dreamy, believing in the chivalry and honor she has heard about in story and song. Like her father, she is presented with a rude awakening.

Robb was the eldest legitimate son of Lord Eddard Stark, and heir to Winterfell. When Lord Eddard was called to King's Landing to become the King's Hand, Robb remained at Winterfell to rule in his father's stead. Upon Eddard's execution at the word of the newly raised King Joffrey I Baratheon, Robb was declared King in the North by his father's liegemen rather than swear fealty to the Lannister king, drawing the banners of the north and of the riverlands to his cause.

Rhaegar Targaryen crowned Lyanna queen of beauty after winning the Harrenhal tourney. Shortly after this, he abducted her, triggering her fianc? Robert Baratheon's rebellion.

Eddard "Ned" Stark, Warden of the North, and Lord of Winterfell.

Aerys' second son Viserys, Aerys II?s sole surviving son at the time of Aerys' death, styled himself Viserys III, but was nicknamed Cart King (Khal Rhaggat) and Sorefoot King (Khal Rhae Mhar) by the Dothraki .

Heir apparent to the Iron Throne, Rhaegar was slain in 283 AL by Robert Baratheon at the Battle of the Trident. Rhaegar was married to Elia of Dorne. (GOT, 25). Elia was ?never the healthiest of women.? (SOS, 128) Elia was raped (SOS, 595) and slain along with their children during the Sack of King?s Landing. (GOT, 694, SOS 595). Dorne still brooded over Elia?s death well after Robert Baratheon?s death (GOT, 529).

Dragonstone is one of a group of islands in the Narrow Sea, close to the Westerosi shore. It used to be the westernmost outpost of the freehold of Valyria, and is the ancient seat of House Targaryen. On the nearby island of Driftmark, house Velaryon is another Valyrian house to survive the Doom.

The sigil of House Targaryen is a three-headed dragon breathing flames, red on black. The three heads symbolise Aegon the Conqueror and his two sisters, and also their three dragons. The words of House Targaryen are "Fire and Blood."

Daenerys Targaryen (aka "Daenerys Stormborn" aka "Dany" aka "the Mother of Dragons"), younger sister of the abusive Viserys Targaryen, the Targaryen king-in-exile, and hence heir to the Targaryen crown at the onset of A Game of Thrones. She has silver hair and violet eyes.

In the fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, Winterfell (german for "winter pelt") is the name given to both the ancient castle where the Starks live, and the surrounding town. Winterfell is home to a small Godswood, one of the last of its kind on Westeros. As such a large castle, it also has several abandoned towers and sections, where few are allowed to go.

In A Song of Ice and Fire, the Wall is a huge fortification built primarily of ice, located on the far north of Westeros. It extends from the Bay of Seals on the east to the Frostfang mountains on the west, and is extremely hard to cross over due to its size.

Westeros is one of the two continents described in the epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire. It has been suggested that the inhabited part of the continent is roughly equivalent in area to South America. However, there is a large amount of land to the far north that is unmapped, due to the extremely cold temperatures present there. It is separated from the unnamed eastern continent by the Narrow Sea.

George Raymond Richard Martin (born September 20, 1948 in Bayonne, New Jersey) is an American writer of science fiction and fantasy, and also a screenwriter and producer. He has been an instructor in journalism (in which he holds a master's degree) and a chess tournament director.