A Storm of Swords characters

Also known as the Imp, Halfman

Appears from the start

The dwarf son of Lord Tywin Lannister, scarred and sidelined after the great battle for the capital, in which he nearly died defending the city only to see his father seize the credit and the office of Hand. Clever and bitter, resented by his family and mistrusted by the court, he must go on serving the Lannister cause while receiving little thanks and less love.

Also known as the Kingslayer, Ser Jaime

Appears from the start

The captured knight of the Kingsguard and twin to Queen Cersei, long held prisoner by the Starks since the war began. Famed for his beauty and skill at arms and infamous for having killed the king he was sworn to protect, he is dispatched south under guard in a bid to trade him for the Stark girls held in the capital.

Also known as Catelyn Tully

Appears from the start

Widow of Eddard Stark and mother to the King in the North. Weighed down by grief and by fears for her scattered children, she counsels her son Robb and works to keep his fragile alliance from coming apart, even as her choices strain her bond with him.

Also known as the Young Wolf, King in the North

Appears from the start

The young King in the North, still unbeaten on the battlefield but increasingly beset by political troubles, wavering bannermen, and the difficulty of holding a war-torn kingdom together far from home.

Appears from the start

The elder Stark daughter, still a captive in the capital and a pawn in the schemes of those around her. Having learned how deadly the court can be, she trusts no one and longs only to escape to safety.

Appears from the start

The younger Stark daughter, alone and adrift in the war-ravaged countryside, hardened by everything she has survived. Fierce and self-reliant, she trusts to her own wits as she tries to find her way back to any family that remains.

Appears from the start

Eddard Stark's bastard son and a brother of the Night's Watch, currently living among the wildlings north of the Wall, where he has won a place by concealing his true loyalties. He is caught between the oath he swore and the people he now travels with as the free folk march south.

Also known as Dany, the Mother of Dragons

Appears from the start

The exiled Targaryen princess, mother to three young and growing dragons, journeying through the eastern lands in search of the soldiers and ships she needs to sail home and claim the Iron Throne. She is learning to rule and to fight as she goes.

Appears from the start

King Robert's stern, rigid brother, who still claims the Iron Throne by right despite his crushing defeat at the capital. Withdrawn to his island seat and short of men, he remains under the sway of the red priestess Melisandre and her promises of destiny.

Also known as Sam, Sam the Slayer

Appears from the start

A soft, bookish, fearful young man of the Night's Watch and one of Jon Snow's closest friends. Disowned by a harsh father for lacking a warrior's temper, he is clumsy and easily frightened, yet loyal and quietly braver than he believes himself to be.

Also known as the Maid of Tarth

Appears from the start

A tall, powerfully built, and famously plain noblewoman who has taken up sword and armor despite the scorn heaped on a woman who wants to be a warrior. Earnest, honest, and stubbornly devoted to her vows, she is charged with escorting the captive Jaime Lannister safely south.

Also known as the Red Viper, the Red Viper of Dorne

Appears from the start

A prince of Dorne and brother to its ruling prince, famed and feared across the realm as the Red Viper for his brilliance in a fight and his fondness for poisoned blades. Charming, hot-tempered, and clever, he carries a deep and bitter grievance against House Lannister over the deaths of his sister and her children years before.