﻿#title:House Baratheon
#author:Maester
#types:westeros
#

House Baratheon of Storm's End is a Great House of Westeros. A cadet branch was formerly the royal house, but House Lannister took control of the throne, though lost it to House Targaryen. House Baratheon traditionally rules the Stormlands on the eastern coast of Westeros, aptly named for its frequent storms, from their seat of Storm's End.

House Baratheon became the royal house of the Seven Kingdoms after Robert Baratheon led a rebellion against the Targaryen dynasty. At the end of the rebellion, Robert ascended the Iron Throne as Robert I and married Cersei Lannister after the death of Lyanna Stark.

House Baratheon became extinct after the deaths of Stannis Baratheon and his family, but was revived when Robert's last bastard was legitimized by Queen Daenerys Targaryen as Gendry Baratheon.

House Baratheon's sigil is a crowned black stag on a gold background and their house words are "Ours Is the Fury."

House Baratheon was founded by Orys Baratheon, a general in the army of King Aegon I Targaryen, the founder of the Targaryen dynasty who conquered the Seven Kingdoms. Orys Baratheon was also rumored to be Aegon's bastard half-brother. He defeated Argilac the Arrogant, the last of the Storm Kings, and captured his castle of Storm's End. For his accomplishments, Orys was made Lord of Storm's End and founded House Baratheon. Orys took the sigil and words of the defeated House Durrandon as his own, cementing his rule over the Stormlands by marrying Argella Durrandon, the daughter of the fallen Argilac.

280 years later, Lord Robert Baratheon led a rebellion against King Aerys II Targaryen after his eldest son and heir, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, ran off with Robert's betrothed, Lyanna Stark. Robert, who was backed by Eddard Stark, Jon Arryn, and Hoster Tully, slew Rhaegar at the Battle of the Trident, and King's Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms, was soon afterwards sacked by Tywin Lannister in Robert's name. At the end of the rebellion, Ned Stark found his sister Lyanna in the Tower of Joy in Dorne, where she died "in a bed of blood." With the last known Targaryens – Prince Viserys and Princess Daenerys – having fled across the Narrow Sea to the Free Cities of Essos, Robert ascended to the Iron Throne as King Robert I. He was wed to Tywin's daughter, Cersei Lannister, and thus formed the royal cadet branch House Baratheon of King's Landing. Robert appointed Jon Arryn as his Hand.

When Robert became the new king, he left his youngest brother Renly Baratheon, who was only a child at the time, to rule the Stormlands from Storm's End. Meanwhile, he appointed his middle brother Stannis Baratheon as the new Lord of Dragonstone; Dragonstone was traditionally the seat of the heir to the Iron Throne. This formed the cadet branch House Baratheon of Dragonstone, which was solidified by Stannis's marriage to Selyse Florent. This also made Stannis the liege lord of several minor outlying islands of the Crownlands which were in Blackwater Bay. This was seen as an insult to Stannis, who had failed to capture the last Targaryens at Dragonstone when he assaulted the storm-ridden island, as windswept and isolated Dragonstone was not as wealthy or prestigious as Storm's End. However, Stannis was a proven military commander and a loyal vassal of his experience was needed to reign in Dragonstone, whose lord ruled over the Houses that had been the most loyal to House Targaryen.

Renly and Stannis both served on Robert's small council as Master of Laws and Master of Ships, respectively. However, they were still referred to as lords rather than princes even after Robert's ascension to the throne, since they belonged to lower branches of House Baratheon.

It isn't exactly clear how King Robert envisioned dividing up his possessions for future generations of House Baratheon, or if he even had a plan. It isn't clear if he meant to permanently unite the Crownlands around King's Landing with the Stormlands around Storm's End (which do border the Crownlands). Alternatively, he might have handed off Storm's End and the Stormlands to a cadet branch of House Baratheon formed by Stannis or Renly's children, while Robert's own "children" ruled the Crownlands. There's even the possibility that Robert intended to cut his younger brothers out of the succession entirely, and have the rule of the Stormlands pass to his younger "son" Tommen. Whatever plans Robert or his councilors may have had were swept away by the outbreak of war upon his unexpected death.