Loreon Lannister

Loreon Lannister was Lord of Casterly Rock, Shield of Lannisport, and Warden of the West. He was the head of House Lannister, and so one of the most powerful lords in all of Westeros. From 366-370 AC Loreon served on the Small Council as Master of Laws. Loreon inherited the lands and titles of House Lannister when his father, Lord Leo Lannister, passed away in 370 AC. He has two siblings, Gwynesse and Lancel, and six children: Tytos, Gerald, Leila, Lynora, Jason and Lancel.

Appearance and Character
Loreon is tall, yet sturdily built. He shares, or once shared, many of the characteristics common to those born into House Lannister. When young his hair was golden blond, though now in his old age it has taken on a darker shade of grey. His eyes still shine a brilliant emerald green, flecks of gold spotted within them. He fastidiously keeps a neatly trimmed beard and moustache. When not dressed for battle in ornate and expensive armour, Loreon will wear lavish clothes befitting of his rank and title as Warden of the West. They will normally be coloured a bloody crimson, or opulent gold: Loreon’s two favourite colours.

The Lord of Casterly Rock was once well known throughout the Seven Kingdoms for his charm and wit. As a young man he was often found at the heart of any social occasion. But with the passing of years Loreon soon found himself with little time to waste as he took up an ever growing amount of responsibility. The Lion of the West is a patient man, though one who is also used to getting his way. He has a long memory and is not one to forget a slight easily. Usually calm and collected, it takes a great deal to make Loreon show his anger publicly. Once it is goaded out, however, Lord Lannister’s rage is a sight to behold.

History
Loreon was born in 342 AC, to Lord Leo Lannister and his wife, Melessa Redwyne. As their firstborn son, he was groomed to rule from his birth. His early years at Casterly Rock were spent training to fight, govern and rule. When he reached his twelfth nameday he was sent away to squire under one of his father's lords, Lord Banefort. Away from the court set up by his grandmother, Lady Margaery Lannister nee Tyrell, Loreon began to resent how the Roses had come to dominate his grandfather and father.

A Foolish Slight
When the Targaryens undertook their Royal Tour in 360 AC Loreon returned briefly to the Rock, along with the Baneforts. When the rash Prince Aenys snubbed House Lannister and spurned Loreon's sister Gwynesse whom he had been expected to marry, choosing to wed Lenore Blackwood instead, the Westerlands were outraged. This insult was only made worse when King Aenar accepted his son's decision. In the end the Lords of the West were only placated when it was decided that Gwynesse would marry Prince Viserys, Aenys' younger brother. Still, this was not enough for some. Loreon, encouraged by his uncle Tybolt, swore revenge on the Blackwood Witch who had humiliated his family. It would take years, but in the end the Lions would get what they so desired. In 364 AC Loreon was knighted by Lord Banefort.

After this, Loreon spent some time in King's Landing with his uncle Tybolt and his sister Gwynesse. He was present when Prince Viserys attempted (unsuccessfully) to make Tybolt the new Hand of the King. He was also present in the Capital when the first bout of rumours concerning witchcraft and sorcery began to surround Lady Lenore, in 365 AC.

The Young Lion and the Salt-Queen
However, in 366 AC Loreon was ordered back to the Westerlands by his father. Only a few days after his return to the Rock the singers of Lannisport began to sing for the first time the popular ditty  'The Witch of Dragonstone.' Nothing more than a coincidence, of course. The rumours that Lannister gold, and Loreon's threats, kept the bards singing the song for weeks on end were nothing more than that: rumours.

The self-proclaimed 'Salt-Queen' Mara Halfblood had arrived to pillage and reave the keeps and towns of the West. And they would have likely done just that, were it not for the swift actions of Lord Leo Lannister's eldest son. Loreon took direct command of the Lannister Fleet and, against the advice of some of the more cautious of his father's commanders, took to the seas to hunt down the Ironborn menace. In what was widely regarded as a textbook naval victory, Loreon led the Lannister Navy from aboard his flagship as they crushed the so-called 'Queen' in a pitched encounter at sea. Mara herself fell alongside her comrades as her longship was swarmed by Lannister soldiers. Loreon's later treatment of Ironborn prisoners was characteristically brutal and dozens were executed, or simply thrown overboard to drown. Straight down to see their God. This early campaign cemented Loreon's reputation as a capable and effective naval commander. It also gave him a natural distrust of the savage Ironborn menace. Loreon, in fact, argued in favour of leading a retaliatory strike against the Isles, though cooler heads at his father's court eventually prevailed. Some bards in Lannsiport even took to calling Loreon 'Tywin come again'. Those foolish enough to do so in public soon mysteriously vanished... Still, with the Ironborn threat now neutralised, Loreon returned once more to King's Landing, just as the final nails were being hammered into Lenore Blackwood's coffin.

The Downfall of Lenore Blackwood
Loreon bore witness to the series of scandalous trials that filled 366 AC. Though young, the Lion's many influential friends at court soon managed to secure the position of Master of Laws for him. Loreon was quickly charged by Aenar with overseeing the upcoming trials. Under his ruling Lady Lenore Blackwood was found to have been a sorceress and sexual deviant, guilty of having had an affair with Lord Celtigar - the man who had stolen Loreon's uncle's place as Lord Hand before.

Both the King and the High Septon agreed to annul her marriage to Prince Aenys; subsequently, their only son Maegor was declared a bastard. As for the Blackwood witch herself, there was only ever going to be one verdict for her in a trial overseen by Loreon: death. No one at court was more vocal in calling for her execution than he and his sister were. Eventually the Lions would get their way, and Lenore was beheaded. Not long afterwards the Crown Prince would commit suicide on Dragonstone.

Loreon and Gywnesse shed few tears for poor, foolish Aenys. He should've married a Lannister, as he was supposed to. He should not have slighted House Lannister. He should've remembered that the Lannisters always pay their debts.

The Ascendancy of Loreon Lannister
In 370 AC, Lord Leo Lannister passed away. Without further ado, Loreon resigned his post as Master of Laws and hurried back to Casterly Rock. This was the moment that Loreon, and his uncle Tybolt and wife Shiera, had been waiting for. Leo Lannister had ruled well: certainly better than his father Tyrek had. Still, Leo had allowed the lands he ruled, and his wider standing throughout the Seven Kingdoms, to stagnate.

The Lannister army, once the pride of the Westerlands, was but a mere shadow of what it had been just under a century before. The vast new reserves of gold and silver that had been discovered in the hills surrounding Casterly Rock during the Mead Summer lay still untapped. Lannisport, once a beacon of culture and commerce, had been left to deteriorate without the proper supervision from above. Loreon took it upon himself to revitalise the Lannister name.

Prospectors were sent into the hills to seek out the best sites for new mines. Within a few months new mines were being excavated in a number of locations across the Westerlands. A number of new public works were commissioned in Lannisport, most notably the construction of a grand new marketplace and a set of barracks to house the City Watch and a division of Lannister footmen. Crime fell, and trade returned to the levels that it had been at before the Second Conquest. Loreon personally took command of the Lannister Army. Drills were run from dusk till dawn, useless commanders replaced, and coin was spent to replace the tired equipment and arms that the Lannisters forces still made use of.

All this, of course, came at an immense cost to the Lannister coffers. In time, however, the investments made in the early years of Loreon's rule would come to pay themselves back thrice over.

The Kingswood Tourney of 379 AC
Lord Loreon attended the Kingswood Tourney, alongside many other members of his family.

The Golden Fist
In 388 AC, Loreon’s twentieth year as Lord of Casterly Rock, a series of riots broke out across the Westerlands - though they were begun and centred in Lannisport. By the time insurrection arose in the West, though, the Grizzled Lion had seen what had happened throughout the rest of Westeros. The uprising led by Hugh Hammer and his band of 'Warsmiths' incited the smallfolk ruled by House Lannister to follow in a similar vein. Loreon, however, was ready for them. He wasted little time in making examples out of those whom he declared 'ringleaders' in order to quell any further uprisings. Men, women and children were gathered up in their hundreds across the West and publicly hung on the direct orders of Lord Loreon Lannister, for what was deemed the greater good of the region. With the help of his son-in-law, Lord Lyndon Vance of Wayfarer’s Rest, those rebels who attempted to escape into the Riverlands were successfully apprehended and made to face punishment for their crimes. Instability was, in the end, successfully averted. With the sheer force of the Lannister Army any later reprisals against Lannister or noble rule were also ruthlessly crushed.

The Silk Glove
Tensions that might have grown due to this ruthless repression were somewhat calmed during the Great Famine (392-4 AC), in which the Lannisters spent considerable amounts of their own capital to ensure that their peasants did not suffer as much as they did in some of the other Kingdoms of Westeros.

Funds were also granted to smaller, less prosperous Houses in the Westerlands, such as House Westerling, House Swyft and House Prester. When the friends and allies of House Lannister began to suffer as well, Loreon also authorised the granting of emergency funding to them too. For example, House Vance of Wayfarer's West, to whose Lord Loreon's daughter Leila was married to, were aided in this manner.

The War of the Three Thieves
When the King called the Westerlands to arms to fight the Three Thieves, the Lords of the West wasted little time. Led by Lord Loreon himself the Lannister Fleet began the long journey east. The Western forces fought in a number of battles, taking some islands for the Crown. Gerald Lannister, the second of Loreon's sons, fell fighting in the battle of Ormollen's Pyre.

The Scarlet Winter
During the Scarlet Winter of 402-5 AC, Loreon's much-loved wife passed away. Much taken by grief and searching for someone to fill the bleeding wound left in his heart by her passing, the Grizzled Lion sought comfort in the arms of another: a certain Lysara Rogare of Lys. The two were together for quite some time, but fell out when the Lyseni refused to end her pregnancy despite Loreon's multiple requests that she do so. In the end, it came to violence. The Warden of the West flew into a rage and fought with his former lover: the next morning, Lysara gave birth to a stillborn boy whom she named Tytos Hill in order to shame Loreon. Within the week the courtesan had departed the Rock for good. The two have not spoken since.

Despite the harshness of the winter, Loreon remained determined to keep the Westerlands trading and prosperous. In an effort to keep commerce flowing, Lord Lannister authorised a number of drastic initiatives. One of said initiatives, however, led to dozens drowning when they attempted to break up the ice that blocked Lannisport bay.

The Tourney of the Red Comet
As one, the Lords of the West travelled en masse to the Tournament - along with a sizable military detachment. Over the course of the event, much of significance occurred. Relations between Loreon and his niece, Visaera, became for the first time strained as the two disagreed over what rewards House Lannister might reap for supporting her in the future. After bedding Jeyne Frey, the two conspired to see her sister married to the Warden of the West, before Lady Frey herself was murdered. Loreon and his goodson, Lucifer Hightower, conducted secret talks in which they agreed to protect each of their Houses interests should war break out. Tya and Tybolt confronted their grandfather about their desire to wed one another, and after some careful consideration Loreon agreed to the match. Lord Lannister's great-niece's, Lysa and Ellyn, fell in love with Lord Nymor Yronwood and Lord Aemon Dayne. Loreon and Lord Eryk Redwyne at last came to an agreement over crushing the Ironmen together, uniting their navies with those of Oldtown into a formidable battle fleet.

Back at the Rock
As soon as the Tourney came to an end, the Westerlands began to muster her armies. Levies were raised, ships put to sail, and scorpions ordered built post haste. Lysa and Ellyn were quickly wed to their respective Dornish Lords, and left for Dorne. Tragedy would, however, soon strike. Accused of conspiring to overthrow House Martell, Nymor Yronwood perished alongside his wife and castle at the hands of Laenor Targaryen and his dragon. This violent and undeserved murder would not soon be forgotten by the Lions of the West, who would continue to hold a grudge against House Martell and Laenor (until his death).

Within a few weeks Lord Redwyne arrived at Lannisport with his fleet, intent on pursuing his holy war against the Ironborn. Rumours of a raid being planned by the Greyjoys also began to reach the West. Another wedding, grander than the previous two, also occurred. Tya and Tybolt were married before they departed for King's Landing, where Tybolt would take up the position of Master of Laws and Tya was to help governing the city during the Queen and Hand's absence. In addition to this, Tybolt was also granted the Valyrian steel sword Oathkeeper by Loreon.

Lysaro Rogare and his family appeared at the Rock demanding answers from Loreon concerning the welfare of their daughter; for their insolence they were imprisoned. Later, Lysara herself appeared to beg for their safe release. After being reunited with her long-lost son, she decided to remain at the Rock. However, Tya Lannister would not let the slights of the Rogare family go forgotten. In the Great Hall of Casterly Rock all the Lyseni were put to the sword, including Lysara's infant, on the orders of Lady Tya herself. Loreon was present. Rumours abound about these events, and a song began to circle the Westerlands telling of the fate of those who threaten the Young Lioness and House Lannister.

The Mummer’s War
The first steps along the road to war were undertaken when Lannister forces, under the command of the Lord Marshal Reginar Crakehall, entered the Riverlands. With little opposition the Westermen (along with Lord Vance) quickly secured Riverrun for the Queen and Damion Tully. A Blackwood host under the command of Damion Blackwood fled at first sight of the Western forces, though Damion himself was captured along with Sarya Bracken. The Western troops would remain at Riverrun for the duration of the conflict, holding down the rear of the loyalist forces as the Riverlords and Crownlords battled the Knights of the Vale.

Under the command of Lord Marbrand, another detachment of Western troops was sent south, to assist Princess Rhaenys in her subjugation of the Reach. These troops saw no active service in combat, as they arrived after the surrender of the rebel forces to those of the House Baratheon and the Princess.

The Fool’s Gambit
As Western troops marched into the Riverlands and Reach, Western ships also left their harbours for battle. Lord Loreon had not forgotten the threat that the Ironmen posed to his shores: memories of Mara Half-Blood and her reavers still burned fierce within his soul. Whilst dragons fought on the mainland, he would destroy the Squids once and for all. Lord Malcolm Westerling was named Lord High Admiral of the West, and hurriedly tasked with commanding the combined naval forces of the West, Arbor and Oldtown against the Ironmen.

A pre-emptive strike against the Islands was launched, catching House Greyjoy totally unprepared. Off Pyke itself, the Greyjoy and Botley fleets fled in disarray without offering any resistance to the Allied Invaders. Both Pyke and Lordsport were put under siege by a Western army, under the command of Loreon himself. Numerical superiority was secured on the island and at sea. The keep fell within thirteen days, and the town four days after it. Both garrisons were put to the sword: impaled outside the mighty castle herself. The island itself was scourged, her holy places desecrated and her wealth stolen. The Seastone Chair, fabled seat of the Lord Reaper, was demolished and it's remains taken - along with the castle's plunder - back to the Rock, where it now currently resides within Lord Lannister’s Golden Gallery. After the fall of the castle a truce was signed with Lady Alannys Harlaw, and those loyal to her cause. She had seen the error of Maron Greyjoy’s ways earlier, and the two sides quickly formed an alliance of Gold and Iron against the Kraken. A treaty was drawn up at Pyke, and agreed to by both sides. It’s terms included the eradication of House Greyjoy, the occupation of Pyke by Western troops, the abolition of thralldom, and the acceptance of the Faith of the Seven on the Iron Islands. United now, the massive combined warfleet sailed for Orkmont, where Maron and his own Ironfleet still cowered.

The battle off the coast of Orkmont was short and swift. The ships of House Greyjoy and her allies were destroyed, their crews massacred with impunity. The vast numerical superiority of Loreon’s alliance, along with the stouter warships of the West and Arbor, proved their worth against the lighter longships of the Greyjoy fleet. After the battle was concluded, Maron Greyjoy’s body was retrieved and brought to Lord Lannister. He summarily had it’s head removed, dipped in gold, and shipped back to the Rock. It now also holds a special place within the Golden Gallery. With the war now at what seemed like it’s logical end, word was at last sent to the Queen informing her of what had happened.

Peace in Our Time: 408 - 418 A.C.
In the years following the war, much and more of Loreon’s reforms that he had proposed when Pyke had first fallen to his forces were undone by the Queen. Cemented in her position, Visaera saw House Greyjoy restored to power under a cousin of Maron’s, named Dagon. Loreon’s men were expelled from the Islands and Pyke itself was returned to the Squids. Dagon was made to wed Alannys Harlaw - who had been previously been betrothed to a scion of House Lannister. As the Grizzled Lion had feared at Harrenhal, his support for Visaera had been rewarded with no more than a beggar's pittance: a worthless title for his grandson that Tybolt would soon resign from.

None of these royal policies were taken lightly by the House of Lannister. Few in the Realm still dared to challenge the Warden of the West, and thus he was not used to being refused. The restoration of the House that had for centuries threatened his people and the entire western coastline of the Realm, along with the rejection of his proposals to bring the Ironmen into line with the rest of Westeros, proved hard to accept. That the Lion had placed the entire wealth and might of his noble House behind the Queen as she cemented her claim to the throne only added to the bitter taste left in his mouth. The expenditure of thousands of men and tens of thousands of gold dragons had, in his mind, won for House Lannister little more than cold and abject rejection. As relations between the Rock and King’s Landing grew ever more cool and distant, things only seemed to deteriorate as time went by. Glad as Loreon most certainly was to see his grandchildren Tya and Tybolt return to the Westerlands in 410 A.C., House Lannister now lost her influence upon the Small Council, and the ear of the Queen. Their return to the Rock was also quickly followed by the strengthening of royal ties to the Red God and his followers, many of whom had begun to flood into the Seven Kingdoms in recent decades.

Things took a turn for the worse in 410 A.C. when the Queen consented to the founding of a new, grander Red Temple in Flea Bottom. Loreon had begun to note how an increasing amount of Her Grace’s advisors and confidants also now seemed to have adopted R’hllor. In Loreon’s opinion, a depraved and heretical religion such as that of the Red God could do no good within Westeros, and so he set out to see it’s spread halted at once. A great many letters of protest were sent to the Queen and her agents, but none seemed to find any purchase. When similar entreaties to the High Septon fell on deaf ears, Loreon’s frustration only grew. If no others would act to stop this madness, then the Lion of the West would have to take action into his own hands.

The Sept of the Faithful
So it was announced to the Realm in 411 A.C. that House Lannister would begin financing the construction of the greatest and most lavish Sept that Westeros had ever seen. It would dominate Lannisport, and take several long years - along with copious amounts of coins - to finish. Though the vast majority of the cost was shouldered by House Lannister herself, donations and contributions were received by a number of other Houses from across Westeros. Amongst the most notable of these were Houses Baratheon, Tyrell, Redwyne, Hightower, Frey, Peake, Manderly, Vance of Wayfarer's Rest and Lord Perceon Vance himself, the Hand of the Queen. Furthermore, the full support of the Starry Septon of the time - Abelar - was also given. A thinly veiled reaction to the Crown’s new stance of ever-growing tolerance of the Red God, the aptly named Sept of the Faithful would at last be completed in 417 A.C. In an attempt to heal the schism created within the Faith between Baelorian and Starry worshippers that had benefited none but the ungodly and impious, the newly nicknamed ‘Golden Septon’ acknowledged both the traditions of the High Septon along with the newer teachings of the Starry Sept, melding one with the other as best as possible. It was the crippling internal division and inaction had caused the steady decline of the Faith’s influence at Court, or so preached the Septons of the Sept of the Faithful. Unity alone, they argued, could save the Faith now.

With total and unbending Lannister political and financial support the influence of this new Sept quickly grew within the Westerlands, and an era of religious revival began.

Thoughts of Legacy and Death
Little else of much note truly occurred during the years of peace following the Mummer’s War. As she had always done during times of peace and quiet the Westerlands grew prosperous and wealthy, and her people were for the most part content. Loreon himself turned his eyes away from politics on a larger scale, and onto the better governing of his lands and people. In his advanced old age the Lion found himself increasingly influenced by thoughts of his legacy within the Westerlands itself. His line was secure, his House strong and mighty. But how would his people remember his name? These thoughts were soon coupled with a lingering doubt of what awaited him after he passed from this world: eternal salvation, or infernal damnation? What had once been a blackened, icy heart saw some warmth return to it. Public works were undertaken - the greatest of which being the Sept of the Faithful - within Lannisport, especially amongst the poorest inhabitants of the city. Grain stores, aqueducts, new tenements and marketplaces all sprang up by his command. The passing of Loreon's sister Gwynesse in 416 A.C. only helped highlight the fragility of his own place upon this world. All of the great men and women of his era were now gone. It also severed one of the greatest ties that had bound him to his royal niece. He now stood alone, a staunch and undying relic of the Old Guard. He who had seen Kings and Princes come and go, he who had fought in countless wars and held onto great power for oh so long. He had lived a life of constant struggle, competition, always grasping for more. More power, more wealth, more lands. But for what?

Now in his seventy-fifth year, the Old Man of the West still rules with a fist of solid gold. But his grip has loosened somewhat over the years, and his sight grows dim. What once was a body full of vigour and strength begins to fail him at last. His spirit remains unchallenged, however. Troubling thoughts plague his mind, urging him to act now again to defend the interests of his House from those who would damage them.

Recent Events
Loreon and his family prepare to make the journey to Summerhall, along with the assorted nobility of the Westerlands.

Family
The line of succession is indicated in italics. Link to FamilyEcho, which has faceclaims for most of the Lannister brood.
 * Lord Loreon Lannister1, Lord of Casterly Rock.
 * Lady Shiera Lannister, nee Spicer.
 * Ser Tytos Lannister2, heir to the Rock.
 * Tybolt Lannister3.
 * Tyana Lannister.
 * Tyene Lannister.
 * Joffrey Lannister deceased at birth.
 * Tywin Lannister.4
 * Rosamund Lannister.
 * Tygett Lannister.
 * Loreon Lannister deceased at birth.
 * Lyman Lannister.
 * Leona Lannister.
 * Lyanna Lannister.
 * Loreon Lannister.
 * Ser Gerald Lannister.
 * Tya Lannister.
 * See Tybolt Lannister.
 * Lady Lynora Hightower, nee Lannister.
 * House Hightower.
 * Lady Leila Vance, nee Lannister.
 * House Vance of Wayfarer's Rest.
 * Ser Jason Lannister.
 * Willem Lannister.
 * Reyna Lannister.
 * Tommen Lannister.
 * Lancel Hill. Bastard son of Loreon and Lysara Rogare.
 * Gwynesse Targaryen, nee Lannister.
 * Members of House Targaryen.
 * Lancel Lannister.
 * Ser Daven Lannister.
 * Ser Tion Lannister.
 * Lysa Lannister.
 * Ellyn Lannister.
 * House Dayne.

Household

 * Seneschal: Harrold Plumm


 * Castellan: Ser Clement Broom
 * Captain of the Household Guard: Ser Lymond Stackspear
 * Maester: Lewyn
 * Master-at-arms: Ser Matthos Payne
 * Lord Treasurer: Balman Jast
 * Gaoler: Lorimer Lionhand

Quotes by Loreon

 * “Not all power resides within a Crown, Tybolt." - Loreon, to Tybolt Lannister.
 * "From his seat at the head of their table, Loreon stared out at the gathered crowd of nobles who had come to dine in the Great Hall. He could see both friend and foe. Not that that distinction really mattered to the Lion. They were all just sheep to him." - Loreon's thoughts.
 * "Mercy," answered the Lion, "is not a concept that I am familiar with." - Loreon, to Maekar Targaryen.
 * "I have never heard of a Rose making a man a King before. It would be a novel sight. Lions, on the other hand... We have crowned our fair share of monarchs over the years." - Loreon, to Maekar Targaryen.
 * "The Lion stalks it's prey before making a move." -Loreon, to Tya Lannister.
 * "A Lion goes only where he or she wants to go, Tya. You are blood of my blood; the blood of House Lannister. If you do not want to return to the Capital, then the Seven themselves could not make you. You are coming home, at last." - Loreon, to Tya Lannister.

Quotes about Loreon

 * "Lannisters sugar-coated their words well, as did all Lords, and the Grizzled Lion was a Lord to the core." - Meredyth Brax's thoughts.
 * "But then he was close to the Lion himself, and he banished all glibness. There was something cold in Lord Loreon's eyes, something predatory..." - Leyton Hightower's thoughts.
 * "He looks more like a hawk than a man, Nymor thought to himself... the man's voice was just as sharp and cold as his features, and his eyes seemed to stare right into his soul." - Nymor Yronwood's thoughts.