Westeros Notorious Rulers and Families

Stannis Baratheon

Lord Stannis is known as Ser Stannis, Master of Ships, King of Westeros (Self-Styled), Lord of Storm's End King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men (Cliament), Lord of the Seven Kingdoms (claimant), Proctor of the Realm (claimant), Commander of the Night, The King of the Painted Table, The Dark Lord, the King of Dragonstone, The King at the Wall, Azor Ahai reborn/Come Again, The Prince That Was Promised. He is the son of Steffon Baratheon and Cassana Estermont, born in 264 AC.

Lord Stannis married Selyse Florent, and together they had one living child Shireen Baratheon.

Lord Stannis was killed by Tycho Nestoris.

Early Life: Born in 264 AC, Stannis was the second son of Lady Cassana Estermont and Steffon Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End and head of House Baratheon. He had an older brother, Robert, and a younger brother, Renly.

When Stannis was no more than four years old, his father took him and his brother Robert to court. There, Stannis believed he saw King Aerys II Targaryen on the Iron Throne, holding court. Stannis was impressed, and he and Robert agreed that the king had been as noble as the dragons were fearsome. It was years later that Steffon told him that it had been the Hand of the King, Lord Tywin Lannister, whom they had seen, as King Aerys had cut himself on the throne earlier that day and Tywin had taken over for him.

As a lad, Stannis found an injured hawk and nursed it back to health. He named the bird Proudwing, but his brother Robert called it Weakwing, as it would never fly higher than the treetops, and never soared. (Robert himself owned a gyrfalcon named Thunderclap, who never missed a strike). Eventually, Stannis's great-uncle, Harbert, convinced him to abandon the bird, stating that Stannis was making a fool of himself with it.

Growing up, Stannis always stood in the shadow of his older brother. Whatever Stannis did, Robert had done first and better. These feelings remained until adulthood. Cressen, the maester at Storm's End, came to care deeply for Stannis, more so than for his brothers, as he felt Stannis was the one who needed him the most, as the most unloved of the three. Even in his youth, Stannis had been an introverted child, who was mature beyond his years, solemn and joyless.

In 278 AC, Stannis's parents were sent on a mission by King Aerys II to Volantis to find a bride for Rhaegar Targaryen, Stannis's cousin and the crown prince, but they were unsuccessful. Maester Cressen remembers how Lord Steffon had written to him a fortnight before his return, stating that he had found a splendid fool in Volantis who would delight Robert and who might even teach Stannis how to laugh, in time. Stannis and Robert were both present at Storm's End when Steffon and Cassana were expected to return from their voyage, looking on from the parapets of the castle. When the Windproud came in sight of Storm's End, the two brothers witnessed how the ship was smashed against the rocks in Shipbreaker Bay and swallowed by the sea, with Steffon and Cassana drowning. According to Stannis, he lost his faith in the Seven that day.

Robert's Rebellion: When King Aerys II Targaryen demanded the heads of Robert Baratheon and Eddard Stark after the executions of Rickard and Brandon Stark, Lord Jon Arryn instead raised his banners in revolt, and both Eddard and Robert returned home to call their banners. The resulting decision that Stannis faced—whether to be loyal to his older brother and liege, Robert, or his king, Aerys—was a difficult one. Stannis was at Storm's End when Robert returned from the battles at Summerhall with his prisoners, whom he kept at Storm's End, and eventually befriended. Stannis warned his brother that the men he had befriended were men who had wanted to deliver him to Aerys to be burned; while Stannis would have thrown them in a dungeon, Robert made them his allies.

Stannis remained behind at Storm's End when Robert marched again. After Robert was defeated at Ashford, forces from the Reach besieged the Baratheon castle. Stannis successfully held against the siege of Storm's End by Lords Mace Tyrell and Paxter Redwyne, which lasted a major part of the war. His garrison was held under desperate conditions, only avoiding starvation by the timely intervention of a notorious smuggler, Davos. His cargo of onions and salt fish allowed them to hold the fortress. After the siege was lifted by Lord Eddard Stark, Stannis knighted Davos and, taking him into his service, allowed the newly landed knight to choose the name Seaworth for his new house. True to Stannis's sense of justice, he also punished Davos for his crimes as a smuggler by removing the first joint from each finger of Davos's left hand, as payment for his past crimes. Davos accepted the punishment on the condition that Stannis carry out the sentence himself, which Stannis did, using a cleaver for a cleaner cut.