[center]

[b][u]House Lannister of Casterly Rock[/b][/u]

[img=http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2011/348/f/1/house_lannister_by_liquidsouldesign-d467h1y.jpg]
[/center]

[img=http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2014/113/4/3/casterly_rock__house_lannister__by_andrewryanart-d7fooud.jpg]

Casterly Rock is one of the most renown holdings in all of Westeros, matched only by The Redkeep, Erie and arguably Winterfell for its place in the minds of the Westerosi. Ruled by a house synonymous with wealth and power, Casterly Rock is as much a part of the Lannisters renown as they are a part of its.

[b][u]House History[/b][/u]

House Lannister traces its lineage back to the Age of Heroes, to the infamous Lan the Clever who won what would become the Lannister's ancestral home from the Casterlys. Despite this ancient history, the Lannister line is of andal descent, the connection to Lan the Clever falling on the female line (or, Lan themselves was female), for their traditionally fair features are clearly not of the first men.

As time passed, and gold was brought forth from beneath Casterly Rock, the Lannisters' position of power, both in the Westerlands and Westeros as a whole only solidified. Vast wealth and impassable terrain enabled the Lannisters to quash any attempt by the Savage Ironborn or the far more numerous Reachmen to control the territory. Vast supplies of gold and wise investment have only increased the wealth of the Lannisters and it will be a long time before any other House could challenge this, even if the Tyrells are just as key a part of the greater Westerosi economy. This control of Westeros was only further expanded when a full quarter of the treasury was transferred to Casterly Rock during the Dance of the Dragons, and House Lannister still owns the vault within the Iron Bank which holds yet another quarter of the then-treasury.

During the Blackfyure rebellion the Lannisters, along with the Westerlands as a whole, were dealt a dire blow at the hand of Ser Quentyn Bell. Damon Lannister, Lord of the Rock, was defeated, his army crushed. This came as a severe knock to Lannister prestige and to Damon Lannister personally, despite living many more years, his countenance never truly recovered. As soon as his son, Tybolt Lannister, was able to take on the duties of running the Rock and the Westerlands he did so, thus Tybolt's ascension to the 'throne' of the Rock with his father's recent death is primarily symbolic. Tybolt has ruled the Rock, and been rebuilding the Westerlands, for many years now, his astute mind returning it to well within the prosperous levels of before. With the Westerosi lands and economy stabilising, Casterly Rock is once more mining gold for the purpose of Royal Coinage, the fear of mass inflation passing.

[b][u]Sworn to the Lannisters[/b][/u]
The Houses of the Westerlands, even the powerful Reynes bow to their golden overlords.

[b][u]Members of the House[/b][/u]
[list]
[*][url=http://37.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8w13w8lzz1rx88vgo1_500.jpg]Tybolt Lannister[/url]. Lord of Casterly Rock, Lord Paramount of the Westerlands, Warden of the West.[/*]

[*][url=http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb396/rubixon/scarcele_zpsc114b3bb.jpg]Celena Lannister[/url], Lady of Casterly Rock. (Ruby)[/*]

[*]Tyrion Lannister, their son of only a single year.[/*]

[*][url=http://static.cinemagia.ro/img/db/movie/01/17/94/pride-prejudice-706612l.jpg]Gerold Lannister[/url], Tybolt's younger brother. The Laughing Lion.[/*]

[*][url=http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs35/f/2008/298/d/7/Cersei_Seated_by_jezebel.jpg]Jeyne Lannister[/url], Youngest sibling of the three.[/*]

[*][url=http://37.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0x8laTct01qi5uyeo1_500.jpg]Martyn Lannister[/url], Brother of Damon Lannister. The Less-Grey Lion.[/*]

[*][url=http://s1163.photobucket.com/user/jofisher47/media/carmen.jpg.html]Vaela Lannister[/url], His wife, originally of Myrish Origin.[/*]

[*][url=http://25.media.tumblr.com/054f15c81a4006d22cf1fa69e778d814/tumblr_mhxm7mGnUe1qa1rooo1_r1_500.jpg]Stafford Lannister[/url], Martyn's son. Knight and Explorer.[/*]

[*][url=http://whisperingviper.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/995687_609449422406035_1461010973_n.jpg]Melissa Lannister[/url], their daughter.[/*]
[/list]

[hider=Character Sheets (WIP)]

[b]Name:[/b] Tybolt Lannister
[b]Age:[/b] 32
[b]Appearance:[/b]
[img=http://37.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8w13w8lzz1rx88vgo1_500.jpg]
[b]Personality:[/b] Tybolt was never the typical Westerosi noble or lord, much to the chagrin, at first, of his father. While his brother may be a knight and statesman both, Tybolt was more of a schemer and a scholar. From a young age Tybolt has been interested in literary works, both of fiction and academic nature. This is not to the extent that he abandoned other pursuits, indeed he is somewhat more than a competent fighter and knight, he simply enjoys other things far more greatly. Depending on the situation, Tybolt generally comes across as either a jovial man, perhaps too lighthearted to be a lord, or overly threatening and serious. The latter personality comes into play during matters of state, particularly when it comes to the entirety of Westeros, during such events it is crushingly obvious that others are in the presence of one of the most powerful and well connected men in Westeros, if not the world. Always contemplating more than one subject at a time, his thinking process can seem disparate and to an extent he is, even when conversing with someone he is likely working on other schemes, or recalling a certain text, this can lead to random outbursts of insight, but is usually kept under control. Family matters to Tybolt, not in the traditionally cold sense of the lord aiming to build a dynasty, but as a living, breathing body. First his siblings, then his cousins and now, finally, his wife and child, all hold grander places in his heart then any title or sense of duty.

[b]Biography:[/b]

The second son, but oldest surviving child of Damon Lannister (first son, survived only three years, before Tybolt's birth), Tybolt had to struggle to earn his place in his father's heart, something usually earned at birth by trueborn sons to childless lords. For one, the son that came before him, Tytus, killed Damon's wife, a fair girl of the Velaryon line whom his father had fallen in love with. Thus, in Damon's heart, Tybolt was a second son of a second wife, one forged from politics. He had little to do with the child's upbringing until the age of seven, when Tybolt was old enough to swing a sword and hold a true conversation. Even then, Tybolt managed to make things difficult for himself. It was not that he was a bad swordsman or rider, it was simply that such things did not capture his imagination the same way the extensive library of Casterly Rock did. Quietly, Tybolt was the son any noble lord would be overjoyed with, but his heart was elsewhere, and for the time, that was not enough for his father. It would be many more years before Tybolt would have any siblings, and so he spent most of his formative years jumping between maester and master of arms, becoming both a young Lord and academic in the process. The cracks in his father's facade would come with the birth of his brother.

Tybolt was already ten when his brother came into the world, but it brought new meaning for him. He would spend nearly as much time with the newest addition to the Lannister line as his mother, leaving himself no time simply to relax, with both lessons and a brother to attend to. Under such care, his father finally relented, seeing in Tybolt the making of a man who, while not quite his ideal, one whom he could be more than proud to call son.

For the next few years, the Lannisters lived in a happy bubble, the realm was prosperous and the family unit was functioning as best it could. The addition of Damon's final child, Tybolt's sister, only managed to further improve things. The Blackfyre Rebellion shattered such a life, when the Westerlands host was crushed in one of the most embarrassing defeats in recent history. After this, Damon became a recluse, shunning the affection of any who would offer it, and leaving the running of Casterly Rock, and by extension, the rebuilding of the Westerlands, to his son, not by design, but by lack of care. While many of the Lords of the Westerlands, who had listened too long to Damon's early complaints about the nature of his son, criticized their new de facto ruler for being overly bookish and mistrusted his academic approach to his early days at ruling, he soon proved them wrong. Not through confrontation, but success. Letters arrived at keeps across the Westerlands, detailing exactly to the lord in question what they could, and would, do to improve their own situations. Lords who refused soon found themselves missing out in the rebuilding process, and came into the fold.

It was then, as the Westerlands began to take shape once more, that Tybolt had his own form of vengeance over his most vocal of critics and mockers. For one, their houses were overlooked for positions of prestige and power, and secondly, many lords found their secrets, not crushing, but those they would rather not have aired public, in the hands of those they least wanted. The death of Lord Damon did little to affect the realm, nor did it appear to hinder Tybolt in any way, although those close to him were well aware of the grief that plagued him.

With the full legal power of a Lord Paramount, Tybolt once more opened the Westerlands up economically to the wider realm of Westeros. Lannister gold flowed across the Seven kingdoms as it had before, helping to boost the recovery process that other lords across the realm had begun. Taking a less direct rule over things in the Westerlands, years having passed since his hand turned to the rulership of the Westerlands, many expected him to now take a wife, even if he seemed disinterested in the offers presented to him. When Tybolt was married to Celena Lannister it came as a great shock to the, even to those closest to him. Shortly, however, it became apparent how good of a match it was, if not necessarily for politics and certainly overtime the lords of the Westerlands have grown fond of Celena.

Now with a son, Tybolt is as much a family man as ever, even if he begins to feel pangs of wanderlust, hoping for a challenge, without risking those he holds most dear.

[b]Name:[/b] Celena Lannister
[b]Age:[/b] 27
[b]Appearance:[/b]
[img=http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb396/rubixon/scarcele_zpsc114b3bb.jpg]
[b]Personality:[/b] Who to believe? Ask a Westerlands Noble, and you'll probably get a glowing review on how endearing, how utterly prepossessing Celena Lannister is. Ask a Mereen slave master about her, and they'll likely spit at your feet and storm off. As a child she was known as sweet but intensely shy, at least before she saw her father assassinated before her very eyes. Casterly Rock servants report a humble personality that gets lost in her own thoughts when allowed the time to. And a charitable heart; anonymous acts of kindness commonly following behind Celena's presence. 

A loving and doting mother, loyal and caring wife. Intensely paranoid all her joys will turn to ash any moment, with a past to explain to why.

[b]Background:[/b]

Celena was born to Martys of House Lannister of Lannisport and his wife, Lady Elaina, a renowned beauty of House Lefford. Though some had claimed Elaina had married down, very few who ever met the couple ever voiced such concerns to either. The West's own Florian and Jonquil, a heated courtship followed by a heavenly marriage. With the marriage came the friendship of House Lefford, allowing Martys the Banker to double his inflow of capital.

In other cities such a thing would barely have been noticed but for a few gold obsessed lowborn movers and high born copper counters, but in Lannisport, a city that prided itself on it's gold markets, such a transaction was large enough to grant significant notice. When Martys turned the influx of capital into lofty investments that threatened to give him a corner on the Lannisport market, the fear had grown too much. With the Lord of Casterly Rock then an old man too feeble to trust for action, High born and lowborn merchants alike gathered to plot the death of Lord Martys. 

It was a statement killing, broad daylight, when Martys was in his silk lined litter. The information given to the plotters was that Martys would be alone...he was not. Next to Lord Martys that morning was his daughter, seven year old Lady Celena.

Before that day, Celena had lived a life as charmed as any in creation. What's more, her father never wanted her to forget it. Hard work, making a place better than where you left it, hope and love--all lessons imparted onto the little child by Lord Martys. They, like many more, would be lessons lost in the blood bath that followed.

When the Lannisport City Watch, considered the best city watch in Westeros, arrived on the scene immediately after the Watchmen thought both father and daughter were dead, so covered in blood by her father's gushing wounds was the young daughter of Lord Martys. 

The dream was over, and what followed was a nightmare: Lady Elaina's descent into madness became a well documented, rather embarrassing, story for House Lannister of Lannisport. Instead of kill the woman, the very members of the House that murdered their cousin Lord Martys simply had Lady Elaina and her young daughter shipped off to a large manse with larger walls on the edge of Lannisport. 

When her mother's madness forced all but a few servants to flee their jobs, even little Celena rolled up her sleeves and looked after her mother. According to a cooking woman found in a small Lannisport hovel that used to work in the house at the time, the breaking point came when Lady Elaina awoke Celena, and everyone else in the manse, in the middle of the night and came at her with a dagger, screaming of the incest between her Lord husband and their daughter. When the Lady was forced back to her bedchamber and locked in, and Celena put back to sleep, the cook woman admitted she thought it'd be the end of it. The next morning, little Celena Lannister was gone. Never to see her mother in life again.

In the period following, it's easier to focus on the little that's known than attempt to separate legend from fact: she spent time on a pirate ship, she traveled Essos extensively as an agent of the Iron Bank, Celena was at the Sealord of Braavos' court for a number of years. The vast majority of her time in Essos, the majority of her adult life, remains as mysterious as any smile the current Lady of Casterly Rock gives. 

Many Westerlands Nobles that meet her make a game of asking Celena about her past if they get brave enough; though many never get that brave. 

Years ago Celena began showing up in Lannisport, beginning as a mysterious Free Cities investor simply wanting to establish seaside property for commercial shipping purposes. Celena tricked her own competition into helping her establish her now lucrative shipping business, as promises of competing for bids became business awarded to a newcomer to Lannisport market places: Lady Celena Lannister. 

Lannisport's eruption with gossip was followed by a maelstrom of chatter after long lost cousins Celena and Tybolt married, making Celena the Lady of Casterly Rock, and out of touch to the petty resentments of merchants and minor nobles that once plotted her downfall--and that now plot for her favor. 

Celena has wasted no time in creating an impact, throwing open the beautiful buildings and spaces of Lannisport and Casterly Rock in order to hold lavish celebrations that take a purely Wasterlands apparoach to noble gatherings: that is to say, a refined approach to noble gatherings. It is in these intimate, happy, settings of prestige and power that the golden Lioness come out, holding court, getting to know every noble in the Westerlands, making love connections, even settling disputes over laughter and wine. 

Celena went into a minor retreat until her son was born, waiting months before mother and baby made any appearances--private or public. Only now with the child a year old and on his own feet is Celena back to any level of former spotlight. But those closest to her see the Lioness on edge, and some have even openly wondered if Celena is concerned of her past--whatever it may be--coming back to haunt her.

[b]Name:[/b] Ser Gerold Lannister, Commonly known as the 'Laughing Lion.'
[b]Age:[/b] 22
[b]Appearance:[/b]
[img=http://static.cinemagia.ro/img/db/movie/01/17/94/pride-prejudice-706612l.jpg]
[b]Personality:[/b]
Gerold is a clown who can be serious, a keen mind behind a disarming smiling grin. No academic like his brother, Gerold has a mind for people, to warp, fool, inspire and warm the feelings of others. Just as likely to make a room bust aloud with laughter as fall into stunned silence. The Agrippa to his brother's Octavian, a warrior and leader, Gerold has become the first used to enforce the will of the Lannister, be it in single combat or at the head of any army. Despite such a role, Gerold is as light hearted as ever, loving easy, and forgetting faster. Even with the birth of his brother's first son, Gerold could still find many wishing to take him for a daughter's husband, however, he knows he can command far more influence in the court of his brother than any of these offers, and so remains with his family. Of similar importance, if not always obvious, as family is to his brother, nothing will turn the Lion's laugh to a snarl faster than a threat to those he holds closely.

[b]Biography[/b]

As a daring child, preferring a sword or lance in his hand then any time spent with books, Gerold was the son Damon had wanted in Tybolt and even as a young child, Gerold could feel that. While by the time he was aware of the world, the previous animosity between Tybolt and Damon had died down, Gerold was still aware of the greater interest Damon seemed to pay him, than the accomplishments of his brother, even if the latter's was far more worthy of praise. Rather than go to his head, this instead fostered an amount of bitterness on behalf of Gerold towards his father. The two brothers would spend more time together than any other member of their family, and so little would ever come between their bond, even other family. Even at a young age Gerold was supporting his brother, be it in naughtiness or honest behaviour and the bonds of companionship as well as kinship were formed. The strain of an absent, wrathful and sorrowful father was carried together and, now old enough, Gerold would help in his brother's running of the Westerlands as best he could.

Privately however, the brothers' responses to the practical loss of their father, and the rigours of such a twisted man, were vastly different. While Tybolt pushed further into academia, Gerold found comfort in the arms of women, the pull of adventure and the clash of warcraft. While it was Tybolt who men feared to cross, it was Gerold they feared being sent for them. While it was a reputation that took much work to establish for one so young, and fair looking, soon the weight of Gerold's name would push lords to capitulate who would not have done so were an army to appear at their gates. The Sword of the Lannisters was soon known throughout Westeros, not merely the Westerlands, along with his reputation for the frivolities of life. Hence the nickname he bears, that of the Laughing Lion, for while he comes across as a free spirited and endearing individual, it is a fool who forgets his bite is as fierce as any Lannister that ever was.

[b]Name:[/b] Jeyne Lannister
[b]Age:[/b] 20
[b]Appearance:[/b]
[img=http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs35/f/2008/298/d/7/Cersei_Seated_by_jezebel.jpg]
[b]Personality:[/b] Of all three of the core Lannister siblings, Jeyne appears, initially, to be the most self-serving. Hardly appearing selfish, she is simply the most likely to rail against the commands of her eldest brother, the most likely to outwardly do something just for fun or enjoyment, rather than the benefit of the house, and the most likely to be brutally and publicly honest about her feelings for an individual or family. Despite this, she champions the Lannister cause and name in her own way. The scandal she may cause with her frivolity or honesty, is only to earn the admiration or friendship of more important parties, and she rarely oversteps a line that her brothers cannot fix, or simply brush over. She has no designs of being a sacrificial lamb for her family's ambition, but she is equally motivated as to the protection and prosperity of those she loves.

[b]Biography:[/b]

The final child of Damon Lannister, Jeyne has the fewest memories of her father before the tragedy of the rebellion, the main father figure in Jeyne's life has been her elder brother Tybolt, and while she is not always blind in her following of him, this is clear in their relationship. Despite the trials of the Lannisters as a whole, Jeyne's upbringing was relatively free of such pressures, raised as a true noble lady, with a little more freedom. Some may say this has resulted in needless eccentricities developing in the noble lady, but to her family, and those who care for her, these are far more favourable traits then just another vapid courtesan. While her elder brother pulls the strings, and the middle child acts as his fist, Jeyne provides the gentler touch, smoothing over disputes with both charm and vision, even if, particularly when she was younger, her brother provided her the words to utter.

As she's grown older, Jeyne's interest in the banquets and festivals the Lannister throw has only increased, and while hardly the rolling stone that the middle brother is, Jeyne's actions, although well disguised, have not been entirely virtuous. Unlike a certain royal bastard, Jeyne holds little reputation for it, but a small network of powerful lovers has certainly bolstered her own, and the Lannister cause. A larger network, considerably so, can be made of those attempting to woo her.

[b]Name:[/b] Stafford Lannister
[b]Age:[/b] 19
[b]Appearance:[/b]
[img=http://25.media.tumblr.com/054f15c81a4006d22cf1fa69e778d814/tumblr_mhxm7mGnUe1qa1rooo1_r1_500.jpg]
[b]Personality:[/b] Stafford Lannister is somewhat of an anomaly. Son of possibly the most hard line Lannister for generations, Stafford has simply done what he wants throughout his life. That is not to say he was or is a brat, what he wanted was nothing more than to forever stretch his own horizons, to study the world and enjoy the simple things of its existence. As soon as Stafford was taught the words and sword play of Westeros, he longed to discover how different or similar they might be elsewhere. The boy, now man's, relationship with his father is close but strained, a strong bond twisted by a lack of understanding. To the rest of his family, Stafford ranges from a curiosity to a boon, although generally he's not around enough to become a true nuisance or benefit. He can fight in the styles of five different people, and no one is quite sure how many tongues he speaks and, when arriving in a new city, you're bound to find at least one person ready to praise or curse the name of the young, courageous Lion.

[b]Biography:[/b]

Stafford never knew his mother, the woman who bore the twins, Stafford and Melissa. Perhaps this is why he was so free as a child, with only the ire of servants to fear from taking his lessons in the direction he, not society, demanded. He fought for every exotic tale, and soon grew bored of lessons on proper decorum and the like. Even by the age of six, Stafford had begun to climb across every nook and cranny of the Rock, outside and in. While the servants, and indeed other members of the Lannister family were terrified at the idea, his father seemed to admire the young boy's courage, and didn't little to dissuade him beyond a few strong words, more against failure than not trying in the first place. The only time he really earned his father's rage was years later, when at the age of 12, Stafford refused to become a squire, and thus later a knight, wishing no part of the Westerosi tradition. Their arguments over the matter raged for days, Martyn only ceasing in his efforts due to the intervention of Tybolt. Stafford spent a further two years in the Rock, barely speaking to any of his family, before disappearing into the night.

It would be a further four years before the Lannisters would see their lost child again, and by that time, Stafford Lannister had seen the great cities of Essos and beyond. He had trod in snow that would never melt, watched the doom of Valyria continue to wrack the lost peninsular, and encountered the witches of Asshai and the God-Emperors of Yi-ti. Many wonder how one so young could do so much in those short years, a matter of which Stafford only laughs, for he never once put down more roots than a tent. The stories of his travels, in the year since his return, have swept through the people of Lannisport and beyond, now famous beyond his surname, either Stafford is looking for a new adventure, or to reinvent himself once more.
[/hider]