Lyonel Baratheon

Ser Lyonel Baratheon is a knight of House Baratheon and heir to Storm's End, following the death of his older brother in 368 AC.

Appearance and Character
Lyonel looks akin to all other Baratheons: Black of hair with bright blue eyes. His hair is thick and long, at least down to his shoulders, and he does not wear a beard to accompany it, save for times otherwise preoccupied with travel or the like.

He is a handsome man with a lean face and a strong jawline, and a smile that wins the hearts over most. He stands at an imposing height (near to six and a half feet by estimate) but is more lean and athletic than wholly muscle-laden. Lyonel wears only the finest clothes and suits of armour that money can afford.

Lyonel is a charismatic and well-liked young man, but is prone to bouts of rashness and anger. He does not take kindly to others assuming they are his equal or his friend, unless he has made it quite clear that they are. He takes his status as a noble lord and heir very seriously when it comes to respect, and less-so when it comes to governance.

Perhaps most of all, Lyonel is an extravagant man. The power and wealth of his house has afforded him a lifestyle few can match. Lyonel spends his days feasting and dancing, jousting and womanizing. The young knight finds no greater joy than when he is amusing himself, and he is happy to use either coin or status to achieve this.

Early Life
Lyonel was born to Ser Axell Baratheon of Storm's End and his wife Ravella Mertyns in the 347th year after Aegon's Conquest. Lyonel's father was heir to Storm's End at the time, but Lyonel himself was the third child of the marriage, and the second son.

When Lyonel was six, Targaryens landed in Westeros once more, seeking the reclamation of their throne that had long-since been lost to Lyonel's cousins in the capital. Lyonel watched as his grandfather, grand-uncle, cousins and father sailed their fleet north to repel the invaders. By the year's end, Lyonel's only some of the Baratheons returned home, and Lyonel's father now ruled Storm's End as lord.

Youth
In the following year, following the conclusion of the war, Lyonel turned seven and was sent to foster abroad with one of his father's bannermen. Broad Arch is chosen, and Lyonel is made a page of Lord Otho Staedmon. Lyonel's uncle Daven had married Lord Otho's sister some years earlier, and so the match was a suitable one.

Lyonel remained at Broad Arch for near to seven years, being tutored by Lord Otho in the ways of noble lords and knights of the realm. During his years at Broad Arch, Lyonel befriended a cousin of the main line of Staedmons, Arthur, who was only a year older than he was. The two became very close over the years.

When Lyonel reached adolescence in 361 AC, he was summoned back to Storm's End by his father. Old enough to properly serve, Lyonel was sent to Stonehelm, where he would squire for Ser Abelar Swann, a relative of the Lord of Stonehelm. Lyonel arrived to Stonehelm early in the year, and began his tutelage under the old knight immediately.

Lyonel accompanied Ser Abelar on many journeys over many years, serving him at tourneys and feasting in many halls across the Stormlands and beyond. During these years Lyonel's standing throughout the realm grew: a young man with a knack for befriending others. Robert Tarly of Horn Hill grew so close to the young Baratheon that he went so far as to enter service as a second squire to Ser Abelar so that he might accompany him on his new friend on his journeys.

Adulthood
Though Lyonel became a man only a few years into service with Ser Abelar, he remained as his squire for some time thereafter, better learning the ways of the knight. Though he never grew particularly skillful with sword, mace and bow, he was competent with them all. His true strength was in the saddle. Lyonel proved adept with the lance, something that would go on to win him even more favour with the peoples of Westeros in later years.

When stopped on a visit to Stonehelm with Ser Abelar in 368 AC, tensions between Storm's End and Sunspear boiled over and a brief war was waged. Lyonel's older brother Othell took their fleet into the Sea of Dorne to secure Baratheon interests, and condemned a small fleet of trespassers to the deep. The Dornish retaliated in full, sending a fleet of their own, as well as an army destined north to cross the Wyl River. Though the Stormlords engaged the Dornishmen out at sea, the forces of Stonehelm and Blackhaven could not prevent the Dornish from entering into the Stormlands.

Shortly after, Stonehelm fell under siege. Lyonel had remained at the castle with Ser Abelar, who had now taken up command of his home in the absence of his lordly kin. The Dornish had too many men to sally out against, and so the defenders of the castle were helpless against the enemy that now ensnared them. Not long later, the Stormlords were dealt a crushing blow when their fleet was smashed against the rocky coastline of their homeland, and the Dornish fleet sailed into Stonehelm's port unopposed.

The defenders held the castle for a few short months, but they would not have been able to last much longer. Fortunately, Lyonel's father Axell arrived with a relief force of some fifteen thousand men, far more than the Dornish had brought. Threatening the Princess of Dorne with the King's wrath, the Dornish returned to their homes and the siege was lifted. It was at this time that Lyonel learned his brother had perished with the fleet, thus making him heir. It was this that drove Lord Axell to ride to Stonehelm in full, to prevent a second of his heirs from falling to the Martells.

As heir, Lyonel was expected to return home with his father, and so he left the service of Ser Abelar. For his loyal service and defence of Stonehelm - as well as his new status as heir, though it went unsaid - Lyonel was knighted by Ser Abelar, alongside his friend Robert Tarly. The two men returned to Storm's End with Lord Axell's host, and Lyonel took up his duties as the future Lord Paramount of the Stormlands. However, these duties soon fell to the wayside, as Lyonel's newfound position afforded him even more freedom than he had already experienced in his life up to that point.

Lyonel took to the vices of life like a moth to a candle, and the young knight found himself ever-surrounded by festivities and pleasantries of all sorts. Drinking, feasting, fighting, whoring were all favoured pastimes of the Heir to Storm's End. In the halls of his father's bannermen and in the halls of the lords he was sent as an envoy too, Lyonel became a popular figure. The lords and knights found friendship in the young Baratheon, and the ladies and handmaidens found trysts and games of their own kind. Lyonel began to live his life fully, enjoying all that his status afforded him.

Recent Events
Lord Axell had fallen ill half way through the 370th year after Aegon's Conquest, and though it was initially seen as little more than a passing ailment, his lordship had only grown worse over the cycle of two moons. It appeared as though Lyonel would soon find himself Lord of Storm's End, though the burden of the title did not excite him. When news came of the birth of Price Robert, Lyonel took the opportunity to travel north to King's Landing to celebrate the occasion, and forget about what lingered in his own home.