Ellyn Lannister is the Lord Paramount of the Westerlands. She is the first and only child of Tyrek Lannister and his wife Joanna Crakehall, and was raised to her position by Tytos Kenning after forcing her brother, Jason, to abdicate in favour of her.
Appearance[]
In her years, Ellyn Lannister is more a plump pretty than the beauty that she was in her youth. Weariness has drained her visage of the light that used to permeate it before; her green eyes are more intense than soft. Thin lines, noticeable as to portray her age, wind around her eyes and forehead. She has tight lips, and curly blonde hair that runs past her shoulders and rests upon the flat of her back.
History[]
For a detailed history on the rise of Ellyn and the history of the Westerlands and House Lannister, see here.
For one to understand Ellyn's history in detail, one need only look to the details of the past, and the reign of Tyrek Lannister, who could be, in large part, to blame for the rise of Ellyn and the death of Hyle Lannister.
It was, ostensibly, unfortunate that when Aegon VI assumed the Iron Throne of Westeros and named Tyrek Lord Paramount of the Westerlands, as what came from that decision divided the Westerlands for nye on seventy years. A weak ruler, Tyrek was challenged throughout his reign. Not just by any sort of opposition a lord can expect to be challenged by, but a group of young, informed lords who supported one man over the other. Martyn Lannister was the man they supported, and through that support, they managed to divide the Westerlands in half. Effectively now called the Whites and the Reds, akin to the way the reading of the Dance of the Dragons used Blacks and Greens, the divide between the Westerlords was made most paramount in 308 AC when Tyrek was challenged by Martyn and his followers. Through use of what allies he had, Tyrek pulled through the war, but the West was never the same. Rifts that were less than apparent before now rose up like the Casterly Rock itself. Tyrek’s rule, already made weak by his uncanny ability to shun away all the deeds of the Lord of the West, was crumbling around him before he even had children.
This is why Tyrek took to bride the young Joanna Crakehall in 338 AC. From their union came three children: Hyle, Ellyn, and Jason, in years 338, 339, and 342. His rule was more solid with an heir to place before him, but that did not mean that troubles were not brewing. A newly appointed Lord of Kayce – Tytos Kenning, a member of the Red faction of the West, saw in himself the ambition to rule the West unbridled one day. Through him he united the Reds and brought them together on one common goal: Unseat Lord Tyrek without resorting to war. Beyond that, they would place a puppet on the seat of Casterly Rock. Who would fit no better than Lady Ellyn Lannister, the only daughter of Tyrek and Joanna? On account of her womanhood was she disregarded, and on account of her womanhood was a decision finally made. First, the Reds would have to get through Tyrek, Hyle, and Jason.
The years passed slowly for the Reds, who grew more anxious over time. In the year 353, while out hunting, Lord Tyrek was finally assassinated by ‘bandits,’ and his heir, Hyle, was nearly slain as well. This led to the nine-month rule of Lord Hyle, where the young lord had trouble consolidating his power. He betrothed himself to Sarelle Westerling, and took her to bride at the end of his rule, in a grand ceremony to celebrate the union. It was unfortunate that he was later assassinated that night, slain by criminals hired by none other than Tytos himself, though it was not proven until far later. Lady Ellyn, nothing if not courtly at the time, almost rose up to accuse the man. But for the first of many times, she found that she could not.
Here follows the reign of Jason Lannister. It was lasted no more than a month, and at the beginning, he wed Sarelle Westerling in place of his brother. Young at the time; little more than a boy of twelve years of age, Jason was a terrible ruler. But because of Sarelle, Tytos was unable to assume any sort of regency or stewardship over the young boy. Hastily, Tytos had Ellyn marry Damon Brax – who took the name Lannister shortly after – the evening before his coup. With the Reds behind him, and effectively the support of half of the Westerlands, Jason could not deny the demand made of him in the heart of the Rock: Step down in favor of Ellyn, and relinquish all titles to her. Forfeit were his claims to the Westerlands and Casterly Rock, and to emphasize this, Jason did not want to rule the Westerlands. This was the same as Ellyn, who became the first woman to rule Casterly Rock in sixteen generations. And would be the first in over twenty to rule for more than five years.
Tytos and Damon were not favorable to Ellyn. She had little presence outside of the Rock itself, and mainly presided over balls and feasts. Tytos was able to use the excuse of Ellyn being indisposed by pregnancy to place a foothold in Casterly Rock and the West itself. One of Tytos’ largest mistakes, however, was allowing Jason to run free. In doing so, Jason, over the course of the next decade, would gather enough support for Ellyn to allow her to unrest him. However, one should know the events of these ten years were hard on Lady Ellyn. Beat and degraded by her husband, she wasn’t allowed to see her children. She was rarely seen outside of her chambers, and closing on the end of Tytos’ reign, purposefully made herself infertile by drinking large amounts of moon tea. Because of this she was able to gain allies within the Rock itself, often with the use of sexual favors.
Ellyn has six children during this time: Stafford, Kevan, Tybolt, Martesse, Meredyth, and Myrcella, and have five other miscarriages.
In 364 AC Tytos’ power had dwindled. This allowed Ellyn to sieze power from underneath him, with the aid of both Jason and his allies. Tytos was dismembered and flayed, and Damon was given a pardon. Damon’s lover at the time was paraded through the streets of Lannisport nude and sold to the brothels to do with as they please. This is when Ellyn began slowly poisoning Damon, ridding him of his martial pursuits and any resistance he may have had to her actual rule. Beyond this, Tytos’ daughter, Amarei Kenning, was taken into Ellyn’s service. House Kenning of Kayce was granted to a cousin of Tytos’ line, and Amarei was made infertile through a year or two of consistent moon tea drinking. Largely unknown is that Ellyn was the culprit of this. As of now, at around twenty years of age, Amarei is simply considered infertile.
The consolidation of her rule was taxing. Questions oft rose, and opposition was fierce. It was through this that Ellyn gained her ability at administration, usually managing to make Lords happy by doing little more than making everything work – something that hadn’thappened in the past seventy or so years. Jason was named Lord of Lannisport. The rifts that were so apparent in the West; the Whites and the Reds, were expunged, and the favor of the Westerlands was hers, culminating in the Tourney of 375 AC, a localized Westerlands tournament in which Ellyn granted the top four competitors the winnings of first place. And the next four the winnings of second. And so on.
Ellyn’s rule was made stable, for the most part. It was Ellyn’s skill in espionage that was gained next; a spy ring in Casterly Rock designed specifically to target any schemers that might be present. Despite overall doing a decent job at ruling, Ellyn remained scarred by what happened to her during those ten years underneath Lord Tytos, and dissenters speak up to this day. They do so in quiet now, hidden in shadows.
Timeline[]
- 338 AC: Tyrek takes for his wife Lady Joanna Crakehall in a grand ceremony. It should be noted that Tyrek was old and without issue at this point, and the marriage strengthened his waning rule, if only temporarily.
- 338 AC: Hyle Lannister was born, the first of three children. He would grow to be charismatic and thoughtful in his time.
- 339 AC: Ellyn lannister is born, now the Lord Paramount of the Westerlands after the rise of Tytos Kenning.
- 342 AC: Jason Lannister is born, now the Lord of Lannisport, after abdicating in favor of Ellyn by the demands of Tytos Kenning, who sought to use Ellyn as a pawn. Ellyn gifted him Lannisport shortly after taking power for herself @ 364 AC. Relinquished all claims to Casterly Rock, though many still support his ‘claim.’
- 353 AC: Tyrek was slain by a hired bandit group in this year near Oxcross. His son and heir, Hyle, managed to escape unharmed, and the bandits were crushed shortly after. It should be noted that Hyle’s death complicated matters for Tytos greatly, as he now had to move through both Hyle and Jason in order to seat Ellyn as a pawn upon the seat of the Westerlands. As well, Hyle died during this year, during his marriage to Sarelle Westerling. His head was never recovered and his body was littered with more than half a hundred stab wounds. Blame has been largely given to Lord Tytos for his death.
- 354 AC: Jason was named Lord of Casterly Rock in the first moon of 354 AC. His rule was not stable, much like his fathers, and he expressed dislike in his position. It was, however, not until later that Tytos demanded he step down in favor of Lady Ellyn, who had wedded Damon Brax just over a month earlier, and had been ordered to keep it a secret elsewise Tytos would kill her family. She was with child as well, as confirmed by Maester Creysen. This allowed, when Jason reluctantly gave up his titles, Tytos to claim Ellyn was indisposed, and claimed regency in all rights. One of Tytos’ greatest failings during this time was to allow Sarelle and Jason run free, as they would come to spend ten years together gathering support for Ellyn.
- 355 AC: Ellyn gave birth to Stafford Lannister. He was the first of six children. It should be notable that Ellyn gave birth to six children in quick succession. This has been largely attributed to Lord Damon’s oft brutal treatment of her, which led to no more than four total miscarriages throughout their marriage.
- 356 AC: Kevan Lannister is born. She is not allowed to see him as well.
- 357 AC: Joanna Crakehall died..
- 358 AC: Tybolt Lannister is born
- 358 - 361 AC: These years are oft called the dark years by Lady Ellyn herself. Lord Damon had visited Lady Ellyn near every night in attempts to get her with child. He succeeded no more than four times over the course of these three years, with each child being a miscarriage or stillbirth. For her sake, chronology of these times has been largely unmentioned, save for right now.
- 361 AC: Martesse Lannister was born, and was the miracle child. For the first time in almost four years, Lady Ellyn progressed her pregnancy beyond four months, and gave birth to a healthy young girl once she had reached full term.
- 362 AC: Meredyth Lannister was born.
- 363 AC: Lady Ellyn suffered another miscarriage.
- 364 AC: Myrcella Lannister was born
- 364 AC: Ellyn managedto unrest power from Lord Tytos, in doing so weakening her mental state. Lord Jason supported her, and Lord Tytos was flayed and dismembered upon her orders. Lady Amarei Kenning was also taken as a hostage, and letters are sent across the realm proclaiming Tytos a traitor. House Kenning was given to a cousin of the main line, and Ellyn’s consolidation began.
- 364-375 AC: The consolidation takes a greater part of a decade. Opposition is largely handled, though still festers wherever slights are given. In this time, Jason was named Lord of Lannisport, and the Tournament of 375 AC was held to end Ellyn’s tour in the Westerlands. It was during this time that her son, Stafford, took for his wife Lady Elyana Martell, who Ellyn did not have a liking for. In marrying her, he had scorned a marriage with House Marbrand, a marriage Ellyn herself personally looked forward to. Lord Marbrand had been enraged, but by promising his daughter, Darlessa, to her second son, Kevan, she managed to subdue him. They wed later that year.
Recent Events[]
380 AC[]
Ellyn, along with her family attended the events of the Tourney of Oldtown. There, Ellyn met Jaehaera Targaryen and the two were quick to strike a fondness for each other. They became lovers shortly after. Later on, Jaehaera revealed that Lord Victor Tyrell was attempting to place her son on the throne, so immediately after she confronted him.
Quotes[]
"What if, one day, the Westerlands decides that I am no longer a fit ruler? What if they despise me on account of my womanhood? The pain of knowing that one day I might be torn down by my insubordinates eats at me. I must persevere. I must see that the world around me does not crumble."
"Many people would call me unjust for such an action, and I will admit that I did overstep my boundaries. The life of a Lord Paramount is painful at best, and I can do little to justify what I have done. Still, she remains loyal as she is, and I have not fed her moon tea for over five years. The tea did it’s job long ago." - Ellyn, on Amarei Kenning's infertility.
“There is no time for love, and I hate House Targaryen for taking it away from me. Where was Viserys, when I was alone in my keep, a sheep to the hounds? Where was Viserys, when I needed him most? Who dares try for a Lannister’s support, when I have suffered most of all?"