The younger Stark daughter, wild and wilful where her sister is proper. More interested in swordplay than needlework, Arya chafes against the expectations placed on highborn girls.

The middle Stark son, a boy of seven who loves to climb the walls and towers of Winterfell. Bran dreams of becoming a knight of the Kingsguard.

Wife of Eddard Stark, born of House Tully of Riverrun. A fiercely protective mother and shrewd political mind, Catelyn's instincts about the dangers threatening her family prove sharper than her husband's trust in old friendships.

Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, wife of Robert Baratheon, and twin sister of Jaime. Beautiful, ambitious, and increasingly paranoid, Cersei harbours secrets that could destroy the realm.

The last known daughter of the deposed Mad King Aerys II, living in exile across the Narrow Sea with her brother Viserys. Sold into marriage to a Dothraki khal, Daenerys begins her story as a frightened girl with no power of her own.

Lord of Winterfell, Warden of the North, and head of House Stark. A man of rigid honour and quiet authority, Ned is deeply devoted to his family and to the old ways of the North. When his old friend King Robert asks him to serve as Hand of the King, duty compels him south to a court where honour is a liability.

Cersei's twin brother and a knight of the Kingsguard, widely regarded as the finest swordsman alive. Jaime earned the name Kingslayer when he killed the Mad King Aerys, an act that branded him an oathbreaker regardless of his reasons.

Eddard Stark's illegitimate son, raised alongside his trueborn siblings at Winterfell but never allowed to forget his bastardy. Jon chooses to join the Night's Watch, seeking purpose and belonging at the edge of the known world.

The elder Stark daughter, raised on songs of chivalry and dreams of courtly life. Sansa's romantic ideals carry her eagerly toward King's Landing, where reality proves far crueller than any story.

The last surviving son of Balon Greyjoy, raised as a ward (and hostage) at Winterfell since childhood. Caught between two identities – the Stark boy he was raised as and the Ironborn prince he was born – Theon's desire to prove himself leads him down a ruinous path.

The youngest child of Tywin Lannister, a dwarf despised by his father and loathed by his sister. What Tyrion lacks in physical stature he compensates for with a razor-sharp wit, political cunning, and a voracious appetite for books, wine, and life.

The elderly, blind maester of the Night's Watch at Castle Black. Few know that he is a Targaryen prince who refused the Iron Throne decades ago, choosing service over power.

A sellsword of low birth and no scruples who attaches himself to Tyrion Lannister after a chance meeting. Skilled, pragmatic, and refreshingly honest about his motivation: gold.

Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, a grizzled veteran who commands respect through sheer force of will. Jeor knows the Watch is undermanned and underfunded, and he fears what is stirring beyond the Wall.

The eldest son of King Robert and Queen Cersei, heir to the Iron Throne. A cruel and petulant boy who mistakes brutality for strength.

An exiled Westerosi knight serving as an advisor to the Targaryen siblings in exile. Jorah's counsel and sword arm prove invaluable to Daenerys, though his reasons for attaching himself to her cause are not entirely straightforward.

A powerful Dothraki warlord who commands a khalasar of forty thousand riders. Drogo takes Daenerys as his bride in a political arrangement brokered by Viserys, but the marriage becomes something neither of them expected.

Master of Coin on the King's Small Council, a man of humble origins who has risen through cunning, charm, and an unsettling readiness to be useful to whoever holds power. Petyr makes no secret of his old, unrequited devotion to Catelyn Tully - a fixation that goes back to their childhood as wards of her father at Riverrun.

The eldest son of Eddard and Catelyn Stark. A young man raised on his father's principles, Robb is thrust into a leadership role far sooner than anyone expected.

King of the Seven Kingdoms, who won the Iron Throne by rebellion and conquest. Once a formidable warrior, Robert has grown fat, drunk, and disinterested in ruling, leaving the business of governance to others while the realm rots beneath him.