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.

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.

A former smuggler knighted by Stannis Baratheon for running a shipload of onions through a siege. Davos is Stannis's most trusted advisor precisely because he tells his king what he needs to hear rather than what he wants to hear.

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 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.

A flamboyant sellsword captain who pledges his company – and himself – to Daenerys's cause. Bold, skilled, and shamelessly self-promoting, Daario is either utterly devoted or utterly untrustworthy, depending on the moment.

Commander of the Unsullied, the elite slave-soldiers Daenerys frees in Astapor. Disciplined, loyal, and quietly dignified, Grey Worm embraces the name he bore as a slave because it was the name he had on his day of freedom.

A vastly wealthy merchant prince of the Free City of Pentos who shelters the exiled Targaryen siblings. Illyrio's generosity has strings attached, and his true motives extend far beyond simple hospitality.

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.

Tywin's younger brother and most reliable lieutenant. Competent, dutiful, and content to serve in his brother's shadow, Kevan is the steady hand that keeps House Lannister's machinery running.

A former brother of the Night's Watch who deserted and rose to unite the fractious wildling clans under his leadership. Charismatic, cunning, and a skilled warrior, Mance seeks to lead his people south of the Wall – not for conquest, but survival.

A priestess of R'hllor, the Lord of Light, from the eastern city of Asshai. Melisandre has attached herself to Stannis Baratheon, whom she believes to be a prophesied saviour. Her power is real, but her interpretations of the flames she reads are not always reliable.

A young slave girl from the island of Naath, serving as an interpreter. Brilliant with languages and quietly observant, Missandei becomes one of Daenerys's most trusted companions.

Roose Bolton's acknowledged bastard son, born of a peasant woman in the Dreadfort's shadow. Where his father is coldly calculating, Ramsay is openly sadistic - a man who takes genuine pleasure in cruelty and suffering, and who chafes under the limitations of a bastard's name.

Lord of the Dreadfort, a vassal of House Stark. Pale-eyed, soft-spoken, and unsettling, Roose practises a cold pragmatism that makes him a dangerous ally and a worse enemy.

Robert's younger brother, Lord of Dragonstone. A rigid, humourless man consumed by a sense of duty and justice, Stannis believes he is owed far more than he has received.

A wildling war leader and one of Mance Rayder's most trusted captains. Boisterous, fearless, and fond of tall tales about his own exploits, Tormund is a natural leader whose loyalty runs deep.