Edric Baratheon

"Edric never wanted to rule, and I think he preferred the Night King's walking corpses to the lords in King's Landing. But he's loyal to his brother. If Gendry truly needs him, he'll come."

- Devan Seaworth to Arya Stark Lord Edric Baratheon, formerly known as Edric Storm, was a bastard son of King Robert I Baratheon, who was raised by his maternal uncle, Lord Gulian Swann, and Gulian's friend, Ser Davos Seaworth. He was initially raised under the guise of being Lord Gulian's own bastard son, but following the death of Stannis Baratheon, Edric discovered his true lineage and became the de facto Lord of Storm's End until his brother, Gendry, was legitimised by Daenerys Targaryen. Edric was later legitimised by his half-brother after he ascended the throne following the end of the Great War, and Gendry granted Edric his old titles from before he became king. Edric married Lady Alynne Connington and had three children (one of which was born posthumously), and ruled from Storm's End until his death during the War of the Narrow Sea. Upon Edric's death, he was succeeded by his infant son, Orryn Baratheon.

Early Life
In 284 AC, King Robert I Baratheon visited his old seat of Storm's End during a royal progress of the Realm. Lord Renly Baratheon organised a great feast while hosting his brother, inviting, among many others, Lord Gulian Swann and his children. Lord Gulian attended the king's feast with his only daughter, Lilith Swann, hoping to betroth her to Lord Renly. Gulian's attempts of arranging a marriage between his daughter and his liege were ultimately unsuccessful, but he did ultimately succeed in securing a match for Lilith with Ser Aemon Estermont, son of Lord Eldon Estermont. After the king returned to King's Landing, Gulian and Lilith returned to Stonehelm.

Two moons after returning to Stonehelm, Lilith confided in her father that she slept with King Robert on the last night of the feast, and that she believes that she is with child. With the Maester unable to end the pregnancy with moon tea, and fearing that Lord Eldon would call off the marriage should he discover Lilith's affair, Gulian organised for Lilith to see out her pregnancy in secret under the guise of a tour of the Free Cities. Lilith stayed in a small hidden manor 5 leagues north of Stonehelm, accompanied by a maester and a small compliment of servants all sworn to secrecy.

Edric was born the next year in 285 AC. After recovering from her pregnancy, Lilith was sent to Estermont to marry Aemon Estermont. A year later, Lilith fell pregnant again and gave birth to Aemon's son, Alyn Estermont. Shortly after Alyn's birth, Lilith grew extremely ill before dying due to complications related to her most recent childbirth.

Gulian raised Edric as his own bastard son, keeping his true identity from everyone he could, including his own wife and sons. Despite his efforts, information on Edric's birth and true lineage made it's way into the hands of Varys, King Robert's master of whispers. While Robert initially chose to ignore the child, upon learning of Lilith's death, Robert sent Lord Gulian 10,000 gold dragons to help raise the child, and to ensure Lord Gulian's silence.

From a young age, Edric demonstrated himself as an excellent forthcoming fighter with both swords and spears, capable of besting squires five years his senior at the age of ten, although his perceived lowborn status led him to develop a somewhat introverted personality, apathetic to many of the highborn people around him. On Edric's eleventh nameday, Gulian sent Edric to squire with his good friend, Ser Davos Seaworth, at his seat in Cape Wrath, with Gulian deciding to inform the Onion Knight of Edric's true lineage.

Events of Game of Thrones
Following the death of his unbeknownst father, King Robert I Baratheon, and the execution of Lord Eddard Stark, Edric remained at Cape Wrath after Ser Davos travelled to Dragonstone to assist Stannis Baratheon in pressing his claim against Joffrey I Baratheon. For the next three years, Edric continued to train towards knighthood under Davos' master-at-arms at Cape Wrath and became close friends with Davos' son, Devan Seaworth.

In 301 AC, Edric was knighted by Davos' master-at-arms, and shortly thereafter, Devan, Edric and much of the Seaworth court moved to Storm's End following the Abandonment of Dragonstone and the subsequent beginning of Stannis Baratheon's northern campaign, under orders to maintain order and loyalty in the Stormlands until Stannis seized the north and marched south to take the capital. Unfortunately however, Stannis' entire family perished during the march on Winterfell, with Stannis himself dying during the clash with the forces of House Bolton at Winterfell in 302 AC.

Following Stannis' death, the trueborn bloodline of House Baratheon was rendered extinct, and much of the Stormlands fractured into two separate factions, those who bent the knee in support of Tommen I Baratheon, and those in support of Devan Seaworth's loyalists, committed to finding a true Baratheon heir to the Stormlands, if nothing else. Edric supported his close friend in finding a true successor to Stannis Baratheon.

In 303 AC, Ser Davos Seaworth made it known to Storm's End that he had in fact survived Stannis' northern campaign. In his letter, Davos also informed Devan that he knew of two living bastards of King Robert, one being Gendry, believed to be living in King's Landing, and the other being Edric himself.

Edric was significantly taken aback by the revelation of his true parentage, having been raised to anticipate the life of a hedge knight or a sellsword in the Free Cities. Edric had little desire to lead a life of nobility as Lord of Storm's End, and thus when the stormlords of Devan Seaworth's loyalists eagerly offered to name Edric the Lord of Storm's End, Edric reluctantly accepted on the condition that he be allowed to step down in place of Gendry should he be located. Edric later oversaw the return of Stannis Baratheon's royal fleet to be anchored at Storm's End.

In 304 AC, Edric and Devan travelled to Dragonstone with around one hundred men on Davos' request. Shortly after arriving, Edric met with Davos and his long-lost brother Gendry, before accompanying them to the Night's Watch fortress of Eastwatch-by-the-sea where Gendry planned to participate in Jon Snow's Wight Hunt.

Edric, Davos and Devan remained at Eastwatch-by-the-sea, with Edric in particular begrudgingly choosing to remain in order to preserve the Baratheon bloodline should Gendry perish beyond the Wall. When Gendry returned to the Wall, Edric was among the first to meet him and assist into the tunnel. Following the conclusion of the Wight Hunt, Edric remained at Eastwatch with Devan and Gendry until the latter had recovered enough to travel to Winterfell. Some time later, Edric rode out of Eastwatch alongside Gendry and Devan, but within minutes of their departure, the Night King attacked the Wall atop Viserion. Edric and his companions watched in horror as the dragon destroyed Eastwatch and a large part of the Wall, creating a breach for the Army of the Dead to pass through. The three men turned south and rode for Winterfell as fast as they could with the Night King's army fast on their heels.

Edric and his companions rode into Winterfell shortly after the arrival of Daenerys Targaryen and her armies, informing Daenerys, Sansa Stark and Jon Snow of the breaching of the Wall and how the Army of the Dead will likely reach Winterfell within a few days. While in Winterfell anticipating the arrival of the White Walkers, Edric mostly spent his time training inexperienced soldiers, as well practising his own combat skills with Jorah Mormont, Brienne of Tarth, and Gendry himself. He also spent time exchanging life stories with Gendry and Devan and taking night's watches. Edric witnessed the rebirth of House Baratheon after Daenerys Targaryen legitimised Gendry as Gendry Baratheon, naming him Lord of Storm's End and heir to the Iron Throne.

During the Fall of Winterfell, Edric fought beside his brother Gendry, operating one of the scorpions that were instrumental in taking down Viserion. Edric was eventually forced to abandon his position and continued to fight off wights breaching the walls right until the end. Edric was one of the very few surviving combatants, managing to escape on Rhaegal. Edric eventually reached Castle Cerwyn and thus was among the handful of survivors able to retreat south of the Neck and regroup at the Trident.

Upon reaching the Trident, Edric was relieved to discover that Gendry, Devan and Davos had all managed to survive the Fall of Winterfell. Upon Daenerys Targaryen's request, the four of them departed the Trident and rode day and night for Storm's End, in the hope of raising an army from the Stormlands to assist in the upcoming last stand Battle of King's Landing against the dead. Ravens were sent out prior to their departure, and by the time Edric and his companions arrived at the seat of House Baratheon, a force of ten thousand men had amassed at the castle, with another ten thousand set to arrive within three days. Among the Baratheon bannermen who answered the call to arms was Edric's biological uncle, Gulian Swann. Edric was made a captain of the ship Winter Storm, and departed Storm's End along with the rest of the Stormlander army aboard what was formerly Stannis Baratheon's royal fleet on the fourth day after his arrival.

Edric later participated in the Battle of Dragonstone against the forces of Euron Greyjoy, accompanying his brother in leading one of the landing boats to the shores of the fortress island. After Rhaegal and Viserion arrived the scene of the battle, Edric narrowly avoided being incinerated by Viserion's blue flames, and later witnessed the same dragon being sent crashing down into the fortress by Rhaegal. After finally breaching the Targaryen fortress, Edric discovered a large open structure, containing a large cache of wildfire being guarded and worked on by members of the Alchemist's Guild, potent enough to engulf the castle and a large part of the island. Edric killed them all after they threatened to destroy the entire fortress with him and his men still inside.

Despite playing a large part in securing a Baratheon/Targaryen victory, Edric was forced to abandon the island alongside the rest of the living due to the Night King's raising of the battle's fallen. While sailing away and watching on helplessly as the Night King raised the battle's fallen and began to raise Viserion for the third time, Edric noticed the an opening facing his direction to the structure containing the wildfire cache. Edric fired a flaming arrow into the chamber, and within seconds, the centuries old Targaryen fortress was engulfed in green flame and destroyed. Edric's actions incinerated every corpse and every member of the Army of the Dead on the island aside from the Night King himself, as well as the couple ships of Euron Greyjoy's Iron Fleet that were still anchored in the Dragonstone harbour, trapping the Night King on Dragonstone for several days.

Edric later fought in and ultimately survived the Battle of King's Landing to see the end of the Great War, fighting astride the Gate of the Gods, the Street of the Sisters, and finally the Red Keep itself, before the Night King and the Army of the Dead were finally destroyed by Bran Stark and Jon Snow. Edric was among the many who witnessed Rhaegal and Daenerys Targaryen being shot down during the assault on Aegon's Hill.

With both Daenerys Targaryen and Cersei Lannister killed during the final battle against the dead, Edric's brother, Gendry Baratheon, was left to inherit the Seven Kingdoms. With this, a number of Lords objected to Gendry being allowed direct control over both the Crownlands and Stormlands, insisting that he defer the latter to Edric as Robert did to Renly, while the stormlords echoed their concerns, most of whom weren't eager to be directly ruled from King's Landing. Despite his reservations on ruling and aspirations to leave Westeros for the Free Cities, Edric dutifully accepted legitimisation as Edric Baratheon, and upon his Gendry's modest coronation, he inherited his brother's old titles to become the Lord of Storm's End, Lord Paramount of the Stormlands, and Warden of the South.

Some time after his brother was crowned, Edric travelled to Highgarden to accept Theodore Tyrell's oath of fealty. Lord Theodore was initially reluctant to swear fealty after what happened to the main branch of House Tyrell, but ultimately agreed to send his son and heir, Luthor Tyrell, to bend the knee in person under the agreement that Edric and his successors relinquish the title of Warden of the South and legally restore it to House Tyrell.

Edric participated in the Tourney of the Dragons, achieving second place after he was bested in the final tilt by Brienne of Tarth.

Lord of Storm's End
Edric was offered a position on his brother's small council as either Master of Ships or Master of Laws, but declined both offers and returned to Storm's End. In 306 AC, Ser Ronald Connington presented his daughter, Alynne Connington, to Edric's court as a potential suitor for marriage. Edric saw the match as an opportunity to mend the frayed bonds between House Baratheon and House Connington that were fractured during Robert's Rebellion, and thus agreed to the match with Alynne, the restoration of House Connington to full-fledged Lords, and the return of around half of their confiscated lands.

In 308 AC, Edric sired twins with Alynne, a boy named Orryn Baratheon, and a girl named Cassandra Baratheon.

War of the Narrow Sea
In early 309 AC, Euron Greyjoy's Iron Fleet landed Triarchy forces led by King Aeron Blackfyre, and his sister-wife, Queen Naerys Blackfyre, at and around Stonehelm in the southern Stormlands. The Blackfyre siblings decried King Gendry and Queen Arya as illegitimate and tyrannical monarchs and stated their intentions to overthrow and replace them, while working in conjunction with Euron Greyjoy's intentions to take back the Seastone Chair and restore independence and the Old Way to the Iron Islands. Edric immediately declared support for his brother's claim and began ammassing his banners around Storm's End to drive the Blackfyre's from his lands. The Battle of Stonehelm concurrent with the Blackfyre landing saw the death of Edric's biological uncle and adoptive father, Gulian Swann.

Triarchy forces soon began taking over Cape Wrath and much of the southern Stormlands, and as the Triarchy forces threatened Storm's End, Lord Edric Baratheon had amassed a large force at the castle to meet the Blackfyre pretenders. While the Battle of Storm's End initially went promisingly for Edric's forces, the arrival of Euron Greyjoy's Iron Fleet in Shipbreaker Bay led to the walls of the Baratheon fortress being breached while Edric desperately rotated his men to face the new threat from the ocean. Before the castle fell however, Queen Arya Stark rode in from the north with a host of cavalry raised from the Crownlands, and eventually managed to break through to the gates of Storm's End. While inside the castle, Arya met and engaged King Aeron Blackfyre in single combat, killing him by stabbing him through the neck. After Aeron was killed, Edric used the sword of Blackfyre to engage Euron Greyjoy in single combat. However, Edric was exhausted and eventually knocked down by the Ironborn warrior, right before Arya engaged Euron. Euron and Arya exchanged blows on the walls of Storm's End, before the former was able to land a hit on Arya's leg, and subsequently ran her through with his pike. Shortly after, Edric and his remaining forces were forced to break out of Storm's End and retreat north along the Kingsroad to King's Landing.

Following the Battle of Storm’s End, most of the Stormlands fell into the hands of the Triarchy, which announced it’s continued support to seat Naerys Blackfyre on the Throne following the death of her brother-husband. Upon his arrival at the capital, Edric was greeted with a lukewarm reception from his brother, which grew increasingly cold over the weeks. Edric was barred from sitting in on Small Council meetings and given minimal access to Gendry's battle plans for defeating the invaders. This in turn led Edric to become increasingly suspicious of Gendry, as he took his exclusions from state affairs as confirmation that Gendry intended to make peace with the Triarchy by remarrying to Naerys Blackfyre.

After remaining in King's Landing for a little over six weeks, Edric joined Gendry in commanding and fighting in the Battle of the Wendwater. Despite Triarchy forces outnumbering royalist forces, numerous mistakes on the part of Naerys Blackfyre combined with a very successful cavalry charge led by Edric himself resulted in a decisive royalist victory that represented a turning point of the Triarchy's invasion.

As Edric's host approached Storm's End, it was evident that the Triarchy forces still outnumbered that of the royalists, but despite this, as Edric's forces prepared to lay siege to the castle, Asaro Trellos rode out under a peace banner to present Edric with Naerys Blackfyre, gagged, chained and naked. Trellos left without a word as he and his forces departed Storm's End aboard Euron Greyjoy's Iron Fleet. Naerys Blackfyre was executed by Edric the next day, bringing an end to the Blackfyre lineage.

Even though the deaths of both Blackfyre claimants should have heralded the end of the campaign, the Triachy continued to wage war against the Seven Kingdoms, leading Gendry to become even more suspicious of Edric. Around this time, Lys and much of the Stepstones fell to Arryn and royalist Greyjoy forces, but further offensives bore little fruit. Shortly after the Battle of Lys, Triarch Malaquo Maegyr of Volantis offered to host peace talks, specifically requesting Edric Baratheon as the Westerosi envoy, to which Gendry very reluctantly agreed. Edric, along with Devan Seaworth departed for Volantis, but after they failed to make contact with King's Landing, Lady Myrielle, the Mistress of Whisperers, informed Gendry that Edric and Devan had turned their forces over to the Eastern Coalition and pledged themselves to Asaro Trellos. Enraged, Gendry denounced Edric and Devan as traitors before the Small Council, leading to Davos Seaworth's resignation as Hand of the King and his replacement with Lady Myrielle.

In reality, Edric and Devan had been ambushed along the Volantine coast and taken captive by Triarchy forces, before being imprisoned in Myr. While in Myr, Edric and Devan escaped thier imprisonment and discovered evidence of Euron and the Triarchy's true plans for the Realm, the fact that the Iron Bank was funding their invasion, and that there were various double agents in Gendry's court working for the Triarchy. Edric learned these spies were being led by Gendry's former lover, Lady Myrielle, and that in light of Aeron Blackfyre's death, they were working to turn Gendry against Edric himself in order to destabilise the Seven Kingdoms enough for them to carry out their plans. Soon thereafter, Edric and Devan managed to escape from Myr and were eventually shipwrecked on the shores of Dragonstone. They found the island completely abandoned but were able to get a message to King’s Landing to be picked up. After arriving on Dragonstone, Gendry confronted Edric alone, and the two duelled in the ruins of the castle. Gendry was eventually forced to yeild, and Edric presented him with the evidence of the Triarchy’s true intentions and the traitors within Gendry’s court.

Gendry and Edric reconciled and the traitors in King’s Landing were arrested and convicted in the Great Trial of 310 AC. All those found guilty were executed, with exception to Lord Desmond Crakehall, who in exchange for his life, agreed to publicly admit to the Triarchy’s true intentions. The revelation of the plot caused mass outrage from the nobility and commoners alike, all across the Seven Kingdoms, and within a moon of the trial's conclusion, King Gendry had near universal support across the realm.

Realising their plans were rapidly falling apart, the Coalition launched one last invasion attempt against the Seven Kingdoms, sending their forces into the Bay of Crabs, landing at the Trident, and seizing the crossroads. Shortly after, the Battle of the Crossroads occurred where Baratheon, Tully, Arryn, Stark and Lannister troops successfully drove the Coalition from the shores of Westeros for good. During the battle, Euron Greyjoy was killed in a climatic duel by Gendry Baratheon, Edric Baratheon, Yara Greyjoy, and Brienne of Tarth.

Edric directed his forces to land several leagues south of Myr, where Westerosi forces were amassing in anticipation of the upcoming Battle of Myr. Edric spent the night before the battle with his wife, who had taken charge in transporting the remaining Stormlander forces from the Stormlands to the shores of Myr. While the battle was initially promising for Westerosi forces, the landing fleet was engaged by the remnants of Euron Greyjoy’s Iron Fleet, the Triarchy Fleet, and sellsail Ferrego Cithien’s fleet. Lord Edric’s forces were cut off as they breached the city walls, forcing him and his men to fight to the High Triarch’s palace in an attempt to capture Trellos and end the battle and war. Retreat and abandoning his brother and his forces seemingly looked inevitable for Gendry, until from the east, Drogon flew in and destroyed the High Triarch’s fleets, and every one of his soldiers and sellswords immediately surrendered.

Despite this, nearly every one of Edric’s men were killed before the surrender, and an injured Edric was forced to take cover in the palace, losing Blackfyre in the process, before coming face to face with Asaro Trellos himseslf. After exchanging a few words in Myr’s Throne Room, Edric was shot several times by Trellos. Edric held out long enough for Gendry's forces to storm the palace and aprehend Trellos, before dying in his brother’s arms.

The next year, Edric's posthumous daughter was born. She was named Arya Baratheon in honour of the Queen who had saved Edric's life during the Battle of Storm's End.