House Lannister

House Lannister of Casterly Rock is a Great House of Westeros that rules over the mineral-rich Westerlands from its seat of Casterly Rock. It is one of the richest and most powerful of the Great Houses, due in no small part to the historic vast amounts of gold within its domain. It also briefly reigned as the royal House of the Seven Kingdoms, albeit heavily disputed in legitimacy.

House Lannister was formed during the Age of Heroes, when Lann the Clever swindled House Casterly of Casterly Rock. House Lannister went on to rule over the Kingdom of the Rock all the way up until Aegon's Conquest, when King Loren I Lannister bent the knee to Aegon the Conqueror following his defeat during the Field of Fire.

Despite being reduced to vassals, the Lannisters rose in prominence and power, eventually culminating in Robert's Rebellion, when Tywin Lannister sacked King's Landing on behalf of the rebels, securing a marriage between his daughter Cersei Lannister and the new King Robert I Baratheon.

Following the death of King Robert and the accession of King Joffrey I Baratheon, House Lannister became the de-facto rulers on the Iron Throne, a fact made further true by the fact that all of Robert's legal children, including King Joffrey were in fact bastards born of an incestuous affair between Cersei and her brother Jaime Lannister.

House Baratheon of King's Landing was rendered extinct in 303 AC, following the suicide of King Tommen I Baratheon, leading Cersei to assume the Iron Throne as Queen Cersei I Lannister. Cersei saw limited support in her claim, and following the outbreak of the Great War, both of her brothers, Jaime and Tyrion Lannister, had gone over to support Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen. Her reign would last until 305 AC, when she was deposed by Daenerys Targaryen, who in turn was soon after killed and succeeded by King Gendry I Baratheon. Under the new Lord Jaime Lannister, House Lannister retained it's previous position as Lords of Casterly Rock and Wardens of the West.

House Lannister's sigil is a golden lion rampart on a crimson field, and their House words are "Hear Me Roar!", although their more common saying is "A Lannister Always Pays His Debts".