Of the three claimants to the Iron Throne, Stannis Baratheon is the least popular. While his younger brother Renly was charming the lords and ladies of King's Landing, Stannis opted to remain behind at Dragonstone, the one-time Targaryen seat and his reward for helping his brother Robert win the rebellion. As a consequence, Stannis' territory extends no farther than the cold and stony castle he calls home.

Although his brother Stannis has a stronger claim to the Iron Throne, Renly believes he will be the better king. The youngest Baratheon brother is based in Storm's End, his family's stronghold, which his brother Robert gave to him after ascending the throne. A strategic marriage to Margaery Tyrell has given Renly access to that family's holdings as well as the unflagging support of the Knight of Flowers, Loras Tyrell, a proven champion on the tournament field.

As the current occupant of the Iron Throne, King Joffrey wields control over the Crownlands as well as the western region around Casterly Rock, home to House Lannister. While Joffrey remains safe in King's Landing, it is his grandfather Tywin Lannister who engages the regime's challengers on the battlefield. A seasoned soldier, Tywin is meeting his match in Robb Stark, an untested but highly motivated fighter who has won every encounter thus far.

The Young Wolf reigns as King in the North, but his victories stretch farther south into the Riverlands. That region, home to Robb's grandfather Hoster Tully, swiftly declared its support, but in order to cross the Trident near the Twins, home of House Frey, Robb made a promise to join the two families together though marriage. A strategic victory at Whispering Wood yielded more land and the most valuable bargaining chip of all: Jaime Lannister.

During the height of Robert's Rebellion, Queen Rhaella abandoned King's Landing for the safety of her family's ancestral seat at Dragonstone. Pregnant with Daenerys and carrying her son Viserys in tow, Rhaella survived while Robert's armies sacked the capital and exterminated the Targaryen line. The queen gave birth to Daenerys at Dragonstone and then died shortly thereafter. To save the children from the same fate of their murdered young cousins, Rhaella's loyalists smuggled the infant princess and her brother across the Narrow Sea.

Daenerys and her brother grew into their teens as exiles in the Free Cities of Essos. Eventually they found the support of Magister Illyrio Mopatis, a wealthy Pentoshi merchant who recognized the value of installing a sympathetic king on the Iron Throne. With the magister's help, Viserys wed his sister to a powerful Dothraki horse lord, Khal Drogo. Daenerys — essentially traded as a down payment on the army that would allow Viserys to invade Westeros — was utterly terrified.

After her forced marriage, Daenerys traveled with Drogo's khalasar to Vaes Dothrak, the only city built by the nomadic tribes. On the trek, she fell in love with not only Drogo, but her new people as well. By the time Dany rode through the Horse Gate and stood before the Dothraki crones, she was carrying Drogo's son. In a prophetic ceremony, the ancient women saw power in the young girl's future. She would give birth to the king of kings — the Stallion Who Mounts the World. Viserys, enraged at the attention his sister was receiving, demanded Drogo give him the crown he was promised. Drogo agreed — and killed the young prince with a crown of molten gold.

While the pregnant Daenerys traveled the grasslands of the Dothraki Sea, she became increasingly aware of the khalasar's brutality. Witness to the Dothraki raids of weaker races, Daenerys realized that the army she hoped to lead to reclaim her throne would come at the cost of innocent lives. Defending his wife's honor when a blood rider disrespected her, Khal Drogo sustained a superficial wound to his chest that ultimately festered. Attempting to save him, Dany struck a deal with the witch Mirri Maz Duur, but her dark magic did nothing except preserve Drogo in a mindless state — at the cost of his unborn son's life. Enraged, Daenerys gave Drogo the mercy of death. She bound Mirri to his funeral pyre, and as the flames consumed the treacherous witch, Dany stepped into the conflagration carrying her dragon eggs. The next morning, she emerged from the ashes untouched, with three newly hatched dragons at her side.

Daenerys survived the flames that hatched her dragons and escaped the perils the Dothraki Sea posed to widowed khaleesis. But entering the vast Red Waste proved equally treacherous. The hobbled remains of her khalasar marched across the arid land, and it wasn't long before they began to hunger and die. Out of options, Daenerys chose to gamble with the lives of her trusted blood riders, sending three men in opposite directions to search for civilization. Only one rider returned alive, and he led the caravan to Qarth, a merchant city on Slaver's Bay that provides yet another culture shock — and a taste of the politics and intrigue a queen must learn to play.

The turning point of Robert's Rebellion took place at the Ruby Ford, where Robert met Prince Rhaegar Targaryen in single combat. As the two rivals faced off in the waters of the Trident, the crown prince was struck down by Robert's war hammer. The blow was so powerful that the rubies on Rhaegar's armor scattered into the river, giving the location its name.

Storm's End has never surrendered to any of the enemy forces that have tried to penetrate its walls over the centuries. But during Robert's Rebellion, an army of Targaryen loyalists besieged the castle for a year. Stannis Baratheon, tasked with protecting the family seat, was reduced to eating rats and glue while Mace Tyrell attempted to breach the castle's walls. Smuggler Davos Seaworth managed to slip through the blockade and supply Stannis' soldiers with onions and salt fish, keeping them alive until Ned Stark arrived to lift the siege.

The Greyjoy Rebellion was all but extinguished when Robert Baratheon led an attack on Balon Greyjoy's ancestral stronghold. In the ensuing assault, Maron Greyjoy, the second of Balon's sons, gave his life to his cause when a watchtower collapsed upon him. Future adversaries Ned Stark and Jaime Lannister stood out among the battle's strongest fighters, as did Jorah Mormont, whom Robert knighted for his valor. To guarantee Balon Greyjoy's fealty, Ned Stark took his only surviving son, Theon, to raise as his ward at Winterfell.

Robb Stark dealt Tywin Lannister an unexpected blow at Whispering Wood when he managed to outsmart the veteran commander. Although Robb's march south was backed by a combined force of Stark, Tully and Frey troops, the Young Wolf was sorely outnumbered. To help even the odds, Robb fed fake intelligence to a captured Lannister scout, implying that his entire host would attack the Lannisters at the Green Fork. In truth, Robb sent only 2,000 men against Tywin, sacrificing their lives to allow a surprise attack elsewhere. The larger part of his force marched to Whispering Wood, where they outmaneuvered Jaime Lannister — and took him hostage.

Aware that King's Landing could not withstand an attack by Stannis Baratheon's ships, Tyrion Lannister ordered the Alchemists Guild to prepare a quantity of wildfire to defend the city walls. When Stannis' forces drew near, the King's archers unleashed flaming arrows to ignite a cache of wildfire, destroying most of the Baratheon ships. Any of Stannis' men who managed to make their way to King's Landing were immediately set upon by the Hound and his men — until the Hound, spooked by the flames, abandoned his post. Tyrion then took up the charge to keep the rebel forces at bay until the "ghost of Renly Baratheon" (Loras Tyrell) terrified the rest of Stannis' men into dispersing.