Cassana Estermont

	Cassana Estermont, by riotarttherite ©
Title	Lady of Storm's End
Allegiances	House Estermont; House Baratheon;
Predecessor	Princess Rhaelle Targaryen
Culture	Stormlander
Born	In ~225–250 AC
Died	In 278 AC, Shipbreaker Bay, near Storm's End
Spouse	Lord Steffon Baratheon
Issue	Robert Baratheon; Stannis Baratheon; Renly Baratheon;
Books	The World of Ice & Fire (mentioned); A Clash of Kings (mentioned); A Storm of Swords (mentioned); A Feast for Crows (mentioned); A Dance with Dragons (appendix);

Cassana Estermont was a noblewoman of House Estermont during the reign of King Aerys II Targaryen. She was the wife of Lord Steffon Baratheon of Storm's End, and they had three sons together: Robert, Stannis, and Renly Baratheon.

History

Cassana and her family, by Lupotterdraws ©

In 262 AC, Robert Baratheon was born to Cassana and her husband, Lord Steffon Baratheon, at Storm's End.^[2] Their son Stannis followed in 264 AC,^[3] and Renly in 277 AC.^[4]

In 278 AC, Steffon Baratheon was sent to the Free Cities by his cousin, King Aerys II Targaryen, to search for a bride for his son, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. Steffon and Cassana's quest was unsuccessful, but in Volantis they did find a remarkable fool, called Patchface.^[5]^[2]

During the return journey, their ship, the Windproud, was caught in a severe storm. Within sight of Robert and Stannis, who were standing on the parapets of Storm's End, the ship was smashed on the rocks and sank in Shipbreaker Bay. Cassana, Steffon, and hundreds of men drowned; Patchface was the only survivor.^[5]^[2]

Recent Events

A Clash of Kings

Stannis Baratheon's letter to all the lords of Westeros, which proclaims himself the true king and heir of King Robert I Baratheon, includes the citation that he is the trueborn son of Steffon and Cassana.^[6]

Stannis tells Davos Seaworth that he stopped believing in gods when his mother and father were killed.^[6]

At Stannis and Renly Baratheon's confrontation at their parley at Storm's End, Stannis grants his brother a day to rethink his position, for the sake of their late mother.^[7]

A Storm of Swords

Stannis tells Davos Seaworth that since his loss at the battle of the Blackwater, most of his lords have abandoned his cause and bent the knee to King Joffrey Baratheon, even including his mother's father.^[8]

A Feast for Crows

Queen Regent Cersei Lannister recalls that the Estermonts are her in-laws, via her late husband Robert Baratheon's mother. Disparaging the Estermonts, Cersei feels that Steffon must have chosen Cassana "in a fit of lust or madness".^[9]

Quotes

I stopped believing in gods the day I saw the Windproud break up across the bay. Any gods so monstrous as to drown my mother and father would never have my worship, I vowed.^[6]
—Stannis Baratheon to Davos Seaworth

The Estermonts were her good-kin through Robert, whose father had taken one of them to wife in what must have been a fit of lust or madness.^[9]
—thoughts of Cersei Lannister

Family

According to information in A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and A Feast for Crows, Cassana's father is the former Lord Estermont, who apparently died in 300 AC, and her brothers (the uncles of Robert, Stannis and Renly Baratheon) are Eldon, the new lord, and Lomas. However, in A Dance with Dragons and A World of Ice and Fire, Eldon has been mentioned as the Baratheon brothers' great-uncle, and Lomas as one of his sons. Because of the contradictory information, there are different possibilities for the Estermont family tree; see House Estermont/Family Trees.