Steffon Baratheon

	Steffon Baratheon, by Riotarttherite ©
Titles	Lord of Storm's End; Lord Paramount of the Stormlands;
Allegiance	House Baratheon
Predecessor	Lord Ormund Baratheon
Successor	Lord Robert Baratheon
Culture	Stormlander
Born	In 246 AC
Died	In 278 AC or early 279 AC, Shipbreaker Bay, near Storm's End
Father	Lord Ormund Baratheon
Mother	Princess Rhaelle Targaryen
Spouse	Lady Cassana Estermont
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);

Steffon Baratheon was the Lord of Storm's End and the head of House Baratheon during the reign of kings Jaehaerys II and Aerys II Targaryen.^[3]

History

Early life

To make peace with Lord Lyonel Baratheon, King Aegon V Targaryen betrothed his youngest daughter, Princess Rhaelle Targaryen, to Lyonel's heir Ormund, and sent her to live at Storm's End. In 245 AC, Rhaelle married now-Lord Ormund, and their son Steffon was born a year later.^[5]^[1]

In his youth, Steffon served as a page and squire in King's Landing, where he became good friends with his cousin, Prince Aerys Targaryen, and another page, Tywin Lannister.^[3]^[1]

In 260 AC, Steffon participated as a squire in the War of the Ninepenny Kings in the Stepstones. Unfortunately, his father, Ormund Baratheon, Hand of the King and commander of the expedition, was one of the first to perish in the war. Ormund was struck down by Maelys I Blackfyre, commander of the Band of Nine, and died in Steffon's arms.^[6] With the death of his father, Steffon became Lord of Storm's End and Lord Paramount of the Stormlands.

Lord of Storm's End

Steffon and his family, by Lupotterdraws ©

In 262 AC, Robert Baratheon was born to Steffon and his wife, Lady Cassana Estermont, at Storm's End.^[3] Their son Stannis followed in 264 AC.^[7]

Around 268 AC, Steffon first took his son, Stannis (then four years old), to court at the Red Keep in King's Landing, along with his eldest son, Robert (by then aged five or six). The children believed they saw King Aerys II Targaryen holding court on the Iron Throne, and they felt that the king had been as noble as the dragon skulls on the walls were fearsome. Years later, Steffon revealed it had been the Hand of the King, Lord Tywin Lannister, whom they had been impressed by, as King Aerys had cut himself on the throne earlier that day, and Tywin had taken over for him.^[8]

Steffon once hosted^[9] a tourney at Storm's End, but he was defeated in the tilts by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen.^[10]

In 277 AC, Steffon and Cassana's son Renly was born at Storm's End.^[11]

In the wake of the Defiance of Duskendale in 277 AC, Steffon's old friend and cousin, King Aerys II Targaryen, summoned Steffon to court and named him to the small council. Aerys had been growing paranoid about his Hand, Tywin Lannister, and his son, Rhaegar Targaryen, believing they were conspiring against him, and so turned to his other childhood friend. In 278 AC, Aerys sent Steffon to Volantis to find a bride "of noble birth from an old Valyrian bloodline" for Prince Rhaegar, and it was rumored that Aerys intended to replace Tywin with Steffon upon the latter's return.^[3]

Steffon, traveling with his wife Cassana, failed to find a suitable bride for Rhaegar, but he did send a message to Storm's End saying that they had found a very talented fool. According to Steffon, Robert would be delighted by the fool, who was so funny he might teach Steffon's dour second son, Stannis, how to laugh. However, during the return journey, their ship was caught in a severe storm. Within sight of Robert and Stannis, who were standing on the parapets of Storm's End, the Windproud was smashed on the rocks and sank in Shipbreaker Bay. Steffon, Cassana, and hundreds of sailors drowned.^[4]^[3] The only survivor was the fool, Patchface, who washed up ashore three days later, having lost his wits.^[4]

Legacy

Steffon was succeeded as Lord of Storm's End by his eldest son, Robert.^[4]

According to Grand Maester Pycelle, Aerys was enraged by Steffon's death, and believed it had been arranged by Tywin for fear of being replaced as Hand.^[3]

The ship Lord Steffon is likely named after Steffon, as is Davos Seaworth's son Steffon.

Recent Events

A Clash of Kings

At Dragonstone, Cressen, Stannis Baratheon's maester, recalls the letter Lord Steffon sent from Volantis about Patchface, and how he raised Robert, Stannis, and Renly, after their father's death.^[4]

At Castle Black, Donal Noye, armorer and steward of the Night's Watch, tells Jon Snow he was a blacksmith at Storm's End while Lord Steffon was still alive.^[12]

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.^[13]

Stannis tells Davos Seaworth that he stopped believing in gods when his mother and father were killed.^[13]

A Storm of Swords

Barristan Selmy tells Daenerys Targaryen how her brother Rhaegar once defeated Lord Steffon in a tourney at Storm's End.^[10]

When considering the possibility that dragons could be reborn, Stannis recalls the time that Steffon first took him to court, along with Robert, and they saw the dragon skulls in the Red Keep.^[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".^[14]

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.^[13]
—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.^[14]
—thoughts of Cersei Lannister