Eddard "Ned" Stark is the head of House Stark. He and his wife, Catelyn , have five children: Robb, Sansa , Arya , Bran , and Rickon . Ned also has an illegitimate son, Jon Snow , who, along with his scholarly friend, Samwell Tarly , serve in the Night's Watch under Lord Commander Jeor Mormont . The Wildlings living north of the Wall include the young Gilly , and the warriors Tormund Giantsbane and Ygritte . Others associated with House Stark include Ned's ward Theon Greyjoy , Ned's vassal Roose Bolton, and Roose's illegitimate son, Ramsay . Robb accepts help from the healer Talisa Maegyr, while elsewhere, Arya befriends the blacksmith's apprentice Gendry Rivers and the assassin Jaqen H'ghar. The tall warrior, Brienne of Tarth , eventually comes to serve the Starks. In King's Landing, the capital, Ned's old friend, King Robert I Baratheon, shares a loveless political marriage with Cersei Lannister . Her younger twin brother, Ser Jamie , serves on the Kingsguard. The third and youngest Lannister sibling is the dwarf Tyrion , who is attended by his mistress Shae and the . Cersei's father is Tywin, head of House Lannister and richest man in Westeros. Cersei has a daughter, Myrcella, and two sons: Joffrey and Tommen. Joffrey is guarded by the scar-faced warrior Sandor "The Hound" Clegane . The king's Small Council of advisors includes, among others, the crafty Master of Coin, Lord Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish , and the eunuch spymaster, Lord Varys . In Dragonstone, Robert's younger brother, Stannis, is advised by the foreign priestess Melisandre and former smuggler Ser Davos Seaworth. In the Reach, the Tyrell family, led by its matriarch Olenna, is represented at court by Margery, the matriarch's granddaughter. The High Sparrow is eventually given power as a religious leader. In the southern principality of Dorne, the warrior Ellaria Sand seeks vengeance against the Lannisters. Across the Narrow Sea, in Pentos, siblings Viserys Targaryen and Daenerys Targaryen are in exile, with the former plotting to reclaim his father's throne. Daenerys is forced into marrying Khal Drogo, a leader of the nomadic Dothraki. Her retinue eventually comes to include the exiled knight Ser Jorah Mormont, her aide Missandei, the sellsword Daario Naharis, and the elite soldier Grey Worm.