Arys Oakheart

Arys Oakheart is the youngest son of Lady Arwyn Oakheart, head of her house, and has dreamed since childhood of wearing the white cloak of the Kingsguard. The wish comes true around the year 290, when his appointment takes him away from Dorne and into the court at King's Landing.

He competes alongside his sworn brothers in the Tourney of the Hand, favoring the lance above other weapons. He is also present in the throne room the day Ser Barristan Selmy is cast out of the Kingsguard, and joins in the laughter that follows the old knight's disgrace.

Under Joffrey Baratheon's reign, Ser Arys passes for the most restrained of the seven: the king himself considers him the kindest of his guard. When Joffrey orders Sansa Stark punished before the court, Ser Meryn Trant and the rest of his brothers carry out the order without hesitation; Arys, by contrast, wavers, though he ends up obeying with a lighter hand than the others.

Lance in hand, he wins with ease the small tourney held for Joffrey's name day, though he admits himself that he had no real rivals. Fond of court gossip, he is the one who tells Sansa that Lord Tywin Lannister refuses to march his army to King's Landing despite the queen regent's orders.

Tyrion Lannister chooses him as sworn shield to Princess Myrcella Baratheon when she sets out for Dorne, to become a ward of Prince Doran Martell and the future wife of his son Trystane. Arys lights a candle to the Warrior in thanks for the charge, even as he carries the weight of having struck Sansa Stark on Joffrey's order.

Once settled in Dorne, he writes to Lord Tywin Lannister with news of the princess: Myrcella is well, and has grown close to the young Martell.

Half a year into his stay in Dorne, Arys starts meeting in secret and in disguise with Princess Arianne Martell, heir to the Dornish throne, and lets himself be seduced by her. Arianne persuades him to back Myrcella's claim to the Iron Throne over her brother Tommen, and to turn against the Crown in secret.

Without telling Myrcella of the plan, Arys has her replaced for the night by one of her handmaids and stands in for himself with one of the two Lannister guards watching her. They slip away unseen and meet Arianne and her small following, then set out together for the Greenblood. Along the way, for all his lack of wit, he keeps paying the princess compliments.

At the Greenblood they wait to board a barge, but Areo Hotah, captain of the Sunspear guard, appears from it with spearmen and crossbowmen. Arys refuses to surrender: he places himself between Arianne and the crossbows, sword drawn, and throws her one last look before he charges. He cuts down two spearmen in the first clash, but his horse falls under the bolts and he ends on his knees before Areo Hotah, who takes off his arm with one stroke and, with another, his head, which sinks into the waters of the Greenblood.