Brienne Tarth

Brienne is born in 280 AC, the eldest daughter of Lord Selwyn Tarth, and grows up at Evenfall Hall. An older brother, Galladon, drowns at eight; two younger sisters, Arianne and Alysanne, die as children. In the end Brienne is the only heir her father has left.

As a young woman, she draws plenty of marriage offers, most from men after her father's title and fortune rather than her; she turns them all down. The first engagement, to the second son of Lord Bryen Caron, ends when he dies in 289 AC, two years into the betrothal. The second is to Ser Ronnet Connington, six years her elder: at their first meeting he hands her a rose, tells her it's all she'll ever get from him, and calls off the match because he thinks her a "freak." The third, Ser Humfrey Wagstaff, tells her he expects more ladylike behavior once they're married; at sixteen, she answers that she'll only agree if he beats her in a fight. Wagstaff comes away with three broken bones, and that's the end of the engagement. Her father never tries again.

She prefers horses, swords and jousting to the tasks expected of a lady, and her father backs her wish to become a knight despite the outrage it causes among the nobility. At a tournament, a crowd of knights suddenly starts courting her with stories and poems; she nearly believes she's finally accepted, until one knight left out of it tells her the truth — the others had made a drunken wager over a feast about who'd be first to bed her. Caught out, they tell her flatly she'll never be a real knight and should give up the fantasy for marriage and children.

When Lord Renly Baratheon visits Tarth on his coming-of-age tour, he treats her with a courtesy she isn't used to, and she falls for him. Her father later sends her to Storm's End, where she has to put up with the cruel jokes of Renly's fool.

The War of the Five Kings breaks out. After Robert's death, Renly proclaims himself king with the backing of House Tyrell, the most powerful in the realm; his brother Stannis does the same, backed by the red priestess Melisandre and several narrow sea houses. Furious that Renly won't bend the knee to him, Stannis lays siege to Storm's End to force a negotiation. Renly, meanwhile, gathers his troops at Bitterbridge and holds a great tournament to show the standoff with his brother doesn't cost him any sleep. Tarth, sworn to Storm's End, sends Brienne there at the head of a company of her father's men.

To match his new standing as king, Renly forms a guard of his own, the Rainbow Guard, seven strong, each wearing a cloak of a different color. Brienne unhorses Loras Tyrell in the tournament and Renly knights her on the spot, naming her Brienne the Blue and taking her into his personal service. Unlike almost everyone else, Renly never mocks her — he's the first person, after her father, ever to back her like that.

She's there when Catelyn Tully arrives seeking a Stark-Baratheon alliance; Renly will only agree if Robb Stark submits to him. She's also present at the meeting between Renly and Stannis outside Storm's End, which ends with no agreement. Renly decides to attack his brother's camp the next morning; the attack never happens. While he's dressing for battle, a shadow appears and cuts his throat. Only Brienne and Catelyn witness it; the rest of the Rainbow Guard rushes in at the screams. Being closest to him, Brienne ends up holding his body, covered in his blood, and suspicion falls on her at once.

She flees the camp with Lady Catelyn and enters her service as an escort, travelling with her to Riverrun. When Catelyn frees Jaime Lannister on condition that Sansa and Arya are returned, she orders Brienne to see him safely to King's Landing.

On the road, Jaime and Brienne argue constantly until the tension boils over into a fight; with his wrists chained, Jaime still holds his own. The fight ends when the Bloody Mummers ambush and capture them both.

The mercenaries cut off Jaime's right hand and hang it around Brienne's neck, against her chest, forcing the two of them to ride facing each other on the same horse. Without his sword hand, Jaime loses the will to live; Brienne talks him into holding on for revenge. Jaime, for his part, stops three of the Bloody Mummers — Zollo, Rorge and Shagwell — from raping her.

At Harrenhal they share a bath, and there Jaime tells her the truth about Aerys II Targaryen's death. Roose Bolton sends Jaime on to the capital but keeps Brienne at Harrenhal, held back as a prize for Vargo Hoat. Jaime comes back and rescues her just as she's being forced to fight a bear, armed with nothing but a blunted tourney sword.

Back in King's Landing, Loras Tyrell again names her as responsible for Renly's death, but changes his mind after speaking with her. Even so, Brienne still can't leave the city or keep her promise: to find and protect Catelyn's daughters.

What he's seen in Brienne — her loyalty, her idea of what a knight should be — changes Jaime. Against his own family's plans, he frees her and orders her to find and protect Sansa Stark. He gives her his Valyrian steel sword, inherited from his father, and names it Oathkeeper; he makes her swear she'll find Arya and Sansa and bring them home safe to their mother.

Brienne keeps searching for Sansa, now across the Riverlands. Podrick Payne, once Tyrion's squire, joins her, and she agrees to let him tag along. Carrying a shield painted with Ser Duncan the Tall's arms, they cross Darkdell. Along the way they run into Lord Randyll Tarly's army, where another old acquaintance of Brienne's, Ser Hyle Hunt, joins them.

At Maidenpool, Dick Crabb 'the Nimble' joins as well. Her inquiries lead her to Crackclaw Point, where she's ambushed by several former Bloody Mummers, the band now broken up. With Oathkeeper she kills Pyg, Shagwell and Timeon. At a sept by the mouth of the Trident, the Elder Brother tells her he found the Hound dying under a tree, with Arya Stark at his side, who had fled toward the coast. Brienne searches Maidenpool and Saltpans but finds no trace of her.

At the Crossroads Inn she runs into what's left of the Bloody Mummers, with Rorge disguised as Sandor Clegane and raiding Saltpans. Brienne kills him, but Biter wounds her.

Her group is taken prisoner by survivors of the Brotherhood without Banners. Thoros of Myr breaks the news: Beric Dondarrion has fallen, giving his life for someone else. They're brought before Lady Stoneheart, who turns out to be a revived Catelyn Tully. Catelyn believes Brienne betrayed her by letting Jaime go without her daughters, doesn't believe her account of the search, and demands she kill Jaime or face execution. Brienne won't choose either way, so Catelyn orders her, Podrick and Hunt hanged. She watches Podrick die on the noose beside her. With the rope already around her own neck, she gets out a single word.

Brienne turns up briefly by the Coin Tree, where Jaime has made camp. She asks for his help freeing Sansa Stark from the Hound's grip, warning him they're barely a day's ride away. If he doesn't come with her, the Hound will kill Sansa. Jaime sets out at her side.