Dorna Swyft

Dorna was still a child when her father, Ser Harys Swyft, borrowed large sums from old Lord Tytos Lannister and never paid them back. The debt stayed open until, once the War of the Ninepenny Kings had ended, young Ser Tywin inherited Casterly Rock and ordered every debt to his house settled at once: whoever could not pay would hand over a relative as surety. When the collectors reached Maizal, in 260 AC, Ser Harys had nothing to offer, and Dorna was placed in the custody of Ser Kevan Lannister.

The arrangement became a marriage six years later, in 266 AC, when Dorna wed Kevan. Their union produced four children: Lancel, the eldest, was born in 282 AC, followed by Willem, Martyn, and a daughter, Janei.

Years later, queen regent Cersei Lannister comes to believe her uncle Kevan has turned against her. Knowing how much he loves Dorna, she names Ser Harys Swyft the new Hand of the King, not for his merit but to keep him close as leverage: as long as Dorna's father remains at court, Cersei trusts Kevan will think twice before opposing her.

With Kevan now serving as Lord Regent, Cersei asks whether he means to bring Dorna to King's Landing. He knows she would be miserable away from home and answers that she will remain in Lannisport. The answer seems to please the queen, and that satisfaction unsettles Kevan more than he expected.

Soon after, Varys deals him a mortal wound. In his final moments, Kevan's thoughts turn to Dorna and to the children they had together.

Cersei Lannister has little kindness for her aunt's looks: she describes her as chinless, with skinny legs and a flat chest. Tyrion agrees about the chin, a trait Dorna shares with her father, the Knight of Maizal.

Kevan, however, sees in her a gentle soul who is never at ease away from home, among friends and family. He considers her a good mother and knows she dreams of grandchildren. A devout follower of the Faith of the Seven, she prays seven times a day, and favors needlework and flowers over any journey away from Lannisport.