This is a listing of the members of House Durrandon who appear in A Song of Ice and Fire.
For the main character index, see here
For the main Stormlands entry, see here
House Durrandon of Storm's End
- "Ours Is the Fury"—Durrandon House Words
House Durrandon was the house of the Storm Kings from the Stormlands. Their seat was Storm's End; an ancient castle raised by Durran Godsgrief, the founder of their line. The Durrandon sigil was a crowned black stag on a field of gold. Their words were "Ours Is the Fury". Both sigil and words were adopted by House Baratheon, who descend from House Durrandon through the female line, in the War of Conquest. They were the last house from the Stormlands to claim Kingship of any kind until House Baratheon deposed the Targaryen Kings.
Tropes related to House Durrandon:
- Adipose Rex: Durwald the Fat, whose reign was a low point for the Storm Kings.
- Badass Boast: Their motto, which was taken by Orys Baratheon as his own.
- Brother–Sister Incest: Although not unexpected as the Durrandons were royalty, they are one of the few houses besides the Targaryens with a case of brother-sister marriages.
- Determinators: If you thought the Baratheons got their stubborn streak only from Orys, you have another thing coming. House Durrandon proved it time and again.
- Divine Right of Kings: One of the only pre-Andal Invasion houses that claimed actual divine blood lineage, as Durran Godsgrief's spouse was Elenei, daughter of the god of the wind and the goddess of the sea.
- Enemy Mine: Cleoden I allied with Dorne to fight the Andals.
- Heroic Lineage: From Durran Godsgrief and Elenei.
- Inadequate Inheritor: Monfryd the Mighty's son and grandson lost his conquests.
- King Bob the Nth: Especially before the Andal invasion, Durran was a popular name for a ruler's firstborn son, resulting in no less than twenty-four Storm Kings bearing the name — and possibly many more, if certain theories about Durran Godsgrief's Thousand-Year Reign are true.
- Pretty Boy: Durran the Fair and Barron the Beautiful.
- Repetitive Name: Many Durrandon kings had Durran as a first name.
- Strong Family Resemblance: An aspect that House Baratheon retained from them: dark of hair, striking eyes.
- Underestimating Badassery: Erich II the Unready didn't pay attention to the Andal threat.
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King Durran Durrandon "The Young"
King Durran Durrandon
The Young, the Butcher Boy
King Durran Durrandon, also known as Durran the Young and the Butcher Boy, was a Storm King of House Durrandon. Scholars also debate whether he was the same king who became besotted with his own niece later in life and died at the hands of his brother Erich Kin-Killer.
- A Child Shall Lead Them: Both of his nicknames emphasize his youth.
- The Butcher: He dammed the river Slayne with Dornish corpses after the Battle by the Bloody Pool.
Ronard Storm
King Ronard Storm
Ronard the Bastard
King Ronard Storm, known as Ronard the Bastard, was a bastard of House Durrandon who became Storm King.
- Bastard Bastard: He imprisoned his half-brother to usurp rule of the Stormlands.
- Brother–Sister Incest: His main wife/queen was the sister of Morden II, who was his predecessor and half-brother.
- Evil Chancellor: He was appointed as his brother's castellan, gradually became the de facto ruler of the kingdom, and eventually just locked Morden in a tower cell and crowned himself king in word as well as in deed.
- The Man Behind the Man: He was already this before becoming king, having been de facto ruling the Stormlands even before usurping his half-brother.
- Pet the Dog: Although he usurped and imprisoned his half-brother, he considered him harmless enough to let live
- Really Gets Around: He had 23 "wives" and 99 bastards. His progeny was so widespread that a large portion of the modern Stormlands' peasantry can claim descent from him, albeit very distantly.
- Royal Harem: He kept 23 concubines.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Opinion is split about him. He helped restore the Stormlands to greatness but he was also an usurper and born outside of wedock.
King Baldric I Durrandon
Baldric I Durrandon
Baldric the Cunning
Baldric was a Storm King during the Andal Invasion, when the Andals conquered part of Cape Wrath. He manipulated the Andals into attacking each other.
- Chess Master: He manipulated the petty Andal warlords and kings into fighting each other.
- Shout-Out: His name is one to Baldrick from Blackadder, whose catchphrase is "I have a cunning plan."
- War for Fun and Profit: He made the Andals fight each other rather than him.
King Argilac Durrandon
King Argilac Durrandon
Argilac the Arrogant
"The old warrior king roared that he did not intend to die as Harren did, cooked inside his own castle like a suckling pig with an apple in his mouth. No stranger to battle, he would decide his own fate, sword in hand. So Argilac the Arrogant rode forth from Storm's End one last time, to meet his foes in the open field."
—Archmaester Gyldayn, in The Conquest
The last Storm King. History tells that he wanted to create a buffer zone between his kingdom and that of Harren the Black. He offered to Aegon the Conqueror the hand of his daughter, Argella, in marriage as well as dowry lands, although most of these lands were in fact in the possession of Harren the Black. Aegon refused and instead offered the hand of his best friend and rumored bastard brother, Orys Baratheon. Argilac took this as a grave insult and had the hands of the envoy cut off. He sent them to Aegon with a message of "These are the only hands you will receive". Aegon sent Orys to subdue Argilac. Orys met Argilac in open battle, which became known as The Last Storm, and was killed in one-on-one battle.
- All for Nothing: He was killed, his army was smashed, his kingdom was conquered... and his daughter ended up married to the foreign bastard anyway.
- Bullying a Dragon: In retrospect, chopping off the hands of an envoy from a man who rides a literal dragon was a stupid move.
- Culture Clash: From his point of view, Aegon was making Argilac an incredibly generous offer by putting forward Orys; Argella would marry his most treasured companion after his two wives, an extremely competent warrior, and with the blood of the dragon in his veins. However, Argilac missed all of that and only saw Aegon offering up his subordinate, bastard half-brother; by Westerosi standards, it would indeed be an insult to offer such a match for a woman of Argella's rank.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Argilac didn't like the terms that Aegon offered him, particularly that bit about his daughter marrying a bastard. So, he chopped the hands off the messenger who brought the terms.
- Dramatically Missing the Point: Aegon's refusal and offer for Orys Baratheon to marry Argilac's daughter instead was likely the best offer Argilac should have realistically expected; Aegon himself was already married to his two sisters per Valyrian tradition, and Orys was also a great warrior and general, Aegon's rumored half-brother, and eventually became the first Hand of the King. King Argilac misunderstood and considered Orys not worthy of his daughter for his illegitimate birth.
- Famous Ancestor: To House Baratheon, who are descended from his daughter Argella.
- Frontline General: He led the charges against Orys' lines during the Last Storm.
- Last of His Kind: He was the last of the Storm Kings.
- Last Stand: He knew that Storm's End could not stand up to dragonfire, so he decided that if he was going to be defeated, he might as well do it on his own terms. Thus, he called his banners and marched to meet Orys in the field.
- Old Soldier: He was elderly during Aegon's Conquest, but no less a warrior. When Orys found him during the battle, he had half-a-dozen men dead at his feet and was holding off an equal number. Argilac even managed to wound Orys before falling to his sword.
- Pride: He wanted Argella to marry Aegon, and viewed the offer to wed his trusted lieutenant Orys Baratheon as a snub.
- Shoot the Messenger: Mutilate the Messenger, to be more accurate. When Aegon the Conqueror declined his marriage proposal and sent a messenger to request his daughter Argella's hand for Orys Baratheon, Argilac cut off said messenger's hands and sent them back to Aegon, insulted at the offer of a bastard husband for his daughter."These are the only hands your bastard shall have of me."
- Small Role, Big Impact: Argilac's dismemberment of Aegon's messenger was the catalyst which led Aegon Targaryen to call his banners and begin his infamous conquest of the Seven Kingdoms — had he been less hostile or a little more thoughtful, it's possible that Aegon's conquest might never have happened at all.
- Worthy Opponent: After the Last Storm, Orys praised Argilac's valor to his daughter and took the sigil and motto of House Durrandon to honor him.
Argella Durrandon
Princess Argella Durrandon
The Storm Queen, Lady Argella Baratheon
"You may take my castle, but you will win only bones and blood and ashes."
Argilac's daughter and only child. When her father was defeated in the field by Orys Baratheon, she proclaimed herself the Storm Queen and planned to hold out against her enemies. She was betrayed by her men who brought her naked and in chains to Orys. He treated her gently, giving her his cloak and offering her food. They married and Orys took on her family's sigil and words.
Argella was the last Durrandon monarch and the first Lady Baratheon.
For the main House Baratheon entry, see here.
- And Now You Must Marry Me: She married Orys after he defeated and killed her father; it didn't turn out nearly as badly for her as the trope suggests, as Orys treated her gently after her own retainers humiliated her.
- Bad Boss: She was willing to send all of her men to die pointlessly at the hands of Orys Baratheon and the Targaryens — it was already clear by that point that House Durrandon and the Kingdom of the Storm were done, and her continued defiance was explicitly because she saw dying with pride as better than living with defeat. Her troops responded by raising a peace banner and delivering her naked to Orys' camp.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Even when she was betrayed, completely stripped of dignity, and rendered absolutely vulnerable, Orys Baratheon didn't make her a prisoner — or worse — but gave her cover, food, and shelter instead. She eventually married him.
- Bodyguard Betrayal: Her own guards betrayed her to Orys to explicitly avoid suffering the same fate as Harrenhal. However, do note that their doing this hasn't gone down in Westerosi lore in quite the same way as other such betrayals have — regardless of which side eventually won. As it turns out, the sheer common sense involved in avoiding a Harrenhal situation when facing an actual dragon trumps society's usual Honor Before Reason expectations. While definitely not lauded, their actions are also certainly not vociferously condemned, either.
- Bound and Gagged: She was brought to Orys gagged and in chains.
- Defiant to the End: She intended to die fighting when she barred the gates of Storm's End. Her garrison didn't support this decision and turned on her instead. Fortunately for her, Orys had no wish of hurting her, and fell for her instead.
- Didn't Think This Through: She intended to fight to the last man after Orys killed her father in single combat; that is, against the forces of Orys and Rhaenys Targaryen riding the dragon Meraxes. Of course, her guards said fuck that noise and dropped her chained and buck-naked at Orys' doorstep.
- Dramatically Missing the Point: The whole point of her father facing Orys Baratheon one-on-one was to spare everyone at Storm's End from receiving the same fate as the occupants of Harrenhal. However, in grief and anger due to his death, Argella swore to fight to the last man, but her guards didn't quite agree with her.
- Fallen Princess: After her guards betrayed her, she was brought before her enemy naked and in chains.
- Famous Ancestor: Of House Baratheon, who claim descent from the Storm Kings of old through her.
- Go, Ye Heroes, Go and Die: She proclaimed that House Durrandon would be Defiant to the End, and that Storm's End would gladly choose fiery annihilation before surrender. Her soldiers were... less than receptive to this plan.
- Last of His Kind: Subverted. She would have been the last Storm Queen and the end of Durran Godsgrief's line had her subjects accepted her claim. Still, like the description points out, she was the last Durrandon monarch and the last Storm Princess.
- Naked First Impression: Argella was brought to Orys naked.
- Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Argilac and Argella rejected Aegon's proposal of marrying her to his "bastard" brother. Eventually, after their categorical defeat, she recognized Orys for the man he was when he respected her dignity.
- Strong Family Resemblance: The characteristic Baratheon blue eyes are a trait that originated from Lady Argella, as Orys was dark of eyes.
- What Beautiful Eyes!: The famous Baratheon blue eyes further down the line come from her.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: She's never mentioned again after her marriage to Orys, aside from giving birth to at least Davos Baratheon. It remains unclear if she lived in King's Landing with Orys when he was Aegon's Hand, if she was alive during the Wyl of Wyl incident and, if she was, how she handled Orys's Sanity Slippage.
