King Tyrion Lannister and the real winners of Game Of Thrones
Robyn Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie, Defender of the Vale, Warden of the East
Though first seen as the sickly young son of the unbalanced Lysa Arryn, Robin’s tutelage under the auspices of the loyal and wily veteran Yohn Royce (“Bronze Yohn”), the Lord of Runestone, turned him into a handsome young man presumably skilled in the arts of diplomacy and war.
House Arryn has long been something of an anomaly in the history of the Seven Kingdoms. Nearly unassailable in the high Eyrie and surrounded by the Mountains of the Moon, the Arryns have only been brought to heel by Targaryens with dragons. Remaining neutral until the late stages of the War of the Five Kings, House Arryn was able to tip the balance at the Battle of the Bastards with the Knights of the Vale.
Once in the field with their familiar allies, the Starks, House Arryn broke with the Iron Throne by declaring Jon Snow as the King in the North, though they eventually returned as a member of the Six Kingdoms. As one of the wealthiest and most powerful houses in Westeros, House Arryn is in an advantageous position at the end of the War of the Five Kings. Unlike many of the surviving Houses, their well-equipped army is relatively intact, and led by the capable Yohn.
With his father assassinated in King’s Landing and his mother murdered by Littlefinger, Robyn may well have an axe to grind with the powers that be in 305 AC. Though quiet and pliable at the Great Council in the dragonpit, nobody knows what the future might hold for the last of the House of Arryn.
Lord Gendry Baratheon, Lord of Storm’s End, Lord Paramount of the Stormlands, Warden of the South
Like Bronn of the Blackwater, Gendry has climbed the social ladder from the alleys of Flea Bottom to the heights of Westerosi nobility. But unlike Lord Bronn. Gendry has the blood of kings in his veins. As the bastard son of King Robert Baratheon, Gendry can lay claim to one of the most venerable Houses in all the Six Kingdoms.
Born to a tavern wench who’d had relations with the philandering King Robert and then died young, Gendry grew up in Flea Bottom never knowing of his true lineage. An unknown patron who turned out to be the Hand of the King Jon Arryn paid to have Gendry given an apprenticeship as a blacksmith. Eddard Stark later learns the truth of Gendry’s parentage.
After a journey with Arya and the Brotherhood Without Banners and a dangerous encounter with Melisandre and Stannis (both of whom know his true identity), he is rescued and set free by Davos Seaworth. After surviving the Battle of Winterfell, Gendry is elevated by Daenerys Targaryen, who makes him the Lord of Storm’s End and head of House Baratheon.
As Lord Paramount of the Stormlands and Warden of the South, Lord Gendry has the potential to become a major force in Westerosi politics. The stormlanders are great warriors, though it’s unknown what condition their military is in after brutal losses taken at the battles of Blackwater Bay and Winterfell. Though Gendry seems a good sort who is attached to Ser Davos and Arya Stark, he is something of an outlier, for he’ll always have a strong claim to the Iron Throne.