Born to Tywin and Joanna Lannister in 266
AC, Cersei and her twin brother Jaime were raised in Casterly Rock of the Westerlands
and were so similar in appearance, they sometimes switched clothes and assumed each other’s
identities in their youth. Inseperable for most of their young lives,
they began to experiment with each other sexually, until caught by a servant who reported it
to their mother, afterwhich they were separated and forbidden from ever repeating what their
actions. In 273 AC their mother died giving birth to
Tyrion Lannister. The child who was born a dwarf inspired deep
resentment and hatred from Cersei and their father Tywin, with only Jaime treating the
boy with respect and kindness. As she grew Cersei began to explore her sexuality
with more partners becoming interested in both boys and girls. Although an offer was made to House Lannister
to betroth Cersei to young Oberyn Martell, Tywin refused, in the hopes of pairing his
daughter with Rhaegar Targaryen, heir to the Iron Throne. Cersei came to fantasize about marrying the
handsome prince and becoming queen of the seven kindoms, and was even told the betrothal
was to occur at the Tournament of Lannisport in 276 AC. During the festivities, young Cersei and her
friend Malara Heatherspoon journeyed into the forest and encountered the woods witch
maggy the frog, who spoke a troubling prophecy Foretelling that Cersei would marry a man
who’d have 16 bastards while she had 3 golden haired children of her own. It also stated that Cersei would be Queen
until replaced by someone younger and more beautiful, her children would be each wear
crowns but die young and that she would be killed by the Valonqar, meaning little brother
in High Valyrian. The final prophecy saw the death of Melara
Heatherspoon, killed by Cersei later that night to prevent anyone from ever learning
of what was said. Cersei was then told that King Aerys II rejected
Tywin’s offer for betrothal to prince Rhaegar who was later married to Elia Martell of Dorne. By the age of 15 Cersei was living in King’s
Landing with her father, and was once again involved romantically with her brother who
came to visit for a time. Eager to have him stay with her, she schemed
to have the King bring Jaime into the Kingsguard, thereby having him move permanently to King’s
Landing so they could be together. However the plan backfired, when Tywin saw
this as yet another insult by a petty king, who’d grown jealous of his accomplishments
and so now purposefully robbed him of the heir to Casterly Rock. And so Tywin quit his position as Hand of
the King and moved back to Casterly Rock with his daughter, thereby separating the twins
once more. In 283 AC, after the fall of House Targaryen
in Robert’s Rebellion, Tywin at last was in a position to see his daughter become Queen,
marrying Cersei to the newly crowned King Robert baratheon, and cementing an alliance
that brought stability and peace to Westeros for many years. Cersei, though still in a relationship with
her brother, was excited to be marrying a war hero and king, eager to start a life with
her new husband. But Robert proved a poor husband saying the
name of another woman, Lyanna Stark during their first night together. Cersei then realized he was not the man she
expected and over the years the relationship deteriorated further. Robert, who’d chosen to leave the responsibility
of running the kingdom to the hand of the king jon arryn, spent his time in blissful
debauchery, bedding many different woman and fathering a number of bastard children. Cersei meanwhile, continued her incestuous
relationship with her brother Jaime, and gave birth to 3 pureborn lannisters, which she
passed off as children of her husband the King. On one occasion, the queen truly did become
pregnant with Robert’s child, but she’d grown so bitter and resentful towards him
that she sent for a woman to help cleanse her of the problem. Robert’s brother Stannis, seeing all the
dark haired children Robert was fathering, and their likeness to their father, he found
it odd all 3 of his legitimate children where blond with no discernable Baratheon traits
whatsoever. He began to investigate alongside Jon Arryn
and coming to suspect the children were not of the royal line. However Jon Arryn soon fell ill and died in
298 AC. Stannis, suspecting that the Lannisters poisoned
him, left the capital for Dragonstone. The Starks of Winterfell also came to believe
the Lannisters were responsible, when Jon Arryn’s life Lysa wrote them a letter suggesting
they were behind the assassination. In truth however, it was Petyr Baelish, called
Littlefinger, who was orchestrating events from behind the scenes, convincing Lysa to
poison her own husband, then pitting the Stark and Lannister factions against each other. After the death of Jon Arryn, King Robert
and his family travelled north to Winterfell, where he named his old friend Eddard Stark
as the new Hand of the King. During their time at the fortress Cersei laid
with her brother in a secluded area of the broken tower, but were discovered by young
Bran Stark who enjoyed climbing up the walls of the fortress. Jaime, in an attempt to keep their secret
relationship from being exposed, pushed Bran from the tower window, leaving him in a coma. With the boy still unconscious, they began
their return journey south, but while in the riverlands, Arya’s direwolf Nymeria attacked
Prince Joffrey Baratheon. In order to avoid punishment, Arya released
her companion into the wild. However as a result, Cersei had Sansa’s
direwolf Lady killed in retribution. Once back in King’s Landing, a tournament
was held in honor of the new hand of the king. Cersei however, publically forbade her husband
the king from participating, an action which Varys the Spider suspected was part of her
scheme to embarrass Robert and actually provoke him into entering the tourney, so he might
be killed in the contest. But in the end Robert was convinced by others
not to participate. After the youngest Lannister sibling, Tyrion
was arrested by Catelyn Stark in the Riverlands, Cersei confronted her husband and demanded
retribution, insulting the King and questioning his manhood when he refused to act rashly. The King, enraged by her comments, hit her
in a burst of anger. But Cersei merely replied she would wear the
mark as a badge of honor. Cersei still conspiring to have her husband
killed, convinced her cousin Lancel Lannister, to bring fortified wine during a hunting trip
with the king, to ensure Robert was properly drunk and less able to defend himself. While Robert was away, Eddard Stark met with
the Queen, and revealed that he’d learned the truth about her children’s origins,
and warned her that he would tell the king upon his return, advising that she take her
children and leave the capital at once, lest Robert kill them all in his rage. But Cersei had no intention of leaving the
castle, further bolstered by the words of Sansa Stark, who’d come to her and confessed
that her father was making arrangement to send his daughters out of the city. Fortunately for the Queen, her schemes against
her husband at last paid off, and Robert returned fatally wounded from his hunt. Ned Stark, unable to tell his friend the truth
in his final hours, attempted to seize the iron throne by other means, only to be betrayed
by Petyr Baelish, leading to the arrest of the hand of the king. Cersei had successfully defended the Lannister’s
position in King’s Landing, and so began to consolidate power as queen regent for her
young son King Joffrey Baratheon. Ultimately, Cersei did not harm Eddard Stark,
knowing this would make war with the north inevitable, and so made a deal to have him
sent to the wall, in exchange for his confession and repentance. But her son proved impulsive and reckless,
ignoring his mother’s wishes and ordering the execution of the Lord of the North. As a result, conflict erupted all over the
continent in the War of the Five King, and so Cersei requested aid from her father Tywin,
who was marching his armies to the Riverlands, to deal with Stark and Tully forces. Unable to go south at the moment, Tywin sent
his youngest son, the clever dwarf Tyrion Lannister in his place, to serve as temporary
Hand of the King and put the capital city in order. Cersei however, was unwilling to give up control
of the city, especially to her hated little brother, and so the two struggled for power,
with Tyrion proving the more wise and strategically gifted of the two, evening poisoning the queen
so she might be bed-ridden for a time. After discovering that Grand Maester Pycelle
was spying for the queen, Tyrion had him arrested and tortured, then making arrangements for
Cersei’s daughter Myrcella to wed Trystan Martell, in order to secure the allegiance
of Dorne. When the Queen attempted to send her son Tommen
to safety, away from the city in advance of the invasion of King’s Landing by Stannis
Baratheon, Tyrion again interfered, capturing the child before he could leave. He then used the boy as a hostage to prevent
Cersei from torturing a prostitute who she wrongly believed was in a relationship with
Tyrion. During the Battle of Blackwater Bay, Cersei
invited all the noble ladies of court to dine with her in the red keep. However she also invited Ser Ilyn Payne, who
was instructed to kill the women in the case of defeat, to prevent their capture by the
enemy. As the fighting raged on, the Queen became
worried for her son the king, and sent for him to be taken to safety. However upon seeing their king retreat from
the front lines, the city defense forces lost morale and began to lose control of the mud
gate. Although Tyrion did everything possible to
bolster the city defenses, making Stannis pay for every inch of the city, the Lannister
forces were on the verge of defeat. Until Tywin Lannister and Randyl Tarly led
a combined army from the Westerlands and Reach as reinforcements, pushing Stannis back out
to sea and saving King’s Landing. Tyrion, who’d been injured in the fighting,
was attacked by a kingsguard and became convinced Cersei was responsible, though it may have
actually been king Joffrey. Tyrion was unconscious for several days, and
when he awoke, discovered that Cersei had taken the opportunity to make herself seem
like the hero who kept the city together while Tyrion was blamed for any shortcomings. Her focus then turned to preparing for her
son Joffrey’s wedding to Lady Margaery Tyrell, daughter of Mace Tyrell, in order to cement
their new alliance. But Joffrey was poisoned during the wedding
feast, with a grief stricken Cersei blaming Tyrion for the murder and having him arrested. Sansa Stark, Tyrion’s wife, was also ordered
arrested, but she’d already escaped King’s Landing with the aid of Littlefinger, who
once again was behind the intrigue, working with the Tyrell’s to assassinate the king. Tyrion, demanded trial by combat, with Oberyn
Martell serving as his champion against Ser Gregor Clegane. but Oberyn was killed in the fighting. Tyrion, was set to be executed but was rescued
by his brother Jaime with the help of Varys who aided in his escape> But the youngest
Lannister sibling did not leave the city right away, first murdering the prostitute Shae
and his father Tywin before departing. Cersei was enraged by Tyrion’s escape, and
devastated by the loss of her father, leaving her bitter, resentful and paranoid, beginning
to rely more heavily on alcohol. With 8 year old Tommen now serving as King,
Cersei was able to yield considerable influence once more, using her position to make several
rash decisions in the attempt to secure her position and eliminate enemies. She began by arranging the death of the High
Septon, then burning the Tower of the Hand with wildfire. She put a bounty on Tyrion’s head, resulting
in the deaths of many innocents and began to surround herself only with sycophants and
flatterers, ignoring the advice of knowledgeable and experienced noblemen like her uncle Kevan
Lannister. She also became increasingly dependent on
Qyburn, a discredited Maester best known for his immoral experiments on humans, even naming
him Master of Whisperers after the disappearance of Lord varys. This behaviour led to an ever increasing rift
between Cersei and Jaime, who did not approve of her actions and so left King’s Landing,
going to deal with rebellion in the Riverlands, where he joined the Siege of Riverrun, doing
his part to retake the stronghold for House Lannister. With no one left to temper Cersei’s paranoia
and offer sage council, she began to spiral out of control. When Qyburn informed her that a golden coin
with the sigil of House Gardener was found in the dungeon where Tyrion was being held,
Cersei began to suspect House Tyrell was involved in his escape. With Margaery marrying young Tommen to become
the new queen, Cersei believed they were seeking to undermine her power and ruin her house,
and so she set out to destroy the Tyrells and secure her position in the city. As acting Queen Regent and head of the small
council, Cersei decided the Seven Kingdoms was no longer able to pay its debts, greatly
angering the Faith of the Seven, to whom they owed money, as well as the Iron Bank of Braavos,
who in response called in all debts from the families of the westeros, refusing to give
out any new loans. This action sent the continent in economic
chaos, while Cersei used the money saved to build a great naval fleet, entrusting command
of the ships to Aurane Waters, known as the Bastard of Driftmark. In the hopes of appeasing the Faith and creating
a local militia that could aid in her schemes, The Queen Regent allowed the new High Septon,
a man of the people known as the High Sparrow, to revive the order of Faith Militants, an
armed faction of the church that could be used to enforce religious values in the city. Cersei then hatched a plot to bring back her
daughter from Dorne, sending Ser Balon Swann with a letter, inviting Prince Doran to take
up a seat in the small council, and asking that Myrcella and Trystane come for a visit. In truth however, she was planning to set
a trap, having their party ambushed, killing Trystane and framing tyrion for the crime. Cersei then befriended Taena Merryweather,
a woman of questionable loyalty, who became her new bedwarmer and personal advisor. With Loras Tyrell injured during the siege
of Dragonstone, Cersei focused her attention on Margaery Tyrell, convincing Osney Kettleblack
to confess to the High Sparrow that he committed fornication with queen Margaery. However the High Sparrow found the confession
suspicious and tortured him until the whole truth was revealed, including Cersei’s crimes. Both Margaery and Cersei were arrested by
the Faith, and with the queen regent removed from power, government ministers were able
to seize control of the city, recalling Kevan Lannister to act as new Regent. During her incarceration, many of Cersei’s
poorly developed plans fell apart, with Aurane Waters abandoning the seven kingdoms, and
stealing the new royal fleet to serve as his personal navy. Meanwhile, her last remaining allies were
gone, with Cersei’s companion Taena forced to flee the city and Jaime refusing her summons,
choosing to remain in the Riverlands rather then return to help his sister. Her dornish schemes also fell through, with
Prince Doran discovering her plans and refusing to fall into her trap. Cersei, desperate to have contact with the
outside world, chose to confess to the High Sparrow, stating she had relations with her
cousin, Lancel and all three of the Kettleblack brothers, but continued to deny the charges
of treason against her late husband or any involvement in the murder of the previous
High Septon. After confessing she was granted an audience
with Kevan Lannister, who informed her of current events. Cersei asked that Kevan relay a message to
her man Qyburn, informing him that the time had come to unveil his creation. Cersei was then stripped of all her cloths,
and forced to walk naked in the streets, while the small folk insulted and ridiculed her,
covering her in rotten food and feces. Unwilling to show any signs of shame she walked
with dignity until the very last moments before entering the red keep, when she broke down
into tears. Once behind the red walls, Qyburn introduced
her to the newest member of the kingsguard Ser Robert Strong a mysterious knight covered
from head to toe in white armor, said to have taken a vow of silence, refusing to speak
until the land is purged of evil. In truth many suspected this monster was the
reanimated corpse of Gregor Clegane, revived with dark magic. With this new champion Cersei would be able
to defend herself in a trial by combat, giving her hope she might not be found guilty. After such a harrowing ordeal, the former
queen regent was subdued and seemingly humbled, dining with uncle kevan and son Tommen, asking
meekly if Taena Merrywhere might be allowed to return to the city after the trial. Kevan Lannister meanwhile, was working diligently
to repair the damage done by Cersei’s time in power, and was proving a competent leader
and worthy successor to his brother Tywin. However, it was because of the promise he
showed, that Varys the Spider re-emerged, arranging the deaths of Grand Maester Pycell
and Kevan Lannister, shooting him with a crossbow, then sending children he called “little
birds” to finish him off. Although Varys had nothing personal against
the man, his own loyalties were to another and so he deemed in necessary to eliminate
any potential figures of stability, in order to keep the realm
in chaos.
