Lord Beric Dondarrion, sometimes referred to as the lightning lord, is the Lord of Blackhaven and head of House Dondarrion. He is betrothed to Allyria Dayne, and her nephew, Edric Dayne, serves as his squire.
Appearance and Character[]
Beric is described as being handsome and having red-gold hair. He has a dashing figure, and rides a black courser. He sometimes wears a breastplate that displays a forked, purple lightning bolt. Beric wields a longsword in combat and is a highly skilled warrior, though quite untested in battle. Beric Dondarrion's appearance changes severely during the War of the Five Kings: he loses an eye, has a patch of hair gone from where his head was caved in, severe marks on his neck from a hanging and a wound in his chest he received from Gregor Clegane. He is quite agile for his disposition.
Before the war, Beric Dondarrion was a dashing, confident and extremely noble knight who enjoyed tourneys and feasts and lived comfortably. He was extremely brave, willingly riding against the Mountain at least twice. He was very popular among the people of King's Landing when he took part in the tourney of the Hand, and Jeyne Poole became besotted with him. However, after dying several times, Beric's personality changed considerably. He became more ruthless and more ferocious by half. He gained a formidable reputation among his friends and enemies, who both feared and hated him. However, for the smallfolk he was a hero, for he recognised openly the hardships they went through as a result of the War of the Five Kings. He showed unbridled rage for their suffering when faced with Sandor Clegane, and expressed true intent of representing them. He was respected by the Brotherhood, viewed as something of a God, but in reality, Beric was exhausted and in despair of all the self that he had lost with every resurrection.
Beric was sorely missed by his great friend Thoros, who lamented how Beric gave his life force to bring back a much grimmer shadow.
History[]
At some point, Beric was betrothed to Lady Allyria Dayne. He took Edric Dayne, the Lord of Starfall, as his ward and squire.
Books[]
A Game of Thrones[]
Lord Eddard Stark spots Beric arriving in King's Landing for the Hand's Tourney whilst on his way to the Street of Steel to visit Tobho Mott. During the tourney, Beric loses a horse to a freerider, but is awarded the victory by King Robert I Baratheon, but he is subsequently unhorsed by Thoros of Myr.
When Gregor Clegane raids the Riverlands, Lord Eddard Stark sends Beric and a battalion of men to bring Gregor to justice. However, the battle that follows is a disaster, and Clegane ends up killing Beric with a lance through the heart, and the surviving men raid the Lannister camps in retaliation.
A Clash of Kings[]
There are rumours that Beric Dondarrion is still alive and leading a band of renegades known as the Brotherhood Without Banners. Ser Burton Crakehall, Ser Amory Lorch and the Mountain himself actively claim to have killed him in battle, but Dondarrion apparently refuses to die and continues to enter combat against the Lannisters, with Thoros of Myr by his side.