ULSACUNMUN 2020 BACKGROUND GUIDE - "Time for a change"

ULSACUNMUN
     2020

BACKGROUND GUIDE

   “Time for a change”

GOCASK
                          Government Cabinet of the Seven Kingdoms

                         Topic: “The True Heir of the Seven Kingdoms

Dear delegate:
 I have the pleasure of welcoming you to ULSACUNMUN 2020. My name is Kaory Rios and
I am honored of being the president and creator of this year´s new committee GOCASK
(government Cabinet of the Seven Kingdoms) based on The Game of Thrones series. I'm eager
to get to know you and make the best out of this Model of the United Nations.

First of all, I would like to tell you a little bit about myself. I´m 18 years old and also a senior
in high school. I enjoy hanging out with my friends, taking pictures, learning new languages,
travelling, watching movies, among many other things. My plan is to study film in Puebla and
become a director. This is my 5th MUN conference and my third as part of the chair. If there
is something, I know for sure is that MUN has helped me grow as a person by giving me
leadership skills, and the opportunity of having a word that actually matters in worldwide
problems in order to find the best solution. This topic is more than exciting for me, and
hopefully you´ll find the same way.

I expect your utmost performance and for you to give your nonpareil effort that is needed for
this committee. Remember to be confident with what you say, if you prepared well there is no
reason to be nervous. I wish you the best of lucks and I hope this conference to be a remarkable
experience for everyone. If you have any doubts, please do not hesitate to contact me, but
remember… winter is coming.

                                                                         Yours sincerely,
                                                                    Kaory Rios Ceballos
                                   Government Cabinet of the Seven Kingdoms (GOCASK)
                                                          mun.gocask@lasallecancun.edu.mx
                            Contact with the Secretariat: ulsacunmun@lasallecancun.edu.mx

COMMITTEE DESCRIPTION

The Government Cabinet of the Seven Kingdoms (GOCASK) is a simulation of a government
in which the real executive power rests with a cabinet of ministers who are individually and
collectively responsible of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. It is earthshaking for all ministers
to withstand their own religion. Nevertheless, the chair will not respond to or have a preference
to any religion when reading through each bill given by the ministers previously.

As delegates, each one will be impersonating a character which will be a minister no matter
what their actual title is (lords, Knights, farmers, publicans) and they will all be treated equally.

Unlike other committees of the ULSACUNMUN, the fictional committee of GOCASK has an
aim to extend the vision and the debating opportunities of the delegates by empowering them
to act as if in a different universe with a unique history, religion, beliefs and rules. Although
this fiction introduces a different level of fun to the classic concept of MUN debating, it is not
entirely independent of the formal style and decorum of the debate. Delegates will represent
the presented fictional characters with given backgrounds, but they will remain true to the
values that the United Nations has offer to us as much as possible while writing their position
papers.
The committee will characterize a gathering of ministers of Westeros to decide on the wisest
and most beneficial course of action to be taken to ease the tensions that arose the right to be
King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm.
In a few words, in the Iron Throne.

                       Topic: “The true heir of the Seven Kingdoms”

INTRODUCTION

The committee will characterize a gathering of ministers of Westeros to decide on the wisest
and most beneficial course of action to be taken to ease the tensions that arose the right to be
King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm.
In a few words, in the Iron Throne.
If there is something clear in The Game of Thrones is that the biggest fault of every character
is their concern of reigning supreme over the seven kingdoms rather than their impending
doom. Power is a corrupting force; the Iron Throne will not save the day.
 The true heir, is not the one that survived, or the most famous one, is up to you to see through
all the distractions in order to come to a conclusion.
GOT is far much more than a fight for power, the people of Westeros are fighting their
individual battles over status and wealth, and those are so distracting them that they are ignoring
the threat of “winter is coming”, which has the potential to destroy their world.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Season 1
Season 1 spans a period of several months on a world where the seasons last for years at a time.
The action begins in the unified Seven Kingdoms of Westeros as the long summer ends and
winter draws near. Lord Eddard Stark is asked by his old friend, King Robert Baratheon, to
serve as the Hand of the King following the death of the previous incumbent, Eddard's mentor
Jon Arryn. Eddard is reluctant but receives intelligence suggesting that Jon was murdered.
Eddard accepts Robert's offer, planning to use his position and authority to investigate the
alleged murder.

Meanwhile, on the eastern continent of Essos, the exiled children of House Targaryen, which
Robert destroyed to claim the throne, are plotting to return to Westeros and unseat the 'usurper'.
To this end, Viserys Targaryen arranges the marriage of his sister Daenerys to Khal Drogo, the
leader of 40,000 Dothraki warriors, in return for the use of his warriors in invading Westeros.
For her part, Daenerys just wants to find a safe refuge far away from King Robert's assassins
and her brother's scheming ambition.

Finally, on the northern-most border of the Seven Kingdoms the sworn brothers of the Night's
Watch guard the Wall, a 300-mile-long colossal fortification of ice which has stood for
thousands of years. The Watch defends the Wall against the depredations of the lawless
wildlings who live beyond, but rumor speaks of a new threat arising in the lands of perpetual
winter.

Season 2
The Seven Kingdoms are at war, with the King in the North, Robb Stark, fighting to win
independence for his people and those of the Riverlands. Robb decides that he must win the
allegiance of the fiercely independent ironborn to his cause, and sends his best friend Theon
Greyjoy to treat with his father, who is hatching plans of his own. Meanwhile, Joffrey
Baratheon holds the Iron Throne with the backing of the powerful House Lannister, but his
uncle Renly has also claimed the throne with the support of House Tyrell, whose armies are
much larger. As they struggle for the throne, Tyrion Lannister arrives in King's Landing to take
matters in hand, only to face opposition from his scheming sister, Cersei, now the Queen
Regent.

However, there is another faction entering the picture. Stannis Baratheon, Robert's younger
brother and Renly's older brother, has also claimed the Iron Throne. A proven battle
commander and veteran of several wars, Stannis is known to be utterly without mercy to his
enemies and will do what is right even if it destroys him. Advising him is Melisandre, an
enigmatic priestess from the east, who believes Stannis is meant for a greater destiny, and Ser
Davos Seaworth, an honest and honorable man uneasy with the shifts in power at Stannis' court.

Far to the east, Daenerys Targaryen has hatched the only three dragons in the world. Eventually
they will grow into terrifying monsters capable of destroying cities at her command, but for
now they are still hatchlings and vulnerable. With her khalasar gone, Daenerys and her small
band of followers must find a way across a forbidding wasteland and find new allies to support
her claim to the Iron Throne.

In the distant north, the Night's Watch has mounted an expedition beyond the Wall, searching
for missing rangers and investigating rumors of wildlings gathering in the mountains. For Jon
Snow this will be a rite of passage as he is asked to make difficult choices, for the realm and
for himself.

Season 3
Autumn has fallen across the world, with winter not far behind. The people should be preparing
for years of snow and ice, but the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros instead remain gripped by civil
war. Would-be king Renly Baratheon has been assassinated, altering the alliances in the war.
The cruel boy-king Joffrey Baratheon has won a great victory by securing an alliance with
House Tyrell, with his supporters defeating his uncle Stannis in an epic battle. Joffrey now
commands the largest armies in the realm and his triumph appears inevitable.

King Robb Stark remains in the field, however his homeland, the North, is partially under
ironborn occupation. Robb needs to decide on a course of action to win an overall victory. He
must also win back the allegiance of House Frey, whom he has offended by breaking his
marriage pact with them. King Robb has won every battle he has fought, but as with old King
Robert, the Starks will have to see if good soldiers make good kings.

Stannis Baratheon may be defeated and most of his army destroyed or scattered, but he is not
out of the fight yet. Having retreated to his headquarters on Dragonstone island with his handful
of surviving soldiers, Stannis' status as the last legitimate heir to his older brother Robert still
casts a shadow over Joffrey's claim to the throne. With the priestess Melisandre at his side,
Stannis can still influence the course of the war by striking where least expected.

The lives of many others still hang in the balance. Bran Stark and his protectors must cross the
frozen wastelands of the North to reach the Wall, while Arya must brave the war-torn
Riverlands in search of her mother and brother. Brienne of Tarth also has the thankless task of
escorting the captive Jaime Lannister home across hundreds of miles of battlefields and
carnage. Theon Greyjoy must face the consequences of his actions at Winterfell. And in King's
Landing both Tyrion Lannister and Sansa Stark must brave the currents of a much more
dangerous court in order to survive.

On the eastern continent, Daenerys Targaryen has fled the political viper-pit of Qarth. Her
dragons are growing and her fame is spreading, but to take the Iron Throne she will need
supporters and an army. Both may be found in the corrupt cities of Slaver's Bay... for a price.

Beyond the Wall, the White Walkers are on the move, threatening both the Seven Kingdoms
and the lands of the Free Folk. While the Night's Watch faces the threat of the White Walkers

in the field, Jon Snow must infiltrate the wildling army of Mance Rayder and discover the
King-Beyond-the-Wall's plans.

Season 4

The War of the Five Kings is drawing to a close, but new intrigues and plots are in motion, and
the surviving factions must contend with enemies not only outside their ranks, but within.

King in the North Robb Stark is dead, betrayed by his own bannermen the Boltons and Freys
while he was a guest under the Freys' roof. Robb's mother Catelyn and his wife Talisa, along
with most of the Northern leadership were also killed at the massacre now known as the Red
Wedding, along with the entire Northern army.

Having already defeated Stannis Baratheon at the Battle of the Blackwater and secured
southern Westeros, House Lannister stands triumphant. The crazed boy-king Joffrey Baratheon
gloats, though the victory truly belongs to his grandfather, Lord Tywin Lannister, Hand of the
King and the real power behind the Iron Throne. As reward for their betrayal, Tywin has
granted the Boltons rule of the North, and the Freys with nominal rule of Riverrun, though the
castle remains under the command of Brynden Tully.

Though the mainland of Westeros is mostly under Lannister control, there are still two factions
defying them: the Greyjoys and the Baratheons. Ironborn occupiers remaining in the North are
being hunted down by Ramsay Snow, bastard son of Roose Bolton. Ramsay holds Theon
Greyjoy hostage, horribly torturing him at whim, but Balon Greyjoy considers his son as good
as dead.

Stannis Baratheon, as the rightful heir to his older brother King Robert, still refuses to
surrender, despite having only the remnants of an army. However, following the advice of
Melisandre, he has focused his attention of the threat of the wildlings marching against the
Wall.

The Lannisters only managed to win on the battlefield with the key support of House Tyrell of
the Reach, which they won through promising a marriage-alliance between King Joffrey and
Margaery Tyrell, daughter of Lord Mace Tyrell. Queen Regent Cersei fears - correctly - that
just as the Baratheons became dependent on the Lannisters after Robert's Rebellion, the
Lannisters are starting to become dependent on the Tyrells, who are already insinuating
themselves into positions of power at King's Landing. A royal wedding is to be held between
Joffrey and Margaery, which will confirm the future of the realm.

The only two kingdoms which have remained entirely aloof from the war so far are the Vale
of Arryn and Dorne. While Lysa Arryn chose to remain neutral, former Master of Coin and
new Lord of Harrenhal Petyr Baelish has been sent by Lord Tywin to woo her with a marriage
proposal, now that he's a high lord and a suitable match for the Lady Regent of the Vale.
Nevertheless, only Littlefinger knows what Littlefinger is plotting.

For their own part, House Martell of Dorne has loathed the Lannisters ever since the Sack of
King's Landing, when Ser Gregor Clegane raped and killed Elia Martell - sister of Doran
Martell, the ruling Prince of Dorne - and Lord Tywin did nothing to punish him. During the
War of the Five Kings Tyrion Lannister prevented Dorne from declaring for any of House
Lannister's enemies by sending Princess Myrcella to Sunspear as part of her betrothal to Prince
Trystane Martell, and in return, the Martells were promised a seat on the Small Council. To the
consternation of the Lannisters, a large Dornish embassy arrives in King's Landing to claim
their due - but instead of the elderly Prince Doran, his brash younger brother Prince Oberyn
comes to claim the council seat. Oberyn loves the ladies, he loves the boys, but most of all he
loved his sister Elia, and the Lannisters aren't the only ones who pay their debts.

Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea in Slaver's Bay, perhaps the greatest threat to Lannister rule
is rapidly growing in strength. Daenerys Targaryen now commands not just three live dragons
- who are starting to grow large enough to serve as decisive weapons of war - but also an army
of eight thousand Unsullied warrior-eunuchs. For now, Queen Daenerys is carving a path
through Slaver's Bay - not of conquest but of liberation. As functionally once a slave herself,
Daenerys is determined to free the downtrodden slaves of the region. First Astapor and then
Yunkai fell before Daenerys's forces, and hundreds of thousands of freed slaves now flock to
her banner. Yet Daenerys must now face the last and greatest of the slaver-cities, Meereen -
and unlike her previous victories, they have had time to prepare for her arrival.

Far to the north, beyond the politics and meaningless feuds of the south, the Wall and the
dwindling Night's Watch are all that stand between the Seven Kingdoms and the horrors
beyond. The White Walkers have emerged in force, leading their armies of wights. The
wildlings have rallied behind King-Beyond-the-Wall Mance Rayder in an attempt to flee south,
knowing that as the White Walkers advance, anyone who remain in the lands beyond the Wall
will die and become part of the undead host. Mance's wildling army now numbers in the tens
of thousands and is determined to force its way through the Wall to reach the safety of the
south. All that stands between the Seven Kingdoms and this barbarian invasion is the Night's
Watch, whose numbers and leadership were recently devastated with the deaths of a third of
their number and that of Lord Commander Jeor Mormont. Jon Snow and Samwell Tarly do
what they can to prepare Castle Black for the massive wildling attack.

Not only are the Night's Watch outnumbered and their remaining leadership fractured, but
advanced raiding bands of wildlings have infiltrated behind the Wall by climbing over it,
preparing to attack the weakly defended southern side of Castle Black. These warbands are led
by Tormund and the fearsome Styr, Magnar of Thenn - as well as Jon Snow's ex-lover Ygritte,
whom he betrayed when he revealed his true loyalty and returned to the Night's Watch.

In the Seven Kingdoms, while House Stark stands on the verge of extinction - and is believed
to be just that by the realm at large - four "lone wolves" fight to survive: Sansa Stark remains
a hostage of the Iron Throne and a forced marriage to Tyrion Lannister, Rickon Stark seeks the
safety of Last Hearth and the fiercely loyal House Umber, Bran Stark and his companions
Hodor, Jojen and Meera Reed have crossed the Wall chasing a vision, and Arya Stark, having

lost everything and forced to rely on the protection of a man she hates, clings to survival and
her thirst for vengeance.

Season 5

The War of the Five Kings, once thought to be drawing to a close, is instead entering a new
and more chaotic phase. Westeros is on the brink of collapse, and many are seizing what they
can while the realm implodes, like a corpse making a feast for crows.
Tywin Lannister is dead, shot on the privy by his long-abused dwarf son Tyrion. The crazed
boy-king Joffrey Baratheon, Tywin's grandson, is also dead after being poisoned at his own
wedding, and succeeded by his younger and more pliable brother, Tommen. Queen Cersei
Lannister succeeds her father as the head of House Lannister, and once again takes over as
Queen Regent, as Tommen has yet to come of age. Cersei has been blocked by several powerful
men over the years, including her husband King Robert Baratheon and his friend Eddard Stark,
but due to her betrayals they are both dead. Now with even Tywin and Joffrey dead, and Tyrion
fleeing the realm, there are no more checks on Cersei's power, and she is essentially the Ruling
Queen of the Seven Kingdoms in all but name. However, Cersei is neither a master strategist
nor a skilled diplomat (unlike her father and brother) and she faces mounting crises that would
have strained even their abilities.

House Lannister and its allies have managed to crush House Stark, but in many ways it was a
pyrrhic victory. The Iron Throne was already in massive debt to foreign banks before the war
even began, and the Lannisters' immense wartime spending increased the crown's debts to
crippling levels. The Lannisters must now desperately attempt to placate the Iron Bank of
Braavos, by far the largest of the foreign banks, and the one which the crown owes most of its
huge debts to.

The game of thrones is, unfortunately, not a simple game of cyvasse in which the pieces can be
quickly reassembled: vast swathes of Westeros have been devastated by civil war, and it may
take a full generation for them to rebuild. The Riverlands, where most of the war was fought,
have been reduced to a burned-out husk. Nominally the Lannisters and their House Frey allies
control the Riverlands, but it has been reduced to a lawless and corpse-filled devastation, hardly
controlled by anyone. Winter is fast approaching, but instead of stockpiling harvests the past
few years, the great lords have been busy destroying one of the main breadbasket regions of
the Seven Kingdoms. Combined with the realm's massive debts to foreign banks, starvation
level conditions are starting to set in for the smallfolk across the realm. Outraged by the willful
indifference of their rulers to their well-being for so long, commoners are starting to fall back
onto old cultural touchstones, channeling their frustration into religious fanaticism. A popular
disgust movement spreads across Westeros, and makes its way to the capital.
Adding to these woes is the increasing rivalry between the Lannisters and their Tyrell allies,
specifically between Cersei and Margaery Tyrell. The Lannisters only managed to win on the
battlefield with the armies and food resources won by their alliance with the House Tyrell of
the Reach. Now that Tywin is dead, and Margaery is soon to be King Tommen's queen, the

Tyrells are no longer pretending to be polite to the Lannisters, but openly demanding greater
concessions and key positions of power. With half of the Lannister armies slaughtered by Robb
Stark during the war, their financial resources depleted, and the Tyrells controlling the only
major breadbasket region untouched by the war, the Lannisters are having to face the reality
that the Tyrells hold numerous advantages over them. Just as Robert Baratheon became king
only to become dependent on the support of the Lannisters, the Lannisters have now become
dependant on the Tyrells.
Without the political acumen of Tywin or Tyrion, Queen Regent Cersei struggles to address
these major challenges. Adding even further to her woes is that the king's Small Council has
been gutted, with Hand of the King Tywin dead, Master of Coin Petyr Baelish leaving for the
Eyrie, and both Tyrion and Master of Whisperers Varys fleeing the capital city. Of the original
Small Council when the Lannisters first seized power, only Grand Maester Pycelle remains.

Besides the Reach, only the regions which have remained neutral so far still have all of their
armies and resources intact: the Vale, ruled by House Arryn, and Dorne, ruled by House
Martell. With nearly all the other Great Houses defeated or half-exhausted, the fresh armies of
the Vale and Dorne can drastically alter the political playing field, depending on which side
they choose to join.

The ultimate result of the war was to exhaust the Starks, Lannisters, and other Great Houses of
the Seven Kingdoms - exactly as Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish had planned. The secret architect
of the conflict, it was Littlefinger who was responsible for poisoning Robert's Hand, Jon Arryn,
by conspiring with his own wife Lysa Arryn. Littlefinger then engineered the betrayal of
Eddard Stark, only to later assist Olenna Tyrell in assassinating King Joffrey at his own
wedding. Baelish has now murdered Lysa, mere days after weddinging her, and seized power
over the Vale as regent for her young son. For the moment, Baelish remains in the Vale,
consolidating his new hold over the Vale lords through his stepson Robin and his position as
Lord Protector of the Vale. Alongside Baelish is the black-haired "Alayne", his ward and
"niece" - secretly, Sansa Stark, who fell into Littlefinger's custody after he helped her escape
her long imprisonment at Joffrey's royal court.
In the deserts of the deep south of Westeros, the people of Dorne demand vengeance for the
death of Prince Oberyn, who died in a trial by combat at the hands of Ser Gregor Clegane.
Leading the call to enter the war against the Lannisters are Oberyn's paramour, Ellaria Sand,
and the eldest of his eight daughters: Obara, Nymeria, and Tyene. But Doran Martell, the Prince
of Dorneand Oberyn's older brother, continues to urge restraint. Further complicating the
matter is that early in the war, the Lannisters bribed the Martells into staying neutral by offering
a marriage-alliance, sending Cersei's daughter Myrcella to Dorne to betroth her to Doran's son
Trystane. Myrcella is still a ward living in Dorne's capital, Sunspear.
The most dire situation in Westeros, however, is in the North and at the Wall. The massive
assault against Castle Black by the wildling army of Mance Rayder was defeated at the last
moment by the surprise arrival of Stannis Baratheon and his remaining forces. Stannis
withdrew from his island stronghold Dragonstone to reach the Wall by sea, to defend the realm
of which he feels he is the only rightful king. With his home territories in the Stormlands

overrun, Stannis needs to win the allegiance of Robb Stark's defeated bannermen, to rally the
North again as a springboard against Lannister rule, as well as the support of Jon Snow, who
therefore must walk a political tightrope between Stannis and his vows, since the Night's Watch
is sworn to strict political neutrality. Though the battle against the wildlings is all but over, the
Night's Watch is in its own dire conditions. With almost all of the Watch's top officers either
killed or missing, among them Lord Commander Jeor Mormont and First Ranger Benjen Stark,
the organization has been left leaderless during this time of crisis, and therefore will have to
navigate a contentious election for a new Lord Commander. All the while, the White Walkers
and their ever-growing army of the dead are bearing down on the Wall itself, intent on spilling
over it to destroy the lands of men beyond, who remain ignorant of the long-forgotten but all-
too-real danger.
The main armies of the Northern Houses, however, were slaughtered in the south at the Red
Wedding, and the large main army of House Bolton has just returned to the North following
the recapture of Moat Cailin. The Boltons switched to the Lannister side during the betrayal at
the Red Wedding, during which their leader Lord Roose Bolton personally killed Robb Stark,
and they have been installed as the new rulers of the North in the name of King Tommen and
the Lannisters. With the other Northern Houses defeated and weakened, the Lannister-backed
Bolton army can now suppress any feeble opposition to their rule. Meanwhile, Roose's
sociopathic bastard son Ramsay Snow - now legitimized as Ramsay Bolton - is the new Lord
of Winterfell under his father, reoccupying the castle which he personally burned out
previously. With the Boltons in power, Ramsay is now free to commit numerous atrocities
throughout the North, such as flaying men alive and hunting and killing young women for
sport.
However, the struggle for the North is not yet over. Various areas of the North's western coast
are still held by ironborn invaders under Balon Greyjoy, who chose to crown himself as King
of the Iron Islands and attack the North during Robb Stark's march south rather than ally with
him against the Lannisters. Balon's son and heir, Theon, who himself was a ward of Lord
Eddard Stark and one of Robb's closest advisors, turned on the Starks and led the assault
himself but was betrayed by his own men and is now a prisoner of the Boltons, having been
brutally flayed, tortured, and psychologically broken by Ramsay himself, who has reduced
Theon to his personal slave, "Reek".

East of Westeros, after murdering his own father, Tyrion Lannister has fled across the Narrow
Sea to the Free Cities, his future intentions unknown even to himself. Accompanied by Varys,
he arrives in the east, unaware that the erstwhile Master of Whisperers might yet have secrets
to reveal. Further north, meanwhile, representatives from the Iron Throne travel to the Free
City of Braavos to assuage the Iron Bank's frustrations about all of the money the Lannisters
owe. Unbeknownst to all, Arya Stark has also fled to Braavos, due to a favor she was owed for
saving the life of one of the mysterious guild of assassins in Braavos known as the Faceless
Men.
Further east in Slaver's Bay, Daenerys Targaryen's hold over Meereen has become very
precarious, as ruling the city is becoming much more difficult than conquering it was. Sectarian
violence is rampant between the former slaves and former slave-masters, revenge attacks are

on the rise, and the resurgent slaversat Yunkai are rallying all those who oppose her. Daenerys's
three dragons, now growing to dangerous size, have become uncontrollable and she can no
longer rely upon them to defeat her enemies on the battlefield. Drogon burned a child to death
while he was hunting and fled the city, forcing Daenerys to chain up the remaining two dragons
in the caverns underneath the city. In addition, Daenerys is still distraught over the recent
revelations concerning her once-trusted advisor Jorah Mormont, whom she exiled from the city
as punishment. Her remaining advisors Ser Barristan Selmy, Missandei, and the sellsword
Daario Naharis attempt to help hold her reign together.
But unbeknownst to Daenerys, word has finally spread to Westeros that the last living
Targaryen heir has hatched three live dragons. No longer a mere curiosity halfway across the
world, several different factions in Westeros are now pondering how Daenerys and her dragons
will factor into the already confusing and multi-sided civil war still tearing the Seven Kingdoms
apart. Envoys are beginning to head east to court Daenerys's allegiance: but those who try to
dance with dragons run the risk of being burned.

Season 6

Winter has come.

Westeros braces for a winter which may become a new Long Night, as the White Walkers and
their army of the dead are poised to strike against the Wall and the realms of men.

In King's Landing, Queen Cersei Lannister has been publicly shamed by the Faith of the Seven
and awaits her trial for regicideand incest. Even Grand Maester Pycelle has abandoned her, and
called her uncle, Ser Kevan Lannister, to rule as the new Hand of the King. Even though Cersei
has been released to their custody, her inept leadership nearly destroyed House Lannister's hold
on the throne and they have no intention of ever letting her wield power again. Kevan and
Pycelle must attempt to mend the damage Cersei did to the Lannister-Tyrell alliance. The
Lannisters and Tyrells on Kevan's Small Council maintain a shaky truce as they attempt to deal
with the ongoing debt crisis to the Iron Bank of Braavos, as well as the rise of the fanatical
Faith Militant due to Cersei's blunders. Cersei meanwhile, though seemingly humbled, still has
a few schemes she will attempt to play to regain control.

In the North, the Boltons have triumphed over King Stannis — but in the distraction, Sansa
Stark and Theon Greyjoy have escaped, desperately jumping off Winterfell's castle walls.
Brienne of Tarth, who executed Stannis, must now deal with the consequences of putting her
vow to avenge King Renly before her oath to protect Sansa.

In the Riverlands, after the Red Wedding the remaining Tully forces (who were not present at
the massacre of their Northern allies) pulled back to Riverrun castle - where they have been
hopelessly besieged by House Frey's army ever since. The garrison is under the command of
Robb Stark's great-uncle Brynden "The Blackfish" Tully, and is the last bastion of Robb's short-
lived independent kingdom that remains unconquered. Riverrun's garrison may be surrounded
and alone, fighting for a dead king, but their defenses are formidable, they have enough food
supplies to last for years, and their commander is one of the most experienced and skilled

generals in Westeros. The Lannisters and their Frey allies cannot let the siege of Riverrun
continue to drag on if they are ever to claim real control over central Westeros.

In Dorne, Ellaria Sand's poisoning of Cersei's daughter, the Princess Myrcella, may now force
Doran Martell into the war against the Iron Throne he has been fervently trying to avoid.

Across the Narrow Sea, in the Free City of Braavos, Arya Stark killed Meryn Trant without the
Faceless Men's permission — but without the proper training, the use of one of their masks has
poisoned her and rendered her blind. Her training continues, as now the blind little girl must
learn to rely on her other senses to survive.

In Slaver's Bay, Daenerys Targaryen's attempt to liberate Meereen has resulted in massive
bloodshed, with the former slave masters conspiring to retake the city. In a large scale ambush
on the opening day of the games in Daznak's Pithowever, Daenerys climbed onto Drogon's
back to try to escape the danger — but she could not make him return to the city. Instead, the
young dragon flew north to the southern border of the Dothraki Sea, the lands of his birth,
where the stranded Daenerys has been surrounded by a hostile Dothraki khalasar numbering
in the thousands. Jorah Mormont and Daario Naharis have set out to search for her. Meanwhile,
back in the city Daenerys's advisors Tyrion Lannister, Missandei, and Grey Worm are joined
by Varys in attempting to hold together rule over the city wracked by the ongoing insurgency
until Daenerys returns — if she returns at all.

At the Wall, Lord Commander Jon Snow attempted to prepare for the coming of the White
Walkers by letting as many wildlings through to the south as he could — but tens of thousands
more were killed and resurrected as undead wights at Hardhome. The leading Night's Watch
officers, increasingly upset at Jon's proposed alliance with the wildlings, have staged a mutiny
"for the Watch" and stabbed Jon multiple times until he fell.

Just before the mutiny against Jon Snow, he sent away Samwell Tarly to go to the Citadel in
Oldtown in order to train to be a new maester to replace Maester Aemon after his passing.
Samwell takes Gilly and her young son with him, rather than leave them in the path of the
White Walkers. Oldtown, Westeros's second largest city, is located in the southwest of the
Reach, not far away from Sam's former home, the House Tarly castle-seat at Horn Hill.
Samwell and Gilly, however, face a long and difficult sea voyage before they get to the Citadel.

Distracted by the political intrigues in King's Landing, the exhausted lords of Westeros must
now brace for the rise of the kraken — the ironborn led by House Greyjoy. Early in the War of
the Five Kings, Balon Greyjoy declared the Iron Islands' independence and raided the North
while the Stark's army was fighting in the south. Having remained relatively uninvolved ever
since, the ironborn's massive fleet remains at full strength, a fact lost on the major powers of
the mainland, who have been nearly exhausted fighting each other.

All of this changes with the sudden return of Balon's exiled younger brother Euron Greyjoy —
cunning, ruthless, manipulative, and more than a little insane, he strikes fear even into the other
ironborn. He pushes for the ironborn to launch massive new offensives against the other
kingdoms, not simply to raid, but to hold and conquer territory, as Euron's ultimate ambition is

nothing less than to conquer all of the Seven Kingdoms. He is opposed by Balon's daughter
Yara Greyjoy, who urges that the Iron Islands must preserve their strength and engage in
diplomacy with the mainland if they are to survive.

And as the winds of winter begin to sweep through the south, far Beyond the Wall the young
Bran Stark has been staying with the last of the Children of the Forest and his new mentor, the
Three-eyed raven, in order to hone his abilities. Bran will not walk again, but he has learned to
fly.

Season 7

After a summer lasting almost ten years, the words of House Stark have finally become reality
once again: winter is here.

In King's Landing, Cersei Lannister has finally seized the power that she has craved for many
years. In one swift move, she has eliminated nearly all of her enemies, rivals, and obstructions;
Queen Margaery Tyrell, Lord Mace Tyrell, Ser Loras Tyrell, Cersei's uncle Ser Kevan
Lannister, Grand Maester Pycelle, the High Sparrow, and most of - if not all - members of the
Faith Militant were killed when the Great Sept of Baelor was destroyed using large amounts of
wildfire, an event orchestrated by Cersei. She has crowned herself the undisputed Queen of the
Seven Kingdoms, with Qyburn as her Hand and the undead knight Ser Gregor Clegane at her
side. After nearly four decades of serving as the power behind the throne, House Lannister has
finally become the new royal house. However, Cersei is still haunted by the prophecy she was
told during her childhood, which claimed that the deaths of her three (future) children would
predate her own; Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen are all dead, Tommen having taken his own
life shortly after the Sept's destruction. This has made Cersei all the more determined to crush
her enemies once and for all, but the number of her enemies has just increased exponentially.
Though she now sits on the Iron Throne, she has effectively undone all of Tywin Lannister's
efforts to ensure that his family stay in power as her actions have undoubtedly earned her the
hatred of all of Westeros. Most of the realm is either in open rebellion against the Iron Throne
or has fallen out of her allies' control, leaving Cersei effectively as the Queen of King's Landing
and the lands owned by the Lannisters. It is the beginning of the end.

In the Riverlands, the last bastion of Robb Stark's independent Northern-Riverland kingdom,
Riverrun, has fallen to House Lannister and House Frey in a siege led by Ser Jaime Lannister.
Lord Edmure Tully, who had been held hostage by the Freys ever since the Red Wedding,
ordered the Tully garrison to stand down for the sake of his wife and child, whom Jaime had
violently threatened if Edmure refused to cooperate. Edmure's uncle, Brynden "The Blackfish"
Tully, is dead, having chosen to fight to the death rather than surrender. Brienne of Tarth and
her squire, Podrick Payne, had traveled to Riverrun in an attempt to recruit the Blackfish to
assist Sansa Stark in reclaiming Winterfell from House Bolton. The attempt failed, and they
were only barely able to escape when the castle fell.

Although House Frey has reclaimed Riverrun, Lord Walder Frey is also dead. Arya Stark,
despite nearly being killed by the Waif and ultimately overcoming the assassin in single

combat, has completed her training as a Faceless Man in the Free City of Braavos. With her
original mission clearly back in focus, she has abandoned the Order and returned to Westeros
to cross more names off of her list of vengeance, starting with Walder Frey, the last surviving
orchestrator of the Red Wedding that claimed the lives of her mother, brother, and pregnant
sister-in-law, at the same time butchering Walder's two most prominent sons, Lothar Frey and
Walder Rivers who also helped carry out the massacre, and leaving the rule of the Riverlands
in unknown hands. Also, Sandor "The Hound" Cleganehas survived his brutal fight with
Brienne of Tarth and attempted to build a new, humble life, but has been dragged back into
conflict by the Brotherhood Without Banners, who intend to head north to fight in the war that
is coming.

On the Iron Islands, King Balon Greyjoy is dead, having been murdered by his psychopathic
younger brother, Euron Greyjoy. Balon's son, Theon, returned to the Iron Islands after helping
Sansa Stark escape from Ramsay Bolton and endorsed his elder sister, Yara, as their father's
successor at the subsequent Kingsmoot. However, Euron has claimed and won the Salt Throne
by promising an alliance with Daenerys Targaryen, which he will use to conquer the Seven
Kingdoms. In desperation, and in fear for their lives, Theon and Yara have stolen a hundred
ships from the Iron Fleet. With sailors and soldiers loyal to them, they have traveled to Meereen
and sought out Daenerys's help first. They have managed to secure an alliance between House
Targaryen and House Greyjoy to help Daenerys retake the Iron Throne and overthrow Euron
in return for the Iron Islands' independence. Euron, however, has ordered the construction of
an even bigger fleet to begin his own invasions, seek out new alliances and destroy all who
may stand in his way of taking the Seven Kingdoms for himself.

Also aiding Daenerys are the Dornish and the Tyrells, the rulers of the Reach. In Dorne, Ellaria
Sand and the Sand Snakes have staged a coup; they have murdered Prince Doran Martell and
his heir, Trystane, and taken control of Dorne in retaliation for Doran's refusal to wage war
against House Lannister after the brutal death of his younger brother Prince Oberyn at the hands
of Ser Gregor, who also murdered their sister Princess Elia and her two young children,
Princess Rhaenys and Prince Aegon. With Cersei declaring war against the Sands for their
murder of her daughter Myrcella, Ellaria has turned to Daenerys and her loyalists to help bring
down the Lannisters. Unknown to Ellaria, however, is that Tyrion Lannister, Myrcella's uncle,
is now serving as Daenerys's Hand of the Queen, and will likely demand justice against the
Sands for murdering his beloved niece in cold blood. Lady Olenna Tyrell, herself now a target
of Cersei as she is now the only surviving Tyrell, has met with Ellaria and the Sand Snakes, a
meeting facilitated by Varys. Although skeptical of their motives (and wary that they
essentially murdered their own family to seize power), grief-stricken and incensed by the deaths
of her son, grandson, and granddaughter, Olenna pledges House Tyrell's forces to Daenerys in
the hope of revenge for her slain family, no longer caring about her own survival.

In the North, Jon Snow and Sansa Stark, aided by Ser Davos Seaworth, Tormund Giantsbane,
and Lady Lyanna Mormont, have finally defeated Ramsay Bolton and reclaimed Winterfell
following a spectacular battle. Their victory was also due in large part to the support from the
knights of the Vale, the elite soldiers of House Arryn, the lords of the Vale, courtesy of Lord
Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish. Even though House Bolton is now extinct following Ramsay's

brutal execution, the future of House Stark is left in question: with Robb and Rickon dead, and
Bran believed dead as well, the Northern and Vale lords have turned to Jon and named him the
new King in the North, while Sansa has rejected Littlefinger's proposal to help him take the
Iron Throne and become his queen. Given that Littlefinger was instrumental in the outbreak of
the War of the Five Kings (by conspiring with Lysa Arryn to murder Jon Arryn, pit the Starks
and Lannisters against each other, and throw Westeros into complete chaos), and that one of
his initial goals was to become the new Warden of the North, Jon's ascension to King in the
North is now a major obstacle in his master plan, setting the stage for a looming conflict
between Jon and Littlefinger, the latter already having sewn seeds of distrust in Sansa towards
Jon. The Red Priestess Melisandre, meanwhile, has been dismissed from Jon's service
following the discovery of her role in Shireen Baratheon's death, as well as for the burning of
countless innocent people as sacrifices to the Lord of Light during her service to Stannis
Baratheon, stripping Jon of easily one of his most valuable advisers, and is now heading south
to locations unknown.

In the Reach, after navigating various obstacles, Samwell Tarly, Gilly, and her son have finally
reached the Citadel in Oldtown, where Sam intends to train as a maester to replace the deceased
Maester Aemon of the Night's Watch, hoping to gain some insight into the White Walkers and
how to defeat them. However, with Sam's theft of his family's ancestral Valyrian steel sword,
Heartsbane, he has undoubtedly incurred the immense wrath of his father, Randyll Tarly, who
will now likely seek retribution, while the absence House Tyrell's armies will have also left the
Reach open to coming outside attacks, so Samwell must use the sword in his studies and
uncover the secrets behind Valyrian steel for the coming battle against the dead, before all is
lost.

Across the Narrow Sea, having at last defeated the slave masters and the Sons of the Harpy,
Queen Daenerys Targaryen has finally set sail for Westeros. She has acquired an army
consisting of the Unsullied, the Dothraki, and troops from House Greyjoy, House Tyrell,
Dorne, and her three full-grown dragons. Tyrion Lannister serves at her side as Hand of the
Queen, though at the cost of two of her advisors: Ser Jorah Mormont, whom Daenerys has sent
to find a cure for his spreading greyscale infection, and Daario Naharis, her lover whom
Daenerys has ordered to stay behind with the Second Sons (on Tyrion's advice) so that she may
pursue a potential marriage alliance to aid her in her campaign. Unknown to Daenerys,
however, there is already somebody across the Narrow Sea who may very well have a stronger
claim to the Targaryen monarchy than she does, and who may prove to become her most
valuable ally or her greatest enemy yet.

Beyond the Wall, Bran Stark has been training in his power of greensight under the tutelage of
the Three-Eyed Raven and has learned some devastating secrets, specifically the origin of the
White Walkers and the true parentage of his believed half-brother, Jon Snow: Jon is the son of
Lyanna Stark and Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, which would make him the nephew and a rival
claimant to Daenerys Targaryen for the Iron Throne. Following an attack which claims the
lives of the Three-Eyed Raven, Hodor, and seemingly the last of the Children of the Forest,
Bran and Meera Reed have been rescued by Bran's undead uncle, Benjen Stark, and taken back

to the Wall. There, Bran must prepare for the arrival of the Night King, who at all costs must
be defeated before Westeros can dream of another spring.

Season 8

After eight thousand years of standing between the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and the lands
beyond, the inevitable has finally happened - the Wall has been breached: Mounted on the
reanimated corpse of Daenerys Targaryen's dragon Viserion, the Night King has blasted
through the ancient fortification and obliterated the castle of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. The army
of the dead, now numbering over 100,000 wights as well as the White Walkers, is heading
straight towards the North, bringing a winter that will become another Long Night, one which
may last forever.

Unfortunately, the political and military strife within the Seven Kingdoms is not yet over.
Though the War of the Five Kings is long ended, control of the Iron Throne is still being
contested. In King's Landing, despite having proven herself a less than ideal ruler, Queen Cersei
Lannister is determined to stay on the Iron Throne at any cost. Allying herself with Euron
Greyjoy and Randyll Tarly, Cersei's armies won several victories against the invading forces
of Daenerys Targaryen, and have sacked the Tyrell stronghold of Highgarden in order to pay
off the crown's debts to the Iron Bank of Braavos. Despite the larger threat to the realm, Cersei
is content with allowing the army of the dead to devastate the North in order to rid her of her
enemies before focusing on the threat herself. Tyrion Lannister tried once again to convince
his sister to put aside her enmities and unite with Daenerys against the army of the dead, but
his pleas fell on deaf ears. Although she promised a military alliance with the dragon queen,
Cersei instead brokered a backroom deal: with Euron's help and the financial backing of the
Iron Bank, she hired the Golden Company, the most powerful mercenary army in Essos, to
destroy all of her enemies at once and solidify Lannister rule over Westeros. For Jaime
Lannister, who has stood by his sister all their lives, this is the last straw; disgusted at Cersei's
willingness to allow the realm to perish if it means that she can retain her crown, he abandoned
her and is now heading north to honor the pledge he made to fight against the enemy facing
them all.

From her base at Dragonstone, Daenerys and her Westerosi allies - armies from Dorne, the Iron
Islands, and the Reach - attempted to retake the Iron Throne and restore her family dynasty.
Unfortunately, all of her plans went disastrously wrong: one of her key allies, Olenna Tyrell,
has been killed, having been given the mercy of a peaceful death after the Lannisters sacked
Highgarden. Yara Greyjoy, Ellaria Sand, and Tyene Sand were taken hostage by Euron
Greyjoy, who single-handedly murdered Obara Sand and Nymeria Sand in a spectacular
engagement by Euron's forces. Ellaria was tortured by Cersei Lannister in retaliation for the
murder of Cersei's young daughter Myrcella Baratheon, committed by Ellaria in revenge for
the Lannister-backed death of Prince Oberyn Martell. Cersei poisoned Tyene and forced a
chained Ellaria to watch while her daughter died a slow death. Meanwhile, Yara Greyjoy
remained the prisoner of her uncle Euron. Yara's younger brother, Theon, rallied the few
remaining ironborn loyalists in an attempt to rescue her, after winning them over in a fight with
Harrag, Yara's last captain.

Frustrated by her losses, Daenerys decided to ambush the combined Lannister and Tarly forces
with her Dothraki horde and one of her dragons. Although she succeeded in winning this battle,
she recklessly burned the wagons of grain en route to the capital, which she needed to feed her
own forces. After the battle, Daenerys gave the remaining Lannister and Tarly soldiers a choice:
bend the knee to her and join in her goal to make "the world a better place than we found it" -
or death. Lord Randyll Tarly and his son Dickon chose death and stated their refusal to bend
the knee to Daenerys, who they viewed as a "foreign invader". Daenerys accepted their choice
and, having stated her refusal to put men in chains when Tyrion urged imprisonment instead,
executed Randyll and Dickon Tarly via dragonfire. This alarmed Tyrion and Varys, who
remembered the actions of Daenerys's father and discussed her decision to burn the Tarlys.
Tyrion stated that Daenerys is not her father and never will be with the right counsel. Varys
responds Tyrion must find a way to make her listen.

In the North, Jon Snow, chosen as King in the North by his compatriots, sought out an alliance
with Daenerys; not to help her seize the Iron Throne, but to aid him in the coming war against
the army of the dead: the Great War. Through the combined efforts of Daenerys's remaining
allies - as well as the Brotherhood Without Banners - Jon captured a wight and presented it
before Cersei (who, up until then, thought they and the White Walkers were just stories) in
order to prove their existence and return, though Daenerys lost Viserion in the process. During
their alliance, Jon and Daenerys developed a romantic attraction and consummated their
relationship. This may put their future operations in jeopardy, especially in light of their
biological connection of which they are still unaware.

At Winterfell, the North saw the return of two Stark siblings who were believed to be dead -
Arya Stark, who killed the remaining men of House Frey in revenge for the Red Wedding, and
Bran Stark, who has now become the Three-eyed Raven. Despite the schemes of Petyr Baelish
to drive the Starks apart and seize power in his own bid to take the Iron Throne, Baelish was
exposed as the true architect of the deaths of Jon Arryn and Lysa Arryn, and the War of the
Five Kings, which saw the deaths of countless innocent people for a false cause. He was
executed for his crimes on the order of Sansa Stark, bringing an end to his schemes once and
for all.

Through his power of greensight, Bran previously discovered that his believed half-brother Jon
Snow was, in fact, the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. However, this revelation
was only part of the truth. When Samwell Tarly decided to leave his studies at the Citadel in
Oldtown and go to Winterfell to return to Jon's side, Sam told Bran that Rhaegar had his
marriage to Elia Martell annulled by the High Septon so he could marry Lyanna Stark. Bran
confirmed their wedding via greensight and discovered that Jon was born Aegon Targaryen,
named by Lyanna. This means that not only is Jon legitimate but, as revealed by Bran, Jon is
the true heir to the Targaryen dynasty, and an heir to the Iron Throne ahead of Daenerys herself,
which may or may not have consequences for their newly formed alliance.

CURRENT SITUATION

This debate will be located at the “final meeting” where the chosen characters dead or alive at
the final season will get the chance to discuss who should be the true heir, even though it has
already been declared that Jon Snow is the one by the author.
There is a special document in the resources section in which rules and specifications of the
procedure are listed so that you are as well prepared as possible for the debate.

CHARACTER BOX

Arya Stark      Davos Seaworth Joffrey              Olenna Tyrell      Samwell Tarly
                               Baratheon

Bran Stark      Gendry              Jon Snow        Petyr Baelish      Sansa Stark
                Baratheon

Cersei Lannister Gran Maestre       Jorah Mormont   Ramsay Bolton      Tyrion
                 Pycelle                                               Lannister

Daenerys        Jaime Lannister     Melisandre      Robb Stark         Varys
Targaryen

House Stark                       House Lannister                   House Targaryen

House Tyrell                       House Greyjoy                        House Tull

House Arryn                    House Baratheon                   House Martell

                                    House Frey

GUIDE QUESTIONS

1.- How is your character important in GOT?
2.- According to GOT timeline, for how long was your character present in the story?
3.- Who does your character considers to be the true heir? (In case of being itself
express valid reasons).
4.- To which houses (or people in specific) is your character loyal to?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

  •   Moonracer,       G.     G.    (s.f.-b).   Fandom.   Retrieved     from:
      https://gameofthrones.fandom.com/wiki

  •   This Background Guide was based on the Game of Thrones TV show, which
      was based on George R.R. Martins´ “A Song of Ice and Fire” book series.