Axel Baratheon, The First of His Name, was the King of Westeros and Lord of the Seven Kingdoms from the year 390 to the year 398 AC. He had two wives, Lyra Oakheart and Cassanna Penrose.
Appearance and Character[]
In his youth, Axel was a handsome man, dashing and daring, and never lacked for charm. He oft courted women starting from the early age of eleven, but those rarely lasted any longer than a few months. After his marriage to Lyra Oakheart, he remained the same, though the years changed him.
After Lyra's death, Axel became fascinated in drink, and took quite some women into his bed, the most notable being Sarella Martell.
Towards his death, the King grew old and frail, and some whisper that he might've seen his bastard, Orys, as his trueborn son and heir by Lyra, Robert.
History[]
Axel was born in the year 355 AC to Marissa Mallister and Alaric Baratheon, King of Westeros and Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. As a child, he was well-known for his literacy and ability with the blade.
From an early age he quickly became enamoured with Lyra Oakheart, a woman whose grace and beauty was scarce outmatched by anyone at court. She responded to his advances in kind, and upon his fourteenth nameday, the two were married in a lavish ceremony.
Shortly after, when the Princess-Consort was revealed to be pregnant, Axel was said to have rejoiced and showered his wife in gifts. To celebrate the child's birth - a small, strong boy named Robert, the Princess-Consort took her and her child to Old Oak, where they promptly celebrated for some time. Upon her return trip, her and her child were unfortunately caught in a storm in Blackwater bay that ended with both of their deaths.
The King was never the same following those events, or so it was said. Cassanna Penrose, only a child at the time, wrote that she had never seen someone so entangled in grief.
The Crown Prince took to drink, and women as well. His taste in them was legendary, and when he took the Princess Sarella Martell to bed some months after his wife's death, it quickly became known that she was with child as well. What came of their union was the bastard child Orys Waters, who the Prince doted over like he were his first son.
In the year 384 AC, following some political pressure, Axel took to bride a new wife: Cassanna Penrose. Though they were often cordial with one another, the Prince did not take to her as he had once Lyra Oakheart, instead citing that he had seen her more as a sister, or a child of his, rather than a lover.
During the Third Targaryen Rebellion, he helped his father and brother lead the realm against Aelyx Targaryen, continuing to do so after the death of his father at the Battle of Smoke and Sorrow. Axel was coronated and officially recognised as King shortly after the war.
The death of the King's brother, Jon, in the year 393, eventually lead the King into a sombre state, where he rarely left the confines of his own chambers, and attended council meetings scarcely. Axel and Jon had been the best of friends their entire life, and his sudden death, where he was found dead on the ground in front of Maegor's Holdfast (which came after a night of extreme drinking which culminated in the prince falling to his death), shattered Axel. The management of the Realm was largely left to his hand, Lorent Tyrell, and whenever he took audiences, it was from his wife, his Hand, or his Kingsguard.
Shortly thereafter the King took ill, and Beron Baratheon was named Prince of Dragonstone and Heir Apparent to the Iron Throne following the death of Prince Jon.
Death[]
Upon his deathbed, Axel legitimised Orys, creating tension between the Noble Houses of the Realm.