Characters in A Song of Ice and Fire

George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels feature a massive cast of characters. The series follows three interwoven plotlines: a dynastic war for control of Westeros by several families; the rising threat of the superhuman Others beyond Westeros's northern border; and the ambition of Daenerys Targaryen, the exiled heir of the previous ruling dynasty.

Each chapter is narrated in the third person limited point of view through the eyes of a single character. Beginning with nine POV characters in A Game of Thrones (1996), the number grows to thirty-one in A Dance with Dragons (2011).

House Stark

House Stark is one of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms and the principal house of the North. Its seat is at Winterfell, one of the oldest castles in the Seven Kingdoms. Its coat of arms displays a grey direwolf running on a white field, and its words, Winter is Coming. Bastards born to Northmen are given the surname "Snow". House Stark had ruled as the Kings in the North for thousands of years until House Targaryen conquered Westeros, whereafter the Starks are the Lords of Winterfell and Wardens of the North. For prizing honor and devotion to duty, House Stark is the closest of the noble houses to heroism.

Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones is an American fantasy drama television series created by showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. It is an adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin's series of fantasy novels, the first of which is titled A Game of Thrones. It is filmed in a Belfast studio and on location elsewhere in Croatia, Iceland, Malta, Morocco, Northern Ireland, Spain, Scotland, and the United States, and premiered on HBO in the United States on April 17, 2011. The series has been renewed for a sixth season, which will premiere on April 24, 2016.

The series is set on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos, and interweaves several plot lines with a large ensemble cast. The first narrative arc follows a civil war among several noble houses for the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms; the second covers the attempts to reclaim the throne by the exiled last scion of the realm's deposed ruling dynasty; the third chronicles the rising threat of the impending winter and the legendary creatures and fierce peoples of the North.

Game

A game is structured form of play, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements. However, the distinction is not clear-cut, and many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such as jigsaw puzzles or games involving an artistic layout such as Mahjong, solitaire, or some video games).

Key components of games are goals, rules, challenge, and interaction. Games generally involve mental or physical stimulation, and often both. Many games help develop practical skills, serve as a form of exercise, or otherwise perform an educational, simulational, or psychological role.

Attested as early as 2600 BC, games are a universal part of human experience and present in all cultures. The Royal Game of Ur, Senet, and Mancala are some of the oldest known games.

Thrones

The Thrones (Ancient Greek: θρόνος, pl. θρόνοι; Latin: thronus, pl. throni) are a class of celestial beings mentioned by Paul the Apostle in Colossians 1:16. According to the New Testament, these high celestial beings are among those Orders at the Christ's service. They are the carriers of the Throne of God, hence the name.

According to Matthew Bunson, the corresponding order of angels in Judaism is called the abalim or "arelim/erelim, but this opinion is far from unrivaled. The Hebrew word erelim is usually not translated "Thrones", but rather "valiant ones", "heroes", "warriors". The function ascribed to erelim in Isaiah 33:7 and in Jewish folklore is not consonant with the lore surrounding the Thrones.

The Ophanim (Wheels or Galgallin) is a class of celestial beings, from Daniel 7:9, that are also equated with the "Thrones" occasionally. They are said to be great wheels covered in eyes.

Western Wisdom Teachings

Dionysius the Areopagite includes the Thrones as the third highest of 9 levels of angels.

Tom Wlaschiha

Thomas Wlaschiha (born 20 June 1973) is a German television, film, stage, and voice actor. Internationally, he is known for his roles as Jaqen H'ghar in the second and fifth seasons of the TV series Game of Thrones, as well as Sebastian Berger in the TV series Crossing Lines.

Life and career

Wlaschiha was born in Dohna, East Germany. When he was 17 years old, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, he traveled to New York City as an exchange student. He remained there for a year, acting in theater and studying English.

He received acting training at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig from 1992 to 1996, and attended the Conservatoire pour les Arts Liège in 1994.

Since 1998, he has played mostly supporting roles in numerous German and international TV and film productions. His first leading role was that of Stephan in the 2000 gay milieu study No One Sleeps. In August 2011, he was cast as the convict and assassin Jaqen H'ghar in the second season of the HBO fantasy TV series Game of Thrones, and has reprised his role in the show's fifth season in 2015. Since 2013, he stars in the crime series Crossing Lines as Kommissar Sebastian Berger, a German police officer.