Beric Dondarrion

Beric Dondarrion is the Head of House Dondarrion and Lord of Blackhaven, a castle in the Dornish Marches. He is engaged to Allyria Dayne, and his squire is her nephew, Lord Edric Dayne. He rides in the Hand's Tourney but loses a horse to a hedge knight and is shortly after unhorsed by the Red Priest Thoros of Myr. When Ser Gregor Clegane "the Mountain that Rides" begins raiding the Riverlands Lord Eddard Stark sends a hundred men under Beric to arrest the Mountain. However they are ambushed at the Mummer's Ford and Beric is wounded by the Mountain's lance. Edric Dayne pulls from the water and stands over him while the fighting happens, though Beric dies. Thoros, who was in the party and is a friend of Beric, performs the last kiss on Beric, a rite of R'hllorism. To his astonishment Beric is brought back to life. He rallies the survivors to fight the Lannisters' invasion of the Riverlands. However when King Robert dies the Lannisters usurp the throne, making Beric and his men outlaws. Eddard Stark is executed by the Lannisters' King Joffrey Baratheon. Eddard's son Robb Stark arrives in the Riverlands to fight the Lannisters, and on hearing of his father's death the Northmen and Rivermen at Riverrun proclaim him King in the North.

The war between the Lannisters and Starks leaves the Riverlands in ruins. Beric raids the Lannisters' foraging parties. Though some of his men die, others join Beric's force, who become the Brotherhood without Banners. His lightning-style raids and the Dondarrion sigil, a forked purple lightning bolt on black field speckled with four-pointed stars, lead to Beric becoming known as the Lightning Lord. Though Beric and his men were originally sent to fight the Lannisters, the Brotherhood fights all who oppress the smallfolk. Stories develop about Beric, claiming he can't be killed, as several men claim to have killed him but he keeps returning.

Beric is killed five times, and each time Thoros revives him. Beric meets Arya Stark, the younger daughter of Ned Stark, and Gendry, a bastard of Robert Baratheon. They capture Gregor Clegane's brother Sandor Clegane, "the Hound" and Beric has a trial by combat with him, in which the Hound kills him. For the sixth time Thoros brings Beric back, but says it becomes harder each time. Beric then says he can barely remember his old life, he says he couldn't find his castle or remember the color of the hair from the woman he was pledged to marry. Gendry asks to join the Brotherhood, liking their sense of justice, and is knighted by Beric.

In what becomes known as the Red Wedding, Robb Stark, his mother Catelyn Stark, and most of their army are massacred and Catelyn's brother Edmure Tully captured by their treacherous vassals, the Freys and Boltons, who have secretly joined the Lannisters. Catelyn is stripped and thrown in the river after a day and a night. Arya, while warging into her direwolf Nymeria, finds her mother and drags her out of the water. She is found by the Brotherhood and Harwin, a former guardsman of Winterfell, begs Thoros to bring her back. However Thoros claims she has been dead too long. Beric then performs the last kiss on her, and Catelyn rises, while Beric dies a seventh and final time. Leadership of the Brotherhood is taken by Catelyn, who becomes known as Lady Stoneheart. Stoneheart's mission, to take vengeance on all those she believes connected to the Lannisters, leads the outlaw band to fracture. However many people still believe Beric is alive and the Lannister-regime hunt the Riverlands for him, intending to publicly execute him.