Unaligned

Balon Swann

House: House Swann of Stonehelm in the Stormlands (second son of Lord Gulian Swann); Kingsguard sworn to Joffrey I and Tommen I

Last confirmed serving the crown in Dorne, engaged in the search for the knight accused of Ser Arys Oakheart's death and Princess Myrcella's disfigurement.

Raised to the Kingsguard in the wake of Ser Preston Greenfield's ugly death in the King's Landing riots, Balon Swann arrived to the white cloak already a capable hand with the lance, a still better one with a morningstar, and by most accounts finest of all with a bow — skills that saw real use soon enough at the Battle of the Blackwater, where he fought at Joffrey's side through the worst of Stannis's assault. He is the second son of Lord Gulian Swann of Stonehelm; his elder brother Ser Donnel took the black cloak's opposite path entirely, serving first Renly Baratheon and then, after Storm's End changed hands, Stannis — a small reminder, a maester notes, that the War of the Five Kings split brothers as readily as it split kingdoms.

The arc of Balon Swann

This carries the character’s road through the published novels. Read on only if you do not fear to know.

Sent to Dorne as part of Princess Myrcella's household after her maiming, Balon Swann is given, by Prince Doran himself, the peculiar honor of being led by Obara Sand to the hiding place of Gerold Dayne, called Darkstar — the man Dorne has agreed, for reasons of its own quiet politics, to blame publicly for Ser Arys Oakheart's death, whatever the truth of that killing actually was.

Where the books leave Balon Swann: Balon Swann's white cloak has taken him from the Blackwater's burning ships to the docks of King's Landing and, by the record's last word, deep into Dorne on an errand Prince Doran Martell devised for reasons of his own — hunting a man Dorne publicly blames for a murder the prince knows was not truly his doing.

These partings name deaths, endings, and roads not yet ridden in the books. Unveil them only if both roads are known to you — or if you do not fear to know.

In the timeline

SourcesACOK · TyrionASOS · SansaAFFC · The Captain of GuardsADWD · The Watcher

How did Balon Swann join the Kingsguard?

He was raised to fill the vacancy left by Ser Preston Greenfield's death during the King's Landing bread riots, and proved his worth soon after at the Battle of the Blackwater.

Is Balon Swann related to Donnel Swann?

Yes — Donnel is his elder brother and House Swann's heir, who fought for Renly Baratheon and then Stannis while Balon served the Lannister-backed crown in King's Landing.