Lyanna Stark is an unseen character in the events of Game of Thrones. Lyanna dies at the end of Robert’s Rebellion, before the show begins. She was the younger sister of Eddard Stark. Her abduction by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen was a major factor behind Robert’s Rebellion; her death is still mysterious. The events that unfolded as a result of her abduction played a very crucial role in ensuring the complete collapse of the Targaryen dynasty.
Lyanna is an aesthetically gifted character with dark hair covering grey and calm eyes; her long face is one feature common to the Starks. Ned, one of the characters, calls her ‘wolf-blooded, meaning hot-tempered but willful and courageous. He further compares her to Arya both in personality and appearance, speculating that Lyanna would have carried a sword if her father would have allowed her to. Lyanna is seen to have been a highly trained rider; she was a frequent visitor at Winterfell for the blue winter roses that grew there.
Lyanna rode horses like a Northman. Due to her exemplary riding skills, Harwin likens her to Arya Stark, who apparently had similar skills. According to Barbey Dustin, both Lyanna and Brandon were fond of riding-both could only be compared to centaurs. This perhaps might be the hidden reason behind her horse riding prowess. Furthermore, her unmatched horse-riding skills led to Roose Bolton’s speculation of Lyanna as being a ‘half a horse herself’; but, express her pride that her son Domeric Bolton would easily out-race Lyanna.
Being that he was extremely infatuated with Lyanna, Robert remains deeply in love with her memory years succeeding Lyanna’s death, to a point of affecting his marriage to Cersei Lannister. However, Ned has an opinion that Robert might not have known Lyanna very well as he might think, and as everyone else thinks. All this time, Robert dismisses such speculations and holds a strong belief that Lyanna would never oppose him in public as Cersei does. Ned further claims that Robert was only after Lyanna’s beauty and failed to recognize and acknowledge the boldness and strength of will in her.
Lyanna succumbed to fever in a room full of smells of ‘blood and roses’. On her deathbed, she asked Ned to promise her something, although we do not know what that something was. Many fans speculate that Jon Snow may actually be Lyanna’s child, rather than Ned’s. However, we have no confirmation of this theory. Lyanna’s death and Jon’s birth are both mysterious.