<P> Bran is seven years old at the beginning of A Game of Thrones (1996). He is the fourth child and second son of Eddard "Ned" Stark and his wife Lady Catelyn, and has four siblings: an older brother Robb, two older sisters Sansa and Arya, a younger brother Rickon, and an illegitimate older half - brother Jon Snow . Bran is constantly accompanied by his direwolf Summer, the simpleton stableboy Hodor (who carries him around after his crippling), and the Reed siblings Meera and Jojen . </P> <P> Martin describes Bran as favoring his mother in appearance, having the thick auburn hair and deep blue eyes of the Tullys . According to Martin, Bran is a strong willed, but sweet and thoughtful boy, well - loved by everyone at Winterfell . He enjoys climbing and exploring the walls and ramparts of the castle; he is also dutiful and tough - minded . </P> <P> With his dreams of being a knight dashed by the crippling attempt on his life in A Game of Thrones, duty forces Bran to overcome his new limitations and embrace his new abilities . His gradual acceptance of his seemingly - prophetic visions (called the "greensight") and his ability to psychically inhabit his direwolf Summer (which marks him as a type of skinchanger known as a warg) show his growing maturity and his worth beyond the loss of his legs . He also manages to enter the mind of the stableboy Hodor, and later skinchanges into crows and even weirwood trees under the mentorship of the Three - Eyed Raven . </P> <P> The very first--and youngest--point of view character in the novels, Bran was set up by Martin as a young hero of the series . Mikal Gilmore of Rolling Stone noted in 2014 that the moment in A Game of Thrones in which Jaime Lannister pushes Bran to his likely death "grabs you by the throat". Martin commented in the interview: </P>

When does bran die in game of thrones