- "Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder. Many who try to climb it fail, and never get to try again. The fall breaks them. And some are given a chance to climb, but refuse. They cling to the realm, or love, or the gods... illusions. Only the ladder is real. The climb is all there is."
- ―Baelish to Varys.
Lord Petyr Baelish, also known by his nickname Littlefinger, is the head of House Baelish, former Master of Coin, Lord Paramount of the Trident, Lord of Harrenhal and Lord Protector of the Vale. A skilled manipulator, Baelish was a former member of the Small Council, briefly the husband of Lysa Arryn, the Lord of Harrenhal and, recently, the Lord Protector of the Vale following the death of Lysa Arryn. Baelish can be considered responsible for the entirety of the events that sparked the War of the Five Kings, as he conspired to assassinate Jon Arryn, and later betrayed Eddard Stark to Joffrey Baratheon, only to help assassinate Joffrey years later. In the books, he is still in the Eyrie, facing possible insurrection. In the show, he is now in Winterfell, following the Vale's pledge of allegiance to the North.