Sandor Clegane

"Look at me! Stannis is a killer. The Lannisters are killers. Your father was a killer. Your brother is a killer. Your sons will be killers someday. The world is built by killers... so you better get used to looking at them."

- The Hound to Sansa Stark shortly before deserting the Battle of the Blackwater.

Sandor Clegane aka "The Hound" is a main character in A Song of Ice and Fire book series as well as its T.V. adaption, Game of Thrones.

He is portrayed by Scottish actor Rory Mccann in the HBO series.

He is a member of House Clegane. He is the younger brother of the current head, Ser Gregor Clegane. He is nicknamed "The Hound" for his savage nature and unquestioning obedience to his masters and for the three dogs featured in his family's crest. He is considered one of the most dangerous fighters in Westeros, though he frequently drinks himself into stupors. As a child, Sandor received gruesome facial burns when Gregor shoved his face into a brazier. He came to loathe fire, his brother, and the hypocrisy of knighthood in general.

Early Life
"My brother gave me this. Pressed me to the fire like I was a nice juicy mutton chop. Thought I stole one of his toys. I didn't steal it. I was just playing with it. The pain was bad. The smell was worse. But the worst thing was that it was my brother who did it. My father, who protected him told everyone my bedding caught fire. You think you're on your own?"

- Sandor to Arya, on his scars Sandor was born the second son of the head of House Clegane, a vassal House in the Westerlands. Sandor's childhood was difficult, due in large part to his brutally cruel brother Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane. Gregor was an unusually large and vicious child, once inflicting horrific burns onto his brother when he caught him playing with one of his toys. The scars would marr Sandor's face for the rest of his life. Gregor also reputedly killed their sister, when Sandor was very young. Their father died in mysterious circumstances in a hunting accident, and the very day Gregor came into his inheritence as the new head of House Clegane, Sandor left to take up a position in the Lannister household, at Casterly Rock.

At some point he aquired the nickname "The Hound", in part for his House's sigil (three dogs) and his helmet, shaped into the likeness of a snarling dog.

A Game of Thrones
Sandor made a name for himself as a great warrior, and acted as the bodyguard and servant of Prince Joffrey Baratheon. Joffrey's mother, Queen Cersei Lannister, would later suggest that Joffrey looked towards the Hound as a surrogate father. Sandor was part of King Robert I Baratheon's retinue in his journey to Winterfell to recruit Ned Stark as the new Hand of the King. Sandor would earn the enmity of Stark's youngerst daughter,  Arya Stark, by killing her friend Mycah at the Prince's order.

Back in the capital of King's Landing, a tourney was held in honour of Ned Stark's appointment. Sandor jousts at the tourney, and defeats all his opponents, including Renly Baratheon. On the first night of the tourney, Joffrey dispatched him to escort his bethroed; Sansa Stark, to her quarters. In his drunkeness, Sandor became enamoured of the beautiful lady, but to his rage, she refused to look him in the eyes due to his disfigurement. He forced her to look at him and told her the story of his scars. The next day Sandor manages to unhorse Ser Jaime Lannister and would go on to win the tourney, after saving Ser Loras Tyrell from his brother The Mountain, after which Ser Loras named Sandor the winner.

After Eddard Stark attempted to take Cersei and her illegitimate children into custody for treason, not knowing that the City Watch he believed under his command had betrayed him, Sandor participated in the slaughter of Ned Stark's household guards and loyalists.

When Ser Barristan Selmy, head of the Kingsguard, was dismissed, the newly crowned King Joffrey appointed Sandor in his stead, despite the fact that Sandor refused to be knighted. In his new capacity, Sandor was often made to guard Sansa Stark. He subtly and repeatedly defended her from the king's wrath, and was never commanded to beat her. He treated her with relative kidness, while acting aggressive at the same time.

A Clash of Kings
Sandor is present at the tourney held in honour of King Joffrey's 13th name day. He is dismissive of the competitors and declines to take part himself, believing it to be a waste of his time. When Sansa attempts to save the drunken Ser Dontos Hollard from the king's wrath by telling him that killing a man on his name day would be bad luck, Sandor backs her claim, which Joffrey initially dismissed.

Sandor catches Sansa returning from the godswood after meeting with Ser Dontos for the first time. He drunkenly confronts her and questions her on where she had been, and dismisses her excuses as lies; but when another Kingsguard; Ser Boros Blount, asks the same questions, Sandor backs Sansa's claims. Despite her fear of him, Sandor escorts Sansa back to her quarters unharmed. When she asks him why he takes offense at being called "knight", yet doesn't mind being called "dog", he tells her the story of his House's founding, and his brother's cruelty.

After the loss of the Iron Throne and the death of Ser Stafford Lannister, suffered at the Battle of Oxcross at the hands of Sansa's brother; King Robb Stark, King Joffrey orders Sansa to be beaten by Ser Boros and Ser Meryn. Sandor refuses however, and is spared by the intervention of the Hand of the King,  Tyrion Lannister, who stops the beating.

After the death of King Renly Baratheon, Princess Myrcella Baratheon leaves the capital with Kingsguard Ser Arys Oakheart, sailing to Dorne. Shortly after, a riot rages in the city, the starving commoners blaming the nobility to have made the gods angry. During the riot the High Septon is murdered and Lollys Stokeworth is gang raped. Sansa Stark and Tyrek Lannister dissapear in the mob. But Sandor doesn't follow the royal family and remains with Sansa, protecting her from an angry mob and saving her from rape and possible murder.

When King's Landing faced invasion by King Stannis Baratheon in the Battle of the Blackwater, Sandor fought heroically, but finally deserted after refusing Tyrion Lannister's command to return to the now burning battlefield, due to his crippling fear of fire. Before fleeing, he confronts Sansa in her chambers, drunkenly asking her to come with him. After she refuses, he settles for a song elicited at knifepoint, and steals a kiss from her before leaving, riding his horse Stranger.

A Storm of Swords
Sandor is captured as a vagabond by the Mad Huntsman, at the Stoney Sept in the Riverlands. He's claimed by the Huntsman's companions of the Brotherhood Without Banners, who also had Arya stark in their custody. Days later they arrive at the hollow hill, there Sandor is put on trial for the various attrocities commited by the Mountain's Men of House Clegane, but no specific crime could be attributed to him, until Arya told the Brotherhood about his murder of her friend Mycah. Since the court lacked evidence, the Brotherhood's leader; Lord Beric Dondarrion, decreed that the matter would be settled in trial by combat. Beric fought with a magically enchanted flaming sword, and despite a severe hangover and his crippling fear of fire, Sandor won the duel and his life. The Brotherhood stripped him of his money and possessions, and sent him on his way, but Sandor soon returned with the intention of reclaiming his possessions by force, but he's found by the Brotherhood and sent away again. He refuses to leave and keeps following the Brotherhood, until he came accross Arya escaping, and captured her, hoping to ransom her to her brother, Robb, at the Twins, during the wedding of Lord Edmure Tully and Lady Roslin Frey.

Unfortunately, he arrived at the Twins just as Robb Stark was being betrayed and slaughtered by the Freys. Sandor manages to catch back Arya and kills a few soldiers. The two remains in a village in the Mountains of the Moon, for a short time. Sandor decided to change course and find another of her relatives to ransom her to, first choosing to bring her to her aunt, Lysa Arryn, at the Eyrie. Meanwhile Joffrey Baratheon dies at his wedding feast at King's Landing. The Hound and Arya keep travelling to the Eyrie until they learn of the Vale mountain clansmen being now heavily armed, thanks to Lord Tywin Lannister's rewards. Sandor heads back to the Riverlands with the intention to bring Arya to Ser Brynden Tully. However Riverrun is under siege by the Lannister army led by Ser Daven Lannister.

With Riverrun and the Eyrie inaccessible, the prospect of ransom grows dimmer and dimmer, as the two travel the Riverlands. They come accross the Inn at the Crossroads and they are accosted by some of the Mountain's men, with whom Arya holds a grudge. The Tickler tells Sandor about the marriage between Tyrion and Sansa, about Joffrey's death, Tyrion's arrest, Sansa's disappearance, and Harrenhal being under control of House Clegane, while Gregor is in King's Landing for his trial by combat. A fight breaks out, and despite severe hunger and drunkeness, Sandor and Arya manage to kill them. Sandor personally slains Polliver, while Arya repeatedly stabs the Tickler.

Sandor suffered a wound to his leg, and despite Arya's best efforts, it grew infected. The next day Sandor eventually collapses underneath a tree, and begs Arya for a swift death. Arya refuses him however, and leaves him to die in pain as revenge for murdering her friend.

A Feast for Crows
After his supposed death, Sandor's fate becomes uncertain. The Elder Brother of the Quiet Isle told Brienne of Tarth that he came accross Sandor dying underneath the tree, and treated his wounds, giving the Hound some peace as he died, and that he left his snarling dog helm at his purported gravesite. The Elder Brother takes care to claim only that "The Hound"  is dead, and not "Sandor Clegane." While on the Quiet Isle, Brienne comes across an unusually large gravedigger of Sandor's build, with a limp, petting a dog. Brienne also sees Sandor's horse, Stranger, at the Quiet Isle.

Sandor's helmet was found by the remnants of the Brave Companions mercenary company, and was donned by Rorge, leading people to believe that Sandor was still alive and had turned into a vagabond. Rorge is believed to be the Hound, and, as a result, Sandor is blamed for the brutal Raid on Saltpans. Arya arrives at Saltpans only to find that most of the village has been destroyed by Rorge's band, most of the man killed, and the women and children raped and mutilated by Biter.

While ruling at Maidenpool, Lord Randyll Tarly spread a false rumor that the Raid on Saltpans was led by Beric Dondarrion as part of his plan to turn the smallfolk against the Brotherhood Without Banners. Sandor is currently believed to be a member of Beric's outlaws and many now think he has Sansa Stark with him. Brienne of Tarth searched for the Hound with Podrick Payne and Ser Hyle Hunt, until the Elder Brother revealed that it was the younger sister that Sandor made off with, Arya Stark, and not Sansa. Brienne finds out the truth about the Raid on Saltapans and the Hound and the Brotherhood's innocence. Later she kills Rorge and Biter with the help of a member of the Brotherhood Without Banners, Gendry, an unacknowledged bastard of King Robert I Baratheon.

Abilities
The Hound was one of the most renowned fighters in the Seven Kingdoms of his time. He was known for his large size, great strength and skill with the sword. According to Jaime Lannister, Sandor was deceptively fast, much more so than a man of his size should have been. The Hound was an extremely skilled warrior, and was the only man alive truly brave enough to stand up to his older brother, the Mountain. That said, Sandor was also one of the few people who could match the Mountain for strength and skill, shown during a significantly brutal duel between the two. However, in this duel, it is unclear who was better than who, as the Hound was not trying to kill his brother, despite the fact that he had every single reason to do so.

Personality and Appearance
The Hound was hard and brutal, filled with hatred, especially for his brother. He frequently drank himself into a stupour, and suffered from pyrophobia, a crippling fear of fire, brought about by his brother holding his head into a fireplace for playing with one of his toys. He sometimes displayed a tender side, shown almost exclusively with Sansa Stark. Despite his vicious personality and intense hatred of his brother, Sandor Clegane was a very honorable man, shown when he courageously went to the aid of Ser Loras when Gregor attacked him in a violent rage.

Throughout the fight, the Hound did not attempt to strike his brother dead at all. He admitted, though, that he still had a fiery hatred of Gregor. The Hound's embittering experiences with his older brother led for him to have extremely nihilistic and brutally negative views of the world: Gregor mutilated him for life, and he was protected by his father all the same. Not only that, Gregor was the one who was knighted for his murderous and sadistic actions, which led to Sandor viewing the prospect and idea of knighthood as hypocritical and callous.

In the TV series, after facing a near death experience at the hands of Brienne of Tarth, Sandor grows remorseful of his past crimes and attempts to start over and live a peaceful life, shown living with some villagers under the guidance of Brother Ray, a former warrior turned septon. However, after the Brotherhood without Banners massacre the entire village and hangs Brother Ray, the Hound decides to get revenge for this atrocity.

The Hound is described as a huge and heavily muscled man. The right side of his face is gaunt, with sharp cheekbones and a heavy brow. His nose is large and hooked, his hair long, dark, thin and brushed so that it covers his burned left side, where no hair grows. The left side of his face is a ruin. His left ear is gone, leaving only a hole. His eyes are grey, and his left eye is covered by a twisted mass of scars and slick black flesh is pocked with craters and deep cracks that ooze red and wet mark the left side of his face. On his jaw, bone shows.

He wears plain armour, and is denoted by his distinctive helmet, sculpted into the shape of a snarling dog's head. He classically carried an enormous greatsword which suits his incredible strength, and brutal nature.

Trivia

 * In the TV series, Sandor did survived due to being saved by a septon known as Brother Ray, while in the books his fate left unknown though he is very likely survived as well.