House Stark



House Stark of Winterfell is one of the great houses of Westeros and the principal noble house of the North; many lesser houses are sworn to them. In days of old they ruled as Kings of Winter, since the Targaryen Conquest they have been Wardens of the North. Their seat, Winterfell, is an ancient castle renowned for its strength. Their sigil is a grey direwolf racing across a field of white, and their words are "Winter is Coming", one of only a few house mottoes to be a warning rather than a boast. Members of the family tend to be lean of build and long of face, with dark brown hair and grey eyes.

History


The Starks are an ancient house, descended from Bran the Builder, a legendary figure from the Age of Heroes, who raised their anscestral home at Winterfell thousands of years in the past, as welel as the Wall. They are descendents of the First Men and still follow some of their ancient traditions and the old gods of the forest. The Starks were Kings of Winter in the North for many thousands of years from the Age of Heroes, possibly beginning with Bran the Builder. Ever since Bran constructed the Wall, the Starks have been friends of the Night's Watch, and have manned the Wall for thousands of years. The Night's King, the attainted 13th Lord

Commander of the Night's Watch, is said to have been a Stark, among his many possible origins. The Starks also helped repel several major wildling invasions, such as when they and their Umber bannermen defeated the Kings Beyond the Wall like the brothers Gendrel and Gorne, as well as Bael the Bard, who both sired and fought a stark.

For several millenia, the Starks were not the uncontested Kings in the North, but their primary antagonists, the Boltons of the Dreadfort, swore Fealty some 1,500 years ago, ending their flesh-flaying ways. Meanwhile, King Jon Stark drove pirates from the White Knife, and the Wolf's Den was built at it's mouth. The stronghold and the city which grew up around it. White Harbor, was often granted to sons and grandsons of the King in the North or other bannermen before finally being granted to the Manderlys, a house exiled from the Reach, and taken in by the Starks. King Jon's son, Rickard, defeated the Marsh King and married his daughter, bringing the neck into Winterfell's realm under the lordship of House Reed. The Karstarks were founded when Karlon Stark, brother to the reigning king, helped crush a rebel lord and was granted a keep for his service. Finally the Mormonths were granted Bear Island when King Rodrick Stark won it from the Ironborn in a wrestling match. The Starks fought the Arryns of the Vale for the Three Sisters, eventually ceding control of the islands.

Aside from the Karstarks, the Starks of Winterfell may have distant reletives in the North, possibly in White Harbor or Barrowton.

The last Stark King in the North was Torrhen, who submitted to Aegon the Conqueror at the end of the War of Conquest. Since that time the Starks have held the North for the kings of the Seven Kingdoms as Wardens of the North.

In 129 AL, as the Dance of the Dragons began, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon recruited Lord Cregan Stark's aid for the blacks, although the war was hopes to be short and the North judged to be too remote to be important. Around 213 AL, House Stark faced a difficult succesion. Several Lords of Winterfell had perished fighting wars in the North against rebellious Skagosi, the wildling king Raymun Redbeard and other threats, leaving Beron Stark as the lord of the house. As he was too lay slowly succumbing to wounds he recieved fighting Dagon Greyjoy and his ironborn, his wife and four other recent Stark widows struggled over who would succeed him. There was a number of potential heirs, with some ten Stark child about.

At the beginning of the War of the Five Kings, Robb Stark declared himself King in the North, seperating himself from the other six kindoms, and launched a wildly succesful campaign against House Lannister, however was murdered at his Uncles Wedding. The event was called The Red Wedding. Roose bolton was then named Warden of the North.

As the war of the Five King's came to a close, Aegon Targaryen pardoned House Stark, and it's current lord, Rickon Stark. Sansa Stark returned to Winterfell, and Jon was legitimized as a Stark. Sansa has passed down Oathkeeper, and Jon Longclaw. Beron Stark aided with the siege of Deepwood Motte to "finish" the Greyjoy Rebellion in 425 AL. Beron then succumbed to his wounds a month later from an infected cut leg.

Family in 554 AL
-

-

-

-

Quotes
"The winters are hard, but the starks will endure. We always have," - Lord Eddard Stark

''"The wolves will come again." - ''Jojen Reed

"Bear island knows no king but the King in the North, whose name is STARK" - Lyanna Mormont to Stannis Baratheon

