[House Stark — Houses]
Greatjon Umber , one of the most powerful and loyal bannermen of House Stark, is not present at the Twins for the wedding, which made him one of the few bannermen of House Stark that wasn't killed during the massacre. However, Greatjon later died of unknown causes. His son, Smalljon , defects to the Boltons.
Although House Stark was restored to their seat at Winterfell as a Great House of the North and gained the support of House Arryn in the War of the Five Kings, the price of this victory was high. The Stark-Free Folk coalition sustained heavy losses in the battle, leaving no Northern house with a significant force left to oppose Littlefinger, the Night King , the Iron Throne, or even Daenerys Targaryen , should either one of them decide to conquer the North, save for those who sat out the conflict, such as the Manderlys, the Cerwyns, and the Glovers. Worse, the heir apparent to Winterfell and House Stark, Rickon, was now dead, leaving the newly restored Great House in the hands of an illegitimate son and an eldest daughter. Following the battle, Jon orders Rickon to be buried next to their father, while Sansa decides to visit Ramsay in the kennels, ironically the same place he kept Theon over the course of a year.
House Stark of Winterfell is a Great House of Westeros and the royal house of the Kingdom of the North . They rule over the vast region known as the North . It is one of the oldest lines of Westerosi nobility by far, claiming a line of descent stretching back over eight thousand years. Before Aegon's Conquest , as well as during the War of the Five Kings and early on in the Last War , the leaders of House Stark ruled over the region as the Kings in the North .
Their rule in the North seemingly ended after the events of the Red Wedding when House Frey and House Bolton betrayed House Stark after forming a secret alliance with House Lannister , during which Roose Bolton murdered King Robb Stark . Both the North and Winterfell were taken over by House Bolton. However, the Boltons' hold was jeopardized when Sansa Stark escaped their clutches after learning her brothers Bran and Rickon Stark were still alive and reunited with her half-brother, Jon Snow , at Castle Black . Sansa and Jon marched on the Boltons to save their younger brother Rickon, who was later murdered by Ramsay Bolton , and retake Winterfell. House Stark was restored to their former stature after the Battle of the Bastards . The Stark victory led to House Stark's return to royal status in the North with their bannermen declaring Jon as the King in the North. He later abdicated his title as king in order to gain the full support of Daenerys Targaryen in the Great War , becoming the Warden of the North . Following the Battle of King's Landing , Bran Stark was chosen as the new king of the Six Kingdoms , allowing the North to secede as an independent kingdom under Sansa.
House Stark's sigil is a grey direwolf on a white background, over green. They are one of the few noble houses whose words are not a boast or threat. Instead, the House Stark family motto is a warning, one that, no matter the circumstances, will always be relevant: "Winter Is Coming," which served as a reminder of their beginnings in the wake of the Long Night and a grim portent of things to come.
House Stark, as the only First Men dynasty to resist the coming of the Andals , proudly hold on to the worship of the Old Gods . Due to their rule over the North and knowledge of it's troubles, they are unfailing supporters of the importance of the Night's Watch , despite it's fall from glory in current times. As one of the last remaining Valyrian steel items, from Old Valyria , House Stark greatly treasures it's ancestral sword of Ice , which has been used in battles and executions.
However, Jon pledged himself to Daenerys, in order to gain her full support in the Great War , stepping down as king and accepted the title and role of Warden of the North . Presently, the North and Vale are reintegrated into the Seven Kingdoms. As of the end of Season 7, the current positions of the surviving members of House Stark are as follows: Jon is Warden of the North , Sansa is Lady of Winterfell , Arya is Sansa's heir, and Bran abdicated his claim to any formal political position.
During Robert's Rebellion , the Greyjoy Rebellion and the War of the Five Kings , House Stark is able to field thousands of men and has proven itself capable in times of conflict, fighting and prevailing with many engagements within each conflict. Out of 18,000 Northerners that Robb Stark marched south to confront the Lannisters, a large amount of them were Stark soldiers. However, the Red Wedding greatly weakened the once formidable great house, leading to the destruction of the Stark army. Despite this, House Stark managed to retake Winterfell from House Bolton , hence the Stark army was restored.
The House Stark motto, Winter Is Coming, is different to all the other mottos of Westeros. In A Game of Thrones , Catelyn muses "...they [other noble houses] boasted of honor and glory, promised loyalty and truth, swore faith and courage. All but the Starks. Winter is Coming, said the Stark words."
House Bolton was infamous for its centuries-old practice of flaying their enemies alive, to the point that they used a flayed man as their sigil. The Boltons supposedly gave up this practice after bending the knee to House Stark, and centuries later, Lord Eddard Stark outlawed flaying in the North altogether, but the Boltons continued the practice. This led to them being despised and feared by many of the Northern houses, especially after their betrayal of House Stark.