Northern Civil War (The Lion and the Dragon)

The **Northern Civil War** was a conflict fought in the North during the War of the Four Kings which lasted from 299 AC to 300 AC. The war was primarily fought between House Bolton and House Stark, led by Lord Ramsay Snow and Lady Branda Stark respectively.

## Prelude

In 298 AC King Rhaegar I Targaryen's son Prince Aegon married his second sister, Visenya, in the first polygamous marriage in 250 years since Maegor I Targaryen died. This decision split the Seven Kingdoms into various factions and thus saw the beginning of the War of the Four Kings, a conflict which the North entered after Lady Branda Stark supported rebels who called the marriage an abomination and who sought once again to depose House Targaryen from the Iron Throne.

After most northern forces marched south to support their allies in the Riverlands, Lord Balon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands declared independence from the Seven Kingdoms and launched assaults on the North in what became known as the Harrying of the North. Greyjoy forces captured Moat Cailin and Deepwood Motte in the process whilst also launching raiding parties against the Stony Shore.

In response to these actions Ser Rodrik Cassel gathered together what few troops remained in Winterfell and marched west to retake Deepwood Motte from Asha Greyjoy. This left Winterfell with only a small force defending the castle. Following this Ramsay Snow, the bastard of Roose Bolton and self-proclaimed Lord of the Dreadfort since the death of his brother Lord Domeric Bolton, called the Bolton bannermen to his side and marched on the Stark seat.

## Battle and Sack of Winterfell

The Bolton forces under "Lord" Ramsay Snow began besieging Winterfell, which had a skeleton garrison defending it. Despite the size difference in forces the Stark troops left were able to hold-off the Bolton's for a time. That was until Jon Stark, second son to Eddard Stark who had long resented his own paternal heritage, betrayed his own family for personal gain, hoping Ramsay would declare him Lord of Winterfell.

Jon Stark opened the gates at night and thus allowed Bolton men to secretly enter Winterfell, they proceeded to slay the guards, knock Jon out and pillage the castle. By the following day no-one survived the sack except Arya, Bran, Rickon and Sansa Stark, Meera and Jojen Reed, TomToo, Jeyne Poole, Osha, and Hodor - all of whom hid in the Winterfell crypts, protected by the elderly Tomard. They were saved by Heward and Wyl who distracted the Bolton men and drew them away from the crypt. Jon and Arwyn Frey, mistaken by Bolton's forces as Sansa, had been captured by the Bolton forces and taken away to the Dreadfort.

After the fall of Winterfell, those hiding in the crypts left and, after talking to a mortally wounded Maester Luwin, they agreed to split the party. Bran, Arya, Meera, Jojen and Hodor would set off north to seek the three-eyed crow, Rickon and Osha set off in the direction of White Harbor, while Tomard would lead his son TomToo, as well as Sansa and Jeyne southwards to Barrowton.

## Marriage at the Dreadfort

After Ramsay and his forces returned to the Dreadfort, he hastily arranged a marriage between himself and his hostage Arwyn Frey, though she was mistaken for Sansa Stark. Jon Stark was forced to lead his cousin to Ramsay in the marriage ceremony, and later that night Ramsay threatened him with death if he didn't stay and watch Ramsay consumate the marriage. The event was traumatising for the young Stark boy and after it ended Ramsay took Jon to his torture chamber within the Dreadfort.

The sustained physical torture of Jon left him a broken man, losing some fingers and toes, teeth and his genitals. After he was castrated Ramsay and his men would ridicule the Stark boy as the "Lady of Winterfell", mocking Jon's demand that Ramsay support him being made Lord of Winterfell in return for his assistance. The sustained torment made Jon's appearance decline sharply, to the point where he looked forty years older than his actual age.

## Second Battle of Winterfell

At the time of hearing of the Bolton capture and sack of Winterfell, Benjen Stark and Ser Rodrik Cassel had recently evicted Greyjoy forces from Deepwood Motte and had recruited what few troops they could from various houses along the way, mostly from Houses Cerwyn. Benjen wished to continue trying to recruit as many troops as they could, otherwise they risked being outnumbered nearly three-to-one by the Bolton forces. Cassel however was stubborn and pressed for a quick attack, believing the commanders of the Stark forces could defeat the relatively inexperienced Bolton's.

The eventual battle was a severe loss for the Stark forces, Benjen's fears of being outnumbered proved to be correct and the Bolton forces overwhelmed the Stark troops, slaying Ser Rodrik Cassel in the process whilst Benjen was barely able to escape with half the troops they had entered into the combat with.

This loss led to the North's troops fighting against the Targaryen's to the south to turn around and face the enemies of the North, firstly needing to retake Moat Cailin from the Greyjoy's. Simultaneously Benjen proceeded with his initial plan of making arrangements with Northern houses which would see him gain troops in return for marriage alliances.

## Arrival of Lyanna

Not long after the loss of the Second Battle of Winterfell, with Benjen's force much depleted, Lady Lyanna Stark arrived back in the North alongside her guardsmen, led by Jory Cassel, and her daughter Floris Baratheon.

## Third Battle of Winterfell

Benjen had swelled his army to around 3,000 men, though less still than Ramsay Snow's he hoped that his battle experience would win the day, as well as the possibility that the Northern reinforcements coming up from the Neck would arrive on time.

In the ensuing conflict, as Benjen predicted, the forces from the south arrived on time and thus when it seemed the battle may be lost the Starks finally turned the tides and scattered the Bolton troops. Though he tried to flee back to the Dreadfort, Ramsay Snow was captured in his attempt and was taken back to Winterfell.

## Siege of the Dreadfort

Of the scattered Bolton forces, a small number made their way back to the Dreadfort. This group consisted of the commander Steelshanks Walton, Reek, and the so-called Bastard Boy's, a group loyal to Ramsay Snow who were nearly as brutal as him. Though only some 200 soldiers managed to make it back to the Dreadfort, that would be enough to defend the heavily fortified fortress. Their plan was to use the two Stark hostages to ensure the safety of Ramsay, and perhaps more importantly to guarantee pardon's for their parts in the crimes Ramsay had committed.

Behind the backs of Reek and the Bastard Boy's, Walton and Maester Tybald sent ravens to the besiegers, agreeing to betray those loyal to Ramsay in exchange for pardons and safety. Thus around a week into the siege the pair and the troops loyal to them betrayed the other defenders, leading to a small fight within the gates of the fortress until Maester Tybald opened the gates and allowed the Stark troops into the fort. The bloodshed was great and by the end only the Maester and a small handful of others survived, including Reek who hid in the midst of the combat.

## Aftermath

As the civil war within the North came to an end, the losses fell primarily on the Bolton side. Many of their troops had been slain in the various battles of the war, and their claimed Lord Ramsay Snow was executed by Robb Stark. This meant, except for some very distant relations, there was no obvious successor to the Dreadfort. The issue of the Dreadfort inheritance took a backseat though as the Wildling Invasion of the North and its political fallout was the most pressing matter once Ramsay had been dealt with.

The two main claims came from House Ryswell and House Stark. Eventually the Ryswell's were silenced with a betrothal of Sansa Stark to Rodrik Ryswell, and the Dreadfort was granted to Benjen Stark, who created a new cadet house named Dreadstark.