House Stark

Warden of the North

King in the North (Historical)

King of Winter (Historical)

 House Hornwood

 House Manderly

 House Mormont

 House Reed

 House Umber

 House Whitehill

House Greystark (Extinct)

House Stark of Winterfell is one of the Great Houses of Westeros and the principal noble house of the North. In days of old they ruled as Kings of Winter, but since Aegon's Conquest they have been Wardens of the North and ruled as Lords of Winterfell. Their seat, Winterfell, is an ancient castle renowned for its strength.

Their sigil is a grey direwolf racing across a field of white. Their words are "*Winter is Coming*", one of only a few house mottoes to be a warning rather than a boast. Aside from the Karstarks of Karhold, the Starks of Winterfell may have other, distant relatives in the north. White Harbour and Barrowton are considered to be likely options. Some younger Starks have also held vassal holdfasts for the lords of Winterfell.

## Culture

### Traits

The Starks have a reputation for long faces, brown hair, and grey eyes. Some are known for melancholy and iciness, while others have a wildness sometimes called "wolf blood".

### Customs

House Stark traditionally buries deceased members of their family in the crypts below Winterfell. The Kings of Winter and Lords of Winterfell are given a statue of their likeness, sitting by their tomb, whereas other family members normally do not get one. Exceptions include Corrin Stark, who was given a statue by his son, Brandon Stark. The statues of the kings and lords have stone wolves by their feet and have swords placed upon their lap, which are said to keep the spirits of the dead at rest, locked within their tombs.

House Stark traditionally follows the old gods. As such, there is no sept in Winterfell.

The Starks have traditionally been friends of the Night's Watch. The four youngest men to have served as Lord Commander, including Osric Stark, were brothers, sons, or bastards of Kings in the North.

The Starks hold the belief that there must always be a Stark in Winterfell. When the head of the house is away, the Stark remaining in the castle to rule the north is referred to as "the Stark in Winterfell".

## History

Before Aegon's Conquest, the leaders of House Stark ruled over the region as the Kings in the North. The house traces its roots to Bran the Builder, a legendary First Man who lived during the Age of Heroes and founded House Stark. The Starks were not originally the monarchs of the North; they began as vassals to the Barrow Kings, who lost support due to their inactive rule while their ancestor Bran the Builder built the Wall and protected the North. They warred with the Barrow Kings, emerging victorious. The Starks ruled as Kings of Winter over one of the many smaller, petty First Men kingdoms that were established in the North, with their chief rivals for domination being the Red Kings of House Bolton. Eventually the Starks united the North under them. Although their stronghold of Winterfell has been the capital of the North, war helped make it it's strongest castle, in opposition to the Reeds' Greywater Watch and the Dreadfort of House Bolton, with attacks from from the latter raising the need for more keeps, more walls, more guard towers and the expansion of their granaries and larders to survive sieges. Winter town would be raised from smallfolk seeking shelter from winter, and these would also join the Stark soldiers in fighting the Boltons.

They gained a new vassal from the Reach after House Manderly's exile, giving them a new home at White Harbor in exchange for their guarding the river against pirates. They defeated the Boltons, drove pirates away from the White Knife, slew the last Marsh King and wed his daughter for the Neck, with it's governance being given to House Reed and, according to legend, King Rodrik Stark wrestled with an ironborn for Bear Island and won, giving it to House Mormont. Karlon Stark, a younger son of the King in the North, was awarded lands in the eastern regions of the North after successfully putting down a rebellion led by House Bolton. Over time Karlon's seat of Karl's Hold came to be known as Karhold, and the Starks that descended from him became known as Karstarks.

Although the Starks had to contend with defiant Houses in their unification campaign, some chose to submit and become loyal vassals, like the Umbers of Last Hearth and the Glovers of Deepwood Motte. Even their greatest rivals for dominance, the Red Kings of House Bolton, who made a sinister reputation for themselves with their practice of flaying, with one of them being notorious for ripping out the entrails of captive Starks, choosing to bend the knee, and their hostility being put on hold, due to the need for the end of unrest. Their timing proved crucial just then, due to the Andals landing and invading Westeros, swiping all lands of First Men rule except the North due to the other Houses fighting on their own, while the North opposed with a united front, with the Manderlys attacking their ships and the Reeds attacking their incursions into the Neck.

King Torrhen Stark was on the throne at the time of Aegon's Conquest and marched his army south to face them. He surrendered when he saw the Targaryens' greater host and their dragons, despite being suggested to resist from Moat Cailin or assassinating the sleeping dragons, believing that fighting was futile, due to the Targaryen victories at the Burning of Harrenhal and the Field of Fire. He was made Warden of the North, thus escaping the fates of House Gardener of the Reach and House Hoare of the Riverlands whose lords refused to bend the knee and were rendered extinct after failing to resist the invaders. Thereafter, Torrhen was known as "the King Who Knelt", though those who criticize him for this often forget that they are only alive to do so thanks to his surrender.

### The Dance of Dragons

In 129 AC, as the Dance of the Dragons began, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon recruited Lord Cregan's aid for his mother, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, known as the Pact of Ice and Fire, even though the north was considered to be too remote to be of much influence in the war. Cregan sent the Winter Wolves under Roderick Dustin, Lord of Barrowton, and knights from White Harbor led by Ser Medrick and Ser Torrhen Manderly. After the gathering of one last harvest before winter, Cregan led a great army of men, childless, homeless, unwed, or old men, and younger sons, to King's Landing. He arrived after King Aegon II Targaryen had been poisoned, however, and though he had hoped to punish those lords who had supported the late king, Corlys Velaryon, Lord of the Tides, had already sent out ravens suing for peace. While the court awaited replies, Cregan held sway and arrested all those involved in Aegon II's death, as he objected to the murder of a king. The as-yet-uncrowned Aegon III Targaryen was cowed into naming Cregan as Hand of the King, though Cregan served only a day in that office, a time known as the Hour of the Wolf. Lord Stark held trials for twenty-one out of twenty-two of his prisoners, with Corlys the only one spared a trial. Aegon III pardoned Lord Velaryon and restored his titles to him, which Cregan allowed when Aly Blackwood offered the Hand her own hand in marriage. Cregan returned north the next day.

During the era that followed the Dance, Cregan struggled to hold the North together against several threats. A devastating winter had already begun late in the war which ultimately lasted six years, and in 130 AC the North was one of the first regions in Westeros struck by the Winter Fever, which continued through 131 AC. With the North weakened by winter, famine, and plague, a large wildling war-band led by Sylas the Grim seized on the opportunity to force their way south of the Wall. His force of 3,000 raiders overwhelmed the Night's Watch at Queensgate and proceeded to plunder the lands to the south. Lord Cregan rallied what few remaining able-bodied men were left among his bannermen, then rode out to hunt down and destroy Sylas's raiding bands.

A year later, Cregan was succeeded by his grandson, Brandon, after he and his son Corrin were both killed during Durran's War.

## Family

### Historical Members

* Cregan Stark**†**, Cregan Stark, known as the 'Wolf of the North', was the Lord of Winterfell and head of House Stark during the reigns of kings Viserys I, Aegon II, and Aegon III. Died from wounds sustained in the Battle of the Causeway in 132 A.C.
* Corrin Stark**†**, the father of Brandon, Cayde and Mara Stark. Fell in the Battle of the Causeway in 132 A.C.
* Shiera Stark**†**, the wife of Corrin Stark, and mother of Brandon, Cayn and Mara. Died from the pox in 126 A.C.
* Mara Stark**†**, the only daughter of Corrin and Shiera Stark. Died in childbirth in 136 A.C.

### Household in 152 A.C.

* Brandon 'Tallbran' Stark, the Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, the head of House Stark.
* Gwyn Stark (née Manderly), Tallbran's wife, and the Lady of Winterfell.
* Corwyn Stark, the eldest of the Stark children, and heir to Winterfell.
* Cayden Stark, the younger brother of Corwyn, and second-in-line to Winterfell.
* Torrha Stark, the only daughter of the Tallbran and Gwyn, currently betrothed to Victor Tyrell.
* Brandon 'Smallbran' Stark, the youngest of the Stark children.
* Myra Snow, the illegitimate daughter of Mara Stark, currently the ward of the Tallbran in Winterfell.