House Stark

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*For more information on House Stark, please follow this link to the AWOIAF page on House Stark.*

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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. The Starks of Winterfell have distant relations with House Karstark of Karhold, among others.

#### 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.

House Stark traditionally follows the old gods. Those that are born from marriage with Andals or followers of the Faith of the Seven - ex. Sansa and Berena Stark, daughters of Rickon Stark and Jeyne Manderly - may worship both or one faith exclusively.

The Starks have traditionally been friends of the Night's Watch, though this has changed since the Day of the Blacksword.

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", or in the case of Lord Rickard Stark, "the Stark in the North".

## Post-Divergence History

#### Dance of the Dragons

##### *For more information on the Dance of the Dragons, follow this link.*

During the Dance of the Dragons, House Stark allied itself to the cause of the Blacks; Lord Cregan established the Pact of Ice and Fire with House Targaryen during this time, and alongside the Lads of the Riverlands, brought victory to Queen Rhaenyra with the Battle of the Kingsroad and the taking of King's Landing.

This war also saw the death of the Stark cousin's branch with Benjen Stark killed in the fighting for the capital and his sister Lynara wed to their first cousin.

#### Silence of the Snows

##### *For more information on the Silence of the Snows, follow this link.*

With the passing of Cregan Stark, the inheritance should have fallen to Sansa Stark, his granddaughter. Rather than allow a woman to take Winterfell, Jonnel Stark, backed by the houses Umber, Ryswell, and Dustin, took power by forcibly marrying his niece.

After a brief and callous rule, Jonnel died in White Harbor. He was assumed to be felled by poison, but no evidence of foul play was ever found.

#### Day of the Blacksword

##### *For more information on the Day of the Blacksword, follow this link.*

Lord Commander Zachery Hill of the Night's Watch declares himself King of the Wall and Beyond, and the newly-raised Lord Barthogan Stark takes a small host of ready volunteers to fight the upstart in Castle Black. Rickard Stark remains as the Stark in Winterfell.

#### Blacksword's Folly

##### *For more information on the Blacksword's Folly, follow this link.*

After years of demanding House Targaryen honor its old promises made with the Pact of Ice and Fire, Barthogan Stark demands a confrontation. He musters a sizable army and marches into the Riverlands, where the Crown stops them at Darry. They determine the outcome of the conflict with a duel, and Barthogan is narrowly defeated by Olyvar Oakheart.

Rickard Stark remains as the Stark in Winterfell, and his child is promised to the Iron Throne as a hostage once they are born.