Stark

**House Stark** ruled over the vast region known as the North and is one of the oldest lines of nobility in Westeros, claiming a line of descent stretching back over eight thousand years. Before the Targaryen conquest, the leaders of House Stark ruled over the region as the Kings in the North. Their sigil is a grey direwolf on a field of white. Their words are *Winter is Coming*, one of the few houses to be a warning.

## House Stark

Before the Targaryen conquest, the lords 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 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.

King Torrhen Stark ruled as The King in The North at the time of the Targaryen conquest and marched his army south to face them. He surrendered when he saw the Targaryens' greater host and their dragons, believing that fighting was futile. He became Warden of the North upon surrender, thus escaping extinction. 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 with credit to his surrender.

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".

In the current generation of Starks, numbered members have the ability to enter the minds of their direwolves as wargs, giving them the ability to experience the senses of their direwolves and to see through their eyes. The latter occurs most frequently when the children sleep, although they are able to do it at will when awake, once they are more practiced.

## History

The Starks are an ancient house of First Men descent. House Stark was founded by Brandon the Builder, a legendary figure who lived during the Age of Heroes. Bran the Builder is said to have raised Winterfell, the seat of the Starks, the Wall and other legends that connect him with Storm's End and the Hightower. The Starks were Kings of Winter in the North for eight thousand years since the Age of Heroes, possibly beginning with Bran the Builder.

For several millennia, the Starks were not the uncontested Kings in the North. Their primary antagonists, the Red Kings from House Bolton of the Dreadfort, swore fealty some thousand years ago, ending their flaying ways. Meanwhile, A Northern King drove pirates from the White Knife, and the Wolf's Den was built at its mouth. This stronghold was often granted to sons and grandsons of the King in the North; one such branch, the Greystarks.

Possibly around 700 BC, Karlon Stark, a younger son of Winterfell, helped crush a rebel lord. As a reward, he was granted lands on which he built a keep named Karl's Hold. Over time, the keep became known as Karhold and Karlon's descendants became House Karstark.

The Starks helped repel several major wildling invasions, such as when they and their Umber bannermen defeated the brother Kings-Beyond-the-Wall three thousand years ago.