Corin Stark

## Lord of Winterfell

Corin Stark is the current head of House Stark. He is Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North.

## Appearance and Character

Corin is of slightly above average height, with a muscled body developed over years of fighting and riding. His face is that of the traditional Stark: long and somber. Black hair covers his head and face, removing any doubt of what his ancestry is. He is a Stark through and through.

His personality is that of summer snow: cold and harsh, but easily thawed. He is a stern but just lord, made even more so by the untimely death of his wife. Whispers by the commonfolk say that when she died, Corin's heart turned to stone and has not come back to life since.

## Biography

Born in 361 AC to Lord Arlan and Raeanna Umber, Corin was secondborn to his brother Willum.

Even from the earliest days, it was clear that the two were as different as fire and frost. Willum was spoiled by the luxuries that were given to him. He refused to train out in the yard and spent most of his days either feasting on whatever the kitchens made, or balls deep in whatever Wintertown whore he was spending his father’s money on. But Arlan loved the boy too dearly to punish him for his offenses, and so year after year, Willum grew more and more indolent. Corin took that indolence as a personal offense, and he resolved to study as hard as he possibly could to prove to their father who the better son truly was. He developed a tremendous skill with Greatswords, fully intending to take up the mantle of the bearer of Ice when Willum proved unable to do so.

History, lordship, riding, rudimentary logistics, Corin studied them all. Though he was clearly Martially Adept, he even studied bookish pursuits to be a better lord that he secretly knew he would never be. Willum was no fool and clearly saw what Corin was trying to do. But his objections never amounted to anything serious, and he resolved to get back at Corin in crueler ways.

### Time in Essos

When Corin was but 15 years of age, Willum bedded a girl Corin fancied and the younger Stark finally decided he’d had enough. He went to his father and demanded that he be allowed to duel Willam as the old laws of the North allowed, so that his own honor would be satisfied. His father, unwilling to punish Willum and knowing that if the two brothers stayed there would be blood, told Corin to go to Essos and tour the world for a few years. It would hopefully calm his temper and give him experience that the wide world offered.

In Essos, Corin quickly decided that a simple tour was not going to be his fate. After  mostly uneventful visits in Braavos and Pentos, he was unbearably bored. He hated going abroad for \*culture\* and to ‘expand his knowledge’. He knew exactly the kind of person that he was. He didn’t need to go abroad for some bloody Braavosi banker to tell him that he loved combat and stern leadership. Instead, he decided that he was going to serve with men who already embodied those values and could give him that opportunity. Telling his traveling companions to sod off and go home, Beron made his way to the nearest encampment of the Golden Company and signed himself up for a term of service. He served admirably during his time there and brought great renown (and more importantly gold) to the company. His killer instinct and his battle prowess ensured that within a few years, he was serving as a lower-tier captain in charge of heavy infantry. Life was good for Corin and he soon felt settled down in the area. This was a life that he could imagine living for a very long time.

The Old Gods were not done with him however. Eventually, word was sent from Winterfell that something had happened and he was required to return home immediately. Corin left the life he had made for himself with a heavy heart and set off for home. He didn’t leave empty handed however. He’d risen rapidly through the ranks of the Golden Company and his pay reflected that. For years afterwards, the vaults of Winterfell were full of Essosi coin that Beron brought back with him.

### Lord of Winterfell

When he arrived at Winterfell, he was greeted by a castle in disarray. Willum had bedded the daughter of a powerful lord, wedded her, and promptly took up another lover a week later. Lord Manderly had demanded consequences for the wrongdoing, and Arlan Stark suffered a terrible heart attack at the thought of what might happen to his son. When Corin arrived, Willum found himself holed up in a Wintertown whorehouse and Arlan was breathing his last breaths. Coughing and in the clutches of the Stranger, Arlan told Corin that is was he that should inherit Winterfell and the North. His only condition must be that Willum was to remain alive and unharmed. Corin swore he would keep the promise, and Arlan Stark, First of His Name, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North passed into the void not an hour later.

The body had scarcely grown cold when Corin marshalled men together and marched into the brothel Willum had taken up residence at. Corin himself dragged his brother out of the and threw him to the ground. For his blatant disrespect to their house and his disrespect to Lord Mormont, Corin immediately sent him to the Wall, where he would stay for the rest of his life. And so, at the tender age of ten and nine, Corin Stark became Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North.

The ensuing years were relatively peaceful for Corin. The North went on, same as it always had. Corin ensured that unless the North stood to actively gain from his actions, he stayed out of the affairs of Westeros. Lord Ormund Baratheon, hoping to earn the support and loyalty of another powerful lord, arranged a tourney at Storm’s End. It’s true purpose was to court Corin Stark and possibly marry him off to a daughter. The plan worked beautifully and Corin was soon smitten with Ormund’s daughter Rowenna and they were soon married in Storm’s End’s token godswood. Ormund’s plan failed however, and Corin proved much icier of a person than he anticipated. The young Stark promptly took his back to Winterfell and both were supremely content up in the North. It appeared that it was only on paper that Ormund had achieved an alliance. The marriage also served to drive a wedge between Corin and the future Lord of Storm’s End, Alyn Baratheon, who held Rowenna very dear to him and resented Corin for taking her North to a frozen wasteland.

### Wildling Invasion

In 390 AC, the Wildlings attacked. They were lead by the fearsome wildling King Beyond the Wall, Mamon Longshanks, who was rumored to have giant’s blood in him. At his side,  the bastard born son of Willum Stark. The boy was rumored to have been conceived on one of Willum’s many visits Beyond the Wall on a ranging. Longshanks saw an opportunity to have a ‘Stark’ on the Throne of Winter and rallied as many people to his cause as he could. The Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch was getting along in years and failed to see the invasion coming. His subordinates however, were not as doddering and sent word to Winterfell of suspicious reports from their rangings. Corin, knowing that it was his duty as Lord of Winterfell to assist in the defense of the Wall, marshalled a hundred men and set out with his twin sons Durran and Cregan, who had never seen the Wall before.

Scarcely a fortnight had passed when the Wildling Invasion began. For three days they assaulted Castle Black, and for three days Corin held the line. Five times they led an assault, and five times they were pushed back. Corin would not yield an inch. It soon became clear to any Wildling that tried to assault his position that Lord Corin Stark of Winterfell was a gifted \*\*Fortifier\*\*. Mamon knew that his chances of a successful invasion were over. He took what men he had and left for home far into the Frostfangs. The battle had ended. They had won.

The Night’s Watch wanted to fall back and simply wait out the ordeal and send for soldiers from Last Hearth. Corin, was having none of it. He knew that if Mamon was given the chance, he’d be a thorn in the side of the entire North for decades to come. They needed to end this now while they still had a chance. Mustering whatever men he could find, he led an expedition of men over the Wall and into the great expanse beyond.

He pursued them for over a month straight. Although Mamon threw every trick he knew to shake Corin off his tail, the Lord of Winterfell made those around him believe him to be part wolf. He never lost the track and gained more and more ground with each passing day. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Mamon came to realize that Corin Stark was a keen \*\*Navigator\*\* who wouldn’t be shaken off by tricks and cheat. But when all hope seemed lost to the towering King Beyond the Wall, it appeared he had an incredible stroke of luck. Corin had gone too far and too hard, and now he was exposed. Longshanks took the opportunity and had his men charge at the exhausted Northerners.

To his great horror, he realized that Corin had fooled him once again. The march into the valley had been a feint. He’d drawn Mamon into this trap so that he could finish the so-called King once and for all before he could slink past the Frostfangs and out of reach. Hidden archers rained down volley after volley upon Longshank’s troops and Corin personally led the charge that destroyed what was left of the once mighty Wildling host. Corin himself slew King Mamon underneath the boughs of a massive ironwood tree. The legendary duel is still sung of in the halls of the Northern lords to this very day. And the rumors of what took place at the Battle of Redpine Grove still sends shivers down the spines of the men who were there.

### Heart of Stone

When the threat had ended, Corin and his remaining men left for home. He also brought Willum’s bastard home as well. He had first set out to kill him and end the threat to his reign, but one look at the boy’s eyes showed him just how much of Willum he had. Corin could no more kill that boy that he could gut his brother. Therefore, he took him in as one of his own and raised him at Winterfell. There he resided in peace for the next seven years, ruling with the same cold and measured justice the North had come to know over the past.

In peace that is, except for the tragic death of his wife. Corin  had wed Rowena Baratheon soon after becoming Lord of Winterfell and she had blessed him with four healthy sons and one beautiful daughter. She was the love of his life and what many considered to be the spark of warmth in an otherwise cold man. The gods however, would see that this spark would vanish before its time. Lord Alyn Baratheon sent word to Winterfell that their mother had fallen gravely ill during the short siege of Storm’s End, and might not survive another year. Rowena left immediately. Corin was up dealing with the Wildlings and Alyn’s letter told her to not waste the precious time to notify him. Taking only her son Brandon with her, they set out for White Harbor. They boarded the first ship she found and set sail for Storm’s End. The gods were not kind in their dealing with the Lady Stark, a violent storm hit the vessel just off the coast of the Fingers. The ship was thrust against the rocks and the passengers were thrown overboard. The only surviving member of that voyage was Brandon. His mother and all other souls aboard that ship were lost at sea.

Corin was devastated by the loss. He wasn’t even able to come home and give her a proper burial. The love of his life had gone and she’d taken her light with her. Corin returned to Winterfell, but he was a darker and sterner man. The North truly took hold in Corin’s heart after Rowena’s death, for what had given him warmth was now gone. After her passing, he could either be found in the godswood in the midst of silent contemplation, in the training yard taking an active role in his children’s martial education, or slowly falling asleep reading yet another scroll from the Winterfell library. His room in the Great Keep was barely touched because he hardly even went to his marital bed anymore. The ghosts that haunted it were too prevalent. When Lord Alyn arrived in Winterfell to pay respects to his sister, he found that Corin had place a memoriam of her in the Crypts of Winterfell and the Baratheon was not allowed to enter them. “The Crypts are for Starks and their guests only.” Corin had said to him coolly “and you are neither.” A feud was born between those two men that day. Created out of their grief for their lost love, and their stubbornness in refusing to admit they might have played a role in her death.

## Recent Events

Lord Corin arrives at Ironhold after being summoned by Lord Tyrell, the Hand of the King. He is perplexed over the summons, and aims to ensure that Northern interests are protected during this tumultuous period.