Thanks to Sloth and a few others for helping me build this up.
Stark
PM Me for a Family Tree of Recent GenerationsHouse HistoryHouse Stark is one of the oldest of the great houses of Westeros and the central cultural force of those that descend from the first men that exist south of The Wall. In the times before the Targaryen occupation of Westeros the Starks were known for their heroes such as Bran ‘the Builder’ who forged Winterfell and the Wall, Jon Stark who pushed pirates out of the White Knife, Rickard Stark who brought The Neck into the realm, and Rodrik Stark who defeated the Ironborn thus bringing Bear Island into the realm.
The last “king” of the north was Torrhen Stark—the “king who knelt” to Aegon ‘the Conqueror’. Torrhen is seen in two different lights to this day in the north: on one hand he is depicted as a coward who gave the North away to foreign hands as he trembled before the sight of the Targaryen army—on the other he is depicted as the wisest of the Starks in history as he refused to allow men to die through a foolish action believing that bending the knee would save his people misery and tragedy. The North has since exhibited features of caution with their Andal cousins as their influence continues to frighten many due to the thought that Northmen culture would disappear much like the Children of the Forest did so it is with this that Northmen hold on to their cultural heritage and values very strongly. The scarcity of worship of the Old Gods within the entire realm as Andal favor squashes belief structure in the south does not help the situation any. This creates some division in the realm of Westeros few Northmen are knighted and few noble families look to marry into the nobles of The North. Outside of House Tully there has generally been few inter-regional marriages proposed let alone executed in the last three-hundred or so years.
Years after the Dance of Dragons where Northmen took side of the black over the green, war once again consumed the Starks. But this time it was not from Targaryen claims but rather those of the supposed freefolk that lived beyond the wall—dubbed wildlings by anyone south of the wall for hundreds of years due to their seemingly primitive and savage nature. A great warrior named Raymund ‘the Redbeard’ emerged from behind the Wall with a great mass of first men who bored crude iron weapons began to strike and pillage the far northern settlements overwhelming the Night’s Watch by surprise. There had not been a “King beyond the Wall” in a hundred years and now suddenly in the year of 179 there persisted a new one who held a brother-general by the name of “The Red Raven”. The Lord of Winterfell and his brother (William Stark and Artos Stark, respectively) would begin to fight off this dire threat until the wildling war came to a critical moment when William Stark found himself surrounded by Raymun and the Red Raven’s forces at Long Lake. The Battle of Long Lake consumed the life of William Stark, but as the situations began to lose hope—Stark reinforcements from the south led by Edvard Stark and Artos Stark finally arrived. Artos Stark would lose his life against Raymund but not before single-handedly taking him and the Red Raven on at the same time whilst Edvard’s forces made short work of the other wildling commanders. Unfortunately Artos would lose his life against the Red Raven, but not before Raymund lost his. The Red Raven retreated and the remaining forces in the North of wildling descent wandered aimlessly without leader for another two years until the North returned to normal.
After the war with Raymun ‘the Redbeard’ ended around 186, it left a hole in the Stark Dynasty. The title of the Lord of Winterfell went to the only surviving brother by the name of Beron Stark who had been more of an intellect than a warrior. It was with Beron the construction of Starkhaven at Long Lake, Blazefort at The Rills, and Ironwatch at the Flint Cliffs were approved. For the next ten years he would strive to make these forts palpable whilst he also began to start a process of rebuilding the North as the wildling war had taken many lives outside of his brothers’ own. However years later when they were finally on the right track something happened—something that concerned all of the realm. That was when the Blackfyre Rebellion ignited and House Stark was asked if they would contribute to either side like they had during the Dance of Dragons. Speculative, Beron Stark encouraged volunteer levies to go south and support the loyalist forces.
Forces from the Starks that went to support the crown were led by Edvard Stark, who whilst having no interest in which Targaryen overlord ruled in the south—decided it was time to show the strength and skill of the North. He left his closest friend and his wife’s brother, Markus Reed, in charge of Starkhaven in his absence. He took his eldest nephew’s son (Tedor), and the two sons who were of age (Vargen and Anton) with him to the south where they participated with a strong levy of Northmen on the Battle of the Redgrass Fields. The northmen arrived near the end of the battle and provided much relief for the Andal soldiers.
After the end of the rebellion, the name ‘Stark’ got a little more reputation and using such Beron Stark welcomed any southern lord to visit Winterfell with an open invitation. The years since then have emerged more threats such as a revolt in the east with Skagosi forces that Beron worries may be the doing of the Boltons whilst in the west the Ironborn ships have been spotted on more than one occasion. To top all of this off… nearly thirty years after Raymun ‘the Redbeard’ a new king has emerged beyond the wall and one who is supposedly stronger and more skilled than both Redbeard and the Red Raven combined…
Notable LocationsOutside of the traditional keeps and settlements of The North, there has been several new settlements built in the last thirty-to-forty years including:
Starkhaven – Founded by Edvard Stark in 186.. The purpose of Starkhaven is to be a fortifiable stronghold that could aid support to The Wall as well as nearby vassals. It is located on the western coast of Long Lake.
Blazefort– Founded by Beron Stark in 192 due to a suggestion by Maester Tywar. The purpose of Blazefort is to be a outpost to defend against potential Ironborn raids and invasion. It is located on the coast of The Rills overlooking the Blazewater Bay.
Ironwatch – Founded by Beron Stark in 192 due to a suggestion by Maester Tywar. The purpose of Ironwatch is to be a outpost to defend against potential Ironborn raids and invasion. It is located on the coast of Cape Kraken overlooking the Flint Cliffs.
Members of the HouseWinterfellBeron Stark – Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, aged 42
Viola Stark (Tallhart) – Lady of Winterfell and Wife of Beron, aged 38
Edwyle Stark – Son of Beron, aged 23
Frida Stark (Mormont) – Wife of Edwyle, aged 20
Henrik Stark – Son of Beron, aged 17
Elsa Stark – Daughter of Beron, aged 14
Erik Stark – Son of Beron, aged 9
Viktor Stark – Son of Beron, aged 3
Nansa Stark – Daughter of Edwyle, aged 3
StarkhavenEdvard Stark – Lord of Starkhaven, aged 69
Anton Stark – Son of Edvard, aged 50
Ursula Stark (Mollen) – Wife of Anton, aged 48
Jakob Stark – Son of Edvard, aged 43
Tarja Stark (Karstark) – Wife of Jakob, aged 42
Vargen Stark – Son of Edvard, aged 32
Kara Stark (Burley) – Wife of Vargen, aged 29
Dunkan Stark – Son of Edvard, aged 27
Brandon Stark – Son of Anton, aged 26
Lena Stark – Daughter of Edvard, aged 24
Robert Stark – Son of Anton, aged 20
Rodrik Stark – Son of Jakob, aged 13
Kristoff Stark – Son of Vargen, aged 10
IronwatchTedor Stark – Commander of Ironwatch, aged 34
Klara Stark (Flint) – Wife of Tedor, aged 33
Erhard Stark – Son of Tedor, aged 16
Theda Stark – Daughter of Tedor, aged 10
Persons of InterestYngvarr – Current King Beyond the Wall, aged 31
Lothar Snow – Bastard of William Stark, aged 25
Ser Eddard Whitehill – Knight in service of House Stark, aged 32
CS Sheets
Name – Beron Stark
Age – 42
Appearance –
http://static.bips.channel4.com/bse/604x340/season-of-the-witch/6da5d17a-7ce1-49a1-8a34-8b17c0847d4a_625x352.jpgHistory – Born the third son to Andor Stark, Beron Stark entered childhood earnestly. If you’d ask a courtier about the three sons of Winterfell you would likely be told of William’s finesse as well as his speed, Artos’ strength that rivaled all within the realm, and Beron’s wisdom that reached beyond his years. As such Beron throughout his childhood was the least martially skilled of House Starks main branch. Tutored by a well-seasoned maestar in political history, world cultures, theology, and mythology—Beron had a wealth of experience throughout his childhood, one of which his uncle, Edvard Stark, sneered at due to his staunch position that the people of the North should remain independent of influence from the more southern peoples of Westeros. Beron’s father referred to Edvard as a “narrow-minded purist who could never outrun his bigoted xenophobia.” – something that Beron would take to thought many years later.
Despite his earnest pursuit of knowledge and understanding, Beron would still find the time to practice within martial pursuits—something that was ‘expected’ of him as he was a Stark and a Stark should always be prepared to defend himself from hostile invaders whether they were Ironborn, Wildlings, or any sort of threat. Owing himself to his duty as a Stark, Beron continued to adamantly train in swordplay and archery. Something that perhaps may not would surpass his brother, Artos, but would at least be admirable in some shape or form. At the age of fourteen his father introduced him to Viola Tallhart, the girl that would become his wife in a few years’ time. Beron nor Viola had no issues to their House’s intent to make them close as they initially bonded over talks of art and culture. Viola herself had been very interested in the folklore of The North since a small child and visiting Winterfell time after time became an enriching experience and she never had an issue with Beron as he had been nothing but kind, respectful, and appropriate. They would birth their first child several years later, they named him Edwyle after her father. As time would teeter on they would have five more children: Johanna (who was married into House Royce), Henrik, Elsa, Erik, and Viktor.
Beron was placed as regent of Winterfell in 183 when his two elder brothers organized the realm into pushing back the King Beyond the Wall and his invading wildlings—this of course would end horribly with the death of both William and Antos as they perished at Long Lake but not before taking the wildling king with them. It was told that William had been overwhelmed at Long Lake as he held off the wildling forces just long enough for Antos’ forces to arrive. William lost his life just moments before Antos’ regiment arrived. The forces led by Antos would then tear the wildlings apart as the King Beyond the Wall’s brother retreated as his brother was cut down despite dealing a fatal injury to Antos Stark in the process. With Beron’s father’s death roughly five years prior this left Winterfell in the hands of Beron, a surprising turn of events. Beron’s uncle once again campaigned that Beron was too much influenced by foreign cultures and books to lead Winterfell as a strong lord. Despite this Edvard Stark respected Beron’s rightful inheritance and wouldn’t dishonor himself by forcing a civil war after too many lives had been lost already. Edvard left Winterfell to the place that would become known as Starkhaven.
The great conflict in front of Beron was then to deal with rebuilding the realm and preparing it for any dangers that lie around the corner. Maester Tywar, Beron’s most trusted confident instructed Beron that the first step was moving a garrison to the west where the Ironborn surely would take advantage of and thus he did so—moving two quarters of his personal levy to a temporary fortification in The Rills and The Flint Cliffs. These small encampments would become known as Ironwatch & Blazefort and like Starkhaven are still in use nearly twenty or so years later.
His worries would echo truth when the Starks found their own revolt on their hand as well as word that “a supposed freefolk born of the gods” had united the wildlings beyond the wall already so soon after the fall of the last one in the year of 184. The North has many concerns to note….
Name – Edvard Stark
Age – 69
Appearance –
https://static.squarespace.com/static/51b3dc8ee4b051b96ceb10de/51ce6099e4b0d911b4489b79/51ce619fe4b0d911b449a8f8/1262130644103/1000w/SRonPerlman.jpg.jpegHistory – The second son of the then Lord of Winterfell, Cregan Stark, Edvard was born to be the guardian of his brother and a testament to the North’s strength. This intention wuld echo Edvard looming and powerful figure later in life as he stood over most men with arms the size of weirwood branches. Edvard constantly got into brawls at seemingly every encounter since at the earliest age of ten. Whatever was dealt to the young Edvard would only motivate him to be stronger and more resilient. Edvard’s tutelage under Markus Glover crafted the powerhouse of a man to understand the value of the North over all else and the inferiority of those underneath the region of The Neck. Edvard was actually encouraged to participate in a tourney at King’s Landing during these formative years which he declined as he knew they’d expect him to convert to foreign religion—it was tempting to show how weak the non-Northmen were. It was speculated by his father that if he had he may have been called to honor the realm as a member of the Kingsguard, an honor House Stark never saw.
Edvard married into House Reed when he came of age to a girl with the name of Rebekka. His wife was described as aggressive as the Stark she bore children—she had no interest in the arts or politics. Edvard described his wife once as a “sloppy warrior, though unrelenting in her appetite”; to call Edvard and Rebekka a warrior pedigree isn’t correct but they did spawn strong children who inherited their will and affinity for combat. Throughout her life she bore six children: Anton, Jakob, Anja (married into House Flint), Vargen, Dunkan, and Lena.
By the time of the Battle at Long Lake, Edvard saw two nephews he admired taken to death by wildling hands of which he then realized how truly dangerous they were. The “freefolk” were not unskilled combatants and when organized orchestrated a threat to not just the North but all of Westeros. After taking his nephews bodies back to Winterfell he spoke with the then lord of Winterfell, Beron Stark, about building another stronghold. He would build this stronghold on the site of the battle at Long Lake and name it Starkhaven. It grew more than the other two strongholds built during this time (Blazefort, Ironwatch) and it only continues to grow. To this day Edvard sits at Starkhaven with his family as he hears of a new King beyond the Wall—one that devours life like a plague of locusts. Edvard’s subordinates fear that the wildlings have amassed levels of organization that could shake the realm.
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