House Stark and the North

*this is a continuation of my Month of Thrones series. Note that there are no spoilers past season three for my non-book readers. This is coming to a close next week, so I just want to thank you for all of the support*

House Stark

 

Source



Current Leader: Roose Bolton as temporary leader, the position currently in control of the Iron Throne and will presumably go to Tyrion Lannister and his future child with Sansa (the last Stark thought to be alive),

Their Title: Warden of the North and Lord of the Dreadfort, Lord Paramount of the North (vacant)

House Seat: Winterfell

Current Family Members: Sansa Stark, Arya Stark (presumed missing), Bran Stark (presumed dead), Rickon Stark (presumed dead), Jon Snow (Night's Watch)
Family Traits: dark features, fierce personality

House Words: Winter is Coming
Region: The North
Bastard Surname: Snow
Geography: Northern-most part of Westeros and is the largest region.  Has wilderness, forest, hills and snowy mountains. The Wall, a massive 300-mile long structure serves as the northern border and the swamps and marshes to the south in the Neck create the second border, making the North fairly impenetrable.
History/Notable Events:
-the population consists of those with First Men blood, the original first settlers in Westeros.
-the only region that follows the religion of the Old Gods
-the Starks were said to be descendend from Bran the Builder, the maker of the Wall
-the Starks also were Kings of the North until the War of Conquest with Aegon Targaryen, where they then received the lord paramountcy
-there have been many rebellions in the North from the Skagosi, the wildings and the ironmen, which have caused many problems over the years.
-with the Sacking of Winterfell, the Boltons took control of Winterfell helped by the feeble attempt by Theon Greyjoy.
Notable People from Region:
Bran the Builder- the founder of House Stark. Was purported that he built the Wall and Storm's End
Torrhen Stark- known as "the King who Knelt", the last King in the North. When he saw the carnage at the Field of Fire, he decided to surrender to Aegon rather than suffer all of his men.
Roose Bolton- the betrayer, known for killing Robb Stark at the Red Wedding, reigniting the 1000 year old rivalry between the Boltons and the Starks.

My Thoughts: This family has gone through some tough times over the years and through the setting of the show. Things like the murder of Ned's father and brother at the hands of the crazed King and the heart wrenching death of Lyanna 1-2 years later set up the melancholy aspects of this family. More modern tragedies such as Ned's death, Benjen's disappearance, the Red Wedding, the fake deaths of Rickon and Bran, the captivity of Sansa and the deaths of the direwolves (Lady and Greywind) have showed that the family is going through very tough times. Not to mention, all of the family is separated, while also assuming that everyone else is dead means that they feel alone. This is my favorite house of the series as they value loyalty and also have a streak of fierceness/coldness as a result of their lifestyle in the harsh North. Out of the family of 8 only 5 survive with 1 in the Night's Watch and 3 considered missing/dead. So most people consider this House/Family extinguished, which is sad because they were rulers of the North for thousands of years and kept the peace.

What's Next: Sansa is still stuck in King's Landing, having missed her opportunity to escape from her forced marriage and the fears of Joffrey and Arya was last seen killing as revenge for the Red Wedding with the Hound. I would like for both of these sisters to be able to escape their potentially dangerous situations and receive a fresh start. Bran and Rickon separated with Rickon going to seek friendly allies in the North for refuge and Bran seemingly finding his destiny with the three-eyed crow past the Wall. We probably won't get much of a perspective on Rickon, due to his young age, but I feel that Bran still has a lot of story to tell.Finally, there is Jon, who has to recover from his wounds and prepare for the upcoming confrontations from the wildings. The fall-out from the Red Wedding will surely be felt across the realm and especially in the North as Tyrion ominously stated in last years season finale "The North will Never Forget", so we will hopefully get to see that North regroup and exact their revenge on the Lannisters, Boltons, and Freys.