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House Stark sigil

House Stark is one of the Great Houses of Westeros. Descended from the First Men, House Stark was founded by Brandon the Builder during the Age of Heroes. They ruled as Kings of Winter from their castle, Winterfell, for eight thousand years. Their sigil is a grey direwolf on a white background and their words are "Winter is coming".

The Kings of Winter defeated rival kings in the North, including the Red Kings of the Dreadfort, during their long reign. During the Andal invasion, King Theon Stark defeated the Andal Argos Sevenstar, after which he sailed to Andalos to extract revenge. The Kings of Winter have found themselves in many conflicts with the ironborn, as well as in a war against House Arryn of the Vale over the Three Sisters, which lasted a thousand years. When King Brandon "the Shipwright" Stark attempted to sail across the Sunset Sea, he was lost at sea. His son, Brandon "the Burner", burned the northern fleet in his grief, leaving the north without a fleet for centuries to come.

During Aegon's Conquest, King Torrhen Stark kneeled to Aegon the Conqueror. For his submission, House Stark was allowed to rule the North as Lords of Winterfell and Wardens of the North. Towards the end of the third century after Aegon's Conquest, Lord Rickard Stark betrothed his heir Brandon to Catelyn Tully of Riverrun, and his daughter Lyanna to Lord Robert Baratheon of Storm's End. But when Lyanna disappeared with Prince Rhaegar Targaryen's involvement, Rickard and Brandon were executed by King Aerys II Targaryen after Brandon threatened the life of the crown prince in anger. During Robert's Rebellion, which began shortly after, Lord Eddard Stark served as one of the leaders of the rebellion. Years later he aided his friend, King Robert, fight Balon Greyjoy during Greyjoy's Rebellion. It was one of the few instances in which Eddard left the North; During the past fifteen years, he has mostly stayed close to home, keeping a distance from the intrigue-ridden politics of King's Landing. Read more...