House Stark

"Winter is coming"

- House Stark words House Stark is the main protagonist faction of the A Song of Ice and Fire books and the Game of Thrones TV show

History
House Stark is over 8000 years old and dates back to the age of Heroes. The founder of House Stark was Brandon the Builder who according legend, built the Wall to keep the White Walkers out of the North. He also built Winterfell and reigned as the first King of Winter. Over the years, House Stark gained several vassals, including House Mormont of Bear Island, given to them by House Stark after winning a "Arm wrestling match", House Karstark, a cadet branch of House Stark founded by Prince Karlon after putting down a rebellion, House Umber for fighting the Wildlings. But there was one house who refused to bend the knee to House Stark, House Bolton. The Boltons reigned as the Red Kings and were rumored to wear their enemies skins as cloaks. House Stark fought countless wars against House Bolton, but eventually they were victorious. Thus the Kingdom of the North was founded.

The North was the only realm that the Andal invaders failed to conquer and the Starks and their vassals held the line. But the Starks reign as kings ended with Aegon the Conqueror and his Dragons. King Torren Stark knew he could not defeat the Targeryans, and bent the knee. House Stark then became Wardens of the North.

For 300 years House Stark were loyal vassals to the Targaryens until Roberts Rebellion. Though they helped the Baratheons sieze the Iron Throne, House Stark maintained it's title, Warden of the North

War of the Five Kings
18 years after Roberts Rebellion, House Stark became threatened when Eddard Stark was beheaded after finding out that Robert's cruel son Joffrey was not a real Baratheon, but a bastard born of incest between Cersei Lannister and her brother Jaimie. Ned's daughters Sansa and Arya were held as captives. Lord Robb Stark called on his bannermen to rebel against the Iron Throne and was proclaimed King in the North.

After rescuing House Tully from a Lannister invasion, the Tullies bent the knee to House Stark, granting the new Kingdom of the North the Riverlands. Robb fought and won countless battles against the Lannisters but lost momentum when the Iron Born of the Iron Islands seized Winterfell and when the Lannisters defeated King Stannis Baratheon at the Battle of Blackwater. In addition, Robb backed out of his arranged marriage with House Frey to marry Jeyne Westerling, a noblewoman from the Crag (changed in the TV series with Talisa Maegyr, a noblewoman from Volantis). He even lost the support of House Karstark when he beheaded their Lord for executing unarmed prisoners without his permission. He decided to march back to Winterfell to reclaim it, but was betrayed and murdered by House Bolton and House Frey in the Red Wedding massacre.

Exile
With Robb's death, House Stark was exiled. But Arya and Sansa were able to escape King's Landing. Sansa escaped with the help of Petyr Baelish while Arya escapes pretending to be a boy leaving for the Night's Watch. Bran was taken beyond the Wall to learn his Warg abilities from the Children of the Forest, while Jon Snow was a member of the Night's Watch and learned of the coming White Walker invasion. Rickon escaped Winterfell and fled to Last Hearth. However House Boltons reign was threatened by Stannis who was marching on Winterfell and other Northern houses were rallying behind him.

TV Show exile
On the TV Show, House Stark is still exiled and scattered after the Red Wedding, but eventually start reuniting. Sansa is brought back to the North and married of to Roose Bolton's cruel bastard son Ramsay by Littlefinger, in the hopes of granting Stannis a Wardeness of The North should he claim Winterfell. But she escapes with the help of Theon Greyjoy. Rickon is captured by House Umber who have defected to the Boltons and presented to Ramsay. Bran learns of the White Walker invasion and is currently trying to return to The North to warn everyone. Jon is temporarily killed by mutineers of the Night's Watch for bringing Free Folk into Castle Black but is resurrected by Melisandre. Sansa arrives at Castle Black and with Jon, plan to retake Winterfell. Meanwhile, Arya has been training at Braavos to be a Faceless Man assassin.

Sansa and Jon successfully recruit Houses Mormont, Hornwood and Mazin, but are still vastly outnumbered. However, Sansa sends a letter to Littlefinger requesting aid from the Vale. The Knights of the Vale arrive just as Jon, the smaller northern houses and free folk are about to be wiped out. The Stark loyalists reclaim Winterfell and kill Ramsay. Arya escapes from Braavos after refusing to shed her identity(A required trait of Faceless Men) and kills Walder Frey, avenging the Red Wedding. Jon, like Robb before him is proclaimed King in the North by the Northern bannermen, when unbeknowist to anyone but Bran, Jon is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen, and has a legite claim to the iron throne.