The largest territory of the Westerosi continent, the North was a land of vast forests and snow-capped
mountains, where summers were cold and winters devastating.
Long before the migration of men, these lands were populated by a race of Giants who grew
between 10 and 12 feet tall and the Children of the Forest, a mysterious and magical people,
small in stature, dark and beautiful.
The Children were a stone-age culture, who carved faces into Weirwood trees, worshipping
them as the gods and believing that when they died, their spirits would live on in the trees,
keeping watch over the forests.
Many of the Children possessed magical abilities, able Skinchange, sending their consciousness
into the body of an animal, and possessing the greensight, which granted them prophetic
dreams.
However, 12000 years before Aegon's Conquest, a bronze-age people known as the First Men
began their migration west, crossing through the Arm of Dorne in the far south, which connected
their continent to Essos, the lands beyond the narrow sea.
Some say these people were led by the First King who journey across much of Westeros until
at last laid to rest in the barrowlands of the North.
The First Men brought new technologies and cultural practices to the continent, introducing
metal, horses and pagan gods as well as a writing system of Runes whose meaning was
largely lost over time.
As they settled the land, they waged war against Children of the Forest who became so desperate
to defend their homeland, they attempted two great magical rituals, with the first shattering
the Arm of Dorne, to halt the continued migration of men into the continent.
Despite this victory, the war continued growing more aggressive and forcing the Children to
retreat into the North, where they performed a second great ritual, possibly from the Children's
Tower of Moat Cailin, calling upon the gods to send the Hammers of the Waters to shatter
the "Neck" of the Westerosi continent and split the land mass in two.
But they ultimately failed, and merely flooded the territory creating swamps and marshlands.
Eventually, the First Men met with the Children on the Isle of Faces, reaching a peace agreement
known as The Pact, which gave the native race dominion over the deep woods while the First
Men took the open lands, and over time many even adopted the worship of the Old Gods.
Unfortunately, the years of war left both the Children of the Forest and Giant race
with severely reduced population, beginning their descent into near extinction, with only
a small number surviving in the far north.
Following the years of war came the Age of Heroes, when legends say great men and women
roamed the lands of Westeros establishing houses and realms that would endure for thousands
of years to come.
Unfortunately a terrible calamity eventually fell upon them, with the Long Night believed
to have occurred between 8 and 6 thousand years before conquest.
For a generation Westeros suffered from a Harsh winter and Darkness, while a race of
strange creatures known as the Others or White Walkers, descended upon them from the lands
of always winter.
Stories describe them as tall and gaunt with skin as pale as milk and eyes that shine bright
blue, wearing camouflage armor and wielding magic swords of ice.
For years they wreaked havoc across the land until stories say the legendary Last Hero
journeyed deep into the North wielding dragonsteel to recruit the Children of the Forest into
helping humanity in their struggle.
As the war continued on, an organization known as the Night's Watch formed to fight against
the invaders finally achieving victory at the Battle for the Dawn.
The others were then pushed back to the lands of always winter, not seen again for thousands
of years.
Following the end of the Long Night, a great wall was built in the far north, with the
children of the forest casting defensive spells upon the ice.
The Night's Watch were then given command of the Wall, swearing oaths to guard the realms
of Men from the any threat beyond the Wall.
Perhaps the most well known Northmen of this age, Bran the Builder was credit with the
creation of the wall and also gifted lands to the Night's Watch so they could sustain
themselves.
Many claim it was Bran the Builder who founded house Stark, built Winterfell and was crown
First King of Winter, with his legend growing so large he was featured in southern stories
aswell, believed to have aided in the construction of Storm's End and the Hightower.
Others in the North also claim a connection to this ancient past, with House Bolton descending
from the Red Kings of Dreadfort, while House Dustin derived from the Barrow Kings of this
age, who in turn claimed descent from the First King who led their people into Westeros.
Then there were the Crannogmen of the neck, who proclaim the Marsh King as their ancestor,
a man who rode lizard lions and wielded a frog spear as he defended the North from southern
invaders.
And while he was remembered as a king, he never put himself above his people, considered
instead to be a first among equals.
In the years following the creation of the wall, those First Men trapped on the northern
side started to develop their own culture of fierce independence, becoming known as
Free Folk or wildlings and growing to hate the people of the south who lived in warmth
and luxury.
Though they valued their independence, the would occasionally unite to follow a king
beyond the wall, often in the hopes of finding a way past the wall and raiding or taking
land in the south.
And so when the 13th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, betrayed his oaths, and tried
to declare himself the Night King alongside the Night Queen, the King of Winter entered
into an uneasy alliance with Joramun, King beyond the wall attacking together and defeating
their enemy, freeing the Watch from his brutal reign.
After thousands of years prospering as the dominant population of Westeros, the First
Men were eventually supplanted by a new people sailing from across the narrow sea and beginning
their own period of western migration.
Although many date the start of the Andal invasion to 6000 years before Conquest.
Some maesters argue it was nearer to 4000, while others still say 2000.
According to the legends of these tall, fair-haired invaders, these lands were promised to them
by their god who appeared in the form of Seven different deities, and crowned Hugor of the
Hill as their First King, proclaiming that his people would establish a mighty kingdom
in foreign lands.
Yet most maesters disregard such stories and instead believe the migration occurred as
a result of the Valyrian Freehold expanding into western Essos, leading many of the Andals
to flee from the approaching dragonlords.
An Iron Age people, the Andals conquered or intermarried with much of the south, successfully
spreading their language, culture and religion, but had far less success in their attempted
invasion the North.
Unwilling to allow their territory to fall to these foreign conquerors, King Theon of
House Stark allied with the Red King of House Bolton to defeat the Andal warlord Argos Sevenstar
at the battle of the weeping water.
Following their victory, King Theon, also known as the Hungry Wolf, sailed his ships
across the narrow sea and attacked their enemies homeland of Andalos in retribution, slaying
many and displaying their heads along the eastern coast of the Northern territory to
deter future attacks.
Sometime later, the Andals attempted another invasion, attempting to march north through
the neck, only to thrown back by the crannogmen and eventually retreating and accepting First
Men rule in the north.
As a consequence of the years of war and migration, the Andal language, system of writing, use
of iron, traditions of Knighthood and chivalry which took hold in the southern realms, leaving
the North, as the only major territory where first men culture and traditions survived.
Since first establishing themselves in Wintefell alongside nearby Winter town, House Stark
expanded to control much of the Northern territory of Westeros defeating rival rulers like the
Barrow Kings of the Barrowlands in the famed Thousand Year war, that was more likely a
series of wars over approximately 200 years.
In time they defeated other northern kings such as those of House Flint of Breakstone
Hill, the Slates of Blackpool, the Umbers of Last hearth, the Lockes of Old Castle,
the Glovers of Deep Wood Motte, the Fishers of Stony Shore and Ryders of the Rills.
They also conquered House Greenwood, Towers, Amber, Frost and may have possibly driven
House Blackwood out of the North, who claim to have once ruled the entirety of the Wolfswood.
Legends claim House Stark also fought a war for Sea Dragon Point against the Warg King
and his allies which included greenseers, skin changers and children of the forest.
But eventually the Starks prevailed, killing the Warg king and his sons, while taking his
daughters as captives.
Under King Jon Stark they built the Wolf's Den to defend the White Knife river, while
his son Rickard Stark defeated the Marsh King and married his daughter to take control of
the Neck.
Under King Brandon IX they put down the raiding parties of Skagos in the east, where savage
men were said to eat human flesh, and in the west Rodrik Stark was said to have won Bear
Island from the Ironborn in a wrestling match, before giving it to House Mormont.
As the Ironborn had a long history of raiding and occupying the western coast, a number
of Stark Kings such as Theon the Hungry Wolf led armies to repel their forces, though these
confrontations gradually diminished following the rule of Rodrik Stark.
Over thousands of years many of the Houses that once fought against the Starks, became
loyal vassals, however others like the Red Kings of the Dreadfort, were not so willing
to bend the knee.
Known to be cruel and merciless, the men of House Bolton were said to flay their enemies,
claiming to have made cloaks from the skins of captured Starks.
Many wars were fought between these competing factions, and while King Royce Bolton II captured
and burned winterfell as did his descendant King Royce IV, House Stark was ultimately
victorious, with the red King Rogar the Huntsmen swearing fealty during the years of the Andal
Invasion.
Nevertheless House Bolton remained one of Winterfell's less reliable vassals, with
a long history of rebellion.
Occasionally the Northern realm of House Stark expanded to include the islands of three sisters,
who were traditionally an independent power with a unique culture and religion, worshiping
the lord of the skies and lady of the waves.
However they were conquered for a time by King Theon Stark who also landed an army on
the fingers of the Vale and eventually these raids, led to the rape of three sisters, where
stories say the northmen committed terrible crimes, like killing children and cooking
them in pots.
Other legends claim the Northmen disembowelled prisoners and executing three thousand warriors
in a day, with some even saying Lord Belthasar Bolton made a "Pink Pavilion" from the skins
of a hundred Sistermen.
Desperate to remove the Northmen, the people of the Sisters swore fealty to King Mathos
Arryn II of the Vale, resulting in the War Across the Waters, or the Worthless war, in
which the Wolf's Den was besieged and burned, prompting the King of Winter to authorize
an attack on Gulltown, burning the enemy fleet.
After control of the Islands changed hands over a dozen times, the Northmen finally lost
interest in the war and allowed the Vale to keep their holdings.
Roughly a thousand years before Aegon's Conquest, as House Manderly grew rich from
trade along the Mander River in the Reach, king Perceon Gardener III started to see them
as rivals to his power, sending them into exile and giving their lands and castles to
House peake.
Faced the possible extinction of their House, the Manderlys found their saviors in the Winter
King's of House Stark, who welcomed them as Bannermen in the North, granting them the
castle of the Wolf's Den and charging them with the protection of the White Knife.
Although the Manderlys they came to consider themselves proud Northerners, they also held
onto their southern heritage, worshiping the new gods of the Faith of the Seven, and becoming
one of the only northern territories to promote Knighthood.
Nevertheless, the Manderlys were extremely grateful to the Starks for saving their House
and remained staunch Stark loyalists for many years to come.
Using the wealth they brought from the Reach, House Manderly built the city of White Harbor,
developing a bustling trade economy that would make them the richest House in the North.
Just as the western coast was subject to raids from the Ironborn, pirates and slavers from
across the narrow sea regularly plundered the eastern coast.
And so after defeating troublesome Sea Raiders in one of these attacks, Karlon Stark was
rewarded with lands and titles, allowing him to form House Karstark of Karhold.
After thousands of years spent defeated their rivals and resisting invasion from the South,
the Seas and beyond the Wall, the Kings of Winter faced yet another threat against the
North, when the Dragonlords of House Targaryen landed an army in Blackwater Bay.
Following the Doom of Valyria and Century of Blood, House Targaryen of Dragonstone,
became the last known family to possess living dragons, and used this advantage to organize
the invasion of Westeros, seeking to conquer all seven kingdoms south of the Wall.
Although many resisted, only the territory of Dorne was able to maintain their sovereignty,
though at a cost of many lives during the two Dornish wars that followed the initial
conflict.
After defeating the Kingdom of Isles and Rivers, Westerlands, Reach and Stormlands, the Targaryen
army went North to face King Torrhen Stark of Winterfell, who'd marched 30 000 men
into the Riverlands.
Despite being outnumbered, many Northmen wanted to attack, including the King's bastard
half-brother Brandon Snow, who offered to sneak into the enemy camp and assassinate
the dragons.
But having heard the stories about the burning of Harrenhal and Field of Fire, King Torrhen
chose peace, sending his brother Brandon and a party of Maesters to negotiate the terms
of their surrender.
Though he saved many lives with his decision, Torrhen Stark was remembered as the King who
knelt, forced to give up his crown and accept the titles Lord of Winterfell and Warden of
the North.
However, not all northmen were will to bend the knee like their King, with some instead
choosing exile, and sailing across the narrow sea to become sellswords and form the Company
of the Rose.
Under the Targaryen Kings, the North was largely allowed to continue ruling themselves so long
as they paid taxes to the Iron Throne and kept the King's peace.
Yet at times the Northmen found themselves at odds with the Targaryens like with Lord
Ellard Stark objected to the demands of good Queen Alysanne, wife of King Jaehaerys the
Conciliator, when she gifted a portion of the North to the Night's Watch.
However the pleas of House Stark were ignored, and the New Gift as it was known, went on
to help sustain the black brothers in their continuing service to the realm.
During the Dance of the Dragons civil war, Lord Cregan Stark of Winterfell sided with
the Black Faction fighting for Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen against her younger half brother
Aegon II, negotiating the Pact of Ice and Fire, wherein house Stark was promised a Targaryen
bride in exchange for their support.
With Winter approaching, Lord Cregan Stark started to gather together a massive army,
recruiting childless, homeless, unwed men, and young sons, hoping to spare their families
from the burden of supporting them during the difficult years to come.
However, due to the size of the Northern territory, it took 2 years to properly prepare their
forces, and so Lord Stark also sent a smaller army of 2000 men to march south at once, known
as the Winter Wolves under the command of Roderick Dustin.
Mounted atop shaggy horses, the Winter Wolves proved devastating in battle, defeating Lannister
spearmen at the Battle of the Lakeshore, and killing Ser Criston Cole in the Butcher's
Ball.
Yet the Northmen were then finally defeated at the First Battle of Tumbleton, when they
were betrayed by the Dragon Riders Ulf the White and Hard Hugh Hammer, two low born men
who'd risen in status due to their ability to bond with a dragon.
Another group hailing from the North, were the Knights of White Harbor, led by the brothers
Ser Medrick and Ser Torrhen Manderly, sent to serve Queen Rhaenyra directly during her
time in the capital.
Yet as the war went on, King's Landing began to rebel against the Black faction Queen,
and so the Manderly Brothers asked Rhaenyra to come with them to White harbor where she
might be protected.
However the Queen instead chose to leave the Manderlys behind and travelled to Dragonstone,
where she was betrayed, captured and killed by the enemy.
After two years of preparation, the great Northern host under Cregan Stark was at last
ready to march south, but were now facing a far different situation then what they had
originally anticipated.
With the death of Queen Rhaenya, King Aegon II sat atop the Iron Throne, however with
the realm still divided, the extent of his power did not reach much further than the
capital.
Fearing the massive northern army approaching, Aegon's remaining advisers urged him to
sue for peace, but he refused and so was poisoned to death in order to place Rhaenyra's first
born son on the throne, known to history as King Aegon III.
Although the Black faction was technically victorious, Cregan Stark was furious that
his men were denied battle and so took charge of King's Landing, ruling with iron fist
for 6 days in what came to be known as the Hour of the Wolf.
During this time, 22 were arrested for poisoning Aegon II, with Lord Corlys Velaryon negotiating
a pardon, while the others either joined the Night's Watch or faced execution.
After finishing his business in the south, Cregan stark was held in high regard by the
court of King Aegon III, however a princess of House Targaryen was never actually delivered
to the Starks, leaving the Pact of Ice and Fire ultimately unfulfilled.
Although the Starks remained in power throughout the years of Targaryen rule, they faced a
number of threats against them, like the failed Skagosi rebellion during the reign of King
Daeron II, which went on for years and claimed the lives of many, including Lord Barthogan
Stark.
There was also the ironborn reevers under Lord Dagon Greyjoy who attacked the western
coast during the reign of King Aerys I, only to be repelled by the forces of Lord Beron
Stark.
The North then faced yet another bloody confrontation in 226AC, when the King beyond the wall Raymund
Redbeard, led his people past the Night's Watch only to be defeated by the combined
army of Lord Willam Stark and Lord Harmond Umber at the battle of the long lake.
The largest of the seven kingdoms of Westeros, some believed them capable of raising up to
45 000 soldiers, including thousands of Strong Northern Cavalry, a rank considered equivalent
to the Knights of the South.
And while their warriors had a reputation for ferocity in combat, the size of their
territory, lack of roads, harsh terrain, and spread out population, meant they were slow
in gathering together their forces.
The North was also one of the poorest Westerosi realms, with the snows and cold weather making
agricultural production difficult, leaving them to trade in timber, wool, furs and hides,
with only the port city of White Harbor as a reasonably lucrative source of wealth.
As a result, their nobility lived in conditions that may be considered modest by the Lords
of the South, while the small folk of these lands often lived in extreme poverty, with
the old and weak dying off during the years of Winter.
Though life could be difficult, the challenges they faced simply to survive in this environment
made their people strong, proud and resilient, able to greatly influence events across Westeros
when united in common cause.
And so it was that the North played a pivotal role in ending the reign of the Targaryen
kings, after House Stark was betrayed by the royal family.
In 282 AC, word began to spread that Lyanna Stark, daughter of the Lord of Winterfell
was kidnapped by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, son of the Mad King Aerys II.
In response, Lyanna's eldest brother Brandon Stark, heir to Winterfell, rode to King's
Landing, searching for the Royal prince only to be arrested by the Mad King.
His father Rickard, was then summoned to court where he too was captured, leaving both father
and son to be tortured and killed as a spectacle for the King's amusement.
After the executions, a letter was sent to the Vale, where Lord Jon Arryn was ordered
to arrest and kill Lord Rickard's second born son Eddard Stark, as well as Lord Robert
Baratheon of the Stormlands, who was the betrothed of Lyana Stark, and a close friend of the
Northmen.
Yet Jon Arryn had fostered both of these men from a young age and refused to obey the order,
leading Houses Baratheon, Star and Arryn to raise their banners in rebellion, plunging
the continent into a civil war.
In need of more allies, the rebels reached out to their friends in the Riverlands, arranging
marriages with the daughters of Lord Hoster Tully, having Catelyn marry the new Lord of
Winterfell Eddard Stark, while Lysa married Lord Jon Arryn of the Vale.
Throughout the war, the Rebels won a great number of confrontations, eventually leading
to the Battle of the Trident, where Prince Rhaegar was killed by Robert Baratheon, and
the great Targaryen host was defeated.
Following this battle the Iron Islands and Westerlands joined the Rebellion, with Tywin
Lannister marching an army to King's Landing and sacking the city, and even murdering Princess
Elia and Rhaegar's children, to secure the throne for Robert Baratheon.
With the war won, Eddard Stark travelled south to the Tower of Joy in Dorne along with 6
companions, hoping to rescue his sister Lyanna.
Opposed by 3 kingsguard they engaged in a viscious battle leaving all dead but Eddard
Stark and his friend Howland Reed.
Unfortunately they were too late to save Ned's sister, finding her dying in a pool of blood,
where she spoke some final words to her brother, asking him to make a promise and then passing
away.
Ned then took the Sword Dawn, which was carried by the kingsguard Ser Arthur Dayne and brought
it to the man's family, before returning North with the body of Lyanna, accompanied
by Howland Reed and a baby boy, claiming he was Jon Snow, his bastard son with a wetnurse
named Wylla, refusing to speak further on the issue.
Although Robert Baratheon was now King, and Jon Arryn his Hand, Eddard Stark wanted nothing
to do with the politics of the south, and returned to Winterfell, where lived in peace
for a time, until the Greyjoy Rebellion of 289 AC, when the Iron Islands attempted to
declare independence.
In order to support his friend and King Robert Baratheon, Lord Stark led a host to join the
royal forces which swiftly defeated House Greyjoy, with Lord Balon's last living son
Theon taken as a ward and hostage back to Winterfell.
Having quelled the revolt, the North saw nearly another decade of peace, until 298 AC when
Jon Arryn, hand of the King was poisoned to death.
Robert Baratheon, unaware there was foul play involved, then named Lord Eddard Stark as
his new Hand, forcing the Northman to travel south and engage in the politics he so hated.
In order to seal the bonds of friendship between House Baratheon and Stark, the king's first
born son Prince Joffrey Baratheon was betrothed to Ned's eldest daughter Sansa Stark.
Unfortunately, while the Northmen were always ready for honest battle, they proved ill prepared
for the games of deception being played between the Lords of the South, and soon House Stark
found themselves in a terrible position.
Sometime after returning to King's Landing, Robert Baratheon died in a hunting accident,
leaving the realm to his son Joffrey.
However Ned Stark had learned that all 3 of Robert's children were actually fathered
by Jaime Lannister, brother to the Queen.
Considering himself a man of honor, Eddard attempted to seize power in the name of Stannis
Baratheon, Robert's younger brother, and true heir to the Iron Throne, but was betrayed
by Petyr Baelish, and arrested.
Against the advice of his advisors, the new King Joffrey Baratheon had him beheaded, leaving
the Eddard's eldest son Robb Stark as the Lord of Winterfell.
At the age of 15, the young wolf as he became known, marched a northern army of nearly 20
000 south to war, and was soon proclaimed King in the North and the Trident, declaring
independence from the Seven Kingdoms.
As the once united realm fractured in the War of the Five Kings, Robb Stark proved himself
an excellent commander, never losing a battle, yet he was ultimately betrayed and killed
by House Bolton and Frey, who sided with the Lannisters in exchange for being given the
Lordship of the North, and Riverrun.
However many were appalled by the betrayal of the Starks and violation of guest right,
which was an honoured tradition in the north, and so the territory fractured, with some
choosing to support Stannis Baratheon as he marched to Winterfell, promising justice and
retribution against their shared enemies in House Bolton.
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