Chapter Text
Warning: In this worldbuilding fanfic there are some caveats that need to be addressed. These are:
- This is a world building fanfic like that of Blood & Fire.
- Robb Stark is the King in the North and Lord of Winterfell but not King of the Trident and is currently in a truce with the South but does not recognise Daenerys's and Khal Drogo's hegemony,
- Daenerys Targaryen is the Queen of the rest of the Seven Kingdoms and is in truce with the North but does not recognise Northern Independence,
- Riverlands not part of the Kingdom of the North but have cordial relations with the North,
- No White Walkers / Others,
- This fanfic will focuses on world building and will include several states like the kingdom of the North, the Kingdom of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, and several of the Free Cities.
In the year 300 AC, reckoned by some maesters already as the second year After Freedom (2 AF) following the North's declaration of independence, King Robb Stark, lately returned from his campaigns south of the Neck, convened his first Royal Court within the grim confines of Moat Cailin. The choice of venue was significant; the ancient fortress, key to the North, now served as the stage for the young King's assertion of authority. Within the echoing Gatehouse Tower, an assembly gathered – lords flushed with victory from the War of the Seven Kings stood alongside those masters and bannermen who had remained north, their loyalty now subject to scrutiny. An ominous air hung heavy, for not all who attended came expecting accolades. Chief among those summoned to account were Lord Rodrik Ryswell of the Rills and his formidable daughter, Lady Barbrey Dustin of Barrowton, whose oaths of fealty had seemingly wavered in the King’s hour of need. Honour, the old Stark words reminded them, demanded consequence.
Before the matter of judgment, however, came reward. King Robb called forth his own half-brother, Jon Snow, who had served steadfastly at his side throughout the war. He commanded Jon to kneel, and as he did, Robb declared him Lord of the Stony Shore, granting him leave to raise his own keep upon those harsh, western coasts. More significantly, Robb named him the first Hand of the King for the independent North. It is said Jon Snow, ever mindful of his bastard birth, was struck momentarily dumb by the unexpected honours, managing but a simple vow: “I, Jon, will defend my King and brother to the last of my breadth and help him to the best of my ability to rule the North.”
While the King and his sister, the Princess Arya, were visibly pleased – seeing long-overdue recognition for their brother – a chill descended upon many of the assembled lords. Whispers turned to murmurs of discontent. Jon was a Snow, a bastard, and wedded to another baseborn, Asha Rivers from the Riverlands. Titles and lands were one thing, but the Handship? Many a lord felt his own claim, his own lineage and service, rendered him more deserving. Even the King, their young saviour, did not escape criticism entirely. Lords urged caution, reminding Robb of the strife caused by Targaryen bastards in the Blackfyre Rebellions. To this, the King is reported to have sharply replied, "Do you mistake me for Aegon the Unworthy, my lords?" Though this quelled open dissent, a current of resentment remained. Jon Snow’s authority as Hand would be acknowledged, for none dared openly defy the King who had won their freedom, yet it would be undermined in subtle ways for years to come. They would die for King Robb, it was said, but they would not easily accept his bastard brother as his chief advisor.
This unease was compounded by the King’s own marriage. For the third consecutive generation, the Lord of Winterfell had taken a bride from outside the North. Robb’s queen was Erlaria Orlios, a princess of a lesser Lysene merchant house, famed for her beauty. Their meeting was circumstance – her flight from Lys with her brother Norelos to escape an unwanted marriage, their capture by Robb’s forces near Saltpans. Friendship, fuelled by ale and the immense pressures of command amidst the Ironborn invasion of the North, had led to a loss of maidenhead. Robb, ever his father’s son in matters of honour, had married her swiftly. Yet, the Northern nobility viewed this foreign match with suspicion. Whispers in castles and holdfasts named Erlaria “the Lysene whore,” accusing her of ensnaring their young King to gain a crown. Her authority as Queen was often ignored or subtly challenged, a situation exacerbated by the open disapproval of the Dowager Lady Catelyn Stark, who, it was noted, had stormed from the Gatehouse Tower upon Jon Snow's elevation, her daughter Sansa trailing in her wake, her face a mask of stony displeasure.
With the matter of the Handship settled, King Robb turned his cold gaze upon Lord Ryswell and Lady Dustin. His voice, devoid of warmth, cut through the hall. “You were summoned here to answer for your… underwhelming contribution to the cause of the North. When I called upon the banners, you each sent a mere fifty men. Explain yourselves.”
It was Lady Dustin who stepped forward, her bearing proud, her voice unwavering. “Truthfully, Your Grace, we saw little hope in your southern campaign. The odds seemed stacked against you. The Lannisters possess wealth beyond measure.” A murmur rippled through some lords who had harboured similar doubts. “Furthermore,” she continued, meeting the King’s gaze directly, “we questioned the wisdom of leaving the North undefended for what appeared a reckless venture. We are charged with protecting the North, Your Grace. We deemed it prudent to conserve our strength for threats closer to home.”
“Protecting the North?” Robb repeated, ice entering his tone. “And who, Lady Dustin, placed the strategic defence of the entire North in your hands? I am your King. I called the banners to defend our House, our honour, our people. Indeed,” his voice rose, “Ser Rodrik Cassel reported that you refused calls for aid when Winterfell itself was threatened by Ironborn raiders in my absence! Is that how House Dustin protects the North? By hoarding men while your liege lord’s own castle is imperilled?”
Lady Dustin’s chin lifted. “The Ironborn were a nuisance, Your Grace, not an existential threat. As for who charged me with protecting my lands – it is my inherent duty as Lady of Barrowton. A duty,” her voice acquired a bitter edge, “that House Stark has not always reciprocated.”
“Reciprocated?” Robb echoed, perplexed.
A raw, long-nursed grievance surfaced in Lady Dustin’s eyes. “Aye, Your Grace. Reciprocated. My husband, Lord Willam Dustin, rode south with your father during Robert’s Rebellion. He died for Lord Eddard’s cause, a cause that placed a crown on Robert Baratheon's head and restored Winterfell to your father.” Her voice trembled slightly but held firm. “Yet, Lord Eddard returned north… alone. My husband’s bones were never returned to Barrowton. No honour guard, no word, no final rites beneath the soil he was sworn to protect. Just… silence.” Resentment thickened her words. “So forgive me, Your Grace, if my loyalty to House Stark has been tempered by the memory of that cold indifference. Forgive me if I prioritize Barrowton, when House Stark showed so little concern for the Dustins then.”
A wave of anger now swept through the loyalist lords. Many had lost kin in Robert’s Rebellion, yet their loyalty remained unquestioned. Lord Rickard Karstark, ever blunt, was heard to call for the heads of both Ryswell and Dustin for their near-treasonous words and inaction.
King Robb Stark, however, declined the headsman’s axe. Justice, not vengeance, was required. But the slight could not be ignored. Heavy taxes were levied upon both Houses Ryswell and Dustin. Furthermore, they were commanded to fund and construct, entirely at their own expense, a new paved road – the Burrow Road – connecting the new seat of the King’s Hand on the Stony Shore through the Rills to Barrowton itself, a costly enterprise binding them physically and financially to the King’s new order. Lastly, citing her prejudice and untrustworthiness, King Robb stripped Lady Barbrey of her rule over Barrowton, decreeing she be succeeded by Lord Grandin Dustin, a third cousin to her late husband, Lord Willam. Thus, the King rendered his judgment, rewarding loyalty, punishing perceived dereliction, and setting the course for his reign in the newly freed North, a reign already marked by contentious appointments and simmering resentments beneath the surface of unity.
Upon the King’s return to Winterfell, the great fortress, though scarred by recent trials, became the heart of a recovering North. While many lords, duty-bound, departed for their own keeps – Boltons to the Dreadfort, Manderlys to White Harbor, Flints to their scattered holdings – a significant number lingered. For a time, the ancient seat of House Stark transformed into a veritable marketplace of alliances, a season ripe for the forging of new bonds through betrothal and marriage within the newly independent nobility. Central to these ambitions was the King’s own sister, the Princess Sansa Stark. Comely and of the highest birth, she represented the most sought-after match in the realm. Though many young lords and heirs sought her favour, chronicles note that the Princess’s own eyes were set upon Lord Eddard Karstark, the second son of the formidable Lord Rickard Karstark of Karhold.
The Karstarks, descended from Karlon Stark himself, were a house of great power and fierce loyalty, yet a significant impediment remained: Eddard was but a second son, with no lands or titles of his own, while Sansa was a princess of the ruling house. After due counsel with the Dowager Lady Catelyn, King Robb sought a solution that balanced familial desire with political necessity. It was decreed that Princess Sansa would indeed wed Lord Eddard. To elevate his station fittingly, Eddard Karstark was granted the prestigious, newly-secured fortress of Moat Cailin, to hold as its Master. Critically, however, this grant was stipulated to be for Eddard’s lifetime only; upon his death, the Moat would revert directly to the Crown, ensuring House Stark retained control of the vital gateway to the North. Negotiations with Lord Rickard and his son Eddard concluded amicably. The marriage contract stipulated a significant dowry from House Stark, amounting to one hundred thousand golden wolves (a sum equivalent, it was said, to fifty thousand golden dragons of the southern realms). Furthermore, it was agreed that some one thousand refugees, displaced by the ongoing wars in the South and seeking sanctuary in the North, would be settled on the lands surrounding Moat Cailin under Lord Eddard’s new command, providing both population and labour for the strategically vital location.
In this same period of consolidation and planning, Norelos Orlios, brother to Queen Erlaria, brought forth a proposal of significant potential import to the North’s future prosperity. Witnessing the vast tracts of land and the limitations of traditional farming, the Lysene proposed an adaptation of more advanced agricultural techniques. He advocated for a transition from the prevalent two-field rotation, where half the land lay fallow each year, to a more intensive four-field system. This method involved rotating crops such as hardy Northern grains (rye or oats, perhaps, where wheat struggled), turnips (valuable for winter fodder and drawing nutrients from deeper soil), clover (essential for restoring nitrogen to the soil, acting as a natural fertilizer whilst also feeding livestock), and barley (useful for ale, bread, and fodder). Though requiring careful management, this system promised significantly higher yields and a greater diversity of produce. It was hoped this innovation would, in time, dramatically lessen the North's dependence on food imports, particularly during its long winters. King Robb sanctioned trials of this method, ordering its initial implementation on Stark lands directly, with plans to extend it swiftly to the newly established lordship on the Stony Shore.
Concurrent with these domestic arrangements, King Robb made a further proclamation concerning his half-brother, Jon. Henceforth, Jon would be known not as Snow, but as the founder of a new noble house, taking the surname Whitewolf. A sigil was struck for this house: upon a grey field, a white direwolf with red eyes – unmistakably Ghost – charged across a broad red stripe, a reversal of the Stark colours combined with a unique device. The keep Jon was granted leave to build upon the Stony Shore was to be named Ghost’s Den. Recognizing the devastation wrought upon the Stony Shore by recent Ironborn incursions, which had reduced the population to a mere four thousand souls by some counts, the King decreed royal support for its redevelopment. It stood as a testament to past neglect that such a vast region was so sparsely inhabited. Thus, two thousand of the southern refugees were directed to settle under Lord Whitewolf's rule, joining the native Northmen. Royal planners projected that with sustained investment and settlement, the Stony Shore, long overlooked, could see its population swell to perhaps sixteen thousand within a decade, fostering a unique culture born from the confluence of Northern resilience and Southern adaptation. The King’s Hand would not rule over empty shores.
Concurrent with the settling of domestic arrangements and agricultural reforms, King Robb moved to formally constitute his Small Council, the principal advisory body to the Northern Crown. Demonstrating a keen understanding of the power dynamics within his realm, the appointments reflected both merit and the influence of key vassal houses. The crucial position of Master of Coin was bestowed upon Lord Wyman Manderly, whose lordship over White Harbor, the North’s only city and primary port, made him the natural choice to oversee the kingdom's treasury. Further underscoring the considerable influence of House Manderly, Lord Wyman’s second son, Ser Wendal Manderly, was named Master of Ships, charged with the defence of the coasts and the fostering of Northern sea power.
The mantle of Master of Laws fell to Lord Rickard Karstark, a man known for his stern demeanor and unwavering adherence to Northern custom. Consequent to Lord Rickard's appointment, which required his presence at the King’s court in Winterfell, the day-to-day governance of Karhold and the extensive Karstark lands passed to his firstborn son and heir, Lord Harrion Karstark. The King further elevated his trusted Maester Luwin, naming him Grand Maester of the North and granting him a formal seat upon the council. Finally, filling the vital, if often unseen, role of Master of Whispers was one Corbus Wars, a man of obscure origins brought to the King’s attention, it was noted, by Lord Wyman Manderly himself. With these appointments, the King’s Small Council was complete.
These early years of King Robb's reign were thus marked by the notable ascendancy of Houses Manderly and Karstark, their influence cemented not only by council seats but also through shrewd matchmaking in the aftermath of the war. House Karstark, in particular, proved adept at weaving a web of alliances across the North. Lord Harrion, ruling Karhold in his father's stead, was wed to Lady Neina of House Umber, thereby forging kinship with the Lords of Last Hearth. This connection was further cemented by the existing marriage between Smalljon Umber, heir to Last Hearth, and Lady Dacey Mormont, the fierce heiress of Bear Island (an accord which stipulated their firstborn would inherit Last Hearth, and the second child Bear Island, uniting the futures of those formidable houses).
Nor did the Karstark ambitions end there. A betrothal was arranged between Lord Rickard’s only daughter, Lady Alys Karstark, and Lord Daryn Hornwood, the young heir to Hornwood. Furthermore, Lord Rickard’s youngest son, Lord Torrhen Karstark, secured a prestigious match, marrying Lady Wynafryd Manderly, granddaughter of Lord Wyman and, after her father Ser Wylis, the heiress presumptive to White Harbor.
The strategic significance of this intricate pattern of Karstark marriages was lost on none of the Northern lords. When mapped out, these alliances with Umber, Mormont, Hornwood, and Manderly effectively created a powerful bloc that surrounded the lands of House Bolton on nearly all sides. This subtle containment of the Dreadfort was met with quiet approval by many. For while the Lords of the North accepted the ancient primacy of House Stark, the historic ambitions and ruthless reputation of House Bolton engendered widespread distrust. The lords might tolerate Stark strength, which secured their independence, but a powerful, unchecked Bolton was a prospect few welcomed.