Chapter 3.1 Ned Stark

Eddard Stark stood tall, as a complicated look crossed his face. Again he was going to war, again he would make the North bleed.

Eddard has an elongated face and long brown hair, though not as long as it would have been in a few years. His neatly trimmed beard is beginning to gray, making him look a little older than his nearly thirty years. His dark gray eyes reflect his mood, becoming soft as mist or hard as stone.

"Lord Stark" a Northern Lord greeted him, entering the tent he was in, and gradually more lords entered the place.

Wylis Manderly beside his brother Wendel, Greatjon Umber, beside his son Smalljon, Roose Bolton, entering beside Rodrik Ryswell and a knight bearing the crest of House Dustin, and many others.

Seeing the Dustin knight, Eddard Stark recalled bitter memories; grave wrongs that House Stark had committed against the Dustins. No, the wrongs were specifically against Barbrey, and Eddard was weighed down with guilt, but at the time it all happened he had no time to think of others. He had lost his father and older brother at the start of the war, and at the end of it, he lost his sister Lyanna. Those were hard years for Eddard, and for the family in general; Ned did not forget that Benjen had suffered the same or more than he had, his younger brother was closer to Lyanna than he was after all, though it pains him to admit it.

Ser Rodrik Cassel had told Eddard an estimate of how many men each lord brought, and put much stock in how both the Dustin and the Ryswells had sent considerably fewer soldiers than expected, especially the Dustin, who had a growing migration to their lands, but Eddard made light of it, not wanting to strain his relationship with the Dustin even further, especially if they seemed to be growing stronger in recent years.

"We are all present, My Lord," Rodrik Cassel said at his side, to which Ned nodded.

"My lords, I would say a pleasure, but in truth it is not. Duty calls, and we must defend ourselves against this threat that stalks both the North and the rest of the realms."

"What is the fate Lord Stark, I'm already looking forward to smashing the heads of these squids!" laughed Greatjon, and nearly all the Northerners followed his enthusiasm.

"Those pirate bastards! My sword will show them how the North remembers!" vociferated Lord Flint of Flint's Finger, one of the southernmost houses in the North, next to House Reed. House Flint of Flint's Finger was the Greyjoy's biggest victim in the North, along with House Mormont and House Glover.

"We are going to Riverrun, where we will join the forces of the Riverlands. By the time you arrive the Lannister armies will be there as well, and His Majesty should arrive in the next few weeks as well" Ned said, and at the naming of the leading house of the Western Lands he couldn't help but show a small grimace.

"When do we leave, Lord Stark?" asked Lord Wylis Manderly.

"In two days. The men of House Karstark have just arrived," Ned said, giving Lord Karstark a nod. "I want them to be able to get some rest before we begin our march again."

After the meeting was over, Ned returned to the imposing castle, and spent a night with his wife, he would not see her for a long time. At the same time he said good-bye to his little wolves, and by the next day he was back at the camp, which was being picked up by the Northerners.

He saw his castle, and gave a long sigh, many tragedies happened the last time he had to go south, and he hoped that this time would be different, so he stood for a while blankly, admiring the ancestral home of House Stark.

Winterfell is a huge castle complex that spans several acres and is surrounded by two massive gray granite walls with a wide moat between them, with a village outside, Winter Town. The outer wall is eighty feet high, while the inner wall is one hundred feet high. There are watchtowers on the outer wall and more than thirty watchtowers on the crenellated inner walls.

The great main gates have a gateway formed by two massive crenellated bastions flanking the arched gateway and a drawbridge that opens onto Winter Town Market Square.

There is a narrow tunnel within the inner wall that extends halfway around the castle, allowing travel from the south gate to the north gate without interruption.

The castle was built around an ancient godswood and over natural hot springs. The water is channeled through walls and chambers to heat them, making Winterfell more comfortable than other castles during the harsh northern winters. Ned doesn't know what it would be like to live in a castle without these thermal benefits, especially for newborns.

Inside the walls, the complex consists of dozens of courtyards and small open spaces.These courtyards are used for training and weapons practice. The inner hall is a second, much older open space of the castle, where archery is practiced.It is located next to the broken tower.Inside Winterfell is the inner castle, which contains the Great Keep and the Great Hall. The towers and corridors of Winterfell have diamond-shaped crystals.The Great Keep is the innermost castle and the fortress of the castle complex. It was built over natural hot springs to keep it warm.The Great Keep contains the sleeping quarters of House Stark, as well as Lord Eddard Stark's own manor.

The Great Hall is used to receive guests and the place where all members of the family dine, including the Lord of Winterfell.It is made of gray stone and has wide oak and iron doors, which open onto the castle courtyard, and a rear exit leads to a dimly lit gallery. 

Inside it can hold eight long rows of trestle tables, four on each side of the central aisle, and the hall seats five hundred people. There is a raised platform for noble guests and the walls are covered with banners. The hall contains the high seat of the former Kings in the North.The cold stone of the seat has been polished by the many lords who have sat on it, and its massive arms are decorated with carved heads of snarling direwolves.The small Sept within the castle is much newer than the rest of the structures, completed only a few years ago. Eddard had had it built for his wife, Catelyn Tully, and that was because the woman prayed to the Seven, not the Old Gods.

"We are ready, My Lord," Cassel said at his side, but this was not Rodrik, but Jory Cassel, his nephew.Rodrik Cassel would stay behind in Winterfell."Then let us depart" Eddard replied, and his tone was weary.