Born in Winterfell as the eldest child of Lord Rickard and Lady Lyarra, Brandon Stark
was trained from birth as his father’s successor and throughout the years grew tall, handsome
and quick to anger.
Raised alongside his younger siblings Eddard, Benjen and Lyanna, Brandon was a natural horseman
and proved the best swordsmen while also demonstrating great ability with a lance.
Sent to be fostered under House Dustin of Barrowton, in his youth, Brandon became intimate
with Barbrey Ryswell, but was forced to end the relationship upon his betrothal to Catelyn
Tully of Riverrun, as Lord Stark desired closer ties to the Riverlands.
In 281 AC, as the people of Westeros gathered and enjoyed the Tourney of Harrenhal, Brandon
and his siblings met Howland Reed, a crannogman from the neck who was visiting the South to
study under the Green Men on the Isle of Faces.
Knowing that House Reed was loyal to her father and family, Lyanna Stark pulled out a sword
and charged to Howland’s defense, when she found him being bullied and assaulted by 3
larger squires.
Brought to their family tent, he was introduced to her brothers who were all kind and respectful,
eventually leading to a lifelong friendship between Howland and Eddard Stark.
The Tourney of Harrenhal was an event of enormous significance for the continent, in many ways,
however one of the more interesting minor intrigues to take place was the appearance
of a mystery competitor, called the Knight of the Laughing Tree.
This mystery knight, whose identity was never revealed, arrived on the second day of jousting
and by the late afternoon defeated all 3 of the knight’s whose squires attacked Howland
Reed.
Winning their armor and horses, the Knights were forced to pay a random for their return,
yet the mystery knight accepted no payment, and instead bellowed out in a deep voice “Teach
your squires honor, that shall be ransom enough.”
Though many wondered about the Mystery Knight’s identity, he soon disappeared, with search
parties finding only the painted shield hanging in a tree.
Some came to believe the person was Howland Reed himself, while others thought it may
have been Brandon Stark or one of the other siblings, acting on his behalf.
Entering the tourney under his own name, Brandon was unhorsed by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen who
went on to become Champion earning the right to crown a woman of his choice as Queen of
Love and Beauty.
Yet much to the surprise of those in attendance, he passed over his own wife Elia Martell,
to crown of lady Lyanna Stark, the betrothed of Lord Robert Baratheon.
Later described as the moment when all the smiles died, Rhaegar had in one action insulted
the Houses Martell, Stark and Baratheon, with Brandon so enraged he had to be restrained
from confronting the Prince.
With this outrage behind him Brandon continued to prepare for his marriage to Catelyn Stark
only to be confronted and challenged to a duel by Petyr Baelish, the son of a minor
noble desperate to win her hand.
Having been fostered and in Riverrun, Petyr was a longtime companion and admirer of Catelyn,
but he was no match for the heir to Winterfell, and was thoroughly defeated.
Brandon would have happily killed the man for his folly, but the pleas of his betrothed
convinced him to show mercy.
However the wedding between the two never actually occurred, as Brandon soon heard that
his sister Lyanna was abducted by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, causing him to charge South in
a rage, alongside 200 northmen to Kings Landing, where he burst into the Red Keep screaming
for Rhaegar to "come out and die".
As fate would have it, the Prince was not in the Capital at the time, and so the Northmen
were arrested his father Mad King Aerys.
When Lord Rickard Stark travelled south to answer for the charges against his son, he
demanded a trial by combat, only for Aerys agree and name fire as the Champion of House
Targaryen.
Tying Lord Stark to the rafters inside his armor, a fire was lit underneath while his
son watched with a noose around his neck, attached to the wall.
A sword was then placed just outside Brandon’s reach and he strangled himself trying to reach
the weapon and save his father from being roasted alive.
After their deaths, the Mad King sent word to Lord Jon Arryn of the Vale, demanding the
execution of Rickard Stark’s second son, Eddard Stark and Lyanna’s betrothed Robert
Baratheon.
However Lord Arryn refused to betray the men he’d raised as foster sons, and so all three
lords raised their banners in Rebellion.
With Brandon dead, his younger brother Eddard Stark reluctantly stepped into the role as
Lord of Winterfell and married Catelyn Stark, in order to secure the alliance between the
North and Riverlands, who then joined the rebellion against the Targaryens.
For a year the continent was torn apart until the decisive Battle of the Trident in 283AC,
when Robert Baratheon led his forces to Victory against Targaryens, smashing the chest of
Prince Rhaegar with his Warhammer and destroying the bulk of their army.
After the fighting, Eddard Stark travelled to the Tower of Joy in Dorne, where he found
Lyanna dying in a pool of her own blood.
Though he emerged form the war victorious, Eddard Stark was devastated by the loss of
his father, brother and sister, and so after burying all three in the crypts beneath their
home, he broke with tradition and commissioned statues for all three, an honor usually reserved
only for the Lord of Winterfell.
With King Robert Baratheon, ruling in the South, Eddard Stark was able to return home
and rule his lands for over a decade in relative peace, naming his second born son Brandon
in memory of his elder brother.