Cregard Stark (Son of Torrhen Stark)

Cregard Stark is the current heir to House Stark of the Dreadfort. He is Lord Torrhen Stark's second born son, and became heir to the Dreadfort after the death of his elder brother, Eddard Stark, in 405 AC.

A recalcitrant young adult, Cregard regularly asserts his independence. He's known as both an energetic fighter and a serial womanizer, relishing challenge and excitement wherever he can find them.

Appearance
Cregard has long, black hair that falls to his shoulders; brown, slightly wide-set eyes; an aquiline nose; and a square chin and jaw.

He has a fair complexion, and keeps in very good shape thanks to a daily training regimen and regular hunts.

History
Cregard Stark was born on the second day of the twelfth moon in 388 AC. He came into the world curious and adventurous, always wandering off and getting himself hurt, and proving himself a constant source of frustration for his family. He often tempted his older brother, Eddard, to join him in his antics, and the two frequently found themselves in trouble.

While Eddard eventually found the discipline to avoid the family birch, Cregard chose to defy it. He hated his great-uncle, who typically administered it, and even resented his father, who turned a blind eye to it. But despite his family's punitive efforts, Cregard refused to give up his autonomy; adversity, in the end, only consolidated his sense of independence.

At the onset of the War of the Three Thieves, Cregard was almost ten and three, and very eager to fight. He had begged his father to let him ride south, and his brother to sneak away with him and join regardless, but they both refused. Bitter but still hopeful, Cregard spent every day of the war training his swordsmanship, knowing full well he would have the chance to fight one day. He also trained with a bow, and went hunting almost every week with his brother and father.

By 402 AC, the War had ended but the Scarlet Winter had just begun, bringing with it years of suffering and tragedy for the Starks. Cregan caught several severe colds, risking death on more than one occasion. His family suffered the same or worse. During an ill-fated hunt, Eddard would succumb to severe frostbite, devastating the family psyche. It was Cregard who had found him, with Torrhen not far behind. They desperately tried to get Eddard before a Maester in time, but to no avail.

For Cregard, becoming the heir was an unwelcome and painful process. While he forged closer bonds with his remaining siblings, his good sister, and even his brother's daughter, he fell out of favour with his father, who tried desperately to mould Cregard into Eddard's image. Without Eddard to mediate between them, the two continued down a path of alienation and antagonism.

In 406 AC, the Stark family visited the Wall for a fortnight. While Torrhen hoped to instil respect in Cregard for the Night's Watch, the boy had ideas of his own, desperate to satisfy his bristling curiosity. On the third night, he and thirty Dreadfort retainers rode out from the Wall and into the Haunted Forest. They numbered only twelve after the search parties finally found them.

With a sparkle in his eyes, Cregard spoke afterwards of fighting Wildlings and spotting mythical creatures, of thrills and hardships he had never dreamt of experiencing. His great-uncle punished him with the birch and his father with a lecture, but through it all, Cregard became obsessed with the idea of going back beyond the Wall.

Though he had only just lost a brother, Cregard's harrowing experience beyond the Wall won him five new ones – half of those who had survived with him. They call themselves the Dreadwolves, and have taken Cregard's personal sigil, a to sinister direwolf gules on a shield sable, as their own. Formally, they serve as his sworn swords and shields. Privately, they serve as his trusted friends and peers.

407 AC

 * Cregard attended his father's feast at the Dreadfort before leaving with the family for White Harbour.

Family

 * Dorren Stark †
 * Eyron Stark (b. 367)
 * m. Evelyne Mormont
 * Lord Torrhen Stark (b. 369)
 * m. Lady Reed
 * Eddard Stark † (386 - 405)
 * m. Leona Ryswell
 * Lyanna Stark (b. 405)
 * Cregard Stark (b. 389)
 * Rickon Stark (b. 392)
 * Alysanne Stark
 * Arra Stark


 * Edwyn Stark
 * Osric Stark
 * m. Falyse Brax
 * Brandon Snow

Household Members/NPCs

 * The Dreadwolves
 * Beron Slate, a scion from House Slate
 * Desmond the Dog, the kennelmaster's son
 * Donnis the Dull, formerly the blacksmith's apprentice
 * Harrion Whitehill, a scion from House Whitehill
 * Wyman White Mane, a man of two and twenty with silver-grey hair