The Northern Empire
Disclaimer: A song of Ice and Fire belongs to G.R.R. Martin and not me.
This is idea that I have had for awhile, as well as my first fanfic. Helpful comments and critics are welcome. I have updated chapter 1 and changed the Reeds to the Cerwyns to follow canon better.
Chapter 1
The icy wind howled through the ancient weirwood grove, only to seemingly stop by a tree with snow white bark and blood red leaves, the heart tree of the north. It was beneath the gaze of the old gods that the leaders of all free things met. For they now stood upon the cold remains of the true enemy, wights and their Other masters, deciding how best to remake the land around them. The appointed leader of this group was a plain man of average height, with a long face, steely grey eyes and dark hair. It was to him that the surrounding group of Children, giants and fellow men looked to for guidance.
"I did what was required of me to survive, not out of some ploy to rule," stated the man.
"Brandon, like it or not it was through your urging and yours alone that the clans of the first man, giants and children rallied together. It is your right to rule through the blood that you shed," commented a behemoth man standing next to him.
"We all shed blood in this fight against the Night King, Gunnar. Hell, even some damn Southerners bled during the Long Night. If I must rule, then so must you all, for we all have given much and lost even more," Brandon countered, "What say you Dagmar, Wolfeyes, Joer."
The giant named Dagmar leaned forward onto his eight foot tall dragon glass war hammer and replied in the guttural tongue of the first men, "Me and mine will settle our herds around the foothills of Long Lake. We will forever answer the call of you and yours stark one. You lead well, so I will follow."
"Har, there is not a more fitting name for our magnar then stark, Brandon Stark Magnar of the Giants and the First Men," exclaimed Gunnar. "As for me, I always liked me pa's name. I will take Umber as my clan name to honor his death."
Hearing this Brandon just bowed his head in acceptance. "I will build my home here, surrounding the godswood where winter fell. May its warm pools always keep us warm, for winter is always coming."
"Aye," responded Wolfeyes, "we can never forget the threat that the Night King still poses even in defeat. We must build a wall to halt his advance and to give our ancestors a better chance than we had. With my people's magic, the giant's strength, the numbers of men, and the mind of you, Brandon, we will build a wall unlike any other. From sea to sea it will stand blocking the Others from all life outside of the Land-of-Always-Winter!"
"Now that is something I can stand behind," the soft spoken Joer said, "If you build that wall Brandon the axe of Cerwyn will stand with you, now and always. But first we must call all beings and beasts so that none are trapped on the wrong side of the embrace of this wall with the undead."
"It is decided then, I will send out our riders and wargs to all corners of the deepest parts of the north, urging them to come south safe from the undead," Brandon announced. Knowing a dismissal when they heard one the leaders of the free beings all turned to gather their people to begin the great challenge of bringing safety and uniting to the wide north. It was with the conclusion of this meeting that clan Stark began their rule of the north through their first bannerman; the Umber's, the Cerwyn's, and the giants of clan Dag.
Chapter II
It has been a year of hard grueling work since that fateful day, forever known as the Great Pact. In that time the wargs and outriders were able to convince over 100 clans to come south past the budding wall. Bringing with them roughly 70,000 men women and children, 16,000 giants and their 8,000 mammoths. This massive host was now gathered just south of the shadow created by the wall to announce their intentions for the future to the master builder and Magnar of Winterfell. All of the giants quickly decided to follow the ruling of Dagmar the Great and pledged their strength to the clan that gave the wondering race a permanent home around the shores of Long Lake. Unfortunately, the bands of men were harder to sway to the Starks side. It was not until Brandon Stark agreed to fight a champion from one of the three largest clans from the now dubbed Land-Beyond-the-Wall to prove his strength to the gathered people that he gained any sway over them. Clans Thenn, Giantsbane, and TwoSkins had fought each other for years before they came together as allies during the long night, with Asger Thenn, Jormund Giantsbane, and Bjorn Twoskins leading them through that dark time. Of the three leaders' the magnar of the Thenns was the most outspoken with his thoughts, "I did not lose half of my people to the bite of the cold and abandon our ancestors home to bend the knee to some up jumped builder!" he bellowed. The man himself struck an imposing picture with his sinewy muscled form, sharpened teeth and scar ridden body, which was only highlighted by the blue war paint that adorned the bodies of the Thenn warriors.
This action caused the Winter Blades, the newly formed elite guard of Clan Stark, to bristle in rage at the insult done to their liege, only to be waved aside by Brandon as he growled out his response, "You may offer as many insult to me as you like, but belittle the sacrifice and strength of my people will see your blood dripping from my blade. Let us settle this as our forefathers did, with iron and blood."
Without even a nod of confirmation, Asger hefted his dragon glass hook axe and charged the stone faced Stark, only to be met with a clash by the enchanted bronze great sword of Clan Stark, Winter's Bane. Strike after strike the warriors pounded away at each other, with neither willing to give an inch to the other. Over time Brandon began to slow, and for a while it looked as if the cannibal Thenn would cleave the Stark in two. But today was not the day he would meet the Old Gods, for he had yet to complete his great fate. With that a cold wind blew through the grove, sapping the Thenn of his formidable stregnth and gifting it to the Stark. So, blessed with renewed strength of the gods Brandon was able to gain the upper and drive Asger to his knee's, taking off his left ear in the process.
"Bend the knee or die and have your son bend for you, either way your people are now mine," Brandon growled out. Normally, such a comment would insist outrage and fury from the Thenns, but Stark had won through the clear favor of the gods, which could not be refuted. Bowing his head Asger accepted his defeat and pledged his life to his new liege.
"Ha, so tales of your prowess in mind and in battle are not mere stories," commented Giantsbane, obviously content with the outcome of the fight.
"Our people with follow you Stark, if only to see what else you can do," added Twoskins.
A few hours later all of the clan chiefs and great warriors met to discuss where everyone would settle and who would answer to who. It was decided that the Thenn's and the Wull's would split control of the northern mountain range, with clans Norrey, Burley, Harclay, Liddlie, and Knotts sworn between them. Clan Twoskins was given Sea Dragon Point and the promise of help in defeating the Warg King there, while Clan Ryder was charged with conquering the Stoney Shore and bringing the Fisher King to heel, again with the promise of help. Giantsbane decided to settle his people between the lakes west of the Saltspear. With the remaining smaller clans spreading out amongst the Stark controlled lands. 10000 eventually decided to settle in the growing Wintercity and the land surrounding Winterfell. Little did these men and women know that once the two lesser kings on the western shore had been defeated and the land settled House Stark would control the largest amount of land in the history of Westeros.
Brandon Stark led 7,000 men and 200 giants to take Sea Dragon Point, while his son Edric was given command of a host of 4,000 men and 500 giants to take the Stoney Shore. Arrogant in their own strength both kings refused to kneel, causing their entire houses to be killed. The Warg king in particular was challenging, for he would take control of any animal within half a league of him and turn them against their owners. On top of this, he could control dozens of beasts at any given moment. Every step up to the keep was harried by stampeding livestock and dive bombing birds. Alas, numbers and quality fighters won the day for the Starks, although not without its cost. Jormund Giantsbane was cut down while fighting the Warg King himself, giving his son Borjn enough time to drive his blade through the kings heart.
Comparatively, the Stoney Shore was much easier to subdue in the sense of how many lives were lost, but it took almost a whole additional year due to guerilla tactics employed by the Fisher Kings troops and his navy in particular. Edric Stark lost sight in his left eye from a stray arrow while fending off one of these raids, earning him the moniker of the One-Eyed Wolf.
In the years to follow Brandon traveled his kingdom to solidify Stark rule and to assist his new bannerman in building castles and towns. It was not until his sixtieth and seventh year that the first Stark pasted away, leaving his heir the mantle of Winter King. When the news of Brandon's death spread to the village's, town's and castle's of the north people bowed their heads in respect for the man that helped save humanity from a cold death and endless servitude. Even his enemies, the Red King to the east and the Barrow and Marsh kings to the south could not help themselves in honoring the great man that was Bran the Builder.
Over the next one hundred years the north grew in both population, due to the help of the giants and mammoths breaking the tough soil that made up most of the north, and in prosperity. Every single major Stark bannerman had a keep of stone with stout strong walls surrounding it, while many of the other lesser kingdoms still relied on walls of timber, if they even had a wall at all. This fact alone caused many of the smaller clans to swear alliance to the Starks.
It was during the time of Eric Stark, the great grandson of Brandon Stark, that the Red Kings finally reacted to the expansion of Stark lands. Starting with the conquering of the Hornwood, taking the moose crown and claiming dominance over clan Hornwood. With the single action of bringing the Hornwoods into the fold, the Boltons again control of the majority of the Eastern Coast, resulting in an abundance of small ports and fishing villages.