His name is Vorian Stark, only Son of Lord Eddard Stark and The Late Ashara Dayne. Nephew to The Late Ser Arthur Dayne, and a Contender to The Title of Sword of the Morning and the beautiful and legendary sword that comes with such a title; Dawn, a blade forged from Heavenly Ore that fell from the Heavens. Unlike his Younger siblings who inherited some of their mother's Tully traits and some of their father's Stark traits, with the exception of his eyes his physical traits are indistinguishable between his Stark and Dayne traits.
For most of his life, Vorian has been fostered at his maternal homeland of Dorne, specifically his mother's home of Starfall. He has spent his youth learning what it means to be both a Dayne of Starfall and a Man of Dorne. Squiring for his maternal Liege Lord Prince Doran's brother, Prince Oberyn Martell, and learning the art of Combat...
(Starfall, The Red Mountains, Dorne, The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, Westeros)
Vorian Stark knelt before his Uncle Edric, as he knighted him with Dawn, a blade that Vorian had earned by putting down the High Hermitage Rebellion against Starfall, of the High Hermitage Dayne's Only Darkstar remained for he had sided with the Dayne's of Starfall from the start.
"For your courage, for your bravery, and for your valor on the field of Battle, I Lord Edric Dayne of Starfall, do bestow upon you, Vorian Stark of Winterfell and Starfall, the title of Sword of the Morning. And With it, this blade." Says Edric, handing the almost ethereal Ancestral Blade of House Dayne, Dawn, to Vorian.
"Thank you Cousin, I shall bring Honor to it till the day I die." Vorian thanks his cousin, as he accepts the Blade for his own. "But Cousin, I am as much Stark as Dayne, and to bring new honor to this blade, this family, you may call Me Vorian Stark The Sword of the Morning Snows." Says Vorian as he stands and accepts the Blade of Dayne as his own, handing his previous weapon to Edric, as was tradition.
Should a Sword of the Morning bring dishonor to the Name, then the ancient Rhoynar traditions dictated that they'd be required to return the Sword to Starfall and reclaim the blade they'd given in offering to take Dawn. Vorian respected tradition as any true Northman would. But he also understood that some traditions needed to either be put out to pasture or at least given a small adjustment.
He was aware that as the future Warden of the North he'd be expected to favor Ice over Dawn, but such a thing wasn't necessarily impossible to change to utilize both Ice and Dawn, as despite lacking Gregor Clegane's Size he had the same inhuman strength, stamina, and endurance to do so. His friend's Barthogan Umber and Dacey Mormont often joked he was more Giant than man, and he would jape that Dacey was more a Wildling Spearwife than a She-Bear of Mormont.
As time went on he felt his longing for his friends company grow profoundly stronger. He missed Dacey perhaps more than he should, as he was betrothed to the Lady Alla Tyrell, and though he might be afforded some leeway as a Dayne of Dorne and Starfall, the Dornish and Men of the Reach had a long and bloody history, didn't help any that Prince Oberyn had crippled the Heir to Highgarden, albeit by an unfortunate accident.
Besides Dacey was the Heiress of Bear Island she couldn't very well just leap into his bed and throw it all away, his father wouldn't permit for one thing. And for another House Mormont could ill afford a blow like it. That Hightower Bitch had ruined their finances and they were only barely getting by, but Vorian had a few ideas on how to firmly unite the North behind him.
First he'd have to marginalize Catelyn's influence. He loved his stepmother to a degree, but it was plain as day that she wished Robb had been born ahead of him in the Succession, granted Robb wouldn't turn against him, but the possibility was enough that Vorian had to recognize it.
Vorian wanted Robb to take Charge of Moat Cailin, He'd name him the Lord of The Causeway and Make him the Liege of the Ryswell's, Dustin's, Flint's, Fisher's, Ryder's and Manderly's.
Making him an instantly made Cadet Branch of High Standing. Granted Robb would need a bride to ensure his and Robb's hold remained sturdy and strong. Plus with House Dustin and Ryswell on Robb's ass it gets that Poxy bitch Barbrey Dustin off his own ass. Don't get him wrong, he knew well enough the reasons why Barbrey hates his Father and him, his Maternal Uncle slew Barbrey's husband and his father left her his horse and not his corpse. But she swore an Oath the day her husband couldn't uphold himself, an Oath of Loyalty and Fealty.
Whether she'd hold to it if the chance for a rewarding betrayal came was open to interpretation and the opportunity at hand. Vorian himself wanted the North to begin to undergo a greater development of it's lands, starting by the construction of more ports, specifically along the Saltspear where the Ocean meets the mouths leading to Barrowtown and the Rills.
Those Two will serve as both Shipyards as well as Defenses against Ironborn River Raids and also serve as Fishing Villages. Vorian would also seek out Ore and mineral deposits hoping to tap that in the forging of new weapons and armors, while fields and forests would begin to be cleared or cut methodically in order to either grow a new Ironwood Forest or increase the Farmland of the North. Every Village and town in the North would be fortified with walls and at least four guard towers, while the Coasts would receive varying numbers of Holdfasts.
Vorian also hoped to Harvest dying Weirwood's for the materials necessary to forge Weirwood Bows and use those with Ironwood Arrows, or failing that Ironwood Bows. When Vorian at last got to marry his betrothed, the dowry would be used to construct a small fleet and that in turn would be used to increase the wealth and status of House Stark and the North as a whole.
Vorian knew the time here, well spent as it was, was over, He got the title he needed and the reputation he wanted, now all he wanted and needed to do was go home...
(Winterfell, The North, The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, Westeros)
(POV Shift: Catelyn Tully)
Catelyn Tully now Catelyn Stark was uneasy, her Husbands eldest son was returning home after being fostered at his mother's home of Starfall. She had lived with the fact that her husband had a child from a prior marriage, but the boy was just too damn enigmatic for her liking. He kept her at arms length, trusting her very little with things as simple as overseeing the Castle when his father was away.
She wanted to know the boys mind, he was always so careful, every response and every action carefully measured and weighed against every possible variable and outcome. Yet at the same time he was known to be impulsive and often frivolous at times.
Robb at least trusted the boy enough to give her some peace of mind, the bond of brotherhood between them was strong, and they loved each other like full siblings.
There was some peace in that at least.
(POV Shift: Dacey Mormont)
Dacey was excited, Vorian was returning to the North, her best friend and one of the Few Highborn Men not to look down upon her for being a Warrior Woman. She wondered how much he'd changed since their parting, she still remembered that night of celebration fondly, the kiss she stole from his sleeping form was especially memorable and done so with fondness.
Dacey knew she and he couldn't be, for he was betrothed to a maiden of the House Tyrell, the second wealthiest family of Westeros and the family with possibly the best equipped Army of the Nine Regions of the Seven Kingdoms.
Anything they could possibly share would likely amount to nothing more than an extended affair. But a Girl could hope, she would hope...
Chapter End
Well, this was an interesting write, I would never have gotten as far as I did if not for FeralG3 keeping me on task. Now let me be clear, this story is a joint write between he and I, I write it up he provides a foundation for ideas, and is the one who commissioned me to actually start writing this new story.