*I have elected to do a side story about the history and power of House Stark.


298 AC

Dacey Stark née Mormont

She did not realize truly how much she enjoyed being a mother. She had always seen herself as a warrior woman of Bear Island, but alas, it was not to be. Dacey still remember her awkward wedding night. She and Robb had been able to establish a solid friendship. But she admitted, after her sweet Samsyn was born, her feelings for Robb grew.

Oh she'd never tell him that. Wouldn't want him to stop trying. She smiled to herself. Baby Samsyn was much like his father in many ways. Unlike her as a babe, according to her own mother, Samsyn was quiet. She supposed he took that from his father and grandfather. The puff of hair upon his head was a dark brown…but she noticed in the sun, it turned very, very light reddish blonde. It was truly too indistinguishable for most people to see. Her son possessed a deep eye coloring. Not a bright blue like his father, but a deeper blue, like the color of a roaring sea in a storm. Samsyn's hair was not wavy like his father's, but straight like hers.

Truthfully, she had been worried at first. She knew she would love Samsyn until her final days came. But Samsyn took many of her traits. Seemingly the only thing that reminded her of Robb in him was his quiet nature and eye color, something which wasn't even close to Robb's. she had grown to know Robb for the months leading up to Samsyn's birth. He was not a vain man, nor an arrogant one. That being said, she couldn't help but worry when Robb saw him for the first time. Would he be upset at her? Would he be upset that the babe didn't resemble him?

She knew these thoughts were hogwash but could not help thinking of them regardless. She was reinvigorated when Robb did nothing but praise her and their child. I can find live in this marriage. She had never been opposed to finding love, but she had always thought it to be natural, primal. Little did Dacey think she would find it beginning to bloom in the heir to House Stark.

How did she know that he felt the same? It had been a question that she asked herself many a time. But she saw it in the actions. Initially, whenever his father and he rode out, either Lady Catelyn, Edwyle, or Ser Rodrik would be appointed as the Castellan of Winterfell. But over time, it came to the point that whenever he and Edwyle rode out, she would be appointed as castellan.

This wasn't the only measure, but all the little things. She soon learned that her husband lacked courage or skill in the art of speaking about his emotions. Very well. Some were good at it, others not so much. Oh she had seen him curious, angry, happy, tired, and so on, but he never discussed his thoughts with her. Perhaps his actions were his way of opening up to her. Perhaps it was his way of speaking.

But enough of that. Robb had told her of all the news that happened the previous evening, while she was handling little Samsyn. The news of the dagger's owner, of the mission he gave to Ser Rodrik, of everything. But now, her husband should be on the way back from dealing out good, old-fashioned, Northern justice.

She had once read in a very old tome, many months ago from Winterfell's library; and within it, it told of a story. When Aegon I Targaryen had conducted his royal progresses throughout his newly conquered kingdoms, he held court in Barrowton, the seat of House Dustin. While there, Lord Dustin had been summoned to perform an execution on a deserter of the Night's Watch, at that time, very rare. Aegon had requested to come with the Lord as he did so. As they rode out, one of the maesters that came with Aegon as well as a septon of the King's party had joined in. When the party had arrived at the spot, Lord Dustin had prepared for the execution. Doing it so quickly, neither the King nor the septon had time to ask where the executioner was.

What was described next was very amusing, and she would remember for a very long time her initial reaction after reading it.

After the execution, the southern septon began ranting and raving about the barbarity of such an act. Of how no good lord should sully their hands in the blood of the guilty. The septon foolishly called on the King to attaint Lord Dustin for his 'tree-worshipping ways.' Aegon did not have time to respond before Lord Dustin swung his long axe in a way that imbedded itself right into the gut of the ranting septon.

Apparently it caused such an incident that it took all of the political might and threats of Aegon to force the High Septon to not call for a war of religion against the North. Though it wasn't in Winterfell, the maester wrote that many months later, the King Who Knelt apparently sent a raven to King's Landing dutifully reporting to the court that the Lord Dustin had died from madness, apparently throwing himself from the highest tower in Barrowton out of rage.

Regardless, she would always be amused at the story. Gods those Southerners truly are just a bunch of flowers. So weak they rely more on words to fight for them than the bite of steel. Dacey herself would refuse to be to be a weak, lady of the castle. Since she was able to walk after Samsyn, she had found herself training in the tiltyard. Much of her strength had left her; not training for many months would cause that. Although she could not block strikes that she normally would have been able to, her knowledge certainly didn't escape her. With the help of Ser Rodrik, she was taught how to avoid and deflect better then she used to. Once her strength fully returned, blocking wouldn't be a problem, but there was no harm in learning some more skills.

But now, she found herself where she had often been recently, walking slowly along the balcony of the inner courtyard and tiltyard of Winterfell. Softly humming while carrying Samsyn. He was an easy babe. Never screaming for anything. But he was a mama's boy. The boy obviously preferred to be held by herself. He tried to hide it, but she knew that Robb was hurt by it. She explained that it was not Samsyn's fault, he was but a babe. She laughed when Robb subsequently pouted just like his son.

She slowly continued to the nursery, no matter how much she wished to spend with Samsyn, there was work to be done. Handing over her son to a nursing maid, she set her destination for Vayon Poole's office. Entering, the steward bowed.

"My lady."

"Vayon, I was informed that you had reports for me to look over?"

"Ah, yes. Give me a moment."

This would be the first time that Dacey would look over the financial dealings of her house; Robb having done it since Lady Catelyn left.

The steward proceeded to look through the parchments on his desk before he found what he was looking for. "This is the most recent report on the treasury of House Stark and Winterfell, broken down by way of income and expenditures." He handed said paper to her.

Dacey had been trained on her lady duties by her mother, but admittedly, she was not very good at sums, and she was often confused by the budgeting necessary for castle upkeep.

"Would you be kind and walk me through this?"

"Of course my lady, please, have a seat."

Once they found theirs seats, Dacey flanking the steward, he put the report between them.

"As noted here, House Stark's treasury currently holds three hundred and twenty-nine thousand, four hundred and thirty-six gold dragons."

"Pardon!?" Dacey's eyes went wide with shock. House Lannister was considered the richest house in the kingdoms. According to Luwin, they were able to lend to Robert Baratheon nearly three million gold dragons. House Stark was not nearly close in wealth, but hundreds of thousands of gold dragons was not something to balk at.

"You mean to tell me, that my husband's- that my family, holds over a hundred thousand gold dragons!?"

"Yes, my lady." Vayon answered calmly.

"I knew that House Stark was powerful, but I didn't know that much!"

"Oh aye. I never really understood the reason either until His Grace's recent visit and speaking with some of his court. House Stark has coin, aye, and quite a bit of it. But since the days of Barthogan II Stark, House Stark has made a policy of using only what is needed. After all, you should know yourself as a Northerner, Winter is Coming. We Northerners need not spend on such trinkets as they do in the south.

"Where does it all come from?" Dacey was still quite astounded…and she was sure to have words with Robb when he returned. House Stark could turn the North into a true powerhouse and yet, it is considered a backwater.

"If it pleases my lady, let us finish with the treasury, then I'll move on to the incomes and expenditures."

"…Very well."

"Along with the gold, the coffers stand at nine million, three thousand and forty-nine, eight hundred and two silver stags."

Though that was still an incredibly high amount, unlike the gold, she could believe that House Stark had that many silver stags.

"There are some other minor notes, but most of that is change in copper groats that cannot be exchanged for a larger denomination."

"And now where does this all come from?"

"Most of House Stark's wealth comes from three, main sources. The first is through the processing of incomes directly on Stark land. This is further broken into mostly timber, wool, and iron mines. The second source is through taxes. As you know; vassal houses pay one-fifth of all revenue per year, minor houses pay one-seventh of all revenue a year, and petty houses pay one-twelfth of all revenue per year in taxes. This all goes to House Stark. Now of course, one-third of this is sent south to King's Landing per our taxes to the Iron Throne."

"And the last?" Her eyes still wide, scanning the report.

"The last source is less…understood in the traditional sense of monetary value."

"What do you mean?"

"Well my lady…House Stark is nigh on eight thousand years old, and that's only from recorded history. The Starks are old, very old. Although one may not think, it seems that no matter how mad a particular Stark king may have been thousands of years ago, they all seemed to stash a little."

"You mean to tell me, that House Stark has saved for thousands of years?" It was hard to stay calm. She was slightly angered at this knowledge. If her house had this kind of wealth, she would have used to build, to expand, to invest.

"Though it has changed over the eons and many records no longer survive; we know that from Torrhen to Ellard Stark, the perceived policy was to store one-sixth of all remaining wealth into vaults and coffers. It changed since then. Under Lord Eddard, he has tasked me with directing one-fifth of all wealth into the coffers, though that is mainly simply Lord Eddard's conservative financial nature."

"Why not more? Why not save more?"

"Mostly due to the expenditures. While you may think House Stark to be greedy because of this number, wait until you see what the House spends. The largest four expenditures are the following; the war chest, maintenance and upkeep, the Night's Watch, and tax returns."

"Tax returns?"

"Aye. It is the smallest of the main expenditures, but it does take place. Sometimes the Lords of the North send too much coin. House Stark does not seek to robber their vassals, however. Once all taxes come to Winterfell, they are inspected once more, and any surplus is sent back to the point of origin."

"Well I don't remember any coming back to Bear Island." She said defensively.

Vayon seemed to hesitate. "…Though I am not privy to such information, it could be because of two reasons; the first, your mother has only ever sent what she owes. Most surpluses come from lords who either have too much, or too little coin, either attempting to buy good favor, or those who couldn't bother counting it. On the other hand, sometimes I am aware that Lord Stark makes agreements with particular lords that should there be a surplus, he uses it instead for one of the biggest expenditures…upkeep and pay stubs."

"What does that entail." Dacey, though always proud of her skill at arms, also loved to learn of all aspects of castle life.

"Besides the moderate amount that is invested into a war chest to use in the event that the banners are called, as well as a set amount of a reasonable stipend to the Night's Watch, most of the out-going wealth goes into the upkeep of the North. There is a reason most lords' only major expense is the upkeep of their own keep. For House Stark, they take the brunt of making sure everything from all their defensive fortifications to Winterfell itself, to the household, to the household guard, as well as ensuring the continued maintenance of the Kingsroad…which runs for hundreds of leagues through the North."

"I…I…I never knew that. I mean I never thought about it, but when you say it now, it all makes sense. But I'm still curious?"

"Yes, my lady?"

"I still don't understand why there has not been major rebuilding operations in the North as of yet. Why do we still share the costs of rebuilding Moat Cailin?"

"Well a simple reason is simply saving the coin. Why pay for something alone if another will split the costs? But more seriously, it is mostly used as an emergency fund."

"An emergency fund? You mean like in the winter?"

"That is definitely one of the largest losses of coin that the private coffers face, but it also includes things like funding wars should the war chest run dry."

"I am truly shocked that my goodfather's house has, without complaint, taken most of the expense of the North into their hands."

Then she saw Vayon give a smug grin. "Well my lady. It certainly isn't for nothing."

She grew suspicious of his snide smirk. "What do you mean Vayon?"

She enjoyed watching Vayon Poole explain the lesson, Unlike her, it seemed that he excelled at this budgeting and the financial skills it took for running the largest kingdom.

"As I said, commonly the only major expenditures for the lords are their own upkeep of their keep. However, because of this, House Stark has forced them to do something with all that remaining coin."

"Force them? I never thought that we forced lords to spend their money, our way."

"Oh we really don't think of it as forcing, more as a friendly suggestion, and the reminder that we can stop paying for the upkeep of their lands. Regardless, what this means is that the lords of the North may focus much of their coin into training and equipping their host or standing guards."

"So in return for paying for most of the expenses of the kingdom, our vassals agree to put much of their own surplus into training and equipping the army?"

"Aye, I am sure that Ser Rodrik can go much more in depth into the specifics, but that is the simple answer. Now again it is a ratio for all lords, as such, poor lords may still not possess a large force, but they are still…'encouraged' to pay their share."

"I never even knew this. This is very…"

"Inspired?" Vayon suggested gleefully.

She cocked her head to the side. "One can say that."

"Admittedly, this was only instituted after Robert's Rebellion by Lord Eddard. As such, there isn't a lot of historical analysis for this, but hopefully it will continue to grow as it has been."

She let out a sigh she didn't know she was holding. "Well then Vayon, let us finish this report."

The two of them leaned forward once more to complete the reading and discussion of the parchment.


Robb Stark

It had been a long day. More interesting than normal. But still quite exhausting. Riding out to the execution and riding back took up many hours of the day, not to speak of the emotional exhaustion that he received from carrying out the sentence.

When he arrived back in Winterfell, he decided to follow his father's footsteps, and quietly contemplate in the Godswood. He had already cleaned the blade before leaving the village, he didn't like the thought of putting it in the scabbard with blood still on it, but it was still good to sit and think. To complete a mind-numbing task such as applying oil to a sword that didn't need it.

Dacey had entered and they held each other and comforted one another, and he was subjected to less than a pleasant conversation about the financial standings of House Stark, but that had all been in the past.

Now, he stood at the head of the high table. Dacey to his right, his brother to her right, and Tyrion Lannister, his guest of honor, to his left. The hall was filled with many of the local lords and masters as well as high ranking servants and household officers.

Holding up a goblet of wine, he gave a toast. "My friends, please, enjoy the food and drink of my hearth. Today is a day for honoring both our guest, and yourselves. May the feast begin!"

A chorus of agreements were shouted back before a light-hearted tone filled the air of talking and music and more fun.

As they ate, he discussed with Tyrion his travel plans.

"Lord Robb, I must thank you immensely for the open arms you have given me, and the warm hearth that you have sheltered me in. But I am sad to say that I must be going soon. With your leave, I plan on leaving on the 'morrow."

He had a better idea though. "Actually my lord, I have also been giving some thought to that. You see, my brother Edwyle will be leaving Winterfell soon to inspect the reconstruction of his new seat at Moat Cailin. It was planned for him to depart in the next few days, the soonest being the day after tomorrow. I insist, stay and enjoy a few more days of a safe and warm keep 'fore you leave on a long journey. Edwyle can escort you all the way to the Moat and provide some much-needed company."

He could tell the dwarf was conflicted. On one hand, he obviously just wanted to go home. Simply riding all the way to the village made him wish for Winterfell, Tyrion had been gone from the capital for many months. On the other hand, he could enjoy the privileges of residing in a keep for a few more days, have a safe escort as far as Moat Cailin, and have some company at the same time.

He saw imp smirk then. "Very well Lord Robb, but I must also insist that I may peruse the many aisles of the library here. I am a veracious reader, and it is simply a gold mine for a man like me."

After some days, he began to warm to the imp's agreeable nature, and witty banter. He gave a warm smile in return. "I am sure that can be arranged my lord."


*As stated in the first set of notes, this is not really in line with my current plot, but felt it necessary nonetheless to build onto what I already created for House Stark.

**So, a couple things. As mentioned, I cannot believe, in any way shape or form, that a House that is nigh on ten thousand years old, does not have some measure of financial protection. That they do not possess some great wealth hidden away. As mentioned, House Stark rarely uses it, but still, I thought it important to give a little realism to what seems to be overlooked in canon. I wanted to give them a reasonable amount of actual wealth. I know they are no where close to the millions of gold dragons of the Lannisters, but really, House Stark having a couple hundred thousand gold dragons...after 8,000 years? Really... is it that unbelievable?

***As for Samsyn; it was not uncommon during the medieval era or even in ASOIAF for a husband to be displeased at the apparent lack of his own features in his children. This was a common concern, one that I thought I would be remiss not to at least mention.