General POV-
Rickard Stark could only be described as a man of men. He was a man of meter eighty of pure muscle. Many had said that the fearsome Wolf Name of his house had been placed very strongly on him.
Rickard Stark was possibly one of these people who could wield Ice the fearsome sword of the Stark house without problems being able to handle it even with one hand which should say a lot about his monstrous physical strength. There were few men who could say it. But what was more important. Rickard Stark was an intelligent and competent leader.
Many would say that Rickard was born in the wrong house. That with a mind like his so open and intelligent he should have been born in a southern kingdom. Thank you but no thanks. If there was one thing Rickard knew about the South, it was that although they talked about being smart, he had quickly discovered that they were extremely limited. His faith. Your code of honor.
For the southerners it was that simple if it was against what they thought was wrong. Rickard would never have been respected there. There was a reason why the Boltons had never dared to challenge him since he had an absolute law that if someone was a threat to be treated. It had been due to his belief that a Stark had to be ready and ready to finish off the enemies mercilessly.
Rickard had this belief for three reasons. The first is that I lived in possibly the largest region also the one that had the hardest people. No vassal of his would respect a weak and easy-to-manipulate leader. For this same reason he did not like the southern ideology of playing with his food. He preferred to hit hard, hard and with a good war hammer.
He was little known but since he took over he had had to give examples of several minor houses and groups of nobles for thinking that they could get away with it. His examples were hard and cold like ice, also earning the name of the Wolf of the North. So his rule was obviously peaceful.
Next to Rickard was his wife. Lyarra Stark was in the words of many a woman of women. Beautiful woman with black hair and gray eyes like all Stark with ivory white skin. Many called it the winter rose and it was a loud secret that many nobles in the south had wanted to claim it as a wife. Rickard, however, was the one who married her.
Many said that Lyarra had Wolf blood which made her wild and when she was told that and they said that she should behave more like a lady Rickard just raised an eyebrow and looked amused at the idiot who said this making it clear that this was the North not the south.
Lyarra Stark looked like both a northern woman and a southern woman. Dressed in elegant dark blue clothes which would be a surprise. Little did people know that his clothes came from many times that he had played and deceived noble fools from the south who thought that beautiful armor meant quality. However, above this she wore a fur coat that made her warm.
As a powerful woman she was respected throughout the North for being herself and above all for being a woman who represents female power. What no one knew is that she was so smart and cunning that many would think she was much more than she seemed.
Honestly comparing Lyarra Stark with most women in the south was insulting. Intelligent. Her father had educated her to be a lady from the north. It is true that many lords of the North were the same as those of the South seeing women as little more than a tool to use and that's it.
But Lyarra's father was a man who saw his wife's intelligence and her ways of not being conformist as a good thing, which made him force his teacher to educate her, which was a surprise for the teacher and who almost refused to do such a thing if not for the threat of death in his head.
Lyarra's education was more than exceptional with the beautiful woman demonstrating a brilliant mind. Between her and her husband they had kept the North under control, which was difficult with the Boltons clearly trying to sow seeds of discord by all means. Lyarra would have killed the Boltons and her own husband wanted to do it but they were slippery, smart and cunning so it was hard to catch.
When she looked at her husband, she smiled. Rickard Stark was what an intelligent woman wanted as a husband. He was smart. With brain instead of muscle. He had ruled with a mixture of loyalty and fear and using his head knowing how and when to hit the dissidents. While it is true that many assume that the Stark House does not have a network of spies that is not true because they trust the members of the neck houses in such a duty for their unique abilities.
However, her thoughts like those of her husband were in other more remarkable important points such as the progress of her son since they had been watching him carefully (it was her son it is normal for a father to be interested in his son's future).
''Wallys is not happy with harris have seen him murmur and look at our son more than once. I have also seen that he is upset in his mere presence. I'm afraid of what the master might try to do with our son if he even has a chance.'' Lyarra didn't trust the maesters. Period.
"Unfortunately, Wallys' need is a serious thing. As a maester, your knowledge is indispensable since we both know perfectly well that the maesters are in a nutshell the backbone of each castle. We gentlemen have too much time busy and we need people to educate our children at least in certain arts''. What was worrying in itself. Entrusting the education of a child to a stranger seemed not only stupid but also meaningless.
"He honestly distrusted Wallys for more reasons than just the fact that he is a master. It's from the reach. You better than anyone should know the contempt that the inhabitants of the reach have for us northerners I think I remember that they are the ones who call us beasts the most if you have to stop and think about it for real.'' Lyarra felt that trusting the southerners was bad because of the centuries of bad blood and the fact that many southerners had an air of presumption every time they saw them.
"It's a problem that I won't deny is there. And Wallys as a maester frankly I don't feel very comfortable. The guy keeps saying that we should marry our son to a woman from the south. He says that he will ease the tension of the north with the south and make it clear that there are more things than just seeing the Northerners as wild beasts.'' Rickard's opinion of Wallys was already quite bad just for that point only to tell him that he had to change above all things in favor of the south? Why should I do such a thing?
"Wallys seems to think that marriages with the South are the best thing that can happen to the North. I honestly don't understand where you got such an idea from but it would be better to talk to the Reeds so that they start throwing more vigilance towards the group of teachers in the North''. Lesson learned. Since his distrust of the south came with reasons.
"At the moment we have to swallow the maesters, dear wife. Whether we like it or not, the case in question is that the masters are at the moment the most powerful group of all since they are in every fucking castle. We have no choice but to accept them for what they are. They are a lesser evil''. I honestly felt that there was a very big possibility that Wallys would try something.
What Rickard fears most is that he somehow tries to hurt Harris. Our son is proving to be obviously a true gift from the ancient gods. By the gods you just have to look at it. Look how strong it has grown. Look how powerful it is. I honestly fear that Wallys thinks that our son is some kind of threat and tries to hurt him.'' It was a reasonable concern.
"I honestly don't see Wallys doing such a thing. I doubt very much that the man is clearly stupid enough to do such a thing but at the same time I know that a person desperate to get something out''. Rickard was not an idiot and knew perfectly well that if a person needed a result and became desperate for it he would do everything in his hand to get the result.
"That's how betrayal works best and dear your best that anyone should know that is how things work. You don't try to make it seem normal. You try to avoid it completely. If it doesn't look like it. I'm honestly worried that this man will try to do anything with our son''. And it was a healthy fear. He knew that he could not trust a man who basically, although he said he had sworn in the name of the castle, had so many interests in the south.
"I would like to say that I don't see it but when you stop to think about it I'm afraid I have to say that it's a yes or yes. That there is no better way to say it. It's not good. It's not pleasant in the least. The cruelty of the situation is that we need a maester. We can't afford one of the healers of Essos unfortunately''. It was a big problem because in the end they needed a healer more than any other job that the master did.
"I suppose. I hate that we have so many needs. It's more than hate of the Dragon Lords. They basically took away our ability to be ourselves. They basically took away our ability to run our place as we wanted.'' It was a nuisance in Lyarra's mind but it could not be denied that it is as it was and that there was no alternative at this time.
"The North remembers dear. The time of the dragons will come. With the way they govern and everything about their ways of being honestly I feel that it is a disappointment for the dragons. The time will come anyway that the North will have its revenge. And I'm sure it will be sooner rather than later''. Rickard was not a devout believer. He respected the laws of children and respected the laws of the ancient gods but he was not one of those who placed his faith in the gods.
"And I feel that what you say is true. I eagerly hope that the time of the dragons ends not for nothing but for the simple fact that if they continue as things are it will get very complicated. The North should not have any of the ways of having to pay for all the mistakes of the South.'' There was a reason why the Starks hated and despised dragons and that is that every war and rebellion the North had fought. They had shown their strength. What did they receive in return? Nothing.
"However, now I have something else on my mind. Why does our son want to talk to us? What things do you have in mind right now? Knowing him as I know him something tells me that he will have many things to tell us''. Rickard couldn't help the smile of pride he had when he remembered his son.
"Well, our son has shown a lot to be very intelligent and capable. A person really capable of using the perfect combination of brain and muscle. I honestly feel that it is very possible that our son is thinking about some personal things or at least that he has some plans of his own.'' Lyarra thought affectionately of his son knowing that he was after all an only child.
'And that's why I look forward to this meeting. Something tells me that our son is about to let us go. I know it's a strange feeling but I feel that our son can perfectly make his own plans. Don't look at me like I'm weird, since when has our son acted like a normal child? The answer is never. He's always seen doing things anyway. It's a weirdness if I have to say it''. Rickard sighed. His son was a complete stranger. I didn't say it as a bad thing.
"You know that as a mother that only worries me more. Our son possibly has one of these strange minds. Possibly we are talking about the rebirth of Brandon the builder''. Lyarra couldn't help laughing. I had always heard of how proud the children of the southerners were. Of how they considered themselves above others. They would learn the hard way that there were things much more terrifying than they could imagine.
"I guess I should have expected obviously that you would find rather funny anything that means fucking the southerners although well if I have to say it is always a complete possibility of it happening. The North will have a different ruler. I just hope they don't eat it alive''. An unpleasant thing about northern lords is that if something works, why should they change it? That's how the Northerners were, unfortunately.
"Well, if our nobles are so sure that they can get out of this perfect well, but if they trust so blindly that they will get ahead, they must first learn what it means to deal with a person who is obviously more dangerous. Hariric won't let them say how he does things. You should already know.'' There was a reason why Lyarra had full faith in his son. It wasn't just a mother's trust in her son. It was something in the look.