"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives."
―Eddard Stark
Lord Eddard Stark, also known as Ned Stark, was the head of House Stark, the Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, and later Hand of the King to King Robert I Baratheon. He was the older brother of Benjen, Lyanna and the younger brother of Brandon Stark. He is the father of Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon by his wife, Catelyn Tully, and uncle of Jon Snow, who he raised as his bastard son. He was a dedicated husband and father, a loyal friend, and an honorable lord.
Eddard's execution and revealing the illegitimacy of Cersei Lannister's children sparked the War of the Five Kings between Joffrey Baratheon, Robb Stark, Renly Baratheon, Stannis Baratheon, and Balon Greyjoy, being posthumously responsible for the involvement of four of the kings in this war.
Following his death, his legacy would shape the future of Westeros for years. His son Robb was acclaimed by the Northern lords as the first King in the North since the days of the Conquest. Although Robb later fell at the Red Wedding, the North's desire for independence, which had been awoken by Eddard's execution, was carried on by his alledged bastard Jon Snow's own acclamation as king and, following his exile to the Night's Watch for assassinating Daenerys Targaryen, by his daughter Sansa, who refused to allow the North to remain a part of the Seven Kingdoms and was crowned as the first Queen in the North. Following the death of all claimants to the Iron Throne in the War of the Five Kings and the second Targaryen conquest, the Great Council of 305 AC elected Eddard's last living son, Bran, as the new King of the Andals and the First Men.