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At the beginning of season 7 of Game of Thrones, Daenerys Targaryen summons Jon Snow to Dragonstone to honor the pledge his Stark ancestors made to the Targaryens roughly three hundred years ago. That pact ended when Daenerys' father and the last Targaryen king, Aerys II aka the Mad King burned Jon's ancestors alive. As a consequence, the Starks called the banners of war to topple the Targaryens on the Iron Throne.
As seen in Game of Thrones, Jon decides to travel to Dragonstone, against the wishes of his sister, Sansa Stark, and the people of his court. He does so because Dragonstone sits on a mountain of dragonglass and Jon needs it to defend the North from the Others. While Daenerys expects him to bend the knee, he is a man of honor who won't forget the cruelty of the Targaryens, not knowing he himself is one of them.
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Jon Snow Travels To Dragonstone
In Game of Thrones season 7, episode 2 "Stormborn," Jon tells his court that he accepts Daenerys' invitation, citing perfectly good reasons. Sansa, who sat in the background, raised the question:
Have you forgotten what happened to our grandfather? The Mad King invited him to King's Landing and roasted him alive. She [Daenerys] is here to reclaim the Iron Throne and the Seven Kingdoms. The north is one of those seven kingdoms. This isn't an invitation, it's a trap.
Jon and Ser Davos Seaworth depart shortly after and are disarmed at the shores of the Island. Unfortunate events of the past are revisited, and Daenerys expects Jon, who has a while ago been chosen as King in the North, to bend the knee:
...but I could have sworn I read the last king in the North was Torrhen Stark who bent the knee to my ancestor, Aegon Targaryen. In exchange for his life and the lives of the Northmen, Torrhen Stark swore fealty to House Targaryen in perpetuity. Or do I have my facts wrong?
Daenerys is correct in Game ofThrones, as King Torrhen Stark laid down the crown of the Kings of Winter at Aegon's feet, and was made Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North during the Targaryen Conquest. From there on, he and his successors ruled from Winterfell as Lords, and not as King, and North was part of the Seven Kingdoms.
Starks And Targaryens: From The Conquest To Robert's Rebellion
In Game of Thrones' "Stormborn," Jon refuses to bend the knee, saying Daenerys' father burned his grandfather and uncle alive and would have set fire to the Seven Kingdoms if it came to that. Daenerys apologizes and reminds Jon of the years when the Starks ruled on behalf of the Targaryens as wardens in the north. She calls herself "the last Targaryen," unbeknownst that Jon was born in wedlock between her older brother, Rhaegar, and Lyanna Stark. So in essence, Jon, who was raised as "the Bastard of Winterfell" is a bridge between the Starks of the North and the Targaryens who have the blood of the Old Valyria. Daenerys meanwhile presses Jon to rethink his decision:
Our two Houses were allies for centuries. And those were the best centuries the Seven Kingdoms had ever known. Centuries of peace and prosperity with a Targaryen sitting on the Iron Throne and a Stark serving as Warden of the North.
Half Stark, and always under Robb Stark's shadow, Jon still isn't one to let the Mad King's behavior slide. When Daenerys says she shouldn't be held accountable for her father's crimes, Jon says he isn't beholden to Torrhen Stark's oath. Lyanna and Rhaegar's forbidden romance caused war and bled the Seven Kingdoms. The Mad King's response of imprisoning Lyanna's older brother, Brandon Stark, and his comrades at the Red Keep was the catalyst to the war that took place before the events of HBO's Game of Thrones. The general perception in the North and among the Baratheons was that Rhaegar had kidnapped, and defiled Lyanna. This couldn't be further from the truth, as Rhaegar loved Lyanna and had annulled his marriage with Elia Martell, and the pair were secretly wed in the Faith of the Seven style ceremony. Jon Snow, actually named Aegon Targaryen, was the son born of his union.
As for the Mad King, he summoned the young men's fathers to answer for their crimes. The then Lord of Winterfell, and Brandon and Ned's father, Lord Rickard left for King's Landing, but neither he nor his son returned. The Mad King also demanded the heads of Jon Arryn's wards, Ned Stark and Lyanna's betrothed, Robert Baratheon, and all three House representatives declared war in response. The war saw the Targaryens deposed from the Iron Throne, the Mad King's Kingsguard, Jaime Lannister slay him, and Robert claim the throne. The Targaryens were gone and the Starks left for Winterfell, once again, as they did at the end of the Dance of the Dragons which is the focal point of the prequel, House of the Dragon.
Who Do Starks Support In The Dance Of The Dragons?
The Starks Remain Loyal To Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen
At the end of House of the Dragon season 1, episode 1 "The Heirs of the Dragon," King Viserys I Targaryen extracts an oath of fealty out of Lord Rickon Stark for his heir Rhaenyra Targaryen. Rickon's eldest son, Cregan is Lord of Winterfell per the events of House of the Dragon season 1, episode 10 "The Black Queen," and Jacaerys Velaryon is on his way over to remind him of his father's oath. Cregan will remain loyal to Rhaenyra's Black faction even after she, her heir, Jace, and Daemon Targaryen perish in the Dance. He will be tenacious at King's Landing, at a particular time known as the Hour of the Wolf in Game of Thrones lore. He will conduct court proceedings after the murder of his foe, King Aegon II, wishing the killers be brought to justice. The Greens surrender and Cregan is named Hand by Aegon the Younger. A widower, Cregan Stark also asked for Alysanne Blackwood's hand in exchange for pardoning the Sea Snake, Lord Corlys and she agreed. Once again the Stark departed for Winterfell within a fortnight of administering justice and bringing peace in the realm.
Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones, based on the Song of Ice and Fire book series by George R.R. Martin, tells the sprawling story of warring families in Westeros. This includes the Starks, the Lannisters, the Baratheons, and the Targaryens. Along with human conflicts, Westeros is also threatened by the re-emergence of dragons, and an undead enemy from beyond the Wall.
House Of The Dragon: Who Is Cregan Stark?
Cregan Stark represents the Starks and the Kingdom of the North in House of the Dragon, but what kind of a leader is he in the lore?
