So do you believe that Bran will return to Winterfell and rule it as the King in the North? (given the political disintegration has overtaken Westeros and is simply too far gone to be repaired).
I believe that Bran will return to Winterfell, as for King in the North, that all depends on the political climate at the end of the series. Will it be the 7 kingdoms, with one monarch? Will it be 7 different kingdoms? Yes, IF they become seven separate kingdoms, then I do believe that Bran will be King in the North.
Technically, Bran *is* King in the North. He is the eldest trueborn Stark male and he is Robb’s heir. Moreover, he has been the lord of Winterfell since the end of AGoT, with more experience in ruling Winterfell than any of his siblings (aside from Robb). There is the issue of Robb’s will, in which we can assume he legitimized Jon with his expressed desire to name Jon his heir, but that will has not yet surfaced in the series. So as of now, Bran Stark is Robb’s true heir and with Robb’s death, he is the King in the North.
Even if Bran isn’t king in the end, I am of the opinion that he will be the Lord of Winterfell; he will be -at least- one of the Starks in Winterfell.
Bran and Winterfell
Bran has been intrinsically linked to Winterfell since his very first chapter. He has an incredibly special and unique connection with it, more so than anyone else in the series. It is both a physical connection to its structure, a sentimental connection to the memories it holds for him, and an emotional connection to its people:
Most of all, he liked going places that no one else could go, and seeing the grey sprawl of Winterfell in a way that no one else ever saw it. It made the whole castle Bran’s secret place.
-Bran, AGoT
Bran could perch for hours among the shapeless, rain-worn gargoyles that brooded over the First Keep, watching it all: the men drilling with wood and steel in the yard, the cooks tending their vegetables in the glass garden, restless dogs running back and forth in the kennels, the silence of the godswood, the girls gossiping beside the washing well. It made him feel like he was lord of the castle, in a way even Robb would never know… It taught him Winterfell’s secrets too.
-Bran, AGoT
he sent sweets to Old Nan and Hodor for no other reason but he loved them
-Bran, ACoK
He saw Old Nan, her toothless mouth opening and closing. Hayhead was carried in between two of the other guards, a bloodstained bandage wrapped about his bare chest. Poxy Tym wept inconsolably, and Beth Cassel cried with fear
[…]
People were still being driven into the Great Hall, prodded along with shouts and the butts of the spears. Gage and Osha arrived from the kitchens, spotted with flour from making the morning bread. Mikken they dragged in cursing. Farlen entered limping, struggling to support Palla. Her dress had been ripped in two; she held it up with a clenched fist and walked as if every step were agony. Septon Chayle rushed to lend a hand, but one of the ironmen knocked him to the floor.
-Bran, ACoK
“Bran,” he said sullenly. Bran the Broken. “Brandon Stark.” The cripple boy. “The Prince of Winterfell.” Of Winterfell burned and tumbled, its people scattered and slain. The glass gardens were smashed, and hot water gushed from the cracked walls to steam beneath the sun. How can you be the prince of someplace you might never see again?”
-Bran, ASoS
“It had a bitter taste, though not so bitter as acorn paste. The first spoonful was the hardest to get down. He almost retched it right back up. The second tasted better. The third was almost sweet. The rest he spooned up eagerly. Why had he thought that it was bitter? It tasted of honey, of new-fallen snow, of pepper and cinnamon and the last kiss his mother ever gave him.“
-Bran, ADWD
There are many more quotes, this is just a teaser, that illustrate Bran’s connection to his home and his people. Of all the Starks, Bran has spent the most time in Winterfell. Literally 14 of the 21 chapters he has are in Winterfell, there is a reason that it’s been highlighted over and over again just how significant Winterfell is for Bran. Of course, it is significant for his siblings as well, it is their home, and they wish for it and miss it just as badly as Bran. But that’s all we get from them, their thoughts and desires of home, it’s different for Bran because there is a sense that his destiny is tied to Winterfell in much the same vein as it’s tied to Bloodraven/the old Gods/children of the forest.
Bran the Heir
In every single book that Bran has a POV, we are reminded at least once that he is Winterfell’s heir. Bran is alive, he is a trueborn son of Ned and Catelyn, he is the eldest -legitimate- Stark male, and more than all of this, every northern lord knows that Bran is heir. He has spent time with them, he has talked to them, advised them, listened to the state of their lands, they addressed Bran as “my lord” when they met with him. When news reaches that the true heir of Winterfell is alive, they’ll swear him fealty without a second thought. This is especially significant as Bran has personally met and spent time with Wyman Manderly, a man currently in the midst of a plot to bring back Rickon Stark and install him as lord of Winterfell. If/when lord Manderly finds that Bran is alive, he will do all he can to see him safely returned home.
"You are the lord in Winterfell now,” Robb told him […] "You must take my place, as I took Father’s, until we come home.“
-Robb to Bran, AGoT
you are your brother’s heir and the stark in winterfell
-Ser Rodrik to Bran, ACoK
He was the Stark in Winterfell, his father’s son and his brother’s heir, and almost a man grown
-Bran, ACoK
you are our prince as well, or lord’s son, and our king’s true heir
-Meera Reed to Bran, ASoS
What was he now? Only Bran the broken boy, Brandon of House Stark, prince of a lost kingdom, lord of a burned castle, heir to ruins.
-Bran, ADWD
Bran the lord of Winterfell
I’ve already written a post about Bran’s training and subsequent position as lord of Winterfell, here. Bran has been learning the ways of lordship since his first chapter, where he must witness his father execute the NW’s deserter. This first chapter is when he learns his very first lesson in ruling from his father:
"One day, Bran, you will be Robb’s bannerman, holding a keep of your own for your brother and your king, and justice will fall to you. When that day comes, you must take no pleasure in the task, but neither must you look away. A ruler who hides behind paid executioners soon forgets what death is.”
-Bran, AGoT
Bran learns an incredible amount about ruling, from Ned Stark, from Robb Stark, from Ser Rodrik, and Maester Luwin. It is important to note that Bran didn’t rule Winterfell alone, he had a great amount of guidance and teaching from Maester Luwin and Ser Rodrik, his regents. This will hold true for when he returns, whether it is Lord Manderly or another loyal Northern lord (maybe Howland Reed) Bran will need an experienced -adult- regent to help him in much the same manner as Maester Luwin and Ser Rodrik. That is the purpose of a regent, after all. Someone who is old enough, seasoned enough, experienced enough to train the young leader.
A brief summary of Bran’s training:
The technical aspects of ruling:
- harvests
- defenses
- land rights and negotiations
- marriage contracts
Social expectations:
- speaking with the northern lords
- how to properly present himself
- addressing his bannermen with proper courtesies
- how to conduct himself as lord during the harvest feast
The wise and intangible lessons:
A lord must protect his smallfolk. Cruel places breed cruel peoples, Bran, remember that…
-Maester Luwin to Bran
the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man’s life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words.
-Ned to Bran, AGoT
Bran spent 11 chapters of his 21 chapters learning to rule Winterfell and then actually becoming the lord of Winterfell, bearing all the responsibilities that role has. That’s literally half of his story spent in such a capacity. It is not some insignificant interlude that should be overlooked, if you ignore the important implications of his role and training as lord, then you’re completely ignoring half of his arc.
Bran and Kings
It’s really interesting, Bran has quite a few connections to both mythical kings in our world, and the kings in the north of his world.
Bran and the fisher king:
The fisher king is a king of celtic and arthurian legend who suffered a wound to his legs and became paralyzed. He must bear the consequences of his kingdom’s destruction as he suffers from his wound. I’m actually planning to write a meta on this, so I won’t go into much detail. The similarity, aside from the loss of their legs, is that the kingdom suffers as the king suffers, and that’s definitely a theme seen with Bran.
- Bran’s fall coincides with Winterfell and the north losing their lord to the South.
- His rise to lord of Winterfell coincides with the war of the 5 kings, and Winterfell losing it’s lord yet again.
- Theon overtaking Winterfell, many of its people dying, the north fighting ironborn invasion, lady Hornwood’s gruesome death and the subsequent conflicts over her land, and finally Ramsay taking Winterfell for himself and destroying it, all coincide with Bran’s forced escape from his rightful seat, his long and dangerous journey to the true north, his current unwitting role as Bloodraven’s protege; the kingdom suffers as the king suffers.
Bran’s training with Bloodraven is just as important as his training for lord of Winterfell. I absolutely believe that his ever growing powers of sight, skinchanging, and warging will be utilized in the fight against the others. However, it is not ludicrous to think that Bran will eventually return home, rebuild his home, and become its lord. There is a reason that half of his story was spent in Winterfell, there is a reason that Bloodraven lived a long life, first as Brynden Rivers, then as lord commander of the Night’s watch, and then became the entity we know him as in ADWD. Bran isn’t going to stay in that cave forever, and I’m not saying that everything will end up perfect and happy for him; that he’ll be this all powerful magical being all the while ruling winterfell. Sacrifices, pain, death of loved ones, they will come, and he will suffer. But ultimately, Bran’s connection to Winterfell is too deep, too important, too powerful to say that he’ll never go home again.
