| “ | The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword.
— Ned Stark
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” |
The second son of Lord Rickard Stark of Winterfell, Ned Stark was raised partly by his parents at Winterfell but predominantly as the ward of Jon Arryn of the Vale. A quiet and thoughtful young man, Ned soon became friends with his fellow ward, the boisterous Robert Baratheon. His friendship with Baratheon resulted in the betrothal of his sister, Lyanna Stark, to Robert. When she was abducted by Rhaegar Targaryen, Ned demanded that Aerys force his son to return her with the rest of the Stark family. When Aerys murdered his father and older brother Brandon, Ned Stark became the reluctant but undeniable Lord of Winterfell. He married Catelyn Tully and then joined Robert in his rebellion, during which he located his sister and discovered the truth - she had eloped with Rhaegar, and she bore him a son, Aegon Targaryen. Ned swore to his sister he would protect the boy, and adopted him as his own bastard Jon Snow to ensure Robert wouldn't kill him.
For twenty years he resided as the Lord of Winterfell, until the death of Jon Arryn resulted in Robert traveling north and appointing Ned his new Hand of the King. Ned reluctantly accepted, taking his daughters Sansa and Arya with him, where as Hand he attempted to navigate the complex political arena of King's Landing. He ultimately failed when he discovered that Joffrey Baratheon wasn't Robert's legitimate son, but the bastard of Queen Cersei Lannister and her twin brother Jaime. Ned attempted to resolve it peacefully by encouraging Cersei to leave, but she takes advantage of his honor and has him arrested. Ned lies for his daughters' safety by admitting to treason, but Joffrey has him executed regardless by beheading.
Battle vs. Maric Theirin & Loghain Mac Tir alongside Robert Baratheon (TV Series) (by MovieStuff65)[]
As the sun rises for the morning, Loghain whittles a small piece of wood as he waits outside Maric's tent. The king's guards stood in a relaxed but aware position, shields still on their backs and swords at their sides. "Is your hair almost done, Maric?" Loghain yells, earning a chuckle from the two guards.
The king of Ferelden moves the flap and walks out, brushing a strand of his long blond hair from his face. Maric nervously chuckled as Loghain raised his eyebrow, putting the unfinished mabari statuette in his pocket. "Laugh all you want, but at least my hair isn't greasy like yours."
Loghain merely growled, crossing his arms and glaring at Maric, who raised and eyebrow and laughed. "We've known each other too long for your brooding to work on me, old friend." The tiniest bit of a smile emerged at the corner of Loghain's mouth, shaking his head in feigned annoyance.
After a few moments, a cough from Loghain breaks the comfortable silence. "Our forces are ready at your call, Maric. It's likely that some of our troops have been spotted, so we should be expecting a pitched battle and not the ambush we had hoped for."
Maric's smile turned into a frown, and he promptly straightened. "Very well. If that's what we can expect, then we'll make sure to give Baratheon hell."
"What's your name again, love? You're quite the spitfire, ain't ya?" Robert boasted, a robe wrapped around him as he walked out of his bed to his armor. "It's Bessie, m'lord," she answered, snuggling up under the blankets.
A knock at the wooden pole of his tent broke his concentration, with the two women with him covering themselves as Robert narrowed his eyes. "Which one of you fucks dares to disturb your king's rest!?" he yells, already standing and reaching for his hammer.
"The only man who's seen you in your small clothes and lived to tell the tale," Ned said as he entered, bashfully covering his eyes as he noticed the two giggling girls. Robert's fury evaporated immediately, opening his arms and wrapping Ned in a hug.
"Oh, if I knew you'd be knocking I would've waited! Even if you weren't the only man I'd be willing to share a woman with, there could've been one for each us!" Robert yelled, earning a groan from Ned. The lord of Winterfell tossed a sack of coins at the bed, before turning to Robert. "Get your armor on - if you can still fit in it, that is. Scouts say that the Fereldens have already begun their approach."
Robert's eyes went wild with glee, hefting his hammer in hand. "Best get out of here, girls. I expect things are about to get bloody."
As Maric raises his shield, a longsword clanks uselessly off it and skids to the side. He thrusts his blade, easily piercing the Baratheon soldier's armor and sticking the blade through his chest. As he kicks the body down and off his blade, he wipes sweat from his brow. A yell jolted his attention as another soldier charged him, before a black arrow flew through the air and into his chest.
"Pay attention, Maric." Loghain says firmly, despite mimicking Maric's action to wipe sweat from his brow. Loghain coughs, the smoke from the burnt tents and stench of blood filling his lungs, before drawing another arrow.
"MARIC THEIRIN!" A loud voice booms, echoing even over the sounds of the battlefield. "WHERE ARE YOU, YOU BLOND TWAT!"
Loghain and Maric turn to the challenge, watching in awe as a figure emerged from the blazing ruins of the camp. Robert Baratheon, in full plate and massive war hammer in hand, charged forward, stag antlers glaring them down.
"Maker, he's built like a bloody Qunari." Maric wondered, raising his sword and shield into a defensive stance. One of his knights charged Baratheon, sword in hand, but Robert swung his hammer, knocking the blade from his hand. He followed up with another swing, burying the spike deep into the top of the knight's head.
"You wanted a war, now you've got it!" Baratheon bellows, swinging his hammer at another knight on horseback. The hammer smashes into the beast's skull, killing it instantly and sending the knight flying through the air. As he landed at Robert's feet, the Storm King swung again, reducing the soldier's head to pulp.
"He might very well be," Loghain replies, drawing and loosing an arrow, which Robert deftly dodges as he sprints forward. At his side, Ned draws his sword and yells "Rally here, men!", with a handful of Baratheon soldiers charging at their king's side. Two fell to Loghain's arrows before engaging with what remained of Maric's guard.
Maric and Robert glared at each other, the latter slowing down as they turned, waiting for one to make a move. The rebel prince moved first, darting in and feinting a thrust with his blade. Robert narrowly avoided the attack, sidestepping only receive Maric's shield to the face. As he stumbled back, Robert swung his hammer to gain distance, a glancing blow at Maric's shield that still dented the dragonbone weapon.
The Ferelden monarch recoiled away, his arm barely unbroken despite Robert's attack barely connecting. Bracing himself, Maric charged, closing the distance beneath Robert's hammer and shoving his shield into the Storm King's chest. Robert holds his ground, shoving Maric away, before swinging his hammer and starting the fight again.
Off to the side, Loghain raised his bow in a defensive stance, the weapon breaking but protecting him from an overhead swing from Ned's longsword. Drawing his own blade, Loghain parried the next attack, sliding in close and sweeping Ned off his feet. He thrusts his short sword, which Ned deflects with his gauntlet.
Ned swings his sword, deflecting off of Loghain's steel cuirass but forcing him back, giving Ned space to pull himself off the ground. Loghain rises, raising his short sword in a defensive stance as Ned charges, wildly swinging his sword. Taking a moment to gauge his opponent, shifting his feet easily as he walked backwards and avoided Ned's blows, Loghain patiently waits for a gap in Ned's assault.
It comes as Ned attempts another diagonal hack, overextending in an attempt to break through Loghain's block. Instead of falling back and blocking, he parries downward, bringing the tips of their swords to the dirt. He moves in close, slamming the pommel of his short sword into Ned's nose. Stunned, Ned falters as he reflexively reaches for his bleeding face, giving Loghain the space to slip in and thrust his short sword into Ned's stomach.
Maric ducks below another swing of Robert's hammer, unable to move between Robert's flurry of blows. The Storm King swings over top, forcing the unprepared Maric to raise his shield. The hammer smashes through, shattering Maric's arm and causing him to scream in pain. He feebly raises his shield as Robert rains down the spike, tearing Maric's shield from his arm and flinging him over his shoulder.
"Maric!" Loghain rapidly pulls his blade from Ned's chest, grabbing the dirk from his belt and charging at Robert. The king swings his hammer, and Loghain rolls under it, shoving the dagger into a gap in the plate's shin armor.
As he stands, Loghain follows up with a fast thrust, attempting to breach another gap in the plate. Robert yells, ignoring the blood pouring from his shin, and backhands Loghain. The teyrn rolls with the blow, quickly back on his feet and dodging to the left, Robert's war hammer swinging where his head was and leaving a crater in its place.
"Sit still so I can cave in your fucking skull!" Robert yells, each word accented by a wild swing of the hammer. On the final swing, Robert swings down, repeating his maneuver from before, with Loghain stepping back. He swings his shortsword at the handle of the hammer, the blow and the weight finally sending the hammer from Robert's grip.
Loghain moves in, aiming his short sword at Robert's neck, only to meet a plated fist. Stunned and blood pouring from his face, Loghain barely sees as Robert unleashes another punch, nearly knocking him unconscious. Robert grabs him by the throat, throttling him as he chokes the life out of Loghain.
"You forgot about me, Robert!" Maric yells, lifting his sword with his remaining good armor and slicing at Robert's wrist. The dragonbone manages to cleave through the plate, forcing Robert to drop the flailing Loghain. The Storm King turns, grabbing the weakened Maric and slamming his helmet into his face.
"I didn't forget about you, little man." Robert taunts, Maric falling to his knees in a daze. He picks up his war hammer, holding it in his hands. "I just wanted to savor this moment. When I swung by hammer, shatter every rib you have."
"Well, you better not wait," Maric taunts, spitting at Robert's feet as he fails to rise. Robert nods, a brief moment of respect, before swinging his hammer. Loghain, slipping in and out of consciousness, weakly raises his hand in vain as Robert's hammer collides with Maric's chest. The silver armor shatters in an instant, blood and shards of metal flying as the warhammer caves in his breastplate. Maric lets out a final grunt of pain as his body is sent flying backwards, broken and dead before his corpse hits the ground.
Robert approaches Loghain, bathing in the glory of victory as the surrounding armies slow the battle to its end. Loghain, crawling towards Maric's body, looks up at Robert. "I suppose this is it, then."
"Indeed," Robert says, raising his hammer once again. "You better hope that Ned doesn't bleed out, or I'll bring you back from the Seven hells to watch you shit and die all over again." The Storm King orders, before swinging his hammer into Loghain's skull. He follows it up with several more swings, his hammer covered in brain and sinew as Loghain's head is reduced to a pulp.
Letting out a sigh to finally let his rage calm, Robert walks over the Maric's corpse. Picking up the glowing blade for himself, he briefly lowers to the ground, sword in hand. As he reemerges, he raises the bloodied head of Maric in the air, with his men letting out the roar of victory.
WINNER: Robert Baratheon & Ned Stark
Expert's Opinion[]
While Loghain and Maric were more balanced as a team, with Loghain's guile and archery mixing well with Maric's leadership abilities and martial prowess, nothing short of divine magic is going to stop a Baratheon on the battlefield. Incased in plate armor and swinging his war hammer, nothing the Dragon Age team brought to the table was going to slow down Bobby B in a fight. This doesn't even include his monstrosity as a fighter in single combat, where his strength and skill put most of Westeros to shame. While Ned himself was lackluster, Bobby B is a walking wrecking ball, giving this win to the Guys of Thrones.