Alys Karstark

Alys Karstark is a daughter of Lord Rickard Karstark, who was beheaded by Robb Stark for murdering prisoners during the War of the Five Kings. After her father's death and the disappearance of her brother Harrion, her great-uncle Arnolf, the castellan of Karhold, plots to seize her birthright by forcing her to marry his son Cregan. Alys flees south, riding alone on a dying horse, and arrives at Castle Black seeking protection from Jon Snow, the last son of Eddard Stark she can trust.

Flight and Arrival at Castle Black

Alys arrives at Castle Black exhausted and half-frozen, her horse nearly dead. She is found by rangers two leagues south of Mole's Town and brought to Maester Aemon's old chambers. When Jon Snow first sees her, he mistakes her for Arya Stark due to her age and build, but quickly recognizes her. Alys reminds Jon that they met years ago at Winterfell, when her father brought her to meet Robb Stark in hopes of a marriage match. She recalls that Jon was sullen at the feast, a trait her father attributed to his bastardy. Now, she pleads with Jon for protection, explaining that her uncle Cregan is hard upon her trail and means to force her into marriage to claim Karhold for himself. She declares that she would rather die than be wed to Cregan, who has already buried two wives.

Marriage to Sigorn, Magnar of Thenn

Jon Snow decides to protect Alys by marrying her to Sigorn, the new Magnar of Thenn, whose father Styr was killed attacking Castle Black. The marriage is performed by Melisandre in a ceremony before the Wall, with Queen Selyse and her court in attendance. Alys wears a maiden's cloak of black wool with a Karstark sunburst made of white fur, and Sigorn fastens a bride's cloak around her shoulders bearing a bronze disk surrounded by flames, the new arms of House Thenn. Jon Snow gives Alys away, and the couple leaps over a ditch of fire to seal their union. Afterward, Alys jokes with Jon about her wildling husband, acknowledging the strangeness of her situation but accepting it as necessary for her survival.

Political Significance and Aftermath

Alys's marriage to Sigorn serves multiple political purposes. It secures her claim to Karhold against her uncle Arnolf's treachery, as Jon Snow later reveals that Arnolf has secretly allied with Roose Bolton and Ramsay Snow. The marriage also binds the Thenns, a proud and organized group of free folk, to the Night's Watch and Stannis Baratheon's cause. Alys tells Jon that Karhold's food stores are low and that many will die in the coming winter, and Jon promises to send old men and boys to the Wall. She also warns Jon that Arnolf means to betray Stannis by feigning loyalty and then stabbing him in the back. Alys's arrival and marriage thus become a key element in the complex web of northern alliances and betrayals, as Jon Snow works to hold the Wall against both the Boltons and the coming winter. Cregan Karstark is captured and imprisoned in the ice cells, and Jon offers him the choice of taking the black or facing execution when Stannis returns.