In the main series, the mother of Ned and Lyanna is a non-character, and I find that lack of mention very, very odd.
Oh, totally forgot in my casting of lines. Martin has stated that if her story is relevant to the current one, he will put her in the books. Saw an SSM of that earlier today.
Could it be an ecco? Not actually picturing Lyanna herself but a side of Stark women when the bloodlust and vengance is on them? To link it to old sagas of the north, there it was a woman's task to keep their father, brothers and sons on the path of vengance if it was called for, reminding them of wrongs done to their family and see to it that justice was fullfilled.
Let me put one more ingredient in your pot, if I may. What if Lyanna had the sight, and had a really interesting convo with Howland at the tourney with him fresh off the Isle of Faces? For months I've wondered if Howland learned something there that came to pass in RR, and if so what did he learn. I've also speculated that Arthur too had some interesting info that related to Rhaegar's scrolls when comparing notes. Could we have a situation of information from four sources coming together at the very end of the rebellion?
I do think that Howland could have imparted important information to the Starks. We know he had dealings with Lyanna and Ned at Harrenhal. So what could he have told them? I think it could have to do with the birth of a special child or children. If this is the case, I think that Lyanna was the believer and that Ned had to be convinced, and maybe never fully was.
I also wonder if Howland passed information on to the Dayne family. We know that Howland made note of the maid with "laughing purple eyes". I do think it's possible that both Ashara and Arthur were also given important information from some source and Harrenhal makes sense to me. Information that was also regarding the birth of a child who was important. Years ago, in a response on some thread over on Westeros, I seen somebody propose that Aegon is the child of Ashara and Arthur, but I didn't pay any attention, as I was still pulling the wool over my eyes about the incest potential in the story, and now I can't find that comment. If they had a child, I would be inclined to think it is Dany, but I have never pursued researching that tinfoil.
It is also possible that Arthur had information from Rhaegar. Barristan implies that Arthur knew more of Rhaegar's business at Harrenhal than the other kingsguard members.
With Ned's comment of her wolf blood getting her killed, I've thought she was responsible for her own death from my first read.
A "touch" of wolf blood could have lead Lyanna to elope with Rhaegar, which was my first thought years ago, which lead to her death. Ned told us that he viewed Lyanna's choices as causing her own downfall, so that wasn't a surprise to me. What has changed for me over the years is what Lyanna's actions might really have been.
There are speculations of the Targaryens seeing trouble with the north/Stark as far back as GQA (voice ), and if so what is to say the Starks didn't get their own version over the years?
Hard to say what Good Queen Alysanne's intent was, but it seems that her actions hurt both the Stark's and the Night's Watch. Maybe that was her intent, but maybe it was unforeseen fallout from her intended action.
I also think we have a divide in the Targaryens. I think of the Targ's who are aware of some important prophecy, that half of them are actively trying to make it happen, while the other half is actively trying to stop if from happening.
Oh, totally forgot in my casting of lines. Martin has stated that if her story is relevant to the current one, he will put her in the books. Saw an SSM of that earlier today.
I have seen an SSM from years ago where he responded to a person asking about who Ned's mother was as "she was Lady Stark, and she died" or something. Really? After giving us some crazy details on the parentage of people of minor houses that goes back gnereations, this is what we get about the mother of Lyanna and Ned and Benjen and Brandon? Highly suspicious if you ask me. I think she is important and maybe key to the mystery, and he is hiding it from us. For years my tinfoil was that she was of Dayne blood, but TWOIAF killed that idea when it was published. However, I soon replaced one ball of tinfoil with another. Haha!
Their father understood as well. "You want no pup for yourself, Jon?" he asked softly.
I'm always curious about the direwolf mom. Gared's escape south of the wall along with the appearance of a direwolf; which hasn't been seen for 200 years, can't be coincidence. I wonder if Gared was spared for the purpose of bringing the direwolf through the Black Gate. That could imply an appearance by Coldhands since the WW don't speak the common tongue and a man of the watch is needed to say the words to open the gate.
I rather think the death of the direwolf was sacrificial rather than a random event; carried out with an antler knife of the type found lodged in the direwolf's throat. Something that Gared may have been bound by oath to do. The pups were meant to be found and Gared was the offering to bring the Starks to the place of execution where the pups would be found.
Just as Jon says - they were meant to have the pups.
Also when he decends the stairs "in a red rage" at castle Darry before Lady is killed. Ned is a wolf after all. And Jon also shows a touch of the wolf blood from time to time, but I think just as sparingly as Ned.
My sense is that "the wolf blood" is not just about anger. Of course Ned gets angry, as does nearly every character in the story. I'm not sure what Ned means by 'the wolf blood' and it seems to include anger but there is something more, maybe inpulsivity, maybe a strength of purpose, maybe an inclination to fix on something and stick with it
All the usages of the phrase I find are in GOT: Eddard has a brief argument with Arya after finding Needle then: "'It has a name, does it?' Her father signed. 'Ah, Arya. You have a wildness in you, child. 'The wolf blood,' my father used to call it. Lyanna had a touch of it, and my brother Brandon more than a touch. It brought them both to an early grave.'" Bran listening to the wolves: "He could almost understand them ... not quite, not truly, but almost ... as if they were singing in a language he had once known and somehow forgotten. The Walders might be scared of them, but the Starks had wolf blood. Old Nan told him so." Arya in the godswood to practice her 'needlework' with a broomstick asks the gods to tell her what to do and remembers her father telling her: "You are Arya of Winterfell, daughter of the north. You told me you could be strong. You have the wolf blood in you." "The wolf blood," Arya remembered now. "I'll be as strong as Robb. I said I would. She took a deep breath, then lifted the broomstick in both hands and brought it down across her knee. It broke with a loud crack, and she threw the pieces aside. I am a direwolf, and done with wooden teeth."
Wildness and strength. Jon definitely has strength. But a significant part of his journey is learning responsibility, to play within the rules of civility. His primary tension is that of being solitary while becoming part of something bigger than him (but not a wolf pack). There is a wildness, but is doesn't feel the same as the wildness of Arya wanting to be a fighter or the wolves in the godswood.
My sense is that "the wolf blood" is not just about anger. Of course Ned gets angry, as does nearly every character in the story. I'm not sure what Ned means by 'the wolf blood' and it seems to include anger but there is something more, maybe inpulsivity, maybe a strength of purpose, maybe an inclination to fix on something and stick with it
i'm in agreement that the wolf blood isn't anger. To me, it is the Wildness found in giving into your passions and impetuous desires (that came out way more Sith than i intended, but i like it so i'm leaving it). Brandon's wolf blood caused him to ride to Kings Landing demanding Rhaegar come out and die, Lya's wolf blood led to her dying in Dorne (however that came about...), so it is rash action combined with a lack of foresight into the consequences of doing what you feel is right.
Jon's wolf blood comes out in the sparring match with Emmett (iirc) where he goes half berserker and doesn't stop when they say yield... The Ned has seen the consequences of the wolf blood, and therefore has developed things to help keep it in check (although i think the best example for the Ned's wolf blood coming out is when he's about to choke LF to death outside the brothel, and basically all his dealing with LF after that show a distinct lack of foresight).
I do think that Howland could have imparted important information to the Starks. We know he had dealings with Lyanna and Ned at Harrenhal. So what could he have told them? I think it could have to do with the birth of a special child or children. If this is the case, I think that Lyanna was the believer and that Ned had to be convinced, and maybe never fully was.
Meera's story of how he was so carefull on the way south, and then "just happened" to go home just as the tourney is starting and just want to take a look? Uhm, no. That sounds suspitious to me!
I also wonder if Howland passed information on to the Dayne family. We know that Howland made note of the maid with "laughing purple eyes". I do think it's possible that both Ashara and Arthur were also given important information from some source and Harrenhal makes sense to me. Information that was also regarding the birth of a child who was important. Years ago, in a response on some thread over on Westeros, I seen somebody propose that Aegon is the child of Ashara and Arthur, but I didn't pay any attention, as I was still pulling the wool over my eyes about the incest potential in the story, and now I can't find that comment. If they had a child, I would be inclined to think it is Dany, but I have never pursued researching that tinfoil.
Could be. I still can't shake the thought that the Daynes, or more importantly the SotM, already has information that is passed down. Howland could give further insight to this! While I am starting to "warm up" to the idea of incest, I'm a bit sceptical to bringing it in all over the place. Not discarding the idea out of hand, just trying to hold back a little. Aegon could be the result if it were to be the case. I'm not so sure Dany is the daughter of Ashara to be honest. Maybe because English is not my first language I look up words more or something, but the basic thing there is Barristan's "testemony" and that has a focus on Ashara's "haunting eyes" as he puts it. And one definition of haunting is: moving - arousing or capable of arousing deep emotion. And I think we all agree he has some damned strong emotions from that time! So I think it's possible he sees what he wants to see when he sometimes sees Dany as her daughter. In any case, I really want Arthur to have a son! But that's my own bias.
It is also possible that Arthur had information from Rhaegar. Barristan implies that Arthur knew more of Rhaegar's business at Harrenhal than the other kingsguard members.
Oh, I'm totally convinced that was the case! I think they became good friends fast and Rhaegar found someone he could share all this with in Arthur. The only other one we hear about is Aemon, and the books doesn't have supersonic-speed ravens. And Arthur being sworn to secrecy was probably an advantage. Again, I get the feeling Arthur already knew something when he joined the KG.
A "touch" of wolf blood could have lead Lyanna to elope with Rhaegar, which was my first thought years ago, which lead to her death. Ned told us that he viewed Lyanna's choices as causing her own downfall, so that wasn't a surprise to me. What has changed for me over the years is what Lyanna's actions might really have been.
Haha, I was so sullied when I started that I've suspected that she was more complicit than Ned said early on. What that might be I have still to ponder.
I also think we have a divide in the Targaryens. I think of the Targ's who are aware of some important prophecy, that half of them are actively trying to make it happen, while the other half is actively trying to stop if from happening.
True! I'm so curious about that prophecy! I do understand their tendency to believe in these things, as their family history tells that dreams is the cause of their continued existence.
I have seen an SSM from years ago where he responded to a person asking about who Ned's mother was as "she was Lady Stark, and she died" or something. Really? After giving us some crazy details on the parentage of people of minor houses that goes back gnereations, this is what we get about the mother of Lyanna and Ned and Benjen and Brandon? Highly suspicious if you ask me. I think she is important and maybe key to the mystery, and he is hiding it from us. For years my tinfoil was that she was of Dayne blood, but TWOIAF killed that idea when it was published. However, I soon replaced one ball of tinfoil with another. Haha!
Yeah, I saw that in spring but didn't really think more of it. It will be interesting to see if she joines the cast! Oh, I'd love for her to be a Dayne, but alas... These books comes with plenty of feet with tinfoil, of varying grades including Valyrian!
My sense is that "the wolf blood" is not just about anger. Of course Ned gets angry, as does nearly every character in the story. I'm not sure what Ned means by 'the wolf blood' and it seems to include anger but there is something more, maybe inpulsivity, maybe a strength of purpose, maybe an inclination to fix on something and stick with it
i'm in agreement that the wolf blood isn't anger. To me, it is the Wildness found in giving into your passions and impetuous desires (that came out way more Sith than i intended, but i like it so i'm leaving it). Brandon's wolf blood caused him to ride to Kings Landing demanding Rhaegar come out and die, Lya's wolf blood led to her dying in Dorne (however that came about...), so it is rash action combined with a lack of foresight into the consequences of doing what you feel is right.
I do think wolf blood relates to more than just anger and rash behaviour. Stories of the earlier Starks in history could give some clues. Ned on the other hand is shy of nature, and as a grown man also a very deliberate man who has himself on a short leash. So when he acts outside of that I tend to think of wolf blood.
Wildness and strength. Jon definitely has strength. But a significant part of his journey is learning responsibility, to play within the rules of civility. His primary tension is that of being solitary while becoming part of something bigger than him (but not a wolf pack). There is a wildness, but is doesn't feel the same as the wildness of Arya wanting to be a fighter or the wolves in the godswood.
Jon's wolf blood comes out in the sparring match with Emmett (iirc) where he goes half berserker and doesn't stop when they say yield... The Ned has seen the consequences of the wolf blood, and therefore has developed things to help keep it in check (although i think the best example for the Ned's wolf blood coming out is when he's about to choke LF to death outside the brothel, and basically all his dealing with LF after that show a distinct lack of foresight).
Haha, that scene with Emmett is awsome! And the best part is Emmett's reaction after he gets back up! Emmett's the man! Good point on Ned in KL! I'll look more closely on that as we continue this reread!
i'm in agreement that the wolf blood isn't anger. To me, it is the Wildness found in giving into your passions and impetuous desires (that came out way more Sith than i intended, but i like it so i'm leaving it). Brandon's wolf blood caused him to ride to Kings Landing demanding Rhaegar come out and die, Lya's wolf blood led to her dying in Dorne (however that came about...), so it is rash action combined with a lack of foresight into the consequences of doing what you feel is right.
Jon's wolf blood comes out in the sparring match with Emmett (iirc) where he goes half berserker and doesn't stop when they say yield... The Ned has seen the consequences of the wolf blood, and therefore has developed things to help keep it in check (although i think the best example for the Ned's wolf blood coming out is when he's about to choke LF to death outside the brothel, and basically all his dealing with LF after that show a distinct lack of foresight).
wolf blood must have something to do with the type of character wolves have. Anger may be there when cornered, more likely ferocity.
So, i will go along with 'action', but not necessarily 'rash' and that 'lack of foresight' may come from a kind of 'supreme confidence' which ends up being over confidence.
Jon's overreaction when sparring with Emmett could be an aspect of this ferocity when cornered. His sparring with the lord of bones, an aspect of this overconfidence.
I also see some unpredictability in wolf blood. Does that equate to 'rash'? Can you ever tame a wolf? probably not.
The dire wolves are different obviously, but they are not what Rickard had in mind when he talked about wolf blood as he had no experience with dire wolves, that we know of.
"Arya did not dare take a bath, even though she smelled as bad as Yoren by now, all sour and stinky. Some of the creatures living in her clothes had come all the way from Flea Bottom with her; it didn’t seem right to drown them."
I wonder if wolf blood has something to do with warging, green dreaming, skinchanging etc. I certainly think Ned's ToJ dreams have a prophetic quality to them and I suspect that Benjen's ghost has taken up residence in Mormont's Raven. Lyanna and Brandon may have had something of that quality as well.
To me, it is the Wildness found in giving into your passions and impetuous desires (that came out way more Sith than i intended, but i like it so i'm leaving it). Brandon's wolf blood caused him to ride to Kings Landing demanding Rhaegar come out and die, Lya's wolf blood led to her dying in Dorne (however that came about...), so it is rash action combined with a lack of foresight into the consequences of doing what you feel is right.
This seems to be part of it, but the wolf blood is unique. Most people at some point, give into their passions and impetuous desires. Brandon didn't just walk down the block to demand that Rhaegar come out, he traveled for days or weeks (to the extent that the received story is true). Lyanna we just don't know about. Arya had Needle when she should have had needles.
Jon's wolf blood comes out in the sparring match with Emmett (iirc) where he goes half berserker and doesn't stop when they say yield
Maybe this shows some wolf blood. But it is imaginable that Jorah, or Hobb, or Drogo, or (if he had the strength) Sam might have done the same given the right stressors. It isn't so unique.
Jon's wolf blood comes out in the sparring match with Emmett (iirc) where he goes half berserker and doesn't stop when they say yield... The Ned has seen the consequences of the wolf blood, and therefore has developed things to help keep it in check (although i think the best example for the Ned's wolf blood coming out is when he's about to choke LF to death outside the brothel, and basically all his dealing with LF after that show a distinct lack of foresight).
Brandon's actions show lack of foresight if the story is true. Was Arya showing lack of foresight in having Needle? As a shy reserved guy who has taken a swing at a very unwise time, I'm not inclined to see much meaning in Ned's choking LF.
I do think wolf blood relates to more than just anger and rash behaviour. Stories of the earlier Starks in history could give some clues. Ned on the other hand is shy of nature, and as a grown man also a very deliberate man who has himself on a short leash. So when he acts outside of that I tend to think of wolf blood.
I don't think we should think wolf blood when someone, like Ned or Jon, acts out of character. When Brandon, Lyanna, or Arya are said to have the wolf blood, it seems to be because of their essential character.
wolf blood must have something to do with the type of character wolves have. Anger may be there when cornered, more likely ferocity.
So, i will go along with 'action', but not necessarily 'rash' and that 'lack of foresight' may come from a kind of 'supreme confidence' which ends up being over confidence.
I like 'ferocity.' I goes well with the only clear examples we have from the text.
He could almost understand them ... not quite, not truly, but almost ... as if they were singing in a language he had once known and somehow forgotten. The Walders might be scared of them, but the Starks had wolf blood. Old Nan told him so.
Great points, but this doesn't change the fact that Jon is instantly recognizable as a Stark. Arya isn't.
I must have a selective memory then. I thought I read somewhere in GoT that Jon resembles extremely well his sister.
"Jon is instantly recognizable as a Stark", "Jon is very much like Arya" should produce a reasonable "his sister is instantly recognizable as a Stark" or at least "should be instantly recognizable as a Stark", no? I sometimes forget my deduction reasoning process.
The reality is that Jon if the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna, he may well take after her what some may call "Uber Stark" features and take his father's brooding, serious and melancholy nature which most assume is Ned's. Lyanna is a wild wolf, instantly recognizable as a Stark. Arya should be too. As far as I am concerned Arya is not recognizable as a Stark simply because she choose to actively hide her nature and physically disguise herself. Arya is just as Uber Stark as Brandon, Lyanna and Jon as far as I remember in the beginning of our story but tragedy and necessity changed all that.
Unlike Jon, we are never told of Arya, Lyanna, Ned, Brandon, or Benjen being instantly recognized as a Stark. Sure, they are certainly recognizable enough, and are public figures who often arrive with titles and banners, so their features are well-known.
And certainly, they all have the Stark-look. But, as we learn in the prologue, Waymar Royce kinda did too. And as we will learn in Clash, the Magnar of Thenn also shares some of these traits.
Thus, Stark coloring isn't entirely unique to the Starks.
Enter Jon Snow.
Granted, it will be a solemn, quiet entrance at the back of the room. Jon doesn't attempt to draw attention to himself. Yet he is seen, identified, and unlike other characters in the books who dye their hair or are dressed in clothes to bring out they coloring of their eyes, Jon's ancestry is immediately obvious.
People don't guess that Jon is of First Men descent. They immediately guess, correctly, that he is the blood of Winterfell. (Even when he leaves the country!)
"I can see it. You have more of the north in you than your brothers."
true, but that is to men of the North. Men who know Benjen and/or Ned.
Arya is not recognised, but she traveled in the south.
"Arya did not dare take a bath, even though she smelled as bad as Yoren by now, all sour and stinky. Some of the creatures living in her clothes had come all the way from Flea Bottom with her; it didn’t seem right to drown them."
true, but that is to men of the North. Men who know Benjen and/or Ned.
Arya is not recognised, but she traveled in the south.
Sure, but as we've just read in the previous chapter, the Starks are not the only Westerosi to bear their coloring. Yet, no one ever wonders if Jon is a Thenn or a Royce.
Jon is recognized immediately as a Stark of Winterfell by everyone, everywhere... even by a Lannister of Caterly Rock that Ned had never seen really seen before ("that stunted little man behind them was surely the Imp, Tyrion Lannister"). Casterly Rock is of course very far from the North.
And, Ned was known to people in the South as well. People know the Stark face from Dorne to the Neck, in at least a vague sense.
One man who would have known the Stark-look well was Roose Bolton. Roose would certainly know the Stark-look, right? I mean, he was Ned's bannerman, and as much as a northman as any Umber or Stark. Roose should be able to recognize a Stark better than any wildling or Lannister since thier houses have contested for the north since the Age of Heroes.
Yet, Arya was able to serve the observant Mr. Bolton his leeches and hippocras without being recognized (using a name borrowed from Winterfell's wet-nurse, no less).
Do you think Jon could have slipped into Harrenhal and pulled that off?
"I can see it. You have more of the north in you than your brothers."
I don't think we should think wolf blood when someone, like Ned or Jon, acts out of character. When Brandon, Lyanna, or Arya are said to have the wolf blood, it seems to be because of their essential character.
Bad wording on my part! While I haven't tought that much about wolf blood, I do think it's something more inherent in the Starks as your quote suggests:
"You are Arya of Winterfell, daughter of the north. You told me you could be strong. You have the wolf blood in you."
The one from Bran is good too! In some Starks - Lyanna and Brandon - this is very clear in their behaviour. With Ned and Jon - silent wolves - it comes out in a different way. I'm reminded of the saying of a dog who's bark is worse than it's bite; as Ned and Jon are the Quiet and the Silent wolf respectively, they don't bark in warning. So when they do bite, it seems out of character but really isn't. Not sure if I managed to word it better this time, my toughts are still vague on this.
My sense is that "the wolf blood" is not just about anger. Of course Ned gets angry, as does nearly every character in the story. I'm not sure what Ned means by 'the wolf blood' and it seems to include anger but there is something more, maybe inpulsivity, maybe a strength of purpose, maybe an inclination to fix on something and stick with it
I wonder if each individual interpretation of what the wolf blood is differs slightly, just as our interpretations of things differ? Ned said that Rickard talked about it, but did he define it for Ned? I think that Ned's thoughts on the wolf blood might vary slightly from what Rickard thought it meant, and how Arya might interpret it.
Jon's wolf blood comes out in the sparring match with Emmett (iirc) where he goes half berserker and doesn't stop when they say yield... The Ned has seen the consequences of the wolf blood, and therefore has developed things to help keep it in check (although i think the best example for the Ned's wolf blood coming out is when he's about to choke LF to death outside the brothel, and basically all his dealing with LF after that show a distinct lack of foresight).
Both the episodes that you mention do involve anger, though. Jon is angry that Robb has told him he is a bastard and he can never be Lord of Winterfell, and when Jon remembers that is when his incident with Iron Emmett moves into a berserker level. And Ned is most definitely angry at Littlefinger for stashing Cat in a brothel, a place that Ned doesn't think is a fitting place for any high bred lady.
I suppose the wolf blood is a combination of things, but certainly I think it includes rash behavior. Ned is not very rash, but he has flair ups, and so does Jon, more so than Ned, I would say. Of course, we don't know how Ned acted at 15, so maybe he was more prone to this type of behavior as a young man. I think of Arya as being stubborn and willful and in tune with nature and people, which his my mental picture of Lyanna.
I wonder if wolf blood has something to do with warging, green dreaming, skinchanging etc. I certainly think Ned's ToJ dreams have a prophetic quality to them and I suspect that Benjen's ghost has taken up residence in Mormont's Raven. Lyanna and Brandon may have had something of that quality as well.
But does Ned seem to equate this to Arya, because he certainly compares Arya and Lyanna with mentions of the wolf blood? I don't think Ned saw warging potential in his children.
Also, in regards to Benjen's possible warging ability, I just reread the Jon chapter in ACOK when Mormont is asking Craster about Benjen, and a dog makes it's presence known.
[quote]"I've not seen Benjen Stark for three years," he was telling Mormont. "And if truth be told, I never once missed him." A half-dozen black puppies and the odd pig or two skulked among the benches, while women in ragged deerskins passed horns of beer, stirred the fire, and chopped carrots and onions into a kettle.
"He ought to have passed here last year," said Thoren Smallwood. A dog came sniffing round his leg. He kicked it and sent it off yipping. ACOK-Jon III[/quote]
Could be nothing, could be something. But dogs and wolves are the easiest animal to skin change according to Varamyr, and this passage made me think of Benjen. Personally, I like to hope that Benjen is alive somewhere but he could be skin changing at assortment of animals.
I don't think we should think wolf blood when someone, like Ned or Jon, acts out of character. When Brandon, Lyanna, or Arya are said to have the wolf blood, it seems to be because of their essential character.
Unlike Jon, we are never told of Arya, Lyanna, Ned, Brandon, or Benjen being instantly recognized as a Stark. Sure, they are certainly recognizable enough, and are public figures who often arrive with titles and banners, so their features are well-known.
And certainly, they all have the Stark-look. But, as we learn in the prologue, Waymar Royce kinda did too. And as we will learn in Clash, the Magnar of Thenn also shares some of these traits.
Thus, Stark coloring isn't entirely unique to the Starks.
Enter Jon Snow.
Granted, it will be a solemn, quiet entrance at the back of the room. Jon doesn't attempt to draw attention to himself. Yet he is seen, identified, and unlike other characters in the books who dye their hair or are dressed in clothes to bring out they coloring of their eyes, Jon's ancestry is immediately obvious.
People don't guess that Jon is of First Men descent. They immediately guess, correctly, that he is the blood of Winterfell. (Even when he leaves the country!)
I do wonder if some of this recognition isn't because Jon has gone north from Winterfell, while Arya, Lyanna, Brandon and Ned have gone south. With Benjen, we don't know if his Stark look is immediately recognized in the north and north of the wall. We have no information on how people reacted in the south to the first time they seen Ned or Brandon or Lyanna. I think where the Stark look is recognized is important. In the north, the Stark's are important! And probably recognizable for all of them if in the correct location.
One man who would have known the Stark-look well was Roose Bolton. Roose would certainly know the Stark-look, right? I mean, he was Ned's bannerman, and as much as a northman as any Umber or Stark. Roose should be able to recognize a Stark better than any wildling or Lannister since thier houses have contested for the north since the Age of Heroes.
Yet, Arya was able to serve the observant Mr. Bolton his leeches and hippocras without being recognized (using a name borrowed from Winterfell's wet-nurse, no less).
This might sound crazy, but I have often wondered if Roose didn't suspect about Arya. Maybe we will never know, but I wonder if that is not what planted the idea of Arya (or (f)Arya) as a bride for Ramsay. Why he would not have captured her at that time, I can't begin to say, but it's a feeling I have had.
Their father understood as well. "You want no pup for yourself, Jon?" he asked softly.
I wonder if each individual interpretation of what the wolf blood is differs slightly, just as our interpretations of things differ? Ned said that Rickard talked about it, but did he define it for Ned? I think that Ned's thoughts on the wolf blood might vary slightly from what Rickard thought it meant, and how Arya might interpret it.
We don't really have a sense of how Rickard used it. Ned refers to wildness and (through Arya's memories) strength. Bran heard of it through Nan and thinks of a connection with wolves. Bran may be interpreting something Old Nan said in an overly literal way. Or she may have meant it in that sense. It is interesting that our sources for the phrase all point backward to an earlier source. It may be that the definition isn't as important as recognizing that wolf blood ties someone to Stark roots. The various implied definitions are not consistent, but a common thread is the power and danger in it (It leads Arya to become a fighter. It lead Brandon and Lyanna to their graves. It causes the Starks to be comfortable with wolves that make everyone else afraid.)