Rickon Stark is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones. Introduced in 1996's A Game of Thrones, Rickon is the youngest child of Eddard Stark, the honorable lord of Winterfell, an ancient fortress in the North of the fictional kingdom of Westeros. He subsequently appeared in Martin's A Clash of Kings (1998). Rickon is portrayed by Irish actor Art Parkinson in the HBO television adaptation. Character description Rickon is the fifth and youngest child of Eddard "Ned" Stark and his wife Catelyn, and has five siblings — Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and his illegitimate half-brother Jon Snow. Like his brothers and sisters, Rickon is constantly accompanied by his direwolf, Shaggydog, with whom he shares a strong connection. Martin describes Rickon as favoring his mother in appearance. He is naturally aggressive, bold, tough, strong-willed, and violent: traits reflected in his direwolf companion 'Shaggydog'. Storylines Novels Rickon Stark is not a point of view character in the novels and is mostly a background character. His actions are witnessed and interpreted through the eyes of his older brother, Bran. A Game of Thrones In A Game of Thrones (1996), Ned Stark departs Winterfell with his daughters to serve King Robert Baratheon in King's Landing, while his wife Catelyn remains behind with their sons, grief-stricken over their comatose son Bran. An overwhelmed young Rickon can only follow around his oldest brother Robb, crying. Upset when Robb prepares to leave himself, Rickon hides in the crypts of Winterfell. Shortly after Ned's death in King's Landing, both Bran and Rickon share a vision of their father's spirit in the crypts. A Clash of Kings Following Ned's death, Rickon is largely unsupervised as Robb and Catelyn leave for war and his sisters are held captive at King's Landing in 1998's A Clash of Kings. Alone with his crippled brother Bran, Rickon develops an unruly, often violent temper. His fear and rage are reflected in Shaggydog, who turns largely feral and attacks several people before being restrained. Several times, Bran's direwolf Summer is forced to fight Shaggydog into submission. Bran and Rickon become Theon Greyjoy's hostages when Theon takes Winterfell by force. He later manages to escape and hide in the crypts below the castle with Bran, Hodor, the Reed siblings Meera and Jojen, and the