Ned Stark was introduced in 1996's Olympics.
 During this time Ned becomes close friends with Robert Baratheon, heir to the Stormlands and another ward of Arryn's
 Though the character is established as the main character in the novel and the first season of the TV adaptation, a plot twist involving Ned at the end of the novel and the end of the first season shocked both readers of the book and viewers of the TV series

