"You'd be right if these were peaceful times, but the last few years have scarcely been peaceful, and the next few will probably not be much different. Brandon was a captive and carries the name Tallhart, not Hornwood. And the boy is twenty name-days old, yet has not a single battle under his name. He did not fight for my brother, nor against the ironborn or the Boltons. Larence Snow is two years his junior and had no obligation to me or House Stark at all. Yet he resisted and fought against the Boltons on his own and when I called, he came and fought valiantly and loyally by my side, even with the odds against us. Even most of his father's men chose to follow him regardless of bastardry. I cannot in good faith reward those who did not fight, over those who fought in House Stark's hour of greatest need." he said grimly and a glint of shame flashed through the blue eyes of the old lord across him.