Centurion Titus Valerius Felix took a deep breath through his nose before letting a smile grow on his face. Running a hand through his short black hair before placing his fists on his hips and puffing out his chest.
"Ah. You smell that? That is the smell of a new adventure."
"All I smell is fish."
The Centurion turned and gave his companion a cheeky grin.
"Come on, Rin. Can't you appreciate the wonders of sailing? Fresh breeze and the feeling of the wind under your tunic. Don't forget about having fish for breakfast, lunch AND dinner."
Rin snorted and looked over the Tiandi that was currently emptying the contents of her stomach to the side of the Quinquereme loudly. Titus saw what the Aramusha was looking at and chuckled before the two walked over to Mei Lin and rubbed the woman's back while Rin held the woman's hair up. Groaning, Mei Lin looked over her shoulder at the two.
"I hate sailing." The Tiandi droned out.
"Ah. You just hadn't had your sea legs yet!" The Centurion then proceeded to pat the woman in the back which evidently led her to lose her lunch once more. Titus gave her a sheepish grin and rubbed the back of his head "Sorry about that."
Mei Lin stood straight and gave the Centurion a glare.
"I hate you. I hate you so much right now."
"You're not the only one." Rin snorted.
"What? That's ridiculous. Everybody loves me!"
Rin raised a brow and crossed her arms.
"You're left brow is twitching."
"Damnit."
From the back of the ship, Marcus Valerius and Adrastia watched them banter with one another before the Lord Warden faced the Centurion.
"The Legions have outdone themselves this time." Adrastia stated.
"Indeed."
Together, the two looked at their assembled fleet. The majority of their fleet were made up of a sixty Quinqueremes and twenty Triremes. The large sails of the ship had the sigil of the Iron Legion painted on the center. Their destination? The Iron Islands.
The Legion had recovered maps from the ships that hadn't sunk to the bottom of the deep yet and after Mercy informed them of everything she got out of the prisoner, they knew their next course of action. The Conquering of the Iron Islands. But in order to do that, they needed ships. Thanks to the plans Marcus had, the Legion set to work on building them a fleet. With manpower called upon the lesser Legions within the Iron Legion and other workers working nonstop, production of the ships were faster than it should have. Of course they had to clear out some forests for them to build that many ships.
When the Vikings heard of their plans to invade the Iron Islands, Magni the Fearless demanded that a fleet of his Warborn join their cause. Adrastia had asked for his reasons and the Raider replied by saying the Warborn hadn't had a good raid in a long time. It was a simple enough reason and she couldn't very well deny a little bit of help from them. Besides, if she didn't accept, the Vikings might've taken it upon themselves to sail towards the Iron Islands anyway. There was also another advantage they had with having the Vikings around. They lend their aid in building the ships as well since their own ships were already built and were just used for patrols, fishing and trading.
Another surprise came in the form of the Dawn Empire sending 500 Samurai to aid them in their fight against the Ironborn. Among them was the Aramusha, Rin, and her traveling companion, Mei Lin. Upon hearing the name, Titus was quick to convince his brother to let the man join the invasion fleet. Planning on inviting his brother anyway, Marcus accepted. Turns out, this Rin was the one that managed to beat Titus in a drinking game and the woman that has been on his brother's mind lately. After nearly a year, the Legions were finally ready to sail with the Warborn's twenty five Snekkja Longships, carrying forty of the Warborn's finest each, to the Iron Islands.
"How close are we to the Islands?" Adrastia asked.
"We'll be there in two days. Less if the wind is in our favor and the oarsmen keep up their pace." The Centurion replied before looking at the Quinquereme on their left.
The large ship was not only filled with Iron Legionaries but also onagers in addition to the polybolos and scorpios that lined the railings of the ship. The other ships mostly carry Legionaries but a select few were outfitted with catapults and archer towers. Four Triremes and one Quinquereme, however, carried the Samurai and their sails were painted with the Dawn Empire's sigil. The Samurai were also armed with bows and arrows in addition to their main weapons. Ready to rain down flaming arrows upon the enemy.
"What's our plan of attack once we reach the first of the Islands?"
Adrastia moved over to the table where a map of the Iron Islans was sprawled out. Marcus walked over and stood next to the Lord Warden as she looked down on the map.
"The Great Wyk is the largest of all the islands and the most mountainous. Our forces might have a hard time taking over that place. The first blow will be dealt with the artilleries and the archers. The ones who will lead the charge would be the Warborn. Their ships are faster and there's bo doubt the Vikings are itching for a fight."
"Why are we taking over the Islands again? There's barely any resources of use there other than Iron."
"If, no, when we conquer the Islands, we can't very well leave it for the Ironborn to take back." This got a snort from the Centurion "What?"
"Why not just burn it all down? Leave nothing for them to come back to."
"We could. The Islands might not have a lot of resources but we can still use it as fortresses."
"Fortresses? For what?"
The Lord Warden lifted the map of the Iron Islands and revealed a map of Westeros underneath. She rolled up the map and set it aside before pointing at the mainland.
"When we conquer these Islands, someone from the mainland would notice. Merchant ships and trade ships for example. Once they see what has happened, they'll start talking. Word will spread and the next thing you know, one of these Seven Kingdoms might send someone knocking on our doors. Whether they are emissaries or an invading fleet is the real question. But if we had fortresses, we can certainly keep any invaders at bay."
The Centurion grimaced.
"But how will we provide provisions and resources to the fortress garrison?"
"Monthly shipment of food and other resources will be sent on the Islands. That should be enough."
Marcus hummed before nodding.
"It seems like you have everything planned out but you did forget one crucial thing, Adrastia."
"Oh? And what is that?"
"The Iron Fleet. A hundred and five ships against who knows how many the Ironborn has. They had nearly a year to rebuild their strength."
At this, Adrastia smirked.
"We just finished talking about how the Ironborn have limited resources around them, Marcus. Our lands have acres upon acres of forests and the combined manpower of the Legions, as well as help from the Warborn, to help us build our fleet. It would have taken them a long time before they rebuilt. Besides." Adrastia looked towards the Artillery Quinquereme "I'm sure our artillery ships will prove themselves effective. Just tell them to aim for the enemy ship's rowers or the mast. You know what? Just make sure that their ships won't be able to reach us. I want to see their ships burn and sink to the bottom of the sea."
"As you wish." The Centurion joked before his face adopted a longing look as he stared in the distance. Adrastia saw this and she knew what was on Marcus' mind.
"You're thinking about him, aren't you?"
Marcus sighed and looked at the Lord Warden.
"How can I not? I have a son. A son that I didn't even know existed until he himself brought news of his mother's death."
There was no use asking if Gaius, a boy sixteen years of age, was his own. She had seen the boy herself and there was no mistaking it. The boy's face looked just like his father but younger and with blonde hair. The boy was muscular but was lean compared to his father. His mother, Freyja, was a Gladiator that Marcus had freed and in return, fought beside him on his civil war against his uncle. The last Marcus ever saw of her was the night after the celebrations of their victory and even then it was hazy st best. All she left of him the morning after was a parchment apologizing for leaving and thanking him for freeing her. She also left a lock of her blonde hair before leaving to return to her home. Valkenheim.
"Lucia will take care of him, Marcus." Adrastia placed her hand on his shoulder "You know she will."
"I know. It's just... why would she keep it a secret? Why didn't she tell me that I have a son? It took her death before it could finally be revealed to me and by my own flesh and blood?"
"Marcus. That's all in the past. Focus on the here and now. You're son is here and alive. He never would've bothered to look for a father that was never there if he didn't want to. The boy lost his mother. Now he needs his father."
The two were silent for a time before the Centurion looked over his shoulder at her and let out a sad smile.
"You say the boy needs his father yet here I am, off to fight and far away from him. I should have stayed."
"Perhaps you should have but he understands... or at least Lucia will help him understand."
"I hope he does. I really hope he does."
~Line Break~
Lightning flashed across the sky and the booming thunder followed. Strong winds and hard rain. The Warborn couldn't ask for something better. They could see the line of ships forming a blockade on the island but they knew it wouldn't matter. Magni the Fearless, the Raider that united the clans once more, looked into the heavens to see the Knight's incendiaries arch over their longships and slam right into the Ironborn ships. The flames illuminated their way as some of the Ironborn ships sunk to the bottom of the deep blue. The Warborn saw the hole in the blockade and Magni nodded to Helvar. The Berserker nodded back before beating the drum. Soon the rest of the Warborn ships began beating their drums as well.
Magni made his way over to the head of the ship and jumped on the railing. Holding on to the dragon head to keep himself steady while his other hand gripped the long axe tightly. He could feel Viking fury waiting to be let out. His heart was beating rapidly as the thought of raiding seven islands and showing these Ironborn who was the better raiders ran through his mind. This will be a great raid!
"There it is." The Raider muttered to himself before looking over his shoulder "Ready yourselves! It's almost time!"
The longship passed through the blockade and the snekkja reached the beach. The Raider jumped off the ship and swung his dane axe wide, embedding the axe into an Ironborn's gut. Magni wrenched his weapon free before swinging it upwards and sending the man flying back. Another one charged at him and Magni kicked the man in the gut before wrapping his arm around the Ironborn's head and snapped his neck. He then turned and tackled another Ironborn before lifting him over his shoulder and using his axe to crush the man's spine then threw the body on the sand. Magni glared at the number of Ironborn glaring down at him before letting out a guttural bellow. Behind him, the rest of the Warborn with him jumped off the side of the ship and charged towards the Ironborn. Letting out war cries of their own as they charged towards their enemy.
Helvar threw his axe and nailed an Ironborn in the head before the Berserker picked his weapon off of the corpse's head as he passed it by and leapt into the air. He raised his weapons high before bringing it both down on another Ironborn as he descended. The axes buried themselves on the man's shoulders and the Ironborn screamed before Helvar pulled one of the axes free and severed the man's head.
"Let their blood stain the dirt!"
Stigandr blocked a strike with his shield before slamming his head against his opponent's own then used his shield to send an uppercut up the Ironborn's jaw.
"Kill them all! RRAAGHH!"
While the Warlord ran towards the group of Ironborn, Runa threw her spear and impaled a fleeing Ironborn in the back. The Valkyrie walked over to retrieve her spear but an Ironborn ran towards her with his sword raised. Runa waited for him to come closer before kicking the man between the legs, forcing him to drop his sword and clutch his aching family jewels. Runa picked up his fallen sword and stood over the kneeling man before bringing the blade down and splitting his head in two. The Valkyrie didn't spare him another glance as she walked over to the Ironborn impaled by her spear and saw he had bled out. She grabbed her weapon and wrenched it free before turning around and thrusting her spear forward, impaling the man trying to attack her in the neck. Runa quickly pulled her weapon free and slammed her horned helm against his head then turned towards her fellow Vikings.
"WARBORN!!"
The Valkyrie then grabbed the horn from her belt and took off her helmet before blowing the instrument. Some of the Warborn surrounding her felt inspired and fought with a renewed vigor.
Magni heard the horn blown and removed his dane axe from the corpse by his feet to look at the Valkyrie as she lead the Warborn towards the keep. Stigandr and Helvar soon joined her. Behind the Raider, a small pile of bodies had been formed from all the foolish Ironborn that tried to fight him alone. Without looking, he held out his left hand to the side and caught a foolish Ironborn by the neck. Slowly turning his head to his failed attacker, he lifted the Ironborn high into the air before crushing his neck with his bare hand then let the body crumble to the ground. Magni took a deep breath before raising his dane axe high above his head as lightning flashed behind him.
"VALHALLA!!"
"VALHALLA!!"
The longships reached the shore while some of them boarded the ship by ramming it and using grappling hook launchers to climb up the side of the Ironborn ships. The Vikings on the beach swarmed the Ironborn who was forced to retreat while the other Warborn taking over the surviving Ironborn ships killed off the crew or threw them overboard. The more bloodthirsty Warborn threw fire flasks at the ships and watched them burn while letting out guttural roars. Now this is a fight!
While all this was happening, the rest of the Iron Legion fleet looked away from the sight of the defeated blockade and it's routed defenders and set their sights into Sealskin Point north of the island. They'll let the Warborn have their fun. Besides, there's still Harrowhorn to deal with and there was a iron mine beneath the castle that the Vikings may see as a good haul. Hopefully.
~Line Break~
"How many of our men should we send?"
Adrastia turned away from the castle and looked at Marcus.
"Two cohorts worth of men while the artillery ships weaken the keep's defenses."
"So seven Quinqueremes and one Trireme, eh?" Marcus turned to a Knight and nodded at him "Send word across the fleet. Tell them do the same to the other castles and keeps around the island of Great Wyk and Old Wyk as well as Port Pebbleton."
"It will be done, Centurion."
The Knight bowed before leaving while Marcus turned back to Adrastia.
"What about Crow Spike Keep?"
"The Warborn are handling it. They are raiding after all."
"That they are." Marcus smirked before putting his helmet on. A stoic mask that had scars that mirrored his own. His red cape billowed as the winds raged on "Who owns Sealskin Point anyway?"
"House Farwynd. That prisoner said they were queer folk. Honestly? I don't care unless they surrender. They don't, then we take their castle by force."
"People should know when they're conquered, eh?"
The two turned to the speaker as Titus walked over to them. In contrast to his brother's colors, the middle Valerii sibling wore a blue cape instead of red. He also wore a short, white toga over his armor. Marcus snorted as he looked at his brother.
"Would you, Titus? Would I?"
Titus gave him a lopsided grin.
"Fuck no."
The two siblings shook their forearms before pulling the other into a hug then let go to look at the castle in the distance.
"One question." Titus began "How the hell are we gonna get up there?"
"There's a small beach right over there." Adrastia pointed "That's where we'll land our ship. Then we find a path up to that castle. Simple."
Marcus looked and saw the beach and narrowed his eyes to see better through the rain.
"There's something there."
The other two narrowed their eyes to get a better look and saw that there were silhouettes on the beach. If they could get a bit closer maybe they can...
Some things were lit up and was hurled towards them. It didn't take a genius to know that what was heading towards them was an incendiary.
"Brace!"
The incendiary struck the water close to them, sending waves that shook the ship. Marcus turned to a Knight close to them.
"Get us to that beach. Double time!"
The Knight nodded before running towards the stairs that would lead to the oarsmen below before bellowing out.
"Row faster, you idiots! Double time!"
While the Lord Warden's Quinquereme sailed and rowed faster to the beach, one of the Quinqueremes, which was carrying Samurai, behind them had it's starboard side face the island. The Samurai inside took out their daikyū bows and lit the tips of their arrows in the torches next to them. They nocked their arrows and aimed high. Commanding them was a Kensei by the name of Haruka.
"Yumi-tai... " Haruka closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose before snapping them open "Hanate!"
Hundreds of flaming arrows sailed through the air before raining down on the Ironborn on the beach. The Samurai sent volley after volley of flaming arrows at the Ironborn while the Lord Warden's ship reached the beach.
Titus was the first to jump off, followed closely by Rin and Mei Lin,and the Centurion ran towards the Ironborn manning the catapults. The Centurion leapt into the air and brought his sword down on an Ironborn raider's chest before punching the man off his gladius.
"Haha! Incredibilis!"
Titus ducked down from a wide axe swing and stabbed his blade up his attacker's gut before standing straight and punching the man across the face. Effectively throwing him off his gladius. Titus turned around and cut off an Ironborn's forearm as he was in the middle of swinging it down on the Centurion. Titus grabbed him by the shirt and roughly turned the man to face him before slamming the pommel of his gladius on the man's face four times and ended it with a hard kick to the gut that sent the Ironborn to the ground. Fired up, Titus slammed the flat of his blade on his bracer as he stared at the group of Ironborn in front of him.
"Is that all you got? Come on, you slimy bastards!"
Seeing as they didn't move to attack the Centurion and were actually backing away slowly, Titus let out a baytle cry and ran towards the Ironborn as Legionaries formed a shield wall behind him with Marcus at the forefront of the group.
"Titus, get in formation! Titus! Get back here and get in formation, you bloody fool!"
Unfortunately, the middle sibling didn't listen and still kept running at the enemy. Sighing, Marcus tightened his grip on the scutum and motioned with his gladius.
"Legionaries, forward!"
Meanwhile, Mei Lin was dancing around her opponents as they tried to surround her to no avail. Each time they thought they had her, she would gracefully slip away at the same time killing one of them. Thinning the group out until there was only one left. Smirking, she threw her dao in front of the Ironborn's feet and closed her eyes while clasping her hands behind her. The man tried to reach for her weapon but she kicked his hand away. The Ironborn looked at her and saw that her eyes were still closed. She unclasped her hands and struck the man twice in the arm and once in the head after he tried to take her dao again. Having had enough, the man charged her and sent a punch but she deflected it before kicking the Ironborn's shin, causing him to trip and fall down on her dao but stopped himself a few inches from the blade. Seeing this, Mei Lin rectified that by performing an axe kick down on the Ironborn's head and beheading him as the blade cut clean through his neck.
Mei Lin scoffed and retrieved her weapon when an Ironborn rushed her while swinging his blade wildly and managed to cut her across the cheek and throw off her helmet. She wiped the blood off her cheek and glared at the man with gritted teeth.
"Luànchén zéizǐ!"
While the Tiandi went after her opponent, Rin held the sword on her left in a reverse grip and the one on her right tightly. The Aramusha then proceeded to cut down those in front of her in a cyclone of blades. Limbs, heads and other body parts flew off their owners while their blood showered the woman. By the time she stopped, she was covered head to toe with blood and was standing atop a pile of dismembered corpses. The Ironborn around her hesitated to attack. Especially when they saw the manic grin the woman sported as blood dribbled down her body and one lone, amber eye with a manic gleam staring back at them.
"He... hehe... heheheheheheAHAHAHAHAAA!"
An arrow storm arched over the Aramusha and rained down on the Ironborn behind her. The woman jumped off the pile of corpses and sprinted towards the Ironborn. She dropped into a slide and used one katana to cut a man's leg clean off and used the other to cut another across the midsection. Stopping into a crouch, she swept her leg around her and tripped the Ironborn before jumping to her feet and throwing one of her swords towards another Ironborn. The katana sailed through the air and impaled the man in the head. Rin ran over and grabbed the handle of her weapon before beheading the Ironborn. She tilted her head as she examined the one impaled on her sword before flicking it off the katana.
She flipped her katanas to a reverse grip and stabbed them behind her before hearing a strangled scream behind her. Looking over her shoulder, still not loosing the manic grin, Rin pulled her weapons free and turned around to face the Ironborn as he fell to his knees. Her grin widened as she raised her katanas then buried them into his shoulders, eliciting a pain-filled scream from the Ironborn. She twisted the blades before wrenching it out of his shoulders and kicking the man in the chest.
Rin shrugged off her shitagi to reveal the rest of the intricate dragon tattoo running up her left arm to her chest which was wrapped around with cloth bindings. Spinning the katanas in her hands, she dared the Ironborn to attack but seeing the ferocity the Aramusha displayed, the Ironborn slowly stepped back.
"Face me, you fucking cowards!"
What they didn't know was that a group of Legionaries had formed a shield wall behind them and was slowly creeping up towards the retreating Ironborn. When one of them turned around to run, the man slammed hard against a large shield and fell back. The Legionaries slowly encircled the Ironborn and blocked any attempts their enemies made. They then slowly tightened the circle until the Ironborn had no more room to fight, much less move. The Legionaries on the back of the formation crouched down and placed their shields over their heads. The Legionaries did the same but did not crouch. Then ten Samurai climbed up the shields and used it as platforms before shooting arrows down on the trapped Ironborn.
The Aramusha watched her fellow Samurai kill the last of the Ironborn forces on the beach before thoroughly wiping the blood off her blades with a piece of paper she took out from one of her pouches. Rin then sheathed her swords and looked to her left to see Titus and Mei Lin approach. The Centurion removed his helmet while the Tiandi held hers under her arm. Mei Lin raised a brow at her appearance but Titus was the one who voiced it.
"You look like shit."
"Oh really? I haven't noticed." The mercenary droned out before spitting on the ground and grimaced "I need fucking water to wash my damn mouth with."
Mei Lin snorted and crossed her arms.
"It's not just your mouth you need to wash. You stink like dead fish."
"So I smell like you after you threw up?" The Aramusha gave Mei Lin a cheeky grin to which she received a pebble to the forehead.
"Quiet you."
Titus watched the two banter and quietly laughed to himself. These two are certainly a livelier bunch than some of the groups he had to travel with back then.
"Well you can have as much time as you need to wash yourself, Rin." The Centurion joined in "The Lord Warden, Marcus and the other Legionaries are taking care of Sealskin Point. They thought you could use the break after... well... "
The Centurion stepped aside and motioned at the pile of bodies and the dismembered limbs and severed heads that surrounded the pile.
"You may have overdone it."
~Line Break~
"I'll... I'll never bend the knee... to a fucking cunt like you!"
"So be it."
With one mighty swing, Lord Warden Adrastia beheaded the Lord of Sealskin Point and head of House Farwynd, Triston Farwynd. The headless body fell into a heap as it's head rolled on the ground. Adrastia stared at the body for a bit before sheathing her longsword while Marcus watched the proceedings behind her.
"Well." The Centurion began "He chose poorly."
Even inside the castle's great hall, they can still hear the fighting from outside the corridors echo. It doesn't matter how fiercely the remainder of House Farwynd fought. They'll be dead soon anyway. The Great Wyk and the Old Wyk will be theirs and soon, all of the Iron Islands will fall into the hands of the Iron Legion and her allies.
"Lord Warden."
Adrastia turned away from the headless corpse and faced the speaker to see two Knights escorting a young woman with only the tattered remains of her dress keeping everyone from seeing her modesty. She turned her head to Marcus and the Centurion nodded before taking off his cape and handing it to the Lord Warden. Adrastia walked over to the young woman and placed the cape over her shoulders just as the remainder of the dress fell off.
"It's okay. You're safe now. We're not here to kill you."
"W-Who are you people?"
"We're Knights of the Iron Legion."
"Y-You... you are from the crown? From the Iron Throne?"
"No. Far from it. We'll speak more freely later when we find you a better set of clothes." The Lord Warden looked to the door and saw the shadows fighting outside and heard the screams of the dying Ironborn before looking back at the young woman "And away from all this killing."
"Yes. T-Thank you, m'lady."
"It's alright... "
"Lyla Farwynd."
Adrastia's eyes furrowed as she looked down at the young woman.
"Any relation to Triston Farwynd?"
"I'm one of his salt wives."
"Salt wives? Actually. Before we get to that, let's head back to the ship. Marcus." She looked over her shoulder at the Centurion "You're in charge of cleaning up the castle."
"Of course, Lord Warden. We'll be thorough." Marcus saluted her before motioning for the two Knights that brought the young woman to them. The stopped in front of the Centurion who watched Adrastia leave before looking at the two "What happened?"
"We found her by the dungeons, Commander." The one on the right, a Lawbringer, replied "There were groups of Ironborn men taking turns violating three women. Our group arrived and we fought them but two of the women were dead. Their throats slit before we could kill all of the Ironborn men. We apologize for our failure to save the other two."
"At least you managed to save one." Marcus sighed "One's better than nothing. Anything else to report?"
"We also found slaves locked up in the dungeons as well." The Knight on the left, a Conqueror, answered "From the looks of it, they haven't had a decent meal for weeks."
The Conqueror shook her head.
"They wouldn't have survived another night."
"Slaves, huh."
It wasn't uncommon for the Great Empire to have slaves but those living under House Valeria were treated fairly. In the Valeria Estate, they had servants that get paid and treated fairly as well. He can't say the same to some of the other Centurions and Houses in the Great Empire. Most of the slaves were taken from the arenas to fulfill one's sexual desire or something darker.
"Free them. Get them some food and water. Try and find out whatever you can about the Ironborn. There's only so much torture a single man can endure. Perhaps a willing and grateful man would be more inclined to answer our questions. Go."
"Understood, sir."
The Knights turned and left before Marcus looked over to large chair in the head of the great hall. Walking over to it, he took off his helmet and made himself comfortable on the chair before placing his elbow on the armrest and resting his cheek on his fist. His thoughts going to back to his son and wondering how the boy was fairing with his sister taking care of him.
~Line Break~
"I hope you like apple. It's the only thing we have here that isn't fish."
Lyla Farwynd looked up as the Lord Warden handed her a red apple. Slowly, Lyla took a small bite and savored the taste in her tongue. The young woman gave the lady Knight a genuine smile before taking bigger bites. After the Lord Warden, though she didn't know why a Lady Knight would want to be called a Lord, led her to the massive ship bearing sails with unkown sigils and sat her down underneath one of the archer towers on the deck, safe from the rain. Lyla was given a pair of breeches and a brown tunic with an accompanying rope belt. "Sorry. It's all we have that will at least fit you." The Lord Warden had said before leaving. After she got dressed, the Lord Warden came back and gave her an apple which she just finished.
"Thank you, m'lady."
"No problem, Lyla. Now then." The Lord Warden grabbed a barrel and placed it in front of her before taking a seat on it "You were about to tell me about the salt wives before we left."
Her mood darkened but she steeled herself to answer her savior. 'Twas the least she can do after all.
"Salt wives are women the Ironborn kidnap if they think they're pretty enough after raiding the woman's home. An Ironborn can have as many salt wives as he pleases but he can only have one rock wife. An Ironborn woman."
"Where there any other salt wives with you?"
"T-There were but... but... they're both dead."
"I'm sorry to hear that." The Lord Warden placed a hand on Lyla's back "Were they your friends?"
"No. But they didn't deserve to die like that! Getting violated by those monsters and have their throars slit!"
"But they're dead now, aren't they? Those Knights that found you killed them all and brought you to me, right?"
"...yes. You're right."
Silence fell as the Lord Warden rubbed her back soothingly before said woman broke the silence.
"Where are you from, Lyla?"
"M'lady?"
"I asked: Where are you from?" The Lord Warden repeated "You said salt wives were women that the Ironborn kidnapped so where did you live before they took you from your home?"
"The Fair Isle, m'lady."
"How long have you been a salt wife?"
"Since the Greyjoy Rebellion eight years ago."
"And how old are you now?"
"Twenty one."
The Lord Warden's eyes widened at that.
"They took you when you were just thirteen?"
~Line Break~
Adrastia clenched her left hand hard as she thought of what the girl had to endure at such a young age. Thirteen and already a wife to an Ironborn. A pillager, raider, rapist and other unspeakable names she could think of. But if Ironborn can have as many salt wives as they want, did that mean...
"Have you... delivered a child?"
"...no. They pass on after I give birth to them." Lyla sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes "After the third child died, Lord Farwynd sent me to the dungeons to serve his men until the end of my days."
"Then it's a good thing he refused to surrender."
"Refused? You mean he's still alive!?"
"What? No!" Adrastia stood up and gently sat the young woman back down on the barrel "He's dead. He's gone. I took his head off after he refused to surrender. You won't have to worry about him anymore."
"Oh, thank the Seven." Layla sagged in relief before profusely thanking the Lord Warden "Thank you, m'lady. Thank you ever so much."
"Don't worry about it. It's my duty."
"M'lady?"
Adrastia stood up and removed her helmet before looking into the doe-eyed young woman.
"I am a Warden. A member of an ancient order... our past long lost to history. But our oaths is something that we will never ever forget. We are sworn to defend the weak. We fight for what is right. We are driven by duty... But only a few may join our order. Now? I am the Lord Warden of the Iron Legion and it is my sworn duty to protect the weak and fight for what is right. Even if Farwynd had surrendered, my duty demands that he be executed for his crimes. Letting someone like him live wouldn't have sit well with me. His actions demand retribution and I can think nothing less than God's Wrath."
Lyla stared at the woman in awe. She had remembered hearing stories about Knights and their nobleness. Virtue. Stories of how they save the damsel-in-distress from the clutches of evil men. But all those stories tell of Knights who were men yet here stands a woman who had done all that. Perhaps not all Knights need to be men.
~Line Break~
"Your father is going to kill me."
"You didn't have to come with me, you know."
Gaius Valerius Felix Markusson turned around and hopped down into the deck as he looked at his father's sister. The young man wore a simple brown tunic, trousers and boots along with a set of leather bracers around his wrists while a gladius hung on his belt as well as a buckler. His mother's buckler which she used during her time in the arena. His hair blonde as his mother's while his eyes were as blue as his father's.
"But how could I leave my poor, skinny, nephew alone to travel across the sea to see his father?"
"I'm not skinny!"
Lucia Valeria Felix smirked and walked over to her nephew. She grabbed his wrist and lifted his arms before comparing to her own.
"See? Skinny." Though Gaius was muscular in his own right, he was still less muscular than most warriors she had faced.
The young man huffed as the Centurion let his arm go. Lucia chuckled at that before running a hand through her hair which was tied in the middle. She was clad in a sleeveless, purple tunic hidden underneath her black muscle cuirass which had a short, white toga over it. She wore a simple pair of gloves and metal bracers as well as greaves and boots. Her gladius tucked safely in it's scabbard which hung on her belt. Around her neck were a simplistic, silver rosary and a golden eagle pendant. Her eyes watched the boy that looked so much like his father yet there was something there that also reminded her of his mother. Now that Marcus has a son, maybe this will stop him from pestering her to settle down and find a suitable man for herself. Yeah, that will definitely get him off her back for sure.
A/N: So this part of the story takes place two years before the start of the series. Well one year now since the Legion took almost a year to build their fleet. Speaking of fleets. I know it doesn't take a year to build a fleet like this but writing this chapter got me thinking. If a manpower of 5,120 plus more manpower from lesser Legions are called upon to build a fleet and there's an abundance of forests around Ashfeld, can this speed up production of ships? I got too bored researching so I just said screw it. If Euron can build a thousand ships and he's an Ironborn, a hundred and five ships is easier to build than that right? Anyway that's all. All these numbers and factors made my brain hurt.