The Demon of the Rock

by Aldon Blackreyne

If a Lion knows his own strength, no men can control him. This could not be more true than for the older brother of Cersei and Jaime. Tychus Lannister owes allegiance to no one and cares nothing for the game but all the world will Hear Him Roar. Story getting a rewrite with the chapters getting expanded.

14. The Island Rebellions

The Greyjoy Rebellion

The final piece in Tychus Lannister's puzzle came in the Greyjoy Rebellion. Balon Greyjoy became Lord of the Iron Islands after the death of his father in Robert's Rebellion. During his five year reign Lord Balon began constructing a massive fleet of warships named the Iron Fleet. Jaime and Tyrion took notice of this and started preparing their fleet at Lannisport.

Balons had believed that King Stannis ruled over a divided realm and would not be able to muster a strong enough force to march against him. He was further emboldened by the successful raids made by the Faded Band, the Brotherhood of the Claw and the New Kingswood Brotherhood. He took advantage of the Reach's weakened navy by sending his brothers to eliminate the only real threat to them in the sunset sea, Tywin's fleet at Lannisport. Admittedly Balon didn't dared try this if Tychus Lannister was acting lord. The Demon of the Rock had garnered reputation for his bloodthirsty nature that even the Ironborn had come to fear. But Jaime was a different matter, While one of the best knights in Westeros, Balon believed that Jaime was an incapable leader and thus the Westerlands vulnerable.

In addition the plan to attack the Lannisters was on a personal level. During Tychus reign as acting lord, longships that often raided ship in the area began disappearing. Ships would come and dump the charred, dismembered remains of the raiders on the beach. Balon still remembered his encounter and capture by the Hungry Lion and the scars that sadistic boy had inflicted had never fully healed.

After a particularly successful attack on Fair Isle the raiders made off with the daughters of Lord Sebaston Farman and several other women taken from a number of villages. Tychus went to settle the matter personally. He captured the raiding party off the coast. He took his time with them slowly picking them apart piece by piece over the course of many days. He cut off the hands and feet and fed them to the crabs. The eyes, ears, tongues and teeth and nails were put in baskets, the rest was piled up and burned.

Ralf Kenning and Qarl Kenning, died at his hands and made House Kenning of Harlaw an extinct branch. Many Harlaws fell as well including Dykk, Gevin and Eerl as well as the three sons of Boremund Harlaw. Only one was left alive, one left to witness it all. He was put on a boat with the the heads and the baskets. The brutal tactic worked and not long after that the raids stopped. It was agreed by all the ironborn that they would get revenge for their fallen countrymen and House Lannister would pay for it's barbarism.

Euron Greyjoy came up with the plan while Victarion led the attack. About 40 dromonds and 20 galley's burned that night with Victarion personally throwing the first torch on Tywin's flagship the Golden Roar. In a huge stroke of luck 10 of Lannisport's dromonds happen to be on patrol at the time of the attack so they were able to avoid a similar fate.

The burning of the Lannister fleet was considered a great victory for the Greyjoys and for a time they had become the dominant power in the sunset sea. Tywin Lannister was infuriated when he learned the news. He rode hard to Casterly Rock and confronted his sons and brothers about their carelessness.

"Tychus spent a whole year painstakingly building that fleet to protect us from something like this," he said with burning eyes. "Yet it only took you a single night to loose half of our entire fleet."

"I don't think it's fair to blame us father," Jaime tried to explain.

"You both knew the Greyjoys were building a fleet, one would think after 25 years you would be more vigilant," Tywin countered.

"A few dozen burn ships will not be the end of us father," Tyrion objected.

"No," Tywin growled, "BUT ONE WEAK LINK CAN BREAK THE CHAIN OF A MIGHTY LEGACY!" He roared pointing a finger directly at Tyrion. The outburst caused Tyrion to shrink back into his chair. Tywin shook his head "your brother was never this sloppy," he said before taking his leave. Once again the brother's were reminded of how inadequate they were to Tychus in the eyes of their father. Despite the situation Jaime could not help but find one thing amusing. Even though Tychus had left father still liked him best.

As Tywin worked to rebuild the remnants of his fleet, the Greyjoys started the next phase of their plan. Balon sent his eldest son Rodrik to Seagard. With the loss of his fleet at Lannisport, Tywin feared the same would happen to his other ships owned by his bannermen. Thus he was forced to call upon his levies to gather their ships at Lannisport in order to rebuild his fleet. Unfortunately this left his levies open to attack. Balon sent his brothers to attack these vulnerable points. Victarion and Euron were able to successfully capture Fair Isle and they planned to used the island as a forward base for launching more attacks.

Inspires by Balon's victory, the people of the Three Sisters also declared independence. They named Lord Triston Sunderland their king and launched an attack on White Harbour stealing every ship an anchor before seizing the islands of Paps and Pebble. Despite Balon's correct assessment of the mainland's lack of unity, the burning of the Lannister fleet put an end to that. Though there was still animosity between the Targaryen and Baratheon Supporters the one thing they could agree on was their hatred for the ironborn. They understood the consequences if they were allowed to rise to power. Instead of the targaryen loyalists rising up against Stannis, Greyjoy's rebellion only united the the mainland against him. To make matters worse the Baratheons were about to receive an unexpected ally.

The Greyjoy Rebellion presented an opportunity for Tychus to make allies out of King Stannis. Up till now Westeros was divided on to whether to recognize the Nomenar isles as a sovereign nation. This was mostly to to the memory of the Kingdom of the Three Daughters who enacted heavy tolls in the narrow sea and took anyone who was comely as slaves. It also didn't help that a supposed Blackfyre pretender was ruling over the archipelago.

Just before Stannis and his lords were about to sail. Tychus arrived at Kings Landing to treat with King Stannis. He used makeup to make false burns and scars in order to hide his identity. Stannis was waiting with Jon Arryn and Eddard Stark, Tychus approached the iron throne and bowed. "King Stannis," he began, "thank you for making the time to hear me."

Stannis face remained stoic, "I have little time for pleasantries, state your business Lord Maegor."

Maegor nodded and spoke, "your grace, I know you and your people have reservations about my kingdom. But I assure you we are no threat to you, I wish that in time our nations can be allies. As a sign of goodwill, we wish to aid you in defeating the ironborn."

This caused murmurings from those in court, as Stannis studied the man. After a long moment he gave a reply, "this is a westerosi matter. So why would you get involved in something that does not concern you?"

"Beg pardon your grace but it is our concern," Tychus said simply. "Unlike you who controls a vast kingdom with thousands of men and hundreds of ships at your command. My country is small and new with a much smaller army and fleet. Those fishfuckers are aware of this and they have seen us as an easy target. Ships from houses Harlaw and Drumm have already attacked several of my merchant vessels disrupting necessary trade. We want payback and to free those that have been turned into Thralls."

More murmurings were heard and Stannis' mouth curled, "tell me Lord Maegor, what do you want in return for this supposed help you offer us?"

Maegor spread out his arms, "nothing."

This raised murmurings of disbelief, and even Stannis was doubtful, "nothing?"

"Nothing from you," Maegor corrected. "See your grace what I want only Lord Stark can provide."

Eyes turned to Lord Eddard as he narrowed his eyes, "and what might that be?"

"Skagos," Maegor said simply.

Eddard eyed the man curiously, "what would you want with Skagos?"

"One of our trading partners is an Ibbenese whaler, he wishes to make a base out of Skagos for his whaling business. However he does not want to be subjected to the iron throne. I believe I can put the territory to better use, since you don't seem to have much interest in it."

Eddard rubbed his chin in thought, despite his reservations, the man did have a point. Skagos was technically part of the North, but it was not exactly the most prized of holdings. The Island practically ruled itself and interactions between it and the mainland were few and far between. Though there were a few houses residing there, they never answered when the banners were called.

Stannis eyes narrowed, "so you're telling me that in return for your help all you want is an isolated island in the north?"

Tychus nodded, "my kingdom is an archipelago, and many of it's settlements still lack walls. The best form of protection I can give them is a wooden wall, a wall of ships." Eddard remained unmoved so Tychus decided to sweeten the deal. "In addition I would fund a new fleet for he north, as you are the only kingdom that spans coast to coast it is only fitting that you have a decent fleet to protect said coast.

The attack on White harbour was still etched into Eddard's mind, but Stannis remained unconvinced, "how do we know this isn't part of some invasion plan?"

Tychus laughed, "considering who I am I'm not surprised that you would come to that conclusion. However I assure you I have no interest in Westeros, it was the Targaryens we fought and now the Targaryens are gone. Besides House Blackfyre tried 5 times and failed 5 times, I doubt I will have better luck seeing as no one here is likely to support me in any case."

"So you have no interest in the Iron Throne?" Stannis asked.

Tychus shook his head, "the way I see it that thing is cursed. I intend to live a long life and I don't need a chair of blades to cut it short."

"A wise decision," Stannis replied, "I will discuss your terms and come back to you with an answer."

Tychus bowed, "of course your grace, however you may want to decide swiftly before the Ironborn can do further damage."

Stannis had a long discussion with his lords. many understandably were suspicious of Lord Maegor's intentions. So it was agreed that they would accept Maegor's terms but keep a close eye on him and see what he did next.

As the other kingdoms mobilized their armies, Stannis had gathered a massive fleet at the which included the Royal fleet and the Redwyne fleet. Maegor had already sent his own fleet around westeros beforehand to deal with any more attacks. Their first engagement happened off the Shield Islands where Maegor halted an attack on the archipelago. Since the Ironborn posed the greater threat Stannis decided to deal with them first. After assembling his own fleet, he joined Maegor shortly after and together they prepared to face the Iron Fleet at Fair Isle.

Battle of Fair Isle

Victarion Greyjoy was sure of victory as he saw the Tyroshi fleet approaching, they looked to be troop transports for trying to retake fair Isle. So he divided his fleet into three parts. The part was led by Aeron Greyjoy served as a vanguard. Aeron aboard the Golden Storm led the fastest ships to harass them. The other two parts were meant to strike at the flanks bringing the firepower of their new warships to full bear. Euron warned him not to split their fleet, but Victarion would hear none of it.

It did not take long for Victarion to catch up to his brother aboard the Iron Victory he knew something was wrong. These ships had more than just the standard crew on board, they had far too many archers and scorpions to be considered a proper transport ship. These were war galleys disguised to trick the Ironborn as their scorpions tore apart Aeron's longboats the moment they were in range archers quickly eliminating the Ironborn manning the scorpions. Aeron was unable to escape properly as Tychus fleet tore his ships apart.

Victario noticed the lead ship spearheading the enemy's left flank was not like the others. When Victarion got a better look at it he froze in shock. The ram was different as were the sails. But he recognized that hull anywhere. It was none other than his brother's old ship the Great Kraken which had been stolen from him a few years back. Looking it over he noticed the changes. The kraken ram had been recast with the body of the kraken being replaced with the front half of a shark. It's sails which had bore the sigil of House Greyjoy now bore a Black Dragon eating it's tail on a red field.

Victarion quickly ordered his fleet to engage but as they closed in reinforcements of the Redwyne fleet came up behind the Tyroshi ships. One of Victarions oarsmen cried out, Victarion turned and saw another fleet coming up behind the ironborn. Looking in the distance Victarion saw the all too familiar sigil of the crowned stag flying on the sails of the leading ship.

The triple-decked war galley was enormous, even Victarion was impressed by it's size. It had a very strong bow made for ramming smaller ships and strong sides to prevent the same thing from happening to her. Victarion knew all too well what the ship was- The Fury Stannis Baratheon's personal ship and the current flagship of the entire Royal Fleet.

Victarion could do nothing as the largest of the ships led by the Fury charged at their rear, punching through Victarion's own confused ships reducing them to splinters. Soon it became a frenzy as ships from both sides were mixed together. In the chaos Aeron saw an opening to escape so he took the Golden Storm through the small opening with the surviving longboats following suit. Victarion watched as the Fury was cutting straight through the longboats heading charging straight at the Golden Storm. Victarion saw an opportunity- the Royal Fleet was now in range of their scorpions.

Acting quickly Victarion shouted his orders in anger "Load scorpions fire at the greenlanders."

One fool sought to question his decision by stating the truth, "Captain our fleet will be struck as well."

Victarion, red with rage over falling for such a trap, he could only watch in horror as his rear ships were destroyed by Stannis Baratheon and his fleet. As Stannis was destroying the ships Tychus was doing his best to capture as many as he could. His ships were filled to the brim with men and they overwhelmed the ironborn crews

Victarion led several successful attacks on a number of Redwyne ships managing to sink them but this did not stop the Captain's anguish as he saw the Golden Storm being disabled by multiple scorpion bolts. Some tore through the sails, a few more jammed the rubber. The Golden Storm's left flank was now at the mercy of the Fury's ram. It could not turn or sail fast enough to avoid the charging warship. Victarion could only watch helplessly as the Fury sliced through the Golden Storm. His brother's ship exploded into splinters as it was cut clean in half by the giant war galley.

"AEROOOOOON," Victarion cried out reaching out to the sea. He slammed his fist against the railing of his ship. Victarion wondered if his brother survived, it would be a miracle if he had. A part of him wanted to go over to the wreckage and look for him, but the ironborn within him refused. 'He is with the Drowned God now,' Victarion thought bitterly.

Victarion's troubles had barely begun. for in his distracted state he was blind to the Great Kraken bearing down on him. By the time Victarion realized the danger it was too late, he immediately ordered the ship to turn hard. Whilst he was able to prevent the ram from piercing the hull he wasn't able to prevent the impact as the Great Kraken hit the Iron Victory with a glancing blow and scrapped along the side, hooks sprouted from the enemy ship as the two vessels were lashed together. Out of the corner of his eye Victarion could seen the new name etched onto the hull of the Great Kraken, Nagga's Wrath.

The first to jump onto the deck on the Iron Victory was a monstrous figure. Larger than he was and wielding a battleaxe. Surprisingly he wore no armour and was clad in only in a set of breeches and boots. Normally Victarion would have laughed at this, most men at sea avoid armour to prevent from drowning. But Ironborn didn't fear such things and thus all of them had armour of some kind from plate to chainmail.

But Victarion saw the man's bare chest was covered with innumerable scars of different shapes and sizes. Victarion looked into the man's eyes and couldn't see a single trace of fear in them. In fact he was grinning maniacally, this was clearly a man who had seen combat and was not afraid of injury. 'A berserker," Victarion thought.

Believing this single man to be easy prey the raiders charged him. The berserker grabbed one ironborn and easily threw him overboard, another ironbron met the same fate from a powerful kick. Another was caught in the back spike of his axe and the berserker began swinging his corpse around knocking several raiders to the deck or overboard. One manage land a cut, but the berserker grabbed him by the throat with his open hand and snapped his neck. He then grabbed another a ripped out the raiders's throat with his teeth.

Now the other raiders grew wary as the berserker licked the blood on his lips. He threw his head back and let out an animalistic roar. It seemed he wanted to take on Victarion's whole crew single handed. As he came forward the rest of his men followed their leader's example and swarmed aboard the Iron Victory.

Victarion smiled to himself feeling that he was in for a good fight. "WHAT IS DEAD MAY NEVER DIE!" Victarion declared as he gripped his axe and sword and charged followed closely by his own men. He and the man met just as he had used the back spike of his axe to rip off the skull of another Ironborn. The Berserker grinned at the sight of Victarion and pulled out a second battleaxe.

Victarion aimed a swing at the man's neck with his axe. The berserker responded by blocking it with one axe and quickly countered with the other. The pair circled each other, hammering each other with merciless blows, countering each other's attacks, each time Victarion tried to slash his opponent's bare chest, the berserker blocked the would be fatal blows with one of his axes. Every time Victarion attacked, the Berserker responded with equal ferocity.

'This man is skilled,' Victarion admitted, 'and fast for his size. He clearly had experience fighting without armour.' He smiled, 'finally, a man worth killing.'

"You're off the edge of the world little cuttlefish," the berserker taunted, "here there be monsters."

"Why do you not wear armour," Victarion tried to mock, "afraid of drowning?"

The Berserker merely smirked, "what makes you think I need it? One could say that a man who wears armour is afraid of his own blood."

Victarion never thought of it that way as they clashed again. The back spike of one of the berserker's axes got stuck in Victarion's shield but instead of letting go, he use this to manipulate Victarion's own shield against him. Victarion tried to chop the man's hands off, but his blows were deflected by the berserker's right axe. Frustrated Victarion was forced to release his shield.

Victarion grabbed for a nearby mace while the berserker pinned the shield to the deck with his foot and pried the axe off, later kicking the shield to the side. With no shield but a new weapon the two men resumed their duel.

Victarion manage to land a few blows one to the chest and another to the back, yet neither was deep enough and it didn't seem to phase him as the berserker merely grinned. Victarion couldn't believe it, any other man would have dropped to the deck but this one shrugged it off like a mere annoyance.

At some point during their duel, the 'beard' of Victarion's axe and the berserker's left axe hooked onto each other. Before Victarion could react the berserker pulled Victarion's axe towards him and brought his other axe down with a powerful swing the blow separated Victarion's hand from his arm.

Victarion's eyes widened in shock and he roared in pain, dropping the mace and holding his bloody stump. The berserker then roundhouse kicked him in the face sending him spawling to the deck.

Dazed the berserker lifted him up and set him on his knees, Victarion looked up at the man who had beaten him. 'In another time he may have been ironborn,' Victarion thought.

"Who are you?" Victarion demanded. "If I'm going to die at least let me know the name of my killer."

The berserker smiled, "don't you know, you've been wanting to kill me for seven years. You wanted me, here I am. I am the Demon, I am DEATH."

Victarion's eyes widened as he realized who the berserker was and despite himself. Victarion smirked, 'he may die today but at least it was at the hands of a worthy opponent and that was a good enough death for him.

"Forgive me brother," Victarion muttered, "I failed you, and I failed our people." With the Iron Fleet destroyed, and he himself about to die, there will be nothing standing between Robert Baratheon and the Iron Islands. That was his last thought as the man drove his axe into Victarion's chin and pulled. Victarion screamed as the pulling broke his neck silencing him forever. But the man didn't stop there as his flesh ripped open and soon the iron captains head was seperated from his body with the spine still attached. Victarion Greyjoy, Lord Captain of the Iron Fleet and Master of the Iron Victory was slain. The Death of Victarion Greyjoy seemed to end the fighting, seeing the death of their leader, the crew of the Iron Victory surrendered or threw themselves into the sea. The capture of the Iron Victory was a meager prize for Tychus, he had another in mind.

"General," Black Balaq called to him, Tychus turned to seen the men pulling a body from the water, "looks like we got a live one." Ser Lirigon sneered. They turned the body over and Tychus grinned.

"Well, well, well," he chuckled, "Aeron Greyjoy, the youngest cuttlefish."

Aeron spat at Tychus' feet, "my brothers will stop you," he snarled.

Tychus looked at him amused, "stop me? Your brothers invited me, by building this fleet they challenged my strength. Balon wanted to play so here I am." He reached into a bloody sack, "besides, I don't think little Victarion will be helping you for the rest of his life." He pulled out a spinal cord attached to Victarion's head."

Aeron's eyes widened in horror at the sight of his brother's head before glaring back at Tychus,. "What is dead may never die," he declared, "but rises again harder and stronger."

"Rises again?" Tychus wondered as he grabbed Aeron by the throat with his left hand and lifted him off the ground. "What do you think you are? A Pheonix?"

"I...am...the...blood...of...the...Kraken...greenlander," he gasped.

"That is what you WERE, but soon you'll be Calamari, nothing more." With a quick movement Tychus broke Aeron's neck and threw the body overboard. Tychus smirked, "it's a good thing most ironborn aren't very smart."

In the end only 32 of the 100 ships of Iron Fleet managed to survive, mostly thanks to Euron. Euron commanded the left flank and his ships were able to to some damage, His ship the Silence had manage to sink a couple of galleys while his other ships manage to take down several dozen. Once he saw his brother's ship fall, Euron ordered a retreat. Euron retreated in such good order that one would think it had been planned, especially since all the surviving ships belonged to captains loyal to him.

With the breaking of the Iron Fleet, the power of the Ironborn was shattered. Now the Iron Throne. King Stannis bared down upon the ironborn with the full power of Westeros. The North, the Vale, the Reach, the Riverlands, the Westerlands and the Stormlands, all took part in the invasion eager to share in the glory.

The initial attack on Seagard was fairly successful, ironborn Longships under the command of Rodrik Greyjoy had manage to breach the walls and were on the verge of taking the Castle. But then fresh reinforcements from house Tully arrived and drove the Ironborn out. Rodrik Greyjoy engaged Lord Jason Mallister in a duel. The Battle of Seagard ended when Lord Mallister slew Rodrik.

Shortly after the Ironborn at Seagard had been repelled, Stannis launched a multi pronged assault on the Isles. Ser Barristan Selmy led the assault on Old Wyk, Lord Tywin Lannister subdued Greak Wyk, Lord Eddard Stark took Blacktyde, Randyll Tarly seized Orkmont and Ser Brynden Tully captured Saltcliffe. Stannis made it clear that no quarter was to be given, all men save for women, children and thralls were to be put to the sword. Thralls were set free and were given a choice stay on the Islands or come back to the mainland. The drowned priests were slaughtered to a man.

Tychus Lannister led his forces in an invasion of the richest ironborn island, Harlaw. But it wasn't Harlaw's wealth that Tychus desired, his eyes was on a far more valuable prize. Unlike the Battle of Fair Isle, Tychus donned his armor for the invasion. Commanding 10,000 Men Tychus cut a bloody bath through the island's forces leaving fire and death in his wake. One by one the holdings of House Harlaw fell. Harridan Hill, Harlaw Hall, Grey Garden and the Tower of Glimmering all fell in rapid secession.

The taking of these castles led to the deaths of Hotho, Boremund and Sigfryd Harlaw along with and Sigfryd's sons and grandsons. This left three branches of House Harlaw Extinct leaving only the main branch and House Harlaw of Grey Garden Left. Every settlement was razed along with it's inhabitants. The ironborn fought fiercely but eventually broke to overwhelming numbers.

During his assault on Grey Garden, Tychus engaged in a heated duel with Ser Harrras Harlaw. The Ironborn knight was armed with the one of the prizes Tychus desired, the Valyrian Steel sword Nightfall. Tychus had no intention on wasting a good warrior, he had other plans for him. So he had Ser Lirigon knock him out from behind and took the sword from his grasp.

Now Tychus marched on the great stronghold of House Harlaw, Ten Towers. As a boy Tychus had often joked that the ironborn never really built Ten Towers but rather stole 10 individual towers from the seven kingdoms and set them up on the shore with the help of sea monsters. He battered down the gates and scaled the walls. Tychus practically turned the castle inside out as he searched every crack and crevice of the castle. The assault on Ten Towers showed the fiercest fighting in Tychus' campaign. Tychus slew the Lord of Ten Towers Lord Rodrik Harlaw among several other members of his house. Soon, all that remained of House Harlaw was Rodrik's two sisters and Hotho's Daughter.

With Harlaw purged, Tychus send the heads of the slain Harlaws and Kennings to King Stannis as a gift, Now he turned to his next objective, the Island of Old Wyk. Though Barristan Selmy had already negotiated House Drumms surrender, they possessed something Tychus wanted. So in the dead of night Tychus led the Fangs of Maw in a night time raid on Dunstan Drumm's Keep. Tychus slew Lord Dunstan and his two sons before taking their Valyrian Steel sword Red Rain for his own. With the two Valyrian blades now in his possession, Tychus left the Iron Islands. with his newly acquired ships. In addition to the ships of the Iron Fleet, Tychus stole over 100 ironborn Longships including the Sea Song, the Silverfin, the Nightflyer and the Thunderer.

Tychus Lannister's purge left thousands of ironborn dead while suffering only 1,300 of his own men.

With all the isles conquered Stannis and his banners bared down on the Greyjoy Seat of Pyke. Stannis first took the town of Lordsport the seat of house Botley putting it to the torch and then sacked Iron Holt the seat of House Wynch. After subduing the other houses on the island Stannis converged his strength on Pyke castle. Stannis noted that the southern part of the curtain wall was weaker than the rest of it so that was where he concentrated his siege weapons on.

They easily battered down the curtain wall that protecting the stables, pens and kennels. "Thoros of Myr was the first one through the breach wielding a flaming sword and right behind him was Jorah Mormont of Bear Island. Stannis' men swarmed the headland and breached the gate house. One of the casualties was Balon's second son Maron, slain by Jorah Mormont himself.

With the Gate house taken the hard part lay before them. The thing about Pyke that made it a pain to take was that it wasn't a single structure on a single piece of land it was multiple keeps and towers spread out on multiple stone stacks jutting out into the sea. To get to each keep you had to cross multiple narrow bridges and several of those bridges were made of rope.

Fortunately the very first bridge which led to the Great Keep was wide enough for a battering ram. After much difficulty the gates of the Great keep were breached. From here Stannis made it a base for the rest of the siege. He had no intention on pressing the assault any further. such an endeavor would be costly in both men and resources. In his mind it would be a complete waste, he had the men the supplies and most of all patience. So Stannis settled into the Great Keep along with the main lords and a garrison of men numbering 5,000 station in either the keep or the headland. The rest he sent home to their families with equal amount of the spoils taken from the campaign. Proper furnishings and supplies such as food, wood and water were brought in and they made sure all entrances were secured. Now all they had to do was eat and wait.

The complex manner in which Pyke was build proved to be it's undoing, the islands they were built on isolated them from the rest of the castle. Since Stannis had taken the Great Keep, The Sea Tower, Bloody Keep and Kitchen Keep were on their own. There was no way for them to aid or contact each other.

For mouths the siege dragged on, ships from the mainland regularly came to resupply the garrison and Marwyn sent a company of whores to calm the men. Though Stannis disapproved of this the other lords convinced him that it was nessessary to keep the men in good spirits. This took Stannis back on how he himself had been in the Greyjoy's position, starving slowly while the invaders feasted. But at least he had the decency not to mock them with it.

Finally on the sixth month Balon raised the flag of truce, their gates were opened and Stannis' men swarmed in. Stannis had the men rounded up while the women and children were given bread and water. He and the great lords crossed the rope bridge that led to the Sea Tower. There in the great hall was a gaunt man with a hard face and silvery hair that fell to his hips. a piese of driftwood was nestled atop his head. Beside him was a woman with a strong face and a girl about four and ten and a boy of nine.

"Lord Balon Greyjoy," Stannis growled at the man before him. "It is long past time you paid for your crimes against Westeros."

Balon took off his driftwood crown and bend his knee to Stannis. "I hereby swear fealty to you, and to house Baratheon."

Stannis shook his head, "make no mistake by bending the knee to my you have saved your wife and remaining children but naught else. Your brothers are dead, your eldest sons are dead. They perished fighting your rebellion while you skulked about in your castle."

Balon glared at Stannis and stood up, "I will not be mocked by the second son of a Greenlander whore!"

Stannis punched Balon in the gut causing the man to keel over in pain. "I may be a greenlander, but I don't hide behind my little brother." He grabbed Balon by the collar, "these Islands aren't your anymore, they now belong to me. As for your children, they will become wards of the crown. Bending the knee will not suffice anymore. For your crimes against the crown, and the the people of westeros, there will be no atonement. For I do not forget, and I do not Pardon, The only sentence for this is death."

"You may take my head but you cannot name me traitor. No Greyjoy ever swore fealty to a Baratheon."

Stannis just looked down at him and smirked, "traitor or not it means little to me. The Ironborn have been nothing but a thorn in Westeros side since it's existence. Now I'm going to do what should have been done 289 years ago. Your name will disappear, your house will disappear, your people will disappear, your ways will disappear."

Balon was dragged outside where a chopping block was waiting for him. He was roughly kicked to his knees and his head placed over the block. Stannis came forward and drew his sword.

"Balon of the House Greyjoy, Lord of the Iron Islands and Lord Reaper of Pyke. Here before the sight of the Gods and Man I sentence you to death. Have you any Last Word?"

Balon raised his head and boldly declared, "what is dead may never die, but rises again harder and stronger." He bowed his head and closed his eyes.

Stannis hmphed, "It doesn't matter," he replied as he brought his sword down and took the man's head off in a single clean stroke.

After Balon's execution Stannis approached Jorah Mormont. "for your courage during the Greyjoy Rebellion I intent to reward you with a Knighthood."

"Jorah was overwhelmed by emotion and bowed, "your grace, I pray I'll serve you well."

"Jorah of the House Mormont," Stannis declared, "take a knee Ser."

Jorah got down on one knee before Stannis as his king raised his sword and placed the blade on his right shoulder.

"In the name if the Warrior I charge you to be brave," Stannis switched to the left shoulder

"In the name of the Father I charge you to be just," He switched to the right.

"In the name of the Mother I charge you to defend the young," he switched to the left a final time.

"In the name of the Maiden I charge you to protect all women," Stannis raised his sword, "rise now Ser Jorah Mormont."

Ser Jorah obeyed and a smile spread across his face and his fellow northerners patted him on the back in congratulations.

"Do your title proud my friend," Eddard Stark said as the two shook hands.

Jorah nodded "I swear by the gods Lord Stark." he said with a smile.

Unknown to the either Stannis or Balon, during the siege, on the island of Lonely Light. Two ships were anchored just off the beach, Silence and Nagga's Wrath. On the beach the Captains of the two ships sat sharing a flagon of ale. The taller of the two handed the other a sword

"Nightfall as promised," Tychus said with a smile, "congratulations Lord Captain."

Euron Greyjoy caressed the blade of the sword grinning like a prince on their nameday, "My thanks to you, General Tychus." He strapped the sword on and chuckled. "I still can't believe we manage to pull it off."

Tychus shrugged, "I still can't believe you manage to convince your brother to rebel against the Iron Throne.

Euron grinned, "the best way to convince Balon not to rebel is by begging him not to."

Tychus nodded, "indeed, with your brothers out of the way and Balon's children removed it will be easy for you to take control of what remains of the Ironborn."

Euron nodded, with most of their leaders dead the Ironborn will turn to the one with the most power. Since he was able to convince a number of houses to join me, "it seems I already have," He took a swig , "do you have the ships?"

Tychus nodded, "30 Warships and 100 standard longships, all we could acquire. Do you have the men?"

Euron nodded, "about 7,000 raiders have joined me." He smirked, "not a bad number and enough to crew the ships you took." Euron's smiling eye narrowed, "one thing I want to know, why extent an olive branch to me?"

Tychus shrugged, "Balon was a nutty old cuttlefish. How many ships could he plunder before that got as old as he was and your brothers unfortunately were no better. You are a man of vision, ambition and brains, so now the question remains Euron Greyjoy. What are you going to do now?"

Euron shrugged, "for 300 years House Greyjoy has done nothing but chase it's own tale. I'll give House Hoare this, they were conquerors, they built an empire. I intend to make my mark on the world and I will not die a petty criminal who's only claim to fame is a page in the Greyjoy history book."

A smile grew on Tychus' face, "you won't be, that I promise you, should you accept that is. I think you and I are going to do very well together," he filled his goblet and passed the jug to Euron who did the same. Tychus raised his cup, "to a fruitful partnership."

Euron raised his own cup, "and a glorious future." The two men clashed their cups and drained them looking into the distance. Their minds focused on the future as they chuckled softly.

The Greyjoy Rebellion marked the end of the Ironborn presence in Westeros. King Stannis' brutal yet effective methods gave the conflict a new name, The Iron Purge. All the man save for thralls were put to death, the women and children were banished to Essos never to return. Most of whom had the misfortune of being seized by Volantene Slavers. Many of the houses on the isles were wiped out including the Drumms, Blacktydes, Kennings, Merlyns, Sparrs, Sunderlys and Tawneys. Euron had manage to gather those loyal to him or refuse to surrender and flee across the sea.

Now the question remained, with the Ironborn gone who would rule the Iron Islands. To do this Stannis decided to take men from certain houses. Men with more distant relations to the main branch or stood to inherit nothing. The idea was that the islands would be jointly ruled by the other regions, under a single lord, They would be aided by a number of minor houses.

After careful searching, Stannis decided on 6 lords, each would govern one of the islands. Davos Seaworth was named Lord of Harlaw, Clifford Swann Lord of Great Wyk, Uther Shett Lord of Orkmont, Desmond Redwyne Lord of Blacktyde, Olymer Tyrell Lord of Saltcliffe and Aenys Frey of Old Wyk. They would be aided by the houses of Lannett, Lantell, Lanny, Darkwood, Dargood and Darke.

Then there was the matter of the seventh Lord, the one that would rule Pyke and in extent the Iron Islands as a whole. Eventually Stannis made a decision.

Tywin Lannister was called into Stannis solar that night, "you wanted to speak to me your grace?"

Stannis nodded, "I have come to a decision on who would become the new Lord of the Iron Islands."

Tywin rubbed his chin, "so what does this have to do with me your grace."

Stannis smirked, "It concerns your son Tyrion."

Tywin's face shifted for a fraction of a second before returning to it's stoic expression, "Y-you intend to make Tyrion the new Lord of Pyke."

"Who better?" Stannis asked.

"He's an ill made spiteful little dwarf," Tywin said scornfully.

Stannis frowned, "your siblings think differently as well as your children. Cersei resents him that much is clear but even she doesn't deny that he is clever."

"He's a dwarf."

"That means little to me Lord Tywin, I judge by merit not by looks, vanity is for lesser men. Jon Arryn tells me that he will prove himself if I gave him the opportunity." Tywin looked unconvinced and Stannis continued. "Look at it this way if he fails that it's no big loss, The Iron Islands have little significance in the long run and should it fall to ruin then we will know Tyrion's true worth."

Tywin's lip curled and after a moment nodded in agreement. "very well your grace, I'll shall speak to Tyrion personally."

Balon Greyjoy had believed that King Stannis' rule was weak, but by the time his rebellion was over Stannis reign was now stronger than ever. His action on the Iron Islands earned him the respect of the kingdoms. At long last after thousands of years the sunset sea was free of the ironborn scourge. With the Ironborn eradicated, Stannis now turned his attention to the three sisters. Upon hearing of the fate of the Ironborn, the sistermen quickly tried to surrender. Unfortunately King Stannis was not the forgiving type and immediately turned his fleet on them. Realizing that their fate was sealed, The sistermen chose to flee Westeros, packing themselves in as many ships as possible and sailing east. Stannis quickly secured the Three Sisters and named new lords in their place. The rebellions by the Ironborn and the Sistermenended any current challenge to the reign of House Baratheon and a new era of peace would follow.