*The following chapter was written by reader sensfan90. Thank you sensfan90, for adding to this little world!
(Ten Towers: 297 AC) Asha I
"Another riot Asha?"
"I put it down already n'uncle, I've seen slaves with more coordination than those fools. Do they truly not understand? The Lady of Dragonstone wiped out our best fighters in the rebellion and we lost more in the Stepstones."
"The Ironborn did not fight on those thrice damned islands Asha."
"Any reaver worth a salt wife prowls the Stepstones at one point or another. You should leave your books more often, you'd be amazed what you can learn from the taverns and brothels of Westeros. Or who stopped coming for a drink and lay for that matter."
"I lost my sons to your father's madness Asha and many of my best men. Yet I still have you and my sister to think about. Those men, they have nothing and no one to go back to. Balon started a war we could never win and faced a foe that would make the Storm God smile with envy. We do not control our own mines and more often than not our few remaining ships cease to return."
'The Drowned Men speak of punishment for our weakness."
"The Drowned Men refuse to admit no one fears us upon the seas anymore. In your grandfather's time, the Mormonts and Mallisters still feared the sight of a single longship on their coast. Now they hunt it with relish knowing they have no comrades. The Farman's who still live in memory of Iron rule laugh at us when we sail. You've seen the books of Harlaw Asha, understand I am one of the few Lords who can still fight a battle worth anything. And what I am worth is not much."
"…..is there any hope n'uncle Rodrik for our future. For House Greyjoy?"
"As Kings, there is none, from Oldtown to White Harbor the cities have surpassed us in strength and ships with coin and men to spare. The very iron that gave our people and land life is used for the very ships that would soon crush us. You will need to chart a new future for our people if you wish to be little more than a poor content wife."
"I am no token n'uncle."
"Pyke is still a valuable port for all the damage it took and I have little doubt you will be named its heir out of spite if nothing else. The exploits of your brother serve nothing more than to twist the knife in our wounds. Though your mother smiles when she reads the words of the raven."
"She smiles at the Butcher who killed my brothers and her children?"
"She smiles at her son living free of the Old Ways which killed her children and saw her last son taken from her. What does my sweet sister have but the words and exploits of her lone son while you are out at sea? She has so little left Asha, humiliation for your father and the Old Ways keeps her going in these dark times."
"What would you have me do then? Be a kneeler and not but a thrall to the Iron Throne?"
"Targaryen, Baratheon and before that the Haores of Orkmont have had us in thrall. The Iron Kings ruled when the kingdoms were small and disjointed, they cannot rule now. We fear our future by ignoring our history. What would I have you do? I would have you make the Greyjoys and the Ironborn be something to be feared and not laughed and scorned."
"Words n'uncle, merely words. What men, what ships? Father believes we can raise fifteen thousand men, I believe ten thousand if he does not want the Western Fleets burning our homes while we sail for spoils and tribute. "
"You have read the letters I sent have you not?"
"Aye, the Firebitch and her ilk growing stronger every day, what of it? Kill her? Others have tried and her legend only grows. I will be no one's martyr."
"Her son is a young knight of respect and growing renown. A boy fostered in her care is the envy of young men from the Sunspear to the Wall. The Narrow Sea now houses a force equal to the rest of the Crownlands combined. Her daughter fosters in Winterfell and has made friends with its heirs and people. All this in a mere two decades Asha, she does not even control the Stormlands yet."
"Renly Baratheon rule's Storm's End, how would she possibly gain it?"
"Men of Renly's age and power do not stay single without reason, he is not very subtle in his tastes. I imagine a public incident will make prospective heirs unfit for rule in the future."
"How do you? Pfffft right you read it from some book or raven like you always do."
"I may be a poor captain but I am Lord of Harlaw Asha, all sailors reach my shores at some point. I simply pay attention to the right people.
"I get it Lord Rodrik, your point?"
"You must stop looking at Westeros as spoils and enemies and look upon them as an opportunity. Write to Dragonstone, make peace with our former enemy and use her. Whispers of intrigue from the Lannisters reach even my ears, having an axe ready to burn the Lion's coast at a moon's turn is an opportunity she cannot ignore. You know you have a friend in your brother if worse comes to worse, for the harsh justice of Stannis Baratheon will ensure he is no kinslayer"
"Father would never allow it!"
"Balon lost most of his power in the rebellion. Victorian and Aeron died in battle, Euron seems to have joined the Drowned God. Dagmer died against bloody Wildings and a score of our best captains took the black over the judgment of the burning stags in the years since. If you start now, build a strong and loyal core of ships and captains you can be Lady Reaper of Pyke in all but name in but a few short years."
"I would be her servant Uncle, your plan requires me to beg at her feet before we ever meet!"
"Your father taught you one lesson of worth Asha. There is no shame in bending the knee so long as it allows you to rise again stronger and wiser. So what if you become a vassal of the Firelord? Harlaw has been a vassal of Greyjoy and Haore for a thousand years and we remain the richest family in the Isles for a reason."
"There will be no going back, my father may be stubborn and even stupid but he is no fool." With a smug smile that never left his face, she felt a book in her hand.
"The Conquest of Dorne?" And then it clicked, the lesson she learned years ago when her Uncle first gave her the book. Oakenfist reaped like the greatest of Ironborn but he only succeeded because Dorne was focused on another enemy entirely and could not spare a single glance.
"Make your father proud Asha and you can do whatever you want."
