Chapter 11 – The 24th day of April, 299 years after Aegon's Conquest
Asha Greyjoy stood on the deck of Black Wind as the towers of Seagard loomed on the horizon. One of my brothers died here she thought idly and now another one comes back from the dead.
The ravens had flown thicker and thicker in the past few months. First from King's Landing, then Riverrun and Storm's End and Casterly Rock, and the tales they told had become queerer and queerer. A giant Ring, flying men, a city made of solid gold - then war, fire, dragons and doom.
It had grown hard to separate fact from fiction. First King Robert was dead, then alive again, then seemed to die for good. Joffrey had briefly succeeded him, only to have his head chopped off by Stannis. Flying men from the stars might have attacked the city, burning the High Septon to death in his own sept, or else had failed in their attempt to rescue him from curses unknown. Either way, it seemed indisputable that a great battle had been fought, in which Tywin Lannister had been forced to retreat, before returning to proclaim his last surviving grandchild as Queen Myrcella, the first of her name, at Lannisport.
Fisherfolk from Great Wyk to Fair Isle had claimed to have caught glimpses of the vaunted flying machines for themselves. Asha had still doubted, until Rolfe the Dwarf had spotted a shape, small and black, flying far higher and faster than any bird had a right to, while sailing south around Hawlaw. The whole crew had stared up, astonished. They had even heard it, a mighty roar, like the rumble of distant thunder, or else the sound of great waves smashing upon rock. Afterwards there were mutterings of the Storm God, returned to earth at last to kill the Drowned God's surviving children. Asha had laughed at such talk, but privately even she was disquieted. She had endured storms, pirates and worse on voyages to the stepstones and back, but it was the first time she could ever remember her crew being properly afraid on the high seas.
A week later she had confronted her father on Pyke. He still disbelieved all the reports. When Lord Sawane Botley had objected, saying that there had been too many ravens to discount and they should send an expedition to King's Landing to ascertain the truth, her father had stood and thrown a cup of ale at him, shouting for him to stop spouting such lies or else leave his hall for good. Still he refused to permit anyone to leave for the green lands. Stannis, Tywin, Robb Stark…he had ignored all their pleas for fealty or aid. Asha had brooded on what to do, until maester Wendamyr had informed her of her own letter – this one from Theon.
She clutched it in her hand now. She had read it a dozen times already, as if trying to extract more meaning from it each time, but the words were still baffling. Dearest Asha, I know it has been nigh on ten years, and maybe you see me as a stranger, but perhaps from you I will finally get a reply. There have been too many ravens for all to get lost, so I must presume father has chosen to ignore them. You must sail to the mainland and meet with me, so I can tell you myself about the Maidenring and all the wonders that have followed since…
She had to threaten the maester at the point of her dirk to get him to reply. "But my lady your lord father" he had objected. "He will be greatly wroth!"
"My father will not hurt me" she had replied. "If you worry, tell him the truth. I would have cut open your throat and thrown your warm body off the Great Keep if you had refused me."
Her own message had been brief. Meet me at Seagard at Moon's turn. She could only hope the raven had flown true.
It was near sunset when they were approaching the small port that lay in the castle's shadow. A fat cog out of Oldtown was tied up at one of the piers, along with a dozen fishing boats. Sailors bringing in the day's catch stared at the ironborn warily, but the booming tower remained silent. As they pulled up at the nearest pier a score of soldiers met them, bearing the silver eagle of Mallister.
"Who goes there?" called a voice, as they unfurled the dock lines.
"Asha Greyjoy, of the Black Wind" she replied, seeing no point in deception. "And who might you be ser?"
"Ser Patrek Mallister" the knight replied. "Son of Lord Jason. What business do you have here, my lady?"
"I have come to see my brother. I hope he received my raven" she replied, taking four long strides down the gangplank. Ser Patrek frowned at her a moment, before his escort stood aside, revealing a lean youth with black hair, wearing a kraken-emblazoned surcoat. Though it had been ten years Asha took him in at a glance. Yes, that's definitely my little brother. But he was looking at her oddly, as if she were a stranger. She saw the moment of confusion, before he quickly composed himself. She walked over to him. For a moment the Greyjoy siblings stood there.
"Asha" he said finally. "It is good to see you. Father did not respond to our ravens."
"Our father ignored the ravens" she replied, cocking her head. "It seems you hardly know me, brother."
"You look different to how I remember, I confess" he said, looking her up and down as if still uncertain. "But it is good to see you, all the same. I have much to tell you."
Asha looked around at the waiting reception. "Perhaps we should talk alone?" she suggested.
Theon nodded. "Yes, certainly. Walk with me." He turned and strolled down the pier. The tone of the command irritated her. She turned to her crew and gave them some instructions. Rather stiffly, Ser Patrek invited them to supper up at the castle, which she cautiously accepted. Then she followed her brother.
Theon waited for her just past the end of the pier. Her boots crunched onto sand, a welcome feeling after a week at sea, but she had been on voyages ten times as long. They walked along the beach for a little while, well out of ear of the fisherfolk and villages. The castle loomed over them, silhouetted on a purple sky. Shortly, Theon turned to look at her again.
"So you have your own ship?" he asked, sounding faintly impressed.
"Aye" she answered. A slight pause. "So you have met these flying men?" she asked.
"Oh yes" Theon replied. "You can't still doubt it sister, surely? Even in the Iron Isles, the existence of the Maidenring, and the new world beyond it."
"Have you seen this Ring for yourself?" she asked.
"Of course, I have travelled through it" Theon replied, as if this was obvious. "Shortly after the king's coronation. Robb and I, and the Northern lords. We saw Melbourne with our own eyes…"
He went on for some minutes, using at least a dozen words totally unfamiliar to Asha. 'Cars', 'highway', 'skyscrapers', 'power lines', 'electricity', 'movies', 'cameras', 'Mcdonalds…'
"Honestly, I can understand if you don't believe half of it" he said finally. "You must see it for yourself Asha, you simply must." Suddenly he seemed possessed of a certain boyish excitement, as if he really were a nine-year-old still.
"How am I to get to King's Landing?" she asked. "Father does not even know I am here. He thinks I sailed back to Harlaw. If he does not know by now, he will soon…"
"We can fly there" Theon said, with complete seriousness. "Do you not know? The flying men gave Robb Stark a flying machine. He can come tomorrow and fly us there."
Asha frowned, wondering if she were being mocked. "How will he know I am here? Even if you send a raven now, it will not reach Riverrun by tomorrow."
"We do not need ravens. Lord Jason has a radio, we can talk to Riverrun whenever we like now" his face broke into a broad grin, which only irritated her further. "There are all sorts of things I need to show you, sister. Look here." from his garments Theon suddenly pulled out a yellow and black object, a tube perhaps half a foot long and a little thinner than her wrist. He made a motion with his finger, and suddenly a bright light blazed.
Asha resisted the urge to flinch. She blinked. A circle of sand a few feet from them was suddenly lit up like it were day. Theon waved the object around, the circle following it. It seemed to contain a little drop of sunlight. Strangely, she felt no warmth from it.
"What is that?" she asked, astonished. She realized she was gaping, and quickly shut her mouth.
"A torch" Theon proclaimed proudly. "But it's like…a lightning torch."
"Lightning?" Asha asked.
"The flying men have more than just flying machines. Look here too" he pulled back his sleeve suddenly, revealing a curious bracelet. He did another motion with his finger, and suddenly there was a faint green light. Asha looked down on what seemed like a tiny window, in which several symbols were etched. They were numbers. Somehow, they seemed to change even as she looked.
"This is called a watch" Theon explained. "The Australian ambassador, Fifield, gave it to me. It tells you the time of day, and it never lies. It is five and a half hours to midnight, see?"
Asha looked down at it, dumbfounded. "How does it work?"
Theon gave a sort of shrug. "In truth, I am not sure. How does a Myrish lens work? But all I know is it does. Please Asha, come up to the castle. We shall feast you there. I brought foods from Melbourne. You have never tasted their equal, I am sure of it."
Asha herself wasn't sure whether to feel anticipation or dread as Theon led her through the town and up to the castle gates. The guards let them through with nary a word, and soon they were in Lord Jason's hall. Her crew had already sat down. From somewhere she could smell cooking, but the exact scents seemed unfamiliar. Perhaps a hundred Mallister knights, men-at-arms and servants shared the hall, looking at the Ironborn warily. In short, lord Jason rose and clapped his hands for silence. He gave thanks to the Old Gods, the New Gods and the flying men of the Maidenring. He spoke of welcoming new friends and old enemies, then declared the feast to begin. Serving ladies came out, carrying large trays. On them were what looked like large, round pies, richly decorated with toppings.
"This is called pizza" Theon explained to her. As two dozen of the pies were placed on the tables. After a moment's hesitation, Asha accepted a slice and gave it a small bite. She paused a moment.
By the drowned god…The flavour was so rich she nearly gagged. Her tongue seemed to shiver, as if in the embrace of a lover. Theon was looking at her, grinning widely. "Now tell it true. Have you ever tasted its equal?" he asked her, as he helped himself to a slice. Asha took a long while to swallow. "It is good" she admitted.
"And there is not just food tonight. The flying men will also provide us with music."
Asha nearly spat out her pizza. She swallowed hurriedly. "They are here?"she demanded, looking around in some alarm.
Theon was grinning again. "No sister, but we have one of their magical music boxes."
He waved at a servant, who came over, bearing a boxy, black object, with many complicated looking protrusions and a handle. The ironborn looked at it curiously. Theon accepted it, placing in on the table nearby. He raised a hand for silence. Around them, many of the Mallister men were looking on with anticipation. With careful fingers, Theon fiddled with the device a moment. Suddenly, there was music.
"Hey Jude…don't make it bad…Take a sad song and make it better…"
Thirty ironborn jumped in their seats. There was no bard visible, but a man's voice filled the hall. Not only a man, but a whole troupe seemed to emanate from the box, as if trapped inside. From the Mallister men there was laughter, momentarily drowning out the music. But the bard ploughed on as if oblivious. "Hey Jude, don't be afraid…You were made to go out and get her…"
Asha listened in fascination, as did her crew. From nearby she heard Earl Hawlaw muttering about sorcery, but most seemed enraptured. Slowly, they resumed feasting and drinking. Asha felt her heartbeat returning to normal. After all, it is only music. Whoever was cursed by a mere song?
More dishes came. Theon introduced her to 'chips' and 'hamburgers'. Her crew followed her lead, and soon there were growls of approval. Ale flowed freely as well, seemingly of the normal kind, but Theon produced another bottle of something called 'Vodka'. He poured a splash into each of their cups. Asha drank hers. The resulting concoction was so strong she felt dizzy after just a single drink. Inexplicable. Men were singing and dancing to the music, as the bard went on and on about places called 'Strawberry Fields' and 'Penny Lane' and someone called 'Sergeant Peppers'.
The feast was followed by a desert of 'chocolate' – small, queer, brown cubes served in a large pot. The ironborn sampled these as well. Some actually did gag on it. Qarl the Maid spat his out, proclaiming it too sweet, but others ate greedily. Asha had only two, while Theon helped himself to entire handfuls.
"Ah, but there is still more" he promised, when she had proclaimed herself full. "I will show you something else. The flying men gave me another device, called a 'projector'. It is a sort of…magic mirror" he said, mysteriously. "We can watch their movies with it."
"Movies?"
"A sort of moving portrait, but like a mummer's show, and the people don't just move, they even speak too, like with the music box" Theon said, which cleared up nothing. He strode over to a corner of the hall, barking commands to more servants. Several of them began fiddling with an even more complex looking device, while another pulled down a sort of white curtain in front of the stone wall. Others began pulling up chairs and benches. The Mallister men started rushing over to get a good seat. Her crew, sensing the excitement, joined in. There were several arguments over seating. Lorren Longaxe almost came to blows with a Mallister knight, before both Asha and Ser Patrek moved in to defuse the situation.
When the audience had assembled. Theon turned back around, standing beside something he called a 'screen'. Asha again watched in fascination. In short order, the blank white square turned blue. Strange symbols were writ across it, whose meaning she could not fathom. Around the room, servants were dousing candles, until little but the 'projector' showed any light. Theon started to speak.
"Now it has been a long time since I was there, but I know us ironborn are a sea people. A proud people, who have ventured on the high seas since the dawn of time. I thought I would choose a movie that reflects that history, and I think I have found the perfect one. Sers, ladies…proud reavers" he said, beaming at Asha's crew. "I give you – Master and Commander: The Far Side of The World".
Asha watched as the image changed. More music began to play, loud and triumphant. Then there was some sort of structure, coloured as if it were made of solid gold. The view changed, as if they were flying through the air. Suddenly the image resolved itself, but Asha only frowned. What did 20th Century Fox even mean?
More strange images followed, then some writing, which Theon read for them. Something about one ship hunting another ship. OCEANS ARE NOW BATTLEFIELDS. The view changed, as if they were flying over the sea this time. Soon the vessel itself appeared on screen, with men aboard. For some minutes they observed the comings and goings of the crew, until they came to a scene set on a foggy morning. One officer looked through a sort of Myrish lens. For just a moment they saw a shape. An argument, before a decision was made to 'beat to quarters'.
Asha watched the 'screen' in fascination. The view changed frequently, as if one window were closing and another opened just every few seconds. In the 'movie' more crewmembers were waking up. A drummer pounded on his drum. A richly dressed man who appeared to be the captain came up on deck. He asked after the shape, but it seemed to have disappeared. The crew continued to get ready, while the captain looked for the foe. Asha felt the tension of the scene building. Despite its strangeness, she felt some comprehension of what she was seeing. She had surprised foes in the fog herself. The scene grew quiet. Then, a flash of light. Suddenly the captain shouting at his crew to get down on the deck, but why? The other ship was too far away to board them, or even loose a flight of arrows.
What happened next stunned Asha. From somewhere in the room came a noise like she had never heard, a roar so catastrophic she heard actual shouts of fear and surprise. The image showed the ship being ripped apart. Planks and splinters were torn loose. Ropes snapped. Blood spilled. Instinct overtook her, and Asha just had time to duck, falling backwards in her seat. Her hand went to the dirk on her belt. From her crew there were similar reactions. Three seats over, Grimtongue let out a bloodcurdling cry, grabbed his axe, and threw it at the offending image with all his strength.
There was a tearing sound, and the axe disappeared from view. A gash perhaps a foot long had appeared on the 'screen'. After a few moments the image stopped, as if frozen. The cacophony of the battle stopped as well. For a moment Asha could only hear her pounding heart, then there was more laughter. She looked over, to see Theon and Ser Patrek doubled over, positively howling. The rest of the Rivermen quickly joined in. Around her, the Ironborn were getting to their feet.
"What illusion is this?" Lorren demanded, his own axe held aloft.
"I'm sorry ser, did that startle you? The illusion is quite convincing, isn't it?" Theon explained.
"Aye better than any mummer's show, even in the free cities" added Ser Patrek. "Put away your axe ser, if you please."
Asha had stood up. She looked at Lorren, who complied with a grunt of displeasure. She turned back to Theon, who was grinning again. "My apologies sister, if that frightened you and your crew. We can stop now, if you'd like?"
Asha did her best to calm herself. She cocked her head. "No actually, little brother. We are Ironborn, don't you remember? We have no fear of illusions. Let us continue."
They did, tear in the 'screen' and all, as Captain Jack Aubrey of the Royal Navy hunted his quarry from one ocean to the next. When it was all finished it had grown late. Theon came over to her, clutching a shoulder. "Be calm sister" he said gently. "But be glad. Tomorrow we fly for the Maidenring, and beyond that - Melbourne itself."