"If you have to choose between a wolf and a falcon, remember that falcons don't have fangs " often attributed King Erowen Sunderland
"We Starks don't bend our enemies, we break them " Theon Stark the Hungry Wolf
"The Hungry Wolf , The Bloody Winter, the Butcher King, The lord of heathens and so many other titles he was called but often do we forget that he was just a man underneath it all " the writings of Archmaester Walrfren
A conqueror's legacy
Wars of the North pt2
Following the crusade and the failed invasion, House Stark began to focus on securing its position in the Seven Kingdoms and ensure the North is safe from any further incursions . The sisters were three islands that were in a strategic position between the Vale and the North; whoever can secure it would have a launching point for an invasion . The sisters at the time were a haven for pirates, sellswords and outlaws. All of them answered to the Sunderlands who ruled the isles as Pirate kings.
At first the conflict between the Arryn and Stark was relatively uneventful, both sides using pirate proxies and minor naval skirmishes, but when a Royce heir was supposedly kidnapped by pirates claiming refuge on the sisters and demanding an exuberant ransom. This blatant insult to one of their most powerful vassals didn't sit well with the Arryns who launched an invasion not long afterwards. The invasion of the three sisters was not the walkover the valemen had hoped for, as the sistermen resisted with all their might and unlike the men of the falcon, they weren't perverse to more less than honourable tactics. But things got complicated when the northerners arrived with Theon personally leading , and the war grew into a three way conflict. King Theon and his Arryn counterpart seeking to gain control over the island for strategic purposes and King Sunderland in the middle trying to maintain his people's independence.
The war while relatively lasting only a short was very brutal even by Westerosi standards. It's estimated that almost a third of the population was killed in massacres and unspeakable atrocities committed by both sides. It also unsurprisingly coincided with a period of increased piracy as Sistermen attacked any unarmed vessels in their waters out of sheer paranoia and desperation. The war was taking its toll on the islands draining its resources, people and severely reducing the amount of trade. if something wasn't done quickly then the sistermen would die.
To that end the Sister King decided he needed to choose a side in the war. Both would demand he take off his crown and submit to them. While humiliating it was more preferable than being killed. The only question was which side to choose. After what is said to be months, Erowen Sunderland met Theon Stark aboard his flagship "the Ravenous " and bent the knee, swearing allegiance to the Winterfell. It's theorised that Erowen feared being at the wrong side should Theon emerge victorious; for tales about his brutality had spread across Westeros earning him a fearsome reputation ( this theory was further popularised by the kings own writings supposedly discovered a thousand years in some pirate's hands in the stepstones though that lowers its credibility).
No matter what made him choose that day, it would ultimately prove to be wise (or unwise depending on who you ask ) , Theon accepted his submission and his crown and in return Erowen was proclaimed as Warden of the sisters and lord of Sisteron, a title that would pass on to progeny when he died . Though many of the Sistermen supported this move, Erowen's own sister Marla refused to follow him and declared herself Queen adding yet another side to the war .
But it was all for naught as the combined forces of Theon and Erowen proved sufficient to turn the tides to the North's favour and the valemen were expelled . Queen Marla escaped with her small fleet into Essosi seas and would never be seen again, though her descendants eventually returned to plague Erowen's own .
The days of the pirate kings were over but that didn't mean that piracy stopped, on the contrary it flourished as now the Sistermen had the protection of the Stark navy as long as they didn't attack any ships in northern waters or under stark protection (and paid a share of their spoils to the Winter throne). As an added bonus, the Starks were content to let the Sistermen keep their original religion of the lady of the waves and lord of the skies (though over time to would be influenced by the old gods faith)
But conflict between the two kingdoms didn't end there, for Theon followed up with massive naval raids on Vale coasts devastating hundreds of villages towns and castles; in addition to causing the extinction of several houses. It's rumoured that when captured nobles were brought before him on deck and then would separated into two groups . Theon would offer mercy to one group if they threw the others into the sea. But those that had chosen to throw their fellow nobles found themselves following them into the waves ; only with their hands and feet tied. Out of them all only one noble survived, a young thirdborn whose original name is lost to time. His own father had thrown him to die but the youth managed to cling onto the ship long enough to impress Theon and ordered him brought back. The boy would loyally serve Theon for many years and took on the name Whitewayve which would become the name of his house.
Theon's campaign in the vale would only stop after the battle of Gulltown where he was finally defeated by the Arryn navy and retreated back to the north (though not before inflicting heavy losses ). Theon's lust for war was not satisfied however and as soon as he returned, began yet another campaign, this time in the Riverlands, which by then had fractured into civil war and infighting. Using a mix of both military power and playing the various factions against each other Theon managed to conquer all the Riverlands and even reached the Blackwater Bay . While he claimed he was only stepping in to stabilise the Riverlands and bring order. Whether there's any truth to that is heavily debated. It is certain that the North had benefited greatly from using the Riverlands resources but even the most diehard Stark Critics can't deny that he brought much needed stability to the region and the Northerners brought many agricultural advances to the starving kingdom.
And so Theon's reign was marked with further wars and the Hungry Wolf was almost victorious. But the king was not quite enjoying himself. After being injured in a war with the Lannisters in which he had taken the golden tooth; King Theon's behaviour grew more erratic . It's believed that Theon was fearing the effects of time on his weakening body. Others say he feared losing the frightening image he had crafted in front of his enemies and bannermen. Legend says that Theon had planned to start a war beyond the wall to bring the remaining wildling tribes to heel. This was a dangerous move as unlike other conflicts he dragged the north into, there was no actual benefit or spoils for the north here. His armies tired of war threatened to turn against him. Then a strange thing happened; after granting an audience to a group of green men and children of the forest; Theon for some reason abdicated the Winter throne to his son, gathering only his Wolf Guard with him and headed beyond the wall never to be seen again for centuries. But his story was not over yet.
In the end Theon left the North as the largest it has ever been stretching from the wall to the golden tooth and Blackwater Bay. But the Starks will find out just how hard it is to rule an empire.