Aboard the Fury…
Aboard the Fury, with its red sails shimmering golden as they came down bearing the sigil of the Baratheon crowned stag blazoned on its canvas, Lord Stannis Baratheon readied himself for naval warfare once again. Unclasping the black cloak around his shoulders, he unsheathed his longsword from its sheath as the main bulk of the Royal Fleet and Redwynne Fleet sailed through the fog and mist until the remaining Iron Fleet finally came into view. The Battle of the Sunset Sea was about to begin at a moment's notice. Glancing briefly to his left, Stannis spotted the war galley Wolfsbane.
'So the Young Wolf and his men finally arrived. Took them long enough,' he thought.
His first mate and brother-in-law, Ser Imry Florent, came onto the deck with Ser Davos Seaworth along with his son Matthos.
"The men are in position, my lord," Imry reported.
"All the necessary arrangements have been made," Davos reported. "The King is already on his way here as we speak."
Stannis remained stone-faced. "With any luck he should be able to use the cover of fog to his advantage and conceal his movements until the opportune moment presents itself."
"Still…" Imry slightly fidgeted. "The ironborn will have the advantage. They know the seas better than we do. Hundreds will die."
"Thousands," Stannis corrected. "Ser Davos, give the order."
Davos nodded and turned to the assembled Dragonstone archers on the side of the ship. He knew the Fury as well as he knew his own ships. Above its 300 oars was a deck given over wholly to scorpions, and topside she mounted catapults fore and aft, large enough to fling barrels of burning pitch. A most formidable ship, and very swift as well, although Ser Imry had packed her bow to stern with armored knights and men-at-arms, at some cost to her speed. The other ships hosted nearly 20,000 knights, light horse and mercenaries, the unwilling legacy from Renly Baratheon to his brother Stannis. The warhorns sounded, commands drifting back from the Fury.
*AHOOOOOOOOO!*
Davos felt a tingle in his missing fingertips. "Out oars," he shouted. "Form line."
A hundred blades dipped down into the water as the oarmaster's drum began to boom. The sound was like the beating of a great slow heart, and the oars moved at every stroke, a hundred men pulling as one.
"Archers, stand to! Man the below! Nock."
"Nock and set!"
Scorpion bolts were inserted as the archers drew their arrows, planting them atop their bows.
"Draw!"
Before Davos could carry out the order, he looked on in surprise as the Iron Fleet suddenly withdrew into the fog. He glanced into the distance, trying to figure out where the enemy had gone. But he couldn't see a damned thing in this blasted fog!
"Hold," he commanded.
"Hold."
Davos moved from one side of the Fury hoping to get a better angle. Matthos moved to the starboard to get a closer look as well. After another pointless effort, the Onion Knight seemed close to nearly giving up until he saw a bright orange light coming from across the sky. As it got closer, it got brighter until it was revealed to be ablaze with fire. Judging the trajectory of where the fireball was going, Davos knew where it would hit. It was at this moment when he saw that, Davos Seaworth's heart stopped beating.
"Oh no…" he realized staring wide-eyed before swiftly turning to the starboard deck. "Matthos! Get down!" he shouted.
*BAM!*
*BOOM!*
Before Matthos could respond, the fireball came crashing down – scattering those unfortunate enough to be close to the starboard deck. The Fury was under heavy fire, along with the other assembled fleets. Stannis himself was taken aback for a brief moment as he noticed the Iron Fleet coming into view from two angles. The Redwyne Fleet momentarily broke away to intercept one side, its crewmen moving quickly to return fire as more rained down upon them.
"Return fire!" Stannis ordered.
Before the crew of the Fury could return fire, one ironborn warship – the Iron Victory – suddenly rammed the war galley. A couple Dragonstone soldiers were thrown backwards upon impact, while Stannis slightly stumbled before quickly regaining his balance. He realized at this point that he'd been lured into a trap. When he looked upwards, the Iron Victory's corvus came crashing down and locking onto the Fury, with Lord Captain Victarion Greyjoy bellowing orders to his boarding party.
"Board their ships! Ensnare the stags and wolves!" Victarion shouted. "Drown them all beneath the waves!"
Stannis pointed his sword towards the ironborn commander. "Men, come with me and teach our enemies a lesson!"
The Dragonstone soldiers readied themselves and charged forth. Swords clashed, yet the ferocious ironborn were taking down their fair share of adversaries. Memory served the fiery stag of Dragonstone well; the ironborn held the strategic advantage at sea. Stannis continued cutting down one ironborn raider after another before they got too close to him, but even he knew there were limits. Victarion, meanwhile, cleaved the crew of the Fury with his battleaxe left and right.
"How unfortunate. They're not even worthy as offerings to the Drowned God."
*CLASH!*
*CLANG!*
*SLASH!*
"More pressure!"
Ser Davos Seaworth, having recovered from being tossed backwards from the ironborn's spitfire impact, groggily stood back to his feet – noticing an ironborn raider charging directly at him before being saved by Ser Imry. The Onion Knight looked over and saw the lifeless body of his son unresponsive. He felt tears beginning to pour down his cheeks, cradling Matthos's corpse close to him. It was not something Davos did not want to happen to him, to his family… especially to his son. He did not accept a knighthood and a spot of land on Cape Wrath only to watch one of his children die in front of him.
"Forgive me, Matthos," his voice cracked. "Oh Gods, please forgive me…"
Davos's grief slowly dissipated as he looked up to see Stannis Baratheon exchanging blows with Victarion Greyjoy. The loss of his son was almost too much for the Onion Knight to bear; fueled by grief, Davos uncharacteristically reached for the nearest longsword, gripping it tightly in one hand and charged at Victarion. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Davos was only able to put a slight dent in Vicatrion's armor, but it wasn't enough for him to actually feel anything.
Turning his head slightly, Victarion Greyjoy kicked Stannis away before seizing Davos by the throat. "A poor decision on your part to tangle with the kraken," he said unamused. "Now off with you!"
Victarion swung and threw Davos overboard, sending him into the watery depths below before returning his attention to Stannis Baratheon. He had just enough time to notice Wolfsbane ramming into the Iron Victory, barely making a dent and unable to knock the corvus loose. Try as it might, the boarding bridge remained firmly gripped onto the Fury. The Northmen and river lords tried jumping onto the multiple ships that were rammed by the Iron Fleet, yet met surprisingly heavy resistance as each side were taken down by the ironborn raiders.
Several of the combined forces had wobbly legs whilst the ironborn remained firm and steady, undetermined by the oceanic waves. Robb Stark leapt aboard the Fury with Grey Wind and Torrhen Karstark, his sights set on Victarion Greyjoy.
"You again," Robb remembered.
Torrhen unsheathed his sword. "You killed my brother, you bastard!" he spat.
Victarion grinned. "Aye, your brother was a bleeder… until I split his head in two."
In a fit of rage, Torrhen Karstark ran towards his foe.
"Torrhen, don't! Get back here!" shouted Robb.
Stannis noticed as well. "Stay where you are!"
Torrhen didn't listen. In his desire to avenge the death of his elder brother Harrion, Torrhen swung his sword, but Victarion easily dodged and wrapped the handle of his axe around Torrhen's throat – pulling him pack hardly until the second-born Karstark's back pressed against Victarion's breastplate. Being strangled, Torrhen struggled with the handle, wrapping his fingers around the weapon as he tried to free himself.
"Let him go!" Robb shouted, charging to free Torrhen Karstark – but slipped as another wave came crashing against the ships. Grey Wind, not used to fighting in such conditions, lost his balance and stumbled to the deck as well.
Victarion felt a moment of triumph; not only were Stannis and Robb unable to reach him, but he felt his chance for vengeance getting nearer. His humiliating defeat by Stannis Baratheon at the Battle of Fair Isle, and again against Daveth Baratheon and Robb Stark at the Siege of Moat Cailin… the Lord Captain of the Iron Fleet felt his chance coming closer. His infected left hand still bothered him, allowing Torrhen to briefly lift the ironborn's axe handle off his throat for a moment before it was quickly clamped down on his windpipe again.
Regaining his balance, Robb Stark moved to save Torrhen – only to be kicked back by Victarion, and more of his ironborn raiders swarmed the vessel in large numbers by using chains and grappling hooks from the deck of the Iron Victory. Grey Wind, albeit stumbling managed to grip his paws and claws onto the wooden deck and lunged – bearing his teeth, the direwolf took down his fair share of ironborn raiders as Robb Stark regained his balance and was able to fight back.
"*Ack! Ack, ack!*" Torrhen struggled in the grasp of his enemy.
"Take a good look, boy," Victarion whispered in his ear. "This is the might of the kraken. You mainlanders got the jump on us last time, but… you're in my elements now. Now… die."
*SNAP!*
Lifting his axe up sharply, Victarion snaps the neck of Torrhen Karstark – his arms going limp. With his foolish adversary quickly eliminated, Victarion threw Torrhen's corpse overboard and into the oceans below.
*SPLASH!*
"Torrhen!" Robb shouted.
Stannis sneered. "Foolish boy…"
Victarion brandished his battleaxe in hand, eager for more blood. "Another tribute to the Drowned God. Now, come! If you have what it takes to kill me!" he roared.
Stannis Baratheon engaged in martial prowess with Victarion Greyjoy, with Robb Stark and Grey Wind joining the fray. The triple-team attack was underway, but Victarion was already familiar with the strategy and wouldn't allow himself to be taken off-guard again – not like last time.
*CLASH!*
*SWISH!*
*CLANG!*
*SWING!*
Steel clashed against steel, each man moved in different directions than the other – neither of them managing to land a brutal blow on the other. More ships from the Redwyne Fleet moved in, ramming the Iron Fleet chained to their allies. A few ships were shaken, though some were knocked loose which did allow some of the Royal Fleet to push themselves free, allowing their oars to slide down into the water. Fifteen grappling lines were cut, though that did not stop the ironborn from quickly replacing them. They swung from one ship to the other, making life a living hell for the combined forces.
Trebuchets from both fleets launched fireballs at each other, setting both of Stannis's and Victarion's fleet afire. Scorpions launched bolts at the Iron Fleet, piercing the center of the ironborn ships. A few started sinking, whereas others remained floating or sustaining damage. The Redwyne Fleet managed to encircle a few enemy longships, ramming them in the center before being blindsided by enemy war galleys under cover of fog.
Stannis Baratheon swung, narrowly missing Victarion but parried dozens of interferers and manages to slice the head off of one of them cleanly in half. Robb, meanwhile, pressed the attack again and again, but Victarion deflected every time before head-butting the Young Wolf. As he stumbled backwards, Victarion swung up and brought the axe downwards; but although Robb brought his sword up to parry, the impact force knocked him down.
"Gah!" he exclaimed as he was smacked to the deck.
Victarion stood over Robb, clenching Grey Wind by his fur and throwing the direwolf backwards.
"Having a little trouble aren't we, Young Wolf?" he mocked. "Where's your friend? Not here to help you now, I see. You should've stayed in your little frozen wasteland you call home rather than enter the kraken's lair unprepared."
Robb stood back up. "The crimes you and your brother committed against my people, against the North shan't go unpunished, Greyjoy. You won't get away with this. This I swear by the Old Gods and the New."
"There is only one God that matters here, boy. The Drowned God! And now you will face his fury!"
Robb attacked Victarion, reinforced by Stannis and Grey Wind. As more Iron Fleet vessels pummeled the joint royal-northern fleets with fireballs and ramming, several ships started sinking beneath the waves. Ser Davos Seaworth, having popped back up to the surface after being thrown overboard, clung onto the Fury's lifeline rope. Climbing up, Davos looked over the edge to see Victarion giving Stannis and Robb trouble as more ironborn raiders boarded the Royal, Lannister and Redwyne Fleets. The stormy waves crashing against the ships were making things a bit difficult, which played to the ironborn's advantage. The Sunset Sea had turned into the mouth of hell.
"To Lord Stannis, go now!" shouted Ser Imry.
"First and second squads, to Lord Stannis!"
"To Lord Stannis!"
Ser Imry Florent and dozens of his guardsmen rendezvous to Stannis, taking the opportunity to surround Victarion Greyjoy on all sides. Unfortunately, as several men moved to attack, Victarion swung his axe around and cleaved all attackers. Robb attempted to initiate the same battlefield tactic he and Daveth used at the battle to retake Moat Cailin, moving to the left and going low to hit the ringmails behind Victarion's legs; however, Victarion was already aware of the plan and sidestepped and kneed Robb in the gut before backhanding Grey Wind hard as the direwolf moved to help its master.
Stannis parried with dozens of ironborn raiders, forcing their swords down before swiftly bringing his blade upwards. Even at age 47, Stannis was still a capable warrior and seasoned commander. Fueled by the Baratheon aggressiveness, Stannis moved just as quickly.
*SLASH!*
Cleaving another ironborn's head in half, Stannis noticed Robb Stark and his direwolf having incredible trouble against the larger Greyjoy commander.
"Stand and fight!" Stannis hollered at his men. "Stand and fight, damn you!"
The Dragonstone soldiers desperately fought to keep Victarion at bay, but the Lord Captain simply swept them all aside, drenching their blood on his axe. More Northmen boarded the ships. Galbart Glover, Greatjon Umber, Roose Bolton, Rickard Karstark, Rodrik Cassel, Maege Mormont, Brynden Tully and many others joined the fray.
"Time to face justice, Greyjoy!" Greatjon bellowed.
"You'll pay for both my sons' murder!" Rickard threatened.
Victarion glanced at each of the assembled Northmen and river lords as Robb Stark got back to his feet, with Grey Wind at his side. As the direwolf snarled, Victarion stood his ground.
"It's over, Victarion," Robb pointed his sword at him.
"I don't care how many of you there are!" he shouted in defiance. "Whatever the kraken grasps it does not lose, be it longship or leviathan! What is dead may never die, but rises again harder and stronger!"
More and more Iron Fleet longships battered and rammed the royal-northern fleets, though they had started to fight back and stood strong despite being at a disadvantage. As the Northmen and Victarion readied themselves for a fight to the death, a loud horn could be heard through the thick, heavy fog.
*AHOOOOOOOOO!*
Robb looked left and right before turning to see the remaining naval warships arriving into view from directly behind the Iron Fleet. Among the ships, the King Robert's Hammer emerged from the dense weather. Being the largest war galley in the Royal Fleet, King Robert's Hammer stood out as it and the several other ships accompanying it—Bold Wind, Lionstar, Lady Lyanna and the Seaswift—hurled their own fireballs directed at the Iron Fleet.
*BAM!*
*BOOM!*
One by one, the Iron Fleet was getting bombarded from behind as the Redywne, Lannister and main bulk of the Royal Fleet launched their counterattack. Aboard the King Robert's Hammer, King Daveth Baratheon unsheathed his Valyrian steel sword Stormbringer from its sheath and directed it at the Iron Fleet itself.
"The ironborn ships are strong in the front, but they are weak in the middle!" Daveth shouted. "Oarsmen, full speed ahead! Show these bastards what we're made of! The rest of you, provide covering fire for our allies! Don't let up!"
Sailing at full speed and with the support of the wind, the might of King Robert's Hammer rammed the Iron Victory with the newly-upgraded warship rams on its hull, breaking their hulls and pinning them in a naval double envelopment.
'Another pincer attack!' Victarion realized, snarling as he grit his teeth in rage and frustration. What started off as a successful ambush ultimately led to the Lord Captain getting trapped on both sides again.
"Spears and shields! Spears and shields!" Daveth shouted as he and his men jumped from King Robert's Hammer and onto the Fury, ready to engage Victarion Greyjoy in battle again.
"Get in line now!" shouted Olyvar, having mustered enough courage and experience to actually start giving orders (albeit to minor infantrymen).
Lord Randyll Tarly and his son Dickon also jumped onboard, cutting a few ironborn raiders before barking orders. "Form up! Come on, lads! Get in line!"
Robb panted, yet could help a grin forming. "I was wondering when you'd show up, Your Grace. Certainly took your sweet time getting here."
Daveth shrugged it off. "Well, I couldn't let you have all the fun now, my friend. I'm here now, and this time we'll see it through to the end."
Robb nodded and glanced back at Victarion Greyjoy, eager to fight with Daveth again.
"So, you've finally shown up, boy. Well, come! My axe is thirsty, and it yearns for your blood!"
######
Author's Note: Another chapter done, though this one was a bit shorter. So again I'll be breaking this naval battle into two parts. The second one will be completed at some point and from then on the invasion of the Iron Islands will begin. Both the North and royal ships have sustained heavy losses, men and ships included - each numbering in the hundreds. The ironborn seized the chance to take advantage of the seas to turn the tide. And judging by Daveth's response to Robb, it seems he's calmed down and is back to his old self – the one Robb himself recognizes. It's the second round of Daveth Baratheon and Robb Stark versus Victarion Greyjoy. This time, it's a battle on the ocean itself. Who will win this outcome? Thoughts? Let me know.
BioHazard82: Another good chapter.
—Thanks.
C.E.W: The battle that will determine the tide of the Ironborn campaign is at hand. If Daveth and his armies defeat the Iron Fleet and either kill or capture Victarion Greyjoy, then the Iron Islands will defenseless. Right now the battle is starting to look bad for the Ironborn with the appearance the Redwyne/Lannister fleets. Daveth, Robb Stark, Randyll Tarly and other great warriors and commanders will only booster the morale of the royal forces. Wonder how Yara is fairing in the battle, she has to know that the battle is not going well for the Ironborn. My advice to Yara is to retreat, take what she can and get as far away from the Iron Islands as fast as she can, (In Game of Thrones you win, or you die... live or die Yara, make your choice). Yara Greyjoy is perhaps the only Ironborn I respect, she's better than her father that's for darn sure.
Patty 4577: And then Euron comes and kills them all?
—No.
The Three Stoogies: a great chapter like always I think Daveth should pull a Theon Stark and tie Victarion to the bow of his ship as a figure head when he attacks the iron islands.
—Thanks. I'll take some ideas into consideration.
mpowers045: Let it be Daveth that ends the fucker Victarion's life please
Alistair Lannister: Dear Lord, Victarion has more plot armor than his freaking brother Euron did is Season 7. Hope he dies soon! Other than that, great job, can't wait for the next chapter.
—Thanks. Next chapter should finish up the naval battle before the big one comes to the Iron Islands.
RHatch89: Awesome update :)
—Thanks.
Mach9330: Victarion had better die next chapter!
—But who will carry out the sentencing, I wonder?