Eleventh Month of 280 A.L. Somewhere in the Riverlands
Lord Balon Greyjoy
The Ironborn were out in full force for a full scale conquering mission the like of which had not been seen since the days if Harren the black, and Balon's blood sung with joy at the thought of the conquests that were to be gained. The greenlanders were at each others throats and as such had left themselves open to conquest and the opportunity of a lifetime for the Ironborn. There were many places where Balon could have ordered his men to sail and to go, but he had decided that the Reach and the Westerlands were too strong, the north was too valuable a trade ally and so they were to strike the riverlands, the place that had once long ago belonged to them. Balon had called his banners and with the aid of his brothers Euron, Victarion and Aeron as well as his eldest born son Rodrik had planned the conquest of the Riverlands, and so far it was going according to plan. They had struck first at Seagard with all of their might, it had been a fierce fight, even though it was a garrison that held the fortress, and after a long and lengthy battle Seagard had fallen, Ser Denys Mallister the man who commanded the garrison slain. From there they had prepared for their next assault and Balon had decided that part of their force needed to split up if they were to have any proper effect during this conquest, and as most of the riverlords were away fighting the Lions and the Roses they had left their lands undefended.
The Twins were the only place that had not sent men to die in the southern riverlands and they would be key to ensuring riches for the Ironborn and of course there were many plans that needed to be put in place to ensure they fell. Walder Frey was an old man and stubborn and so Balon had sent his brother Euron the wily and the trickster to deal with the man. Euron had been successful through means that Balon did not want to know about, had seen most of Lord Walder's male heir slain including the babes, Euron had wed the eldest surviving granddaughter of Lord Walder and as such was now Lord of the Twins, and he was welcome to it. From there, the Ironborn had mustered men and had fought against other riverlords had the Green Fork smashing them back on the rivers and using their superior man power to win, and then from the Trident they had sailed and taken castle Darry. Now Balon had his sights set on a much bigger prize, Raventree Hall and Stone Hedge would fall and then so would Riverrun and their conquest would be complete.
Balon had given command of the host to capture Stone Hedge to his eldest son and heir Rodrik, the lad would be lord of the islands after Balon and as such needed to earn his chops and earn them soon. Victarion was with him, the second of Balon's brothers was a good and loyal man and a more than capable warrior, Rodrik would be safe of that Balon was certain. But now he could not afford to think on that for battle with the Blackwoods had begun. Tion Blackwood the cousin of Lord Blackwood had advanced with some 200 men and now Balon was in the midst of battle, swinging and hacking his way through, swinging and hacking , swinging and hacking. His blood sang as he cut through man after man, his sword getting redder with the more men he killed. Swinging and hacking, swinging and hacking, swinging and hacking, swinging and hacking. On it went, swinging and hacking, swinging and hacking, swinging and hacking, swinging and hacking, swinging and hacking. These tree worshippers were good fighters worthy opponents as far as Balon was concerned and still they came out hacking and swinging, Balon took his fair share of blows but still he pushed on hacking and slashing, hacking and slashing. The ground was littered with bodies now but still men came pouring out of every crevice and they met Balon's sword and died.
Swinging and hacking, swinging and hacking this was the life of the Ironborn the old way, the only way. Swinging and hacking, swinging and hacking, swinging and hacking, on and on it went, men came and men died, and Balon continued swinging his sword and laughing as he did, laughing like a mad man hacking and slashing, hacking and slashing, swinging and hacking, swinging and hacking. He took his fair share of cuts and bruises but he pushed on swinging and hacking, destroying the greenlanders as they came before him swinging and hacking. Eventually the fighting stopped, there were no more greenlanders to kill, Raventree Hall was theirs.
That night a celebration feast was held and Balon allowed his men to get as drunk as they wanted to for they had won a battle that now meant they had a lot of control over the Riverlands, Rhaegar Targaryen would need to be a fool to dismiss the boon they had given him. Partway through the feast Balon stood up and spoke. "Men of the Iron Islands, we have achieved what no lord of the islands had dared dream of once the dragons came. We now control most of the Riverlands, Seagard is ours, the Twins are ours, and now Raventree Hall is ours. The Riverlords have nowhere but Riverrun to go and soon enough that shall be ours as well." A loud cheer went up at that and then Balon spoke again. "And soon enough Riverrun shall be ours and our kingdom shall grow as it was during the days before the dragons came. Before they put us in chains and bound us to their servitude."
Another loud cheer went up and then the men began banging their cups of their tables and shouting. "Balon Greyjoy, Lord Reaper, Balon King! Balon King!" And Balon smiled, soon enough that dream would be realised as well.