CHAPTER 14. EURON GREYJOY
THE RED KEEP
When Cassana returns to the Capitol via ship Lord Davos is waiting with the Golden Company. A sell-sword army twenty thousand strong; she has an open contract with them. They had been paid a hundred thousand pieces of gold and will receive a regular monthly pay for as long as they are in service. Upon termination of contract Cassana must pay two hundred and fifty thousand gold Dragons.
"You have done well Lord Davos…"
"Thank you your Grace..."
"Any word on the Dragonqueen…"
"Trouble with the Masters of Volantis, Yunkai, Astapor, and other free cities…They are amassing an army against her…"
"Then the masters of the East may finish her for us…"
"Possibly, but she still has three Dragons…I wouldn't count her out yet…"
Cassana agrees with his assessment and she is of the opinion that Daenarys will prevail in a war with the Masters of the East, but Cassana knows all there is to know about Dragons as her Uncle Tyrion got her interested in the subject.
EURON
He is known as the Crows Eye because of his missing eye and tendency to say anything. Many consider him to be a mad man. Euron had been sent into exile by his brother Balon Greyjoy. Euron was always an outcast among his brothers and the exile only deepened the rift between them. Euron did not believe in the Drowned god as other Iron Born do. He believes in himself and is very arrogant. When he was forced into exile he swore he would return.
His ship is known as the Crow's Eye, a ship that he had built by the ship masters of Braavos in the style of the Iron Born. Euron is well traveled having been many different places and had seen many wondrous things in the world. "My frends…It is time for me to sail home…" He announces to the loyal crew of the Crow's Eye. "We sail East…Beyond the Jade Sea…"
"No man or crew has ever sailed beyond those waters Captain…":
"I know we will be the first…"
He stockpiles his ship with stolen booty from merchant ships and food from uninhabited islands. Then he sails East, on and on they go until they pass the Shadowlands and Island of Ashai. When they leave the high mountains of the Shadowlands they enter a large body of water. It expands in every direction and there is no land in sight.
The days become weeks, and the weeks become a month. To keep food high the men do a lot of fishing everyday dragging fishing nets. The fresh water must be rationed to a half a cup a day. They also ration the wine and rum. Most days there is no wind and oars are deployed. "Land Ho!" The man in the crow's nest screams. Euron stands on the deck of his ship with a spyglass.
"I never thought we would make it captain…"
"I never doubted…"
"Do you recognize where we are?"
"Aye I do…Helmsman turn south…We are more North than I would like to be…That is Bear Island in the distance…" They go ashore at Sea Dragon Point to get fresh water, before sailing South. Eight days later they arrive at the Iron Isles. Euron frowns as he sees the wrecks of ships in the water. There is debris from some great battle. As he sails between the Islands it becomes apparent what happened, an invasion from the mainland.
When his ship reaches Pyke the castle is in ruins and there are three bodies impaled on long poles. One is Balon Greyjoy, the second is the Damphair, and the other is a woman. The village of Pyke is also in ruins, but there are people salvaging wood. Euron goes ashore with five men. "You what happened here?"
The man looks at him, "The Storm Queen…that's what the fuck happened…"
"Cassana Baratheon…" Euron whispers, he had heard tales of the Storm Queen from afar. "Why did she attack the Iron Isles?"
The man looks at him, "You Iron Born?"
"Euron Crow's Eye…"
"I know that name…I don't know all the details mind ya…Where do I begin? Well Theon Greyjoy returns home and asks his father to help the Young Wolf in his war against the Lannisters…Old Balon Greyjoy get's it in his head to declare himself King…"
"The War of the five Kings they call it…" Another man says speaking up.
"I'm telling the fucking story! Yeah so Balon attacks the North…His daughter Yara Greyjoy takes Moat Cailin...His idiot son decides to take Winterfell…He was captured by the Boltons, tortured…Eventually we were driven from the North…Yara Greyjoy tried to rescue Theon…I went with her…He was a broken man…Less than a man…A few weeks ago it started raining…for three days the wind, rain, and lightening pounded the Iron Isles…Ships were cut in half by lightening it was a storm like no other…After it ended the Storm Queen came…She took Pyke and killed Balon and his daughter…Then she burned castle Pyke to the ground…using Wild Fire…Victarion Greyjoy died fighting the bitch over there…" He points, "She stabbed him with her lightening sword…and roasted poor Victarion while he was impaled on the blade…She warned us that if we ever rebelled against her again or any of those who followed her on the Iron throne she would cleanse the Iron Isles of all Iron Born…the Reader Rodrick Harlaw was made Warden of the Iron Isles…"
"What are you men doing here…" Euron's First mate asks.
"Salvaging what we can…We were commanded by that bitch to build a fleet of a thousand ships…Five hundred are to go to her for her royal navy…The rest are for us to keep…"
"Keep building…Better days are coming and we will be avenged…" Euron spends the next few days traveling from Island to Island trying to convince the Lords to name him King. "Rodrick Harlaw…" Euron says entering his solar.
"Euron's Crow's Eye…I had a feeling you might show up…"
"I hear you are a puppet to the Storm Queen…Warden of the Iron Isles…"
"I am Warden of the Iron Isles and I seem to recall you were sent into exile…"
"And now I am back…I have the support of many Iron Born Lords and Captains…"
"And now you want my support…Of this I can say about the Iron Born…We are a consistent lot…But I nor any of my people will have anything to do with this folly…I have lost enough…"
"You coward…You would rather serve and keep your head in a book than fight…"
"Call me what you will…but I stand by what I have said…"
"The world can be ours all we have to do is join the Dragon Queen…"
"Ah another legend come to life…The world will burn when these two Queens go to war…And I stand by what I said…"
Euron leaves Harlaw in peace, but is able to muster an army eighteen thousand strong. It takes the Iron Born, three months to build a fleet of a thousand ships. Euron divides his fighters among the ships and sets sail.
LANNISPORT
Tyrion is on top of the world, his wife Lady Shae Lannister is expecting their first child. He had been working very diligently to cement his power over the Westerlands. His biggest challenge was finding a new source of gold since the mines had dried up. After months of searching, his men found a huge gold deposit in the mountains not far from Casterly Rock. Tyrion commissions the building of a military outpost to guard the mine and the workers.
He also starts several business ventures to bring a steady flow of gold into his vaults. Not long after Tommen kills himself by jumping from his window room. The death of his mother and the news that Jaime is his father was too much to bare.
Myrcella had gone back to Dorne as Myrcella Lannister to marry Prince Trystan. The sun is setting and everyone is winding down for the day. Then a flaming projectile flies from the sea and hits a building. The bells start ringing as the ship which everyone believed was a merchant ship starts firing on the city. The city comes to life as more ships arrive in the harbor and begin bombarding the city of Lannisport. The fleet of Lannisport is in docked and is once again destroyed by the Iron Born fleet.
Tyrion makes his way to the tower in Casterly Rock and stares at the bay, "Fucking Iron Born didn't learn their lesson…" Tyrion looks to his left, "Maester Hyn, send a raven to King's Landing telling the Queen of this…"
"Right away my Lord…" The bombardment lasts all night, then the Iron Born sail west away from the coastline. Tyrion rides through the city assessing the damage with the Maester, his Uncle Kevin is riding beside him as well. "Send Ravens to all my banners to send aide to Lannisport…Food, clothes, medicine…"
"Yes My Lord…"
A man rides up on a horse, he is an assistant to Maester Hyn, "My Lord…Maester Hyn a Raven just arrived from Harlaw…"
Tyrion takes the message and reads in silence, "What does it say nephew?" Kevin asks.
"The Reader says that Euron Greyjoy is back and that he is calling himself the King of the Iron Isles…"
"If I were Euron Greyjoy I would join up with the Dragon Queen…"
Tyrion nods, "So would I Uncle…"