Chapter 9: Exodus from the Iron Islands
Excerpt from A Cumulative Record of House Stormbreaker by Maester Riddick
The successful campaign on the Island or Orkmont had bolstered the resolve of the First Men under the command of Darren Stormbreaker. The accomplishment of theirs helped bolster Darren's forces with the freed thralls from Orkmont. The forces of House Stormbreaker at that time were predominantly made up of the freed thralls from Houses Tawney, Goodbrother of Orkmont, and Orkwood. Along with the survivors if Harlaw and the forces from Blacktyde. The spoils of war they took also saw to the arming and armoring of their growing rebellion. In the Iron Islands history this was the first large-scale thrall rebellion.
Most maesters agree that the success could be largely contributed to the skillful evasion the thralls undertook prior to facing the Ironborn in open battle. The small force of thralls evaded patrols of Ironborn ships before making landfall. It is unknown whether this was from the feat of man or even divine intervention, but it would see the First Men forces succeed in attacking House Orkwood first. The rebels would also gain much needed supplies in arms and armor since they would also face the remaining forces of Houses Tawney and Goodbrother of Orkmont. The local Ironborn forces were unaware of the devastating defeat of their brethren as they marched to link up with the remaining forces of House Orkwood.
Unknown by their enemies the First Men rebels would utilize this to their advantage. Forces under Lord Stormbreaker and Ivar Harlaw would lead a skirmishing campaign to weaken the Ironborn forces as they marched. The use of slings was successful as in that time period most forces used bronze and even early iron armaments. A mass volley of stones could greatly weaken any enemy formation under the right circumstances. The Ironborn would endure the hail of stones the whole time they marched. It was a genius move from the First Men rebels as they weakened a superior force, while also sowing panic and chaos into the enemy camp.
The Ironborn would grow infuriated as when the rebels did give battle it caused the Ironborn to rush headfirst at their enemies. It is said that the First Men were crafty as they had dug three lines of hole traps to impede the enemy advance. Causing the Ironborn formation to become unstable it allowed Darren's forces to pepper the Ironborn with projectiles. This would occur three times, yet the Ironborn would grow smart as their line would hold. While it is smart of using the terrain and traps to his advantage, these would not be the crowning moment of Darren's genius that day. He had developed a tactic which House Stormbreaker would become famous for utilizing.
Using his more heavily armored troops in the center to take the brunt of the Ironborn charge allowed both his left and right wings to face less opposition. His center would slowly retreat backward as both wings would slowly maneuver around the enemy force. When the maneuver was fully executed it allowed his smaller force to encircle the Ironborn. This type of battle tactic would be used by House Stormbreaker many times when they would face a larger numbered foe. This allowed them to completely wipe out an enemy formation as the enemy could not break out of their tightly packed formation as House Stormbreaker closed in on them. This maneuver can only be successful if the center is disciplined to weather the initial assault as they move backward allowing the wings to encircle the enemy. While this maneuver was very successful one of the drawbacks to it is that if the enemy can find a weak point they can put pressure on it and cause it to collapse. Doing this will allow the enemy to break the encirclement.
The complete destruction of the ironborn forces allowed Darren and his troops to free many thralls and to replenish his forces numbers. It also allowed Darren much needed manpower to fortify and build infrastructure needed to hold the Island of Blacktyde. Though given the time needed to secure the island it allowed the Ironborn to gain knowledge of the rebellion. The Ironborn took the time to reinforce many of the northern and eastern islands. It allowed the forces of Old Wyk to concentrate a larger number of their forces and defensives upon the most sacred of islands. Unaware of the Ironborn's intention House Stormbreaker would seek to raid the island of Old Wyk.
This would be the first major defeat Darren faced from the Ironborn. The First men rebels would lose many men trying to escape the island. While the raid would fail it would see to the exodus of the remaining First Men warriors and smallfolk off of the Iron Islands. Some maesters have stated that the luck of Darren had finally ran out, but I beg to differ. As the exodus would see the rise of a new Kingdom form under the rule of House Stormbreaker. Darren and those who followed him would seek refuge off the coast of the many petty Kingdoms of the Riverlands. It is said they were rebuffed from settling in land already established by other First Men houses. Though they would find luck in settling the lands of the Cape of Eagles.
Here House Stormbreaker would lay the foundations of their Kingdom under Darrens rule. While he would face some enemies on the mainland, it would be retaliatory forces of the Ironborn which would plague Darren's early and later rule. His house would for centuries face raids from the Ironborn which only seemed to strengthen House Stormbreakers position. It would be centuries after Darren's Uprising that the warriors of House Stormbreaker would reclaim the Island of Blacktyde and even expand into some of the eastern Iron Islands.
Author's Note: I felt like doing a shorter entry in the Cumulative Record of House Stormbreaker as the next chapter will cover the Raid of Old Wyk and the exodus from the Iron Islands. After that chapter is concluded there will be a time-skip of a few centuries telling of House Stormbreakers new domain and conflicts with the Ironborn. I plan on releasing the next chapter soon. Also, I did not expect such a large response for the poll. I plan on keeping it up for a few more days. Based off it so far I plan to update this story along with Rebirth of a Bastard Direwolf more frequently. I do plan on updating my other stories as well. I am also looking for a beta reader if anyone would like to try. Please leave a review and thanks everyone for the continued support.