(Disclaimer: I do not own A Song of Ice and Fire nor its characters. Those all belong to George R. R. Martin, aside from my OC.)
(Ironman's Bay, The Iron Islands)
That battle had been an overwhelming victory on his flotilla's part, having captured one of the primary leaders of this war.
Erlend was in a pleasant mood as they continued sailing towards Harlaw.
He sat within his cabin, as Horton gave him the battle report, "We've captured 50 Ironmen alive and killed nearly 1000. Unfortunately, we lost 80 men in the process."
"How many ships did we capture?"
"9 longships, the rest having either been sunk or burnt alongside the bodies of the dead," Horton said.
"Have those sent back to Seagard, Jason should be able to find a use for them."
"Of course your Majesty."
Horton bowed before leaving the cabin to convey his order.
Erlend relaxed in his chambers as he allowed his magic to run free again. His mind freed itself from the shackles of his physical body, moving through the sea.
It didn't take long for him to set his sights on a large Island in the distance.
Second only to Great Wyk in terms of size, it did cut a rather impressive view. Being the richest and most populous within this pirate haven.
Ruling over it was House Harlaws, one of the few lines that could contend with the Greyjoys, and even naysay them with a bit of support from the others. It was a shame they failed to do so this time.
Further in the distance, he could see a large castle, the first target of his takeover. Harlaw Hall, the ancient seat of House Harlaw and the five castles ruled by it and its various branches.
Ironically, this proved that they were wealthier than some of the Major houses within the rest of Westeros like the Glovers and the Templetons, the latter of whom Erlend had rewarded for their merits during his conquest by raising them from Knights to Lords.
His plan was simple, they would first take the Harlaw Hall, cutting off Rodrik and Harras from being able to send support to his Vassals and the other branches of the family.
They would then sweep and capture all the castles south of Harlaw Hall, leaving only Grey Garden and the Ten Towers.
Rodrik would then be given a choice, either surrender or have his whole line wiped out.
He didn't bother with Harras, knowing full well the young idiot would probably deny it and do something stupid that would lose Erlend an able administrator.
These rocks did not interest him, but they would be merged with the Riverlands regardless. A bit of revenge for all the times these fuckers invaded the Riverlands in the days long past.
Not to mention he didn't trust anyone in this rock heap not to fuck up.
…
Walking towards the cells within the lower decks of the ships, Erlend finally chose to visit his prisoner, a few hours away from his siege of Harlaw Hall.
The guards as instructed bowed their heads and left the cell, standing outside.
There in all his wretched glory lay an unconscious and pretty fucked up Victarion Greyjoy. The man had seen better days, a shame this wasn't one of them.
Erlend stomped deciding to be nice and wake up the squid, and kicked the fucker on his stomach, waking the pained wheezing Greyjoy up real quick.
As soon as the Ironborn lay eyes on Erlend he began to curse him, including his parents and ancestors. It was quite colorful, he would admit.
Erlend merely smiled at him, before casually removing his dagger and proceeding to stab it on the man's foot. Who then let out a cry of pain and a roar of anger.
"Are you done now?" He looked calmly at the bleeding squid.
Victarion, credit where is due just glared at him, choosing to remain silent.
Sending a smirk at the cripple, "Right, if you want this to be painless as possible, I want to know everything you have about that demented brother of yours Eucon, Euse… Eurok. Whatever his name was."
The self-proclaimed future King sent him a confused stare.
"You're probably wondering why I don't want info on that imbecile Balon," Erlend looked smug, before sending the dagger right into his other foot.
Predictably the schmuck let out another howl of pain.
"I don't need to explain shit to you… just tell my men what I want and you'll be fine..ish." He stated.
Banging at the cell door, Erlend waited for the guards to come back in. Ignoring the gasping Greyjoy.
As soon as they entered, they stood at attention, awaiting further orders from Erlend.
Looking at these guards, "Make sure he doesn't die before giving everything knows on Euron. Otherwise, you lot will be joining his corpse in this cell, Understood?"
The torturers looked quite serious "Understood your Majesty." They said at once.
"Good." was all he said in response, casually taking back the dagger that was still in the Ironborn's knee and forcing out another how of pain from him before walking out of the cell to finally have his lunch.
They don't make Ironborn like they used to, a pity he had better things to do than torture this idiot.
…
(Harlaw Hall, The Iron Islands)
They had arrived at shore close to Harlaw Hall during the Hour of the Wolf.
It was dark as could be, save for the guardsmen that patrolled the shores, nothing a few arrows couldn't take care of.
His men made their way towards the castle, spotting a few longships that could be seen near the castle, standing at the docks and ready for their next raids he supposed.
Not wanting any of them to escape, he ordered his men to secure the docks.
What few men that could be found at this time, were either drunk or dead tired, making them easy to dispose of. Oh sure there were the rare alert ones, but that meant jackshit when you were outnumbered by far better-skilled warriors.
All the guards were silently killed, securing the shore and docks for them.
Making sure not to alert the ancient seat, a signal was sent, and soon after more boats could be seen coming towards them.
Ordering his men to put on the clothes of the dead guardsmen, they made their way into the Hall with time to spare.
As soon as they were in, the guards at the gate were shown no mercy as they were killed on the spot. Allowing the rest of his men into the keep with no issues.
It wasn't long before the Harlaw Banners were taken down and in their place stood the proud Banners of his House.
…
Erlend sat within the Master's solar within the Old Hall. Sigfryd and his men had tried to put up a fight but were killed soon after. Erlend had been annoyed at their attempt at a last stand and had the old fool's whole family executed in response to his resistance.
He made it clear if they didn't surrender, they would all follow him to the grave.
'Erlend Mudd, Reuniting families since 289AC'
As he had ordered before, all the drowned priests nearby were killed, their temples destroyed and their thralls and salt wives freed.
To avoid potential resurrection bullshit, he had their bodies burnt and their ashes scattered. It was ridiculously common for most universes to have their enemies come back to life and honestly Erlend just didn't have time to deal with that.
It also had the added effect of being insulting to their way of life.
They definitely won't be joining their drowned god in his hall under the sea any time soon.
He could just imagine the so-called diety's face as he just gets tons of ashes upon ashes.
There was a knock on the door and Denys Strong entered. The aide looked dead tired on his feet, having been one of the men responsible for tearing down their temples.
Though calling them temples was a bit of a stretch, more like shacks the priests would occasionally inhabit as they moved about the isles and preached their ways.
"Your Majesty," he bowed "All the drowned priests have been killed off. A few tried to hide among the thralls and salt wives, who didn't take kindly to that and pointed them out to us."
"I see." Erlend paused for a second. "Have the treasury accounted for and the men prepared for the next battle as soon as possible. Those who have shown merit will be rewarded as per usual."
Denys nodded, before making his way out, letting Horton in while he was at it.
The aged Lord bowed his head, awaiting orders from Erlend, "From here you will move to take Harridan Hill, while I do the same with Stonetree. By the time Rodrik realises something is wrong. Only Grey Garden and the Ten Towers should remain in his control. Blacktyde and Orkmont should hopefully be fully captured."
Horton nodded and swiftly left to make preparations.
'Duncan should be in the process of capturing Volmark and Tower of Glimmering, I wonder how Rodrik would feel knowing three of his castles have already been taken in a single day.'
