Chapter 62: Kraken's Fall I
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(Sunset Sea, The Iron Islands)
Following his instructions, Stannis and Oberyn succeeded in taking Great Wyk. Kevan and Mace had also captured Saltcliffe and Old Wyk. Yohn and Benjen managed to do their part as well.
Leaving only Lonely Isle and Pyke untouched.
After a bit of thought, Erlend had decided to divert his fleet toward ensuring his Great Lords were able to secure the captured Islands.
It had taken a few weeks to get that done much to his chagrin. There were objections to wiping out whole noble houses just because they refused to lay down their arms and surrender.
Erlend merely asked them if they wanted their children and grandchildren to deal with what they had, because that was how long the Ironmen usually took to lick their wounds and go back to their 'Old Way'.
There was also the subtle reminder that every Lord present had lost more than a little gold to the raids launched. Rebuilding villages and settlements took time, gold, and manpower, which could be better spent elsewhere.
For a lot who abhorred the idea of 'copper counting' they certainly became quite defensive about their gold being taken.
Eventually, the fuckers caved in, not that he cared, whether they liked it or not, Erlend had every intention of ridding this plague from the world.
It must be noted that Mace Tyrell was quite put out when he realised that Dunstan Drumm and Red Rain were nowhere to be seen within Old Wyk. The Tyrell Lord had wanted to take the valyrian blade for his House, ironically he was also one of the more vocal supporters of Erlends plan.
Thankfully, after that irritating fiasco, they were now on their way towards Pyke.
As they neared Pyke, hundreds of ships surrounded the Regional Capital. Euron had sent whatever ships he could to delay the kingdom's fleets.
Of what his imprints could see and hear, the man wasn't all afraid of them. The ships sent were mainly bait for Erlend to bring in his Dragons.
It felt more like those defence games he used to play in his past life, except he was the attacker this time.
At first Erlend, just allowed his fleets to take care of the waves sent by the Mad Greyjoy, but as more ships from his fleets were lost or damaged, he quickly got annoyed with the whole situation.
There was no reason for him to delay this nonsense any longer, If the squid wanted Dragons, by the Old Man's long beard he was getting them.
…
At the centre of one of the largest fleets ever gathered, stood a lone ship.
On board that ship were some of the most important figures within Westeros. Erlend Mudd, Benjen Stark, Stannis Durrandon, Mace Tyrell and Oberyn Martell. Accompanying them were their principal Bannermen.
They were presently debating on what their plans should be, many getting impatient with the stalling tactics of the Greyjoy.
Mace looked befuddled, "How did they manage to gather so many ships, the Iron Fleet never had this many ships."
"Likely they got the wood from Essos or Beyond the Wall to build more ships. There's also the fact that every Ironmen Lord has at least 50 ships or more under their command, Balon must have gathered most of them at Pyke after the attacks." Stannis explained.
"This will cripple them for centuries." Oberyn pointed out.
"I doubt they care, they've never been much for thinking." was the dry response from Benjen.
"You said something about wood from Essos?" Yohn questioned Stannis.
Nodding his head, "According to a trusted man of mine. Some Magisters have been buying off Ironmen with wood and timber. Even using it to encourage them to raid their rival's ships instead." Stannis said.
"Most likely from the Three Daughters and Pentos. They've been more interested in Westerosi affairs lately." Oberyn suggested.
All eyes turned towards Erlend, waiting for his judgment on the matter.
Erlend pinched the bridges of his nose, visibly annoyed at the mention of the daughters of Valyria. "They're using the Ironmen as a distraction."
"Distraction… your Majesty?" Mace asked.
"Likely they plan to rebuild the Triarchy and don't want any of us interfering."
"I thought Volantis and Braavos would object to having the three daughters unite." Benjen frowned, well aware of the more infamous actions of that particular Union.
"The Sealord has been surprisingly silent on the matter, going so far as to redirect attention towards the Dothraki."
"So we have both Braavos and Volantis remaining silent on the matter."
"It seems so."
"..."
"The Lords not present during our capture of the rest of the Isles are likely to be Pyke." Randyll interrupted the growing silence.
"They are most probably Euron's key supporters in his coup, I doubt he'd have succeeded otherwise," Stannis said.
"Balon must be seething in his cells at the moment. What I'd pay to see his face at this moment." Oberyn chuckled in amusement.
Balon definitely wasn't expecting a coup, one that occurred at the height of his power.
Erlend didn't care much, as the Lords began mocking the squid Lord, his imprints had managed to discern Asha and Alanny's location, they were at Iron Holt, the seat of House Wynch.
Waldon Wynch was the first to bend the knee to Euron in canon. It didn't come as a surprise that he would do so again. Erlend was curious how Euron managed to secure his loyalty.
Wisely they were kept away from Pyke, as Balon's only remaining legitimate heir, she was a threat to his reign until he wed her. Keeping her far enough from her father to avoid plots but close enough that she could be reached at any moment was a masterful move on his part.
Unfortunately for him, it gave Erlend the window he needed to get rid of the last two living male Greyjoys without having to worry about alienating his most powerful supporter on this Island.
Victarion had been chucked to Harras, and while he didn't need his loyalty, the lad was still Rodrik's heir. His two sons had perished in the battle between the Redwyne's and the Victarion's fleet.
Erlend would have called Victarion an idiot if he hadn't known about Asha and Alanny's situation. It was the only reason that could get Rodrik to support Victarion in his bid to oust Euron.
Of course that could have easily backfired, considering the fact that Rodrik had been under the assumption that the horn might work on Erlend's dragons. It was a fine line Victarion walked.
Regardless, he'd still fucked up by attacking his flotilla.
…
Asha Greyjoy paced around her chambers in fury. Ever since her father had declared himself King of Rock and Salt everything had gone to shit.
Sure the first few weeks were brilliant, but now not so much.
In just a moon's turn, her brothers had caught a bad case of the dead. Her father was rotting in his dungeons and her mother had gone mad.
Both her Uncles couldn't be trusted, one who had overthrown her father and the other was 'trying' to save him while declaring himself heir by fleeing like a coward instead of confronting the bastard.
Now she was slated to marry the mad Greyjoy, and she had overheard that Wynch traitor claim that Euron planned to pass her around to his supporters once she was heavy with child.
It didn't help that word had spread of the fall of the other Islands, with only Pyke and Lonely Isle left untouched.
She frowned as she heard footsteps behind her. "Mother, you know you're not supposed to be out of bed." She said
The footsteps continued, ignoring her words completely.
"Mother this isn't a joke, you shouldn't…" She repeated as she turned around, only to freeze.
That wasn't her mother, instead, she was met with a being made out of literal shadows, who simply stared at her.
"What the fuck!" The words escaped her lips.
"Stupefy." was its response, with odd red light following suit and hitting her body.
Shock plastered Asha's face, as her body fell onto the arms of the shadowy being.
"This feels oddly like a scene from HP wank fics…"
…
He was flying atop Jinhua, overlooking Pyke and the ships assembled below him. Velskud and Verna flanked them on both sides.
There were no scorpions on the Isle below him. So confidant were they in the powers of the horn that they left themselves defenseless should it fail.
Erlend wondered if this was what an inexperienced Euron was like. His canon counterpart was far more dangerous, to the point that Erlend would've classified him as a genuine threat and hunted him to the ends of the earth.
There would be no mercy, far too risky to allow such an enemy with so much potential to escape his grasp. This was a man who had no trouble drawing men into service despite being well aware of his nature.
It was remarkable just how many Major Lords he'd convinced to his side. Though it helped gather all his enemies in one place, these were after all the most stubborn of the Ironmen, sticking to the 'Old Way' like a leach to blood.
At the sight of his children, instead of panicking many of the Iron Lords gathered around the shore. His enhanced senses could faintly hear sounds of jeering and mockery coming from them.
At the head of the party was a pale figure, staring hungrily at Jinhua. It was quite unsettling.
A fairly large horn was held within in his arms, intricate designs and carvings could be roughly seen on it.
Euron began blowing the horn as his men cheered him.
Once, Twice, and Thrice he blew, yet nothing happened.
Not a single one of his children made a move, not when the pale fuck demanded they come to him. Not when he yelled out orders for Jinhua to unseat him. Nothing.
The murmurs began, the men shuffling and looking worriedly at their King. Staring at the three dragons in dawning horror.
Velskud, his most destructive child, made the first move, flying past Pyke and onto the assembled ships below. Flames seemed to cover his whole form, as they rushed towards the wooden ships.
Oh… did they burn.
Verna, quickly followed suit, not wanting Velskud to get all the fun. A poisonous gas escaped her mouth. Covering dozens of ships, as their crews screamed in agony and pain.
Their bodies reacting to the gas and flesh falling off from their bodies. It was evident that their bones could be seen.
Only Jinhua remained, her eyes set on the gathered Lords who could only stare stiffly as their men died in front of their eyes. Be it by poison or fire.
A few began to back away from the shore, rushing towards the nearest cover they could find.
It wasn't just the Ironmen who stared in horror at the burning fleet. His own vassals looked on, as the greatest fleet assembled since the days of the Hoares was reduced to ashes and pieces.
It finally dawned on them the devastating power Erlend held within his arms.
By the time his children were done with their little game, not a single soul from the opposing fleet remained standing.
Allowing his aura to cover his children, he instructed them to land on the shore, while his men did their best to make their way through the remnants of the Ironmen's fleet.
Landing on the shore, he observed the last male Greyjoy as he laughed hysterically, the Lords that had chosen to remain instead of fleeing, stared resolutely at Erlend. Hate filled their eyes, but there was a broken tinge to it.
They had gambled and lost, everyone here knew it. The already mad Kraken seemed to have turned even madder as the seconds passed by.
"Well then, it seems you've made quite the error in judgment haven't you."
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