Across the coasts of Westeros wherever the sound of the waves can be heard
Tales are told of savage Raiders who come from the sea to pillage and burn before disappearing back onto the open ocean
These were the Ironborn
fierce warriors whose savage life on the barely
Civilised Iron Islands gave rise to a unique and brutal culture whose dark legacy is still felt across the world today
Yet even such a land requires kings and Lords to rule it and since the time of Aegon's conquest the Iron
Islands have been firmly in the grasp of the golden kraken - House Greyjoy
Like all the Great Houses of the Iron Islands, the Greyjoy's claimed descent from the grey King
A legendary figure from the Age of Heroes who is said to have vanquished the great sea dragon Nagga
Taken a mermaid to wife, brought fire to the earth, and ruled for over a thousand years.
In the ages since, the Ironborn have chosen their own rulers through the Kingsmoot
Iron kings of salt and steel who ruled from atop the Seastone Chair.
During this time the Greyjoys and the Ironborn lived their lives by what is now known as the old way.
An ancient tradition of reaving and plundering
Farming, mining, and commerce were thought to be the works of lesser men - a belief espoused in the Greyjoy words "We Do Not Sow".
Instead the Ironborn gained glory and fortune through battle and slaughter referred to as paying the iron price
Using their unequaled mastery of the sea, the Ironborn launched a series of rampant lightning raids across
Westeros carrying away whatever plunder could be found as well as men to serve as thralls and women to serve as salt wives
over time they carved a great
Kingdom that stretched across the river lands and their ships were known and feared as far as the Free Cities of Essos
First and foremost a seafaring culture, the Ironborn treated their ship as the Dothraki treated their horses
Every captain was said to be a king aboard his own ship and the Iron Islands the land of 10,000 kings.
When Aegon the Conquerer landed on the continent this kingdom was ruled by Harren the Black of House Hoare
king of the Isles and the Riverlands
However King Harren proved no more able to resist Aegon's conquest than any other King before him and despite
barricading himself within Harrenhal the largest and greatest castle in the Seven Kingdoms
Harren the Black was burned alive by dragon fire
Ending his line and reducing his castle to a twisted and shattered reminder of what happens to those who resist House Targaryen
With their holdings on the continent destroyed and their Kingdom left in ruins the families of the Iron Islands turned against one another
when Aegon finally arrived on the Iron Islands themselves,
he allowed the Ironborn to choose their own Lord for which they selected Vickon of House Greyjoy
The reign of the Ironborn Kings was seemingly over and the old way gone with it
The Ironborn may have accepted the rule of the Targaryens
But they never accepted their religion. The faith of the seven had as much difficulty taking root in the Iron
Islands as vegetation and no matter how hard the septons and silent sisters tried
They could not supplant the ancient cult of the Drowned God, or He Who Dwells Beneath the Waves
The Drowned God is unique to the Iron Islands seen as the creator of the Seas and the Ironborn
themselves born in His image to reave,
pillage, carve out kingdoms,
Make their names known in fire, blood, and song, to hold dominion over all the waters of the earth
In death the Ironborn are said to join the drowned God in his watery halls to drink and feast for all eternity
Giving rise to the blessing, "What is dead may never die, but rises again harder and stronger".
Over the centuries House Greyjoy attempted to put this mantra back in practice,
Reviving the old way for a time before being beaten back into submission by the Iron Throne or the other Great Houses of the continent
When the Mad King Aerys II
was overthrown and the Targaryen dynasty along with it during Robert's rebellion,
Balon Greyjoy believed the time was right to restore the independence of the Iron Islands
six years into the rule of King Robert Baratheon
Balon's brothers, Victarion and Euron, led a daring raid into the harbor at Lannisport
Burning the Lannister fleet at anchor and igniting the Greyjoy Rebellion
This brief foray into independence ended much like the others
Victarion's fleet was defeated at sea by Stannis Baratheon and Pyke, the seat of House Greyjoy, was stormed a short time later
Balon Greyjoy defeated on land and sea swore fealty to King Robert and the rebellion was ended
Balon never gave up on his dream to once again wear a driftwood crown and when Westeros fell into chaos
Following the death of King Robert, Balon marshalled his forces at Pyke in preparation for a renewed attack upon the greenlands
While hardly a major military power in Westeros very few could match the Ironborn at sea
Each great lord commanded hundreds of long ships or more while the Iron fleet comprised of the largest and most powerful
warships was sworn to House Greyjoy and the sea stone chair.
Of the fleets in Westeros only the Royal Fleet itself and the ships of House Redwyne could hope to match the Iron
Islands and with the chaos across the continent house Greyjoy was given an almost free hand.
In a surprise attack Victarion Asha and Theon Greyjoy
Led the Ironborn in a series of daring assaults across the north taking Moat Cailin
Deepwood Motte, the Stony Shore and most importantly, Winterfell itself
Yet Balon, now styling himself King of the Iron Islands and the North
Had barely begun to enjoy the fruits of his victories when he fell to his death
crossing one of the many rope bridges of Pyke during a terrible storm
Stranger still was the sudden arrival of the banished Euron Greyjoy
In the immediate wake of his brother's death sitting himself upon the sea stone chair and drowning those who objected
When Balon's youngest brother, the drowned priest Aeron Greyjoy,
Attempted to place Victarion on the throne by reviving the ancient custom of the Kingsmoot, the attempt
Backfired and Euron was legitimized as the king of the Iron Islands
Many strange tales are told of Euron Crow's Eye. A pirate who has never given up the old way even for a day
it is said he commands a ship named the
Silence with black sails and a dark red hull to conceal the stains of blood upon it
Rumors abound of how he captured warlocks from distant Qarth to learn the secrets of black magic
how he sailed all the way to Asshai by the Shadow and perhaps even to the smoking ruins of doomed Valyria itself
Euron's strange cohorts and the ancient relics he has in his possession
Seem to lend credence to at least some of these claims
But Euron's wild unpredictability and penchant for vicious mind games makes separating the truth and fiction of his life almost impossible
Whatever his true goals are no Ironborn can deny Euron has done more in his short time as king of the Iron Islands to achieve
Dominion over the continent than almost any Lord before him
the golden kraken of House Greyjoy now flies above the strongholds of the Shield Isles and
Ironborn Raiders have struck along the Reach all the way to Oldtown
Yet Euron's machinations
Do not end there and many whisper that his plans extend all the way to the Iron Throne itself or perhaps even beyond.
The Templin Institute investigates nations
Organizations and factions from alternate worlds and realities.
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