3 Battle For Orkmont

Iron Islands,

Orkmont,

Paxter Redwyne looked at the shouting men with surprise and shock evident in his eyes, even as his ships shook under the twisting and turning sea. This was by no means his first encounter with the ironborn.. but, it was the first encounter that looked anything similar to this. He'd made the assault at the Iron Fleet led by Euron and Victarion Greyjoy but those men were not like this at all.

Still however, Paxter too had seen his fair share of battle, he was no child and he had seen before what war brought,

"Nock Arrows!"

"NOCK!!"

Hearing the shouts, the men of the Redwyne Fleet were quick to respond, even as the sea raged and shook threatening to them all overboard, they all obeyed their Lord. Arrows were pulled from their quivers and set up.

"Draw!"

Paxter Redwyne, Lord of the Arbor, sworn bannerman of House Tyrell, and good brother to the Tyrell Lord, Mace Tyrell, raised one hand, putting the other at the hilt of his blade.

"DRAW!!"

Bows were drawn, pointed at the countless ironborn present below them, at the shore.

The ships shook once more, throwing some soldiers off.. However, they too were quick to regain their bearings.

The Lord Blacktyde standing at the forefront, both hands resting on his battleaxe, understood just what they were about to do.

"Shields up, men!"

His voice was heard loud and clear, the ironborn obeyed, putting up their shields, even those that did not quite understand just what was coming. Some moved forward, wishing to cover Edric Blacktyde only to be stopped with a gesture.

Edric raised his hand and shook his head, only eying Paxter Redwyne with a stern yet vicious gaze. He was possibly doing something many would view as idiotic but in the eyes of the ironborn, it was nothing but an act of bravery. The young Lord Blacktyde stood at the beach solemnly, even as,

"Loose!"

"LOOSE!!"

And then, for a moment, the grey sky was blotted out by fiery steel.

In the next instant, those very same dots came raining down on the ironborn forces, hot burning steel arrows rained down on wooden and metal shields.

Naturally men died, there were those hit in places not covered by their shields, this was no fantasy story with flowers as far as the eyes could see. Pained groans, screams of the injured and the thuds of dead lifeless bodies were heard all across the battlefield.

As for Edric himself? The man stood tall, an arrow firmly held in his hand, many more lay around him, some floated in the water and those that saw what had happened would be questioning reality for a long time to come.

"This is impossible.." Paxter Redwyne's eyes widened in astute disbelief, when those arrows sought to make the young lord a corpse, a wave had crashed against the Blacktyde, throwing all arrows that would have hit him to the ocean.

"What is dead may never die." Edric looked to the boy standing near him, an apprehensive glint in his eyes.

"What is dead may never die!" Cheers and roars rung out behind him, metal banged against metal, a loud and primitive orchestra of stomps, one that struck the southern lord's soldiers deeply... They had never seen something like this.

The ironborn gathered here were men who had seen battle throughout their lives. That was the way of the ironborn, from the day they could walk, these men and men worked on and with ships, looting, raping and pillaging as was their divine right.

"Land! Make for Land!" Paxter Redwyne once more shouted orders, they could shoot them down from right there but such was not the way of honour, of lords and knights, they would meet them on the ground! Not strike them like cowards hiding behind behemoths of wood and iron.

Warships made their way to the shore and it became blatantly obvious that they meant to crash ashore.

Edric grasped a spear from one of the men standing near him then, "Fuck the mainlanders!" With a shout, he pulled back his arm, veins popping out on his bare skin.

The spear was thrown, flying across the air in a moment that appeared to be utter silence.

And then, it crashed into the man standing right beside Paxter Redwyne himself startling him and making him stumble forward. Using the sides of the ship as support to stay upright, Paxter looked at the ma-, no he looked at the corpse lying a few metres behind him.

The spear had gone through the man's armour and chest, throwing him across the deck as if some animal had rammed straight into him.

Before he could do much in the way of reacting, the ships shook and quaked once more, crashing ashore as they kicked up wet sand all around.

"In the name of the King! March!" Paxter pulled out his sword, raising it to the sky with a serious face, "March to victory!"

"Victory!" The individual commanders under him followed suit, declaring their victory long before the battle truly took off, why would they not? This was an assured victory. There was no speech, no inspirational words, no promises of glory or riches but it was enough. More than enough.

Mighty stomps of armoured boots made for their songs of war, the ships shook again but this time under the vigour of the men on them.

This would be enough but it was not the way of House Redwyne to be so short and boorish. Loud booms of beating drums soon accompanied the stomping,

"Victory!"

Ladders were thrown overboard and soon men started climbing down by the hundreds, full plate armour carrying the crest of the Great House Tyrell, Golden Roses.

Much to the surprise of their commanders however, for all their rage, the ironborn did not take one step forward, as if they were waiting for something.

Lines were formed, shield walls with pikes protruding to the front, the fleet was an experienced one, they would not waste the opportunity they'd been given by the fools. Cold seawater brushed past their knees and yet they stood firm.

And then,

The shirtless white haired ironborn standing at the forefront, one that was no doubt commanding all these men, picked up a battleaxe many would have difficulty even lifting with one hand and slowly, he took firm steps forward.

Edric Blacktyde, a name that would be remembered for a long time to come.

The slow steps soon changed into a jog and then into a full blown run as he raised his axe,

"Death!"

With that one word,

All hell broke loose.

"DEATH!"

The ironborn ran behind the Blacktyde, brandishing their weapons with vicious expressions.

"Death!"

Edric once more roared,

"DEATH!"

And then with a mighty push, he crashed into the line of soldiers.

"Ah." Standing at the deck of his ship, Paxter Redwyne finally understood why they were so heated; these men didn't intend on surviving this confrontation.

Like a tidal wave against a fishing boat, a wave of ironborn crashed into the shield walls.

Edric swung his axe like a man possessed, cutting down men left and right, the sophisticated armour that they prided themselves on did naught to protect them, the ironborn lord's axe going through their flesh like it was never there in the first place.

Not to say the ironborn suffered no casualties, the initial crash into the lines had resulted in a number of them simply ending up impaled on the protruding lances and pikes.

Still however, Edric crashing into the line had clearly done a good deal of damage. The man had just quite literally thrown back the men at the front, their shields bent under the force.

"To the ships!"

Even amidst the chaos, the pained and dying screams of countless men that lay at the ground, dyeing the clear sea water a bloody red, Edric had not yet thrown all to the wind, he shouted orders to his men, swinging about his axe.

Walking forward, he stepped to the side avoiding a spear and pulled on it, smashing his own axe into the attacker's face as he impaled another behind him with the very same spear.

They didn't have ships at the moment, all had been lost at the previous battles but.... A vicious grin formed on the Blacktyde's face, they would simply take the ships they needed from these lot.

"Board the ships!"

Cold sweat ran down the forehead of Paxter Redwyne as he looked at the battle ensuing below, it was a fact that they had been fooled into a disadvantageous attack. Making for land was a folly attempt, the men that landed were by no means their full numbers and were greatly outnumbered by the ironborn already on the beach.

Though, shockingly, the shield wall had been broken down by the commander of the enemy forces quite literally crashing into it.

"Loose arrows! Quickly!" He hurriedly shouted orders, looking down at the battle. His men were falling one after the other, they'd underestimated the capabilities of their commander!

"Use the shields these cunts dropped!" In response to Paxter's words, Edric shouted out orders of his own, picking up a shield from the dead soldier laying at his feet. The man had an axe lodged in his shoulder, he wouldn't be needing it.

"Take up the shields!" The orders were relayed throughout his men by shouts, the vanguard of the Redwyne had been completely and utterly ruined. The fact that the literal Commanding Officer was the one at the literal front had done a great deal in raising the morale of the ironborn.

Steel arrows once again blotted out the sky but this time, the casualties were far lesser than before. Edric raised the shield over his head, staring at Paxter with a grin, even as arrows rained and men died all around him.

"Look at these backstabbing fuckers! This is what Balon wanted us to be!" Edric scowled, spitting on the ground as he ran forward.

Many of the ironborn agreed with his words then and there.

Why? You might ask.

The volley of arrows had killed more of the Redwyne than they had the Ironborn. The injured men at the ground and those with their backs turned to the ships were laid to an eternal sleep by their own who had fired, not caring if they would survive.

And then,

The one thing that would make this battle one for the ages happened.

Edric kicked a knight rushing at him in the chest, the hit had been so hard that the armour buckled under it and the man himself was thrown back several feet. He then ducked just as a sword passed overhead and grabbing one from the ground, he turned around, driving it through the head of his attacker in one swift movement.

This was not important however,

After all, Edric had one hand on the ladder of the Redwyne Flagship that had run ashore.

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