Unexpected winds

Unexpected winds

Theon POV

Gentle winds blew as we reached the island of New Ghis. It was vast, probably as big as Arbor, and it held plenty of fertile lands. But that wasn't the island that was set in my eyes. We sailed past it, our fleet meeting the New Ghis' one. It was not as big, but still had a sizeable fleet of a few hundred ships. They carried at least a few thousand men, but they were too small to reach the number of men to ten thousand.

They made a mistake trying to meet us in the sea. Our ships were bigger and sturdier, and we had twice as many with us. They should have stayed in their city and hoped that Volantis would come to save them because this was our victory before the battle even began. And it wasn't even confidence, but a fact.

"Your Grace, the Silence is getting ahead of the formation," Ser Harras informed me as he handed a Myrish eye.

"Glory-seeking hound," I grumbled. Euron wasn't out of the formation, but he was ahead of everyone else, clearly wanting to have the glory of being first in the battle. "Tell the helmsman to steer us for a flanking maneuver."

I couldn't waste time or men in this battle. Since Euron volunteered himself to be the distraction, I would outflank the enemy fleet and strike from their side. As much as the New Ghis fleet tried to keep a tight formation in open seas, it was hard to do. And Euron knew what he was doing by aiming at gaps to exploit their weaknesses.

Once one ship got into its formation, more followed suit. And even if they could keep their tight formation, it wouldn't help them much, as the Ironborn relished the idea of boarding the enemy ships. I didn't need any of their ships. They were too small and slower than ours. At best, they would only serve as scrabs of wood for kindling. So, from the very beginning, I ordered my men to burn them all.

"We are about to have an impact!" Ser Harras yelled out for the men to prepare.

"How many ships followed me?" I asked, not even a bit concerned about the ship we were about to ram into.

"Seventy to eighty, your grace," Ser Harras replied after taking a glance from behind us. "Another fifty or so appears to have followed Princess Asha's longship to flank from the other side."

That was good to hear. It meant that we would surround them. I wouldn't say I liked to leave loose ends, so it only made it easier for me to destroy them all. And it was good to see that the Ironborn weren't complete fools who would head into a battle, even without me telling them to do otherwise.

Since I scouted their fleet before we even saw them and determined that they wouldn't pose any challenge, I didn't make any battle plans or issue any orders; I let the respective captains do as they wished. It didn't surprise me that most of them went straight into the enemy formation. Some might have followed Euron, but most of them didn't see any meaning in flanking.

The fact that a third of our fleet chose to follow and outflank the enemy gave me some confidence in my men. Not only were they quick to follow me and Asha, but they also thought of doing the same to be able to follow us so smoothly. It seems that they should be fine without me leading them. That was good since I wasn't planning to stay in New Ghis for long.

"Ready for impact!" Ser Harras yelled the last warning as our ship rammed into the side of the New Ghis ship. "Burn it down!"

I didn't even need to do much. As I watched my men board the ship and throw everyone out of it before setting it on fire, my rowers slowly backed away from the enemy ship before the fire reached us. The rest of my captains did the same and soon left only wreckage in the sea. It made me wonder why they thought it was a good idea to meet us in the sea.

…

As smoke and ash rose into the air, I looked at the setting sun, which was coloring the sea red. Ser Harras reported to me that I had lost twelve ships in the battle. I wouldn't say I liked it, but it was an acceptable loss compared to the enemy's losing two hundred. When Euron boarded my ship, my men started to cheer, which gave me a bad taste in the mouth, especially when Asha didn't receive as warm a reception as Euron.

"Quiet down," I said as I observed everyone. "What are you celebrating? Killing the fools who can't even comprehend that we are the rulers of the sea? They don't deserve any celebrations."

"Aye," Euron was the first to agree with a smile. "They were barely able to keep their feet on their ships. They were no warriors like us. After what my nephew has faced, the best these fools can do is fall over under our feet."

"Ohh!"

"Alright, settle down," The men were too quick to celebrate. "Euron, Asha, come with me; we have things to discuss."

Asha didn't seem too happy with Euron as she quickly followed behind me. As I entered by cabin, I still could hear the Ironborn cheering for Euron. Asha said nothing as I took out a rough map of the area. I had already made a plan, but I felt like I should change things up. Seeing Euron so popular with the men, I realized that I couldn't stop him without killing him.

"So, what's the plan? Do we raid New Ghis? Burn the other islands first?" Euron entered my cabin with a swagger, not caring a bit about Asha's glare.

"You went out of the formation," Asha finally couldn't take it and confronted Euron. "If you have…"

"Enough," I silence my sister. There was no meaning in telling something like that to Euron. "It all worked out to our benefit. It isn't like recklessness doesn't run in our blood. We have other things to discuss."

"Before that, my dear nephew," Euron interrupted me as he took a seat and slowly looked around my cabin before finding a wine bottle. "Why let my gift gather dust? The Valyrian steel armor would protect you from everyone. Is such a waste."

"Do you know how I got this suit of armor?" I asked, pointing at the black and gold armor I was wearing. "Lady Whent gifted it after I fought and defended Harrenhal from the Mountain with a tenth of the men he had. I wear this armor because I earned it through blood and iron. If you mention it ever again, I will consider that you don't respect the traditions of the Ironborn."

"My apologies," Euron slightly bowed his head. "I didn't consider it. So, what is the next course of our plan."

"Asha will take fifty ships and take control of the other islands, especially the big one," I replied, surprising Asha. "We need to secure the farmlands and the harvest. At the same time, Euron and I will strike the city of New Ghis. We shall first surround the islands with our ships and show ourselves to them through the night. Then, with the first sunlight, we shall land."

"Then I will move in first," Asha wasn't satisfied with the plan as she wished to be one to come to New Ghis, but she didn't give Euron the satisfaction of voicing her disagreement.

"Let me have a first crack at their defenses," Euron proposed, clearly wanting to antagonize Asha a bit further.

"No, we won't be striking them before we have a parley with them," I replied. "We firstly give them a chance to surrender."

"Surrender?" Euron asked, and I could instantly see where he was going with his words. "You know, you have been doing quite a lot to satisfy the Dragon Queen. I can't be the only one who noticed that rather than having an equal relationship, you seem to be following her like a loyal dog."

"Euron," Asha warned our uncle by taking out her knife. "Watch your words."

"I'm just saying what many are thinking," Euron replied with a disarming smile. "I don't know the queen. But I, like everyone else who came to you, am here for you and not for the Dragon Queen. So, it isn't a surprise that some of us are not happy to do as the Queen bids us to do."

"You just saying what many are thinking?" I asked, waiting for Euron to nod his head. "Very well."

I calmly folded the rough maps and put them away before stepping out of the cabin. On the deck, Asha's and mine crews were celebrating their victory with wine and ale. They weren't too loud, but once they saw me, they quickly stopped making any sound. I took a quick look at the men, finding that barely any of Euron's crew was with them, which wasn't a surprise, as even hardened Ironborn found the tongueless men creepy and disturbing.

"Today was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless," I began as I walked in the middle of the deck. "My crew has followed me to Astapor, Yunkai, and Meereen, and when Yunkai forgot us and thought I could go away by doing what they wished, I visited them again. We fought, we killed, we drank and celebrated together. But my uncle says that all we did was for Queen Daenerys. We followed her orders and did as we were commanded. That some of you think I am nothing but a loyal dog."

"Who would dare say such a thing," Donnel Drumm, the youngest of House Drumm and one of the Greycloaks, asked.

"Silence," I stopped Donnel from saying anything more. "Those who followed me and fought with me know me well. I came to these lands to find more men to join my cause. I came to spend the gold I got from the Lannisters. But I failed. Didn't I? Not only did I not spend any gold, but I took even more. I have taken lands and cities. I have put fear into every man on this continent. And I found a woman worthy to stand by my side. What an utter failure I am! Aren't I?"

"Aye!" My crew laughed, not feeling any tension, while Asha's crew was as silent as Euron's ship.

"Do you think I am just a dog following someone else's orders?" I asked, looking around. "No, that's good. I only follow the winds and currents of the sea. And so far, the sea has led me to glory and riches. To say that I only follow Queen Daenerys is to say that I don't trust the sea to lead me. And to say that, it is an insult to the sea and me."

The last sentence I spoke while looking at Euron. It was my final warning not to try to fuck with me. And the cheers of the men around me reminded him that I was the King. I am the Undead, and I was the undefeated. Nothing will change that, not Euron nor anyone else. Euron thought he could use me, but I will be using him until he isn't useful anymore.

…

"We surrender."

"What?"

My eyes twitched as I looked at the ruler of New Ghis as he knelt before me. He wasn't the king or anything like that but a representative of all nobles in New Ghis. But that wasn't important. My smile crooked as I looked at him, kneeling and offering his sword to me. I expected many responses and was waiting for them to ignore us or insult us, but not this.

My plan, which I devised after much thought, came grumbling down with this one action: New Ghis surrendering to me. I send Thoros and Anguy to find Khal Motho for nothing. I planned to bait Volantis fleet to support New Ghis and use Euron to hold them for as long as possible while I took the Unsullied and the Dothraki and sneaked to Volantis through the land without anyone suspecting a thing.

"We shall free every slave and let them leave with as much gold as they can carry," The ruler said in Valyrian, and for a moment, I thought I was simply bad at Valyrian all of the sudden as I heard bullshit. "New Ghis shall serve and support King Theon Greyjoy and Queen Daenerys Targaryen with everything we have. Our resources are yours. Our soldiers are your soldiers. New Ghis is yours, King Theon Greyjoy."

I stepped forward but stopped almost immediately as I saw the ruler flinch at my action. He wasn't lying. That bastard was terrified of me. He didn't dare to look at my eyes. His hands had a slight but noticeable tremble. Even his knee shook. And as I looked down at him, I saw sweat dropping from his forehead.

"Are you so terrified of me that you won't even look at me?" I bend next to his ear and whisper.

"I heard many things," he replied in a quiet and shaking voice. "Half of them I don't believe, and the other half I wish I didn't believe. I know what happened to the Wise Master of Yunkai after they went against your wishes. I will not repeat the same mistake."

"What about the fleet that met us on the way?" I asked, trying to understand what was happening.

"They were led by the men who disagreed with the wishes of New Ghis," The man replied, and it looked like he was about to cry as I stared straight into his eyes. "I swear on my mother's grave, not a single man, woman, or child shall disobey you. We shall willingly give hostages and do anything you ask. Please spare us."

"Lick my boots," I said, trying to test the man. To my shock, he looked relieved at the order and, without hesitation, bent his head towards my boots. "Stop. I have never seen such a pathetic man. But if you are here, it means that the rest of them hiding in the city were even more pathetic than you. I think you realize what will happen to you if even part of what you said was a lie. Now, stand up. You will have to prove your words with action."

As unexpected as it was, it only helped me. The New Ghis army wasn't small, and with them, I don't think I need any tricks to deal with Volantis. That is if I even need to deal with Volantis. Until now, I never thought that people would just surrender to me so easily. It still could be a ploy by some scheming bastards in New Ghis, so it was better to use their army before they could turn their swords back at us.