Proving Oneself ~ Greyjoy AAR

[Tywin Lannister]

These were strange times… I was never making much of gods and signs, but even to me it seemed as if the comet indeed heralded the change: not only the wars raged all over Westros, but my father also called his swords and sails, and the longships stood ready to sail at his command.

Who am I?

I am Theon Greyjoy, Heir to Pyke, and this is my story.

Everything came into motion one morning, when Silence sailed into the Lordsport, with its blood-red hull, black sails and the crew of mutes. Even in Winterfall I have heard rumors about the tension between my uncles, and how Euron left the Isles for unspecified time, some said for ever. So it surprised everyone when Euron appeared over the sudden, pledging his allegiance to my father. Everyone but my father, that is, because it looked like Balon Greyjoy was already planning for Euron’s return, and quickly fit him into his plans.

On my part, however, I was less then pleased about Euron’s return. My father was an old man, and whatever he though of me, he would eventually die and I would succeed him, and I had no doubt that Victarion would serve me as loyally as he served my father. Euron was a different matter entirely, and if something was to happen to me, he would be succeeding my father as Lord of Pyke and the Isles. Did he really came to do his duty to his older brother, or he had more sinister plans?

My only comfort was that my sweet sister Asha was lost in a storm when she was returning to Pyke from Old Wyk. Needless to say, I shed no tears over her untimely death: I didn’t like her much even when we were children, and they way my father treats me I wouldn’t put it past him to disinherit me in her favor, and some of the rumors I have heard supported that possibility.

And so it began.

Shortly after Euron’s arrival, I was summoned to join my father and his brothers on their council. It was the day I was waiting for: at least my father gave me my due and will appoint me as one of the Iron Isles’ chief commanders!

When I entered my father’s room he was already speaking.

“…Meanwhile, you will sail to Hammerhorn,” it seemed it was Victarion who Balon was addressing, “The Drowned God saw fit to take its lord from us, and he left no heir. This castle needs a strong hand, and you will be it, until we are ready to move against the North.”

The North? So my father decided to attack Starks after all…

“Euron,” Balon continued meanwhile, “It has come to my attention that the castles along the West’s northern coast are lightly held. It was not my wish to come to swords with Lord Tywin, but it seems we need gold, and the Lannisters have it. You have the command in the West, but make sure you don’t provoke Lord Tywin… too much.”

I quickly made notes: Victarion will have the command over our operations in the North, Euron – in the West. But…

“What of me?” I asked, already feeling that I wouldn’t like the answer.

My father finally deigned to look at me.

“You were one of the boy’s scouts, were you not?”

There was no need to elaborate on what “boy” my father meant.

“Yes, I have…”

“Silence! Victarion won’t be sailing for some time yet, but Euron will be sailing with the evening tide. His job will require a certain amount of delicacy, and it is vital for him to have someone more skilled in land then most Ironborn. You will be in charge of scouting for him. That is all.”

I was indeed silent. Merely a scout? And under Euron’s command, atop of that?

“Come,” Euron said, not even looking at me, and I had no choice but to follow…

[Tywin Lannister]

“The castles of Benefort and Crag are lightly held,” I reported, with irritation, “Only their lords and their personal guard, even a child could take those.”

“Even you?” Euron’s laughing eye was on me, but there was always something malicious in his smile, malicious enough to put fright in almost any man… But I was a would-be Lord Reaper of Pyke, not just “any man”.

“Yes, even me!” I replied angrily, holding Euron’s gaze.

It seemed to amuse Euron, if anything.

“Want to prove yourself, aren’t you? Very well... Take a squad of our men, and show if you are as capable as you are eager… But want to sit in Benefort no later then tomorrow, I prefer more comfort then the camp life.”

Euron’s words took me by surprise, so much that I couldn’t hold my tongue.

“But... Why? Don’t you want the glory for yourself.”

Euron only frowned at that.

“The castles are lightly held, as you said yourself. And I have already proven myself a few… hundreds of times. These castles are nothing comparing to what I have already done, so you can as well take them, if you can.”

Euron got his wish, and tomorrow he was indeed comfortably residing in Benefort, while I was making for Castle Crag with all haste. It fell mere few days later, the castle walls are only as strong as men holding it, and of those Crag didn’t have any: only the lord with his personal guard waited for me inside, but they were quickly crushed by my superior forces.

Despite the easy victories, I was in the dark mood: taking scarcely garrisoned castle was hardly a way to prove myself as a capable commander, and meanwhile my uncle Victarion will be fighting major battles in the north. However, no sooner then I and my men settled in Castle Crag, my scouts reported that Ser Kevan Lannister, heir to Casterly Rock no less, is marching hard on Crag with a small but professional army, and though it hasn’t come to open war between my House and the Lannisters yet, his intentions were clear.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Though Ser Kevan’s army was small, I had only one squad of Ironborn raiders with me at the Crag, and I knew that chances of winning with so little men with me were slim indeed: bravery made poor substitute for numbers and heavy armor. But I was not about to let my prize go without a fight.

In desperation, I sent a fast messenger to my uncle Euron, who was still at Benefort with his men, explaining him situation and asking him to send me reinforcements. Even as I did it, I couldn’t help wondering what he would do: with me gone, only my aged father separated Euron from the Seastone Chair. However, my fears turned out to be baseless: soon two come squads of experienced Ironborn raiders joined my forces in Crag, tired from the forced march, but ready for battle nevertheless. With my force now roughly matching Kevan’s, I decided not to wait and see whether he will attack or withdraw to return later with a larger force, but rather take the battle to him. Stealing a night’s march on him, I fell upon his forces as they were encamped on the way to Crag.

It is hard to take a seasoned commander like Kevan by surprise, however, and his forces were ready for my attack, hidden in the dense forest, with all Kevan’s own standard giving away Lannisters’ position. And as we were making our way towards it, arrows began to fall like rain, but my scouts have already informed me that Kevan had a regiment of elite Westerlands longbowmen with him, and I was already prepared for that: accompanied by my personal guard I charged at the longbowmen’s position myself, and when dismounted Westerlands knights tried to take me from the flank, two squads of my Ironborn raiders charged at them, forcing them into a hard fight before they could perform their maneuver.

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Lannisters’ mounted scouts tried to attack the Ironborn raiders from the flank, but the Ironborn withheld the charge, forcing lightly armored scouts to withdraw after they have lost half of their number. Meanwhile, the third squad of Ironborn raiders came to my aid, and under our combined pressure the longbowmen broke and ran. Never losing the momentum, my force immediately turned around, taking dismounted knights who were still fighting the rest of the raiders in the back, and in a blink, Kevan’s main force was crushed.

Much like Tywin Lannister is said to do, Ser Kevan himself commanded the reserve. His timing was poor, however, and the bulk of his force was crushed before he could act, with only reserve and Kevan himself remaining. The reserve was composed of some of the best Westerlands knights, but against my now superior force, even they stood no chance.

I have sent my Ironborn raiders to attack Kevan’s reserve from the front, while I and my remaining bodyguards circled around him, taking Kevan’s force in the rear.

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The remaining Lannister men fought with grim determination, but in the heat of battle I suddenly saw Ser Kevan himself in the back of his ranks, surrounded by Lannister swords from the front but unprotected from behind. My first thought was to spur my mount and charge, but then I smiled to myself, drew my bow and notched an arrow. As if feeling the threat, Ser Kevan turned around, which was what I was waiting for: my arrow flew true, going through Ser Kevan’s eye and into the brain.

“Bull’s eye!” I said with a smirk, as the Heir to Casterly Rock fell.

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The battle was over soon, as soon as the Lannister men realized that their commander was slain, they broke and ran, but surrounded on all sides, only few of them made it.

It was a great victory indeed!

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Standing over Ser Kevan’s dead body, I absently wondered if killing Lord Tywin’s brother and heir counted as provoking him… Too much?

[Darkstar]

Great read! Nice to see another AAR started. I would start one myself if I had time to actually play.

Greyjoy and Martell are the two factions I am most looking forward to playing when the new version comes out. I think both will have a very unique feel.

[Tywin Lannister]

Great read! Nice to see another AAR started. I would start one myself if I had time to actually play.

Greyjoy and Martell are the two factions I am most looking forward to playing when the new version comes out. I think both will have a very unique feel.

...

Glad you enjoy it, this is my first attempt at writing an AAR, so comments and criticism are welcome.

And I am likewise looking forward to playing for Martell in the new version, when hopefully the “crowning of Myrcella” will be implemented and Martell princesses will be fixed.

Everything was quite for a while.

While I was in the West, the word from Pyke reached me that after a while, after setting Hammerhorn to rights and receiving some reinforcements from Pyke, my uncle Victarion finally sailed towards to the North with a rather modest force.

No one mentions it, but it is easy to realize that Greyjoys’ might isn’t as strong as we make it out to be. Our income also mainly comes from pillaging the castles we take, beside that, our modest incomes are barely enough to pay our modest troops’ salary; sadly, the days when the Ironborn fought for just a promise of glory and plunder are long gone.

Eventually, the word came that my uncle Victarion besieged Flint’s Finger, but was challenged by its much larger garrison that came out of the castle’s gate to deal with besiegers. No one can doubt uncle Victarion’s prowess as a warrior, however, and the word is that he scored a crushing victory over the defenders, seizing Flint’s Finger for House Greyjoy.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

As about me, I have considering marching on to Kayce after defeating Ser Kevan Lannister, but my scouts reported that it is held by a strong garrison – comparing to my meager force, that is – and moreover it is too close to powerful Casterly Rock to be held.

So, at the moment, I am encamped on the road to Crag, just at the new borders between Lannister and Greyjoy lands. The plan (Euron’s, in truth) is simple: wait for Lannisters’ retributive strikes and slowly decimate their forces. The plan worked splendidly – thanks to my commanding and fighting skills, needless to say – and I scored another great victory over the Lannisters.

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After that Lannister finally took me seriously, and sent hosts against me at once, each roughly equal to my own in numbers.

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What Lannisters didn’t take into account, however, was that my force was composed of elite Ironborn raiders, while their were made of newly-recruited infantry and archers, and I defeated the Lannister force handily, scoring another great victory for my House.

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After that I was forced to temporary fall back to Crag; my army was getting worn down by continuing attacks from the Lannisters, and furthermore, my scouts reported that another Lannister host is coming my way. In Crag, I refitted two of my battered squads of Ironborn with new recruits, and was also received a new squad sent from my father in Pyke; my father seems to have finally recognized me as a commander in my own right, not just a “scout”, even though I was still officially serving under my uncle Euron’s command.

And so, with my force replenished, I made camp near Castle Crag, awaiting the arrival of Lannister host…

[Tywin Lannister]

As I expected, the new Lannister host was soon spotted approaching Crag, but it was no match for my revitalized forces.

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But it wasn’t long when my scouts spotted yet another Lannister host moving on Crag… It suddenly occurred to me that Tywin must have been really angry over his brother’s death, to throw his forces against me like this. This thought brought a smile to my lips: it would seem that the loss of his brother made one the Westros’ best generals stupid.

Fighting almost became a routine for me by now, and the results of the newest encounter were predictable…

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By then, battles actually started to get more boring the exciting… Did I become really good in making war? I suppose so.

My orders were to hold Castle Crag, but while they didn’t include raids into Lannisters’ territory, they didn’t specifically forbid it either… So, I decided, why not add some excitement to my duty?

Once said, it was as good as done; the next day I crossed unofficial borders between Greyjoy and Lannister lands, and was almost immediately challenged by their border patrol. It seemed that my fame was going ahead of me now, for the enemies broke into a rout just after the first charge of me and my elite force. Needless to say, I chased and killed almost all of them…

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It was that battle that finally brought me the fame I always wanted… Maybe not as a noblest of commanders, but then again, it is better to be feared then to live and die unknown.

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[Tywin Lannister]

Despite an excellent beginning, my raid didn’t end in the way I like, and I must say, I underestimated Lannisters as they have once underestimated me. As I was slowly making my way back to Crag, I was suddenly caught by a massive Lannister host, over a thousand men strong, against my mere two hundreds.

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Even I couldn’t hope to prevail against such odds, and I had to… strategically withdraw, suffering significant losses in the process.

I was able to make my way back to Crag in the end, and fortunately, Lannisters choose not to pursue me, apparently not daring to send their host against such a talented commander as me. On my part, I was able to replenish my losses by recruiting new men in Crag, and was even able to find enough experienced warriors to preserve elite status of my army. I decided against another raid into Lannister territory, however, instead turning my attention to King’s Landing, where I already had my eyes and ears…

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King Joffrey, the first of his name… I recall him from back when we have met in Winterfall, years ago now. Back then, who would have thought that he will actually turn out to be more then a capable ruler?

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[Tywin Lannister]

Finally, the day I was waiting for has come!

My trusted agent in King’s Landing reported that King Joffrey’s sister, Myrcella Baratheon has come of age, and if his reports are to be believed, she has grown up into a woman as beautiful as she promised to be.

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I must say that decision to tie myself with House Baratheon was a political one, though Princess Myrcella’s beauty definitely sweetened the offer, despite all those rumors Lord Stannis has spread about her being born of incest.

Needless to say, by then I have already had my trusted friend and ambassador, of noble House Volmark, no less, near Stoney Sept, where Princess Myrcella went for some reason.

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Facing enemies at almost every directly, King Joffrey predictably jumped at the opportunity for an alliance with such a resourceful leader as myself (yes, I already view myself as Lord of Pyke, my father has only a few years left, hopefully, and through friends and paid agents my influence on the Isles has grown considerably in the few last years).

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The marriage was held in the Great Sept of Baelor in King’s Landing, not the choice my uncle Aeron approved of, but the marriage in the heart of the realm only helped to solidify my reputation and influence, and I am not longer a princeling to kneel at some dour priest’s command.

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In the face of my marriage to his niece, Lord Tywin was forced to make peace with my house, however grudgingly. This served me well enough, because I was foreseeing a conflict with Starks in the near future, as House Stark grows increasingly more powerful and seems to be looking at Flint’s Finger, held by my uncle Victarion, hungrily.

[stormbringer951]

Hehehe. Congratulations.

[Tywin Lannister]

Hehehe. Congratulations.

Thanks...

But alliance with the King didn’t come without a price, though. No sooner then I wed pretty Myrcella then her brother demanded that I take arms against his enemies, most specifically – the Tyrells, who were said to move against King’s Landing with a powerful host.

My scouts located their host and brought me grim news, not only their numbers were many, but also the Tyrell host was commanded by none other then Randyll Tartly himself, one of the best commanders in Westros.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

But this challenge was also an opportunity, because Randyll Tarly was said to wield a sword made of Valyrian steel called Heartsbane, which I immediately desired as my own. Immediately amassing an army in Crag, and receiving more men from my father at Pyke and my uncle Euron at Banefort, I got ready for march.

There was one difficulty, however: the way to Tyrell lands and King’s Landing went through Lannister lands, and they would hardly allow an army to pass through their lands unchallenged. And starting a war against the king’s in-laws would surely make our alliance crumble.

The situation was saved by my trusted friend Triston Volmark, who met up with Tyrek Lannister, who became the heir to Casterly Rock after his uncle’s untimely death, and managed to convince him to vouch for alliance between our Houses and allow my army a passage through Lannister lands. However, due to past… incidents between our Houses, the Lannisters’ friendship didn’t come cheaply…

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But all expenses were quickly forgotten when I am my army were finally on the move, marching against a worthy enemy for once!

[Tywin Lannister]

However, as I marched, Randyll Tarly suddenly turned his army around, as if he somehow knew that I was coming after him, and instead of proceeding to King’s Landing like I expected, he fell back to heavily garrisoned settlement of Stoney Sept.

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It was definitely not enough to change my mind, but once again I was facing superior enemy forces… Still, determined to put an end to the best Tyrell general and take Heartsbane for my own, I proceed to fall upon Tyrell forces from the south, decisively winning the first battle and laying siege to Stoney Sept itself.

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I expected that Randyll Tarly, whose army was camping just outside Stoney Sept will try to lift the siege, and then… I wasn’t sure if my strength will be enough to defeat his forces and kill Randyll Tarly himself, but the best I could do was to try.

But Randyll Tarly surprised me once again. Instead on confronting me, he struck to the south giving battle to Sandor Clegane who was approaching from the side of King’s Landing with his army, forcing his army into a rout and reportedly killing Sandor himself.

Meanwhile, my newly-made allies, the Lannisters, stormed Tully castle of Pinkmaiden that was a short distance from Stoney Sept, killing Lord Edmure Tully, who was holding that castle himself.

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Though it was definitely a great victory for Greyjoy-Baratheon-Lannister alliance, it nevertheless made me uneasy… Should the Tullys fall, will Lord Tywin remember the not-so-old slights, and will Greyjoy lands become his next target?

Regardless, my current priority was Randyll Tarly.

Wasting no time, I took Stony Sept and put a torch to it, after which proceeded after Randyll Tarly and his host, who was apparently making it for King’s Landing after defeating Sandor Clegane in the field.

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Unfortunately, from all reports, Randyll Tarly had more men then I did, and many of those were elite knights of the Reach and personal guard of his sub-commanders, of whom he had more then was usually required. My own forces, on the other hand, took losses in two battles I have fought, but there seemed to be no way to replenish them: returning back to Crag would take a long time, and no one knew what would happen during it.

But still, I press forward, counting that Joffrey’s men will regroup and do their part for defeating Tyrell host.

[Orko]

Haha nice! I like Greyjoys, though I hate them

[Exarch]

I DEMAND MOAR!!!!