2ND Month of 285 A.C. Pyke
Eddard Stark
The war, be it this one or the last one seemed to have been going on for so long that Ned had forgotten what it was like to have peace and prosperity. And to not have to worry about whether or not someone would try and come and kill him in the night, he longed for a chance to know his wife and his son, and the new child that Catelyn said she was carrying, whom if his memory served him right would be born within the next moon or so. Gods he wanted to be there for the birth and he wanted to hold his child in his arms and see him or her. He wanted this war to end and he wanted an end to the fighting and the killing. Pendric Hills and Nunn's Deep had been bloody affairs, and Ned had spent many a sleepless night tossing and turning over the scene in his head as more and more men died from the trap that he and his goodfather had orchestrated. So many men had died during those two battles simply because Balon Greyjoy wanted to re-establish the Ironborn as a power to be reckoned with, a dream that was surely in the old times and then age of heroes.
The battle of Lannisport had been a bloody affair as well, though Ser Jaime and Lord Triston had succeeded in their plan to remove Victarion Greyjoy the Ironborn inside the city had proven a stubborn lot. Fighting to the bitter end and proving time and again why they were regarded as such fierce fighters. There had been a fair few occasions where Ned had genuinely wondered if perhaps he might meet his end here in Lannisport. And he had thanked the old gods when that had not happened, such a reprieve and the thoughts of his wife and children had given him the strength to keep pushing through the fighting and go through the pain. Eventually they had managed to get the Ironborn to surrender, led by one Edrich Harlaw who claimed to be Lord Rodrik Harlaw's son, they bent the knee and accepted the terms Ned's father had sent along with him.
Once that had been achieved, they had boarded the ships of the Royal Fleet and the Redwyne Fleet and had sailed for the Iron Islands. Dividing themselves up as to whom would lead the assaults on various islands, Ned had taken command of the assault on Pyke and Lordsport, whilst Tywin Lannister had taken command of the assault on Old Wyk, Ser Arthur Dayne the assault on Great Wyk. The fleet had divided then and headed off to the respective places the commanders were due. As they had neared Pyke a fleet of ships some thirty strong had come charging out of the docks and come to attack them, the fighting had been quick and fierce and ended with many and more men dead and the Ironborn ships destroyed. This though somewhat shocking had allowed them to land in Lordsport without too much delay or hassle. The town of Lordsport was manned to the brim with men bearing the Kraken of House Greyjoy and the Silver Fish of House Botley, who had come charging down the minute Ned and his men had landed.
It had been a fierce fight alright, Ned was still remembering it even now, and the men of House Greyjoy and House Botley were determined to make their steps to the island of Pyke proper as difficult as possible. Ned had killed more than one man in a three on one situation, having Ser Mark Ryswell with him only seemed to make him more of a target, and so they had pushed on and eventually managed to break through the rabble of men who had attacked them. Ned had even slain Lord Sawane Botley and his eldest brother Germund Botley both of whom were fierce fighters and men who had put up a good fight. From there they had marched through onto mainland Pyke and so this was where the true fighting began. The Ironborn whom Ned and his men met here were far more fierce and determined than the men who had met them upon their landing and it showed.
More than once during the course of the battle, Ned found himself ducking and kneeling, avoiding the swings of men who came charging at him through the dim of battle. Ned wheeled round avoiding another swing of an axe, and with a quick thrust and parry managed to break through his attacker's defences. Another swing and a slash and the man was dead. His sword was starting to glimmer with blood, but still he pushed on. The chaos of the battle was something Ned would remember for many years to come, but right now all he could think of was not ending up as dead as Dorren Wull one of his guards who had just been speared through the chest. Ned used his determination to continue through the pain and the tiredness that was this battle and swung his sword again and again, cutting through the men that were still streaming through the gaps in the walls and the cracks in the rocks that they had tried to take account of. By the gods there were so many of them, it was actually quite terrifying.
Ned knows his goodfather and the Riverlords have brought siege equipment with them and that they are attacking from the eastern side and as such this encourages Ned to bark a command for a wolf's head formation. The formation gives him a chance to assess how many more men they can truly afford to lose- a thought that makes him somewhat sick to think on- before the victory becomes too costly. After doing a quick calculation in his head he barks for his men to form up and then waits as the Ironborn continue to stream down, he counts, one, two, three, four, five, more men are coming down now the frontline is beginning to break under the strain, six, seven, more men are dying now, eight, nine, Howland Reed is knocked unconscious in front of him, ten. "Howl." Ned roars and his men charge with their full might, Ned ensuring that Howland is not completely trampled. They begin swinging their swords like mad, hacking away and cutting. Ducking, dodging, it is a bloodbath on they go swinging and slashing. More and more men are killed and culled. The sounds of walls breaking tells Ned that his goodfather has been successful. He barks another command and soon enough he and his men are heading towards the Great Keep of Pyke.
The Great Keep looks a ruin when Ned and his men come to it, there are men pouring out of it, and women and children as well. He tries not to think on how many of them will be culled during the fighting and pushes on his men following him. Mark is by his side when the krakens begin pushing hard at their centre. By the grace of the gods they manage to repel them, though Ned takes several nasty cuts to his arms and his chest, which begins to ache as they move forward. Ned can just about see Mark's own spatter of wounds as well and knows that sometime soon they are going to have to get themselves looked at. The push through into the main part of the Great Keep continues, and as the Ironborn fight and die in great droves, Ned truly feels as if he is going to throw up but somehow manages to push the urge down.
It is an absolute blood bath, that much Ned knows and as he looks around him, he sees the bodies piling up and begins wondering if all of this fighting is truly worth it, the Ironborn were never going to learn how to bend the knee for long, if at all. Perhaps leaving them to their own devices would be for the best. But as he saw more and more of his men begin to falter, he shook that thought from his mind, it was time to push their advantage and kill these damn bastards before they could push them any further. On they went through the damaged halls and walls that made up the keep through the wreckage, until they arrive at the Great Hall of Pyke. Pushing through the double doors to the hall, where they find a man sat stooped on the Seastone Chair. The man looks at them disdain in his voice. "Have you come to take me to King's Landing to bend the knee to that babe?"
Ned steps forward and removes his helm. "Balon Greyjoy, I Eddard Stark in the name of King Jonothor Targaryen, King of the Seven Kingdoms and Lord Protector of the Realm do hereby demand your surrender."
The man looks at him amused. "You are demanding I surrender to a child? What have you become wolf boy? You are not a man, you are a puppet."
"Mind how you speak to Lord Eddard Kraken." Ser Mark growls.
"Oh? And what are you going to do if I insult the wolf boy? He is no match for me, nor are you. I am Balon Greyjoy, the Drowned God's chosen. And I will not bend willingly." The man replied.
Ned stepped forward then, but before he could speak Triston Farwynd stepped forward and nearly charged at the chair. "You will bend the knee or I will kill you, you bastard. You took my family from me and now I will take yours from you!"
Greyjoy seems completely taken aback by the appearance of Triston and he stutters. "What are you doing here? My brothers said you were dead. All of you were supposed to be dead."
Farwynd smiles then and says. "Well they clearly failed did they not? I am alive, and I have a gift for you." The lad takes out a necklace that Maron Greyjoy had been wearing and throws it at Greyjoy before saying. "Your son Maron's necklace. I killed him myself. Your sons are dead, as are your brothers. They will be here no more. You are done Greyjoy."
Greyjoy looks at the necklace and then at Farwynd then to Ned. There is grief written all over his face and then. "I….I…."
"You are a dead man either way Lord Greyjoy. Come down now and accept your fate or be dragged to King's Landing like a cur." Ned says his voice cold.
Greyjoy stands then and it is on shaky legs that he walks down towards where Ned is he merely looks at him and says. "Get it over and done with Stark. I do not want to become a mere puppet of some child."
Ned looks at the man and then at Triston who he knows is dying for the chance to get his own back at the man. He sighs and then says. "You shall not be killed by me, but by the man who you have dealt a grave insult to. Triston Farwynd shall kill you in the name of the king."
Greyjoy's eyes widen then and as he is carried away by two men from House Flint of Flint's Fingers, Ned knows the man will never see daylight again. He looks at the sea stone chair and ponders what is to happen next. As it turned out there was much that needed to be done before they could return home, Old Wyk and Great Wyk were quick to submit when they found the arrival of Tywin Lannister and the sword of the morning with sizeable hosts at their doors. Harlaw and Blacktyde were next to submit, Saltcliffe held out for a little while but when the thralls of the island revolted and had House Sunderly driven to extinction, the island surrendered soon enough. Orkmont surrendered as well when the threat of a thrall uprising became apparent. After that the other islands soon enough surrendered and bent the knee. A
As for Balon Greyjoy whilst Ned was not sure he truly wanted to know how the man had died, his head was soon mounted on a spike above the remains of Pyke. Triston Farwynd had also managed to get out from the man that his grandson and his gooddaughter were on Lonely Light, and when Ned sent word to the Light they were only too happy to comply and return the woman and her child. There was much deliberation over what to do with the babe and its mother as well as the two remaining children of Balon Greyjoy and eventually it was decided that the girl Asha would go to Riverrun with Lord Hoster, whilst the boy Theon would come with Ned to Winterfell. As for the new Lord of the Islands baby Harwyn Greyjoy would foster in King's Landing on order of Ned's father. Lord Rickard also asked for Lord Rodrik Harlaw to come to King's Landing as well, and Ned as well. Upon returning to the mainland that was.
There was much feasting and celebrating done by the men, a roaring feast was under way and Ned had retreated to grounds of the Great Keep to get some peace. It was there he found young Triston Farwynd. The man looked deep in thought. "Are you going to join me or just stand there my lord?" Farwynd asked.
Ned sits down next to the man and says. "I did not wish to disturb you Lord Triston. Though I must admit I am surprised you are not inside enjoying the revelry."
The lad smiles somewhat and says. "Aye, but I have lost my appetite for such things since my family died. I thought slaying the Greyjoys would bring me joy, but it has brought me nothing but dreams that I do not know the answer to."
Ned considers this a moment and then says. "It takes time for wounds to heal both mental and physical my lord. Over time, you should begin to feel better and not grieve so much, but now, now I believe you are hurting and that is only natural. You did yourself proud though during this war, and I am sure my father will be more than willing to reward you for your service."
The lad's face takes on a thoughtful look to it then. "I… I do not wish to return to where my family once lived. There are too many ghosts there and there are things there that none should have to look at again. If it were agreeable with you and your father I would like to come north and earn my way."
Ned is somewhat taken aback by this and says. "I am surprised by the request I will admit but I shall definitely speak to my father about it when we return to King's Landing." The lad nods and then gets up and leaves.
A few days later the successful army of the Iron Throne boards the ships of the royal fleet and the Redwyne Fleet and returns back to King's Landing, where more celebrations await them.