A/N: Cleaning up the Iron Islands.
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By the time all is said and done, the battles over with and the Ironborn subjugated across every stinking rock in their little island chain… the Iron Islands are a complete and utter mess.
This, Axel Baratheon decides, is not necessarily a bad thing. Nor was it entirely unexpected either. The Iron Islands needed a change. The Ironborn needed a change. And there wasn't going to be a better time to help things along than right now, all things considered.
Thanks to his Kraken, Euron Greyjoy didn't just have popular support among the Ironborn, he'd had damn near unanimous support. That means Axel doesn't have to play nice. Each and every Ironborn Noble who survived this pissing contest of a war is a traitor to the Seven Kingdoms.
Not that many did survive anyways. The war might have been swift, with just two major battles at sea and on land if one was counting the sacking of Lannisport and the siege of Casterly Rock. However, because of the way their culture worked, Ironborn Nobles were almost universally also Ironborn Captains.
When Axel had singlehandedly wiped out more than half of Euron Greyjoy's fleet at sea, he'd also wiped out most of the Ironborn 'nobility' in the process. And since many of them had their sons serving under them or captaining their own boats, he'd actually wiped out entire Noble Houses in some cases.
On top of that, the Ironborn did not like to surrender, even when faced with an unbeatable foe apparently. Oh, there had been some who had broken from the sight of Euron's Kraken impaled on Castle Pyke's tallest tower. Especially when the subsequent invasion force stormed their fortifications in mere minutes with Axel's assistance. However, most had fought to the death, and in doing so cleared out even more of the problem for him.
This ultimately left Axel with a couple thousand men who could claim to be 'true Ironborn' in the face of what had once been tens of thousands. And far, far less could be said to have ever captained a ship or led an Ironborn House. The bodies from his sinking of so much of their fleet were already said to be washing up on the shores of Pyke and other nearby islands, and likely would be for quite a long time to come.
And so Axel comes to find himself holding court from the Seastone Chair, an immense block of oily black stone carved into the shape of a kraken. He sits upon it like the conqueror he is and judges the men brought before him one by one. Most face the headman's block. Some are allowed to go to the Wall to take the Black. None escape without some sort of punishment though.
Until eventually, Axel finds himself before an assembled mass of men. Some of them, a very scant few, are Ironborn. But most are his people, crowding the hall and surrounding said Ironborn survivors on all sides.
Some of those people are from the Mountain Clans of the Vale that he's brought with him, specifically the Moon Brothers and the Milk Snakes. They've already been gifted some of the emptied out lands here in the Iron Islands after signaling that they wanted to stick around and try their hands at fishing and sailing.
Axel wasn't sure if they were going to be able to make something of their new islands. But in the end, that was up to them. Whether the Moon Brothers and the Milk Snakes could actually prosper here on the Iron Islands or not was entirely in their own hands at this point, though Axel of course wished the two clans the best of luck all the same.
Everyone, whether they're his men or not, looks to him with either reverence or fear in their eyes though. There's pockets of disbelief here and there, as though they cannot trust what their own eyes saw… but Axel doesn't really care. He knows they're too afraid to try anything.
Finally rising from the Seastone Chair, he stands before them all, towering over them as his eyes sweep across the room. He considers floating for a moment for added effect and can even feel how easy it would be to let himself do so… but no, for the moment he stays on the ground.
"Now that all individual punishments have been handed out, I have a number of decrees to make. It has been a long time since the Ironborn followed the Old Ways. Three hundred years have passed since Aegon the Conqueror killed Harren Hoare at the burning of Harrenhal and ended your ancient traditions of reaving and plundering."
There's some shifting from foot to foot at that. Some scowling too, from the few Ironborn in the Castle. But they hold their tongues all the same, knowing better than to speak right now. Axel pins them with his gaze all the same, staring them each down until they look away.
"… And yet, Aegon didn't go far enough, did he? For all that the histories claim you lot became more civilized after his conquest, the truth is… you're still trying to go back. Three hundred years and you're still trying to bring back the Old Ways. Still talking about us 'Greenlanders' and how we're 'weak' for not paying the Iron Price for our survival."
Axel lets a smile creep across his face. He takes a purposefully menacing step forward and is amused when every Ironborn arrayed in front of him takes a step back. He scoffs at them derisively before asking a question.
"Am I weak? I, Axel Baratheon, First of His Name, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms! AM. I. WEAK?!"
His roar shakes the castle walls for a moment before things quiet back down. Nobody dares to question him.
"Feel free to step forward and challenge me! Many of your kin have died by my hand at this point, after all! Including your so-called King. Euron Greyjoy, King of the Iron Islands, Bringer of the Old Ways! And for what?! To get the lot of you killed?! To lead you to ruin just like his brother Balon before him?!"
Axel spits on the floor to show how he feels about both men. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Theon bristle. Asha though… Asha is silent. Thoughtful. When he meets her gaze, he gives her a meaningful look and a single arched eyebrow. In response, she just nods to him. Very well then, if that's what she wants…
"The first of my decrees is simple! The practice of thralldom ends today! There will never be another 'thrall' on the Iron Islands for as long as I live!"
That causes far more of a stir among the Ironborn in the hall. And yet, still none of them are willing to speak up. Funny how war works… when all is said and done, all that are left behind are the cowards.
"There are men who will try to tell me that a thrall is not a slave! That a thrall is no man's property! I DISAGREE!"
Again, his raised voice causes the stone walls to shake. Axel sneers at the Ironborn, snarling as he glares them all down.
"There is no place for slavery in MY Seven Kingdoms. And therefore, there is no place for thralls either!"
A cheer starts up at that. Not from the Ironborn of course, but from his own men. Men of Westeros, men of honor, men who despise slavery just as much as Axel does. For three hundred years, the Targaryens allowed the Ironborn to get away with their own personal form of slavery in all but name. His father did too, despite putting down Balon Greyjoy's Rebellion.
No more. For as long as Axel lived, no more. As well…
"Which brings me to my second decree. The taking of salt wives is over, effectively immediately!"
That does it. Finally, one of the silent Ironborn breaks rank.
"What?! You can't-!"
Axel blurs across the hall faster than most eyes can track, coming to a stop in front of the man who dared to speak up. His hand grips the Ironborn's shoulder as his sudden appearance mere inches from the warrior's face causes the words to catch on his tongue as he stares, wide eyed and fearful.
The King's voice, when it comes, is soft as silk yet nevertheless echoes through the otherwise silent hall, reaching the ears of every man and woman standing around him.
"You don't know the half of what I can and can't do. Do you think you've seen the depth of my power? Do you think your Would-Be King and his Pet were enough to even make me break a sweat?"
When the Ironborn just trembles in Axel's grasp, the King smiles.
"Go on. Try me. I see the dagger you smuggled in here under your shirt. Draw it. Stab me through. I give you permission."
For a second, he really believes the man will try for it. He is Ironborn after all. But in the end, cowardice wins out and he stays frozen in terror. Axel scoffs and pushes him back forcibly after a moment, into the arms of loyal knights who will see him imprisoned for daring to smuggle a weapon into this meeting. For that crime, they will probably have yet another Ironborn man on his way to the Wall soon enough.
Turning back to the rest, Axel just shrugs, smirking.
"As I was saying… there will be no further salt wives. No further blood sacrifices to the Drowned God either."
He was tempted to outlaw worship of the Drowned God altogether. Especially after his conversation with Euron. But in the end, Axel had decided there were limits to what even he could get away with this early, especially given what he was planning on doing next.
If he really wanted to leave the Drowned God with no worshippers this side of Westeros, than he would end life on the Iron Islands entirely, killing the rest of the Ironborn and transporting everyone else such as the thralls and salt wives back to the mainland where they might return to their families or find new lives.
But… no. While he would still be making sure that any former thralls or salt wives who wanted to return to their families were allowed to do so, he was also trying to make an effort to leave some semblance of civilization on these god forsaken islands intact.
Why? Because Asha wanted them. And he had always been a sucker for a pretty face.
"Ah! But it's not all bad news, my good sers!"
Axel claps his hands together with a wide, toothy grin stretching from ear to ear as he makes his way back to the Seastone Chair and sits back down upon it. Again, his sheer size allows him to dominate the pitch black chair like the conqueror he is.
"House Greyjoy has served as the Lords of the Iron Islands for generations. And while Euron, Victarion, and Aeron Greyjoy all turned out to be traitors… Balon Greyjoy's last two remaining children remained loyal to their King, as well as the Iron Throne."
Theon pushes his way forward at that, looking expectant and eager. But Axel shuts him down with a raised hand. Truthfully, he doesn't necessarily want to ruin the other man's day like this. But at the same time… if Theon really thought Axel was just going to give this to him, he hadn't been paying attention.
"On one hand, we have Balon Greyjoy's last surviving son… who has in turn been raised in Winterfell as a ward to Lord Eddard Stark since the age of ten."
There's a flinch from Theon at that, even as murmuring breaks out among the assembled Ironborn in the hall. It's not exactly positive murmuring, from what Axel can tell. Still, he just smiles widely, pretending not to notice.
"Lord Stark is one of the most honorable men I know. And the North does not breed weakness. I'm confident that Theon Greyjoy has learned quite a lot of valuable lessons in the North, and that he will be a loyal subject to the Iron Throne for as long as he lives."
Those words have Theon puffing up his chest in pride, making it clear that the man still had no idea how to read the room. Axel's words might mean something to the knights and lords that he's brought with him from the mainland, but to the few remaining Ironborn? They're already judging Theon harshly. Already looking down on him for his 'weakness', albeit silently.
Letting his smile morph into a grin, Axel gestures with his other hand.
"On the other hand, we have Balon's only daughter. Asha Greyjoy, a Captain in her own right who has grown up here among you and has been sailing her own ship for a decade now. She came to King's Landing at her father's request, to investigate rumors of Euron's insidious plotting. Of all of you, she is the only Ironborn Captain to keep her crew loyal to their King. She was smart enough to choose the winning side."
"But… but she's a woman!"
The outraged outburst doesn't come from one of the Ironborn in the hall. Or rather, not one of the ones who Axel is currently speaking to. Instead, its Theon Greyjoy who points out that rather obvious fact, incredulous and frustrated as he gestures to Asha. Asha, who has stepped forward by this point wordlessly, presenting herself for all to see. Head held high, chin jutting out, she glares at everyone assembled… but she glares at her brother most of all.
Axel just grins wider.
"Yes. She is a woman, isn't she? A female Captain among the Ironborn is rare, but not entirely unheard of. A Lady Reaper of Pyke though… now that's never been done before, has it?"
Theon looks gobsmacked. The other Ironborn look uncomfortable. Axel once again rises from the Seastone Chair, crossing his arms over his broad chest as he looks down at all of them. His sneer transforms into a wicked grin after a moment of silence.
"We're going to do something that you lot should have done when Euron first snuck back here to kill his brother and usurp this stupid throne! We're going to have a Kingsmoot!"
Shock ripples through the hall at that proclamation. But of course, Axel isn't done.
"Of course, the only candidates allowed to make their cases will be Theon and Asha Greyjoy. And it won't just be the Captains who get a vote. Every last living soul who still calls the Iron Islands home and intends to stay here after I'm gone will be allowed to vote in this Kingsmoot. Including former thralls and salt wives."
Ironborn Men bristle indignantly at this… and yet, none make a move to try and take a stand after the last example. Axel just chuckles at their impotent anger.
"And yes. I'm well aware that I'm perverting your traditions while at the same time tearing them down. In case it wasn't obvious, that was the point. And in case you lot needed another lesson…"
Axel finally gives into the urge and flies. Specifically, he flies straight up through the stone above his head, breaking right through it and coming out into the open sky above the castle. It takes only a moment of his time to find what he's looking for and once he's extracted it, he flies back down through the hole in the ceiling that he's made.
Everyone barely has a chance to react to his departure. The falling stones from his ascent only just manage to beat him back to the ground before he arrives among them again, holding his grisly prize aloft in one hand. Contemptuously, Axel tosses the glossy orb, bigger than his head, to the floor at the feet of the assembled Ironborn.
He smiles as they slowly realize what they're looking at… one of the eyeballs of the massive Kraken Corpse that even now lays draped over Castle Pyke. It's a solid reminder of just how powerful Axel truly is.
Bringing his hands together in a loud clap that rattles the castle's walls, Axel draws their attention back to him.
"Right then. Get to work."
They scurry to do his bidding and Axel spares one last look to Asha in the process. He won't just hand the position to her… but they both know he's stacked the deck in her favor all the same. Her only competition is her soft brother, after all. If she can't win against Theon, then she doesn't deserve to be the first Lady Reaper of Pyke, plain and simple.
… But in the end, they both know how this is going to go.
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A/N: And there you have it. Axel definitely isn't taking it easy on the Ironborn, but because of Asha's ambitions he doesn't go full scorched earth like he could have. He really is a sucker for a sexy bitch who can fight~
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