novelGlobal Chapter 407 – Harlaw.
Chapter 407 – Harlaw.
[Chapter Size: 3500 Words.]
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Third Person POV
Harlaw, 300 AC.
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The fleet had split after Blacktyde, and part of it arrived at Harlaw sometime later; it was early afternoon as the ships covered the entire horizon of Harlaw's harbor, advancing at full speed toward the island.
This time, they no longer needed to attempt a hidden attack. Blacktyde had been used more to organize the troops and assess the situation of the Iron Islands. They needed some time to plan how they would attack the next islands, and now there was no reason to delay attacks, so they moved forward with an open, direct assault in the middle of the day.
Rodrik Harlaw, also known as "the Reader," stepped out onto the balcony at one of the openings in his fortress upon hearing his bells ringing, signaling enemies in sight.
His eyes widened; the harbor was already in turmoil, immediately preparing for battle, as he saw more than one hundred and fifty ships advancing at full speed toward the port, flying banners with the snowflake.
"They are here… what are they doing here?!" Rodrik spoke, his voice nearly failing.
How could he not be somewhat afraid? The banner would never be unrecognizable. He had feared this day would come from the moment Balon declared himself for the second time. These were not ordinary banners.
He had always been a peacemaker. He never wanted this war that Balon desired. Lord Harlaw spoke of the threats on the day he was summoned to Pyke for the beginning of the second rebellion, but Balon refused to listen.
Balon claimed that his ships were much larger than in the first rebellion — more than eight hundred of them would conquer the entire continent, attacking the very men who had given him the chance to grow stronger, and now that the kingdoms were in civil war among themselves, it would be much easier.
'They won't be Baratheon, Lannister, Stark, Redwyne, or any other banners that will strike our ships this time, my king...' Harlaw tried to argue: 'Do you think those people beyond the Wall in the North won't appear? Pyke will be the first to be struck by them!'
'Nonsense! We have never fought them, but you can be sure the Drowned God will bless us. Nothing can defeat the Greyjoys and the Iron Islands at sea!' The salt priest stood beside the king as Balon nodded, satisfied with those words.
Harlaw saw that he had no voice there and that no one would listen to him. He remembered very well what they had done to the Blacktyde heir, who refused to follow orders to rebel against the Seven Kingdoms and ended up letting his uncle rule after returning to Blacktyde while remaining faithfully devoted to the Seven, having learned his lesson when he was given as a hostage to Oldtown for many years.
And Harlaw was also alone within his family. His son was ready to fight, unlike his father. He took the family's Valyrian steel sword, Nightfall, and had been leading several raids on the continent in recent years. Harlaw could do nothing, only sigh, watching his son act like a fool who could lead them to their deaths.
And now his greatest fears were truly coming to pass.
"How did they get here without anyone knowing? How are they coming from the North?" The maester came running behind the lord. Harlaw had no way to answer those questions, but coming from those people, there was no doubt that such things were possible.
His son was at the port at that moment. He immediately sent a man to call him, but he doubted he would come. He would fight and defend.
Several archers were already preparing to fire flaming arrows at the ships.
"My lord, there are too many ships! We are not prepared for something like this!" the maester spoke again, his voice trembling.
Jon's reports about the order of maesters had not reached the Iron Islands, because Jon did not think it necessary. He knew they would basically be destroyed, to the point that almost nothing of them would remain. There was no need for dialogue between the lords and rulers of those islands.
"I know… I am waiting for them to call my son. We must surrender, as we did twelve years ago," Harlaw murmured.
"The men certainly won't like that," the maester warned.
"I know… but it is better than being killed." Lord Harlaw said.
In the next moment, an explosive sound echoed from the ships that were still some distance away at sea. Lord Harlaw and the maester lifted their heads as they saw small objects flying through the air in the distance, before beginning to fall directly into the harbor.
"By the gods…", Lord Harlaw merely murmured, his eyes reflecting green glimmers.
The explosion came in the next instant.
BOOOOOMMM!!!
Fire rose in every direction, destroying the entire harbor. Soon after came the sound, followed by the tremor, making even the fortress shake. The explosion consumed everything, as men were swallowed by the flames.
"By the gods!" the maester trembled.
Harlaw was on the ground. As he opened his eyes, they widened at the sight of the entire harbor burning in green flames.
"This… is the most feared power of the sea…", he murmured.
Stories of entire pirate fleets being wiped out in the west had reached the Iron Islands, but they had never seen it. It was the first time they witnessed wildfire being launched by scorpions — giant harpoons with cylinders ready to explode.
All of Harlaw's harbor defenses had been annihilated in an instant, and there would certainly be no morale left to continue mounting a defense.
The ships now had nothing stopping them from reaching the harbor. As they advanced, the ironborn continued to gather with their commanders, trying to give orders.
Lord Harlaw went to the castle courtyard as soon as he learned that his son had been brought from the port. He was injured — his right arm was burned. His sword could no longer even be held, being carried by another man at his side.
"Father… those demons…", the young man of 21 namedays seemed frightened.
Harlaw sighed. "This is what I feared since Balon began this rebellion," he murmured carefully.
"At this moment, the ships are reaching the harbor. What should we do?" one of his men asked.
"How many men are we talking about, more or less?" Harlaw asked the commander.
"I was there with your son, but we can't say for sure. We saw some very large men standing out on the decks of the ships — they must be those giants we've heard about. They must have six or seven thousand men… I can't say for certain. But if that's true… we're in serious trouble here."
"If they launch those weapons at the castle, the walls will turn to dust, my lord," another murmured, afraid.
"I know the defenses of our castle won't withstand those men from the North… but I'm still frustrated. How did they get here without anyone knowing? Blacktyde should have seen them. What happened up there?" Lord Harlaw murmured.
He didn't even have time to think much further. "Go to the harbor. Tell them we are willing to negotiate our surrender."
He said this to one of the commanders, who nodded, taking his horse and riding through the open gate of the fortress, heading toward the city and the ruined harbor while the flames still burned.
A gas was released directly from the ships into the burning harbor, extinguishing the flames immediately and opening the way for the ships to finally begin docking. The arcticans disembarked, led by Jon, as he observed the enemy formation.
"With me!" the king shouted. His men followed him, as he put on his helmet and advanced with shield and sword.
"We need to reorganize! Follow the king!"
They moved together, forming lines, staying behind the king as they entered the streets, dividing the forces slightly but advancing as Jon found most of the ironborn gathered in the center of the city.
The army marched toward them, stopping at five streets that led to the square.
A man on horseback approached with a flag of peace.
There were about six or seven thousand men already in the city. Harlaw's army did not have even a thousand there in the city, perhaps another half thousand inside the castle.
"We are here to negotiate our surrender," the man on horseback moved closer. "In the name of Lord Harlaw."
Jon stared through the slits of his helmet, his green eyes fixed on the man. The gleam in his gaze did not suggest he was willing to accept any surrender.
That made the man flinch slightly.
"There is no surrender for the ironborn. Not in the North, not in Blacktyde, nor here in Harlaw. Attack!!" Jon exclaimed.
All the men prepared themselves, frightening the ironborn.
"Rangers, fire!" the commander advanced.
A volley of arrows surged forward from behind the infantry. The ironborn widened their eyes as they saw the rain of arrows coming toward them.
The man on horseback was struck in the neck and fell, agonizing. More ironborn were hit, dying or left severely wounded.
"Now save the arrows for the fugitives! Infantry, with me!" Jon shouted.
He advanced immediately toward the front lines. The men tried to retreat as they saw their companions falling on all sides, still with arrows embedded in their bodies.
Jon advanced. Arya and Jorelle were at his side, as well as many members of the royal guard.
Quickly, he began to run over the first men, massacring them, while his companions came right behind.
Harlaw, in the castle, could not help but swallow hard. He could hear the screams from the city, the sounds of battle.
The negotiation… had not been carried out.
"My lord, we must close the gate," one of his men said.
There were still children and wives in the city, as it was where the ironborn lived.
"Very well…", he had no choice but to close the fortress gate.
He would try to negotiate again behind the walls. Since the negotiation, whatever had happened, had not worked, they should try again.
"Also send a raven to Pyke. Tell them what is happening here."
His men quickly nodded, sending the message.
The entire city was in turmoil. There were women and children inside the houses, but they were not attacked. The arcticans were forbidden from looting and raping. They already had enough discipline not to do such things, as was common in other battles fought outside of Arctic.
The ironborn who tried to flee were attacked by the rain of arrows from the archers behind them or, upon leaving the city and heading into the forest, were attacked by animals. Jon controlled them quickly so that no one could escape.
And so he proceeded to the entrance of Harlaw's castle.
Jon ignored the message of peace. His men brought barrels of wildfire on scorpions and catapults built with wheels, easy to handle and transport.
The men on the wall immediately began to retreat, knowing what that meant.
It did not take long.
The barrels were launched along with harpoons, and the catapults also hurled the barrels themselves. They struck the gate, spreading the viscous blue liquid, and in the next moment, a flaming arrow hit them.
The explosion came.
BOOOOOMMMM!!
The gate was simply shattered into several pieces along with the very wall above it, as green flames invaded the interior of the castle. Some men were consumed instantly, others ran with their bodies burning. Parts of the wall crushed people entirely.
"Advance!" Jon ordered.
His men quickly advanced, entering the castle. There were not even five hundred men defending the place. Even with arrows striking the armor of the arctican soldiers, nothing penetrated their armor and they kept advancing, reducing the number of enemies until none remained.
Jon moved through the courtyard and entered the castle.
Lord Harlaw was there, with his wife and children. He had an older son, a girl no more than ten years old, and a boy of six namedays; the latter two were both crying with their mother.
His older son, who had tried to lead the archers at the port, was burned and injured. Jon kept his eyes on the older man, while he saw his son spit on the ground, looking at the king of Arctic in defiance. That made the royal guards draw their swords from their sheaths.
That also made Lord Harlaw frown, but Jon did not care. His eyes remained fixed on the lord.
"Why did you kill everyone so mercilessly? We wanted peace," Lord Harlaw said as he looked back at Jon, surprised to see the Arctican king, being so young... And he was certainly afraid. He had not imagined that the king himself would be there in person.
"Tell that to all those victims in the North. Men and children killed, women forced to serve, carrying the seed of your people… and some being killed in cruel ways while being subjected to the most depraved acts.", Jon replied.
The man held his gaze. "I don't think massacring all the ironborn will reverse the situation," he said.
"No, it won't. What is done is done. But this will prevent the ironborn from attacking in the future. This second rebellion of Balon only proves that letting them live was a mistake. The ironborn will always raid and kill, your people were born for it... That is why I intend to eliminate as many of them as possible."
"Even the children and women?" Harlaw said.
"No. The women do not pose a threat. As for the sons… well, we will send some to the Wall, as long as they have not committed any crime. The children will go to the continent. And the women may try a life outside of here, especially those who were forced to live here as salt wives… they may return to the continent or they may stay on the island — which I would not recommend. After all, I am removing all slaves from the Iron Islands. There will no longer be any under the possession of the ironborn."
"You cannot do that!" growled the elder Harlaw.
Jon looked at the fool. "Why should you be concerned? You will be dead by the end of this day.
That made Harlaw's eyes widen. "No… you cannot kill my son!" he said.
Jon looked at him, while the woman began to cry, begging for mercy.
"This is my justice. Your son, Marty Harlaw, has taken part in several raids on the continent. Do you think I will let him live? Even you — I already had sources saying you did not leave here, that you are a peacemaker, but even so you supported and sent your men to the continent with your son. I intend to eliminate all ironborn lords. I have to set an example for all the kingdoms of the continent."
"Do you think you are Tywin Lannister!?" Harlaw said, now with anger.
"Please… I am not so foolish as to kill innocent children. I will not execute your younger children or your wife. But you and your eldest son must be eliminated. Now… take them to the castle dungeon and guard them well. Also keep all the servants under watch — we do not know if any might try something."
With those words, his men quickly moved, taking the family away. Most were crying, being dragged to the dungeons. Only Harlaw seemed utterly broken, while his son hurled curses at Jon.
The maester was summoned, while Jon sat in the chair that should belong to Lord Harlaw in the fortress's audience hall.
"Now let's talk about the slaves." Jon repeated the same process as in Blacktyde. He gathered information, sent his men to the places where the slaves were, and seized the ships that remained. About fifty ships were still usable, and there were approximately 30,000 slaves on the island.
It was a very large number...
In the middle of the afternoon, Jon brought Lord Harlaw and his son to an execution platform.
More than ninety-nine percent of the ironborn had already been killed mercilessly.
No one was spared.
Even those who dropped their weapons and begged for mercy, the arcticans were ruthless and killed them all.
Perhaps because of this, Jon would be called a monster in the future, but he was more than willing to follow this path when it came to those people. At least, not even with the Dothraki had he been so relentless. But this time, he took it personally. What he saw in the North had marked him deeply. He was willing to become a demon in everyone's eyes, even if that would be used against him in the future.
"I, Jon Arctic, also known as the White Wolf, heir to the Iron Throne, protector of the Ten Kingdoms…"
Jon changed the speech. There were no longer seven kingdoms. After all, there were nine in total — and, counting the lands beyond the Wall and Arctic, there were now ten kingdoms in total.
The North, the Vale of Arryn, the Riverlands, the Westerlands, the Crownlands, the Reach, the Stormlands, Dorne, the Iron Islands, and Arctic/Beyond the Wall.
"…execute Lord Harlaw and his heir for crimes against the kingdoms and for supporting the rebellion of Balon Greyjoy."
With those words, he first struck Lord Harlaw. The man fell dead. His son cried and shouted in hatred at Jon, but was soon silenced when Jon moved the sword again. A clean cut. A swift death.
The man fell dead to the ground.
"Now let's organize the island." Jon said as his men began to move quickly.
He decided to spend that night in the fortress, prolonging his stay on the island and using a room to plan. Arya soon joined him, bringing dinner, since Jon did not go to the hall where everyone was eating.
Even so, his personal cooks had prepared something.
"What are you planning? Why didn't you go to the hall?" Arya asked, placing his food and hers on one of the tables.
Jon was looking at the map of the Iron Islands under the glow of one of the crystals, alone in that room.
"I don't think it's worth leaving the old lords in power over the Iron Islands. I want to change that." He said, and Arya listened in silence.
Jon was thinking about it. His initial plan was only to weaken the kingdom by removing the slaves. But if he could do something even better…
If he could place capable people from Arctic to rule as new lords, they would certainly know how to handle the economy much better. Perhaps even expand Arctic's commercial enterprises on that side of the continent.
While Jon was still beginning to build a city and shipyards in the western part, beyond the Wall, if he placed these people in new leadership, he would certainly have a strategic point on that side of the continent — and Arctic would support it.
"Well, there are very capable people in Arctic," Arya murmured, understanding his reasoning.
Jon nodded. "Yes… that's why I'm going to support them."
With those words, he began to plan. Names came to his mind — people who had stakes in some of Arctic's businesses: distilleries of alcoholic beverages, textile manufacturers, herbs, and even the possibility of building a large warehouse for his own ice company.
Jon continued planning until late, until he finally went to sleep.
The next day, the slaves were all brought to the city, where Jon gave a speech. Now, they could choose. They were no longer slaves.
They could either stay there or go to the North in search of a new life.
Most seemed to like the opportunity. Jon was quite convincing as he spoke of a much more dignified life. Even if the climate was harsher, there would be no whips, threats, or hostages to control them. They could live by the fruits of their own labor and be paid for it.
And so, the fifty ships, along with some others built by Arctic, were filled with the former slaves, advancing to the North, just as those from Blacktyde had done.
Not all were taken; some arcticans were placed on the island to control it, while the ships that went to the Wall would return to take the rest.
The fleet would now sail south again.
There were still the central islands and Pyke itself, but Jon would advance directly to Pyke. With ten thousand men under his command, it would not be difficult to conquer the main island.
Meanwhile, Lancelot, who was now in Great Wyk, would advance toward the smaller islands in the center of the archipelago such as Orkmont, Saltcliffe, and others.
Jon also made sure that no raven managed to leave the island of Harlaw, using his Warg abilities.
Balon would be quite surprised when he saw the fleet arriving directly at his harbor.
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