Chapter 29

For all you know of their God, he might have actually had a Hand in bringing you to this beautiful new World, with how different Cultures called parts of their Afterlives the Sea of Souls it's not really that unlikely after thinking about it. But only the Ironborn truly ever cared about the Plans of their God, and you aren't planning to join them in their struggle of keeping said God appeased, for while he might very well like what you currently do, you will still carry out your own Plans to achieve your Goals, Gods and Man alike be dammed.

Thus, you quickly decide to ignore the invading Thought, and focus your Mind away from the so very much unbidden Pain in your Head, and focus on the Iron Islands instead, for leaving this rather volatile Situation as is, would likely create an abundance of problems later on. You already know that the Ironborn are too corrupted with Greed and Arrogance to be of much use, and even the best Ironborn in Existence could only ever create a simple Fleet with their lack of Siege Weapons.

The Castles of their little Realm were build in the Days of their Greatness, and thus require quite a lot more than simple Ladders or grappling Hooks to take, hence the Iron Islands and its Resources are now ruled by Men that prefer to use what they have to maintain what they inherited. While the Men with Ambition and actual Strength lack the Resources they need to build their Keeps and Fleets, a Situation that could surely be used to stop the Greyjoys from ever amassing all their Fleets behind the King.

With your Mind made up, your little Companion begins his Journey through the Iron Islands, where he brings down Castle after Castle, which after seventeen Keeps already takes three Days longer than you had first planned, but who could have guessed that random Islands would be this fortified. All you wanted was that they focus on themselves for now, maybe a few dozen Raids on some softer Targets, but the distance between their Holds and Keeps is really getting bothersome. So much so that you drop the matter for the future, and order your Kraken to return Home for now, you had after all more than enough Loot to loot from its Belly.

But then you guess that if they truly get their Act together before it's time, seeing your Krakens eat whatever Fleets make the Westerlands their Goal should keep the Coasts save enough. You found yourself some thirty kilometers north of the Rock when your Kraken finally reached the Shore, and presented the Loot and Corpses of Men and Ships alike. Standing before it made for quite the Impression, and you realise that biting a Chunk out of every Fleet on the way might actually add up to a bit more Damage than you had first thought.

But there are some decent Uses for everything, especially the Tribes that supposedly live beyond the Wall wouldn't mind some Plate Armour, even if it's a bit scratched and dented by your little one. It would make for a rather fine Distraction in any Case, and surely making such a Gift to keep the Armies of the Northern Lords north of the Neck, wouldn't be considered a waste of fine Steel by anyone.

Considering the matter more thoroughly didn't take all that much time, and you truly can't see how your Father of all People would deny the usefulness of your Plan, thus you would say that the Steel can be removed from further Considerations. This leaves you for now with a Pile of four-thousand Corpses, and as of now, mayhaps six not too thoroughly destroyed Ships, all of which you can't really use. Well, you guess the Lions back in the Rock won't mind the frozen Meat, or perhaps it could also be given away to the Tribes beyond the Wall.

It's fascinating how many problems can be solved by giving others some of your Loot, in Fact, they wouldn't mind sailing on Ironborn Ships either, now would they? Three Heads in one Swing, you guess with a Smile, though you want a bit more than just a simple Distraction for House Stark out of your Gift, you want something special, even if small, what you want is the oldest Stone-formation these Tribes of the North know of. For only the Snow ever managed to truly affect your Bond to Stone, which seeing as these Connections to your Creations are tied to their Strength, needs some serious attention, and what better way to do it, than getting your Hands on a Stone covered in said Magical Snow for most likely Millennia.

Yes, you quite like the Idea of getting this all done in a single Voyage, but most of the Ships will have to be fixed up a bit, and will need an Escort for the surely rather slow moving Fleet, meaning it won't be a matter of a quick two-Month Journey or so. And while that is rather disappointing, actually having something to trade that the Wildlings might want, and won't affect the War effort is a step in the right direction, if you're lucky enough, your Father's Men might even manage to gain some forgotten Information on what's behind the Snow.

You don't think that your Mindless little Brothers and Sisters would ever stop being deadly, but you never know what the World holds to screw you over, until it does, and you learned long ago to never be completely unprepared. For now, you order your little Brother to wash his Insides, seeing as even frozen Corpses stink if you cover half a dozen Fleets with them. You shrink your Kraken back down to the Size of his Siblings and send him on his way, so that he might complete the Net before the Coast, and return with your Knights to the Rock, and on the way you decide that they're like the Rock itself, quite strange and out of place, but that matter could wait until you got out of the darn Snow, and had a decent Bath.