Chapter 30: Denial

3rd pov

Pyke, the seat of House Greyjoy was in an uproar, 2 more weeks passed, with the Bolton-Greyjoy War almost reaching its end, it all started last week, when Orkmont finally fell and was taken over by the Cult of Sauron, causing came under the control of House Bolton.

When the last castle fell on Orkmont, the banners of House Bolton and the Cult of Sauron were raised in every corner of the Isle, soon such news spread throughout the Iron Islands and then Westeros.

All the Ironborn Lords were in a state of panic, causing them to return to their islands to improve their defenses and be able to hold out against the Boltons, but this proved to be of little use.

After Orkmont was conquered, the morale of House Bolton's armies was at its peak, this caused them to begin the invasions of the Iron Islands more quickly, the Ironborn Lords could not resist the Legions and Hordes that advanced nonstop against them .

One by one, the Iron Islands fell under the power of House Bolton, each territory conquered by the Bolton would already have the Political System of Domeric being established, in addition to the Cult destroying everything involving the Ironborn religion, along with the hunt for anyone who was caught practicing prayers to the Drowned God.

An Age of Darkness began for the Ironborn, each village would have an Uruk Chieftain or Human Officer, either from troops under Domeric's direct command or Officers from the Cult of Sauron, who would be there to oversee the territory, so that no one would dare step out of line.

Some tried to rebel against this, but in the end they were killed and used as an example, whether public executions or making the villagers see the culprits eaten alive by the Uruks, which planted a giant fear in everyone's hearts, because of that no sane person tried to piss off the local authorities.

Lords, Ladies and Governors would be posted on the Iron Islands to help maintain the occupied territories, the Cult of Sauron already had Orkmont, so they didn't need or want more territory to control, now all Domeric had to do was choose among the best soldiers and officers to achieve Noble positions.

The Governors would be people appointed by Domeric to coordinate with the local Lords and Ladies the affairs of their respective Islands, such as the example of Great Wyk, which would have a man named William Claricke as Governor of the Island, being the highest authority in the entire Island, but at the local level the authorities would be the Lords and Ladies.

This was part of Domeric's plans to ensure that the new Nobility that would be in the Iron Islands would not dare to rebel, because if they tried, the Governors would use the Armies they had in their possession to guarantee the maintenance of Order and kill the traitors.

But now back to the Greyjoys, they were trying their best to prepare Pyke's defenses, as the defeats on the other Iron Islands was like a reality check, making them realize that they messed with a House that shouldn't have been messed with.

"Walk you fuckers! The Boltons will be coming soon!" Shouted one of the Ironborn as he helped prepare as many arrows as possible for the archers to use on the walls.

While the archers prepared for a possible invasion, the soldiers were training nonstop and arming themselves too, believing they could match the Bolton soldiers or at least slow their advance.

//Poor idiots//

Meanwhile in the War Hall there was a heated debate between the remaining Ironborn Lords who had fled with their fleets and soldiers to Pyke, the debate raging over how they could resist the Hordes and Legions of House Bolton.

"We need to attack with everything we've got! We're going to send these bastards to the bottom of the sea as possible!" Shouted one of the Ironborn Lords, being supported by the group beside him, he was looking at the other group across the table where they had a map of the Iron Islands.

"Attacking with everything?! You have shit for brains?! We need to focus on a defensive strategy! It's the only way we'll have a chance against those damn demons!" Shouted the other Ironborn Lord angrily at his colleague's stupidity, it seemed he hadn't learned anything from this War.

This then became an even more heated discussion, Balon this time was quiet as he had a lot to think about.

He started to see since the fall of Orkmont that it was a mistake to mess with House Bolton, he even thought about what Eddard Stark said about a possible peace treaty, but he put that idea aside, because he knew it was too late to try do something about it.

North, DreadFort

Domeric could be seen in his fortress, signing various papers while drinking juice, this time it was definite, Barbrey ran out of Domeric's Tequila Milk, needless to say he cried for days.

But soon his spirits lifted after learning the development of the War, but the sadness of losing his favorite drink is still there, but he knew he needed to focus on more important things, for the sake of House Bolton.

As he signed the papers, his aunt entered the room without knocking, holding a letter while wearing an expression that was a mixture of seriousness and anger, which was not a good sign for Domeric.

"Domeric, this letter comes from the Starks... it's not good at all" Barbrey said while handing the letter to Domeric, who began to read his expression changing to one of absolute hatred as the seconds passed.

"THESE DAMN DOGS" yelled Domeric as he threw the letter on the floor, showing the anger he was feeling.

The letter was saying that House Bolton should stop any attack against the Greyjoys, using the powers that House Stark had as Protective House of the North to force the Boltons, Domeric could already see right away that everything was at the hand of a certain Tully.

"What shall we do, Domeic?" Barbrey asked as she looked worriedly at Domeric, it wasn't very common to see him showing so much anger.

"We will reject the order! If I gave a shit every time those dogs spoke I would have diarrhea!" cried Domeric.

Barbrey nodded seriously, she knew this would mean the end of Diplomacy with the Starks, but to be honest, no one in the Bolton Lands, Allies or Vassals cared about this, it would be considered a boon to many.