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Chapter 468
🕑 Added 2025-01-29 16:52:06 +0000 UTCAegor couldn’t suppress the snort of laughter that escaped him, earning a sharp glare from Asha.
Whatever the outcome of tonight’s conversation, he had already achieved his goal: finding a little entertainment. Her story was truly captivating—he couldn’t help but wonder how much time she had spent crafting and refining it. The human capacity for creativity and storytelling in desperate circumstances was truly limitless. Aegor couldn’t even remember the last time he laughed out loud like this. Just for that stellar performance, he decided not to send her away.
"You don’t believe me?" Asha’s face darkened as she straightened up in her chair, planting her feet firmly on the ground. “Do you think I’m just some weak-willed woman, incapable of pulling off something of this magnitude? I thought the great Lord Commander was someone with vision, someone who could look past the surface. Clearly, I was mistaken.”
“Apologies.” Aegor smiled as he offered the half-hearted apology, though he couldn’t wipe the grin off his face. He really tried to take her seriously—reminding himself that he was a modern-day transmigrator supporting the claim of a woman to the Iron Throne. Gender discrimination shouldn’t come into it. And yet, his first instinct was disbelief. No amount of lofty rhetoric could overcome his initial skepticism.
In a patriarchal, feudal society like this one, where the hierarchy was rigid and the power of a lord was absolute, the idea of a daughter successfully overthrowing her father was almost laughable. Asha’s claim that she had planned to depose Balon Greyjoy and take over the Iron Islands? It was as far-fetched as Aegor’s own fabricated backstory as an adventurer from far-off Essos.
Still, that thought gave him pause. After all, his story might have been fake, but the truth of his transmigration was even more fantastical. Who could have predicted that the man once bound and dragged to Castle Black would rise to become the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch in just a few short years?
Asha ruling the Iron Islands wasn’t impossible. The difficulty was immense, but not insurmountable. Perhaps his skepticism came more from ingrained biases than from objective reasoning.
“Well then, Lady Asha,” Aegor said after a moment, “why don’t you tell me the details of this grand plan of yours?”
Asha’s lips curled in a sharp smile, though her words were laced with bitterness. “What, did you think I’ve spent my twenty years of life playing with daggers, axes, and men? Don’t assume every Ironborn is some brainless brute. My allies in the Iron Islands far exceed what you might imagine. Rodrik Harlaw, the Reader; Baelor Blacktyde, the captain of his own fleet; and the Codd and Merlyn families. Many captains and lords who lost loved ones during my father’s first rebellion share my vision.”
Her voice gained momentum, and her gaze turned piercing. “Each of those families could have quietly held back a few warriors from my father’s war in the North. Together, we could assemble an elite force. With me, the rightful heir of House Greyjoy, acting as the inside man, infiltrating the poorly-defended Pyke would have been easy. Once my father was subdued, I’d have forced him to take the black and abdicate. Before his loyalists could abandon their battles in the North and return to the Iron Islands, I would’ve already secured control, summoned my allies, and fortified my rule.”
Another one throwing problems at the Night’s Watch... Aegor thought with a twinge of annoyance but kept his expression neutral. He couldn’t deny that the plan had a certain feasibility, at least in theory. His skepticism was rooted in intuition rather than concrete flaws in her logic. After all, he hadn’t spent much time analyzing the internal factions and power dynamics of the Iron Islands.
“Alright,” Aegor finally said. “I’ll entertain the notion that your plan might have worked. But what then? After taking control of the Iron Islands, what would you have done about the mess in the North?”
“Peace.” Asha’s response was calm and resolute. “I would’ve negotiated with Robb Stark. As a gesture of goodwill, I’d offer him the Sea Dragon Point and the Stony Shore. In return, the Ironborn would cease all hostilities against the North and swear never to raid its lands again.”
“That’s impossible,” Aegor interjected, cutting her off. “If you seized power through a coup, you’d be dealing with internal dissent from your father’s supporters and the external threat of the Northern war. You’d be in no position to demand terms. The North wouldn’t agree to such an arrangement.”
“Because the lands I’d claim wouldn’t truly belong to me,” Asha retorted, lifting her chin. “My offer would come with a bigger concession: I’d recognize Robb Stark as King in the North, and in turn, he’d recognize me as Lady of the Iron Islands. I’d bend the knee to him, bringing the Iron Islands into his Northern Kingdom. If his reputation is as great as they say, he could likely persuade the Riverlands and the Vale to join him as well. If all goes well, the Northern Kingdom would be born with over half of Westeros’s territory, the most battle-hardened army, and the most powerful navy. Who could challenge him then?”
Aegor raised an eyebrow, briefly tempted to dismiss her words as nonsense. But then he paused, realizing that her argument wasn’t entirely implausible. Westeros wasn’t a centralized empire like those in his previous life. The notion of secession or reformation wasn’t inherently unthinkable. The Starks had once ruled as Kings in the North before Aegon’s Conquest. With the Iron Throne weakened and Stannis’s campaigns yielding no tangible rewards, dissatisfaction with the status quo was rampant.
Under those conditions, a Northern Kingdom united under Robb Stark could be a very real possibility—and it would likely be the strongest of Westeros’s fractured realms.
Asha, sensing his hesitation, pressed her advantage. “The lands I’d claim—Sea Dragon Point and the Stony Shore—are more valuable to the Ironborn than they are to the North. For us, they’re treasures: fertile farmland and shipbuilding timber. For the North, they’re sparsely populated, easily forgotten territories. Granting those lands to the Ironborn would ensure our survival while giving the Starks a leash to hold over us. Should we ever rebel again, all they’d need to do is reclaim those lands, dealing us a devastating blow without even launching a naval assault.”
“And if Robb still doubted my sincerity,” Asha continued, her voice firm, “I’d offer myself as part of the deal. A young, unmarried woman of noble birth, willing to be wed into the North. I’ve even thought of a candidate: Galbart Glover. His family lost a slice of their land to us during this war. Returning it with a wife would hardly be a bad bargain.”
For a long moment, Aegor sat in silence, processing her words. Finally, he nodded. “I won’t deny it—your plan is compelling. If I were Robb, I’d accept. But here’s the problem: you’re asking the Ironborn to follow a leader who bends the knee to the Starks and marries into their houses. Would they accept that? Would they tolerate it?”
“I’ll handle the Ironborn,” Asha replied, her tone unwavering. “As for why I’d do this... Do you think every decision must be driven by ambition? I don’t care about titles or glory. I want my people to have full bellies and warm homes. I want them to live without resorting to raiding and bloodshed. If sacrificing my reputation can achieve that, so be it.”
----
Aegor stared at her for a long moment, almost tempted to clap. Her performance had been flawless—a calculated, multi-layered gambit designed to win his trust. She had disavowed the Ironborn’s violent ways, hinted at her usefulness, and framed herself as an idealist with noble goals. The finesse was undeniable.
For someone just looking for some amusement, Aegor found himself in a surprisingly difficult position. He couldn’t dismiss her outright—not without concrete evidence to disprove her sincerity.
Aegor smiled faintly, leaning forward in his chair. “A noble vision, Lady Asha. So tell me... how can I help you make it a reality?”
