Trials and Tribulations of the Oathkeeper

Chapter 61: Decimation of Old Wyk and Great Wyk

—The Iron Islands—

Old Wyk...

Ser Barristan landed on the beach of Old Wyk with his men, intent on subduing the archipelago as he had done years before. He was aware of the surrounding terrain and knew his way around; every instruction he gave to his men, they followed to the letter. Reports had already come pouring in that the Tully forces subdued Saltcliffe, the Karstarks with Orkmont whilst the Tarlys took Blacktyde. And with the recent report of Harlaw's decimation, morale was high among the men. Barristan, meanwhile, felt uneasy about the list of casualties as well: Lord Rickard Karstark, although successful in his mission, ended up succumbing to the injuries sustained by enemy ground troops before Orkmont was bombarded by the fleet, reduced to a pile of rubble and set ablaze. Apparently, every island mentioned met a similar fate, the old Kingsguard knight suspected. But why was he not informed?

"Incoming ironborn, Ser Barristan!" shouted a royal infantryman.

Barristan took notice of the ironborn raiders charging at them, swords and axes in the air. Indeed, Old Wyk housed the skeletal remains of the legendary Nagga the Sea Dragon, a creative so massive it was said to have devoured massive krakens and drown islands whenever angered which was then ultimately slain by the mythical Grey King on the island's shores during the Dawn Age roughly 8,000 years ago—using its bones to build his hall and its fire to warm it. House Greyjoy of Pyke claimed decent from the Grey King. Since then it was considered a holy place held in high esteem among the ironborn; its local noble houses take pride in this and are fiercely devoted raiders. Sacred or no, Barristan knew this invasion needed to be done. Unsheathing his sword Bastion, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard was already prepared for a vicious fight.

"To arms!" he ordered.

"For King Daveth!" his soldiers hollered.

"For justice!"

"Long live the Oathkeeper!"

The royal armies—Crownlands, Stormlands, Westerlands and Reach—unsheathed their blades respectively and rushed to charge the enemy head-on, ready for battle. As the two armies collided, shouts and curses were hurled at each other; Barristan, despite his old age of 64 years, was still in fine physical condition as he clashed swords with the ironborn raiders in front of him, cutting down multiple men at once.

"Blurgh!" one of the raiders spurted blood from his mouth before slumping to the ground.

Indeed, the ironborn were offering fierce resistance against the mainland Westerosi invaders and were beginning to take down their fair share—though not quite as many as others would supposedly believe. So long as they were at sea the ironborn were ferocious warriors, but on land they were undisciplined: more brawlers than warriors, shouting and cursing, flailing and stabbing wildly, before them the ironborn were standing rather unhoned, untested, undisciplined... predictable, yet fierce and determined.

Through the gloom of night both armies traded blows, the sound of steel bouncing off each other and men die around them. The able-bodied would spurt their life's fluid in the air, and the scrawniest would be cleaved in half before each part fell to the ground, scattering guts and other body organs on the cold, unforgiving earthly ground beneath their feet. When Barristan first stormed Old Wyk during the First Greyjoy Rebellion, they landed near Nagga's hill and made swift work of the island. This time, however, the ironborn were more prepared.

"Old man!" shouted one of them.

Barristan turned and saw a rather large man, with thick arms and powerful figure calling him out. The ironborn was referred to as Andrik the Unsmilling, who was said to be the fiercest living warrior of the Iron Islands in service of Lord Dunstan 'Bone Hand' Drumm and King Balon Greyjoy. Barristan knew Andrik was going to be a tough opponent, considering his physical size and reputation. "Somehow we knew you'd come back here again," Andrik sized Barristan up. "But no more."