The Mountain of Ice and Fire

The Iron Islands are made up of six islands. The smallest island is Old Wyk, and the largest is Great Wyk. Great Wyk is twice the size of Harlaw and three times the size of Pyke, where the Greyjoy family's capital, Pyke, is located.

The largest island, Great Wyk, is home to the most nobles of the Iron Islands. The Lord of Great Wyk is the current Governor of the Iron Islands, Lord Gerold Goodbrother. Lord Gerold Goodbrother led more than two hundred warships to King's Landing's Blackwater Bay, leaving only a small garrison on the Iron Islands, no more than twenty longships and three hundred soldiers.

But the center of the Ironborn faith is not on Great Wyk, nor in the former capital of Pyke, but on the smallest island, Old Wyk.

On Old Wyk, there is a center of the Ironborn faith – the Hall of the Grey King.

The Hall of the Grey King is controlled by the Drumm family.

The Drumm family is the Lord of Old Wyk. This family is very warlike at sea and had a strong force before Euron Greyjoy provoked the Mountain. Now, the entire island family has a garrison of only a dozen warriors.

*

Night.

The small port of Old Wyk is filled with long fishing boats. Two warships are on either side of the harbor, with huge cables tied to the black rocks on the shore.

The lights on the island are scattered, and in the small tavern in the harbor, the lights are bright, and the fishermen and two stewards of the Drumm family and several family guards are drinking in the tavern.

An ironborn drew the short axe from his waist, and he proposed to play the finger dance. If he loses, he will buy everyone a drink; if he wins, he hopes to get a kiss from Connie Drumm.

Connie Drumm was sitting inside the counter. She is a young, rough-skinned, dark-skinned girl, her eyes full of fortitude, wearing close-fitting leather, with a short knife, dagger, and short axe hanging from her waist.

Connie Drumm is the heir to Old Wyk – the Countess.

After her uncle Dunstan Drumm and her two cousins Dennis Drumm and Donnel Drumm died in battle, she became the heir apparent. She is seventeen years old this year, an old girl, but she has not yet married. She spends all day with a group of crude ironborn, who always like to bet on her – all kinds of gambling can be related to her – like tonight, an ironborn wants to challenge the finger dance, and the prize for victory is a kiss from Connie Drumm.

This proposal was greeted with a roar of approval from everyone in the tavern!

Connie wore a black headband, and she tied her long hair behind her head, looking shrewd and capable. The leather armor that fit the curves of her body made her heroic. On the left chest of the leather armor, there is a family crest pattern: a white bone hand on a red background.

"Hope Antero, if you can make a full circle, I'll sleep with you tonight," Connie stood on the counter and said condescendingly. Her tone was full of presumptuousness and contempt.

Everyone roared and whistled!

Hope Antero's neck was flushed, and he was very excited. Rumor has it that Connie is still a virgin, of course, whoever takes this rumor seriously will die! But sleeping with Countess Connie Drumm is the common dream of the ironborn on Old Wyk!

"I'll make a full circle, and if I win, I'll sleep here!"

"Sleep on this counter!" Connie stomped hard on the counter surface with her combat boots. "Right here, let everyone drink and watch. Do you dare? Don't have your fingers chopped off, you can't even fish, and I won't pity you then."

Whoosh!

Hope Antero pulled out the short axe from his waist, and the axe blade gleamed. He said, "Countess Connie, you go first!"

"Come on!"

Connie jumped to the ground and stood opposite, three tables away from Hope Antero.

Whoosh!

The short axe in Hope Antero's hand flew out, tumbling and flying towards Connie.

The finger dance is to catch the handle of a tumbling axe with your bare hands. If you are not careful, your fingers will be cut off by the sharp axe blade. Once the wound becomes inflamed after the fingers are cut off, people will die.

But the ironborn have been practicing the finger dance since they were young. Initially, the finger dance was not practiced with real axes, but with training axes without blades.

The finger dance is a game for the ironborn to show their courage, and it is popular in the Iron Islands.

Connie stared at the flying axe. The axe was spinning, making it impossible to see the handle and blade clearly. It was just a rolling circle with afterimages.

Without special training, even the most skilled person would not dare to grab this short axe with their bare hands.

In everyone's breath, Connie reached out and grabbed the axe that was spinning like the wind. All the afterimages disappeared instantly, and the axe handle was caught in Connie's hand.

Cheers rang out!

Connie is a master of the finger dance. She has practiced throwing and catching axes since she was a child, practicing until she is accurate, just like an archer practicing archery. Practicing until you are accurate, you are a marksman.

"It's your turn, Hope!" Connie said. Her lips were thin, and she looked like a blade when she pursed them lightly. Her voice was full of sternness, and the short-handled axe was tossed up and down in her hand. The axe and the axe handle were spinning, neither fast nor slow.

"Come on!" Hope Antero is also a master of the finger dance, otherwise, he would not have proposed to challenge everyone in the tavern.

Connie's axe was thrown faster and faster in her hand, and Hope Antero was ready, staring at the axe, but Connie never threw it out.

"Connie, if you don't throw it..." Hope shouted. Halfway through his words, Connie's short axe slashed over with a whoosh, and the spinning axe brought up the sound of wind, heading straight for Hope's face.

The sound in the tavern stopped all of a sudden. Hope leaned to the side, reached out, shook his arm, and grabbed the axe handle.

"Good!" Everyone cheered in unison.

Compared to Connie's grab, Hope Antero's grab was more difficult. Connie's flying axe was unexpected, but it did not cut off Hope's fingers, and Hope did not dodge.

Sometimes, the angle of the flying axe is tricky and peculiar, and the speed is extremely fast. The respondent can dodge without catching it, but from then on, he will be nailed to the pillar of shame, and the ironborn will spread and ridicule him.

"Next, who's coming?" Hope Antero said smugly, smiling.

"I'm coming!" A woman's voice rang out lazily.

Everyone looked towards the tavern door, and a woman wearing black leather leggings and knee pads appeared at the door. She was tall, with long legs, neat black short hair, a slightly hooked high nose, and eyes like a wolf. From head to toe, she exuded a wild and fierce aura.

She had a dagger in her combat boots and a short axe and a long sword hanging from her waist.

Everyone was shocked!

The person who came was the famous Asha Greyjoy of the Iron Islands. At the last Kingsmoot, she lost to Euron Greyjoy. Euron Greyjoy, as King of the Iron Islands and Asha's uncle, publicly betrothed Asha to Lord Erik Ironmaker, who was eighty-nine years old. Asha had to agree to this marriage.

Asha claimed to go to the ship to fetch a gift for her husband Erik, and then she never returned. After she fled Old Wyk, Euron Greyjoy consulted the blind high priest Baelon Blacktyde. After the priest prayed to the Drowned God and obtained permission, he had a seal complete the wedding with Erik in place of Asha.

From the perspective of the Ironborn ancient ways and traditions, Erik became Asha's legal husband.

However, Erik, who was eighty-nine years old, was killed when he was managing the Iron Islands on behalf of Euron Greyjoy when the Clegane forces, together with the Goodbrother family's army, raided Pyke. Pyke was taken, and Erik, the acting castellan who was already having difficulty walking, was killed.

*

Asha Greyjoy's sudden appearance shocked everyone in the tavern.

"Connie." Asha stared at Connie. "It seems that there are not many warriors on Old Wyk. Our warships entered the harbor without encountering any patrolling longships."

"Asha, what are you doing back here?" Connie looked warily towards the door.

Asha walked in: "I'm here to challenge the finger dance!" She looked at Hope Antero, who was holding a short-handled axe, and slowly drew a short axe from her waist. Hope's face changed slightly.

Asha's short-handled axe is double-edged, and the blade is snow-bright, obviously extremely sharp.

In the Iron Islands, few people dare to play the finger dance with a double-edged flying axe, but Asha dares!

"Hope, if you catch my flying axe, I'll treat the brothers to drinks tonight." Asha threw a golden dragon with her left hand. The golden dragon flew onto the counter and hit a bowl, making a crisp sound.

Hope didn't dare to neglect and dropped the short axe in his hand.

Asha always does what she says. Don't doubt it, and don't hesitate. Otherwise, people will easily die.

Hope got into position to catch the axe, and everyone dared not breathe. Several soldiers looked at Connie Drumm. They now swore allegiance to Lord Goodbrother of Hammerhorn, and Asha is their enemy.

Connie Drumm calmed down. She did not order to kill or capture Asha Greyjoy. With the few soldiers in the tavern and herself, they may not be Asha's opponent. It is also impossible for Asha to come to Old Wyk alone. Connie didn't know whether she came back to seize the Seastone Chair or had other plans, and she decided not to act rashly.

Asha tossed the axe in her hand, and suddenly it flew towards Hope. Hope stared at the fast-flying short axe, reached out, but the short axe suddenly jumped strangely, as if it were alive. With a scream, blood splattered, and four fingers fell...

Bang!

The flying axe chopped into the plank behind Hope!

Hope held his right hand with his left hand, his face pale, and his screams pierced the night... In the screams, Asha's long sword was already out of its sheath, and the tip of the sword was against Connie's throat.

Several stewards and guards drew their swords together and surrounded Asha in a fan shape.

Asha turned a blind eye to the threat of several swords: "Connie, tell them to drop their swords and step back."

Connie's face was pale, and with a look, the guards reluctantly dropped their long swords and axes and stepped back together.

"Connie Drumm, I need you to immediately send people to Pyke, Great Wyk, Harlaw, Oakenshield, and Saltcliffe to notify all the nobles to gather at the Hall of the Grey King on Old Wyk in three days, to recognize me as King of the Iron Islands, and to kneel before me in the prayers of the priests, and welcome me to sit on the Seastone Chair."

"Asha, now the Governor of the Iron Islands is Lord Goodbrother, and he swore allegiance to the Mountain. The Mountain just killed the Night King in the North and led the allied forces to defeat the Others. Asha, you shouldn't have come back, but now it's not too late for you to leave. I won't make things difficult for you."

"Connie, immediately send someone to notify the nobles on the other islands to come to Old Wyk. By the way, when you were drinking in the tavern, your castle has been taken by us, and your mother and sister are already guests on my Black Wind."

Connie Drumm's face suddenly turned pale.

"Asha, I can immediately send someone to notify the nobles on each island to come, but don't blame me if they come with long swords and heavy axes."

"I won't blame you, Connie. Three days later, I want to see representatives of all noble families on the other five islands at the Hall of the Grey King. I will wait for them in the Hall of the Grey King. After three days, the nobles who do not come to the Hall of the Grey King to submit to me will be eliminated."

Asha Greyjoy sheathed her long sword, and she looked at Connie calmly. Connie calmed down and issued an order. Several guards around her ran out together to arrange for people to sail to other islands overnight to send messages.

The Old Wyk under Connie Drumm's jurisdiction has two major buildings, one is the Drumm family's castle, and the other is the center of the Ironborn faith – the Hall of the Grey King.

The Grey King is the greatest king of the Iron Islands in history! Legend has it that he killed a dragon in the sea that was causing trouble and making people uneasy, and dragged the dragon's body to Old Wyk Island with warships. The bones of this sea dragon were used to make the frame of the Hall of the Grey King.

The spine of this sea dragon is as tall as two masts and is used as the flagpole of the Hall of the Grey King. The Grey King's flag is hung on this bone flagpole: the kraken flag.

The kraken flag is also the Greyjoy family's flag, to show that they inherited the Grey King's will and kingship.

In the big mouth of this sea dragon, there is a carefully crafted throne, all made of white sea dragon bones, which is the famous Seastone Chair of the Iron Islands.

Anyone who sits on the Seastone Chair according to the ceremony on Old Wyk Island can be recognized as King of the Iron Islands.

The sea dragon's open giant mouth is the hall where the nobles discuss matters: the Hall of the Grey King.

"Asha, how many people did you bring back this time to seize the Seastone Chair?"

"Three hundred and sixty of the best ironborn. Half of them are warriors from the Iron Fleet."

"The Iron Fleet? Is Victarion with you?" Connie's expression changed slightly.

The most powerful fleet of the Iron Islands is Victarion's Iron Fleet. At the Kingsmoot, Victarion swore allegiance to Euron Greyjoy.

"Victarion was determined to become the Dragon Mother's dragon knight. He died in battle for the Dragon Mother on the Dothraki Sea. Dragon Mother Daenerys Targaryen appointed me as her naval commander. The first step for Her Majesty the Queen to attack the continent of Westeros is to help me sit on the Seastone Chair. Connie, Her Majesty the Queen and her three dragons are already on the mountains of the Iron Islands."

Connie and the fishermen and the owner in the tavern opened their mouths in surprise and widened their eyes.

"The Mountain also has a dragon, a giant dragon." Connie swallowed and said in a rough tone, "Governor Goodbrother is supported by the Mountain."

"The Mountain's giant dragon was seriously injured in the final battle with the Night King and has been determined to be incurable." Asha sat on the stool in front of the counter and waved her hand, including everyone in the tavern, "Boss, fill everyone's glasses with wine, it's my treat tonight. Connie, come and have a drink with me."