Samael61
patreon
Chapter 54 - Great to Be Back Home
🕑 Added 2025-10-18 20:37:26 +0000 UTCAsgard
Robert took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring wide open to get as much air as he could before exhaling slowly.
“What the fuck happened to my dragon?” He asked through gritted teeth. Three weeks of marching, buying supplies, and showing up to Rhaegar—that was fun as always—and they had finally reached home.
When he entered the city with his host of races once thought to be myths and legends, the lord of Asgard did not expect to be greeted with overwhelming cheer by the citizens.
However, finding everyone so unsettled that they did not pay much attention to the giants and the Children of the Forest meant that something was wrong.
Silent as graves, Tyrion and Davos took him to the docks while Sandor stayed with the small host, saying it was better if he saw what had happened.
Ra was moved to a storage house after his heroic defense of Asgard, and while he could walk and did not seem to be in pain, the golden dragon could not move his wings without moaning in pain.
He could swear that the red and black lines on the dragon’s wings were moving.
“It was the Ironborn; they attempted to raid Asgard, but Ra stopped them. We believe they used a dragonbinder and grounded him before he could destroy the fleet. Just as we thought that the Ironborn would succeed in their attack, Slifer reached us with your message and burned most of the fleet.”
Robert narrowed his eyes, fists clenched as an ugly red shade took over his face. “Most?”
Tyrion pointed at the crimson dragon sitting next to his golden brother. “He returned to Ra’s side rather than chase the broken fleet.”
Robert took a deep breath, frustration washing over him. He hadn’t even had time to visit his newborn, and now he had just learned that the Ironborn had injured one of his dragons.
“Well, I am going to pull Euron’s heart out of his ass.” He swore. That bastard, and the Ironborn in general, had just signed their death warrant.
“We gathered three thousand men across eighty ships. However, the Stormlords sent ravens promising their support.” Davos wasn’t surprised by the offers. Not only were they highly loyal to Lord Robert, but his father was also the Lord Paramount of the Stormlands. Their support in this war was as sure as the rising of the sun.
Robert snorted. “Only Tarth and Estermont have ships, and not enough to make it worth waiting. When will we be ready to sail?” For all their historical dominance over the continent, neither the Storm Kings nor the Stormlords of old had seen it fit to build a proper navy, and the ones they had were not meant for long voyages.
One more thing for Robert to fix.
“A week at the most, my lord.” Supplies for a sea voyage would take longer to bring together due to the need for food that lasts and does not spoil. Merchants from King’s Landing and towns close to Asgard were already making deliveries, and a significant amount of it was ready.
“Good. Housing for the giants and the Children of the Forest?” Thinking about it made Robert further furious, since he would be at war.
“The children are easy; giants, however, will have to wait. We prepared large tents, but building houses for their size will take time.” The workers and the foremen were baffled to hear that they would be building houses for giants, but they had started working nonetheless since Robert Baratheon paid most fairly.
“You go to war?” Wun Weg Wun, who had just trailed Robert to see the big village, asked. If the chief was going to war, the giants would follow.
“Yeah, there are some squids that need to be squashed to death, permanently.” Unlike in the canon timeline, where the Ironborn had repeated their actions, not learning a single thing.
“We come.” Wun Weg declared, slamming his wooden club on the ground, unintentionally irritating the dragons.
Robert patted the giant on the arm, appreciating the loyalty. “Big guy, I don’t have time to arm all of you with steel weapons, maybe just one.” He wasn’t even sure of that, to be honest, but money had a way of making things happen.
“Then I come.”
“You know what, fine.” It would be fun, having a giant, armored to the teeth, crushing the damn squids to a paste. “Where is Master Tobho Mott?” If Ra was here, then it meant their work in Valyria was over.
“In the smithy prepared for him, my lord.” Tyrion was surprised to find the man willing to start smithing at once upon return, too entranced by the amount of Valyrian steel he had to rework.
“Continue the preparations; I’ll have this guy outfitted with Valyrian steel and return to Valhalla.”
“As you say, my lord.” A giant in nigh indestructible armor was a terrifying thought, but as he was on their side, Tyrion just smiled.
—
“My lord, welcome, welcome. How may this humble blacksmith be of service to you?” Tobho Mott, who was practicing his craft behind closed doors, had come out once called.
“You see him?” Robert pointed at the giant, and Tobho nodded as his eyes finally got used to the light.
“O-oh, indeed, my lord.” He had heard that the giants would be coming to reside in Asgard but did not really care enough to see them.
He had more Valyrian steel to work on than what existed in the Free Cities; this was something Tobho Mott would never give up.
Especially not to all the blacksmiths that came to steal his chance.
“I need you to outfit him with Valyrian steel plate and chain mail, and a club for his size, in seven days. Coin, as always, is not an issue.” Robert ordered. With his natural strength, if Wun Weg Wun was armored with the best steel they had and a metal club large enough for him to carry without it being too heavy, the giant could be a force of destruction on the battlefield.
Unlike in the show, when they had sent his son, Wun Wun, to his death.
Tobho’s mouth opened like a fish at the order. “I have never worked with a giant, my lord.”
Robert grasped the master blacksmith on the shoulder, gently. “Then you will be the first blacksmith to ever do so.”
“As you command.”
Robert left after instructing Wun Weg Wun to listen to the blacksmith.
—
Valhalla
Robert, Tyrion, Davos, and Sandor took their usual places, while Leaf and Mag the Mighty joined the table. Thankfully, the corridors of the castle were wide enough to allow the giant to easily move.
“People are in unrest over our new citizens.” They were Tyrion’s first words on Asgard’s state, and Robert rolled his eyes while Leaf acted as translator.
“Anyone who doesn’t like the idea can leave the city; I am not holding them here by force.” The lord of Asgard or not, he couldn't, and wouldn’t, force the people to interact with the giants if they did not wish to but would not allow the people to harass or try to drive them out either.
Davos looked at the figure twice their already tall lord’s size and the much smaller female next to him, still in a state of disbelief that they were actually here. “Aye, my lord. Are you sure about not waiting for support?”
“The Ironborn will either surrender, or I’ll burn every single keep and building to the ground.” There would be no mercy for the damn pirates, and this would be the final time they ever raided anywhere or tried to.
“What if they surrender?” The Iron Islands, by the estimates of the Citadel, had between sixty to seventy thousand nobles, which included captains, landed warriors and and small houses, less with a great part of their fighting force at the bottom of the Narrow Sea, and Tyrion didn’t know what to do if they did not want to fight.
Robert considered just going to hell with it and killing them all, but his conscience would not let him. “Simple, all the males considered men by their laws will either take the black or the block, and the ones that are not, the Faith or the Citadel.”
“The females are to be confined to the island and not allowed to have any children, though any under the age of eighteen may go to Faith.” Fortunately, there were other ways of destroying the enemy entirely.
“If they somehow have children, the child goes straight to the furthest sept, or the Citadel, and I’ll burn down one random keep.” Random targeting would seed dissent among the Ironborn.
“My lord, you intend to erase the Ironborn completely?” That was tens of thousands to send to the Wall, the Faith, or the Citadel, or to execute, and Davos did not think it could be possible.
“They made their choices; they’ll live and die with it.”
“Far be it from me to oppose, but no kingdom had ever considered a punishment so drastic against another kingdom. There may be voices for the fear it would create a precedent.” A lord destroying an entire kingdom by erasing its people would worry the nobles and the crown.
It had never been done before, and setting a precedent could give dangerous people ideas.
“I am not them. I want my problems solved permanently. They will not come back in a decade or two to attack my lands again.” Mag, who was listening as Leaf translated, roared out his approval for the destruction of the enemies.
“And if they become more than voices, I’ll rip their tongues out.” Tyrion and Davos shared a look.
They would have to find a way to make sure Robert’s plan succeeds.
Tyrion sighed, knowing this would definitely be something giving him more work to do. “If that is your plan, it will not be simple to carry out.” Executing thousands was a problem, but not one as great as sending thousands of people to the Wall, the Faith, or the Citadel at once. Neither had the resources nor the manpower for it, unless Robert was willing to supply the coin for a long time.
Which would be expensive.
“If the Ironborn oppose it, they die. If they drag their feet, they die. If they try to fight, they die.” Robert slammed his hunting knife on the map, right where the Iron Islands lay. “If this, for some reason, does not work, the Ironborn die. It is in their best interest for this plan to work unless they want the agony of dragonfire.”
Davos swallowed the bile in his throat. This war would be ugly, far more than any in recent history. “Aye, my lord. I believe there is another matter of importance, the White Walker. We already have someone on hand to study her, as you wished.”
“Yeah, that. Leaf, tell them to bring her in.” The small female nodded, telling Mag to bring the White Walker, while Robert pointed at Tyrion. “And you call that man in.”
Tyrion called out for the guards, and two men brought in a balding man with a square face, feet, and hands chained together. “Marwyn the Mage?” Robert asked, barely recognizing the man from a picture that came to mind.
“You know me, my lord?” The man did not expect to be recognized by the lord of Asgard, especially when he had been caught as a criminal.
Robert let out a sharp laugh. “How fascinating for the only man who lit up a Valyrian glass candle to be here.”
Mentioning the Valyrian glass caught Marwyn off guard, and he stumbled. Leaf was suddenly interested in the human, while Davos and Tyrion were more wary now.
“We captured him trying to take parts from the demon’s corpse.” Tyrion reported, and Robert suddenly wasn’t very cheerful anymore.
“Is that so?” The lord of Asgard narrowed his eyes at the so-called mage, wondering if the man would be more trouble than he was worth.
“I merely wanted to study it, my lord.” Marwyn made to bow, but the chains stopped him. The great lord already looked displeased, and Marwyn didn’t think he was above being sent to the executioner’s block.
The Mage could prove to be useful, and Robert would stay his hand for now. “Marwyn, here is the deal. I’ll allow you to study the White Walker and any other hostile magical creature I may capture, as well as tools like glass candles, but if you go outside what I give you, it will be the gallows.” At least Marwyn was a known entity, and he would not have to seek out another scholar. Even if the Archmaester’s magical abilities were nothing worthy of Robert’s attention, his skills as a scholar in arcane arts were.
“I accept your generous offer, my lord. What of the demon?” Marwyn became weak at the knees as he was spared and accepted the offer with all the grace his age allowed.
He was thrown into the dungeons for trying to harvest flesh from the demon, and it would be unlikely for Robert Baratheon’s mind to change. Still, the scholar in him wanted to be sure.
“That thing, at full strength, would have destroyed this world. Now, I am perfectly sure you can’t make a mistake that would resurrect Naduin, but there is no reason to look for trouble. As such, you won’t touch it. Understood?”
“Aye.” The Archmaester bowed his head again.
Robert watched the old man for any sign of duplicity before gesturing to the guards to unchain him.
A giant, whose name Robert did not know, dragged the sled to the room, its arrival announced by the wood scraping on the stone. Davos took a step back, while Tyrion hid behind Robert, the safest place in the room.
Marwyn looked to be salivating at the mouth and took quick steps to approach the White Walker. With Robert’s permission, the branches peeled back, a clear sign of magic, yet it wasn’t important enough to be commented on.
The pale face of the Other was revealed, and Davos prayed for safety.
Archmaester Marwyn seemed ready to harvest parts from the White Walker then and there. “Here is your first study then. You, along with Leaf, will construct a place to imprison the White Walker and find out what other weaknesses her kind has.” Not that he didn’t have plenty of firepower to sublimate the Night King and his army, but it was best to know as much about their enemy as possible.
“You wish for me to help him?” Leaf did not seem happy with the prospect of taking orders from a man other than Robert, but it was nothing to be concerned about.
Robert shook his head. “Seeing as you are the one with the most knowledge of the Others, he will be helping you.”
“Any issues?” He asked the Maester, not that the man had a choice.
“None, my lord.” This was an opportunity of a lifetime, to study a creature of legends like a White Walker, to see their magic,
“As you order.” Leaf agreed. She appreciated that Robert was keeping his word and treating them as equals to humans.
“Excellent. Rest for today and tomorrow, then start working.”
Comments
Garreon LeFay
Davos....Tyrion is right there with you and you know what his father did, there is a whole ass SONG about it. I know House Rey was smaller than the Ironborn, but honestly this is hardly the first time a particular group of people have been destroyed in Westeros. The Tragedy of Castamere is obvious proof of it, and the Squids kind of deserve it more than anyone
orcun demir
Death to the squids!
Rachel N
Wholeheartedly on Robert's side with destroying the Ironborn root and stem! That he still shows mercy while also being merciless is admirable.
