Difference between revisions of "A Clash of Kings-Chapter 11"

From A Wiki of Ice and Fire
Jump to: navigation, search
m
Line 14: Line 14:
  
 
==Synopsis==
 
==Synopsis==
[[File:Theon Greyjoy.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Theon Greyjoy - Amoka©]]
+
[[File:Theon Greyjoy.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Theon Greyjoy - Amok©]]
  
 
There is no safe anchorage at [[Pyke]], but [[Theon Greyjoy]] insists the ''[[Myraham]]'' pass by so he can watch his home rise just as it dwindled when he was taken away as a ward of [[Eddard Stark]]. The castle seems one with the cliffs on which it is built. Only islands and rock pillars remain of the promontory it was built on. A curtain wall closes off the headland and a stone bridge that reaches to the Great Keep on the largest islet. Farther out, on their own islands, are the Kitchen Keep and the [[Pyke#Bloody Keep|Bloody Keep]].  
 
There is no safe anchorage at [[Pyke]], but [[Theon Greyjoy]] insists the ''[[Myraham]]'' pass by so he can watch his home rise just as it dwindled when he was taken away as a ward of [[Eddard Stark]]. The castle seems one with the cliffs on which it is built. Only islands and rock pillars remain of the promontory it was built on. A curtain wall closes off the headland and a stone bridge that reaches to the Great Keep on the largest islet. Farther out, on their own islands, are the Kitchen Keep and the [[Pyke#Bloody Keep|Bloody Keep]].  
Line 42: Line 42:
 
Resuming the journey, Theon asks if the islands have changed since he left. Aeron says they remain as their god made them. When Theon asks about [[Alannys Harlaw|his mother]] and [[Asha Greyjoy|sister]], he is told his mother now lives on [[Harlaw]] because of her health and Asha has taken ''[[Black Wind]]'' to [[Great Wyk]] with a message. Theon quips that Stark is [[Grey Wind|grey]] and Greyjoy is black, but they are both windy. When his uncle does not respond, Theon asks why he became so serious. Aeron replies that the vain man he was drowned and now he sees clearly.
 
Resuming the journey, Theon asks if the islands have changed since he left. Aeron says they remain as their god made them. When Theon asks about [[Alannys Harlaw|his mother]] and [[Asha Greyjoy|sister]], he is told his mother now lives on [[Harlaw]] because of her health and Asha has taken ''[[Black Wind]]'' to [[Great Wyk]] with a message. Theon quips that Stark is [[Grey Wind|grey]] and Greyjoy is black, but they are both windy. When his uncle does not respond, Theon asks why he became so serious. Aeron replies that the vain man he was drowned and now he sees clearly.
  
[[File:Aeron Greyjoy.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Aeron Greyjoy - Amoka©]]
+
[[File:Aeron Greyjoy.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Aeron Greyjoy - Amok©]]
  
 
Theon asks why his father has assembled his forces, but Aeron insists Balon commanded secrecy. Theon argues that he is the heir to Pyke, but Aeron only says this remains to be seen, since his sister still lives. Theon declares that a woman cannot inherit before him and he will not be cheated. Aeron retorts that Balon will never hand the Iron Islands over to a Stark, either.
 
Theon asks why his father has assembled his forces, but Aeron insists Balon commanded secrecy. Theon argues that he is the heir to Pyke, but Aeron only says this remains to be seen, since his sister still lives. Theon declares that a woman cannot inherit before him and he will not be cheated. Aeron retorts that Balon will never hand the Iron Islands over to a Stark, either.
Line 54: Line 54:
 
Instead of the snug bedchamber he remembers, Theon is led to the Bloody Keep, where the sons of the River King were slaughtered a thousand years before. The chambers have clearly been neglected for a long time, and Theon orders hot water and braziers to drive out the chill. Helya says she will do so and flees. Theon cleans up and dresses in his finest clothes, and warns the [[thrall]]s he expects  a warm, clean room when he returns.
 
Instead of the snug bedchamber he remembers, Theon is led to the Bloody Keep, where the sons of the River King were slaughtered a thousand years before. The chambers have clearly been neglected for a long time, and Theon orders hot water and braziers to drive out the chill. Helya says she will do so and flees. Theon cleans up and dresses in his finest clothes, and warns the [[thrall]]s he expects  a warm, clean room when he returns.
  
[[File:Balon Greyjoy.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Balon Greyjoy, Lord Reaper of Pyke - Amoka©]]
+
[[File:Balon Greyjoy.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Balon Greyjoy, Lord Reaper of Pyke - Amok©]]
  
 
The last bridge to the Sea Tower is made of rope and wood that sways underfoot, and Theon is amazed he used to run across it as a boy. After a curt word with the door guard, Theon climbs to the solar where his father waits. Lord Balon is smaller, gaunter, and greyer than Theon remembers him. Balon asks what Theon is now, and Theon replies he is a man and Balon's heir. Balon only says they will see and accuses Theon of being Eddard Stark's envoy. Theon reminds his father that Lord Eddard is dead, and Balon notes he has kept his promise to outlive Eddard and Robert, but he still aches like an old man.
 
The last bridge to the Sea Tower is made of rope and wood that sways underfoot, and Theon is amazed he used to run across it as a boy. After a curt word with the door guard, Theon climbs to the solar where his father waits. Lord Balon is smaller, gaunter, and greyer than Theon remembers him. Balon asks what Theon is now, and Theon replies he is a man and Balon's heir. Balon only says they will see and accuses Theon of being Eddard Stark's envoy. Theon reminds his father that Lord Eddard is dead, and Balon notes he has kept his promise to outlive Eddard and Robert, but he still aches like an old man.

Revision as of 02:15, 6 April 2014

Theon I
A Clash of Kings chapter
AClashOfKings.jpg
POV Theon
Place Aboard the Myraham - Lordsport - Pyke
Page 121 UK HC (Other versions)
Chapter chronology (All)
Davos I  ← Theon I →  Daenerys I

Theon II

Theon Greyjoy arrives at Lordsport with none of the fanfare he expected. His pious uncle Aeron escorts him to Pyke, where his father Lord Balon Greyjoy greets him coldly and derides his clothing. After reading the proposed alliance with Robb Stark, Balon throws it in the fire and insists he will pay the iron price and carve out a kingdom of his own.

Synopsis

Theon Greyjoy - Amok©

There is no safe anchorage at Pyke, but Theon Greyjoy insists the Myraham pass by so he can watch his home rise just as it dwindled when he was taken away as a ward of Eddard Stark. The castle seems one with the cliffs on which it is built. Only islands and rock pillars remain of the promontory it was built on. A curtain wall closes off the headland and a stone bridge that reaches to the Great Keep on the largest islet. Farther out, on their own islands, are the Kitchen Keep and the Bloody Keep.

Beyond that the outbuildings and towers cling to the sea-stacks, connected by archways or rope bridges. Theon cannot make out the banner above the Sea Tower on the outermost island, but he knows it is the golden kraken of House Greyjoy. In the sky beyond the castle, the red comet is still visible. Theon decides it is his comet, sliding a hand to the letter from Robb Stark that he considers as good as a crown.

The captain's daughter presses against Theon and asks if the castle is as he remembers it. Theon confesses it looks smaller. The girl observes that it looks windy. Theon laughs that it is a miserable hard place, but his father claims hard places breed hard men who rule the world.

Theon grants the captain permission to make for port, noting how different the fawning merchant is from the willful ironborn captains who are kings aboard their own ships. An ironborn longship would have made the crossing from Seagard in half the time as well, but the Myraham offers other amusements. Theon orders he be summoned when they reach Lordsport and leads the captain's daughter aft toward the captain's cabin. Unlike the cabin, the daughter was not turned over for his use, but she came willingly enough. She is not perfectly to Theon's taste, but her maidenhood and her father's stifled disapproval are both amusing.

Once in the cabin, the girl asks how long Theon has been away. Theon explains he was ten when he was taken, remarking to himself that he spent a hostage half his life, but now he is free. As he undresses her, Theon explains about the hard life of the Iron Islanders. The girl asks to come ashore with him, but Theon rebuffs her, explaining that the days are gone when the ironborn could take salt wives they captured on raids. She insists that she could be his salt wife.

Pyke, the seat of House Greyjoy - Feliche©

The girl offers to let him enter her again, but Theon decides to have her pleasure him with her mouth instead, partially to silence her. She is confused at first but learns quickly, which pleases Theon. He muses that he might have kept the girl as a salt wife if the ironborn still kept the Old Way, living by the axe and taking what they wanted, but the Old Way ended when Aegon the Dragon burned Black Harren and banished the ironmen back the Iron Islands. Theon reminisces that his father rose in rebellion more to bring back the Old Way than for the vanity of a crown. Theon believes this is his hour and wonders what his father will say when he learns that Theon has succeeded where he failed.

The voyage from Seagard has brought back an old love of the sea to Theon, and he vows never to go far from the sea again. The captain's daughter again begs him to take her as his salt wife, but Theon insists her place is on the Myraham. She replies that her father will punish her if she stays. Theon responds that she is probably pregnant and her father should be pleased with the honor of raising a king's bastard. The girl only stare at him stupidly, so Theon leaves her.

The last time Theon saw the village of Lordsport it was a smoking ruin. Now Lord Sawane Botley has rebuilt his castle in stone and a larger inn replaces the old one. The old sept has not been replaced, but Theon is more interested in the ships. Besides the usual fishers and traders, he notices at least fifty or sixty longships including those of Houses Goodbrother, Wynch, and Harlaw from the other islands. He cannot see his uncle Euron's Silence, but he does spy his father's Great Kraken. It is obvious the longships are hosting, and Theon wonders if his father anticipated his message and called his banners. He worries his father plans to steal his glory, but decides the hosting must be just a precaution by a cautious old man like his father, and will mean he can strike all the more quickly.

There is no honor guard to escort Theon, and the waiting merchants are unimpressed when the captain announces him. He orders a horse from an innkeeper, who does not recognize his importance. The transaction is interrupted by a priest of the Drowned God, who says he will escort his nephew. Theon does not recognize the grim, bearded priest until he remembers his father writing that his uncle Aeron Greyjoy sank in a storm and turning holy when he washed up. The captain's daughter brings Theon his pack, insisting she loves him, but he brushes her off.

Theon is baptized - HBO©

Hurrying after his uncle, Theon asks why he did not receive a more formal greeting. Aeron insists he is not to question the Lord Reaper of Pyke. The priest's cold manner is totally unlike the amiable uncle Theon remembers. Abruptly, Aeron asks if Theon prays to the Stark gods now, and Theon (who seldom prays at all) says no. Aeron commands Theon to kneel in the mud. Deciding he may need his uncle's help later, Theon acquiesces. Aeron drenches his head with seawater from a waterskin, intoning, "Let Theon your servant be born again from the sea, as you were. Bless him with salt, bless him with stone, bless him with steel." Remembering, Theon replies, "What is dead may never die," and Aeron echoes him: "What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder and stronger."

Resuming the journey, Theon asks if the islands have changed since he left. Aeron says they remain as their god made them. When Theon asks about his mother and sister, he is told his mother now lives on Harlaw because of her health and Asha has taken Black Wind to Great Wyk with a message. Theon quips that Stark is grey and Greyjoy is black, but they are both windy. When his uncle does not respond, Theon asks why he became so serious. Aeron replies that the vain man he was drowned and now he sees clearly.

Aeron Greyjoy - Amok©

Theon asks why his father has assembled his forces, but Aeron insists Balon commanded secrecy. Theon argues that he is the heir to Pyke, but Aeron only says this remains to be seen, since his sister still lives. Theon declares that a woman cannot inherit before him and he will not be cheated. Aeron retorts that Balon will never hand the Iron Islands over to a Stark, either.

Theon broods on his life in Winterfell. He was raised among the Stark children, but never as one of them since the whole castle treated him like the hostage he was. Lord Eddard tried to play the father sometimes, but Theon could not forget the destruction he brought to Pyke, and Lady Catelyn was even more distant. Only Robb and Jon Snow were old enough to bond with, and Jon was sullen and jealous. Theon does feel a certain affection for Robb, but decides it is best not to mention that to his father and uncles, who are stuck in their old feuds. Even on the trip from Riverrun, Lord Jason Mallister disapproved of his son Patrek fraternizing with Theon, whose brother Rodrik Greyjoy died attempting to storm Seagard.

Unable to stand the silence, Theon says that Robb is now Lord of Winterfell and has broken fealty with the Iron Throne. Aeron dismisses this as old news. Theon claims it means a new day, but Aeron declares that each new day is much like the last. Theon disagrees, telling hm the red comet is said to be a herald of a new age sent by the gods. Aeron declares it a sign from the Drowned God, proclaiming a rising tide and signaling the ironborn to go forth into the world with fire and sword.

They reach Pyke at sunset. Theon sees the old scars of Robert Baratheon's siege and notes the south tower has been rebuilt. There is no one to meet him except a stableman for his horse and an old crone to show him to his chambers. His uncle hastily departs to return to the Drowned God's business. The crone, named Helya, explains that his father awaits him in the Sea Tower. When Theon learns that the old steward Sylas is dead and Maester Wendamyr has replaced Maester Qalen, he realizes that he is a stranger in his own home.

Instead of the snug bedchamber he remembers, Theon is led to the Bloody Keep, where the sons of the River King were slaughtered a thousand years before. The chambers have clearly been neglected for a long time, and Theon orders hot water and braziers to drive out the chill. Helya says she will do so and flees. Theon cleans up and dresses in his finest clothes, and warns the thralls he expects a warm, clean room when he returns.

Balon Greyjoy, Lord Reaper of Pyke - Amok©

The last bridge to the Sea Tower is made of rope and wood that sways underfoot, and Theon is amazed he used to run across it as a boy. After a curt word with the door guard, Theon climbs to the solar where his father waits. Lord Balon is smaller, gaunter, and greyer than Theon remembers him. Balon asks what Theon is now, and Theon replies he is a man and Balon's heir. Balon only says they will see and accuses Theon of being Eddard Stark's envoy. Theon reminds his father that Lord Eddard is dead, and Balon notes he has kept his promise to outlive Eddard and Robert, but he still aches like an old man.

Balon accuses Theon of dressing like a woman in velvets and silks, and asks if the gold chain around his neck was bought with iron or gold. Theon only then remembers that the Old Way stipulates a warrior may only wear jewelry taken from enemies he has slain. Theon blushes and his father yanks the chain off, declaring that his daughter has taken an axe for a lover, and he will not have his son dressed like a whore. Balon decides the Starks have made Theon theirs. Theon insists that the Starks were only his captors, but Balon points out Theon is acting like a trained raven for Robb. Theon insists Robb's offer was his idea, which seems to amuse Balon. Theon explains that Robb considers him a brother, but Balon rages that he will not hear Theon call the son of Eddard Stark a brother since Eddard killed Theon's true brothers. Eddard Stark killed neither in truth, but would not have hesitated to do so. Theon argues that he remembers very well (chiefly his brothers' abuses), but he also remembers when his father was a king.

Balon is unimpressed by the letter, which he summarizes as if he destroys Robb's enemies, Robb will give him a crown. Theon explains that Robb intends to draw Ser Stafford Lannister into the field so the ironborn can descend on Lannisport and Casterly Rock by sea. Balon insists Casterly Rock has never fallen, but Theon offers to lead the attack himself in exchange for Casterly Rock as his own seat. Balon comments that Theon rewards himself handsomely for a few lines of scribbling, since Robb promises nothing about a reward. Balon is also suspicious of the word "give." Theon attempts to explain, but his father insist that what is meant is what is said, and what is given can be taken away. Balon throws the letter into the fire and backhands Theon when he protests. Balon declares no man gives him a crown. He will pay the iron price and take his crown as Urron Redhand did 5,000 year ago. Angered, Theon reminds his father that when the wars are over the victor will turn his attention to Balon again and crush him again.

Balon laughs that at least Theon is no craven and explains he means to carve out a kingdom, but of his own choosing and not in the Westerlands; Casterly Rock is too strong and Tywin Lannister is too cunning. He has his eye on a different prize, less valuable but ripe and undefended. Theon does not have to ask where.

References and Notes

See also