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Theon Greyjoy- An SI by Oghenevwogaga
 A song of Ice and Fire & Game of Thrones Xover Rated: M, English, Adventure & Fantasy, Jon S., Theon G., OC, Words: 38k+, Favs: 387, Follows: 503, Published: Jun 29 Updated: 1h ago 83Chapter 14
Special thanks to the folks on pa-atreon for making this possible. Now without further ado let's get into it.
I sat across from the Triarchs. The rulers of Volantis. The democratically elected rulers of the largest and most prosperous of the free city.
"So what do you want?" Malaquo Maegyr asked me with a scowl on his face. I simply smiled in reply while recalling the events that brought us here.
After I'd decimated Volantis' warrior fleet, it was only a matter of time till the city itself was mine. The slaves were already agitated with my agents spreading the news that I'd free them the moment I took over the city itself. With a 5 to 1 ratio of slaves to freemen in the city, any insurrection would be fatal to the city's survival.
Blockading the city for weeks with my own military fleet had done nothing but exacerbate the problem. The idea had come from Tiwa, my loyal secretary who wasn't really my secretary anymore. She was an efficient governess and was proving her worth on my council of advisors.
She'd given me a thorough assessment of the political situation in Volantis. She'd figured out that the push for this entire war was caused by the red temple itself. They'd started a campaign against me and managed to accomplish the unthinkable. You see, Volantis was ruled by two political parties- with three representatives being chosen from these two parties. It was tradition that two of these representatives would be from the elephant party, but this time the tiger party was the one in the majority. The tiger party was also the party more interested in warmongering. I still didn't know why I was the one being targeted by the red temple, but the fact that Tiwa managed to get this information in the first place was laudable.
"I'll get to the point. You can't beat me. I command an army larger than yours. Your entire military fleet is gone, and if these weren't enough. I have a dragon. A dragon large and strong enough to lay waste to your city in a day. You shouldn't be asking me what I want; you should be offering all you have and hope I leave you with enough to survive."
I could tell that none of the representatives here was pleased with my words. From the signs I could see, I knew they were pissed at me for pointing out their situation. I lounged back in my seat and waited for their next words. I held all the cards here. They'd already shown their desperation by coming to my ship to negotiate terms.
Having a dragon large enough to blot out the sun on some parts of the city flying around said city eroded thoughts of resistance very quickly.
Maluquo spoke again. The triarchs didn't have a leader, but he was the one in charge. "Gold. We have gold aplenty for you."
"Do I look like a Dothraki screamer" I interrupted him with annoyance. "I am King of Astapor. I am Theon Dragonborn. I have the wealth of old Valyria herself. What need have I of your gold?" I sneered the last word out while cursing my lack of self-control. The pride I inherited from Arrax could be a debilitating trait at the worst of times.
The Maegyr heir didn't look fazed at my statements and quickly switched tracks. "Economic benefits. We have those too. Ships. Even with most of our military fleet gone, we have ships aplenty for your own use. Name your price, and we'll try to meet it."
I found his tactics to be very suspicious. No one negotiated like this. Position of weakness or not. This is a seasoned politician. He shouldn't be admitting weakness to me already.
He should be feigning strength to cede as few concessions as he could. Essentially offering me the keys to his city was against every single rule or convention of negotiation, and it sent alarm bells ringing in my head.
"People, ships and gold," I said in reply to his statement. All the triarchs looked at me confused, and I simply smiled before explaining. "Your slaves, any one of them that desires a place in Astapor, will be freed from their masters and given leave to make the journey. Ships from your own fleet will be made available for this journey. I'll also be taking two million in gold for the trouble I've gone through in securing your surrender."
This was the best I could take from Volantis, in my opinion. I'd never have a favourable relationship with the city, so it was best fo me to take all I wanted from them while I could. The gold was nice, but the slaves and ships were the real coup.
Every economy was built on people, and while Astapor was beginning to become a large population centre in its own right, it couldn't compare to powerhouses like Volantis and Bravos. Getting that kind of population would take time. Time I wasn't comfortable with waiting for.
With this agreement, I'd get the slaves from Volantis, more ships for my fleet and gold to cover the initial costs of housing and feeding those slaves. I hadn't gotten as much wealth as I liked to portray from Valyria. I was rich, but my pockets weren't infinite.
Maluquo once again surprised me by accepting my offer, and we began to discuss the terms of how the slaves would be released. We concluded that announcers would make it known that any slave that desired freedom was to simply board one of the ships that would be made available at the ports in the next week.
I had some misgivings about whether the slaves would actually be released by their masters. Still, the triarchs assured me that it would happen as they ordered it. I had no doubts that quite a few slaves would be prevented from leaving, but I didn't want all the slaves either way.
As long as I got enough people to help solve my population problem, then I would be satisfied. While it might seem like Volantis was getting off lightly, and they were in some ways, it was acceptable since they never succeeded in harming me or mine. The only thing they actually managed to do was tick me off.
I concluded negotiations with them and delivered my warnings of what I would do if I found that I'd been cheated. I sent them on their way and made my way back to Astapor on Arrax's back.
I slept fitfully that night, which proved to be good when I noticed a shadow rising from the ground. I'm ashamed to admit that I froze in shock for a few minutes when I saw a formless black figure with a face I couldn't recognise floating before me. I was only able to move when the cloud did the same.
I rolled back off the bed as it dived at me. It tore through the bedding with its claws and was on me again when I finally managed to find one of my weapons. I slept with both my weapons on my bedside since it was the prudent thing to do.
As the shadow reared up at me and dove, I moved to the side in an instant before I lashed out with my Warhammer and smashed into its form. It shattered before me into formless darkness. I stood there for a few minutes, breathing quickly with the adrenaline running through my body.
It took me a few seconds to notice something else that was off. I focused my hearing and could hear roars coming from outside the room window. I knew that was the part of the castle Arrax had claimed as his den and I didn't think twice before running out the balcony to get a look at what was going on.
Even with my eyesight, they were too far, and the night was too dark for me to clearly understand what was happening. I could see enough to make a guess though. Shadowy figures moved around Arrax while another group of shadows stood before him with their hands spread to the sky.
I saw fires forming around the shadows and knew I'd seen enough. I dove out of the balcony and braced my legs before I hit the ground. Luckily, my room was only on the second floor. The rest of the castle was still in development so I hadn't claimed a tower of my own yet.
I covered the distance between me and the shadows at speeds I never knew I could reach. When I was close enough, I could see they were priests of the red god. I smashed the first one's head into paste with a swing of Stormbreaker and interrupted whatever ritual they were trying to execute.
They turned to me with evident surprise while I wasted no time in murdering my way through whatever defenders they'd brought with them. Before they could get over their shock and decide to continue the ritual, I was already among the priests, performing the work of the many-faced god.
I didn't have my sword with me but that made me even more dangerous in some ways. I snapped one priest's neck with a single hand while I smashed one's knee into dust before caving in his chest. When I got to the third one, whatever had been distracting Arrax was disposed of, and he breathed out a bolt of fire that washed over my victims and me.
I looked at him in irritation when the fire died out, and I found myself naked. His only reply was a movement of his neck that looked like a shrug.
I had him fly me the short distance back to my room. I ignored the unsullied that were drawn to the commotion after giving instructions to get rid of what remained of the bodies.
With time to think, it took me no time to figure out what had happened. The bastards in Volantis had agreed to my terms to buy time for their agents to assassinate me and steal my dragon. It wasn't even a bad plan. At least it wouldn't have been a bad plan if it had worked; now, I was still alive and very pissed off.
Not pissed enough to burn down the whole city though. I'd hated Danaerys for doing that in the show and I might be many things, but a hypocrite isn't one of them. I was still going to negotiate, but it would be less generous than I'd been the first time around.
I dressed up in my armour and made my way back to Arrax. I wouldn't be sleeping away from him tonight. Things had come too close for comfort. Arrax took me back to his den, and I laid with him and the white egg he was intent on nurturing. Made me wonder if Arrax might be a she. Hmm. Thoughts for later.
The next day, I could see the shock on the faces of all three patriarchs when Arrax landed in front of their central building with me on his back.
"We both know what you tried to do. I will only give you one more chance because I am a merciful man. I will have all the slaves in the city. There is no more slavery in Volantis. I'll also be taking five million in gold for my trouble." One of the other triarchs tried to object to my new terms, but a roar from Arrax silenced him before he could even begin.
I gave a small slap to Arrax's neck to let him know it was time to leave, and we were gone from the city of Volantis. I was a quarter of the way to Astapor when I reconsidered. The people of Volantis might have been innocent but I knew some people who were definitely guilty.
I had Arrax turn around, back to the city of Volantis. The red temple was easy to find. Volantis was the headquarters of the religion, so I wasn't surprised to note that it was one of the bigger buildings in the entire city.
Arrax read my intentions like a pro and landed on the roof of the building before letting out a roar that chased off the citizens that had been worshipping on the temple's steps. His roar also drew out some of the priests. He bathed them in fire as they emerged from the temple, and the charcoal that remained of their bodies gave off a horrible stench.
Arrax wasn't done, though. Not by a long shot. A weaker dragon might not have been able to pull off what he did next, but for him, it was easy. He reared up before smashing his tail through the roof. He slammed the rest of his body, and I held on even tighter to prevent myself from getting dislodged.
We slammed our way into the temple, and he rampaged through the building. In less than five minutes, the roof came down over our heads and I had to use a shield to prevent my untimely death. When it was all over, a small crowd had formed outside the rubble that was once the grandest temple in all of Essos. Arrax let out another roar that sent them all packing before we took off back to Astapor.
I considered my actions during the flight back to the city and couldn't even fault my rashness. I'd been insulted. They tried to kill me. Tried to take my dragon from me. My best friend. My thoughts took a dark turn, and I could barely resist the urge to turn around again and eliminate the triarchs.
I had to be logical about things. While destroying the temple might have sabotaged any chance of peace, killing the triarchs would definitely do that. Most of Volantis prayed to the red god, and I could only hope that destroying the temple didn't make them unwilling to pursue peace.
I knew one thing, though. I could talk a big game about not wanting to destroy a whole city, but if they chose to continue this pointless war, Volantis would burn. I'd pay whatever penance was necessary. The entire ordeal had tired me out from thoughts of war.
A dangerous thing to say when I had so much war ahead of me. I returned to the castle and changed out of my dusty clothes before heading to bed.
XXXXX
I smiled at Tiwa as she updated the rest of the council on the latest arrival of slaves from Volantis. The Triarchs had been pissed at my terms but having a few agents spread those terms to all slaves in the city ensured they would be complied with. A slave had no greater desire than freedom, and the knowledge that I'd given that to them would reignite whatever hope had been crushed out of them.
A combination of internal and external pressure assured their compliance. Now, a few sennights later, ships arrived from Volantis containing slaves every few days. I'd tasked my fleet with joining the ships I'd claimed from Volantis with ferrying the slaves over to Astapor.
Cement and concrete proved to be invaluable additions to our economy as they made it possible to construct housing for the freed slaves as they arrived. With the city being expanded in every direction (apart from the sea, of course), it was child's play to find space for them to stay in.
The expansion of the city was another project occupying much of the funds coming into the royal treasury. We had to collapse the walls around the city and build new ones miles away. During the period we didn't have any form of walls around the city, I'd almost run mad out of paranoia.
We probably should have waited to build the new walls before tearing down the old ones, but that wasn't even possible. Most of the stones used in the new walls were gotten from the old ones. I had to patrol the city on a daily basis from Arrax's back to scare away the few Dothraki screamers that were curious enough to come this way. Luckily, we didn't see any attacks from a Khalasar. I doubted they'd have been as willing to take a tribute from a city without any walls to keep them out.
We weren't defenceless, of course. Greybeard had the unsullied doing their own patrols in conjunction with mine. The decision was carefully considered but still gave me nightmares whenever I thought of the possibilities.
I'd become attached to this city in my year as its King, and now, it was time to consider expansion. I loved Astapor, but a king of only one city, no matter how magnificent, wasn't much of a king. The other cities in Slaver's bay were ripe for the taking, and I had the means to do a lot of taking.
We wouldn't be launching any attacks anytime soon, though. I still needed a much stronger army and economic base if I wanted to have any hope of being able to hold the cities I'd conquer.
I was jolted out of my thoughts by one of the unsullied at the door coming in to ask permission to allow a messenger inside. The council looked at me, and I waved my hand to show I didn't care either way.
The servant walked in a few moments later. He was dark-skinned, like most citizens of Astapor, and looked to be in his later teens. Too old to be in school but too young for the army. We had a strict age limit for the army; it was something I wouldn't budge on.
My glass of wine dropped out of my hand when the messenger delivered his message. Daenerys Targaryen was in Astapor and sought a meeting with me.
She was being held at the docks with her diminished household and dragons. I gave orders for her to be escorted in a carriage to my castle. I didn't want her in my city for longer than necessary, and having her brought here would do nothing but draw the wrong type of attention.
I reached out to Arrax with my mind and left the administrative building to mount him and head to the castle. My orders to my council were simple. Keep doing what we've been doing. I'll deal with this.
The flight to the castle was too short for me to finish considering all my options. I knew she would be coming to Astapor eventually, but I thought it would be moons or even years from now, at least.
I hadn't decided what to do with her yet, and that disturbed me. I knew there was no chance I'd pledge my armies to her cause, but I wasn't clear on whether to turn her away or offer her a place here. I didn't like her character in the latter half of the show, but I could empathise with her suffering. She also had the only other dragons in the world, and having her under my control would have only upsides.
My throne was definitely one of the masterpieces of the castle. A hulking behemoth of fused rock, melted into one seamless piece by dragon fire. It dwarfed everything below it and even had a dedicated set of steps to get to it. The reason this castle was taking so long to construct was because of how large I needed it to be for my purposes. My throne room was large enough to have Arrax curled up behind me.
If I compared it to castles in Westeros, it would be somewhere between Winterfell and the Red Keep in size. Nowhere near as large as Maegor's project but still larger than possibly the oldest castle in Westeros.
It took Daenerys and her entourage almost an hour to be ferried from the docks to my castle. Luckily, I could read one of the books that I placed in a secret drawer within the throne itself. When I eventually took over all of Slaver's Bay, this would be the centre of my rule. I knew I'd eventually get bored of listening to petitions from the throne for hours on end.
She arrived and one of the unsullied, Silvertongue, decided to act as the announcer since I didn't have a court orator. "You stand in the presence of King Theon Dragonborn, Krakenslayer, Dragon Slayer, King of Astapor and ruler of Old Valyria." The last title was a bit of a lark, but since I was the only one who'd survived the journey (to my knowledge, at least), I'd get the title. Anyone who disagreed could challenge me for it.
The old knight by her side, Jorah, I think his name was stepped up to announce her. "Danaerys Stormborn of the house Targaryen, Mother of Dragons, Queen of the seven kingdoms, the andals, the Ryoner and the first men. Defender of the faith and protector of the realm".
Pretty sure he didn't get the titles in the right order, but that wasn't unsurprising. Knight or not, he was still of the north. I decided to cut the pleasantries and focus on the here and now.
"What brings you here, Lady Targaryen?" I asked with a placid smile on my face. My words jolted her out of her staring contest with Arrax. To see a dragon so much larger and more magnificent than hers must have been a surprise.
"Queen", Jorah corrected me before she could reply.
"Queen? Has she conquered the seven kingdoms without my knowledge? Does she hold lands anywhere? I only call her lady out of courtesy, because she is, in fact, not even that" The words came out more harshly than intended. Still, I couldn't disagree with the substance of what I'd said.
"I am Danaerys Stormborn of House Targaryen. The last Targaryen. My family has ruled Westeros for centuries. The Iron throne is mine by right. I am Queen" I had to admire the force she put into the words.
"Right? There is only one right. The right of power. Aegon Targaryen conquered seven kingdoms with his power and forged a dynasty the likes of which the world has never seen. Robert Baratheon used his own power to take those same kingdoms for himself. There is no such thing as a rightful heir to the iron throne. Aegon had no blood claim to the throne, and neither did Robert. Yet, they both ruled as Kings." My words didn't land with her, and I could see her rearing up to speak her denial. It's sad that for all the criticisms she had of Viserys, she could be just as delusional as he was.
"That's beside the point, though. My question remains, why are you here?" That took the wind out of her sails and brought her back on topic. She stepped closer to the throne and began another impassioned request.
"The Unsullied are the greatest army known to the world. Even the Dothraki could not defeat them. If you grant me the army and shi[ps to take back my throne, I will see you repaid a hundredfold for your service."
I couldn't help myself; I laughed. I could see how young she was for myself at this very moment. The entitlement of teenagers.
"My army? My ships? To support your claim? Why should I do that? What incentive do I have to help you?"
"I'll see your help repaid. Gold, land, titles, all that and more could be yours if you decide to help me achieve my goals."
"Gold? The wealth of Valyria is mine. Land? I have that and more. Titles? I'm the only King in all of Essos. There is no greater title than that."
"Why bring me here then? You had to know what I wanted. If all you're going to do is refuse my requests, why go through all he trouble of transporting me here?"
"To be completely honest, I have no desire to help you press your claim in Westeros. That doesn't mean I have no desire to help you though. I've heard of what has befallen you in your journey and I hoped to put your suffering to an end. I offer accommodations in my castle. The best tutors to continue your education. A life of luxury and wealth beyond your imagination."
"And what do you ask for in return?" She asked with a suspicious frown on her face.
"The same thing every man you've met has done. But I offer drastically more than they do. I know you've been staring at him." I rose from my throne, and Arrax poked his head from behind the throne for me to scratch fondly.
"I have a dragon of my own. A dragon larger than any the world has seen since the dance of dragons. I know of dragons. I can help raise your sons. Give them a home, ensure they aren't abused or mistreated. Give you a home, as well. Is this not preferable to risking your life and those of your children all to press a claim to a throne in a land that has little love for you, and even less for what you represent."
XXXX
Danaerys had been staying in the castle for about two weeks now. She'd chosen to take some time to consider my offer. Her real intentions were obvious to anyone with eyes, though. She was going to stay here to refuel and reconsider her next options. She'd never marry me. She might have been attracted to me, she might have even been interested in the thought of a life of relative safety and luxury, but it all mattered little. So much of her life, her identity was buried in the thought of gaining the iron throne. It was the first thing she thought of when she awoke in the morning and the last thing on her mind before she went to bed.
I wasn't against her choice, though. It played well into my hands. I had little desire to marry her in actuality. She was beautiful and had the only other dragons in the world. Marrying her would practically ensure my own children would be Dragonriders. Still, at the end of the day, I just wasn't interested in her. Not in that way, at least. There was just so much baggage with her character in the show, and there's also her age to consider.
In my years away from Westeros, I'd become a man by every metric and Danearys was still a child. I was no Dothraki Khal. The thought of taking a child to bed didn't excite me in any way that truly mattered.
Enough of that, though; I had other things to consider. The expansion of the city was progressing right on schedule, and the army was also making good progress. I'd started purchasing horses from Westeros, which was a whole faff. No city in Essos would sell them to me in the numbers I needed, so I was forced to look across the narrow sea if I ever wanted to have the numbers to outfit a proper cavalry.
Another thing I had going on was a project to get some blacksmiths from Qohor. I had lots of Valyrian steel that lay unforged. That was more of a slow-going project for now, though. It wasn't urgent. I still had dozens of weapons in my vault that lay unused. I'd received offers from some noble families in Volantis and Lys, and I could only laugh in their faces. At this point, gold was unimportant. We had enough flowing in from the farms to fund the infrastructure building we were engaging in, and I personally paid for the welfare projects out of my treasury.
The gold would be useful, but I couldn't sacrifice the only weapons capable of killing the undead that would no doubt come knocking sooner or later. That was another thing to consider, though. I had no idea if the Others could swim or freeze the ocean or even walk on the ocean floor, but I was less blasé about finding out than I'd been even a few years ago. It made me consider backing the Targaryen just to ensure the threat went down. However, I still ended up deciding against it for now. I should have years before the others would become a problem, and I had Tiwa forming a network in Westeros that would ensure we heard of it if it ever became a problem.
My thoughts turned to my eventual conquest of slaver's bay. I already had a tentative plan for the eventual war but needed some things to come together first. We'd received about Fifty thousandslaves from Volantis, and about a third of them were interested in joining the military to free other slaves.
Greybeard was fantastically efficient when it came to recruitment speeches. They were being trained in group tactics and horseriding to prepare my own cavalry for when I finally had enough horses to justify it. The other two-thirds of the freed slaves had been assimilated into all levels of Astapor's budding economy. We had more farmers farm more of the land to produce even more food. No one in Astapor ever went hungry at this point. An expensive decision, but one I would stand by.
Others went into carpentry and blacksmithing, and we were even able to get a few glassblowers among them. The glass they could make was nowhere near as clear as the one Myr could produce. Still, the benefit of becoming a centre for learned people in Essos was that I had access to some of the brightest minds in the world. I had them all working on solving the problem. I was considering building my own grand library as a sort of citadel to draw even more learned people, but that would be an impressive expense, and I had no idea what books I'd fill the library with.
I had plans upon plans, and I just had to remind myself that everything would work out in time. No need to stress.
A/N; How's the dialogue looking? Definitely not my strong suit. Thanks for reading. We're already halfway through with chapter 17 on the pa-atreon page. Feel free to join me there if you can. Same username as up here. The link's on my profile.
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