Pirate King System

The days on Pike Island passed uneventfully for another two years. It was 275 AC, and Euron Greyjoy was five years old.

Dawn soaked into the salt-laden fog, the damp sea breeze carrying grains of salt that slapped against the rocks. Euron Greyjoy walked barefoot over the slick stones, cold seawater washing over his ankles before receding, leaving a thin layer of frothy bubbles behind. In the distance, the black silhouette of the Hao Yin loomed in and out of the mist—a longship with a shallow draft, its prow carved into a gaping dragon's mouth, six oar ports lined with brass on each side.

This was his third time sneaking a look at this ship.

Ever since "Cracked Jaw" Daggmo had docked at Pike Island for supplies last month, his brother Balon Greyjoy's eyes hadn't left it. After that, Balon spent nearly every day with Daggmo and his crew, drinking, boasting, and sharpening axes—Balon had wanted to go raiding for a long time, and the Hao Yin gave him that chance.

A wise man does not stand beneath a crumbling wall.

If he could help it, Euron would rather stay in the safety of the castle. But three days ago, when he first stepped barefoot into the seawater, he heard a sound that made his heart race—

[Ding! Host detected in contact with seawater. Pirate King System activation: 1%]

By the Drowned God, he finally had his golden finger too!

The tide surged, covering his ankles with a strange intimacy in the cold. Euron suddenly "saw" an octopus three inches underwater, shrinking into a crevice—not with his eyes, but through the tremor of the current.

He tested the waters, wading deeper, but the moment the sea reached his knees, a guard behind him yanked him back.

[Pirate King System activation: 1.01%. When activation reaches 100%, the Pirate King System will officially launch!]

One voyage might be enough to fully activate the system!

Euron stared at the Hao Yin, his fingers unconsciously stirring the water. To change his fate—whether his own, his father's, his brother's, his unborn nephews' and nieces', or even the entire Iron Islands'—he needed power. And the Hao Yin happened to offer him that chance.

"The young lord shouldn't be here. Those sailors, once drunk, wouldn't spare a thought for a lord, a king, or even the High King himself." Old fisherman Wick stood on the shore, blocking Euron's view with a hand missing two fingers. "If your father found out you snuck onto the ship last night..."

"You don't tell, I don't tell, and my father won't know." Five-year-old Euron was allowed to move outside the castle under guard, but only along a short stretch of coastline. Old fisherman Wick's loyalty, bravery, and combat skill had earned King Kolen's trust, and he was temporarily serving as Euron's protector.

The sea fog suddenly parted in a gust of wind. Euron saw a figure like an iron tower standing by the ship's wheel—Daggmo's jaw was split in two (the origin of his nickname "Cracked Jaw"), held together by iron rings, and every time he drank, dark red liquor leaked out. Legend said he had single-handedly cut down seven Myrish sailors in the Stepstones, and the golden silk belt he'd looted was now cinched over his greasy leather armor.

Euron pointed at a long string of objects hanging from the mast and asked, "What's that?"

Old fisherman Wick made a gurgling sound in his throat. "Ears! The ones not yet dried are from Lysene merchants. The Hao Yin raided a merchant ship a few days ago... Each ear marks a successful raid." His tone carried envy, as if the bloodlust for plunder had been ignited within him.

Euron pulled a silver stag from his pocket and tossed it to Old Wick. "Forgot to congratulate you. Your youngest son is three months old, right? Spend more time with him—they grow up fast, and then they're not so cute anymore."

The old fisherman caught the coin steadily, grinning as he caught Euron's meaning—to drop any thought of going raiding himself. He nodded. "The young lord's right. Old Wick's at the age where he's only fit for fishing in Ironborn Bay."

"The little prince come to inspect his fleet again?"

Daggmo's voice was rougher than the waves, but his tone carried affection. He crouched by the rocks, the iron-ringed split in his jaw still stained with last night's honey wine. He lifted Euron like a kitten, his large hand—missing three fingers—surprisingly gentle.

"Your brother's about to do something stupid." Daggmo wiped Euron's wet hands dry with his leather armor. "But I bet the little kraken already figured it out?"

The damp deckboards suddenly creaked. Balon emerged from behind a pile of cargo, an eighteen-year-old youth broader than most warriors, his leather vest stained with last night's revelry—ale and women's perfume. A freshly sharpened axe hung at his waist, its blade gleaming a pale gray in the morning mist.

"Little rat spying on me?" Balon grabbed Euron by the collar, his breath reeking of sea salt. "Thinking of tattling on your dear brother?"

Euron's feet dangled in the air as he spotted a fresh scar on Balon's neck—from three days ago, when King Kolen had whipped him, roaring that the Greyjoy heir shouldn't be loafing around like a common pirate.

Euron blinked. "The eastern reefs will be submerged by the high tide tonight." He pointed at the Hao Yin. "With a southwest wind, you can sail beyond Father's sight before dawn."

Balon's blue eyes narrowed into slits. In the distance, the crew's assembly horn sounded, and the Hao Yin was pulling up its gangplank.

"Little brother." Balon's voice was taut as a sail rope. "If you tell Father..." His hand rested on his axe haft, but his gaze wavered like a guilty child's. "A smart man knows when to shut up." He tossed Euron onto the wet sand like a fish, striding toward the longship without looking back, warning, "If Mother asks, say I went to Old Wick Island to spar with the Stonehouse men."

"Mother won't believe that." Euron stood up, brushed the sand off his backside, and snorted. "Even a three-year-old knows you're going raiding with Daggmo!"

Balon spun around, his eyes fierce. "You little bastard, want me to tie you to the rocks and give you another drowning?"

Euron grinned. "I won't rat you out... unless you let me sail with the Hao Yin!"

Old fisherman Wick's jaw dropped. "S-sail?"

Balon burst out laughing. "Sail? You think we're going fishing!?"

"Not fishing—raiding merchant ships."

"You're five years old!"

"So what? I'm still ironborn, the son of Kolen Greyjoy, the heir of the Iron Islands!"

Balon gritted his teeth in frustration. "Swords have no eyes, blood and flesh fly everywhere—you think raiding is a game? The maester and his moldy parchments are waiting for you up in the tower."

"You're always saying book learning is useless, that a true ironborn should learn to handle a longship and swing an axe." Euron looked at him challengingly. "Or is it that you're afraid your five-year-old brother will charge ahead... or that Balon Greyjoy, the so-called 'finest swordsman of the Iron Islands,' can't even protect his own brother?"

Balon's face flushed red. He grabbed Euron by the collar, his gap-toothed grin savage in the morning light. "Since you're not afraid to die, then let me show you the old way!"

Old fisherman Wick stepped in front of Balon, his thick hand gripping the axe haft, his eyes sharp. "Put the young lord down!"

Balon set Euron down, bared his teeth at Wick, and drew his longsword. "Old man's got eyes only for the young lord. I'm still the future king of the Iron Islands! What, old man, want to test if my blade's sharp?"

"This is my own idea, none of you are to blame!" Euron waved at old fisherman Wick and laughed. "Wick, go back and tell my father—short as half a month, long as a month, I'll come back with a ship full of plunder!"

Seeing he couldn't stop it, old fisherman Wick leaped onto the ship, his face ashen. "I'm your guard. If you go to sea and die, how can I face the king? Even if the king doesn't kill me, I'd have no face left!"

The Hao Yin's sails rose, black canvas bearing Daggmo's family sigil—a sea serpent biting its own tail. As the last rope was cast off, a small flag rose at the masthead: the golden kraken of House Greyjoy, coiling fiercely in the morning light.

The corner of Euron's mouth lifted slightly. System activation: 1.5%.