Chapter Summaries

After drowning in a supernatural whirlpool, Huang Zhengdao’s soul entered the stillborn Euron Greyjoy during the Ironborn’s drowning ritual. Euron survived, was hailed as a divine miracle by the Drowned Priest, and was carried toward the castle by his wary older brother, Balon.

• Huang Zhengdao was pulled under by a vast whirlpool and heard a mysterious voice declare that the dead would rise again, stronger than before.
• On Pike Island, Kolen Greyjoy and Balon watched as the Drowned Priest submerged newborn Euron Greyjoy in the sea.
• As Euron’s body seemed dead, Huang Zhengdao’s soul was forced into it, and the baby convulsed, expelled seawater, and began to cry.
• The Drowned Priest proclaimed Euron a miracle and the Drowned God incarnate, while Kolen claimed him as his trueborn son.
• Kolen handed Euron to Balon and ordered him to take the baby to the castle, leaving Balon unsettled by his brother’s strange eyes and their father’s attention.
• Huang Zhengdao’s soul and Euron Greyjoy’s soul began to merge within the newborn.

Three-year-old Euron Greyjoy learned about the Iron Islands and their houses while Maester Craigon explained the islands’ history and traditions. Euron concealed his knowledge as a transmigrant and listened as Craigon began teaching him the other houses’ sigils and mottos.

• Maester Craigon showed Euron the Golden Kraken and described House Greyjoy’s descent from the Grey King.
• Craigon mapped the Iron Islands and outlined the major houses, while Euron quietly memorized their names and influence.
• Craigon told Euron that Lord Kolen’s proposal to replace reaving with trade had drawn opposition, including a mocking carving of House Greyjoy’s motto at Pyke’s docks.
• Craigon recounted the Iron Islands’ history and explained the Ironborn belief in paying the iron price, while Euron considered his father’s reforms and his own knowledge of the future.
• Euron asked Craigon about the other houses, and the maester began listing their sigils and mottos as Euron compared them with his memories.

Yulon Greyjoy used his adult memories and knowledge of the future to learn quickly and support Kolen’s efforts to reform the Iron Islands. The chapter left Yulon determined to grow his influence and change the islands’ fate while hiding his unusual nature.

• Yulon told Kolen he had overheard his disagreement with Balon over the Old Way and said he supported his father’s reforms.
• Yulon trained with Uncle Balf and demonstrated to Maester Craigon that he could already read, while pretending to struggle.
• At dinner, Yulon argued that studying other Houses’ histories and customs could help the Ironborn defeat their enemies, and Kolen praised him while rebuking Balon.
• Balon resented Yulon and suspected Kolen might favor him as an heir, while Yulon anticipated that their conflicting beliefs would deepen their conflict.
• Yulon prayed to the Drowned God and planned to keep learning, build his power, and prepare to change the Iron Islands.

In 275 AC, five-year-old Euron Greyjoy discovered that seawater was activating his Pirate King System and decided to sail with Cracked Jaw Daggmo and Balon on a raid. The Hao Yin departed Pike Island with Euron and Old Wick aboard, while Euron’s system activation reached 1.5%.

• Euron secretly visited the Hao Yin and learned that contact with seawater was activating his Pirate King System.
• Euron warned Balon that the eastern reefs and a southwesterly wind would let the ship escape Kolen’s reach before dawn.
• Balon caught Euron spying, but Euron demanded to join the raid instead of keeping his departure secret.
• Euron taunted Balon into agreeing to take him, and Old Wick boarded to protect the young lord.
• The Hao Yin set sail under Daggmo’s banner with Euron and Old Wick aboard, and Euron’s system activation reached 1.5%.

Euron Greyjoy sailed with his father Kolen’s raiding party toward the Stepstones, learning from Daggmo and Balon as the Pirate King System activated. When a storm struck the Hao Yin, Euron used his growing abilities to rescue Old Wick and astonish the crew.

• Daggmo led the Hao Yin out of Pyke with Euron and Balon aboard for a raid near the Stepstones.
• During the voyage, Daggmo taught Euron about sailing and shared a whale-bone chart marking dangerous waters and pirate lairs.
• Balon recognized an approaching storm, and the crew lowered the sails and secured the ship as the waves battered the Hao Yin.
• Balon showed Euron the Devil’s Molar whirlpool and told him where to swim if the ship broke apart.
• Euron cut his palm and smeared blood on the cabin doorframe, raising his system activation to 65%.
• Euron crossed the storm-tossed deck with ease and used a rope to save Old Wick, leaving Daggmo and the crew amazed.

Ten days into the voyage, Yulon endured the Hao Yin’s brutal food, fighting, and sailor customs before intervening when Hoke suffered a severe leg wound during a Finger Dance duel. Yulon stopped the bleeding and splinted Hoke’s broken leg, while Balon revealed that he had learned first aid by watching a healer treat another man.

• Yulon refused maggot-ridden salted cod, ate moldy hardtack, and boiled his rationed water despite the sailors’ mockery.
• Yulon learned the Ironborn’s ruthless fighting methods as Grenn attacked him in a brawl and Daggmo demonstrated how to finish a fight.
• Balon and Hoke fought a Finger Dance duel, and Hoke’s calf was badly cut while his leg bone broke.
• Yulon recognized Hoke’s severed femoral artery and stopped the bleeding, stitched the vessel, and splinted the broken leg.
• Daggmo asked who had taught Yulon first aid, and Balon said Yulon had copied a healer who treated Vincent Rayne’s broken leg.

Yulon helped the Ironborn defeat a Braavosi ship disguised as a merchant vessel, discovered it was carrying slaves, and reasoned that a richer prize lay ahead. The chapter ended with Daggmo ordering survivors kept alive for questioning as the Pirate King System reached 85% activation.

• Yulon warned Baron that the approaching Braavosi ship looked suspicious, but hidden scorpions opened fire before he could explain.
• Yulon killed the attacker with the silver nose ring and a bald giant, then helped the Ironborn fight off the sellswords.
• Yulon discovered slaves and chains beneath the hold and revealed that the ship was a disguised slave ship.
• Baron thanked Yulon for saving his life, while Daggmo lamented that eight Ironborn had died for little loot.
• Yulon studied the captured sea chart and argued that an armed patrol ship meant a more valuable target was nearby, prompting Daggmo to order survivors captured for interrogation.
• The Pirate King System announced that its activation had risen to 85% after Yulon's first naval battle.

Euron Greyjoy and the Ironborn tortured three captives for details about two lightly guarded merchant ships carrying valuable cargo and Wildfire. They ambushed the fleet at Widow's Pass and began seizing the ships and their goods.

• Balon Greyjoy and Cracked Jaw Daggmo tortured a captive until he revealed the merchants' route, cargo, and nine guards, while Euron Greyjoy extracted the guard count.
• The captives revealed that the ships carried hidden Wildfire, and Balon and Daggmo looked to Euron with renewed admiration.
• On the fourteenth night at sea, Euron led the Hao Yin into Widow's Pass as the merchant ships entered the strait.
• Captain Daggmo ordered poisoned arrows fired, while Balon Greyjoy boarded the second ship and killed its lookout.
• Old Wick's crew covered the Wildfire barrels with seawater-soaked blankets, and Grenn disabled the helmsman.
• Daggmo ordered his men to throw the dead overboard and protect the cargo as they plundered the ships.

After the Hao Yin raided a Braavosi merchant ship, Baron and his crew divided the plunder and captives while Yulon claimed the multilingual Lysa as his maid. The ship headed home with its stores of food and water nearly exhausted, leaving the crew to endure a miserable final stretch at sea.

• The Ironborn celebrated their victory and sorted the Hao Yin’s stolen silks, spices, gold, and valuables according to the laws of the Iron Islands.
• Daggmo brought the captive women before Baron, who claimed the Dornish and Tyroshi girls as Salt wives.
• Yulon chose twelve-year-old Lysa, who spoke seven languages, to serve as his maid rather than as a Salt wife.
• The Hao Yin set out for home with its deck laden with plunder, but the crew soon suffered from a shortage of fresh water and food.

Yulon’s Pirate King System fully activated as his ship reached Pyke, granting him passive Conqueror’s Haki and exploration points. King Kolen punished Yulon and Baron for their unauthorized raid, ordering house arrest and assigning Baron especially harsh labor.

• As Pyke came into view, Lysa used the Dragon Crystal Compass while Daggmo identified it as the Beacon of Blood and Fire.
• Yulon’s Pirate King System activated and awarded him level-one passive Conqueror’s Haki, which unnerved the people around him; he also gained exploration points for discovering the West Blue and Pike Island.
• King Kolen confronted Baron and Yulon over raiding without permission and warned that their actions had endangered the Iron Islands.
• Kolen sentenced both sons to a month of house arrest, ordered Baron to scrape barnacles from Howling Cape afterward, and made Yulon copy three sets of texts under Lysa’s supervision.
• Kolen ordered Daggmo to divide the spoils, putting half of House Greyjoy’s share into storage and exchanging the other half for food and timber to strengthen Pyke’s defenses.

Baron and Yulon left Kolen’s hall after he ordered them to visit their grieving mother, Sansa. Sansa struck Baron for endangering Yulon, and Yulon slipped away to seek treatment for his injured shoulder, leaving Baron glaring after him.

• Baron blamed Yulon for Kolen’s punishment, but Yulon reminded him that he had saved Baron’s life at Havana Port.
• Kolen stopped the brothers’ argument and ordered them to visit Sansa, who had been weeping over their recklessness.
• Sansa slapped Baron for taking five-year-old Yulon into danger, then struck him again when she saw Yulon’s bruised shoulder and arrow graze.
• Yulon claimed he felt dizzy and needed Maester Craigon to dress his wound, then hurried out before Baron could retaliate.

King Kolen heard Daggmo’s account of Yulon’s cleverness during Baron’s raid and questioned why an Ironborn Greyjoy would need such skills. Daggmo’s answer suggested Yulon had seemed touched by the Drowned God and crowned by the Grey King, leaving Kolen in silence.

• King Kolen ordered Daggmo to recount the voyage and raid in full.
• Daggmo explained that Yulon had warned Baron to consider escorts, water depths, and hidden reefs before attacking the merchant ship.
• Yulon inspected prisoners, used rust in an old wound to force a confession, questioned captives separately, and compared their accounts to uncover the guards and ghostfire.
• Yulon had the crew chart currents and set ambushes on exposed reefs and in flooded channels, helping the Ironborn defeat the merchants.
• Daggmo told Kolen that Yulon had taken Lysa as a maid and was learning High Valyrian from her.
• Kolen asked why Yulon needed such skills, and Daggmo said Yulon had seemed possessed by the Drowned God and had worn the Grey King’s crown.

While copying texts in Pyke’s library tower, Yulon asked Lysa to teach him High Valyrian and began connecting its words to Ironborn religion, law, and power. After completing his copies, he left with a growing interest in using language and the loopholes in oaths to his advantage.

• Yulon asked Lysa what “Valar dohaeris” meant, and she explained its meaning and the ancient significance of High Valyrian.
• Lysa agreed to teach Yulon during breaks after he finished his daily copying quota.
• Yulon learned Valyrian words for the Drowned God, stone, blood, weapons, and knowledge, and connected them to Ironborn beliefs and ambitions.
• Yulon learned words for law, chain, oath, and sand, then interpreted the phrase “Avy kepā” as support for treating promises to mainlanders as unreliable.
• Lysa warned that an oath’s meaning could depend on the speaker, the listener, or the wind, and Yulon resumed copying with renewed focus.
• Yulon finished copying the required texts, and Lysa checked and confirmed that the copies were accurate.

Euron confronted Lysa about her hidden origins and offered her a place in his ambitious plans, seeking her knowledge of languages and ancient secrets. Lysa agreed to serve as his interpreter and observer for now, while reserving her loyalty and warning that the doors they opened could lead to danger.

• Euron connected Lysa’s unusual languages, composure, and concealed golden dagger to a hidden identity.
• Euron declared his ambition to sail beyond known seas and asked Lysa to become a key to ancient knowledge and a witness to his future.
• Lysa answered that the meaning of service had to be written through action, and offered her skills without promising loyalty or revealing her past.
• Euron praised Lysa’s reply and insisted that a true storm would empower recognized allies rather than destroy them.
• Euron turned back to the books, confident that Lysa would join him on the voyage ahead.

Yulon reviewed the Iron Islands’ strengths and weaknesses while tracking the growing rift between Aerys II and Tywin Lannister, which he knew would lead to the War of the Usurper. He concluded that Kolen Greyjoy’s sweeping reforms would fail unless the islands changed gradually, and he faced the challenge of persuading his father to follow a slower course.

• Yulon sorted raven reports into a timeline, confirming that the Duskendale Rebellion and Aerys II’s rejection of Cersei Lannister’s proposed match with Rhaegar had happened as he expected.
• Yulon marked the coming milestones of the War of the Usurper and saw the next eight years as an opportunity to prepare the Iron Islands.
• Yulon listed the Iron Islands’ naval strengths, natural defenses, and iron, salt, and fishing resources, along with their shortages of food, timber, skilled labor, population, unity, administration, and intelligence.
• Yulon considered Kolen Greyjoy’s plans to free slaves, abandon the Old Way, promote the Faith of the Seven, and open the ports, and judged that the changes would provoke resistance or fail without trust and economic alternatives.
• Yulon decided that the Iron Islands needed gradual reforms that demonstrated practical benefits, but recognized that persuading Kolen to lead them would be his greatest challenge.

Euron used Lysa’s advice to persuade King Kolen to pursue gradual reforms for the Iron Islands. Kolen agreed to consider the approach and invited Euron to join him in the council chamber.

• Euron entered Kolen’s study and acknowledged his frustration with the lords resisting change.
• Euron proposed gradual reforms, including rewarding productive slaves, redirecting raids, educating Drowned Men, and creating a protected trading zone.
• Kolen questioned whether Euron had devised the ideas himself, and Euron credited Lysa’s advice before explaining his own reasoning.
• Kolen accepted the idea of making changes gradually and told Euron to attend the council chamber with him starting the next day.

Kolen ordered Yulon to attend the council chamber, and Lysa advised him to watch and listen rather than speak. That night, Yulon witnessed Baron oversee the branding and rebirth of two captured girls as Ironborn wives, then learned Baron feared the council would humiliate their family and warned Yulon to remain silent.

• Kolen ordered Yulon to join him in the council chamber the next day, and Yulon agreed to observe and listen.
• Lysa advised Yulon to stay quiet and study the lords before trying to influence the council.
• Yulon secretly watched Baron and a priest brand two captive girls as Wives of the Ironborn at the Drowned God's altar.
• Baron caught Yulon spying, punched him, and warned him that the council chamber was dangerous.
• Yulon told Baron about the council meeting and asked him for advice, and Baron ordered him to say nothing and not be late.

Yulon used the Pirate King System to uncover the council chamber on Pike Island and attended his first council meeting as a five-year-old. The Ironborn lords mocked and questioned him while they awaited King Kolen, leaving Yulon to remain silent and composed.

• The Pirate King System revealed the council chamber and awarded Yulon 10 points for discovering it.
• Yulon arrived early at the council chamber with Maester Craigon and Lysa as the Ironborn lords began gathering.
• Dunstan Drumm mocked Yulon for sitting on the council, and Gimond Pottery warned that the lords wanted to hear his reform plans.
• Baelon Blacktyde prayed aloud about Yulon's mismatched eyes and suggested he might herald chaos for the Iron Islands.
• Yulon considered examples of young leaders in Westeros but held his tongue, remembering Lysa's advice to stay quiet.

Kolen Greyjoy joined the council as the lords challenged his reforms over the Faith of the Seven, Pyke’s harbor, and winter provisions. The debate ended with radical captains demanding a return to the Old Way, while Yulon silently studied the factions and their motives.

• Kolen entered the council chamber, took his seat on the throne, and asked the lords what troubles were rising on their islands.
• Dunstan Drumm complained that septons from the Faith of the Seven were preaching across the Iron Islands and threatening the Drowned God's influence.
• Gimond Pottery argued that Pyke’s new harbor had attracted no merchant ships and had wasted labor and resources.
• Baelon Blacktyde warned that winter and the proposed salt tax threatened the Ironborn’s food supply and livelihoods.
• A captain from Old Wick Island and other radicals urged the Ironborn to raid southern shores and return to the Old Way.
• Yulon stayed silent and observed the lords’ anger, fears, and ambitions as he gathered information about the council.

Kolen Greyjoy faced the Ironborn lords’ demands to restore raiding and imposed rules that allowed the Old Way only beyond the Seven Kingdoms’ waters. The lords submitted to his decision, and he dismissed the council.

• Kolen threatened to execute anyone who harmed preachers of the Faith of the Seven, insisting the Iron Islands Law allowed them to preach.
• Kolen answered Gimond Pottery’s doubts about trade by saying he had contacted the Prince of Dorne and the Lord of Dragonstone, and promised envoys would trade iron and salt for grain and timber with Eddard Stark and Mace Tyrell.
• Kolen acknowledged the Ironborn’s attachment to the Old Way but reminded the lords that Aegon I had outlawed their raids within the Seven Kingdoms.
• Kolen declared that Ironborn could raid pirates, slavers, and unprotected merchants beyond the waters claimed by Aegon I, but could not attack ships belonging to the Seven Kingdoms.
• The lords cried that they obeyed Kolen, and he dismissed the council.