Parasitism

The North, Sea Dragon Point Peninsula, Flint Bay.

In this world, humans knew of three continents. The one Eddard lived on was Westeros, while to its east lay the immensely vast continent of Essos. There was also Sothoryos, which lay next to Essos.

According to the records currently known, Essos and Westeros were the continents most extensively developed by humans. Even so, both still held many mysterious regions that no one had explored.

Some of the Citadel's records also mentioned the deeply mysterious continent of Ulthos, but the people of Westeros knew little about it. Eddard had only learned of its existence through certain handwritten accounts.

In some legends told by pirates from the Iron Islands, another deeply mysterious continent lay in the Sunset Sea west of Westeros. That mysterious land held untold treasures of gold and silver, a Sky Kingdom of the sort that appeared only in legends.

The Sea Dragon Point Peninsula was the part of the North closest to the Iron Islands, and had been a favorite target of Ironborn pirates since ancient times. At the height of House Hoare's rule over the Iron Islands, all the lands along Westeros's western coast bordering the Sunset Sea had been the Ironborn pirates' backyard.

There were even rumors that the North's Sea Dragon Point Peninsula and Stony Shore had become what they were today because of the Ironborn pirates' endless logging and destruction.

The Drowned God's priests on the Iron Islands believed this was the influence of divine power, while the maesters of Oldtown believed it was damage caused by years of warfare between the North and the Iron Islands.

Although the Iron Islands had now submitted to House Baratheon in King's Landing and abolished certain vicious pirate decrees, there were always reckless fools and men who refused to recognize the times who ignored the order, still hoping to live by burning, killing, and plundering.

Although both the former royal house in King's Landing and the current one tacitly allowed them to raid other continents or islands, raids that took one or two years to complete could never satisfy the Ironborn pirates' greed and bloodlust, which were as vast as the Sunset Sea.

Although the Ironborn pirates also had the blood of the First Men and the Andals, they worshipped a cruel being called the "Drowned God." In the tenets of their faith, slaughter was the Ironborn's hymn, blood their offering, and death their ultimate pursuit.

For these Ironborn pirates believed that after death, they would enter their god's Watery Halls, where they would have an endless supply of food and mermaids to attend to their every need.

Thus, a band of pirates calling themselves the "Sons of the Drowned God" had long roamed the vast Sunset Sea. To this day, they still upheld the "Old Way" handed down by their faith, although the officially recognized pirate houses of the Iron Islands refused to acknowledge them as Ironborn and regarded them as traitors and criminals.

Yet as time passed, these "Sons of the Drowned God" had not been wiped out. Instead, the more they fought, the more numerous and wealthy they became, turning into vermin that everyone on the Sunset Sea wanted beaten down.

Since the Ironborn pirates knew every coastal region along western Westeros, these "Sons of the Drowned God" scattered along its long coastline. Most of their lairs lay in hidden caves beneath cliffs, and their main occupation was attacking lone merchant ships.

Commoners and merchants in the North, the Riverlands, the Westerlands, and the Reach remained under threat from these men. Since the "Sons of the Drowned God" never attacked merchant ships belonging to great noble houses, the authorities had always treated them as ordinary pirates.

In a shallow bay near House Flint's Mine Harbor, three Ironborn longships unique to the Iron Islands,

lay quietly in wait. Ironborn longships were a special kind of oared warship. They could sail under wind power, but their Ironborn pirate crews could also row them to launch surprise attacks on enemy ships, making them warships particularly well suited to pirates. "One-Eye" Billy was a native-born Ironborn. Like the other "Sons of the Drowned God" pirates, he had the support of a pirate house from the Iron Islands behind him: House Oakwood of Oak Island.

Pirates could accomplish nothing without logistical support. The annual losses in ships and men alone were beyond what ordinary pirates could afford, so many of the so-called "Sons of the Drowned God" were actually privateering forces secretly fostered by the Iron Islanders.

Although many of the great pirate houses of the Iron Islands openly raided other continents or island chains, the Ironborn pirates' real profits actually all came from these "Sons of the Drowned God."

Resources were extremely scarce on the Iron Islands, and there was very little arable land. Apart from ore and water, many things had to be shipped in from other parts of Westeros. In such harsh, unforgiving conditions, pirates naturally emerged.

In the Ironborn pirates' thinking, if they wanted something, they fought for it and took it. In Westeros, commoners and nobles used gold, silver, and jewels to buy goods and trade, while on the Iron Islands, the currency the Ironborn used was the "iron price." That so-called "iron price" was actually iron weapons: slaughtering others with iron weapons, then taking their wives, daughters, and treasures. This was the "Old Way" the Ironborn pirates pursued and believed in, and it had also been their means of survival since ancient times.

"Boss One-Eye! How much longer do we have to wait here?"

It was now nearly the hour of the ox, the equivalent of nine o'clock on Blue Star, and the Ironborn pirates had already been waiting here for a long time. Several days earlier, "One-Eye" Billy had suddenly ordered their three longships to head here. Apart from the leaders aboard the three ships, many of the Ironborn pirates had no clear idea what their mission was.

After waiting so long, the Ironborn pirates aboard the Sea Snake finally began to lose patience. Egged on by everyone else, the Ironborn pirate "Little Man" Camo was pushed forward to stick his neck out.

Upon hearing "Little Man" Camo's question, "One-Eye" Billy stopped what he was doing. In his hand was a somewhat crudely made Myrish tube, this world's version of a monocular telescope.

"One-Eye" Billy had seized it after raiding a merchant ship from Essos. Although he had barely known how to use it at first, he had gradually worked out how to operate this marvelous treasure over time.

After looking over the men around him, "One-Eye" Billy seemed to guess what they were thinking, and said:

"Our targets are northern savages from Flint's Finger. We'll wipe them out here, then use their ships and banners to attack their harbor. This time, I'll lead you into those northerners' castles to pay the iron price and take salt wives!"

"Whoa! Long live Boss One-Eye!"

"Long live One-Eye!"

Amid the waves of cheering, "One-Eye" Billy's mood grew very pleasant. Then his thoughts involuntarily returned to that strange dream that night, and the messenger who had appeared at the indicated location.

Bel of the Bloodheart Clan had learned of "One-Eye" Billy's existence from some unknown source. Then the terrifying being behind that man had given "One-Eye" Billy a little guidance in a dream, after which the two parties had reached an agreement to cooperate in a bay at Sea Dragon Point.

Although all northern savages looked the same to "One-Eye" Billy, he had never before encountered an opportunity to watch them kill one another while he freely reaped the benefits.

Although he did not trust the Bloodheart Clan's men very much, "One-Eye" Billy had great confidence in his own crew. Even if his enemies joined forces against him, he would take a few of them down with him. At worst, he would die, and after death he could go to the Drowned God's Watery Halls, a fate thousands upon thousands of times better than that of those hateful northerners.

Still, the thought of that strange nightmare left "One-Eye" Billy with lingering dread. Faced with such strange and terrifying scenes, he had been able to do nothing but pray loudly for the Drowned God's protection.

"Fweet..."

The Ironborn pirates' excitement reached its peak the moment a whistle sounded from the mast, for it meant the enemy was approaching.

Meanwhile, in another direction facing Mine Harbor, a transport flying House Flint's banner was slowly making its way toward the harbor. Some distance behind it were two smaller oared warships.

To deal with pirates, many lords with coastal holdings in Westeros bought oared warships to equip their forces. House Flint had two such ships, passed down from the days of Eddard's grandfather.

To guard against a possible pirate attack, Eddard had sent them out as well. Seeing House Flint's deployment, "One-Eye" Billy felt a flicker of foreboding, but showed no sign of panic.

After all, "One-Eye" Billy had prepared several contingency plans from the start. He knew very well that House Flint's main objective was to drive the clan warriors out of the mine, and all he had to do was attack the transport once the enemy dropped anchor.

Soon, House Flint's transport entered Mine Harbor. But just as "One-Eye" Billy was about to order his men to attack, an indescribably terrifying sensation suddenly gripped him.

"Ah... what... ah... who are you?"

Amid heart-rending screams, "One-Eye" Billy clutched his chest and collapsed into a sitting position on the deck. His face looked terrible, and his voice was filled with disbelief, as though an evil spirit had possessed him.

Soon, however, "One-Eye" Billy recovered, though he was in very poor condition. His body trembled uncontrollably, as if he had seen some utterly terrifying monster.

Seeing "One-Eye" Billy shaking like a leaf, First Mate Marco hurriedly asked:

"Boss! What do we do now? Boss!"

"The enemy's here! What exactly are we supposed to do?"

"Huff... hah... hah..."

Meanwhile, in the workshop in the great tower of Flint's Finger Castle, Eddard rose from his reclining chair, gasping for breath. The soreness and fatigue in his eyes left him feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

Eddard's troops had set out early that morning, at cockcrow. To deal with the possibility of pirates, he had increased the force sent to suppress the rebellion to two hundred men, and had hired all the sailors at the docks as well.

What the transport was carrying now was actually supplies. Eddard had left only some logistical personnel aboard and ordered them to keep moving about on deck, creating the illusion that the entire main force was aboard the transport. The actual main force for this operation was stationed aboard the two oared warships behind it.

The plan was actually quite simple: use the transport as bait, then exploit the oared warships' superior maneuverability to strike the enemy's flanks when they concentrated their attack on the transport. The pirates could not have many men. If these Ironborn pirates had more than two hundred warriors, they would have attacked House Flint's castle long ago.

To observe the battlefield, and also to practice his new ability, Eddard had activated the Golden Eye directly, letting his perception set out with the troops. In the earlier dream, his Golden Eye ability had been strengthened, and after practicing, he could now use it proficiently.

With the Heart Tree's help, Eddard could lodge his perception in many substances in the real world. Moreover, he could use a power similar to that of a skinchanger to directly possess the bodies of living flesh-and-blood creatures.

The reclining chair Eddard was using now was actually something he had specially fashioned from boxes and cloth, for the purpose of practicing his Golden Eye ability.

The reason "One-Eye" Billy had just shown symptoms resembling possession by a ghost was that Eddard had tampered with him. To test the power of those twisted souls, Eddard had also given "One-Eye" Billy a small gift.

Completing this experiment had consumed a great deal of Eddard's mental energy. He now looked somewhat listless, nothing like his powerful self in the dream world. Eddard suspected that this might very well be because his physical body was too weak.

So, after taking a little time to steady himself and rest, Eddard rose and walked to his desk, then picked up the drink of steeped lemon slices on it and drank. Its sour, astringent taste restored much of his alertness.

After putting down the cup, Eddard sat down, picked up pen and paper, and began recording some of what had just happened, along with possible taboos associated with his abilities. Once he finished recording these observations, he would check on the changes in that pirate. Only a vast amount of experimental data would allow Eddard to learn how to make better use of those twisted souls.