What will happen to the Ironborn remaining in the North ?

[Terrorthatflapsinthenight9]

What do you think will happen to Theon and Asha Greyjoy, who are currently prisonners of Stannis Baratheon, in the upcoming story ?

Will Theon be executed by Stannis below a heart tree or will Bran somehow save him ? If this happens then what will happen to Theon ? 

What will Stannis do with Asha ? Could she end up in the returned Starks' hands after Stannis'? What role do you think she will have in the North in TWOW, what will be her character arc here ? 

And what about Qarl the Maid and Tristifer Botley ? What about Dagmer Cleftjaw and his men at Torrhen's Square ? Will the castle be liberated by force with them dying or will Theon or Asha obtain their surrender without a fight ? 

What should happen to them after ?

[Canon Claude]

I’m kind of surprised that Dagmer and his men are still alive at this point. Surely the Northman could have taken Torrhen’s Square back by now? How many Ironborn were even part of that force?

[Terrorthatflapsinthenight9]

7 minutes ago, Canon Claude said:

I’m kind of surprised that Dagmer and his men are still alive at this point. Surely the Northman could have taken Torrhen’s Square back by now? How many Ironborn were even part of that force?

Not many, a few hundreds at very best but it's been chaos in the North since the disappearance of Bran and Rickon, given for how long the Starks have ruled the North which they unified in the first place, and how diverse and the Sack of Winterfell. 

Of course it's surely also out of plot convenience by GRRM, we have seen how ridiculously much he has pressed on the scales against House Stark during ACOK and ASOS.

Edited December 5, 2022 by Terrorthatflapsinthenight9

[sifth]

Probably join forces to Asha, who in turn will swear her loyalty to either Jon or Stannis. Basically whoever gets Winterfell in the next book.

[Jon Fossoway]

Asha's future I see more secure than Theon's. Stannis could use her as a means to bound some alliance with the Isles (Justin Massey already tried to imply he wanted to marry her). Of course, against her own wishes, but we know that wishes in Westeros are normally a luxury and aren't taken into account.

Theon's future, not so much. He is a turncloak, a broken man and, under Stannis' scrutiny, all in all a traitor who deserves punishment. I could see him survive only if Stan dies in the battle on the ice. Neither the northeners, nor his own ironborn show appreciation for him, to the point of keeping him alive. Not even Asha, who thinks it would be a mercy for him to die with the less pain possible. 

The remaining ironborn, well, they could just make a run to the sea.

Edited December 5, 2022 by Jon Fossoway

[King_Tristifer_IV_Mudd]

If the Ironborn don’t join back with Asha, they’ll certainly be killed. Unless maybe Euron comes up in ADOS and they join with him. Though if they do that they’ll probably die anyway either as a sacrifice by Euron or just being killed by Others or Northmen.

I think Asha is more than likely going to survive the books, I do think she’ll be lady of the Iron Islands. I don’t think Theon will die just yet, I think he’ll survive long enough to sacrifice himself for Bran or Rickon. Maybe even as a blood sacrifice for 3 Eyed BranRaven.

[Corvo the Crow]

Kindling for fire, blood for weirwood saplings.

[Alden Rothack]

at this point a good death is the best Theon can hope for

[Arthur Peres]

Nice decorations to hang on the weirwood trees.

[Floki of the Ironborn]

I do wonder what Tycho arranged regarding his Ironborn bodyguards. Sure, he ransomed them, so they're beholden to him (though I'm surprised that the Ironborn will honour a 'gold price' in the first place), but how long will they be serving him? Will they escort him all the way to Braavos? Will he release them once he's home? 

[Terrorthatflapsinthenight9]

3 hours ago, Floki of the Ironborn said:

I do wonder what Tycho arranged regarding his Ironborn bodyguards. Sure, he ransomed them, so they're beholden to him (though I'm surprised that the Ironborn will honour a 'gold price' in the first place), but how long will they be serving him? Will they escort him all the way to Braavos? Will he release them once he's home? 

The Ironborn honor the gold price far more than traditionnalists such as Balon or Aeron will ever admit. Most of what they earn come from mining, fishing and trade, and Balon earns far more from his lord taxes than of reaving which he never does himself anyway.

[Alden Rothack]

1 hour ago, Terrorthatflapsinthenight9 said:

The Ironborn honor the gold price far more than traditionnalists such as Balon or Aeron will ever admit. Most of what they earn come from mining, fishing and trade, and Balon earns far more from his lord taxes than of reaving which he never does himself anyway.

plus the ironborn do have guest right and giving of gifts , the banker gives them gold which he values in exchange for their service

[astarkchoice]

4 hours ago, Alden Rothack said:

plus the ironborn do have guest right and giving of gifts , the banker gives them gold which he values in exchange for their service

That and id imagine he made them swear oaths which is a huge deal in both medieval.and viking culture

[Alden Rothack]

45 minutes ago, astarkchoice said:

That and id imagine he made them swear oaths which is a huge deal in both medieval.and viking culture

Only if they swear them by their gods

the drowned god may or may not consider an oath to a greenlander valid

[astarkchoice]

23 minutes ago, Alden Rothack said:

Only if they swear them by their gods

the drowned god may or may not consider an oath to a greenlander valid

Id say medieval/viking level religion has few loopholes

[Alden Rothack]

1 hour ago, astarkchoice said:

Id say medieval/viking level religion has few loopholes

the norse shared a religion with the rest of europe during the latter part and a common social framework with the romans and the celts in the earlier era, the ironborn reject any commonality with the greenlanders even other First Men

[astarkchoice]

Just now, Alden Rothack said:

the norse shared a religion with the rest of europe during the latter part and a common social framework with the romans and the celts in the earlier era, the ironborn reject any commonality with the greenlanders even other First Men

Swearing an oath to your gods probably doesnt have a get.out clause  just cause they are infidels 

[Alden Rothack]

27 minutes ago, astarkchoice said:

Swearing an oath to your gods probably doesnt have a get.out clause  just cause they are infidels 

thats not been the universally held opinion and the ironborn are far further culturally from their neughbours than was the case with any two groups in western europe.

[James Arryn]

On 12/5/2022 at 9:55 AM, Terrorthatflapsinthenight9 said:

Not many, a few hundreds at very best but it's been chaos in the North since the disappearance of Bran and Rickon, given for how long the Starks have ruled the North which they unified in the first place, and how diverse and the Sack of Winterfell. 

Of course it's surely also out of plot convenience by GRRM, we have seen how ridiculously much he has pressed on the scales against House Stark during ACOK and ASOS.

Well, it’s party to a broader conceit of GRRMs, namely that people under the thumb of an oppressor feel an ongoing debt of loyalty to those oppressors for their oppression. This…is highly unlikely. Every feudal lord is more or less operating a protection racket against their subjects, one which involves the subjects giving/being taken and the lords being given/taking, in an incredibly one-sided ongoing transaction historically upheld by violence, to the same degree it was initially imposed by conquest.
 

To go from the broad to the specific, no feudal lord could leave vast lands like the North as thinly defended as Robb does because a pretty high % of feudal forces are used primarily as a kind of police force, more specifically to keep uprisings and rebellions from happening. That’s why so many medieval wars involved huge %s if mercenaries and/or professional soldiers. GRRM does a lot of conflating post-nationalist concepts and behaviours to pre-nationalist settings, and although it makes for good reading, it’s full of impracticalities like this one. 

Edited December 6, 2022 by James Arryn

[Terrorthatflapsinthenight9]

19 minutes ago, Alden Rothack said:

thats not been the universally held opinion and the ironborn are far further culturally from their neughbours than was the case with any two groups in western europe.

Even if it's the case there aren't many other options for them for now, Asha is still a prisoner in the North, they may be criminals in the Iron Isles right now for fleeing with Asha and there's no backup or rescue team coming for them anytime soon.