Vickon Greyjoy

Vickon Greyjoy is the eldest trueborn son of the late Loren Greyjoy, born to him and his wife Ryella Drumm. Stolen away from the Iron Islands at a young age, Vickon and his siblings have made a home on the Stepstones, but never does a day pass where Vickon does not dream of returning to what he believes is his rightful throne.

Appearance and Character
Vickon Greyjoy is tall and athletic, a lifetime on ships at sea has given him a toned, muscular physique. His hair and beard grow wild and free, long brown hair let loose across his back. Like his father, Vickon is tall and strong, choosing to carry an arming sword in one hand and a handaxe in the other. He dresses in boiled leather, with a cloak embroidered with the insignia of House Greyjoy reversed, his personal sigil.

Charismatic. Ambitious. Overconfident. All are words used to describe Vickon Greyjoy. Fiercely loyal to his crew and family, but utterly without mercy to those he deems his enemies. Hardened by his life in exile, he is a man who does not sit and dream while others act, but is first into battle and last to leave. Boisterous and unruly, Vickon Greyjoy is not stranger to wine and women, enjoying the pleasures of good company with his crew whenever able. With that in mind, he is a pious man, having paid the Iron Price for each of his valuables, and every victory for him is a victory for the Drowned God.

Son of the Prophet 418- 432
It was in the year of 418 AC that Loren Greyjoy, raider of the sunset sea and self-proclaimed champion of the Drowned God took a wife, a lady of House Drumm by the name of Ryella Drumm. She was a fierce warrior like her husband, and as pious as him, and both rejoiced when the first child born to them was a son. From a young age Vickon was taught of the histories and the lore of the Iron Islands. He was raised by the household of Pyke, taught to fight and sail from a young age.

A boisterous and cheerful boy, Vickon Greyjoy grew up with his siblings and under the fairly absent gaze of his father. Loren Greyjoy had no time for children, preferring the sounds of the waves and the company of his own crew. Ryella Drumm raised Vickon, as well as Balon Bloodaxe, one of Loren's premier lieutenants. The only interest Loren showed in Vickon was as a warrior, when they would spar weekly.

Despite this rather flagrent disinterest in his own children, Vickon Greyjoy idolized his father, believing him to be a perfect avatar of the Ironborn people and the Old Way. The lack of attention only further encouraged Vickon; believing that if he could do something worthy of his father's pride, he would surely give him the affection he wished for.

Unlike his father however, Vickon was not quite as pious and devout. His father had a small cabal of Drowned Priest, convinced that he was the champion of the Drowned God, yet Vickon was more interested in playing and exploring than praying amongst the waves. Urrathon Wavewalker, an older, grizzled Drowned Priest was in charge of his religious education, though he encouraged his dalliances, believing that true worship of the Drowned God occurred in deeds, not prayer.

Despite Vickon begging his father for a command of a raiding ship and to go east, Loren declared him too young. He would not have the sacred Greyjoy name besmirched by a foolish defeat when he could still train. However, unlike his warrior brother, it was command Vickon focussed more on. Under the tutelage of Balon Bloodaxe and his mother, he watched them as they went about their captain's business. It was the roar of the waves and crash of the sea that bewitched Vickon, and from the age of 8 and up they were rarely found apart.

That was not to say that he did not learn to fight. An arming sword in one hand and a handaxe in the other, Vickon quickly put his ambidexterity to good use. While not the strongest, especially compared to his brother, he put his athletic build and speed to good use. Unlike his father, he relied and agility and quick wits to overcome his rivals, not simply brute strength. All of this, his youthful sailing, his training, was to end when Lord Dagon Greyjoy's neck was opened by Lord Blacktyde.

A Righteous Cause 432-434
At the ceremony at Nagga's Bones, no one shouted louder than Vickon Greyjoy. It did not escape his notice that instead of a second's son firstborn, low down in the succession, he was now the Prince of the Iron Islands. And so, when his father tied his fate to the clamours of axes and the spill of blood, Vickon was right there beside him. He was only thirteen years old.

Despite his youth, Vickon Greyjoy still insisted on being present for each of the major battles. Now that his heir was more than an emblem of the alliance between Greyjoy and Drumm, Loren began to give him the recognition he so desperately craved. Vickon Greyjoy was there when Loren killed Alannys Harlaw. Vickon Greyjoy was there when Pebbelton was sacked. And he was there when the news of Baelor Targaryen arrived. With that, their war turned from a sure thing to an uncertain battle.

Not that Vickon Greyjoy realized this, or could even believe it. To him, they were a stone's throw away from victory, and to the Iron Islands triumphant. While he may have been raised with his cousin Aeron Greyjoy, Aeron's line was corrupt and sinful. To believe anything else would be to believe his father's had been mistaken.

It was the battle of the Cradle that sunk it all, but Vickon and his siblings were elsewhere, preparing to join the battle from afar. When Balon Bloodaxe saw that the war was lost, he turned the ships under his command around, and fled. It was only years later that Vickon learned this was at his King's express command, that if he was taken, Balon would get his son away, and continue the fight. And so he did. The day of however, Vickon fought, until Balon threw him below decks, and turned the small fleet around himself. Even with his retreat, only 11 of the ironborn ships escaped the Iron Islands, and entered the open waters.

We Will Return
They sailed for days, feeding off of small trading ships and fish, anything that the fleet could catch. It was too the stepstones Balon brought his ships; he and Loren had visited there years past and Balon rememebred it as a land of strife and chaos. It had been a land of petty kings, were small fiefdoms rose and fell with the song of swords. It was there they would make their home, until they were strong enough to fight their way back to the Iron Islands. They would pay the Iron Price for their throne.

Torturer's Deep was where Balon set his sights. An island of smugglers, shipwrights and pirates, nowhere near the martial prowess of the Ironborn. But, every man he had was valuable, and so Balon Bloodaxe set to guile. He established a team of warriors to pose as traders, to attack the town and cause havoc. Then two teams of ships would advance on the island, one destroying the fleet and the other storming the island. Balon himself lead the assault on the ground, while it was Vickon Greyjoy who commanded the ships.

The battle was a complete success. The Silver Serpents were routed or accepted as thralls, and the island fell under Greyjoy Control. They had a place again, and they would build. They would not forget, especially not young Vickon Greyjoy, now only sixteen years old.

Family and Crew
Vickon Greyjoy's ship, the