"Greyjoy Rebellion - Stannis Baratheon"[3] is the third short of the second season of Histories & Lore. It is the twenty-seventh short of the series overall. It was released on February 19, 2013 in Game of Thrones: The Complete Second Season. It was narrated by Stephen Dillane as Stannis Baratheon and written by Dave Hill.
Premise[]
Stannis Baratheon details his victory over the Greyjoy Iron Fleet, which opened the Iron Islands to a land assault by Robert Baratheon's forces.[3]
Narration[]
Stannis Baratheon: Though Robert had risked all our lives to win it, the Iron Throne bored him.
He cared little for justice and less for rule. If it weren't women or wineskin, he had no use for it.
Without the stalwart Jon Arryn as Hand of the King, the challenge to Robert's crown would have come much earlier than it did.
The Iron Islands have never lacked for treachery. They respect only strength, and honor is as foreign to them as the Seven.
After six years, their ruler, Lord Balon Greyjoy, wagered that King Robert had not won the support of the Great Houses of Westeros, many of whom still named him "Usurper."
Lord Balon declared the Iron Islands independent and sent his Iron Fleet to Lannisport.
Lord Tywin Lannister was careless, and the Ironborn burnt his ships at anchor. Lord Balon and his reavers controlled the Sunset Sea.
Robert then ordered me to succeed where his father-in-law, Lord Tywin, had failed.
Beneath Robert's fury, I sensed relief. War, he could understand. He would smash Lord Balon as he had Rhaegar. I raised Robert's fleet and sailed around Westeros to the Iron Islands.
I set a trap for the Iron Fleet off Fair Isle. As sailors and warriors, the Ironborn are unparalleled, but they are not soldiers. They have no discipline, no strategy, no unity. In a battle, each man fights only for his own glory, and their longships are built for lightning strikes and shore raids.
When the captains rushed in, I smashed their longships with our larger war galleys.
The strength of the Ironborn is in their ships. With the Iron Fleet broken, I had assured Robert's victory. He could now transport troops and siege weapons to invade the Iron Islands, and contrary to Balon's hopes, Robert had plenty of both.
I've never seen such allegiances Robert could inspire in war. Enemies who tried to kill him one day would be drinking with him the next under their own fallen banners.
In rebelling against the Iron Throne, Lord Balon did more than Robert ever could to cement his rule.
When Robert came to the Iron Islands, he brought with him the full power of Westeros. Ser Barristan Selmy of the Kingsguard led the assault on Old Wyk while I subdued Great Wyk, the largest of the Iron Islands.
But Robert saved the seat of House Greyjoy, Pyke, for himself and Lord Eddard.
Robert would later boast of the battle's bloodiness and how he could have torn down the island into the waves if Lord Balon had not bent the knee. But if I had led the assault, Balon's neck would have bent under a sword.
Because I do not forget or pardon. His time will come. All their times will come.
Appearances[]
Individuals[]
- King Robert Baratheon
- Lord Jon Arryn
- King Balon Greyjoy
- Lord Tywin Lannister
- Lord Stannis Baratheon
- Prince Rhaegar Targaryen (mentioned)
- Ser Barristan Selmy (mentioned)
- Lord Eddard Stark
Institutions[]
- Kingsguard (mentioned)
Houses[]
Locations[]
- King's Landing
- Iron Islands
- Lannisport
- Sunset Sea (mentioned)
Events[]
Cast[]
Behind the scenes[]
- This is the third of four shorts on the Greyjoy Rebellion.
- In the main live-action TV series, characters have repeatedly stated that the Greyjoy Rebellion occurred nine years before Season 1 - just as it occurred nine years before the first novel. In this short, Stannis says that Balon launched his rebellion six years after Robert's Rebellion - that was true in the novels, but the TV continuity pushed back the beginning of Robert's Rebellion, to make it seventeen years before the start of the narrative, not fifteen years as in the books (9 + 6 = 15). This line is therefore in error, and Stannis should have said he waited eight years.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Charlie Harwood (November 19, 2012). Release Date & Details for Game of Thrones Season 2 DVD/Blu-Ray. HBO Watch. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
- ↑ Histories & Lore: Season 2, Short 3: "Greyjoy Rebellion - Stannis Baratheon" (2013).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Game of Thrones: The Complete Second Season (2013).
- ↑ Vanessa Cole (July 22, 2017). Game of Thrones writer Dave Hill gives a behind the scenes look at the creative process. Watchers on the Wall. Retrieved December 15, 2023.