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| “ | The women of the west prefer men of iron to cowardly lions, it would seem, for they jump into the sea and plead with us to take them. | „ |
| ~ Dalton to Tyland Lannister |
| “ | Dalton Greyjoy, the wild young heir to Pyke, was rowing at five and reaving at ten in the Basilisk Isles with his uncle. By fourteen, Dalton had sailed as far as Old Ghis, fought in a dozen battles, and claimed four salt wives. In his fifteen year, he avenged his uncle's death in battle, but he took a dozen wounds and emerge from the fight drenched head to heel in blood. From that day fourth, men called him the Red Kraken. | „ |
| ~ Euron Greyjoy describing Dalton Greyjoy |
| “ | He loved three things: the sea, his sword, and women. | „ |
| ~ Archmaester Hake of Harlaw on his writing of the Red Kraken |
Lord Dalton Greyjoy, famously known as The Red Kraken, is a supporting character in the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series and a minor character of the TV prequel series House of the Dragon.
He was the Lord of the Iron Islands, Lord Reaper of Pyke, and Head of House Greyjoy during the late reign of King Viserys I Targaryen and during the Dance of the Dragons, a civil war between Targaryen siblings, Rhaenyra Targaryen and Aegon II Targaryen. Dalton had numerous salt wives, with at least two sons from them being known: Toron and Rodrik Greyjoy. He had at least a younger brother named Veron, three sisters, and many cousins.
Throughout the entirety of the Dance of the Dragons and into the regency of the young King Aegon III Targaryen, Dalton ruled as Lord of the Iron Islands and the Sunset Sea, until he met his end at the hands of one of his salt wives.
Personality[]
| “ | Only the Drowned God may sunder the bond between a man and his salt wives. | „ |
| ~ Dalton to Tyland Lannister |
In his youth, Dalton Greyjoy was both wild and shrewd by nature. In later years, he became bloodthirsty and daring, and he would not hesitate to attack his enemies and victims with extreme ferocity as well as conquer various towns.
Biography[]
Dalton Greyjoy was the young heir to his father, the Lord of Pyke (whose name is not known). In his childhood, Dalton learned the ways of the ironborn; he rowed at five years old and reaved at the age of ten. He also sailed with his uncle to raid and plunder the pirate towns of the Basilisk Isles. By the time Dalton was fourteen years old, he had already sailed as far as Old Ghis, fought in a dozen battles, and had taken four salt wives. At one point, he took a Valyrian steel longsword from a dead pirate and named it Nightfall.
During a battle at the Stepstones, Dalton, who was fifteen at the time and working as a sellsail, saw the death of his uncle with his own eyes. He managed to avenge his uncle's death, and men soon began calling him the Red Kraken after Dalton emerged from the fight covered in a dozen wounds and drenched in blood. During the late reign of King Viserys I Targaryen, upon hearing of his father's death, Dalton returned to the Iron Islands and ascended the Seastone Chair as Lord of the Iron Islands and Lord Reaper of Pyke. He began forging swords, training men, and building longships, due to his reason that "the storm is coming".
Dance of the Dragons[]
A year later, Lord Dalton Greyjoy, now sixteen, is said to have laughed upon hearing of the outbreak of the civil war between Rhaenyra and King Aegon II. The Greens, in an attempt to gain the support of House Greyjoy for Aegon, attempted to offer Dalton the title of Master of Ships so that he might battle Lord Corlys Velaryon and his fleet, who are supporting Rhaenyra. However, the Red Kraken, instead of accepting the offer immediately, waited for what the Blacks would offer him. The Blacks cleverly offered him something that would satisfy his bloodlust. As a result, Dalton Greyjoy sided with the Blacks. Rhaenyra orders him to attack her enemies rather than invade Blackwater Bay. With this, the traditional ironborn practice of the Old Way was revived.
Deciding to sail to the Westerlands, which are ruled over by House Lannister, Dalton and his Ironborn proceeded to invade and sack the city of Lannisport, carrying off gold, grain, and trading goods, and taking hundreds of women and young girls as salt wives, including Lord Jason Lannister's favorite mistress. The invaders also captured three-quarters of the Lannister fleet for their own before burning and sinking the rest.
Though the ironborn were successful in raiding the West, they were unable to raid Casterly Rock, the Lannisters' ancestral seat, as Lord Jason's wife, Lady Johanna, had barred its gates. Dalton Greyjoy then led his men to capture Kayce, the ancestral stronghold of House Kenning, as well as Faircastle and Fair Isle, both ruled by House Farman. Taking four of Lord Farman's daughters as salt wives, Dalton gave the fifth daughter, whom he called "homely one," to his brother Veron.
Regency of King Aegon III Targaryen[]
For the next two years after the Dance of the Dragons, in which both Rhaenyra and Aegon II had perished, Dalton continued raiding, even into the regency of Rhaenyra's son, King Aegon III. The Red Kraken ignored the orders of Ser Tyland Lannister, King Aegon's Hand of the King, to cease his reaving. Meanwhile, Lady Johanna Lannister built a new fleet and sent it to the Iron Islands on behalf of her young son Loreon, who became the new lord of Casterly Rock, since his father was killed during the Dance of the Dragons. However, Dalton's men burned down Johanna's shipyards and took another hundred women.
Dalton had taken over 22 salt wives, and he boasted that he had over a hundred. Upon learning of the Maiden's Day Ball (mocked as the Maiden's Day Cattle Show), he considered sending one of his sisters as a candidate to become King Aegon III's second bride, ever since the king's first wife, Princess Jaehaera, mysteriously took her own life. When Lady Johanna sent a ragtag fleet, under the command of Ser Erwin Lannister, to retake Fair Isle, after her men defended Kayce and killed Dalton's favorite uncle, the fleet itself was ambushed, and Dalton avenged the death of his favorite uncle by beheading Ser Erwin and sending his head, along with the heads of Lords Tarbeck and Prester, to Casterly Rock.
In response to Lord Unwin Peake sending Ser Alyn Oakenfist to end his insurrection, the Red Kraken gathered hundreds of longships to Fair Isle and the coasts of the Westerlands with the intention of conquering Oldtown, Driftmark, Sunspear, and the Shield Islands.
Death[]
In 133 AC, while Dalton was asleep in Lord Farman's bedchamber in Faircastle, his throat was slit by one of his salt wives, a girl named Tess, before she committed suicide by throwing herself into the sea. The reason behind her actions in killing Dalton is forever shrouded in mystery due to her death. With the death of the Red Kraken, a struggle for succession ensued amongst the ironborn while Fair Isle rose in rebellion. Finding the Red Kraken's corpse upon his arrival, Alyn Oakenfist immediately returned home, though he left a third of his fleet with the Westermen. Dalton Greyjoy's death also caused a power struggle in the Iron Islands. Taking advantage of this, Johanna Lannister exacts her revenge on the ironborn for Dalton's raids by sending her vassal forces to invade the Iron Islands, under the command of Ser Leo Costayne, the Lord Admiral of the Reach. During the invasion, they destroyed hundreds of ironborn longships and villages and slaughtered many ironborn lords and smallfolk, most notably women and children. While the westermen were unable to conquer Pyke, they managed to capture Dalton's salt son, Rodrik Greyjoy, who was then gelded and made a court fool for Lord Loreon Lannister.
Legacy[]
Dalton Greyjoy was considered a great hero to the ironborn and was greatly loved by his men. However, he was hated by his salt-wives, as he quickly grew tired of women. The Red Kraken's life was recorded in Archmaester Manchester's work Sea Demons: A History of the Children of the Drowned God of the Isles.
Gallery[]
.jpg "Dalton Greyjoy (Young).jpg (90 KB)")
.jpg "Dalton Greyjoy (Teenager).jpg (232 KB)")
.jpg "Dalton Greyjoy (Adult).jpg (60 KB)")
External Links[]
- Dalton Greyjoy on the A Wiki of Ice and Fire Wiki
- Dalton Greyjoy on the Wiki of Westeros Wiki
