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| “ | On her decks a motley crew of mutes and mongrels spoke no word as the Iron Victory drew nigh. Men black as tar stared out at him, and others squat and hairy as the apes of Sothoros. Monsters. | „ |
| ~ Thoughts of Victarion Greyjoy. |
| “ | Balon Greyjoy: I heard you lost your mind during a storm on the Jade Sea. They tied you to the mast to keep you from jumping overboard. Euron Greyjoy: They did. Balon Greyjoy: And when the storm passed, you cut out their tongues!" Euron Greyjoy: I needed silence. |
„ |
| ~ Euron Greyjoy explaining to Balon Greyjoy on how he got his crew of mutes. |
The Crew of the Silence, also simply known as Silenced Men, are some of the main antagonists in the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series and major antagonists in its TV adaptation, Game of Thrones. Regarded by the ironborn as "monsters and mongrels", these pirates and raiders serve as the loyal and barbaric crewmen of the Silence, the notorious and feared ship/galley of Euron Greyjoy, infamously known as "Euron Crow's Eye." Unlike any other crew, the crew of the Silence is well-known for being tongueless, as Euron had their tongues ripped from their mouths to prevent them from sharing any secrets.
During Euron's exile from the Iron Islands, he and his crew of mutes would become widely feared throughout the Known World, most notably in the east, as they raided and plundered wherever they sailed during their voyages. In addition, they are claimed to have sailed the Smoking Sea and even reached the ruins of Old Valyria, or so Euron boasted. Because of years of reaving and raiding, the Silence's crew gained loads of exquisite and magnificent treasures and loot.
It is unknown when Euron acquired his galley and if he used to captain an ironborn longship before his exile. As captains are considered kings in their own ship, with the right of absolute authority, Euron's original crewmates might have been ironborn if any of them chose to follow him into exile. Otherwise, Euron might have only been able to sail away with thralls. However, by the time Euron returns to the Iron Islands in the novels, all his mutes are described as foreigners and outlandish "freaks" from other cultures, mainly from Essos. Several of them have strange or "freakish" appearances; some are covered in tattoos; and many of them are dark-skinned, black-skinned, or as pale-skinned as mushrooms. They unsettle or disgust the ironborn. It is also unknown when Euron started picking up his custom of cutting off the mutes of his crewmates. In the TV series, no specific information about Euron's mutes is given.
Not every person aboard the Silence is mute; Euron has several of his race-mixed sons aboard his ship, and they speak the Common Tongue. Some of his slaves, mostly wizards and sorcerers, also keep their tongues, as Euron requires them to be able to speak.
In 300 AC, Euron, the captain of the Silence, was crowned King of the Isles and the North.
Biography[]
Background[]
In 297 AC, Euron Greyjoy was sent into exile by his brother, Lord Balon Greyjoy, for having sex with the third wife of his brother Victarion. After being forced to leave the Iron Islands, Euron would become an infamous and dreaded pirate captain/king, known to command the tongueless crew of his ship, the Silence, a large war galley. They spent a few years on lengthy voyages across the Known World, and they sailed far to the east, the north, and the south, where they would raid, reave, plunder, and rape wherever they went, causing Euron to become an infamous and fearsome pirate (likely one of the many well-known and dreaded pirate kings) who became the terror of the world's seas. Euron, in his arrogance, would much later boast that he and his crew had sailed to the far corners of the Known World, where other men feared to venture.
The peninsulas, seas, states, and islands that Euron and his crew sailed include:
- Narrow Sea: Euron raided the ships of all the Free Cities (including Pentos, Braavos, and Volantis alike).
- Summer Isles: Euron reaved around the Summer Islands and took their comeliest women for himself. In the TV show version, he made them salt wives.
- Shivering Sea: Euron and his tongueless crew even sailed to the frozen and mountainous island of Ib, which is north of Essos and the largest island of Ibben. There, Euron wrestled the hairy-whaling folk so he could steal their booty.
- Smoking Sea: The most notable one. Euron boasts that he braved the dangers of the Smoking Sea and even dared walk amongst the ruins of Old Valyria, which is allegedly haunted by demons and other monstrosities, to search for long-lost treasures. This was apparently evident when Euron wore a set of armor made from Valyrian steel.
- Qarth: Euron and his crew of mutes raided the city of Qarth. Though the Warlocks of Qarth are well-feared and respected, some of them were attacked, captured, and even tortured by Euron into teaching him the ways of dark magic. Euron had captured four warlocks at first, but when one of them threatened him, Euron killed the warlock before force-feeding his flesh to the other three warlocks; they were starved until they became desperate enough to eat it (until they were more pliable to Euron's commands). From his encounter with the Qartheen warlocks, Euron developed a habit of drinking shade of the evening, which caused his lips to turn blue.
- Yi Ti: Euron had paid the iron price by stealing a fortune's worth of spices at the harbors of Yi Ti.
- Asshai: Euron claimed that he sailed to Asshai on the Jade Sea, where he plundered the city of the shadowbinders.
A Clash of Kings[]
Returning to Pyke in 299 AC, Theon Greyjoy tells Esgred that the Silence, with its black sails and dark red hull, was infamous in every port from Ibben to Asshai. But he now assumes the captain, his uncle Euron, is probably dead, as no news of him has reached Westeros in the past year.
A Storm of Swords[]
| “ | Euron. Crow's Eye, they call him, as black a pirate as ever raised a sail. He's been gone for years, but Lord Balon was no sooner cold than there he was, sailing into Lordsport in his Silence. Black sails and a red hull, and crewed by mutes. He'd been to Asshai and back, I heard. Wherever he was, though, he's home now, and he marched right into Pyke and sat his arse in the Seastone Chair, and drowned Lord Botley in a cask of seawater when he objected. That was when I ran back to Myraham and slipped anchor, hoping I could get away whilst things were confused. And so I did, and here I am. | „ |
| ~ The captain of the Myraham to Robb Stark and his council. |
Out of Qarth, the Silence captures one galleas with four warlocks, who were on their way to Pentos to find Daenerys Targaryen.
Euron and his crew unexpectedly return to the Iron Islands one day, immediately after the death of King Balon IX Greyjoy. The Silence is presumably anchored at the town of Lordsport while their captain, Euron, takes rule over Pyke and claims the Seastone Chair. He kills Lord Sawane Botley by drowning him in a cask of sea water for objecting.
The merchant captain of the Myraham, who had brought Theon Greyjoy back to Pyke and was forced to stay there by King Balon's orders, manages to escape and flee back to the mainland of Westeros during the chaos. Under continuous heavy rains, the captain reaches the marching army of King Robb Stark in the Riverlands while on their way back to the Twins. When he is brought to Robb's tent, the captain informs him and other lords that Balon is dead and the Silence pirate ship is now anchored at Pyke. He describes the red galley to Robb and tells him about Euron's mutes. Knowing stories about Euron from Theon, Robb states he is no man's notion for a king and prepares for the possibility of having to face Euron and his mutes in the near future, as he means to immediately march back to the North to fight House Greyjoy's invading forces after his business at the Twins is done.
A Feast for Crows[]
| “ | Nuncle always had a fondness for freaks and fools. My father used to fight with him about it. Let the wizards call upon their gods. The Damphair will call on ours, and drown them. | „ |
| ~ Asha Greyjoy to Rodrik Harlaw. |
Lord Rodrik Harlaw tells his niece, Princess Asha Greyjoy, that the Silence returned to Pyke the day after the death of King Balon IX Greyjoy. At Old Wyk, the Silence is anchored in Nagga's Cradle, with Victarion regarding them as "monsters and mongrels." In his thoughts, the priest Aeron Greyjoy expresses contempt and disgust for Euron's crew, naming them monsters, godless men, and evil sorcerers. During the kingsmoot, Euron has Cragorn, a member of his crew, blow into the dragon horn Dragonbinder three times to silence the arguing respective supporters of Victarion and Asha Greyjoy and prevent them from getting into a possible fight. The noise that emits from Dragonbinder sounds as if a thousand souls are screaming, earning the nickname "hellhorn." Soon after blowing into the dragon horn, Cragorn collapsed with bloody and blistered lips while his hawk tattoo bled.
After being chosen as King of the Iron Islands at the Kingsmoot, Euron has his mutes capture the priest Aeron Greyjoy, while the Ironborn lords, captains, and reavers feast with him. The mutes chain Aeron up in the hold of the Silence.
Lord Baelor Blacktyde refused to acknowledge Euron as his new liege and attempted to leave Old Wyk to return to Blacktyde. However, before he could do so, he was stopped by Victarion Greyjoy and the Iron Fleet. Baelor was then cut into seven pieces by the crew of the Silence in a mocking representation of the Faith of the Seven.
Despite his official title, Euron completely abandons his late brother's campaign in the North, aiming for the much more prosperous and richer lands of the Reach instead. The crew of the Silence participates in the Taking of the Shields, along with the assembled naval forces of the Iron Islands. While staying in Lord Hewett's castle on Oakenshield, Euron later tells Victarion that Cragorn died, and it was discovered by a maester that Cragorn's lungs were charred, being black as soot. By Euron's orders, numerous women and children are sold into slavery to the states of Essos.
The Silence and their allies invade the Reach and spend weeks raiding along the river Mander, sacking and burning numerous settlements and towns, as well as other islands including the Arbor, and even attempting one raid near Oldtown. It is unknown if the Silence directly participates in any of these ongoing raids.
The Winds of Winter[]
By Euron's orders, the mutes of the Silence gather several captive priests for unknown purposes before handing them over to several ironborn captains, who are to tie them to the prows of their respective longships. Euron has Aeron and his pregnant former lover Falia Flowers bound to the prow of the Silence, as his forces are about to engage the fleets of House Hightower and House Redwyne in battle. For the occasion, Euron is wearing a full set of Valyrian armor, something that no person in the whole Known World is known to own. Euron has also cast aside King Balon's driftwood crown, which he initially wore, but now instead wears an iron crown with points made from sharks' teeth.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- In the TV series, the Silence serves as the flagship of the Iron Fleet, replacing the Iron Victory.
External Links[]
- Silence on the A Wiki of Ice and Fire.
- Silence on the Game of Thrones Wiki
