Theon sofreu um problema de múltiplas camadas. Ele esperava que ele seria bem recebido de volta como herdeiro de seu pai e de acordo com todo o devido respeito que ele estava acostumado nas Greenlands como por seu nascimento e estação, mas ele estava longe por tanto tempo, ele esqueceu como Ironborn eram diferentes do Greenlands lordlings ele cresceu com.
Quando ele veio para as Ilhas de Ferro, seu tio notou que Theon estava relutante em se ajoelhar e receber suas bênçãos, consciente de suas roupas bonitas.
"Good. Kneel."
The ground was all stones and mud. "Uncle, I—"
"Kneel. Or are you too proud now, a lordling of the green lands come
among us?"
ACOK - Theon I
O Sacerdote também lhe disse que ele não deveria ter certeza de que herdaria a cadeira Seastone.
"If my father makes plans for war, I must know of them. I am not 'any
man,' I am heir to Pyke and the Iron Islands."
"As to that," his uncle said, "we shall see."
The words were a slap in the face. "We shall see? My brothers are both
dead. I am my lord father's only living son."
"Your sister lives."
Asha, he thought, confounded. She was three years older than Theon,
yet still . . . "A woman may inherit only if there is no male heir in
the direct line," he insisted loudly. "I will not be cheated of my
rights, I warn you."His uncle grunted.
"You warn a servant of the Drowned God, boy? You have forgotten more
than you know. And you are a great fool if you believe your lord
father will ever hand these holy islands over to a Stark. Now be
silent. The ride is long enough without your magpie chatterings."
ACOK - Theon I
Sendo o idiota que ele era, ameaçou Damphair sobre seus direitos . Ele poderia ter feito barulhos piedosos sobre como o Rei eleito do Deus Afogado deveria ser um Rei e Damphair o teria apoiado. Damphair acreditava em particular que Balon estava errado em considerar Asha seu herdeiro e que o rei deveria ser um homem. Vendo o que viu de seu sobrinho, Damphair depositou suas esperanças em seu irmão Victarion.
Depois Theon encontrou seu pai e formou uma impressão muito ruim nele também, fazendo-o acreditar que Starks o fez fraco e suave, incapaz de liderar o Ironborn.
Theon touched the gold chain. He had forgotten. It has been so long .
. . In the Old Way, women might decorate themselves with ornaments
bought with coin, but a warrior wore only the jewelry he took off the
corpses of enemies slain by his own hand. Paying the iron price, it
was called.
"You blush red as a maid, Theon. A question was asked. Is it the gold
price you paid, or the iron?"
"The gold," Theon admitted.
His father slid his fingers under the necklace and gave it a yank so
hard it was like to take Theon's head off, had the chain not snapped
first. "My daughter has taken an axe for a lover," Lord Balon said. "I
will not have my son bedeck himself like a whore." He dropped the
broken chain onto the brazier, where it slid down among the coals.
"It is as I feared. The green lands have made you soft, and the
Starks have made you theirs."
"You're wrong. Ned Stark was my gaoler, but my blood is still salt and
iron."
Lord Balon turned away to warm his bony hands over the brazier. "Yet
the Stark pup sends you to me like a well-trained raven, clutching his
little message."
"There is nothing small about the letter I bear," Theon said, "and the
offer he makes is one I suggested to him."
"This wolf king heeds your counsel, does he?" The notion seemed to
amuse Lord Balon.
"He heeds me, yes. I've hunted with him, trained with him, shared meat
and mead with him, warred at his side. I have earned his trust. He
looks on me as an older brother, he—"
"No." His father jabbed a finger at his face. "Not here, not in
Pyke, not in my hearing, you will not name him brother, this son of
the man who put your true brothers to the sword. Or have you
forgotten Rodrik and Maron, who were your own blood?
ACOK - Theon I
Aqui Theon mostrou-se indigno vestindo ornamentos comprados com o preço do ouro e agindo como um corvo glorificado para Robb. Ele também cometeu o erro de nomear Robb irmão, o que enfureceu Lord Balon.
Então esse é o pano de fundo, Lorde Balon não confiava em Theon e temia que seu último filho vivo tivesse se tornado suave. Então, quando ele atribuiu tarefas aos seus Capitães, ele deu a tarefa média do trabalho de Reavers para Theon e adicionou Dagmer Cleftjaw e Aeron Damphair aos seus conselheiros, que essencialmente transformaram o comando de Theon em um nominal. Os dois deveriam observar Theon e fazer relatórios a Balon sobre sua avaliação. Theon ficou furioso por ele estar sendo tratado como tal e se sentiu perdido, especialmente porque Asha iria desempenhar um papel maior.
His thrice-damned sister was sailing her Black Wind north even now,
sure to win a castle of her own. Lord Balon had let no word of the
hosting escape the Iron Islands, and Theon‟s bloody work along the
Stony Shore would be put down to sea raiders out for plunder. The
northmen would not realize their true peril, not until the hammers
fell on Deepwood Motte and Moat Cailin. And after all is done and won,
they will make songs for that bitch Asha, and forget that I was even
here. That is, if he allowed it
ACOK - Theon III
Então ele teve sua conversa com Dagmer Cleftjaw:
“If I had a man like you in my service, I should not waste him on this
child's business of harrying and burning. This is no work for Lord
Balon's best man.”
Dagmer's grin twisted his lips apart and showed the brown splinters of
his teeth. “Nor for his trueborn son?” He hooted. “I know you too
well, Theon. I saw you take your first step, helped you bend your
first bow. 'Tis not me who feels wasted.”
“By rights I should have my sister's command,” he admitted,
uncomfortably aware of how peevish that sounded.
“You take this business too hard, boy. It is only that your lord
father does not know you. With your brothers dead and you taken by
the wolves, your sister was his solace. He learned to rely on her, and
she has never failed him.”
“Nor have I. The Starks knew my worth. I was one of Brynden
Blackfish‟s picked scouts, and I charged with the first wave in the
Whispering Wood. I was that close to crossing swords with the
Kingslayer himself.” Theon held his hands two feet apart. “Daryn
Hornwood came between us, and died for it.”
“Why do you tell me this?” Dagmer asked. “It was me who put your first
sword in your hand. I know you are no craven.”
“Does my father?”
The hoary old warrior looked as if he had bitten into something he did
not like the taste of. “It is only . . . Theon, the Boy Wolf is your
friend, and these Starks had you for ten years.”
“I am no Stark.” Lord Eddard saw to that. “I am a Greyjoy, and I
mean to be my father's heir. How can I do that unless I prove myself
with some great deed?”
ACOK - Theon III
Então você tem isso.
- Theon sabia que seu pai e seu tio não confiavam nele e pensavam que ele era um Stark por dentro. Eles temiam que ele tivesse desistido dos caminhos do Ironborn.
- Theon sabia que sua irmã era candidata à cadeira do pai.
- O comando de Asha tinha mais homens e mais alvos de prestígio, enquanto Theon recebia o trabalho de Reavers. Como ele provaria que ele era melhor que Asha se seguisse ordens?
- Ele queria provar sua lealdade e seu valor.
Então Winterfell deu a ele uma chance de fazer tudo isso de uma só vez. Capturando Winterfell com um punhado de homens, especialmente quando seu pai esperava que Winterfell os desafiasse por anos:
- Theon provaria que ele abandonou a Casa Stark para sempre e foi leal a House Greyjoy.
- Ele provaria que ele ainda mantinha formas de conquista de Ironborn, querida.
- Ele provaria que ele era digno de tomar um castelo esperado para desafiá-los por anos com um punhado de homens.