Victarion Greyjoy arrived at the Slaver's Bay.

Victarion Greyjoy, Lord Captain of the Iron Fleet, arrives at Slaver's Bay after a harrowing voyage from the Iron Islands, his fleet reduced by storms and his purpose to claim Daenerys Targaryen as his bride. His arrival is marked by a series of brutal naval engagements, the capture of slaver ships, and the forging of a dark alliance with the red priest Moqorro, who heals his poisoned hand and reveals the power of the dragon horn, Dragonbinder. This event transforms Victarion from a vengeful brother into a formidable player in the war for Meereen, driven by a potent mix of ambition, religious fervor, and the promise of dragons.

The Voyage and the Weakening of the Fleet

Victarion had set sail from the Shields with ninety-three ships, the core of the Iron Fleet, but the journey to Slaver's Bay had been catastrophic. Storms, which he blamed on the malice of the Storm God and the curse of his brother Euron, had scattered his fleet. By the time he reached the Isle of Cedars, only fifty-four ships had arrived, a number that included captured prizes. The loss of so many ships and men fueled his rage and his suspicion that Euron, who had sent him on this quest, meant for him to fail. The delay forced him to abandon waiting for stragglers, as he was driven by the need to reach the dragon queen before the Volantene fleet could descend upon her. He declared, "Our victory will be that much the sweeter if we win it with a smaller fleet."

The Rescue of Moqorro and the Healing of the Hand

From the wreckage of a storm, the crew of the Grief fished a survivor from the sea: Moqorro, a black-skinned red priest of R'hllor. The priest claimed to have been ten days in the water after his ship went down, and he immediately demonstrated his power by revealing knowledge of Victarion's purpose and his impending death. Victarion, whose hand had been festering from a wound inflicted by a knight named Serry, was desperate. The wound had turned green and black, and the maester had warned that the hand might need to be amputated. Moqorro offered to heal it, warning of "terrible pain, such as you have never known." The ritual that followed was heard throughout the Iron Victory: wild laughter, strange singing in High Valyrian, and the flight of the ship's monkeys. When Victarion emerged, his arm was blood to the elbow, but the hand was healed, though it was now hideous, like "pork crackling from elbow to fingertips." The priest had become his indispensable sorcerer.

The Capture of Ships and the Sacrifice to the Gods

Victarion's fleet swept through the waters near the Isle of Cedars and the coast of Astapor, capturing a series of ships. The first was the Ghiscari Dawn, a trading galley out of New Ghis whose captain claimed Daenerys was dead. Victarion had his tongue torn out for lying and threw him overboard as a sacrifice to the Drowned God. He renamed the ship Red God's Wroth to honor Moqorro's deity. A Myrish cog, the Dove, was taken next, its cargo of carpets and lace less valuable than the ship itself, which he renamed Shrike. Two swift galleys were captured after a day-long pursuit; their crews were put to death, but the slaves chained to the oars were freed and told they would now row for the Iron Fleet. Victarion proclaimed, "The dragon queen frees slaves and so do I." The most significant prize was the Willing Maiden, a slaver galley from Yunkai carrying perfumed boys and girls destined for Lys. Victarion put the slavers to the sword, freed the rowers, and divided the girls among his captains. The perfumed boys he wrapped in chains and threw into the sea, calling them "unnatural creatures." The seven choicest girls he kept for himself, only to burn them alive on a ketch as a sacrifice to both the Drowned God and R'hllor, believing their joyous song would speed his journey to Daenerys.

The Dragon Horn and the Alliance with the Red God

Victarion's ultimate purpose was to claim Daenerys Targaryen, but he also possessed a weapon of immense power: the dragon horn, Dragonbinder, which his brother Euron had found in the ruins of Valyria. The horn was a twisted, six-foot-long thing, black and banded with red gold and Valyrian steel, inscribed with glyphs. Moqorro translated the glyphs, revealing the horn's name and its warning: "No mortal man shall sound me and live." The priest explained that the horn's master need not blow it himself; he must claim it with blood. "Blood for fire, fire for blood," Moqorro said. Victarion, who had seen a man die from sounding the horn at the kingsmoot, understood the treachery of his brother's gift but also saw its potential. With Moqorro's guidance, he now had a way to bind the dragons to his will, a power that would make him irresistible to the dragon queen. The iron captain, now with two gods watching over him, felt invincible. He told his dusky woman, "No foe can stand before two gods."