Faircastle

Faircastle was the Farman stronghold on Fair Isle and the final ironborn holdout during the island’s uprising. Its fall followed the death of Lord Dalton Greyjoy there, turning the castle from the centre of his occupation into the last position from which his companions resisted the revolt.

Setting and Occupation

In 133 AC, Dalton’s longships gathered below Faircastle as he prepared for a major battle. The castle was in ironborn hands, and its garrison included many of the Red Kraken’s close companions and brothers-in-battle. Faircastle thus stood at the heart of the occupation even as the fleet assembled outside it.

Dalton Greyjoy’s Death

On a night at Faircastle, Tess, one of Dalton’s salt wives, killed him with his own dagger while he slept, then leapt into the sea. The accounts disagree about Tess’s life and motives; her name is all that is known with certainty beyond her role in Dalton’s death. The event ended his command on the eve of battle, not at the hands of an opposing army but within his own household.

The Last Ironborn Stronghold

After Dalton’s death, the smallfolk of Fair Isle and the knights still on the island rose in rebellion. Ironborn who remained were killed or driven from their ships, which were seized and burned. Within three days, the uprising had left Faircastle as the sole ironborn-held place on Fair Isle.

The garrison held out under Alester Wynch and Gunthor Goodbrother until the two men quarrelled over Lysa, a salt widow and daughter of Lord Farman. Gunthor killed Alester, leaving the resistance divided as the ironborn position continued to fail.

Relief and Significance

By the time Alyn Velaryon arrived, the longships had fled and Fair Isle was free; he found no enemy left to fight. Faircastle’s role in the account is therefore defined by two reversals: Dalton’s death within the stronghold precipitated the revolt, and the castle’s stubborn resistance became the final remnant of an occupation that had already broken apart.