In the aftermath of failed rebellion Lord Balon Greyjoy found his small domain the subject to an unexpected windfall. Demand for Iron had spiked since the arrival of strange foreigners in King's Landing and while the traditionally minded among the Ironborn disdained commerce they would concede that an increase in trade revenue was useful for their lands. Smelting operations increased to remove the unwanted material from the metal, which fetched both a higher price per per pound (or as some merchants increasingly said per Kilo) and more of it could be carried in a single voyage. Even so, the demand outstripped what the Iron Island's mines could produce. It came as quite a surprise when cogs began to come to the iron islands with what some of what that Iron had been used for: chuffing puffing steam engines given as gifts to the Ironborn to drain old mines, load ships and to pull carts along on rails. They soon proved their usefulness, but Balon saw use for these machines beyond simple industrial applications.





Balon ordered several new steam engines from DuNice's railworks and he began experimentation with them. He was inspired by reports of the great iron ship that could sail against the wind and he was eager to try to make one of his own. Ironborn shipwrights set themselves to work applying the new technology. The basic system that they settled on saw some minor use in the free cities and was easily adapted to the purpose: the paddlewheel. It was comparitively easy to slot a steam engine into ship and contrive the basic gearing system to transfer the mine engine's motive force to the engine. A fair bit of brick lining was employed to fireproof the engine room. A couple of Drowned Men marred their efforts on one occasion when the attempted to bless an engine by filling it's boiler with Salt Water, though this was fortunately never repeated after the resulting mishaps. The first result of their efforts was launched in 296 AC and was simply named The Ironheart. She could make up to 10km/h under steam. In place of rowers she could carry many reavers.







While she was impressive, Balon Greyjoy was concerned about dependency to the DuNice and his associates. While the Ironborn did have many skilled smiths and metalworkers none of them were up to the challenge at making any steam engine of any meaningful size and unlike The Citadel their efforts did not have access to the Steamworks. It was only when unexpectedly a set of instruction manuals and blueprints for lathes and milling machines appeared in pike one day after a storm shortly after the launch of the Ironheart that they began to make real progress in that regard. This was seen as a gift from the drowned god, even if in reality they'd been deposited by a little bird. In any case these machines allowed them to make real progress in steam engine production. Unfortunately for Balon Greyjoy he would not live to see the completion of Ironborn made steamships as he tragically fell to his death after once more declaring himself King of the Iron Islands. Never the less his industrial legacy would outlive him. All but the most conservative and set in their ways of the Ironborn came to respect steam engineers, machinists and firemen to be proud servants of the Drowned God.





A Song of Ice and Fire belongs to George RR Martin

