Balon Greyjoy's second brother commanded the Iron Fleet through both of the Old Way's failed revivals — the first rebellion that cost Balon his crown and very nearly his life, and the second, years later, that ended the same way — and Victarion's loyalty to his elder brother's cause never wavered even when the cause itself kept losing. That loyalty did not extend to Euron, his eldest surviving brother, once Euron returned from decades of exile and, by every private reckoning Victarion has made since, forced himself on Victarion's third wife. Balon forbade kinslaying even for that, and exiled Euron rather than let Victarion take the vengeance he wanted; Victarion instead beat his own wife to death with his bare hands, weeping through every blow, and has carried the act as an unhealed wound in his own conscience ever since, blaming Euron for the killing as much as himself.
Victarion Greyjoy
the Lord Captain of the Iron Fleet
- House
- House Greyjoy of Pyke; younger brother of Balon, elder brother of Aeron, commander of the Iron Fleet
- Titles
- Lord Captain of the Iron Fleet
- Seat
- none held independently (serves under his brothers' rule of Pyke)
- Culture
- Ironborn (Pyke)
- Religion
- the Drowned God
- Weapon
- a massive war-axe
- Notable for
- Commands the Iron Fleet; sails east bearing the horn Dragonbinder to claim Daenerys Targaryen's hand
Lord Captain of the Iron Fleet, last confirmed sailing east from the Iron Islands on a voyage whose purpose the crown's spies have not yet fully unraveled.
Appearances
In the novels
- A Feast for CrowsPOV
- A Dance with DragonsPOV
Perspective
Victarion's chapters read as a proud, none-too-introspective captain's log — a straightforward, dangerous man who takes his brother Euron's manipulations largely at face value, giving readers a close view of the Iron Fleet's voyage east and of how easily even a formidable warrior can be turned into someone else's weapon.
Key events
- unknownBorn the second surviving brother of House Greyjoy of Pyke, between Balon and Aeron.
- before 289 ACCommands the Iron Fleet loyally through Balon's first failed rebellion against the Iron Throne.
- 289 AC or afterDiscovers that his returning brother Euron forced himself on Victarion's third wife; Balon forbids kinslaying in revenge.
- 289 AC or afterBeats his wife to death with his own hands rather than let the offense go unanswered, an act he has never stopped blaming Euron for as much as himself.
- 300 ACCommands the Iron Fleet again through Balon's second rebellion, which ends with Balon's death.
- 300 ACLoses the kingsmoot to Euron, who sends him east with the horn Dragonbinder and a promise of Daenerys Targaryen's hand.
- 300 ACSails for Slaver's Bay with a rotting hand from a wound taken retaking the Shields, tended at sea by the red priest Moqorro.
Reading the character
Victarion Greyjoy is the story's study in a genuinely capable man who has never once questioned the terms other people set for him. He commands the Iron Fleet with real skill and unwavering loyalty to Balon's cause, and that same unquestioning loyalty is exactly what makes him easy for Euron to weaponize — sent east bearing a horn that may well kill him, chasing a marriage his own brother almost certainly never intended him to survive long enough to claim.
A private grief from his past is the one crack in that otherwise straightforward character, a guilt he has never fully reckoned with and has largely shifted, not entirely convincingly even to himself, onto Euron rather than facing head-on. Victarion wants very badly to be a simple, honorable man in a family that specializes in producing anything but, and the gap between how he sees himself and what he's actually capable of is where most of his POV chapters draw their tension.
The arc of Victarion Greyjoy
This carries the character’s road through the published novels. Read on only if you do not fear to know.
These partings name deaths, endings, and roads not yet ridden in the books. Unveil them only if both roads are known to you — or if you do not fear to know.
In the timeline
Theories about Victarion Greyjoy
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House
Battles fought
Why did Victarion Greyjoy kill his third wife?
He discovered that his brother Euron had forced himself on her; Balon Greyjoy forbade Victarion from killing Euron in revenge, so Victarion beat his wife to death with his own hands instead, an act he has never stopped blaming Euron for as much as himself.
What is Dragonbinder and why is it dangerous?
It is a dragon-horn Euron gives Victarion to help him win Daenerys Targaryen's favor; the red priest Moqorro warns that it must be claimed with blood before it can be blown safely, implying it may kill anyone who sounds it without the right to do so.