Goren Greyjoy

Goren was the son of Vickon Greyjoy, who had ruled the Iron Islands as a loyal vassal of Aegon I Targaryen. Vickon allowed the septons of the Faith of the Seven to preach across the archipelago, a decision that angered both devout ironborn and the priests of the Drowned God; he warned his son that they served the Targaryens and their dragons, and that only a fool would defy them.

Goren inherited the lordship in 33 AC. Shortly after taking command, he crushed with little trouble a clumsy plot to crown the son of Qhorin Volmark.

When Aenys I Targaryen succeeded his father on the Iron Throne, the whole realm shook with rebellions, and the Iron Islands were no exception. A man claiming to be Lodos the Twice-Drowned, returned from the halls of the Drowned God, led an uprising that took hold above all on Old Wyk and Great Wyk.

Goren answered quickly: he gathered a hundred longships, landed on both islands, and put thousands of Lodos's followers to the sword. As proof of the victory, he sent Aenys the pretender's head preserved in brine.

Grateful, Aenys offered Goren whatever boon lay within his power to grant. Goren, wanting to prove himself a true son of the Drowned God, asked to expel from the islands the septons and septas who had been preaching there since Aegon I's Conquest, and the king could not refuse him.

Along with other loyal lords, Goren also received gold, honors, and offices from Aenys I Targaryen.