<Snipped quote by Vhagar>
Simple: Guerilla tactics. Jakkon's mission led him up miles of river, deep into the North territory. That's miles of possible obstructions, sandbars, and enemy territory. That means you're sailing/rowing ships, one after another, AGAINST a current, and likely with little wind to work with. All the rangers had to do was stay a few hundred feet infront of you at any time, causing problems all the while. Dump felled trees into the river and let them float down, blocking your ships. Constant archer sniping on the people on the deck, or if none is visible, tar and fire arrows into the ship itself or the sails. Ropes tied across the riverbank, causing ships to lag and whack into each other. Take your pick of possible ways a group of organized people could slow down ships from sailing upriver.
While this is going on, riders are sent to warn ahead to Torren Square to warn them. Because... like you said, those are some pretty decent sized ships. People are going to notice. That means the fleet is prepared and ready well in advanced, and waiting for you. Did you bring all the food necessary for this voyage, forward in back? Or does it seem more likely that the Ironborn would hunt/forage/raid for additional supplies along the river as they traveled.
You might have rowers, but you don't have the wind, and you don't have maneuverability. You attacked a lake, not the open ocean. Any idea how long it takes to turn a ship, let alone turn it around? Balls slow. Or the arc of travel necessary? Impossible to do on a river. The moment you entered that lake, you bottlenecked yourselves: impossible to retreat, and the leading ships getting smashed to bits by the navy already waiting. Ironwood Ships with trireme rams installed vs Ironborn Longships? Said Ironwood ships only needing to sail in one direction to do their damage?
Let's maybe also look at it from two scenarios: If you made a bolt for Torren Square, NO stopping.... you're tiring your rowers out. We know those aren't thralls, because thralls "toil at tasks such as agriculture and mining, which the ironborn despise." No mention is ever made of them as rowers. So, by the time you get to Torren Square, your fighters are demoralized, tired, and haggard from a guerilla fight. If they stop to rest, they're picked off at night by rangers who know the rivers and woods better than they do. See also, demoralized, tired, and frayed nerves. Ontop of that, theyre fighting a bunch of DEFENDING Northmen who are fresh and rosy-cheeked for this fight.
That journey of yours took weeks when you consider speeds and distance travel. More than enough time run you down into the ground.
And, well, I DID say Jakkon and his better warriors weren't on the ship. Every Ironborn isn't a uber fearsome warrior, just like every Northmen of the One-Hearth isn't a talented fighter (Tormin got hit by friendly fire for crying out loud). But Tormin's rangers are the badasses of the group and he had them to take the ship. That's not saying the North didn't take casualties. We just had more room to play with than you.
Also, if it isn't clear... Tormin ain't exactly a tame wolf. Won't matter if you're armored, when he bezerks, bai~
Greyjoys: 1
Starks: 1
Ok. The first part about wearing down the fleet as they approach, fair enough. Well played.
1. In your writing you wrote it out as the small Longships were smashed to splinters straight up. Except they're not smaller, and they don't have standard hulls. The Ironborn have the strongest navy for a reason. That's not to say a ram wouldn't smash them, but you literally wrote it as bang, that's it entire fleet totally smashed. That would not happen.
2. Actually, we do have maneuverability. Do you have any idea what an Ironborn Longship is? Let me tell you. The sails normally serve a more decorative than functional purpose. Longships are not galleys, their movement comes from their rowers, and thus they have full movement capability even without the wind. Secondly, they are made symmetrically. Both ends of the ship are bows. They don't have to turn around, they can literally just row the other way, with the exact same functionality.
3. Sailors are not warriors, warriors are not sailors. Just because the rowers have been working hard that doesn't mean the Ironborn warriors are worn out, since there are very few of them doing the rowing. Why would they be demoralised if they're off to do exactly what they believe they were born to do?
4. Your journey time seems horribly estimated. You're coming up with a time that suits you best. Theon Greyjoy is te only character who's made that journey that we are told of. He is a captain of little experience and a crew that doesn't support him, yet in the sequence of events it seems he makes the journey in about a week, give or take a few days. The chances of you doing as much damage as you assume you would have in that period of time is very small.
5. Lets consider this. One Ironborn soldier, against one Northman. The North have only had a navy for the last couple of hundred years. The Northern navy has seen very little action I would assume since they don't carry out raids or go to war. Yet he is up against an Ironborn soldier. He doesn't have to be a terrific warrior; he has a few raids under his belt, he's fought ship-to-ship before. He has every advantage possible in a one-on-one situation. Yet the Northmen, with little experience at ship-to-ship combat, destroys the Ironborn fleet. These are ships of the Iron Fleet. These are veterans, hardened raiders and soldiers, not run of the mill Ironborn pirates. Yet the Northmen destroy them without trouble anyway.
6) Why on earth would Jakkon not be on the Windbreaker? Where on earth would he be if not on his own ship when the fighting starts? I mean, Jakkon vs Tormin on the decks of the Windbreaker? Jakkon would cleave Tormin in half. Tormin is a ranger, not a sailor. He's used to patrolling the land and fighting with guerrilla tactics. Yet suddenly he's thrown on a ship and he's like the next Arthur Dayne. He can go as berserk as he wants, fighting on a ship is totally different. There's no space for him to scurry around and use agility to his advantage, he's locked in extreme close quarters fighting in a battle of brute strength. And he is up against veteran opposition. And among them, Jakkon Greyjoy. Jakkon is easily one of if not the most formidable Ironborn warrior alive. He's in his natural environment on the deck of his ship, fighting in a way he's only too used to. Tormin would not, quite frankly, stand a chance. I'm not sure if you're aware, but fighting on a ship is totally different to fighting on land. You couldn't fill a ship with standard soldiers and set them against hardened sea-going warriors and expect them to just wreck them. Because they would not.
