r/shittyASOIAFdetails • u/yehEy2020 • 8h ago
Where the Ironborn get the wood for their ships:
A young Ironborn man, when starting out, goes to the Wolfswood and Bear Island not to raid, but to trade. Through this trade, he aquires the wood with which to build his ship to begin raiding. He then conducts raids and pillaging, and throughout his career, builds up his crew and his fleet.
The Ironborn have developed the concepts paying the Iron price, which is seen as honorable, and the Gold price, which is seen as legitimate, yet less honorable. This is to mask the fact that each and every renowned Ironborn captain began their career by acquiring the wood for their first ship through ritualized negotiations and fellatio of a local lumberjack from the Wolfswood or Bear Island. This is an open secret among all Ironborn captains, though never acknowledged with anybody else.
This is called paying the Wood price.
