Conquest of the Stepstones

The first significant achievement of Queen Youma Talama's reign, the Conquest of the Stepstones was a military campaign carried out by the Ironborn and Dornish. It resulted in the creation of the Lord Paramount of the Stepstones.

Prelude
Newly appointed Master of Ships, Liam Breaker, suggested a war to conquer the islands from the pirate clans inhabiting them. The location of the islands meant that pirates were able to launch raids on trade ships moving between southern Westeroes and Essos, and the Small Council readily accepted the merits of conquering them.

There was brief division over who should control the Stepstones, with Liam initially suggesting they go to him. However, it was decided that a new Lord Paramount, swearing fealty to the Realm rather than an existing lord, should be chosen and Nestor Batko was selected as future Lord Paramount of the Stepstones.

Preparations
The Iron Fleet set off towards Oldtown, where they collected CM Shepard and supplies. Stopping next in Sunspear, Liam and CM dined in the Water Gardens Palace of Princess Martell, as Dornish spearmen numbering 4,500 boarded the Iron Fleet.

Naval Battles
A vanguard of the Iron Fleet, led by Janna Blackrose, engaged pirate fleets around the Stepstones. With many pirate lords on the Stepstones, each claiming a fief of their own, their ships were scattered around the waters. The larger Iron Vanguard sunk most ships they encountered with minimal losses, as news of the invasion started filtering through the Pirate Kingdoms. The pirates hunkered down in caves, castles and towns, with their fleets fleeing. The Iron Fleet, commanded by Liam, had surrounded the islands, and destroyed most of these ships without difficulty.

Land Invasion
Once the waters were secured, vessels carrying the Dornish army began landing on the islands. Under the command of CM, Dornish spearmen moved island to island, clearing out pirate bases wherever they found them. Casualties were light, with ambushes and traps accounting for most of the invasion's dead.

Aftermath
The conquest successful, the Dornish remained to establish a temporary garrison, and Nestor Batko was declared Lord of the Stepstones. With the assistance of engineers from the Reach, damaged castles were repaired and Batko began the construction of a small patrol fleet.

Largely devoid of life, there were very few subjects of the new lord. Some pirate slaves, grateful for their freedom and having no family back home, decided to stay and soon became the builders, sailors and soldiers of the new kingdom.