- "Qhored Hoare, whose word was law whenever men could smell the salt air or hear the crash of waves."
- ―Euron Greyjoy
King Qhored I Hoare was a King of the Iron Islands.
Biography
Qhored was a ruthless ruler and his law was dominant at sea. He sacked Oldtown and defeated the River King, Bernarr II Justman. He then took his three youngest sons as hostages. When Bernarr's tribute was late, Qhored killed all three sons by ripping their hearts out with his own hands. Bernarr then attacked, but Qhored was successful once again. Qhored then drowned Bernarr in service to the Drowned God.[1]
In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Qhored was dubbed "Qhored the Cruel" in the Kingdom of the Reach. Some accounts state that he was actually a member of House Greyiron and House Blacktyde.
During his youth he sacked Oldtown and took thousands of women captive. At age thirty he defeated King Bernarr II Justman and took his three sons as hostages. He murdered the boys three years later in the Bloody Keep of Pyke, and when Bernarr's army came seeking revenge Qhored crushed them and drowned the River King as a tribute to the Drowned God, rendering House Justman extinct.
During Qhored's claim, the ironborn claimed that his writ "wherever men can smell salt water or hear the crash of waves". At the height of his power, his fleet ruled territory along the Sunset Sea from the Arbor to Bear Island. Fear of Qhored's reavers caused many men to abandon their shores, with those remaining being forced to pay tribute. His reign lasted seventy-five years before he died at age ninety. Following his death, many of his conquests were lost by his successors and descendants.
