Chapter 1

Moat Cailin

"Ser Yohnas, my sword." I said, speaking to the Lord Commander of my Kingsguard. He'd been with me since I was younger, he was Lord Alikaar's squire until Lord Jon was killed during the rebellion.

"Yes, Your Grace." He said walking to my squire and grabbing the sheathed blade. He held the sheath and I pulled the blade out.

"Lord Roose of House Bolton," I started. "In the eyes of gods and men, you are accused of treason and attempted kingslaying. I, Aerys of House Targaryen, the Third of My Name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, sentence you to death." I hefted the longsword, Fire, and brought it down on his neck. Crimson liquid flowed from the cut. It was a clean cut, as the sword was Valyrian Steel.

"Aerys." A voice said behind me. I turned around and saw my childhood friend, Robb Stark, a king now. He was flanked by Ser Matrim Osgrey and Ser Clavis Lyberr, two of the knights in my Kingsguard

"Robb, he had plans to kill you at The Twins. He sent his bastard there to Lord Walder to warn him."

"Ser Matrim and Ser Clavis were kind enough to show me the papers."

"So you understand why I killed him?" I questioned, a bit nervously.

"Yes, Aerys. I would have done nothing less to a turncloak like Bolton. To think, my father trusted him." Robb had a somewhat exhausted look on his face, his auburn hair in a hopeless mess of tangles. I could tell he hadn't slept much since the war started. We'd been friends since we were only five years old and I could tell he was tired. I handed my sword to my squire and started walking with Robb.

"How have you been since The Saltpans?" I asked him.

"The same as always, I'm afraid. Tywin Lannister's been raiding the Riverlands. How is your dragon? I didn't see him back there." Balerion. I named my dragon after my ancestor, King Aegon's own dragon, he was black as jet, large enough to swallow an aurochs whole.

"He's probably hunting, your North doesn't have much cattle roaming around." We walked to the place where my siege camp was located. My men had just sieged The Dreadfort. My army was ten thousand strong, with over a thousand mounted knights. My thoughts were interrupted by a young man running up to us

"Your Graces, Tywin Lannister's army marches from Harrenhal. Our spies report they march to Moat Cailin!"

"They're trying to make an example of you, Robb. My army will attack Lord Tywin's from the rear. Have your men man the walls," I said walking next to Ser Yohnas, Ser Matrim, and Ser Clavis. We mounted our horses and led my men south, to Moat Cailin.

Ten Miles South of Moat Cailin

My army approached Tywin Lannister's camp. His army took refuge in a small holdfast. He had around fifteen thousand men in his army, enough to capture Moat Cailin, Maidenpool, and The Twins. My men were quiet as shadows, moving ever closer to the castle.

"Ser Garret," I whispered to Ser Garrett Longley, another knight of my Kingsguard and the commander of my archers

"Yes, Your Grace?"

"Have the archers wait ten minutes, then tell them to volley fire until we get men inside, after that tell them to pick targets on the walls to take out. Have them hold fire completely when Balerion lands."

"Yes, Your Grace," he replied as he walked away from the vantage point I stood on.

"Ser Yohnas, ready the men. Balerion is ready."

"They already are, Your Grace."

"Good." I looked into sky at the stars and at the comet flying high in the Eastern sky. It was the same color as my house's sigil, a red three-headed red dragon on a black field. Ser Yohnas walked away and I felt hungry.

'No not now'. I thought. I walked to my tent and picked up the silver looking-glass and looked at my reflection. 'No this can't be happening, it is too early still.' My kakugan had formed, leaving my normally violet left iris blood-red and my sclera from white to jet black. I suddenly had a seemingly insatiable hunger for meat. I stalked to the far corner of the tent, threw open the heavy lid of the chest, decorated in silver and iron, that traveled everywhere with me and savagely ate at the section of raw human flesh inside. I wiped the blood from my mouth with a cloth and donned my helmet which was jet black like my armour, it also had a red three-headed dragon on top of it. My breastplate had my house's sigil emblazoned on it. I grabbed Fire and walked out.

"FIRE!" Ser Garrett yelled as hundreds of flaming, wildfire tipped, arrows flew through the night sky. Another volley fell and we heard the screaming from inside the castle.

"CHARGE!" yelled Ser Yohnas as my Kingsguard and myself spearheaded the charge. We broke through the gate and once we had sufficient men inside I ordered the gate closed.

"Get to cover men!" I shouted as the ducked behind their pavises. I took in a deep breath. "DRACARYS!" I shouted as Balerion landed in the courtyard. Immediately, he spewed flame onto the ramparts and to the keep. He took flight and continued burning the men atop the keep and walls. My men charged and wiped away whatever resistance was left. My men charged into the keep and fought their way up. My Kingsguard had re-formed on me.

"Ser Yohnas, stay here for a while, I need some time to myself." I said walking to the barracks of the castle.

"Yes, Your Grace." He said. They stood guard outside as I walked in. There were five men inside, swords drawn and pointed in my direction.

"S… Stand back! Don't come any closer!" one of them said.

"If you yield, you'll yet live, if not-" I took my helmet off. "You know what this means, right?" I said pointing at my left eye. My hair had also gone from silvery-white to white as fresh snow.

"No! That's impossible!" one shouted

"You can't be! That's just a myth to make children soil themselves!" yet another said

"Oh, I assure you, I'm a hell of a lot more real than that," I said, unsheathing Fire. "Are you going to tell me where Lord Tywin is or will I have to force the information out of you?"

"Lord Tywin would have our heads atop King's Landing if we told scum like you his whereabouts! Do you take us for fools, Ser?" One of them bravely said.

"I take you for fools now that you haven't told me his location, you could have lived if you told me." I said. My kagune erupted from my lower back above my tailbone. The two blood red tentacles were at either side of my body. Each one impaled one of the swordsmen with an eruption of blood from their front and back, then they impaled another. One was left now

"What is your name, Ser?" I asked him, walking until I was two meters away from him. My kagune stayed at my side

"Se… Ser Edric Santar, son of Ser Merric Santar. Please, Ser, spare my life."

"No." My kagune both thrust into his body, one, cut through his stomach and into his ribcage just below his lungs, the other, down his throat and inside of his lungs. He started to choke and I had them expand until his insides burst through his armour. Blood splattered the walls, the floor, and the ceiling of the barracks, covering me with blood. My kagune returned to it my body and I put my surcoat back on to cover the gap in my armour I turned and walked out of the building and approached my Kingsguard.

"Your Grace, was everything… successful?" Ser Caul asked slyly.

"No Caul, though I bet those five didn't like my Rinkaku kagune."

"You got no information then, Your Grace?" Ser Garrett asked.

"No, Garrett, they had more integrity than most, it seems." I said as I started walking towards my horse. My Kingsguard and myself mounted our horses and rode to Moat Cailin while my men cleaned up the holdfast.

An hour later we arrived at Moat Cailin and were greeted at the gates by Robb, Lord Jon Umber, and Lord Rickard Karstark, two of his most trusted bannermen.

"Your Grace, My Lords, we destroyed Lord Tywin's host. It appears as though he took half of the original amount and went back to Harrenhal."

"You certainly look like you did just that, Aerys." Robb said smirking. I was still covered with blood from the five men in the barracks. My hunger had been sated for a while now so my eye and hair returned to their normal colors.

"Your Grace, might I speak with you in private?"

"Of course," Robb replied. We walked towards the stable, I tied my horse up and took my helmet fully off. "What is it that you wanted to ask me, Aerys?"

"I just feel like you should know…" I started.

"Know what?" He looked worried. I shifted to my 'other' form.

"Robb, I'm… I'm… I'm a Ghoul," I said. "Why are you smiling?"

"I know," I stood aghast at his two words. 'He knew?!' I thought. "You were never around at night, and in the day, you eat like your stomach has no bottom, yet you're always hungry. The hair and eye are a surprise but, I knew nonetheless. I am curious why you didn't eat me when we were kids though."

"You're my brother, Robb, now and always. To the day I die you will be my brother."

"I can say the same to you, Aerys." He smirked "You're the first one I'm telling this, but, Talisa is with child." He said happily. Talisa was his wife, The Queen in The North, their marriage wasn't a traditional one, as it was out of love not duty. We heard footsteps behind us.

"Your Grace, news from Riverrun." A soldier dressed in a thick leather hauberk and wearing a steel shield on his left arm said. He bore the sigil of House Tully, a leaping trout on a field of red and blue, House Tully was Robb's mother's house, "Lord Hoster Tully has died of sickness and his eldest son, Ser Edmure, is lord of Riverrun now. He is raising the banners and marching towards Harrenhal to finish of Lord Tywin, he's requesting your assistance."

"He'll get it, I'll send Lord Karstark and Lord Glover south to meet him and help siege."

"Yes, Your Grace" the soldier said walking away.

"Tell me more, Aerys, about being a Ghoul, what does it feel like?" Robb asked

"The hunger is hell incarnate. The power feels amazing, my kagune is stronger than Valyrian Steel. Man-made weapons can't hurt me either. People fear a 'myth' even when it's right in front of them."

"Show me the thing that comes from your back." He said curiously

"My kagune? Fine." They came out of my back like before and stayed at my side, pointed forward. He had a look of amazement on his face. I pulled them back in and put my surcoat back over the gap.

"Robb, I must ride to King's Landing to retake the throne for House Targaryen. You must understand, if I happen to go by Harrenhal I'll help Lord Karstark, Lord Glover, and your uncle, Lord Edmure."

"Ride fast, Aerys. I wish you luck." He said, we shook hands and walked opposite directions towards our armies.