289 AC

Asha was running as fast as she could, with Theon tailing closely behind her. She was nearly out of breath, but knew that she could not stop no matter what. They were coming. They were coming for their flesh, for their skin and for their minds.

At first, Theon and she were determined to reach the nearest ship they could and leave the Islands as soon as possible. But then they saw that ships at the docks were burning with roaring flames. Someone had the wisdom to try and contain the horror to this place. But it also meant they were stuck with the monsters. Now the two of them were being chased through the corridors of the castle by what remained of their family. Those weren't Ironborn anymore, they became something else. Creatures of grey, cracked skin. Creatures of eyes filled with hate and tongues blackened by a hunger unknown to man.

Those who remained healthy fought the Stoneborn with everything they could. But soon, it became a fool's errand. After all, it only took the monsters one good touch to curse a man to become like them.

She still remembered how it all began, when her older brother Rodrik brought a new salt wife for himself one day. Apparently she was in a group of survivors of a sunken ship who somehow managed to safely reach the shores of Pyke. When they were questioned, it was learned that they were actually slaves and the ship which sunk was slaver ship from Volantis. In hindsight, it was surprising it took Rodrik more than a moon to notice patches of graying skin on the woman's backside. But by then, it was entirely too late. He himself showed signs of the curse spreading on his own flesh.

Others at Pyke soon became cursed as well. Servants mostly, who handled every piece of cloth the survivors owned. Eventually, the first fights began. The healthy wanted to get rid of the cursed, but the cursed fought back. From words it turned to fists then to swords. Blood stained the halls of Pyke.

Some managed to escape in time, only to find signs of corruption on their bodies then they were already far into the sea. Some had the decency to end themselves to prevent the curse from spreading outside the Iron Islands. Some even returned.

But some were cowardly enough to travel to Westerlands, foolishly thinking that greenlanders would save them. Others even went as far as to reach Oldtown. But neither received a warm welcome, for the Maester at Pyke had already sent ravens to other kingdoms warning them of incoming diseased Stoneborn. Lord Tywin Lannister ordered all ships coming from the Iron Islands to be shot with burning arrows on sight and prevented from reaching land. At least that's what she heard from people before the Maester jumped from the highest walls of the castle after discovering he was cursed as well.

She did not know what happened to the ships which reached Oldtown, but she supposed that they met a similar fate. Her only hope was to somehow reach the North. The people there were cold and unwelcoming to outsiders, but she would bear it if it meant she and Theon would avoid becoming monsters.

Unfortunately, her legs failed her. Her lungs hurt, it was too much. She had not slept in nearly two days now, too afraid to let her guard down. Theon was sobbing quietly at her side.

"Hello, niece," she heard suddenly. It was the most terrifying thing she could hear. She spun around, her blade ready to strike the thing that was once her uncle.

But it was no use. She was too tired, too weak to fight him. She would rather die and take Theon with her to the Drowned God. Anything was better than becoming a monster, even death.

Euron Greyjoy was a loathsome creature as a man, but as a Stoneborn his evil was now plain to see. His curse was particularly notable, as it spread fast and gave him nearly the appearance of a walking stone gargoyle. He looked at her sword and chuckled, his black eye shining with mirth. The other one was gone, replaced by a dark-grey, polished gemstone. The demon still was somehow able to see.

"Now, there will be none of this foolishness. Come, niece, come and seek shelter under my shroud," he said and the world became a little less.

289 AC

Jon Arryn was feeling an incoming headache.

The ravens from the Reach and Westerlands were coming every other day now. Each one with news more terrible than previous. First, there was information that the Iron Islands were suffering from a plague. Then came the reveal that the plague was Greyscale, as confirmed by Maester Wendamyr from Pyke himself.

Lord Tywin acted quickly and commanded that every ship recognized as to be from the islands to be attacked and burned on sight. Unfortunately some mistakes happened and innocent ships from other regions were falsely accused and destroyed, but preventing the plague from spreading to the mainland was more important.

Ravens from Oldtown arrived soon after, informing that refugees from Pyke arrived and begged the Citadel for help. Initially some were taken by the Maesters who hoped to study the disease. However, eventually Lord Hightower decided to follow Lord Lannister's example and started attacking incoming ships if they were confirmed to come from the Iron Islands. All other ships were simply forced to stay at docks and be examined by Maesters before being allowed to walk into land. So far, spread of the disease was prevented.

Today, one raven arrived from the Iron Islands. Grand Maester Pycelle strangled it with gloves as soon as he recognized it and later burned the corpse. A wise move, as the bird could carry the disease in its feathers. The news from Pyke was dire however. Euron Greyjoy, younger brother of Lord Balon Greyjoy has apparently slain all his brothers and crowned himself the Shrouded Lord of the Stone Islands. Along with renaming the islands he has also declared their independence from the Iron Throne and was now in open rebellion against it.

King Robert immediately wanted to call all the kingdoms to war, but Jon was forced to stop him. It was too dangerous to fight diseased men. The risk of spreading the plague to other realms was too great. Instead, a strong fleet of ships would be organized to surround and blockade the Stone Islands.

Jon himself understood war. He had lived through it. But a plague was an entirely different beast to deal with. Archers would be needed more than knights in this conflict. Sailors and ships more needed than horses and lances. Master of Ships Lord Stannis was already instructed to send the Royal Fleet east, Lords Lannister and Tyrell needed no urging for they were already commanding their forces to do the very same thing.

Jon sent a raven to Winterfell, but he expected no real reply from Lord Stark. The north had no real fleet and were all too unwilling to send help south. They would no doubt fortify the Stony Shore, but beyond that Jon did not expect much. While normally such reluctance could be deemed treasonous, King Robert always ignored the North as if it didn't exist.

"Some wounds will never heal, no matter what," Jon mused.

He still remembered the day when Varys told them of whispers from Dorne, that Lord Eddard was last seen there. Then the trail vanished. It took some time, but eventually Robert was forced to accept that Ned and Lyanna would never return. Their bodies were never found and it was then that the North became silent.

Jon himself was going to travel to Sunspear to negotiate peace with Prince Doran, but after it was revealed that Ned and Lyanna vanished in Dorne, Robert demanded to travel with him. Needless to say, the talks between Robert Baratheon and Doran Martell have not gone well. In the end, Prince Oberyn Martell had to be accepted as Master of Laws while Ser Gregor Clegane was put to death.

The Red Viper had been on the small council ever since and has been consistently undermining Queen Cersei's every move for years. His hatred of Lannisters was well known and his proficiency with poisons even more so. But now, in this new and dangerous situation, Jon hoped people would put aside their petty grievances and focus on the real enemy.

Only time would tell if his hopes were worth anything.