Shadows over Westeros

Prologue part 2

The North was, Aegon Targaryen decided, a wild, bleak, and foreboding place.

During his conquest of Westeros, his new subjects had much to say about this particular kingdom, and almost all of it added to its fearsome reputation. The septons and septas of the Seven decried it as a "godless place, full of heathen shadow men and their false idols". The peasants and noble house labeled it the "Shadowy lands, when monsters dwelled in the gloom." The Maesters of old town referred to the race that inhabited the land as the "shadar-kai". The histories stated that the shadar-kai, led by its leaders, House Korlon, had conquered the North and defeated its previous rulers, the ancient Stark family, who had married into the Korlon bloodline and now served as its advisors, bodyguards, and castellans. The shadar-kai had then renamed their new kingdom Ikemmu, which roughly translated to mean "the North-in-Shadow"

What made this kingdom unique was the fact that it was the only one to be relatively untouched by the legendary Andal invasion. Supposedly, the Andals had avoided the land altogether, out of both religious and practical fears. Aegon wondered briefly if history would repeat itself in this century as well. He then shook his head to clear his thoughts.

'This time, Ikemmu will not stand. The Andals did not have three dragons at their beck and call', Aegon thought. At his sides, his sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, stood impatiently.

"What is taking them so long? Are they mocking us?" Visenya asked.

"Patience my sister. We do not want this meeting to erupt into bloodshed", Aegon said.

"I know, brother dear, it is just that patience was never one of my best features", Visenya replied.

Earlier that day, Aegon had sent a messenger to the shadar-kai capital of Winterfell with a message of peaceful negotiation for their race's king. Despite all the whispered tales of doom the shadar-kai seemed to collect about their selves, none of the other kingdoms could deny the race's great martial prowess, and, though they were loath to admit it, the weapons the shadar-kai forged were oft in high demand. Aegon believed that they could become the backbone of any army his dynasty hoped to muster in the future.

Later, the messenger had returned, shaken but otherwise unharmed, stating that the king, Uwan IX, would meet Aegon and his sisters at the border of the North. This was where they now waited.

Suddenly, a watchman shouted out a warning. In the distance, a small band of cloaked and hooded men were riding towards Aegon's party. They stopped at a distance, and then two men dismounted, walked towards the conqueror and his sisters, and drew back their hoods.

The first man was lean, and rather tall with long black hair, and a narrow, clean shaven, yet coldly handsome, face. The oddest features were his mismatched eyes, one black as night and the other as white as snow, light grey skin, a line of small silver stud piercings on the ridge of his nose, and the pair of tattoos on his cheeks in the shape of wolves' heads. A massive greatsword was sheathed upon his back, though he wore no armor, only fine clothing and a thick fur cloak.

The second man was downright bizarre. Like his companion, he was grey-skinned, tall, and had long hair, but it was dyed a garish collage of white, red, gold, and black. He was very muscular, and piercings, tattoos, and scars, of all shapes, sizes, and design covered his face, arms, and any other bit of visible flesh. He was clad in furs and spiked leather armor that was dyed the same colors as his hair. Upon his head was a bronze and iron crown wrought in the shape of axe blades and swords. A huge great-axe was strapped to his back.

Though Aegon had been forewarned of the shadar-kai's appearances and propensities for self-mutilation, he could not help but feel repulsed.

The first man spoke in an emotionless tone. "I am Torrhen Stark, cousin and advisor of Uwan Korlon, fourth of his name and King of Ikemmu, who stands before you now, Lord Aegon."

King Uwan studied Aegon and his sisters for a moment, and then smiled with a mouth full of sharpened teeth, adding to his already fearsome appearance.

"So, this is the Targaryen upstart and his two whores who wish to rule over us all?" he said, in voice that was at once loud and strong, yet harsh and grating, like a sword being sharpened upon a rock. "Not what I was expecting from a conqueror of 5 kingdoms."

Aegon said nothing, but narrowed his eyes. Visenya, however, did not remain silent. "How dare you, creature? This is the man who will be your king!"

Uwan snorted, the motion jangling some of the rings embedded in his nose. "I dare, woman, because I am still king of these lands, while you, Aegon, are not. Why should I bow before a Targaryen whelp whose ancestors simply fled here after the fall of their homeland? Should I prostrate myself before a sister-fucker who has done nothing but skulk within his keep of Dragonstone for most of his life? As I recall, the Targaryens were on the lowest rung of the Valyrian hierarchy. What, do you want to conquer these lands so as to piss on their people from the top, as your family was once so pissed upon?"

Aegon replied, "I wish to conquer these lands because I can. I have no desire simply to live the rest of my days hiding away in Dragonstone. I am a conqueror, for it is in my blood. I was born to rule."

Visenya interjected once again. "So bow before him, wretched shadow man! Bow before your rightful king!"

Torrhen raised his hands. "My lords, and ladies, if I please may interject?"

All turned their eyes toward him.

"You must understand, Lord Aegon, we are a very proud people, but we have been content to be isolated, with the exceptions of limited trade, from the other six kingdoms. We have reasons for our isolation, reasons which cannot yet be explained and secrets that must be kept, for Westeros is not yet ready. Instead of conquering us, however, might I suggest a different tactic?"

Torrhen paused for a moment, considering his next words. "An alliance of friendship and cooperation between our two kingdoms, with basic oaths of fealty to aid one another in times of great danger or war; we will provide your armies with our weapons, and in return, we will retain our independence. Along with, if you should desire, a marriage alliance between our progeny."

Aegon thought for moment and then posed a question. "What is to stop me from spitting on your offer, returning to my army, and then reducing you kingdom to ashes and rubble with my three dragons and army?"

As he said this, he noticed that Uwan's grin was beginning to widen while a dangerous gleam crept into his eyes, as if the prospect of fighting 5 conquered kingdoms and three dragons was exciting to the creature. It was rather unsettling.

Torrhen let out a sigh, and then replied, in a voice bereft of emotion, "You could do this, but we are a resilient people. We were born of darkness, and snow, and remember…" at this point, Aegon could not help but notice that the man's shadow seemed to be moving as if it had a life of its own. It then suddenly merged with Aegon's, and he felt bone-searing cold, as if his very soul was being caressed by the hand of the Stranger himself. He could not move. At the same time, blinding light began to slowly emanate from Torrhen's flesh. It hurt to look upon him at all, but he could not even close his eyes. Aegon heard Visenya and Rhaenys cry out in alarm as they no doubt felt the same. "… Dragonfire cannot protect you from the shadows, even as the light sears your eyes," Torrhen finished emotionlessly. He then slightly tilted his head and asked "So, what say you, King Aegon?"

When he did not reply at first, the cold feeling and the light intensified. "Very well, I accept, damn your eyes! Now release us demon!" Aegon cried, losing his composure momentarily. The man nodded, and then the cold feeling and light withdrew. Aegon and his sisters gasped and stumbled as feeling returned and their eyes readjusted.

Uwan smiled his gruesome grin again and clapped his cousin on the shoulder. "We shall meet in a day's time to draw out an official treaty. Do not attempt to renege on this agreement, for we will know, and no army will stop us from killing you. Is that to your liking, my lord?" Torrhen asked, as if what had happened had just been a light-hearted, irrelevant discussion about the weather.

Aegon nodded wordlessly, still recovering from the shock of the strange magic. As the two shadar-kai turned and walk away, he heard Uwan say "Well done cousin, well done."

Once they had left, Visenya let her opinions be known. "How dare they?! Brother, we should take the dragons and burn these demons and their fucking kingdom to the ground!" She screeched.

"No, I cannot go back on my word. As a king, that would be seen as a weakness. We shall sign their treaty," Aegon replied, though he had considered that option.

Rhaenys, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke in a hushed tone. "Aegon, what have we allowed to live upon our doorstep?"

"A necessary evil, my sweet sister, a necessary evil", Aegon said. But, though he kept repeating those words to himself on the way back to his army, he could not help but feel that they were but a mere understatement regarding Ikemmu.

'Perhaps Dorne will be an easier conquest', he thought.