Nightmare of Frost

Bruised, battered, and bloodied, the men of the Night's Watch, were a pitiful sight.

A few dozen of them, sat huddled together outside of the wooden shack that was once Crastor's Keep. The namesake of said keep was dead now, his body, nothing more than a charred hunk of slag, left on the outskirts of the keep.

These men were far from home and had suffered grievously at the hands of the Wildlings. Many of them were badly injured, and would not survive long, if they didn't receive help.

Surrounding the group of forty-five men of the Night's Watch, was a contingent of orcs. Their cold, uncaring eyes, bore down onto the damaged men, keeping them from fleeing or trying to fight back.

The men themselves, cowered before the bestial orcs, terrified of what would happen to them, now that they had been taken captive by an even more monstrous force, than the Wildlings.

Aegon and Benjen quickly made their way to the group, where Benjen proceeded to pass his gaze over all of the survivors, searching for people he recognized.

Several men took notice of him, recognizing Benjen.

"It's the First Ranger." One of the men noted, drawing the attention of the rest towards Benjen Stark.

"Do you recognize any of them?" Aegon inquired.

"Aye. I know a few of these men." Benjen responded as he stepped closer to the group, some of the rangers, rose to their feet as he approached.

"What are you men doing here? Why are you North of the Wall in such force? What happened?" Benjen asked, searching through them, looking for any veterans but finding few, if any. Most of the survivors either weren't in much of a condition to speak with him, or they were rookies, fresh meat for the Watch, who'd barely held a sword in their lives.

"The Lord-Commander ordered us North of the Wall. We were looking for answers. For the Wildlings, and these strange creatures we'd been seeing. We were also looking for you." One of the stewards responded.

"What happened?" Benjen inquired.

"We'd come North past the Wall, and made camp here at Craster's Keep. We were gonna keep headin' north when the Wildlings came out of nowhere. They butchered most of the others, and a Thenn cut down the Lord Commander. They were holding us here, plannin' on torturing us for information about the Wall." The same Steward answered, earning nods from his fellows that were listening.

Benjen let out a sigh, and cursed internally. Slowly he turned his gaze towards Aegon, looking to see what his nephew would do now.

"Some of you may recognize me from Castle Black. My name is Aegon Targaryen. I was raised as Jon Snow by Ned Stark. He raised me as his bastard, but in truth, my real father was Rhaegar Targaryen, and my mother was Lyanna Stark. I've made an alliance with the master of these creatures, the Queen in the Far North. She has offered to ally with me, and together we will take the Iron Throne, that is mine by birthright. With my army, I will crush the Wildlings. They will either kneel, or they will die. For you men, I offer you this, bend the knee to me, and I will absolve you of your oaths, and pardon you for whatever crimes you may have committed. You'll be given food, and a place in my service, to the benefit of your skills. I will march south, take the Wall, and all of the Seven Kingdoms. I have dragons, trolls, and an army of over one hundred thousand at my back. Make your choice, as some of you are injured, I will accept a verbal oath." As Aegon finished talking, Midir soared overhead, along with two of the Nine, on the backs of their Fellbeasts. The roaring of all three beasts, caused many of the Night's Watch members, to accept his words as truth.

"I offer you the chance to rise above yourselves, and become great. Join me, and together we will avenge the death's of your brothers, and crush Mance Rayder, and his army. What say you?" Aegon pressed, stepping forward.

Many shared looks were had, before some of the men shifted to their knees, and bowed their heads. Soon more followed, and it wasn't long before every man, able to move, was on his knees.

Whatever their reason, be it freedom, survival, or even revenge, these men knew that if they did not bow, than their chances of survival would diminish quickly. Either serve the Targaryen with dragons, or stand against him. No man wanted that.

Aegon gazed at the crowd before turning his gaze to Benjen.

Benjen met his gaze, and than slowly dropped to his knee, surprising Aegon.

"Uncle? I told you it was alright if you held to your oaths until I took the Wall." Aegon said to him, not at all unhappy that Benjen had chosen to kneel.

"I'm no fool. Your army is going to win. You'll beat the Wildlings, you'll capture the Wall, and you'll do whatever you please with the Night's Watch. What point is there in waiting until later?" Benjen admitted, earning a nod of understanding, and agreement from his nephew.

"Alright then. See to it, these men get treatment for their wounds." Aegon ordered several nearby orcs, earning nods. He then turned his attention towards where all of the captured Wildlings, were being held.

Most of the main Wildling host had moved past Craster's Keep by the time of the attack. Those that had remained behind, intended to interrogate the Night's Watch survivors, and send word to Mance Rayder on what they'd learned as he prepared his attack on the Wall. Aside from the warriors, most of the rest were women, children, and those to old to keep up, who had taken to resting in the capt.

When his Warg Riders had attacked the keep, many of the Wildling warriors had hopped onto the backs of the Night's Watch horses and rode against them. It was because of the nearly two hundred Wildlings on horseback, that Aegon had lost nearly a hundred Warg Riders, rather than only a few dozen. Still, even with some Wildlings on horseback, the riders had managed to cut down nearly a thousand Wildlings in their attack, and captured about a hundred of them as well.

Now all of these men and women were corralled together, similarly to the Night's Watch survivors, surrounded by orcs, and looking to be equally injured.

Aegon approached their group as Benjen rose to his feet, and moved to help some his former brothers.

Aegon made his way to the edge of the ring of orcs surrounding the Wildling captives and addressed them. "My name is Aegon Targaryen. My army marches for the Wall, and I will kill every single person that gets in my way. You have this one chance to bend the knee to me. Swear your service and kneel. Do so, and I will allow you to live. Refuse… and you'll die here."

The Wildlings all turned their attention to him as he spoke, many of them glaring hatefully at the commander of the army that had hunted and slaughtered them for years.

One of the Wildlings rose to his feet and walked through the cluster of prisoners, making his way before Aegon.

He was a tall, broad man. Muscular, and heavy set. He glared at Aegon as he towered over him.

"None of the Free Folk will bow to you, you fucking cunt. Take your offer and ram it up your ass! None of us are afraid of you!" The man snarled, pushing closer to Aegon, as some of the orcs stepped between them, snarling at the man as he advanced.

Aegon nodded, ordering the orcs to step aside as he stepped forward.

The moment an opening was made the Wildling struck out at him, throwing his fist hard towards the side of Aegon's head.

Aegon caught the fist in his hand, holding it, with a look of smoldering anger, and utter resentment.

"Men… you cherish pride, more than your lives." Aegon growled, crushing the Wildling's fist in his hand, causing the man to scream out in pain, and drop to his knees.

With his free hand he tried to push Aegon away, punching at him, and hitting him, none of his blows carrying any force or strength to them, as Aegon now towered over the burly Wildling.

Once the man was on his knees, Aegon released his hand and took hold of the Wildling's head.

A small smile touched at Aegon's lips as he drove his thumbs in the man's eyes, causing his screams to turn into wails of pure agony.

Roars of rage and resentment came from the Wildlings as several rose to their feet, only to immediately be shot with arrows, by the orcs surrounding them.

Aegon continued to gouge out the man's eyes until his screaming stopped. Once it did, he allowed the body to flop lifelessly to the ground. He then turned his gaze towards the rest of the Wildlings who stared on in terror, anger, and resentment.

Aegon stared at them for a moment, before motioning with his hand, as if gesturing for something to rise up.

With that gesture, dark magic roared out surrounding the fallen body of his kill. The body quickly animated, shifting and lifting itself up, dreadful black and green wisps of magic circling it, as the corpse rose to it's feet. In it's now empty eye sockets, were bright green glows of energy.

"In life or death, you will serve me. They have tried my patience. Remove the end of their smallest finger on one hand, if they choose to submit. Kill the rest." Aegon ordered the undead creature before turning to the orc captain who watched on with glee. "Make sure none of them interfere with his work, and send the children north to The Nightmare Citadel."

As Aegon marched away, wiping the blood from his hands, screams erupted from the crowd as children were snatched from their mothers, who tried to beg for them, and even swearing to serve, in the hopes of keeping their babes.

Aegon simply shook his head and ignored them. A lesson needed to be learned. When the Dark Lord made you an offer, you took it, because if he made another, it would not turn out as well for you.

A few hours later, Aegon had Benjen, along with a few former members of the Night's Watch, brought to him in his tent.

"Your grace." Benjen offered upon their arrival, introducing the four men with him, as Grenn, Samwell, Edd, and Karl.

The five men offered him bows, a quick glance at the four with his uncle, spoke volumes about them. Grenn was cautious, and a bit unnerved, Sam was fearful, and doing what he could to maintain his composure, Edd was unnerved, but doing a better job than Sam and Grenn, at keeping himself from looking afraid, and the last, Karl… well with that one, Aegon spotted something very familiar in the man's eyes. In his eyes, he saw ruthlessness, the eyes of a hardened killer.

"Uncle. Thank you for coming. I would like to hear from these men, the compositions of the Wildling forces. How they fought, their troop numbers, anything that they can tell me about them, will help me beat them." Aegon stated motioning for the five men to approach.

Also in the tent, standing near motionlessly in the shadows were two of the Nine, their presence giving off an aura of dread. To the four newcomers, they seemed almost like statues, if it weren't for the gentle movement of their cloaks.

"Tell me everything you remember, anything you might have overheard, anything that could be useful information. My army is prepared to march on Mance's. There's only sixty miles between here and the Wall, he has no more room to run. Either I'll smash him against the Wall, or I'll hit him while he's attempting to cross it, either way, I'll be better served, knowing exactly what he has at his disposal." Aegon instructed them, earning slow nods, as they shared glances with one another.

"Well… where do we start?" Grenn openly wondered.

"Start at the beginning, the moments leading up to the attack. Tell me everything." Aegon instructed, and so they did.

Five days later, and Aegon's army arrived upon a peculiar sight.

A massive fire lit across the southern end of the Haunted Forest. It's reason for being there was unknown, maybe as a signal, maybe to try and slow them down. All it did do though was illuminate the Wildling assault on the Wall.

Aegon wasted little time in ordering an assault on the Wildling camps, while half of the warriors were busy laying siege to the Wall.

They fell on them in the dark of night, cutting their way through thousands of unorganized men and women. There was little need to launch a highly organized strike against the Wildlings, all that was needed was a powerful cavalry charge, into their encampments. Wargs, Caragors, and Spiders swarmed amongst their ranks, tearing into them, and causing chaos amongst the Wildlings, as the army of orcs, uruks, and trolls surged out of the forests and slaughtered every man or woman, with a weapon.

As the attack carried on, Aegon, Midir and two of the Nazgul, descended from the clouds and attacked any Wildling who wandered out of the forest and into the open. The Nazgul let out terrible wails that sent men and women to their knees, clutching at their ears in pure terror, while the sight of Midir, drove any who looked upon the giant dragon to despair.

Within an hour, Aegon's forces had pushed to the Wall, where they found the gate to Castle Black open, and the Wildlings rapidly pouring through, trying to escape.

Aegon gave the order to run them all down.

While his army fought on the ground, Aegon crested the wall and examined the situation in Castle Black. From the looks of things, the Wildlings had infiltrated the castle from the South and opened the Gates for their brethren. The Night's Watch had suffered a crushing defeat here, but the Wildlings would get little chance to savor their victory.

"Midir! Keep the Wildlings from fleeing!" Aegon commanded, his voice piercing the wind and carrying through the air, to Lilith's pet.

The Dragon let out a violent roar and flew over the wall, descending on it's southern side.

Around Castle Black, troops of Wildlings were scattering into the South, running as far and as fast as they could, Midir fell upon them, releasing an inferno of orangish-black flames. Cursed flames, that were given to the dragon by Lilith. These flames were much like Fiendfyre, in that they could not be extinguished with water, and would burn ceaselessly for a full day and night before going out. Only Midir and Lilith knew how to extinguish the Dragon's cursed flames.

Very quickly, a wall of fire encircled the area surrounding Castle Black, trapping the Wildlings within.

Aegon and his Fellbeast sat perched atop the Wall as the battle raged beneath them. Now trapped, the Wildlings fought tooth and nail for their survival. They tried and failed to close the tunnel as Aegon's army stormed out of the Haunted Forest and cut down everyone who tried to fight back. They made it into the tunnel before the Wildlings could shut it, and were able to push into the castle and reopen the gate for the rest of the army to pour through.

Within two hours, it was over.

The Wildling's attempt to make it across the Wall had succeeded for all of a few minutes, before the horrors they ran from, fell upon them.

By the Battle's end, less then forty men of the Night's Watch were left alive in Castle Black, most of them had been atop the Wall during the attack, and had remained there as the enemy stormed the castle below and opened the gates.

Of the Wildling host, which had been nearly a hundred thousand strong, consisting of men, women, and children, nearly half were dead by battle's end, and another ten thousand would perish from their wounds, by the time dawn came around.

The first great battle of his campaign, against one of the largest armies in Westoros, had met with incredible success. Compared to the Wildlings, Aegon had lost less than six thousand orcs, uruks, and olegs, by the time it all was said and done with. Most of those had died fighting through the expanse of Mance Rayder's army beyond the Wall.

Come the dawn, the devastation was fully unveiled for all to see.

Mountainous piles of bodies were set out beyond the Wall, in preparation for a great act of Dark Magic. Aegon intended to use his necromancer powers to raise all 60,000 dead men, to serve him in preparations for their return to Arda.

Such a force was an excellent resource to be exploited, as the wights could be directed to do anything, from fighting, to assisting in building, to basic tasks of repetition, such as farming, mining, guarding, or even delivering messages. Wights lacked intelligence for complex tasks, but they had a degree of problem solving ability, and would focus on their task, until it was done, or there was no way possible for them to continue it.

Such a massive force could easily be used to repair the castles on the wall, and begin construction of new ones, by digging foundation on the northern side. Or this same force could be sent through the portal back to Arda, where they could spread out across Mordor, and begin rebuilding fortifications there.

The possibilities were near limitless, however so many bodies would need a powerful, focused, and timely ritual to raise, so for now, Aegon would simply have their bodies gathered, and send word to his sister, with his idea.

He was certain he could accomplish this task on his own, but it would take time, however with both he and Lilith combining their powers, they could manage this far quicker and more effectively.

Later that day Aegon ordered Mance Rayder be found, dead or alive, and brought to him. The pretext presented was that it was now time for the King Beyond the Wall to negotiate the fate of his people.

Come nightfall, he'd been found, and brought into Castle Black, along with a dozen other Wildlings. Most, if not all of these individuals were tribe leaders of some sort, people the Wildlings looked to for guidance. They were escorted into the courtyard of Castle Black, Aegon stood above them, staring down from his platform. By his side were several former brothers of the Night's Watch, that had sworn oaths to Aegon, as well as some of his top warchiefs.

Surrounding the Wildling delegation was a contingent of Uruk-hai, all armed with spears, ready to skewer the Wildlings, if they stepped even a single toe out of line.

"You're Mance Rayder?" Aegon inquired, focused on the older, hardened looking man, who stood at the front of the Wildling troop.

"Aye. I am. And you're the one leading these monsters to murder my people." Mance Rayder responded.

"Not always. My name is Aegon of house Targaryen. The army that hunted you down, served Queen Lilith, the undying. The Queen of Fire, Shadow, and Winter. I stand in service to her. By her command, I hunted you down, and by her leave, your fates are now mine to decide." Aegon responded as he stared down at them.

"I see. So… what'll it be? You gonna have that dragon roast us? Have your monsters eat us?" Mance asked in response, maintaining his composure, even as the eyes of his fellows began to shift at the mention of their imminent execution.

"Over Forty Thousand Wildlings still live. Many of them women and children. Those who can't fight. I'm willing to make you an offer. You'll only get it once. Bow to me. Swear your allegiance to me. Swear to follow my commands, and adhere to my laws. Do this, and I will allow all of your people south of the Wall. From the Wall to the edge of the New Gift, I will make you the Lord of that territory. There's plenty of space for you to settle. Swear to adhere to my instructions, and I will allow you to leave this battlefield with your lives. Refuse, and I'll have every able bodied man and woman sent to my Queen in the Far North. There she will keep you, until your dying days, and long after. Refuse, and your children will be stripped from you, and raised by my army, to serve me. Refuse, and your culture, your way of life… will die with you, here today. That is my offer. You cannot hope for anything better. I am a gracious man, and I do not like to waste resources that are useful. But if you are going to continue to be a problem for me, than I'll deal with that problem now." Aegon dictated to them, his gaze heavy and piercing.

There was a malevolence within his eyes, something that unnerved the Wildlings as they stared up at him. Despite his youth, and average stature, his commanding aura, and the feeling of dread that seemed to radiate off of him, left him as an almost overwhelming presence.

To the Wildlings looking up at him, it almost seemed as if his shadow were rising up the buildings behind him darkening the area in a foreboding and unnatural way.

Mance was silent for a moment as he shared glances with some of his lieutenants. They all knew they were in a dangerous situation. Aegon had the power to slaughter them all to the last man, and they knew that his army could raise the dead as wights.

"What guarantees do we have that you'll honor your word?" Came the question from one of the chieftains, standing by Mance's side.

"I don't care about you. Or your people. Or your culture for that matter. I have need of working bodies. Living bodies, can make more living bodies. I could kill you all, get an army of wights out of it. An army that never tires, never complains, and will never turn on me. Or I can spare you. Allow you to live under my rule, serve in my armies, fight for me. And the day may come where great men rise into my service, men who will prove invaluable in the wars to come. There is power in the blood of the First Men. You either trust what I say as truth, or you don't. In the end, it doesn't matter. I have every single Wildling left in the world, surrounded by my army out there. With a single command they'll butcher you all, and I'll simply take your children to raise as loyal soldiers. I don't care about your ways, or you. Make the choice, because I have work to do. You have until tomorrow morning to deliver your decision to me. Come the dawn, you'll either kneel, or I will break you." Aegon responded, turning and marching away as he finished.

He was followed by his uncle Benjen, along with Karl Tanner, and Grenn.

"Do you really plan on giving those savages the Gift your grace?" Karl Tanner inquired as they marched.

Some of the nearby orcs tensed at the man addressing the Dark Lord without being addressed first.

"Yes. If everything goes according to plan, then my cousin Robb will bend the knee to me. But if for whatever reason he doesn't, or if the North decides to rebel against his decision. Forty thousand Wildlings between us and them, sounds rather reasonable, don't you think?" Aegon responded, stopping and turning to address the man's question.

"You intend to use them as a shield?" Benjen noted.

"I intend for them to work for their place in this world. Part of that, will be serving as defenders of my kingdom. What better way to force men to fight for you, than by making them think they're fighting for their homes." Aegon responded, earning a nod of understanding from Benjen, and the others.

"What will you do with the survivors from the Night's Watch, your grace?" Grenn asked.

"My armies are already spreading across the Wall taking castle by castle. Once they reach the Shadow Tower, and Eastwatch by the Sea, they'll be given the same offer I gave you and yours. I'll take the castles without bloodshed if I can, and abolish the Night's Watch, under my rule. Those men will be freed from their oaths, and free to join my army, or I can find work for them, based on their skills." Aegon answered.

With their questions answered, Aegon turned and continued onward to where the survivors from Castle Black were being held.

A small smirk touched at his lips, when he noticed the looks the orcs were sharing with one another, surprised that the men hadn't been lashed for speaking out of turn in front of the Dark Lord. A fine dynamic that the orcs would have to understand, as would the men under his command. Aegon was approachable as a king, he was meant to appear as a great ruler, and a great ruler inspires direction from his subordinates.

As the Dark Lord, he is meant to tower above them, to be unreachable. But as a King, he is meant to be their leader, and the best kind of leaders, are those that inspire loyalty in their subordinates. Domination was useful, and had it's place, but the best servants were those that were fanatically loyal to their master, and such devotion was gained far easier from acts of grace, than acts of tyranny. Fear, Respect, Devotion, and Love. A great ruler must have all of these things, in order to secure his position. Such things cannot be gained from standing atop a pedestal and never coming down. As Aegon Targaryen, he must appear as a King. As Sauron he must appear as the Dark Lord.

Here, on the ground, in these halls, he was a King. And as a King it would serve him better to hear the thoughts, ideas, and musings of his servants, to better understand how they saw things, and his actions, and it also helped to gauge their reactions to his plans, to see how they felt about his directions. True manipulation was the art of subtlety, and there was no better way to determine the effect of a decision than to watch the reaction of several servants as it's being made.

To often, rulers focused on the source of the decision, rather than those around them. The Wildlings were the enemy, their feelings did not matter, what did matter was the emotions of those that were sworn to him. How they felt about his decisions would gauge their loyalty and determine just how devoted they were to him.

Besides all of that, patience was something that Sauron had long learned to be very good at. He was in no rush, kingdoms would rise and fall and he would still be around. So taking time to plot and plan and coordinate was key to victory. If he felt so inclined, Aegon could remain here on the Wall for a century, securing the loyalty of the Wildlings, and converting them to his cause. He didn't believe they were worth such time and effort, but if he did feel so inclined, there was little stopping him from doing so.

He hoped the actions of these men would inspire the orcs to speak up more in his presence. Despite their viciousness, orcs were quite loyal to those they chose to follow, and those they believed in. An army that fought loyally was far more useful than one that fought out of fear. As Sauron he had seen what fear accomplished. When the Númenóreans came for him, his army broke and fled at the mere sight of that massive force in their golden armor. That was what fear accomplished.

When they returned to Arda, they would face all the armies of the Free people, and then they would march on Valinor, if the Valar didn't come to fight them first. The orcs would face off against the children of the Valar, the great elven armies of old, and Aegon would not have them break and flee like they did before.

When next they fought Eru, if would be as a force united, in their hatred of him and his creations. They would wash across Arda, as an army, dedicated to the two Lords of Darkness at it's helm. Sauron and Lilith.

Of the survivors from the attack on Castle Black, only three were of note. Maester Aemon Targaryen, Aegon's Great-Great Uncle. The old man was quite bewildered to hear about Aegon's existence, and nearly cried when he heard Midir roaring and flying above the castle.

Aegon had plans for the old man, someone as long lived and wise as him, with powerful magic running through his veins. Despite Aemon's age, he would make a powerful servant indeed.

The second of note was Ser Alliser. A former Targaryen loyalist, who'd been sent to the Wall by Ned Stark. This left Ser Alliser in a unique position, as he hated Ned Stark, but loved Rhaegar Targaryen. The man was a hardened warrior and a skilled ranger, and yet the way he paled when he learned that the bastard boy he belittled during his short stay on the Wall was actually the son of the beloved Prince Rhaegar, made Aegon smirk.

The last person of note was the craven former commander of the City Watch in King's Landing, Janos Slynt. The man who had plenty to say about what had been going on in the south.

"Dead?" Aegon repeated, eyeing the man intently, while Benjen fumed in the corner.

"Yes, your grace. When King Robert died from his injuries, Lord Stark came forward and proclaimed that King Joffrey was not the rightful king. He proclaimed that Stannis Baratheon was the rightful king and that Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen were bastards born from Queen Cercei and Ser Jaime." Janos explained to Aegon, and Benjen.

"So he was arrested and executed for treason?" Aegon clarified.

"Yes, your grace" Janos responded.

Benjen growled and bit back a curse, while Aegon let out a saddened sigh, knowing full well that this was the reason why Sansa's and Robb's dreams were filled with the death's of Lannisters.

"What of the Starks? What is happening down south, now that Robert and Ned are dead?" Aegon asked.

"War, your grace. The Baratheon brothers turned on each other and the throne, each proclaiming they were the rightful heir. Balon Greyjoy has rebelled again and begun attacking the Northern coast, and Robb Stark has been named King in North, and marches south with a Northern army, and the aid of the Riverlands." Janos responded.

"Well… seems the South is in the shit now. Tell me, lord Janos, what role did you play during the events of Eddard Stark's treason?" Aegon inquired after a moment of silence.

Benjen's gaze snapped to the man, fury filling his eyes, while Janos stuttered a bit and struggled to recompose himself.

"I stayed loyal to the crown, your grace. When Ned Stark tried to buy my loyalty, I refused. I remained loyal to King Joffrey, who I believed was the rightful heir of King Robert." Janos responded nervously.

"That's all well and good, Lord Janos, but I asked what role you played in those events. Telling me why you did what you did, does not tell me 'what' you did." Aegon clarified, stepping towards the man as he did, while Benjen grew more furious, his features becoming more wolf-like as his anger grew.

Janos seemed to notice this, and stepped back from the former First Ranger.

"I…"

"Do not lie to me. It is a crime to lie to a king." Aegon commanded, taking another step towards him.

"I protected King Joffrey. When Ned Stark and his men tried to depose him, I ordered my men to kill Ned Stark's men. I followed my oaths, and my orders…" Janos responded quickly, backing away even further.

"So you left my uncle defenseless. And because of that, Joffrey Waters, had him killed with his own Valyrian Steel sword." Aegon pressed, his voice cold and even, yet carrying a menace to it, that caused Janos to drop to his knees, cowering fearfully.

"Please your grace, mercy! I only did as I was bid! I'm sorry! Please!" Janos begged, shaking and crying as he sensed his imminent death.

"Tell me… Lord Janos. When my uncle came to you, asked for your aid in supporting who he believed was the rightful heir, did you choose to deny him because of your oaths, or was there another reason?" Aegon asked, his voice gentle, quiet, and passive, even as he stood over the cowering man.

"I was staying true to my oaths! Like I said! I thought he was a traitor! I was wrong! I'm sorry! I didn't know!" Janos replied quickly, tears building in his eyes, as his dread and terror grew.

"I learned a great deal in my time with Lilith, and on my own. Magic has ways of sussing out the truth of things. For someone like you though, pain will suffice quite sufficiently." Aegon hummed, his wand appearing in his hand.

Benjen saw the stick of wood slide out from Aegon's sleeve, and it momentarily broke him of his rage, as it was such a strange sight, than the end of it began to glow a dim gray.

"Crucio." Aegon said with an elegant hand motion.

Janos Slynt went down screaming, his body arching in pain. He shook and twisted, flopping about and began to spasm as his body was wracked with the pain of a thousand burning hot blades scrapping under the skin.

This continued for all of three seconds, as Benjen watched in dumbfounded amazement. He could clearly see that it was Aegon who was doing this to Janos, without needing to touch him. He kept the stick of wood trained on the man's writhing body, and in his eyes, Benjen could see nothing but cold resentment.

Finally, Aegon removed his wand from it's aim at Janos and knelt over him.

"I told you it was a crime to lie to a king. You may not have sworn any oaths to me yet, but I've taken this wall and made you my prisoners. By the rights of conquest and war, I can do whatever I please with you. Lie to me again… and it will be worse." Aegon said quietly to the cowering man.

Janos was shaking and crying, huddled in the fetal position on the floor, as Aegon knelt over him.

"Please..." He muttered quietly.

"Answer my question." Aegon commanded.

"It was Littlefinger… and the Queen. They paid me, had my loyalty. I'm sorry…" Janos said softly as he wept, his body still shaking from the pain.

Aegon let out a sigh at that and rose to his feet.

A word in the Black Speech led to the guards outside the door coming in, two uruks of impressive stature.

"Take him outside, let him meet Skausan-Eaavas." Aegon ordered, turning away from Janos as the man was lifted off his feet, still shaking and whimpering.

Outside many got to watch as Janos was dragged out of Castle Black and towards where the three Fellbeasts lay, sleeping quietly. As soon as they heard Janos' crying and begging, the three stirred, the largest of which was Aegon's mount, Skausan-Eaavas, literally meaning 'Sky Eater" in the Black Speech of Mordor. It's very name caused dread in those who heard it. The beast was pure black, and emanated with an aura of pure dread, and carnal hunger.

The two uruks were quick to toss Janos towards the beast and back away before it could reach them.

Janos slowly rose to his knees as he laid eyes on the giant winged terror.

The beast took in a few breaths, taking in Janos' scent. It then lunged forward, sinking it's teeth into the man's shoulder.

Janos' screamed in agony as he was lifted off the ground. His torment didn't last long as the Fellbeast sunk it's teeth even deeper, and jolted the man's body harshly with a whip of it's powerful neck, dislocating most of Janos' bones and killing him near instantly as it shook him back and forth.

Soon it was joined by the other two Fellbeasts as they took hold of Janos' legs and tore them free from his body, all three quickly devouring the former watch commander.

Back in the Lord-Commander's office that Aegon had taken for his own, Aegon and Benjen stood in silence.

"I'm sorry uncle." Aegon stated, his voice conveying his genuine sorrow for the loss of a man who was a much better father, to Aegon, than anyone else in his long life had been.

"You have nothing to apologize for. If Ned is dead, chances are good that Sansa and Arya are being held captive at the capitol." Benjen responded quietly.

"I know. We wont waste any time. I'll deal with the Wildlings in the morning, and then we'll march south to Winterfell." Aegon responded, earning a nod from his uncle who's blood was now boiling for a fight with the Lannisters.

"Let us mourn our losses uncle, but let us not be consumed by them. We can still save those who live. We will remember Ned Stark for all that he was to us, and we will fight to avenge his death. I swear to you, the Lannisters will pay for this." Aegon said to his uncle, his own wolfish features becoming apparent as he allowed his mask to fall, and his anger to show itself.

Again Benjen nodded and turned his gaze out the window. The last of his siblings was gone now, but Ned's children still remained. They had to get south, and quickly, the sooner they arrived, the sooner they could aid Robb in retrieving his sisters from King's Landing, and avenging Ned's death.

It had taken less than ten years, but another war, had taken hold of the seven kingdoms.