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Rating:
Teen And Up Audiences
Archive Warnings:
Graphic Depictions Of ViolenceMajor Character Death
Category:
Gen
Fandoms:
House of the Dragon (TV)Warhammer Fantasy
Characters:
Ikit ClawRhaenyra TargaryenJacaerys VelaryonLucerys Velaryon (Son of Rhaenyra)Baela TargaryenRhaena Targaryen (Daughter of Daemon)Daemon TargaryenCorlys "The Sea Snake" VelaryonHelaena TargaryenAddam VelaryonBackground & Cameo CharactersSilverwing | Alysanne Targaryen's DragonOriginal CharactersJoffrey Velaryon
Additional Tags:
Crack Treated SeriouslyCanon-Typical ViolenceThe Dance of the Dragons | Aegon II Targaryen v. Rhaenyra Targaryen EraAlternate Universe - Canon DivergenceCanonical Character DeathCharacter Turned Into a HumanIkit got isekai'd as Jace's twinSkaven Species (Warhammer Fantasy)Death to all GreensHuman ExperimentationScience ExperimentsIkit is his own warningSilverwing still has shit taste in male ridersPOV MultipleBackground RelationshipsBackground Character Deathshow canon onlyDragon RidersAnimal AbuseIkit is an abusive dragonriderTho he's fairly mellow compared to his SkavenselfGood Parent Rhaenyra TargaryenNo beta we die like LucerysDysfunctional FamilyCannibalismBlood and TortureCanon-Typical BehaviorBAMF Helaena Targaryen
Language:
English
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Published:2026-02-26Completed:2026-04-22Words:181,492Chapters:55/55Comments:1,270Kudos:749Bookmarks:160Hits:33,683
The Rat Prince of Westeros
SkilledWarriorKiwi
Chapter 49: Ikit Claw
Chapter Text
As a Skaven, Ikit loathed the idea of sending himself into peril when he had bodies to throw at the enemies.
However he knew when it came to a Khornate, anyone else from this world would simply get in the way. Death just fed that nuisance and dragonblood even more so with how he had experimented with Valyrian blood. He was no Throt, but Ikit had known the leader of Clan Moulder for years, and even experimented on his own body to know how valuable it was.
He knew this Valyrian body was fantastically receptive to augmentation, as he had made himself far stronger, faster and more durable than natural Humans. With the seer embracing Khorne she would be powered by the Blood God, who drew strength from each and every death and murder and the more she killed the stronger she got and a civil war was the perfect killing grounds for one of Khorne's ilk.
Ikit wasn't particularly sure how clearly that worked in such a mundane world, even if the Horned Rat had been able to manifest during the Undying massacre, and he hoped Helaena was simply an outlier for the Chaos God due to her brief exposure to himself and the Realm of Chaos.
He always hated fighting followers of Khorne. Too blood drunk and mad and never had the sense to die in a quick manner. Annoying and he didn't have hordes of slaves to throw at them. It was in part why he sent Addam away, even if the man was so spineless after witnessing the glory that was the Doomsphere.
Oh how he had missed his Doomsphere. He didn't regret staying in Essos to perfect his newest blueprint for his most beloved of all inventions. He was certainly annoyed he had returned to that idiotic slaver fleet and the death of Birthkin Lucerys, but he got to burn down four cities while hunting for his newest Birthkin Viserys so it had satiated some of his rage. And then eating the Usurper, learning that yes those of Valyrian blood bonded to dragons did taste different from those without. Daeron, who Ikit had in all honesty forgotten even existed until he was in King's Landing during the Dance and heard den mother talk of him, taste the same. The dragonflesh less so to his taste, so incredibly dense and iron-rich like their bones.
Still, he had eaten worse and was pleased that he was able to tempt the people of Tumbleton into accepting the Horned One as their saviour as he fed them flesh and his serum. Which of course had warpstone infused in it, not anywhere near enough to harm or mutate but a touch enough to let their prayers be heard and in turn let the new worshipers feel acknowledged.
Ikit was no Grey Seer, to preach before the Skaven and toll the Screaming Bells as they ordered sacrifices in religious ecstasy, but he was devout nonetheless and never once forgot his god despite how many years he was left in this cold dark world. Volantis and Vaelora were his first great success, even if it was technically a byproduct. But the Horned Rat listened, He was real unlike the faux gods which infested this place.
And unfortunately it turned out other gods of Mallus were able to peek in as well, as the seer displayed with her consumption of Khorne, one of the four great Chaos Gods.
Khorne, Tzeentch, Slaanesh and Nurgle- Ikit was familiar with them all.
Obviously the Horned Rat was in actuality the greatest one of them all, however like the Skaven He preferred obscurity from the common masses so He wasn't acknowledged as the greatest and best of all Chaos Gods.
Khorne, the God of Blood who embodied slaughter and war. Slaanesh, the God of pleasure, pain and obsession, and then Nurgle the God of disease, rot and rebirth. As a Skaven, out of the four he was most familiar with Nurgle if only due to the constant accusations of heresy from the Grey Seers to the Plague Monks of Clan Pestilens, as some whispered the disease and plagues utilized by the clan were birthed through Nurgle worship, instead of their own means towards the Horned Rat. Did not help the Plague Monks argued and fought with the Grey Seer's due to their ideology difference towards worship of the Horned Rat.
The last time he remembered that accusation being thrown about during one of the Council of Thirteen congregations it had escalated into a fist fight between Grey Seer Thranquol and Plague Monk Skrolk, much to his (and pretty much everyone's) entertainment. All things considered, he had bet on Skrolk to win.
Still, as a warlord and being as well learned and as well traveled as he was, Ikit knew about all four of the Chaos gods. Tzeentch was the Great Conspirator and Weaver of All Fates, and Ikit was surprised He hadn't been able to ensnare Helaena. One of His domains was fate, destiny, and Ikit would have assumed the seer would have been most susceptible to Him and His attempts to lure her forward. Yet when he had spoken to den mother, while in the seer's vacated den with the carving of Khorne, he had thought over Helaena's life and her origin to Valyria.
Her whelp butchered, a life in a cage where she was ignored with her whispers of fate, a worthless mate and then abandoned by all the clan including her own den mother. Isolated, grieving, useless, hapless. Tzeentch hissing about change and madness would have been lost beneath it all. Then the Lord of Skulls reached out to her, offering her blood, strength and courage. Little wonder the worthless thing accepted. Dragonblood ran hot, violent and twisted and hungry, and nudged her towards Khorne and she accepted.
Bah. Didn't mean Ikit truly wished to fight her it just meant he was, unfortunately, the only choice.
That wasn't to mean he felt himself weak, just as Skaven he never liked putting himself in genuine harms way and fighting a Chosen of Khorne would be exactly that. And considering how they had heard utterly nothing from Storm's End, he had a feeling Helaena had blood herself well. She would glut herself on that and a part of him was curious as to how that would manifest upon a Targaryen body.
Maegor's wives had disfigured stillborn whelps, and he heard mutters of what had become of his dead Birthkin Visenya. Horns, perhaps, like a Grey Seer? Talons, teeth and scales like a dragon? Well either way Ikit had a spare Doomsphere, the lone one lashed to the screaming bell upon Silverwing's back.
Silverwing's flight was easy as she flew over the Reach as they headed down the southern edge towards Storm's End. As she flew he brooded over potential strategies for facing Helaena. An ambush on dragonback was all but impossible and Silverwing would be needed to kill Dreamfyre regardless of any other outcome.
He would've liked to install some mortars onto Silverwing, or even some ratling guns, but he had to be logical about the weight even with how light Valyrian steel was. And how gloriously compatible with warpstone it was.
It was why he didn't protest with about Baela taking his refined weapons. He felt intense pride in changing his designs, to create even greater and more proficient Skryre weaponry. The Warplock Jezzail now being capable of being fired by a single user, the Warpfire Thrower no longer prone to exploding, him managing to bring back all of his Clan's weapons- he adored it so, and the Doomsphere the most. And when he taught Baela how to use them, she listened as attentively as any acolyte even if he could tell she did not understand large portions of his explanations. She knew to heed the warnings and how to use his weapons, the rest was irrelevant. It's why he knew either way, Vhagar would die so did not think twice about it. Loyalty, such an annoying trait but one that could be used.
With Ikit killing Vermithor and subjugating Oldtown meant the war was all but over, only the seer being the loose end in the war. He had forgiven Rhaenyra for her failure, even if forgiveness was a foreign concept to him. If only due to her seeking his absolution for her weakness. His littermate was another matter, even if Ikit refused to speak to Jace until he did the same as den mother. As the oldest, it had been his responsibility to keep everyone safe while Ikit was off perfecting his works. People died, decades as a warlord meant Ikit did not form many attachments but being trapped as a Human had soured his mind and he was vexed over Luke's death.
Still, the one responsible would die and it was the idiotic Westerosi 'honour' which caused all it. And was another thing he knew Khorne valued for some stupid reason, He was also the god of martial pride and honour. Because of that, Ikit didn't fear attack as Silverwing crossed over from the Reach to the Stormlands, knowing Helaena would not ambush him. A stupid trait to favour, kill your enemy in any mean possible. At least Ikit knew his birthkin Joffrey was paying attention to that one lesson even if Jace remained stupid.
Silverwing was strong and tireless, Ikit having spent years forcing utter obedience and blind servitude through their bond until she was nothing more than his creation. If he commanded it she would sit and starve to death, and as such she flew for days uninterrupted with Ikit himself sleeping in the saddle before waking up and thinking over tactics some more.
He was as strong as he had ever been, in Valyrian armour with Morskittar and his incredibly deep wells of magic powered by his dragon infested with warpstone. Her eggs were used to power his Doomsphere, refining it, increasing its destructive output, fixing the inner mechanism within a shell of Valyrian steel which made it movable and greatly more stable. Ikit felt confident enough to face a discipline of Khorne, he just wished he had an army of slaves to throw at her first to exhaust her.
Especially since the taste of blood grew more and more potent as Storm's End came to view, the trickle in his mind that was dedicated to the Horned Rat and through it to Chaos, being distantly aware of the spread of corruption.
The field of ash laid out beyond Storm's End, a great sprawling campsite now just scorched grass and burnt bones, made it obviously Helaena had visited with her dragon.
When Silverwing landed, so massive he had to put her beyond the curtain walls on the mainland instead of the courtyard, he noticed how there was no one in Storm's End. Instead everything was quiet, with the only noise being birdsong and the sound of the ocean. The air was cold and clear, the sun nearing the horizon as it begun to set. Ikit slammed down his helm and leaned his halberd against his shoulder as he walked towards the gates of Storm's End.
Or what was left of them, as the ancient wood had been charred to a few scorched scraps of wood. Storm's End was magic, in the same way Dragonstone was. Arcane arts had been woven into the very stone of the keep, keeping it stable from the ocean and resisting dragonflame. Even if he noticed all other non-stone additions, like the entire courtyard with its wooden racks, furniture and tapestries, was covered in ash. Same for the glass windows and frames, all burnt out.
Inside Storm's End it was silent, only the occasional rat or bird fleeing from his approach. Dried blood stained the walls, splattered over statues and paintings. Numerous doors had been smashed in, and Ikit's eyes narrowed as he inspected the sharp, jagged cuts in the wood. Not from a fist or foot, nor from any weapon he knew in this world. The Horned Rat had gifted him with keeping his glorious mind. It would seem the seer's benefactor chose a different option.
The Round Hall was where he found the tributes to Khorne, the piles of skulls neatly cleaned and stacked in various triangular piles. A splintered carpet of bones led to the throne from the entry way from the courtyard, with the throne was decorated in even more skulls.
Ikit could appreciate Helaena's level of commitment, she had managed to clean and polish thousands of skulls while being under Khorne's command for only a few months. Pity she hadn't that level of dedication before the Dance.
He went to the throne of the ancient Storm Kings and sat down as he waited. She would know he had arrived and would come to confront him. Her god would demand she face him.
While waiting Ikit plucked up one of the skulls, noting how scratched into the surface with a delicate hand was one of the commandments of Khorne. The Blood God's edicts spoke of the unholy virtues of rage, martial skill and defiance. He threw it aside, no interested in understanding the commandants. He had his Pillar, and the Horned One. There was no room for any other.
He wondered how Lucerys fared, in whatever afterlife had taken him. Ikit was quite certain the Fourteen were related to Chaos, in how the Horned Rat had given him to den mother. They should have accepted his birthkin regardless or even the Under Father would. If only the fool had fled when he had the chance, instead of being eaten by a beast of Vhagar's size. Westerosi honour, what a worthless concept it was. Ikit never knew why people clung to it so much and even now did not bother to understand it more. He simply knew how to manipulate it in his enemies.
It was darkness when Helaena finally arrived to Storm's End, Silverwing alerting him through their bond even if he did not stir from the throne. Outside it was clear and calm despite the blackness of night, the full moon rising high as Dreamfyre landed in the courtyard beyond. Ikit could see her through the burnt doors, the dragon's hide silver in the night as she settled down upon her belly so her rider could dismount.
Helaena smelled of fire and blood, and he was curious as to how changed she was since he last saw her at Driftmark.
The most obvious was the magic that coiled around her, no longer bound and locked beneath a broken mind. Instead rising from her like steam, potent and volatile. Her armour was scant, limbs bare, but so covered in blood it was if she had sleeves and socks on. Her hair was loose but stained in blood, brass was hooped through her ears, upon her wrists. Ikit noted she had cut off two fingers to leave herself with eight, Khorne's sacred number.
Helaena's eyes were bloody, purple bright within pools of red. That was just as strong a mark of Khorne as was the symbol burned onto her breastplate. The skull of a child hung at her hip- at least he wouldn't have to worry about tracking down her whelp and killing it himself.
Then he spotted the chainsword Helaena was holding, knowing that she had been given a Gift of Arms by her god. Interesting. Ikit wondered if because Helaena was the sole believer in Him that He had chosen to favour her so heavily but then again Khorne typically gave such gifts to his devotees due to His aspects in warfare and violent death. And chainswords were always particularly messy.
"Greetings, nephew," Helaena's voice was airy, as if she was in a dream. "For the first time I can see you as you truly are. You are beautiful."
"Of course I am," he scoffed as flickers of green lightning rippled over his body. "I am Ikit Claw, Chief Warlock of Clan Skryre. I am, always was, beautiful."
"It would seem so," she smiled. "We have both been very busy. I learned so much while you are gone, I now know what I am. What is within my blood. I drank deeply in His rage and courage, when He reached to me in my endless grief. I felt such almighty strength, and now I understand."
"No point in squeak-speaking more. You know why I am here, yes-yes."
"Of course. I desire nothing more than to kill you or be killed by you," Helaena answered him, looking delighted. "When my skull is added to His throne, those felled before me will welcome me as kindred as none will be able to tell us apart. As I slaughtered so shall I be. I love you, dear nephew. Show me that love in turn."
"Khornate indeed," Ikit sneered, getting to his feet with Morskittar in hand even as the wild screech of the chainsword filled the air.
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