Here is the tenth full chapter in Book 5, released on time as promised. This the first of the three chapter Zaofu arc that is the final bridge before the inevitable meeting that is coming and allows Harry some time to prepare for it, set some things up item wise, and has the expected depth chapter but you will have to wait and see which chapters have with. That is all I have for now though and as there isn't anything to respond to that means that it time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the 10th full installment of Avatar: The Tale of Harry. Book 5: Duty.
Disclaimer: As always I own nothing related to these two great works of fiction.
Chapter 10
"Alright Harry, time to see how much skill you have lost since you last held a blade." Dominique said with a smile as she spun her wooden training sword with an expert flourish. "You're going to have to relearn a lot in short order just in case the worst happens so I'm here to reteach you what you've forgotten."
"We shall see Dominique." Harry said as he spun his own twin wooden short swords in his hands the way he'd done back in his fighting days. "Muscle memory always comes back and it's not like I haven't kept in shape."
The Avatar and the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe stood in the weapons training yard of the Beifong estate in Zaofu. It had been 3 days since the Council of World Leaders on Air Temple Island and Harry had come to the Metal City to train and wait while Remus and Luna worked to arrange a meeting between Harry and this mysterious Ekrizdis person.
Harry had not expected Dominique to actually join him, he had expected her to return to the South to run her nation, but she had insisted and stayed true to her word. Dominique claimed that Harry needed a trainer to get him back in shape and seeing as he had trained her intensively, she was going to pay back the favor. Harry had pointed out that she had a nation to run but Dominique had waved it off, she had a solution to that.
Her son, Crown Prince William, named after her father, was running the country in her stead while Dominique helped Harry. He was 16 and would be starting his 6th year at the Elemental Academy soon but for the next few weeks he was going to serve as regent of the South while Dominique helped Harry and took a break herself.
In addition, her husband, a former General who had led the resistance movement during the Principate Occupation of the South, was there to oversee William. Dominique had pointed out that if Ekrizdis was the next great threat then Harry needed to be ready to deal with it and as a World Leader she had a duty to help him.
Harry had relented and she had joined him, as well as Ginny, Ron and his grandson Sirius who was still aiding Harry to make up for James's sins, in Zaofu. The city made the most sense as Harry had great connections to it, it had all the supplies and comforts he needed, and was connected to the world so he could act at a moment's notice. That and the fact that they were the best metalsmiths in the world and Harry needed a new exoskeleton that was designed especially to fight in, and new swords so being here made sense.
The Beifong estate was the best choice for their base of operations. It was fitted with the latest tech courtesy of the family's wealth and habit of being at the forefront of global innovation. It was well respected by the World Leaders and Harry had a standing invite to stay there from Su back in the day and her descendants continued to honored that. Harry assumed that he would have to change locations if Ekrizdis was a threat but for now Zaofu was the best place to set up their temporary base of operations.
Though Su Beifong, the city's founder and first leader, had long since passed and the city had joined the ISEK upon her death becoming the last Imperial State to join the union, her family had maintained ownership of the estate at the top of the city. It was a familial seat and thus did not become the seat of the Zaofu State Legislature when the time came, that was built in Su's latter years in a new metal area especially for it as the last major construction project she oversaw.
However, only her daughter Opal had had any children to inherit it as her eldest 2 sons ended up in prison for long stretches of times; Baatar Jr. for his part in the Earth Empire's crimes and Huan for being part of a radical leftist conspiracy in Ba Sing Se that was likely one of the precursors to the Enlightened. The warrior twins Wing and Wei had not had kids either but had served as the leaders of the Zaofu National Guard and as such helped make it one of the best such units in the ISEK.
As for Opal herself, she and Bolin had produced 3 children who in turn had had 8 children with their respective spouses. Of those 8 great-grandchildren of Suyin Beifong, 6 were now dead, one of them having died in the Principate Coup when Sylvia had planted the bomb that had killed Chief Beifong and President Romilda during the fall of Republic City at the start of the Principate War. The remaining 2 were airbenders following down Opal's line through the middle child and lived in the Air Temples.
However, the estate was run by a pair of twins, Sokka and Lin Beifong who had been the children of the Opal's eldest grandchild, an earthbender who had been the one to remain in Zaofu. They ran the estate with their families and Sokka had recently been elected Governor, the first Beifong to hold the title since the area became an Imperial State.
They had let Harry and his party stay here in the Avatar's guesthouse, the same one that Harry had stayed in countless times in the past whenever he'd been in the city and the one that Korra had stayed in back in her day. They had also opened up the city to them and were helping as best they could due to the city's longstanding support for the Avatar. It was odd to be back in the wider world, but Harry had to admit that this was a nice transition.
Dominique had managed to get the estates head metalsmith, one of Lin's children, to prepare 3 wooden training swords for them the day before so that they could train. One for Dominique that was based off her own sword that she provided them with and two based of the Avatar's original swords that he'd wielded for 50 years before they were broken and lost in his final battle with James. Thankfully Harry's swords had been forged in Zaofu almost 70 years ago and the dimensions for them were still on file given who they'd been made for.
While the training swords were being prepared, Harry was getting measured for his new combat exoskeleton. Between his age and past injuries, he had to use one to fight in, though he could walk just fine without it, albeit with a cane just in case, and with the exception of his right hand and wrist that still needed a special brace on them. Zaofu had a contract with the Imperial Army for such creations and wanted to fit their latest to the Avatar so that he had the best if he needed it.
Right now, though, Harry was using a few standard braces to fight Dominique in this training battle. He needed the one on his right hand and wrist normally but in addition to that he had a full arm brace up to his shoulder and over his upper chest for his right arm as that was the weaker one having taken the brunt of his impact with the ice all those years ago. He also had a brace on his left elbow, one around his waist for his hips, and his knees to further aid him.
Over the past 19 years, Harry had trained extensively with his metalbending more than ever before to ensure that he could fight while bending the braces to aid his movement to the point that it was now second nature to him. It was why his bending had reached a level he had never expected it to reach despite being the Avatar. The cost had been that he hadn't held a sword since he had used one to kill his own son, hence the need for some training to reacquaintance himself with his skills.
"Good, I was hoping for a challenge." Dominique said. "Even without training you will be one worthy of me. Even the best in my army can't match their leader in combat. Then again they may be intimidated by facing the She-Wolf, you aren't."
"It's been years since I got to beat the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe in a dual, I'm looking forward to adding your name to those of your father and grandfather on that list." Harry said with a smirk at her, he cared little for the honorific Dominique had earned so it wouldn't intimidate him in the slightest. "I did whoop your ass back when you were the Crown Princess, but this is different. Now you are the Chief and the mighty She-Wolf at that, so much more fun to put you in your place now that you're the fourth holder of a Wolf Title."
"Try it old man, I am still more than a match for you when it comes to swordplay." Dominique retorted. "I'm at least only in my 50s and still in great shape, not 80."
"Age is but a number." Harry pointed out. "And I am the Avatar, so I have some additional advantages."
"That you are and that brings me to the rules of this sparring match." Dominique said. "Given your need for braces, old man, you are allowed to used metal and earthbending in the fight to aid you as you see fit. You cannot use fire, air or waterbending however, though the latter will be hard without a waterskin as I know you never really got the hang of the water vapor style. In future duels you will be able to do so, however. I will use my waterbending in those duels as well though. Lastly, you will also not be allowed to enter the Avatar State. No cheating Harry."
"I accept." Harry said with a nod. "And I presume you will not use water either."
"I will not in this fight though I will keep my skin on me in case of injury." Dominique said. "I have too many training scars to not need it on me. This will be good practice for me as well."
"Well then, shall we begin." Harry said as he took a combat stance. "I was hoping to never need to fight again but alas duty calls my name once more."
"Come at me old man and show me that the Avatar still has it." Dominque taunted taking a defensive stance. "If you can't beat me you won't be able to beat this Ekrizdis."
Harry just smirked; he could work with this with ease. He was an earthbender, he dealt with shit head on. Without a word, Harry set his feet, reached into himself to connect with his bending on a subconscious level and charged, augmenting his speed with earthbending while metalbending his braces as he moved. The fight was on.
Harry reached Dominique before she expected. He had only dueled her on ice before and she was surprised at the speed Harry could manage on earth compared to when he waterbended on ice, Harry could see it on her face. However, Dominique was a warrior and could adjust easily to the attack.
Instantly she brought up her sword and deflected Harry's initial strike from his right-hand sword but was instantly put on the defensive. Harry showed speed that a man his age should not have but his moves were quickened by his braces that allowed him to speed up his attacks faster than she was expecting.
He was also using the earth to skate on it and increase his agility to match Dominique's legendary mobility and allowing him to constantly strike at Dominique as she was put on the backfoot to block the attacks that came from both his swords. Still, Dominique got her narrow blade up every time to block the attacks as she used her lithe frame with the longer blade to counter Harry's dual wield style.
Finally, Dominique was able to match Harry's rhythm and set up a brace against him. Harry had brought both his blades down simultaneously, using his height and strength to deal a powerful blow. Dominique got the flat of her blade up and blocked the attack, reinforcing the defense with her forearm, an ivory bracer that she wore there protecting her from injury had the blade been real. The blades locked as Harry pushed down.
"I'll admit, I underestimated you Avatar." Dominique admitted, her hair slightly out of place from the defense and her breath slightly short from the effort she was putting in. "You still have it it seems."
"The bending helps." Harry admitted breathing harder than he would have before sustaining the injuries he'd suffered against James. "But I should have broken your defense by now, so it seems that you still have it as well Dominique, that or I am actually a little weaker than I used to be."
"It's both." Dominique grunt as she bent her knees and braced herself before suddenly pushing up with all her strength. "It's my turn now."
The force of her sudden shift threw Harry back and he used his bending to flip backwards and away from Dominique's blade as she slashed it at his midsection with a vicious cut. Dominique wasn't going to lose her advantage, however. She leapt over the small earth stool Harry had inadvertently created and pressed forward as Harry landed on the ground from his flip. Now he was the one on the defensive.
Harry instantly got his blades up and began blocking Dominique's one blade with them as she attacked. Her style relied on speed and agility to overcome the strength disadvantage she had against men and as such she was flipping and spinning as she tried to break through Harry's defense. It was a great style for her as she had the build and strength to pull it off while keeping Harry on is toes by coming at him from multiple angles and using her momentum to add more power to her strikes then she would normally be able to bring to bear.
However, Harry was a duel wielder, and that gave him a distinct advantage on the defensive when he blocked every attack without a problem as he could cover more of his body with his blades. Dominique was starting to tire as Harry parried every attack and even countered once or twice to keep her own defense honest. All Harry needed was the right advantage and that was when a crazy idea came to him.
Harry deflected an attack with his left-hand sword and spun as Dominique brought her sword around and down in an angle onto Harry's upper right arm. Instead of spinning his right-hand sword into a reverse grip to deflect it, Harry took the attack on the brace on his upper right arm. The sword locked into the brace but didn't touch his skin. Dominique looked shocked at the sudden development. Harry, however, didn't hesitate.
Harry twisted his body back so that he was chest to chest with Dominique, using his earthbending to increase the force of the move so that it was stronger than Dominique could handle, and she had to take her right hand off the sword but kept her left on it. As this happened, Harry brought down his left-hand sword and slashed it into the side of Dominique's right knee, hard.
The purpose of the blow was to make sure Dominique knew she was hit with what would have been a crippling blow in a real duel. She knew the deal and the pain force her down to one knee. The only advantage was that she was able to pull her blade free, but it was still only in her left hand, her non dominant one, and Harry didn't waste the opportunity he suddenly had.
With a quick move, Harry raised his right knee and with the aid of the brace on it he was able slam it into Dominique's left forearm with enough force to make it go numb and require a little waterbending healing to reduce the bruise that would be there now. Instantly she let go of her sword and it clattered to the ground loudly. Harry finished the move by bringing his swords into and X shape on either side of Dominique's neck, lightly touching it to show that he would have had her life in his hands if the blades were real.
"Yield." Harry ordered calmly.
"I yield." Dominique said her head leaning back and looking up at Harry. "You win this round Avatar."
Harry smiled as he withdrew the swords and flipped them in his hands before trying to sheath them on his back. There was two problems with that move. The first was that with the brace on his right arm and shoulder he couldn't raise the swords high enough, a design flaw that would have to be addressed. The second problem was that he didn't have sheathes anyway so there was no place for the swords to go.
Instead, Harry just shrugged and dropped the swords to the ground to finish the attempted sheathing as if it was planned. He then held out his hand to Dominique and she grasped it and he hauled her to her feet, smiling as well.
"That was impressive." Dominique admitted as soon as she was on her feet. "I didn't think you still had it in you after so many years without a blade."
"I said I had muscle memory but a lot of that was my bending that changed my style and made it easier to wield them." Harry admitted. "Otherwise, you may have won once you went on the offensive. If I wasn't bending, that part would have come down to whether you could have broken my defense before your stamina ran out and that was 50/50 I'd say."
"But I didn't and that is what matters." Dominique said. "In a real fight you would have at best crippled my knee and at worse taken the leg off if your sword was as sharp as I recall they used to be. I would have been out at that point even if you hadn't disarmed me for good measure, which was also the right move for you to do. It has been a while since I lost, I will learn from this humbling experience."
"A good plan Dominique." Ron said interrupting them as he approached them clapping, Sirius at his side holding a bundle in his arms. "Always learn from your mistakes and grow, don't let your hubris, position, or honor go to your head my niece. Do you know where you went wrong?"
"I do Sifu." Dominique said bowing slightly to her uncle and master in the ways of the warrior, he was the only living warrior who could best her and was the third holder of a Wolf Title being known as the Red Wolf of the Southern Waters for over half a century now. "Even after all these years I am still making mistakes when I fight and when that is against a superior fighter they capitalize on them to win."
"And?" Ron continued as they reached. "What was it and why did you make it? To truly grow you must know what went wrong so that you can avoid it in the future."
"I forgot about the Avatar's metal braces that he needs for full movement of his right arm while fighting." Dominique said at once. "I had never faced a fighter who needed one before, I didn't expect him to use it as armor against me seeing as it isn't designed for that. It caught the blade and at that point I was done. Harry is stronger than me on a physical level despite his age and my blade was stuck so my speed and agility advantage didn't work. After that you saw his well-honed sequence that he used on me that led to my defeat."
"Admittedly I only used it as a desperation move to try and upset Dominique's rhythm as she had me on the defensive." Harry said honestly. "I wasn't expecting it to work as well as it did."
"Ah but it did and that is the important thing when it comes to a duel like this, whatever works, works." Ron said sagely. "Dominique, we are always learning and improving no matter our rank or status, keep that in mind. Think of the brace like armor in the future should you ever face a warrior in a real battle that has one."
"I will." Dominique said seriously. "I won't make this mistake again Uncle."
"Um what is going on?" Sirius asked sounding confused at what was going on.
"As you are aware, Dominique and Ron are of the Southern Water Tribe and follow the warrior culture there, which given their positions in the Royal Family are expected." Harry explained. "Part of that is having an older, seasoned, warrior as a mentor who the pupil learns under. Given Dominique's position, Ron was the only one who could realistically be assigned as her mentor. He wasn't there often because of his job in Republic City but he always made time for Dominique to keep her up to speed. After his retirement he was more focused, same after Dominique became Chief."
"Ah I see." Sirius said shuffling a little and not really looking at Dominique. "I guess that makes sense, I am not well versed in the customs of my mother's nation, so I was a little confused, that's all."
Harry knew there was a little tension between his grandson and his niece by marriage. Dominique had been the person who had killed Sirius's mother in the Second Siege of the North even if it had been in battle and Sirius had forgiven her for what she had to do. Regardless, Dominique had still killed his mother and that was going to be tough as Sirius was closer with her than he was with James. Harry hoped that they would patch things up and deal with it but for now it was still a little awkward between the two of them because of it.
"What do you have there?" Harry asked pointing to the bundle that Sirius was holding to get rid of any awkwardness.
"Oh this." Sirius said distracted and smiling as he held it up. "A gift for the Avatar from the Metal Clan. They have been working on it all day, I helped them a bit with the bending part to perfect it as I can bend them, but these are a replacement for what you lost 19 years ago. I hope that they are up to your standards Avatar."
With a flourish Sirius opened the bundle to reveal a pair of short swords. They were slightly longer and a little narrower than Harry's original blades but still within what he was used to using. The sheathes were made of fine black ebony, lacquered to gleam and prevent damage with a platinum cap at the base and piece at the top where the hilts rested. A crisscross of leather wrappings covered the upper half with a small platinum clasp to be attacked to a rig on one's back or at the hip.
The hilts were small, upturned curves of platinum with the crests of all 7 nations embossed on each side to show the global nature of the Avatar. It wasn't quite the half-moon style that Harry had preferred but he understood the change was due to the shape of the blades.
The handles were also ebony with bands of platinum to add to the grip. The swords ended in a pommel that was a circle of platinum with the crests of the nations embossed around the center again. The center itself was a fine, cut, emerald. The only differences between the blades was that one had the crest of Omashu carved into the emerald, the other had the ISEK crest carved into it.
"Wow." Harry muttered as he picked up one of the blades and inspected it, still in its sheath, in his hands. "They were made today?"
"Well, it was begun yesterday after the practice swords were made." Sirius said with a shrug. "And they worked through the night on it to get it all done. I helped with preparing the metal and making sure that it was in the right shape but that was it as I am no smith."
"They are similar to your original ones, with almost the same weight to them, but it was decided to slightly change the design." Ron explained. "They will give you more reach and speed which you need now given everything that has happened. That and well it is worth changing things up a little."
"True." Harry said as he withdrew one of the blades and inspected it closely.
The metal shone brightly in the light with a gleam that Harry knew only came from pure platinum. It was as narrow as Harry expected but the heft was roughly the same as his old ones so he had a feeling that he would like using them. Holding it up to his eye, Harry noticed that they had been sharpened to a fine edge and the point tapered into a needle as they should be. These were swords made to kill and while Harry hoped to never use them as such he was still ready should it come to that.
"They're perfect, thank you." Harry said with a smile as he sheathed it and took the other blade as well. "I will have to go thank the smiths for making these, they are as fine as I have come to expect from the Zaofu forges."
"They are resting right now and tomorrow they will begin a new project that I intend to help them on." Sirius said as Harry looked to where he could put the blades on his body. "You can thank them at dinner tonight, that will be the best time to do so."
"I will do just that." Harry said as he realized the best place to keep them. "Um, I am not used to carrying blades at my hip, but I feel like I'm going to have to going forward. I'll look into one of those back mounted winch systems for my metal cable then."
"After seeing your display earlier, I think that is for the best." Ron said with a chuckle. "It will be a change, but I think you can adjust to it going forward."
Harry just nodded as he handed one blade to Ron so that he could affix the other to his left hip. Then he took the other blade back and put it on his right hip. Harry had never fought with blades at his hips, he had tried when learning decades ago but he had found that the scabbards were in his way when he wielded two swords at once. He had used the back sheath instead because it was easier but now he figured that he would have to deal with it. It would take a little while to perfect it, but he had the time to train at the moment.
Taking a step back so that he was away from the others, Harry crossed his arms at his hips and with a flourish he withdrew both blades at the same time. Now that he held them he found them to be slighter lighter than the ones that he had used in the past, something that he would have to train with to adjust his style for, but otherwise they were the same. It was like having his old blades back.
Turning to face away from his friends Harry began to go into a sequence with the blades, spinning them in his hands and moving his arms as if the blades were an extension of his arms while bending his braces to assist his movements. In moments Harry had fallen into old routines and ignored those who were with him.
Adding bending into his moves, Harry used his legs to earthbend and send rocks in time with his sword moves. He then began to utilize his swords to channel his airbending and create narrow arcs of air with his moves. Harry then sent rings of fire down and around the blades not damaging them at all as he sent out a funnel of flames with his thrusts and created a tornado of fire around himself that both protected him and allowed him to attack without warning with his firebending.
As the flames died, Harry finished his moves and with a final spin in his hands, he sheathed the blades the same way he had drawn them without missing the entrances to the sheaths. Harry wasn't done though, he still had one more thing to do.
Focusing on his center he found the gap between his yin and yang and pulled, his fingertips sparking. Moving his arms in a circle Harry sent out a bolt of lightning from his index and middle fingers while raising his left hand into the air to send the other discharge harmlessly upwards. The lightning struck a practice boulder that was in the field and destroyed it.
With a nod, Harry smiled, he still had it when it counted which was good to know. Turning he faced the other three who were all staring at him in shock. Sirius's mouth was open as Harry knew his grandson had never seen him in action but both Dominique and Ron knew Harry's skills, they were just still impressed that he could still do it.
"What?" Harry asked innocently as he returned to them, only slightly sweating. "Just a little practice, that's all."
"That was impressive." Sirius said finally getting his voice.
"Oh that." Harry said with a shrug. "Nothing more than a simple warm up. I need to practice more with the new blades and rig at my back to accommodate the wire I'm used to using. Also need to find a new place for a waterskin but that can come last."
"Harry is the Avatar." Ron pointed out. "It should be expected from him to be able to do it."
"I had heard the stories but seeing it makes me wish I had seen you in your prime." Sirius said shaking his head. "You must have been a beast back then."
"Those were the days." Harry said with a sigh. "I am a little slower now and I have to lean on bending more now but I can still do it this time. I have at least one more great fight left in me though hopefully it doesn't come to that."
"As expected." Dominique said as she picked up her practice sword. "Now Harry, let's go again but this time I will use my bending to fight as well. I may not be on ice, but I can still incorporate my water into my swordplay as you well know."
"I think it will be best if Harry just uses his bending then." Ron said as he detached his waterskin and handed it to Harry. "All the elements and metal, there is enough laying around to allow you to use it knowing this place. I'll take your swords and ref this battle."
"Agreed." Harry said as he took off his new swords and exchanged them with the waterskin, attaching it to the back of his belt as that was likely where he'd have to put his when he was full geared up. "A little different, and I have a feeling that I will be using bending more this time around, if there is a conflict that is."
"Hopefully there isn't but I am pretty sure there will be." Ron said as he held the swords. "Sirius are you staying? This is going to be a good fight between two skilled fighters who are on the top 10 in the world though I am biased."
"Alas no." Sirius said shaking his head. "I have to go and help out with a new project the metalsmiths have planned. There is a lot of fine metal work to be done and my bending makes everything easier for them as I can bend the platinum. With me around they don't have to melt it and forge it."
"Sounds like your skills are being put to good use." Harry said with a nod. "We will see you tonight at dinner."
"Yeah better than just being an underpaid bouncer dealing with wannabe Triad punks testing their luck against me." Sirius said with a smile. "See you tonight."
With that Sirius turned and left the other three there. Harry watched his grandson go knowing that he was still sincere about helping them, he had been truth seeing Sirius this entire time and he was still honest about his intentions. It was a good sign and Harry hoped that the boy could find his place and finally be himself. The burden of his family, especially after what James did, was one Harry would not want on anyone, but Sirius had to bear it.
Once the boy was gone, Harry turned and walked back to his starting position and turned to face a grinning Dominique. She had already withdrawn a tendril of water on her arm and was ready. Harry took a combat stance and began to think about what to do.
"On my command." Ron said. "Begin!"
Looks like Harry is getting back in fighting shape just in case. This is a bit of a filler chapter and arc I know but it is important in the development of the story and some characters as they prepare for what is to come while also giving Harry a chance to get back to his roots of times long past. The world needs the Avatar and Harry has to be ready for when the time comes so best to start as soon as possible. That is all I have for this chapter though; next one will possibly be the longest of Duty and is important in understanding some things of the past but more on that when it comes out next week. As always any questions in PMs or reviews will be answered before the start of the next chapter (as well as replied to if possible). Please follow, favorite and review, all are greatly appreciated. Until next week.
Stringdog