Chapter 2: The Line of Madness
Asta was sulking while another of Allyria's arrows sailed under the target. Some weeks after her fifth nameday her young aunt became bored and upon hunting her unsuspecting prey, Ser Dag Waaler, Starfall's master-at-arms fell victim to her pestering.
Efficient hunter that she was she extorted a promise of training out of him. It is amusing how little chance the bear of a man, that intimidated all their guards and bannerman actually stood against the eight year old. All his muscles couldn't help him there and the usually scary scar on his face, running across his chin just tickles Ally's sense of curiosity and adventure even more.
The battle was lost before it began. Ser Waaler had no defenses at all against the little girls smile and so the matter came before Eiric, who agreed that Allyria may train with him. She is just old enough to start. Her aunt on her part deemed the bow most worthy to stem her boredom. That is what led up to this moment.
"Keep your back straight and eyes on the target my Lady." Ser Waaler correct the girls posture one arm on her back the other pushing her arm up. "Good. Arm up and try again. You are doing well."
"Yes!" The enthusiastic reply was nearly shouted by the overexcited girl making Asta sulk harder. She crouches on to the earth of the training yard several feet behind them. Starting to draw circles in the dirt she laments her own lost battle.
Having been witness to the dark haired knight's sorry defeat by her aunt's hand she had gotten excited to plead her own case for training but her Uncle proofed a relentless opponent to her. He was of the opinion Asta was too young yet. Even after going for the kill with her newly developed, deadliest attack for now, aptly named the puppy eye no jutsu she was brutally defeated.
"Don't be sad Asta. When you had your eighth nameday you can have training as well." Seeing her misery Evelyn who took the time to witness her goodsister's first attempts at handling a weapon tries to console her. "You are smart. You understand that your body is not yet ready for it"
The thing is she did understand. Having no chakra really puts a damper on things in a developmental way. She can't boost her muscle with it, not even passively so she is still disappointingly weak at this point. Her puppy eyes might really be her deadliest weapon for now.
The truth hurts. Unsurprisingly even her trusted friend denial abandoned her in this issue. More training than the dexterity and flexibility exercises she was still doing and the very slight stamina conditioning she started up by doing her old katas for taijutsu would be harmful to her. Bullshitting everything with chakra really was the way to go.
In consideration of all that, there is only one reasonable answer to her aunt. "But I want to train now." Asta misses her weapons and she can be as mature about is as she wants to be. Where is her power of youth? Is she doing something wrong? Ma. Probably. Maybe green spandex would help. Woa, she is reaching new lows with her thinking. She must be really desperate.
Her surrogate mother lets a soft smile bloom on her face in response to her whining. "Your childishness really doesn't help your case." Evelyn continues after reaching out a hand to stroke her hair in comfort. "It suits you though you should let it out more often. Most of the time you are so mature already."
It's good to see her up and about. She and uncle finally managed to bring fruit to their labor resulting in a very pregnant aunt. Of course she is beaming with happiness, even more so than her husband, but the final stages of her ordeal don't allow her to move about much.
Giving up her sulking for now Asta stands up. "I don't think I'll ever become more mature than I already am. I refuse to be." That earns her full blown chuckles from the woman. Before she can reply they are interrupted by a *twack* sound of an arrow hitting wood and her other aunt's cheer.
"YESSS! I hit it! I hit it!" Allyria makes a little victory dance on the spot. It was very cute. Ser Waaler thought so too and couldn't help his lips twitch up into something terrifying, but was probably the nicest smile he can make.
"It was done well for your first time holding a weapon my Lady. I do believe you have some talent for it."
Asta had to agree with him. She has seen children doing worse. Naruto, she is sure would have done worse. So she gave her own praise while Evelyn was clapping. "Ser Waaler is right. You did good Ally." She lifts a hand to her chin to ponder. "Do you want to try other weapons as well?"
"No. Brother promised to go hunting with me if I become good enough with the bow." Her young aunt lifted her bow drawing another arrow. "I'll show him and then he will have to keep his promise." An evil grin blooms on her face, or as evil as a plotting eight year old can make it, which is pretty damn evil going by the fact Asta used to murder for her village at only six.
The smile dropped of her face a little when the arrow she loosened shot past the target. "I see. The best of luck then." The former shinobi concludes, lifting a hand in farewell. "If you can make uncle Eiric cry in deference to your superiority I will be forever grateful. I'll go to the library for now though"
This brings the diabolic grin back on the girls face while her older aunt laments. "And you were both so cute a moment ago, all happy and pouty." Sighing in defeat at their antics she continues, "You are both terrors. I mourn for the seven Kingdoms the day you reach adulthood. Make sure to thank Maester Morten if you pester him with all kinds of questions until evening again. He does in fact have other duties than teaching you."
That is true enough. The old man is basically the only medical trained professional for leagues. He is also advisor to the Lord, historian and the caretaker and user of the messenger ravens being kept at Starfall. He is working too hard in his old age but he claims to enjoy it. "Ma. Will do."
She should really appreciate those things more. The Order of Maesters is no slouch. They wield a lot of influence. They are supposed to be the most learned men in all the Kingdoms. Their advice is taken for all matter of state from Lords around the whole realm.
Asta was off and enters the ancient castle while reflecting some more. The Knights of the Mind as they fancy themselves are supposed to lay down all personal loyalties and serve the realm, but even if you believe that most do that, which she definitely didn't the interpretation of serving the realm is so vague it would make shinobi proud.
You can make anyone believe what they are doing is for the realm. Bad memories of Danzo float to the back of her mind. Yes, she decides there will be no trusting in them on her side. There were so many ways they could compromise you it wasn't funny. False medical treatment, poisoning, false, altered or intercepted massages or simply bad advice with sensitive state matters. Asta finds there power a little scary. Even more though that nobody seems to notice.
She did trust Maester Morten though. She grew up around him and knew him to be a good man. She also snooped around a little so she is quite sure. Don't judge her she was young, well younger and bored and aching to do something shinobi worthy so she could at least make sure there are no spies about in the keep. She was positively surprised and a little disappointed not to find any. Apparently her uncle had things well in hand.
The former shinobi is sure though that the adjourning town to the castle is full of them. He never went there but his common sense is well enough developed to draw that conclusion. Asta stops at an arrow loop in the wall of the tower she is climbing to look over said town. It is a nice harbor town. Not too big but the trade they get from the sea and the settlements up the Torentine River sustains quite the population. Definitely the most people in one place in the western half of Dorne.
The beautiful castle built from white stone crowns over the town from the island it's built on. Its location is idle. That's why house Dayne is one of the most influential in Dorne for the last 10 000 years, dating back to the dawn of days and the First Men making it one of the oldest houses in all of Westeros. Asta still can't really comprehend the number, but she checked the ancestry and most of it is well documented. Her former shinobi village was only six or seven generations old and that felt like such an accomplishment at that time.
The young girl doesn't want to imagine the weight of leadership for the Lord of Starfall. Uncle Eiric is doing a really good job and she commits to be nicer to him sometimes. The castle itself was supposedly built by the first Dayne where the star fell house Dayne's ancestral sword "Dawn" is made from. To the former village leader that smells like propaganda. The whole thing is strategically just too well placed to be coincidence.
Starfall with its many towers guards the entrance to the very prosperous river valley from the summer sea. The whole thing is surrounded by the steep Red Mountains making it pretty much impossible to take with any large force if not through the ancient keep itself.
It is no wonder that the Dayne Kings of old could defend the lands from the Andal invasion the rest of the Kingdoms except the North succumbed to. Both the North and Dorne are very defensible by nature. If you are not experienced moving alone through the vast expenses of dessert and dry mountains in Dorne it can be just as murderess as the cold in the North, with an army along even more though.
Asta is more surprised that the Martells and Rhoynar managed to defeat them in their conquest of Dorne after forming house Nymeros Martell together. It must have been a great military accomplishment. Well they led in the defense of Dorne against the Targaryen conquest some 285 years ago. Fighting against three apparently very real dragons and an army vastly outnumbering them, they managed to kill a dragon and force a retreat of the enemy forces. A beautiful example of the efficiency of well executed guerrilla warfare. They can definitely life up to expectations.
Anyway Starfall is doing quite well. Trade from the rich Reach just past the mountains in the west, the prosperous Summer Islands in the south and of course everything up the Torentine River in the north pours in. More rarely a trade vessel from Sunspear or even further east from Essos can be spotted in the harbor as well
Her family's seat really makes a pictures landscape. The castle surrounded by the river looking over to the open sea with sailing boats coming and going surrounded by a green valley and mighty mountains. Asta is quite fond of it. It is peaceful she decides. Never had much of that before but she found it to be likeable.
Drawing away from her view she climbs the rest of the way up to the library. Since her fifth names day she is allowed into it as present from the ageing Maester. Not that it stopped her before, but now she can apparently be trusted to treat the old texts with the care they deserve.
She looks briefly through the shelves, but finding no one only confirms what her sense of hearing already suspected. Nobody was here. She is briefly tempted by the books, to just grab one and forget the time by gathering more knowledge, but she decided early to talk to her teacher.
Continuing her climb of the tower she reaches the rookery and upon entering finds her wayward teacher tending to his flock of ravens. It's something that he enjoys doing so Asta feels a little bad to intrude but not bad enough. "Good afternoon Maester Morten. How are you faring?"
The Maester turns around in surprise and smiles good naturedly. "I'm doing very well. This little beauty just brought a massage from Sunspear." He says while presenting her the utterly normal raven on his arm. How very much Uchiha of him. "It appears that a new royal Prince was born. Tommen Baratheon the first of his name. Lord Eiric is invited to the festivities in King's Landing."
The new Baratheon dynasty seems to like their festivities, there seems to always one invitation to a celebration or tourney for one reason or another. Well lavish Lords are nothing new to Asta. There were plenty in the Elemental Nations as well. "Ma. It is most unfortunate that uncle will be indisposed. It would be interesting to see the capital."
"Oh? Why do you say that?" Morten asks with the false ignorance only a teacher can find in themselves. He likes to teach practically, so when the opportunity arises he likes to use real events and happenings to test her knowledge. He would then show her what she forgot or got wrong in the first place. It happens. To guess reactions of different parties you need to have an understanding how they think and she had not left the castle yet to meet any Lords to get familiar with them. This case was quite obvious however.
"There hasn't really been any dornish Lord in King's Landing since the Lannisters raped our Princess while murdering her children and then killing her as well." That is probably as brutal as it gets and even she is quite disgusted, even with all the things she has seen and done while in ANBU. "And since our good King Robert Baratheon, long may he reign smiled at their mutilated bodies it is sure to stay that way for a while. I'm sure the Martells would eat any Lord alive who went to celebrate with him."
"Mhh" Maester Morten hummed in agreement. "That was well reasoned my Lady, but this was a rather simple matter. Having said that I feel you put off possible reasons for one Lord or another to go to the capital too easily. They could always fan the fires of disagreement or some conflict at court."
I give him a dubious look, but before I can say anything Morten interrupts. "You and me know there are better ways to do things. More efficient and more conspicuous, but not everyone is that gifted. There is always one young Lordling who is willing to do something absurdly stupid for honor and recognition in the folly of youth."
She thinks for a moment but has to concede it as an excellent point. Never underestimate the stupidity of people. Her shinobi standards for shadowy intrigues are probably a cut above most people here, not all of course it would not do to underestimate enemies. They make up for it with sheer army sizes. Dorne alone could muster about 50000 men at arms and compared to other Kingdoms like the Reach it is not really much. It is incomparable to the Ninja World Wars. Well maybe the fourth but on the other hand nothing compares to that.
"Should I take the massage to uncle?" Asta inquires. She is usually not that helpful but the aging man really should climb so many stairs. "He should still be in his solar."
"Thank you my dear. That would be lovely" The old Maester replies. "I do every so often find myself wishing the tower to be smaller. Young men strive for new heights but old men are quite more comfortable well grounded."
The former shinobi quirked a little smile at that. Her teachers mind really stayed as sharp as a blade even if his body became dull. She herself had felt the years of combat catching up with her before her death so she had sympathy. "It is no hindrance for me. The ground is the more reasonable location anyway."
This caused the Maester to reflect her smirk before it grows as she carries on. "I was wondering if you would be willing to show me the basics of taking care of the ravens. Of medicine too. If one wants to be independent those are things one really ought to know. I could assist you with your duties."
Morten holds the following silence a little before he lets out a big sigh. "I really despair at the future of my Order if they have to compete with you young one. Such an inquisitive mind." He pauses a little to look his young pupil in the eyes and grow stern. "Don't think I don't recognize your attempt to swindle lessons out of me again, but alas it is the duty of the old to teach the young so I have no choice but to agree."
He pokes a finger in the direction of her face. "You will however be held to your word and assist in my duties."
"But of course," Asta says dripping with false innocence, "I would never do anything else, Thus I swear upon my power of youth"
"The Gods must be punishing me." The Maester folds into himself in despair, dropping the arm. "They showed me what an incredible mind a human can possess and then let it fall into madness."
Hearing those words she puts one hand behind her head and laughs awkwardly. "Ma, ma. I'm not that bad. My mind is more mildly disturbed than fully mad"
Her teacher sighs again in exasperated fondness. "It is a lie and you know it my Lady. Though the line between madness and greatness is said to be very small. Maybe you have spread yourself firmly across that line one foot in each."
Asta is really impressed. The description fits so many people she knew before. It is a little worrying though to be put in any category including Guy. In the end she decides to take it as a compliment. "Thank you. It is kind of you to say that. I'll bring uncle the news then. Shall l return right after?"
Morten's despair reaches new heights as he strokes his fingers over the bridge of his nose "That was definitely not a compliment." Gathering new strength he concludes, "Don't bother today I'm quite busy you can join me tomorrow after breaking your fast."
Seeing her mission successfully completed Asta begins to leave through the door. She really wished she could do it through the window. It was kind of customary after such an exchange. Too bad the circumstances didn't allow it.
"I thank you then for the lessons to come Maester Morten. I'll see you on the morrow then" She really likes the old man, Asta ponders to herself while leaving, or is it that she likes annoying people, or is it the same thing anyways. She is never sure.