Chapter 10 - Flirting with Death
In a flash they arrived in a smaller room.
"Aren't you glad I made two separate Hirashin seals? Just imagine trying to have two groups land on the same one." A voice sounded from the far corner of the room. The six new arrivals turned to confirm it was Shi sitting there with a smirk. "It's good you guys finally made it. Prince Oberyn has been losing his patience waiting for you Elia."
"Welcome to Dorne," Hanko remarked with sarcasm. "Well I'm hoping they kept up the charade that they are still searching for her. We can't give away that we have her here. Varys' little birds and other spies will cause us problems otherwise."
"I'm sure they are busy with the news of the Mountain being detained here. I'm surprised we haven't heard anything from Lord Lannister yet to give him back his attack dog."
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in!"
The door opened and the guard took in the scene of the room filled with six people. Shi's clone dispelling herself in time before the guard noticed. "Lady Shi, I apologize for interrupting you with your guests. Prince Doran has requested an audience with you urgently due to some news."
"How much you want to bet you just jinxed us and it's about Twyin," Hanko remarked.
- In the Audience Room -
"I hate when I'm right," Hanko sighed.
"My apologies Lady Shi, I do not recognize your guests you have brought with you for this audience."
"Prince Doran, I give you my brother Hanko Uzumaki. The man that both saved your sister Elia and niece Rhaenys, as well as captured Ser Gregor Clegane who has already been given to your custody."
This brought many people's attention to Hanko who just scratched the back of his head in nonchalance. Oberyn and Doran were looking around at the other women as well.
"Lady Shi, I apologize, however I thought you said that your brother Hanko was guarding my sister and niece." Prince Oberyn inquired. "I do not see them here."
"I'm glad that you don't," Elane interjected.
Tiger
The disguise cleared from her face, now showing Doran and Oberyn her actual face.
"Sister!" Oberyn exclaimed with excitement and quickly ran over to her in a hug. Doran stayed seated; being the one that had to act dignified in the situation.
"Hello dear brothers," Elia smiled in glee after being reunited with her family. "Rhaenys dear, say hi to your uncles."
Rhaenys was hiding behind Lydia's legs now as Oberyn had gotten too close hugging her mother before. She peered out at the rest of the people in the room with worry.
"It is okay dear, no one will hurt us here," Elia consoled her daughter. Rhaenys slowly went back to her mother, and thus closer to her uncle. Looking up at her uncle's face she greeted her uncle as properly as she could manage.
"It nice to see you unc Oby!"
Oberyn let out a belly laugh. "It is nice to see you, my dear niece." He went to pick her up and put her sitting on his shoulder.
Doran was the one to speak next. "So who may the other guests be?"
Hanko sighed, motioning to Lydia. "This is Lyanna Stark."
The tension in the room was now palpable from all the opposing Dornish men in the room.
"How dare you bring her here!" Oberyn seethed. He didn't say anything else, but he had no need to as the Dornish men looked towards her in loathing. Lyanna for her part stood up straight and leered back at them.
"I did not choose to be here Prince Doran and Prince Oberyn. My son and I were brought here by circumstance...and Lord Hanko."
That brought their attention to the babe in her arms.
"Is that-"
"Yes Prince Doran, this is Aegon Targaryen. The only living male heir of Rhaegar Targaryen, and currently the rightful claimant to the Iron throne."
The 'rightful king' was awake and making giggling noises as he played with a strand of his mother's hair.
Oberyn turned to his sister, "Why are you with this home wrecker?"
"Prince Oberyn," Shi chimed in with a dark tone to her voice. "Need I remind you that Lady Lyanna Stark is being escorted by my brother. As she is under the protection of my brother, that means she is also under my own protection; and we both know how well you do against me in any spar."
This made both Princes of Dorne frown at the underlying threat. "We do not take kindly to your threats."
"Treat others the way you want to be treated, Princes," Hanko now spoke. "As my sister said, since they are under my protection, I take offense to those comments, though I understand you would not as you did sleep with a vassal lord's wife Prince Oberyn."
"Now, onto the original business as to why we are here," Shi spoke up. "Lord Lannister sent a request for The Mountain to be released?"
Doran turned to her. "Not so much a request; more so a demand." Doran looked pensive. "To think he really cares for his attack dog that much."
"I'm sure it's hard for people like Lord Lannister who only trusts those that follow his orders blindly." Hanko mulled over. "I'm guessing you are still not going to follow through with his demands?"
"Tywin stated in his message he would lay siege to Dorne if we do not give up The Mountain." Doran looked bitter at his next revelations. "We lost plenty of Dornish in the Rebellion, while Lord Lannister waited until the last minute and sacked the city, barely losing any troops. In a numbers advantage, he could beat us."
"No," Oberyn objected. "We should not consider giving up the perpetrator who killed our nephew and almost killed both our sister and niece! The other Houses would scorn us if we did. If it came between giving up The Mountain versus us killing him and having to fight the Lannisters, you know which side the Dornish would join us on!"
"I know brother," Doran looked annoyed more at the situation than at his brother. "I also know it's a bad situation all around."
Hanko didn't like it. In essence, he did want to serve justice, but at the same time, it was his fault for 'kidnapping' The Mountain and bringing him to the Martells. He caused this potential conflict to happen. It would be up to him to prevent the loss of Dorne.
"What if we could buy you time?"
"What do you mean Lord Hanko?" This time it was Elia that asked.
"Lady Elia, remember our ride to the Tower of Joy?" Elia's eyes went wide, and her brothers looked at her expression and pondered what that meant. "I have something else that is both bigger, and moves better in the desert sands. I would be willing to leave enough here for the defense of Dorne."
Elia's hands were covering her mouth in shock now. "Is it…-"
"They are called Rockbreakers," Hanko offered the name. "First before we introduce them, we need to get the Princes up to speed on Foci and the Internet."
They took some time to gift the Princes their own Foci, explained how it looks, how it works, and what to expect from using it when setup on the Internet.
Both Princes looked at the triangular devices in their hands in consternation before looking at each other, agreeing nonverbally, and putting it to the side of their heads. Both were shocked they didn't move at all when the lights appeared over parts of their surroundings. Elia quickly calmed them and walked them through how to use it. Hanko interjected every once in a while explaining the use of different features when Elia didn't have all the details to explain.
It took a while of thought before Doran spoke up. "This is...much to take in."
"I understand, however, being able to understand and use these devices is how you will also be able to use the Rockbreakers."
"And these...Rockbreakers. What are they exactly."
"Think of a gigantic badger or mole that digs through the ground at high-speeds. By size, you could equate it to a mid-size dragon?"
Prince Oberyn's mouth was now agape comically before closing it up himself a minute later.
"Though I appreciate having these...Rockbreakers...what do you want by giving us this?"
Hanko looked to the Princes and sighed. He knew Prince Doran would be the hardest to convince out of the two. "I have an offer, and you technically have years to decide if you want to work with me on it, however I will bring it to your attention all the same."
Hanko shared an image to the Foci of both Princes, and helped them open it. When it opened, their expressions changed into hard skepticism.
"A White Walker?" Prince Doran inquired. "Why show us this?"
"In summation, I give you what I am now because I want to bring together many of the kingdoms to fight the war against the true enemy. The dead. I understand that you will not believe me, so I will find proof and bring it to you as I will for the rest of the kingdoms."
"How do you plan on bringing in the rest of the Kingdoms besides proof?" Doran inquired. "The kingdom is already split by the fallout of the rebellion. You will find it hard to get the other kingdoms to support you. Most Lords are looking for what benefits them."
"I plan on dealing with the lords paramount of each kingdom one at a time. I will offer them similar things as Foci and knowledge which will help them towards industrialization and producing more. These extra resources in turn will be directed towards the north and more specifically the Wall; as it is the best defensive position the North has...besides Moat Cailin. If they do not want to work with me, I find the next closest house that will work with me and instate them as the Lord Paramounts of that region."
Doran now looked unamused and showed slight anger. "So you would plan that even for us?"
"No, I don't plan that for House Martell," Hanko offered. "I just came here from Starfall and spoke to Lord Dayne there after saving multiple of his family members from demise and gave them the same things I'm giving you with the same reasoning. As they are not as developed as Sunspear, they need to start garnering the resources to produce more and send those and excess goods to the Wall. As part of the Stony Dornish, when I informed them of what's to come they readily agreed to help." Hanko argued against the stare he was receiving from Doran. "It's not like I'm telling them to stop listening to their liege lord, or to plan insurrection. They are just going to use what I give them to help in the war-effort against the dead."
"What happens when the war is over. They could use this knowledge to overthrow us as their Liege Lords."
"I haven't gifted them any machines, and I only offer these machines due to this situation I seem to have caused with capturing the Mountain and Shi bringing him here." Hanko placate them. "Keep in mind, I technically don't have to provide anything. I choose to give this to you in the hopes that House Martell and their vassals would fight beside myself and the North."
"If the threat is as big as you say it is, how do you think you will be able to help us all?" Oberyn counters.
"As you have already seen, I will be able to provide knowledge on things that no one, not even the Citadel will be able to come up with. Proven advancements in farming, recreation, communication, and production. Each kingdom of the seven kingdoms has prime resources that they can use and trade amongst themselves so that by the time the dead come, we will all be ready."
Hanko continued. "Beyond that, I myself have a particular set of skills. Skills that I have accumulated over a long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you-"
"Really? A Taken reference?"
"Oh come on you have to spoil it Shi."
"When its that dumb; yea."
Hanko sighed. "No one will ever like my references." He looked back to his audience. "Anyway to sum it up, I have martial prowess as well as what you might consider 'magic prowess'."
Both princes looked skeptical until Elia spoke up. "Brothers, I can confirm his claims. I have seen him perform feats that he has explained isn't technically magic, but go above and beyond what we would consider possible with magic. Just the utility of some of the skills alone has been...enlightening."
Both princes now looked back to Hanko. Oberyn looked to Shi, "And do you also-"
"Yes, I can do similar feats as my brother. I just chose not to when I was wiping the floor with you in our spars," Shi confirmed with a smirk.
"Now I have to see this!" Oberyn proclaimed.
"I can offer that," Hanko mentioned to both Princes. "I would ask that we go to a remote location so we can show you without a massive audience. I would say if you wanted to bring a small group of guards you could as well; however I would make sure you trust them to stay silent on what they see. At the same time, I can begin offloading some Rockbreakers to you."
"Ooooh, an all-out spar. We haven't done one of those in a while," Shi chuckled.
"Well I do have to shake off the rust every once in a while," Hanko offered. "No one has been much of a challenge since we got here."
"Have you faced bandits on the road?" Oberyn guffawed. "I doubt they would be a challenge for most knights."
"No, I faced three Kingsguard, at the same time. Including Ser Arthur Dayne. I beat them all."
Oberyn was now shocked and showed it. "That is impressive indeed."
"Come," Doran chimed in. "I will get the necessary guards ready. We will witness this display of your martial prowess immediately."
- 2 hours later (A couple miles away in the desert) -
"How are we going to be able to see anything from this far away," Oberyn grumbled as they looked on Hanko and Shi facing each other exchanging a few words before the match.
"I don't know if we are truly far enough away," Elia feared. "I'm just glad he left a clone for Lydia and the kids back at Sunspear."
"So he is going to keep her identity a secret huh?" Doran offered.
"Well if he didn't, Robert Baratheon would cause another war to get her back, so it's probably best that she stay hidden. I believe Lord Eddard Stark is going to say as much in Kings Landing when he gets there."
"The honorable Eddard Stark is going to lie to his best friend?" Oberyn inquired quizzically. "I would pay a few dragons to see that."
"It seems we are about to begin," Doran motioned to the two combatants now in their stances.
- With Hanko and Shi -
"So we have confirmed, all allowed...except the privates right?"
"I make no promises."
"COME ON! I can't have you hitting my proverbial reset switch just for a jutsu exhibition."
"Things tend to happen in the heat of the moment," Shi shrugged. "That's why I make no promises. Why don't you show off your skills by making sure you do not get hit there."
"...damnit sometimes I wonder why I keep you around," Hanko said jokingly. He made a bow-staff appear from his storage.
"You know you love it," Shi stated cheekily and chuckled. She also made a bow-staff appear from the same storage.
They got into their combat stances and the second ticked by. They both made sure their audience was watching before they moved with blinding speed against each other.
"...I'm both scared and aroused at the same time," Oberyn chimed in as they watched the chaos in front of them.
They could hear the sounds of the staves hitting each other at increasingly faster speeds. At each hit a circular burst of wind was generated with the center being the two combatants. Sand kicked up with the wind as the observers tried to continue watching in between the waves of sand. This exchange lasted for the first minute as the speed of impact between each hit became too fast to catch by regular sight alone. Then they seemed to separate and the staves disappeared from the combatants hands before their audience realized that the combatants had brought their hands together and were making signs with their hands simultaneously.
Snake - Ram - Monkey - Boar - Horse - Tiger
Shi: Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!
Tiger - Ox - Tiger - Rat
Hanko: Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu!
The elemental techniques flew towards each other and then collided. Steam erupted from the impact point, kicking up even more sand, and obscuring the battle further.
At first they couldn't see anything, and then the winds started to pick up faster and faster, not as waves, but one steady gust of wind and sand that seemed to continuously emanate. When the steam cleared enough the audience was able to see a memorable sight.
A large light blue ball of energy was visible. Hanko was facing away from them and raising this ball of energy above his head. Surrounding the ball of energy was a four waves of 'white spikes' that seemed to curve around the ball at supersonic speeds.
Shi was coming towards the group of observers at fast speeds now before ending up in front of them.
"I told that idiot we didn't need to go this far!" Shi exclaimed as she shook her head and started making hand signs. "I swear I joke just once about threatening his manhood and he decides to go overboard."
Tiger - Hare - Boar - Ram - Dog - Ox - Snake
Shi put her hand over the sand.
Earth Style: Bedrock Coffin
From underneath the sand, multiple slabs of solid earth appeared around the group as they became covered in a dome of earth.
The guards started shouting in confusion as their surroundings were pitch black now. That lasted until the outside sound of a large explosion resonated inside their fortified rocky dome. Then the shockwave hit and vibrated the sand underneath them, causing some to sink up to their midsections into the sand before the vibrations stopped.
Shi sighed as she let go of the jutsu and the dome crumbled, allowing some residual blowing sand in and allowing the audience to see the result of the last jutsu of Hanko. It didn't take them long to notice.
Where once there was a large dune in the background of the battlefield was now a gaping hole in the landscape. They didn't have time to fully wrap their heads around the obscene amount of destruction before Hanko was in front of the group. The guards were now much more wary of the foreign ninja.
"So, to summarize, if anyone wants to mess with me or anyone working with me; well there won't be much left for them to identify." Hanko summarized with a cheeky grin.
"The next time you do that with very little warning I won't be able to run damage control," Shi sighed.
Hanko nodded sagely, "uh huh, uh huh."
Oberyn looked to his brother now. "I think we can continue with the plans for the Mountain without having to worry about the Westerlands."
Doran nodded and turned to Hanko. "We are waiting on just one more arrival at your sister's request before we go about his trial and execution."
"And who would that be?" Hanko turned to Shi quizically.
"The Hound, Sandor Clegane."
Hanko laughed at that. "Oh my, he is probably upset he won't be able to do it himself."
"I wanted to give him the chance to see it if possible."
"Hell, I have an idea on how he and anyone else can participate in it if they want," Hanko offered.
Oberyn looked intrigued. "...I'm listening…"