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Chapter 4: Surrounded
A few week later during the late afternoon
Various areas around King's Landing, Capital of the Seven Kingdoms
Catelyn exhaled out a controlled breath to centre herself as she stared at the sun in the sky.
It was going down.
Good, Catelyn thought as she shifted her focus to the ever-closer walls in front of her. A fire bender was at his or her strongest when the sun was at its peak and likewise at his or hers weakest when the sun was down.
The siege of King's Landing had been planned around this concept so that the Wall would fall before the sunset and the Mad Dragon dethrones before dawn.
Catelyn let herself feel the water below her and shifted her stance to get more power behind hand gestures as she helped propel the surrounding ships and hers towards the intimidating walls of King's Landing.
Eddard, her Uncle Bryden and her father each had a ship that they were leading the charge on the Muddy Gate with from the Black Water.
The attack on King's Landing wasn't just coming by water though, but by air and land as well.
She silently wished the other two parties' good luck as she finally got close enough to the Muddy Gate to see the Dornish and Targaryen ships set up in a defensive blockade before them.
"Robert," Jon Arryn uncharacteristically bellowed as he fought to catch up with the younger man, "Don't go too far out in front."
"I am just eager to end Aerys Targaryen and find Lyanna," Robert replied pulling back on his air glider to come side by side with his mentor.
"It will come to pass but you running head first into a barrage of arrows or fire balls will accomplish nothing so stick with our plan," Jon equally warned and advised his young protégé.
Robert gave one big nod of his huge head then looked ahead.
The walls of King's Landing loomed ahead and what looked like hundreds of archers, ready to try to shoot every Stormlander and Valemen out of the sky.
Let them try, Robert laughed in his head as he saw a large fire ball be catapulted at him and adjusted his grip on the wooden frame of his glider.
He dodged easily and come back into line with Jon Arryn before he spotted another flaming ball making its way to a squadron of air benders below him.
The leader of the squad of air benders quickly manoeuvred them to safety but Robert dived suddenly to join the leader.
"Brother," Robert shouted, "Today is going to be a good day I can feel it in my bones."
Stannis turned his head to look at his brother's insatiable grin, "If you say so brother. I will be happy when the Mad King is dead and our father's wasteful death is avenged."
"Right," Robert boomed, "Try to have some fun while we wreck these fire benders and show them how inferior they are to air benders."
"You are taking this too lightly," Stannis responded grimly, "The King and his brood are still formidable fire benders with or without the sun in the sky."
"Everyone is with us and they are surrounded. Their defeat is assured," Robert shouted back losing none of his enthusiasm.
Before Stannis could reply Robert caught the wind and returned to Jon Arryn who shouted, "NOW."
The collective air bending force of the Vale and the Stormlands dived at his command and swooped on the Walls of King's Landing avoiding as best they could the sharp points of the arrows and burning balls that were thrown at them but the screaming that pierced through the air alerted all those around that some were not so lucky.
Tywin and Cersei heard the war cries of the air benders as they died and fought along the northern wall of King's Landing.
"Ready the men," Tywin commanded his brother as he scanned the western wall for any structural weaknesses.
Kevan bowed and left his niece and brother to start shouting at the mass of soldiers behind the father and daughter duo.
The host of men were the combined non-bending population of the armies of the resistance and they numbered above one hundred thousand.
The father and daughter duo started to slowly walk towards the western wall of King's Landing, Tywin gave a small nod to his daughter and they started to stomp aggressively with each step taken and balled their hands into fists which after a few steps they would slam into the ground together to send a mini earthquake towards the thick wall that opposed them.
The mixed army started to chant and shout as they watched near fifty Westerman earth benders copy Cersei and Tywin synchronised movements adding to the power of each earthquake while another fifty ripped out a large floating slab of earth from the ground between the wall and the large army to hold it above their liege and fellow earth benders protecting them from the arrows and fire balls that were beginning to be catapulted at them.
After a few more minutes of advancement a crack began to form in the mighty wall and the combined army behind Tywin and Cersei started to surge forward in anticipation of its fall.
They didn't have to wait long as after a few more slams the wall at the initial crack started to crumble and collapsed wide enough so thirty men could breach it at once.
"Yes," Cersei panted in joy.
She was about to launch herself forward to join the men streaming into the capital when a hand on her arm stopped her.
"Cersei-" she heard her father's voice.
"I know Father," Cersei interrupted watching how the soldiers were entering the city unharmed with the floating earth shield above them, "I will bring glory to House Lannister."
"No Cersei you will be careful and not do anything foolish," her father demanded in a steely voice.
Cersei turned to her father ready to unleash a verbal assault of why she was good enough to fight and that she could handle herself but the look on her father's face stopped her.
"Cersei," Tywin said with a clenched jaw that was holding back his emotions, "I don't doubt your skill. I just don't want to lose you like I lost Jaime."
"You won't father," Cersei promised optimistically as she placed a hand over her father's which lessened its grip on her arm.
"Stay close to me then," Tywin commanded as he completely released Cersei and they both earth surfed their way towards the gap in the wall.
Catelyn floated through the debris of the defeated Targaryen and Dornish ships, knowing she had put a few of them into their watery graves.
She walked out of the waves and watched as the small boats of the Rivermen and Northmen hit the shore in the shadow of the Muddy Gate.
"Ned," Catelyn shouted as she spotted her Husband helping a Northerner out of one of the small boats, "Don't die."
"I will try my best not to leave you a widow," Ned said seriously as he prepared himself to assault the gate.
Not the most assuring of responses a husband could give his wife but Ned never tweaked the truth not even to spare loved one's feelings and it was a trait Catelyn loved him for so she just nodded in response, knowing he would do his best.
A few minutes later the Muddy Gate was withstanding thousands of gallons of water being pressurised towards it but judging by the creaking being heard by those fighting around the large iron gate it wouldn't hold for much longer.
Hoster, Bryden, Catelyn and Eddard gave a roar of triumph as the gate fell down with an almighty bang.
Their roars where tempered as the fallen door revealed two prominent Dornish clothed nobles, one middle aged woman and one young man, leading an unending line of Dornish fire benders and soldiers behind them.
The two Tullys and two Starks eyed each other wearily before their own water benders and soldiers clashed with the enemy on the sandy shore.
Hoster and Bryden started to fight the beautiful Dornish woman who expertly dodged their first attacks to set up her own.
Eddard and Catelyn partnered to fight against the Dornish man, he looked a few years older than them both and watched the couple through cautionary eyes to assess their threat level to him.
Catelyn and Eddard started as they normally did; Eddard was the aggressor sending ice shards at the slippery Dornishman while Catelyn was prepared to create an ice shield at any moment and watched for any offensive moves.
But the Dornishman only sent out probing attacks, nothing that was really going to break her defences, it was like he was just occupying them, bidding his time.
Catelyn turned her head to find the reason why.
Her Uncle and Father were being battered around the beach by the dark beauty who had an irresistible grin on her face as each wave of her hand had Hoster and Bryden back peddling to avoid her fire.
The young fire bender evading her husband's icy reach was waiting for his stronger companion to finish with her battle first before focusing his efforts on them.
Not going to happen, Catelyn thought tactically.
"Ned, help my Uncle and Father. I will deal with him," Catelyn said indicating the tanned man in front of her.
Eddard acknowledged the request by sending over a wave at the Dornishwoman's back and sprinting in her direction to leave Catelyn alone to face her handsome foe.
Catelyn observed her opponent. It seemed Catelyn had found someone as defensively minded as herself. Rare in a fire bender.
But someone always had to make the first move.
The Dornish fire bender flipped over a wall of ice that Catelyn then liquified to follow the acrobatic Dornishman who was just jumping out of reach of her attacks but Catelyn skilfully manoeuvred the man so his back was to the sea.
Every step, roll and leap to avoid her attacks was bringing him closer to the seafront and Catelyn had learnt from her fight with Lord Tywin that as soon as the fire bender was backed against her element the fight would be over for the young Dornishman.
She kept the pressure on and it seemed the Fire bender had realised what she was doing as he was finally shooting of fire balls and sending slashes of fire at her to push her back up the beach.
Suddenly Catelyn heard a cry of pain. She knew the voice well.
She searched for the source to find her father on the ground clutching his arm which was smoking, while her uncle and husband were thrown backwards by a powerful blast of heat that melted their water shields instantly into steam.
In the next instant the woman was on her father, her hand was full of fire and she released it at him.
Catelyn couldn't believe her eyes.
She didn't want to, as her father was burnt alive before her.
She tried to reach him, tried to send a wave of water to cover him but a cracking sound brought her back to her own fight in time to see her ice shield was shattering and the Dornishman was sending more fire balls her way.
With the screams of her dying father ringing in her ears she felt the rage take over.
She roared in unison as she sent the shattering shield pieces directly at the fire bender that stood before her and then followed it up with a torrent of water taken from behind the fire bender to bring him to her.
It worked; he was swept off his feet as was carried towards her on a bed of dark water.
Catelyn formed an ice spear in her hands and threw it with every bit of rage that was consuming her.
It struck the sun kissed man directly in his chest as he attempted to evaporate the water that surrounded him with his entire body.
The man was dumped at her feet as she dismissed the rolling wave. He was on his back with the ice spear sticking out of him. He tried to talk but all that came was trickles of blood as he gasped for life.
Catelyn heard the screams of anguish before she felt the heat surround her. She immediately gathered the nearby water to her and flung herself back towards the Black Water waves.
Once safely surrounded by water she looked up to see the Dornishwoman cradling the fallen Dornishman.
"My son," she cried before turning her head to Catelyn who was half submerged in water.
"You will pay for this. His name was Doran Martell and you will die for him," she said before running at Catelyn.
Catelyn tried desperately to raise water walls and stop the advance of the furious woman but she found she didn't have the strength to truly block her path, her earlier rage having exhausted her.
Luckily Eddard and her uncle had recovered and shot the angry Dornishwoman out of her lined charge at Catelyn with a jet of water.
As she was downed the duo sucked the water from around Catelyn and dumped it on the powerful fire bender.
It was clear what they were doing as the woman struggled for breath underneath all that water.
She turned and twisted trying to give off enough heat to evaporate all the water that was holding her down against the sand but she simply didn't have enough energy now to do the deed.
She stared up into the dampening sun and prayed for vengeance against the woman that had just killed her eldest son, and unknown to her also killed her younger brother, as the water filled her lungs.
Catelyn wasn't watching the woman take her last breath, her eyes were firmly on the smoking carcass that use to be her father.
His body was more black and charred than anything else and it was beginning be taken away by the waves that gently lapped at the shore.
She let her father go as she felt hands grab her shoulders.
Eddard's face filled her vision.
She shrugged off his hands and the worried look in his eyes.
Her father's death would mean something. It would mean the end of Aery's Targaryen.
She stalked towards the bashed down Muddy Gate with the full force of the North and Riverlands behind her.
Author Notes:
Just to be clear when I say "resistance" it means the combined forces of the Vale, the West, the North, the Stormlands and the Riverlands.
The cute Cersei Tywin moments in this story really get me, I love a father daughter bonding scene so much! (Rereads chapter and realises I killed Hoster Tully to totally destroy the father daughter bonding chances of him and Catelyn) … well .. um … this is awkward *ninja jumps out window* :P
I would like to note that in this universe Aerys isn't a frail old man so expect fireworks next chapter.
RIP
Hoster Tully (Half burnt to death by Doran Martell's mother before being washed away in the waves)
I know three on one are hard odds but Doran Martell's mother I think would have been an epic fire bender and I do think she would have been able to down and isolate one of her opponents and quickly finished them. His death sparked Catelyn to really utilise all her strength as she fought against Doran and creates a bit more of a blood thirsty rage for her going into the Red Keep.
Doran Martell (Pierced through the chest by Catelyn Stark with an ice spear)
Doran wasn't the most naturally gifted fire bender or the most skilful as that element favour the more aggressive type of person (like his brother and I assume mother) so he wouldn't have been a match for Catelyn despite being older. Both Doran and Catelyn have defensive styles of fighting so for one to really attempt to kill the other they would have to be enraged and boy did Catelyn see red mist when her father was turned to ash and she had a bit of a tantrum like she did with Jaime at the Tourney (see Chapter 3) so she has the ability to go aggressive she just doesn't naturally.
Doran Martell's Mother (Drowned by Bryden Tully and Eddard Stark)
She has no name in the books or the show which is total bullshit, I would have liked to call her by some other marker than Dornishwoman but I couldn't come up with any names that felt right. I think she would have been a badass so I wrote her a bit like a badass bitch boss in terms of her bending ability and she was only beaten because she tunnel visioned on Catelyn after seeing her son die.
Reviews:
Kira444 – I PMed and got the details and it is in my future projects list which I hope to get to maybe next year (sorry writing is a long-term game)
ThatOneGuyUpstairs – Shit dude, this is a long review. Me like! Yeah that is where I got the idea from for Olenna's ability (from Toph). Olenna is a sneaky person if she developed a new earth bending technique, she isn't going to share it outside her family. Yeah that is correct Olenna sunk through mud and the vibration point is something I didn't think of but that is cool!
Supremus85 – Wildfire in this universe is linked to fire bender's power and I will reveal its purpose and effects later on in the story :)You seeAerys abilities next chapter XD Olenna just struck me as an individual who would have a crazy good bending ability and her personality reminded me a little of Toph.
Xkcd2026 – Thanks buddy! You should definitely watch Avatar: The last Airbender series, I haven't seen the new Korra one personally so can't vouch on how good that one is. Thanks, I don't really have an issue with changing canon XDI think I said somewhere in the first chapter that some smallfolk will have bender abilities but that the most powerful benders tend to come from the nobility but not always.
Next Up: The Red Keep is breached, Aerys comes face to face with his old friend Tywin, while the North experiences a tragedy.
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