Honnoji, Kyoto - Year 1582
Oda Nobunaga tried not to inhale the flames fumes of the temple burning all around him. The wooden walls had taken to a rampant fire, making breathing hard and running harder.
"If only the temples of the Ikko-Ikki had taken to fire this quickly!" Nobunaga cursed as waved his hand to clear the smoke. Ramauru who was running behind him, only grunted in response.
Nobunaga had not expected Akechi to turn on him so suddenly. He had only thought to bring a few servants with him to the temple. Led by his Weapon Bearer, Yasuke, the retainers had charged out of the temple entrance to buy Nobunaga and Ramauru enough time to escape. All of them were fierce warriors, among the best of the Oda Clan, tested in battle many a time in the past. But even the greatest Samurai can be overwhelmed by sheer numbers. This was a fact Nobunaga knew very well, for if this was not the case, he would not have won against Imagawa at Okehazama.
Yet he would not let his retainers die in vain. He need only to escape and gather his army.
"No way you'll kill me, you old fool!" Nobunaga raged. "I'm used to betrayals like yours!"
He had been suspecting that Nobutada had been conspiring against him for quite some time. But he had always thought that Akechi and his son were at odds with each other. For them to suddenly ally with each other and turn against him. It was an unholy alliance to be sure, but it made the most sense. Nobutada had the Oda name while Akechi had the military strength. But the fact that it came from his own son… stung a bit. It was a feeling that Nobunaga had never quite felt before.
"When I get out of here, I will…I will…"
"Next."
Nobunaga never got to finish the thought as he was suddenly confronted with bright white light. He blinked as he came to realize that things around him had changed, the burning walls of Honnojin had disappeared. Along with them the scorching hot flames and the retched unbreathable smoke. Instead it was replaced with a quite walkway, doors and gateways on either side. And directly in front of Nobunaga was a strange man.
He observed Nobunaga with keen and calculating eyes. Sitting calmly in his seat, he looked at Nobunaga with the calm eyes of a merchant. As if seeing Nobunaga as nothing more than a tool that might benefit. The man looked nothing more than a simple bureaucrat with too much work, but his eyes had a certain weight to them. But observing the man could wait, as suddenly a creeping dark shadow creeped in from behind Nobunaga.
The Strange Man's eyes went wide in surprise at the approaching darkness.
"What are you doing here, Stranger?"
"I am going to take a few resources off your hands. Sorry, Murasaki."
The voice that had come from the shadows had been an terrifying noise. As if death itself had manifested in a shadowy form. And death took Nobunaga into its embrace.
At least…that was what he thought. Until he heard an infant's wails and then realized that it was coming from him.
Highgarden, Kingdom of the Reach - Year: 268 After Aegon's Conquest
"We have a beautiful son, Mace."
The Heir to Highgarden, Mace Tyrell took his first child into his hand with a wide smile.
"Beautiful? Oh, don't exenterate dear, he looks like any other babe." The Lady of Highgarden, Olenna, remarked is dismissal.
"He is your first grandchild mother, I thought you and father would be happy." Mace said, turning towards his mother.
"Well, your father certainly will. All I worry of is the child's health, not debate its supposed 'beauty'." Olenna said with a frown, turning to the attending physician.
"Why does the boy not cry, Maester? Is that not natural of child? What is the condition of his health?" She asked with narrowed eyes.
Mace Tyrell quickly turned to the Maester while his wife Alerie looked terrified at the prospect of an ill child.
"I inspected the boy for any affliction, my lady. I assure you that the child is completely healthy." The Maester said to the unimpressed Queen of Thorns while Mace and Alerie looked relived at the assurance.
"What will you name him then?" Olenna asked.
"What of Otto, my lord husband?" Alerie suggested.
"Otto? Otto Tyrell?" Olenna said mockingly. "I thought you were slow before, now I know you're beyond idiotic."
"Mother!" Mace exclaimed. "You speak to my wife and the mother of my heir!"
"And your wife is the daughter of the defeated Lord of Oldtown, who rebelled against your father and was utterly defeated." Olenna said offhandedly.
Hightower's Folly, as the small folk called it, occurred when the Lord of Oldtown along with the Lord of Brightwater Keep marched on Highgarden in rebellion with an army of 60,000 men. The Lord of Highgarden, Luthor Tyrell, utterly crushed the rebellion despite being outnumbered 6 to 1. The most terrifying part of the victory was that the Tyrell Forces in accomplished it in a period of three days. Two of the most powerful families in Westeros were utterly defeated in a three-day period.
"What do you think your father's vassals, your future vassals, will think if your wife gives the future Lord of Highgarden a Hightower name?" Olenna asked.
Mace and Alerie seemed to have realized the implication.
"Surely a name won't…
"It will, you Oaf," Olenna stopped him in his track.
"Perhaps Paxter, then?" Mace asked.
"Yes," Olenna said. "Paxter is a fine name."
"And then the Lords of the Reach will speak of how I'm ruled by my mother. A Redwyne of the Arbor." Mace said dryly.
Olenna's eyes went wide at the words while Mace was smug in winning an exchange with his mother.
"I'll give him a Tyrell name then." Mace said finally. "I'll name him Oda."
Just thought I'd publish short Prologue to a story I've been planning for a while.
Premise -Drifter Characters reincarnated into Westeros. Plus some historical characters that weren't in Drifters.
The characters I have in mind so far…
Oda Nobunaga – Oda Tyrell, first born son of Mace Tyrell.
Shimazu Toyohisa - ?
Nasu Suketaka Yoichi- ?
Hannibal Barca - ?
Scipio Africanus - ?
Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus - Luthor Tyrell, Lord of Highgarden
The General behind the Fabian Strategy. After suffering multiple catastrophic battles like at Trebia and Tresamine, the Romans made Quintus dictator and gave him full command of the army. This, in my opinion, is the decision that saved the Republic. If the Romans had chosen some other hot head commander, Rome would have fallen right there and then.