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~~~Oberyn Martell, Seventh Moon, 277 AC~~~
~~~Ischyros, Xandar~~~
~~~One moon before the arrival of the airships at Casterly Rock~~~
Exactly two hours had passed, when, being in one of the innumerable gardens of this palace, a group of four men approached me, but from my mouth came a small gasp, when I saw the leader, a man over two meters tall and stocky, who wore a completely gray armor, which did not let a hint of skin show, but what stood out the most, was the smoky patterns on them, which indicated that it was made of Valyrian steel.
If that wasn't enough, his helmet was unlike any I've seen before in all my campaigns in Essos, instead of a helmet covering his head, wore a mask of the same precious metal, with scratch marks forged into the mask that gave him a terrifying look, which added to the chain mail that covered the rest of his head, didn't even let him see his hair.
(Image)
So much was the presence he made felt, that even his three companions, who also wore armor, but with a different design, did not quite reach what the man in front of me was conveying; "Oberyn Martell?" In a hoarse, throaty voice, the blissful man asked, and without coming up with something to say, I just nodded.
"My Khal awaits you, rise and come with me," he said, and not wishing to waste time or provoke him, I motioned to Romulus and he rose as well. "Who is he?" he asked, stopping his pacing and inspecting Romulo. "My guard."
"You distrust the reassurance extended to you by my Khal, Westerosi?" The man asked, and he was beginning to believe his husky voice made it on purpose. "No, of course not, but you will understand that where I go, he does just the same," I said, referring to Romulo and hoping he understood.
The man let out a moo, though thanks to his mask, it sounded more like a growl, and without giving me any more words, he turned and started walking towards another part of the castle, where I assumed the king was. But what surprised me was that after a few minutes of a long walk, we arrived at a part of the castle I hadn't seen, from which several rails of what the Xandarians called trains were coming out.
"The Great Khal is near the Royal Zoo, getting there on foot will take us at least half an hour," was all he explained, and instead, entered the place, which looked like one of the many train stations below the city, and then boarded a roofless carriage that looked more like a carriage.
The six of us boarded, and soon the contraption began to work, taking us all where the rail followed, and from time to time changing course with each other, but getting closer to the place, as from a distance I began to see the immense complex of what was the Royal Zoo.
"I didn't know that the king liked animals, if I had known, I would have brought him some snakes from Dorne", I commented, wanting to destroy the silent atmosphere that spread, instead, the man with the strange mask only turned to see me for a few seconds, and then turned his gaze to the front.
"Man of few words, I understand."
"RUUUUUGG!"
"REAAAAG!"
When the wagon was several meters away from the Zoo, I could start to hear an endless roar from inside, which made my back bristle, it was a sound that belonged to innate predators, something that made even the seagulls of the Fjord stay away from the place.
When we reached one of the entrances to the place, the man leading us began talking to the guards stationed at the huge gates, conversing in Dothraki, with me only understanding the word Hrakkar.
The man seemed to be in a hurry the whole time, for he waited for nothing but set out to walk on, but again, unlike going to where the king was, we came to a section where a huge stable was located. Where we took horses and now, once and for all, we headed to where the king was.
After another fifteen minutes, and having passed several giant domes from which we could hear different roars, we arrived at a section that was surrounded by a high metal fence. That surrounded an enclosure with lakes, fruit trees, and several meadows. It was no lie when I said that here in Xandar everything was immense, only this damn enclosure was half the size of Sunspear.
"Follow me, but don't stray, or your safety will be in jeopardy," the foolish man remarked, then walked to an entrance to the compound, where guards on site nodded to him, then opened the gates. Letting us through.
The enclosure was beautiful, with colorful birds perched on the branches of the huge trees, the crystal clear water running through the various lakes of the place, as well as the gentle breeze coming in from the opening at the top of the dome that surrounded the enclosure.
And there, among all that, I could see the king at last.
The man, wore a silver tunic tight to the body, sleeveless and with gold and silver straps and rings sewn around his shoulders, hips, and chest, with metal shoulder pads, as well as diamond bracelets on his arms.
But what certainly caught the eye was his hair, and as he was on his back, I could see it in all its glory: black hair down to his backside, tied in hundreds of small braids from which hung little bells made of gold or silver. This, accompanied by the huge crown on his head made entirely of emerald, made him look majestic.
This was intensified when I noticed what he was doing; and that was that in front of him, there were three huge lions, only their fur and skin were as white as milk, thus surpassing the size of a war horse. And that was when I understood what our guide referred to minutes before with the word Hrakkar.
Being only fifteen meters away, one of the fearsome beasts noticed us and began to roar, but just a hand on his head was enough to calm him down, and sure enough, that hand belonged to the king. And if that wasn't an introduction, then I don't know what was.
"Hello Oberyn," the king spoke, turning around so I could see his face, and the sight surprised me, he looked like a boy, hardly past the twenty-five days of the name, and his eyes, the color of honey, golden I dared say. A unique eye color.
"I can call you that, right?" He asked again, and I was surprised that he knew the common tongue. "Yes, you may call me Oberyn." He nodded, and with a modest smile, turned to the man in the shadowy mask leading me all the way. "Thank you Essino."
The change this caused in the man was huge, as Essino, as his name was, gave a nod and a chuckle, and I even noticed his posture relax a little. Now that I took a good look around me, I saw that Azrael was not alone, beside him was a beautiful woman, almost as tall as Azrael, something that spoke volumes about her height, since the boy king outweighed me by at least three heads.
Indigo eyes, hair of the same color, straight and extremely long, perfect face, and a body that would make any eunuch's cock throb, the boy was lucky, although he was beautiful too, and the thought made me laugh inside.
"As you know, my name is Azrael," the boy spoke again, "and this is my betrothed and the future queen, Valka," it was my turn to introduce the beauty at his side, and she did not disappoint, she took two steps to me and extended her pale delicate hand, and I gladly planted a kiss on one of the rings she wore.
"I understand you are a prince of Dorne, your brother is Prince Doran, is this true?" She said it with a tone full of curiosity, but between the lines, I understood that she already knew that, "Yes, I am from Dorne, and I am here in front of you looking for help."
As much as I would like to continue the monotonous conversation and beat around the bush, that was not my specialty, so I made my reason for the visit known at once. "You're direct, I like it," and I hit the mark, judging by Azrael's reaction. "So tell me, what do you want from me and what can I satisfy you with."
"A potion," was my reply, and he immediately stopped feeding his lions, instead, he looked at Valka, then back at me, "You ask quite a lot, though I'm confused by the idea, especially since I'm sure you can get one of them from some merchant."
"I've been trying for moons, the only one I could trace was being sold for a thousand gold coins, and it turned out to be a fake, and even the Arcane Center doesn't sell them, that's why I came to you, not only for the potion but also to present a formal alliance between Dorne and Xandar, one that could benefit both sides at very high levels".
"Now we are talking seriously, I thought we would never do that", with that, he continued to encourage the beasts, so that he then extended his hand towards me, and with an open palm, I managed to see how a potion appeared in his palm, as if by magic. "Wha... How?" I stammered, this was real magic and not the cheap tricks I had seen before. "That, my friend, is a secret."
"Take it as a courtesy of my goodwill, and I look forward to whatever agreement you have in mind", just at that, the man who had been conducting the session in the Throne Room a few hours ago, arrived. After a quick and modest conversation between the two, Azrael looked at me again, "Unfortunately I will be away from Xandar for a few months, I will go to Westeros, although if you like, you can accompany me, yes, have you ever been near a Wyvern?"