Hundro Moritani



Hundro Moritani was the Viscount of House Moritani, one of the antagonists of the War of Assassins of 10,187 AG. He was the husband of Cilla Moritani and the father of the heir of the House, Wolfram Moritani. He had a thick mane of black hair.

Early animosity with House Ecaz
There had been a longstanding animosity between Archduke Armand Ecaz and Viscount Hundro Moritani. His forces were accused of sabotaging the growth of fogtrees on Ecaz. Later this pulled in House Atreides to the conflict, though at the Trial by Forfeiture, Hundro had complimented Leto Atreides on his "brash flouting of the rules".

As the animosity flared, Leto offered his services as a mediator, though House Ecaz declared kanly, the start of open warfare. Instead of negotiating Hundro Moritani responded by carpet-bombing the Ecazi Palace and it's surrounding peninsular. The Emperor deployed a legion of Sardaukar on Grumman in an attempt to calm the situation.

Once the Sardaukar departed however, Hundro sent agents to kidnap the brother and eldest daughter of Archduke Armand Ecaz, and publicly executed them. The Ginaz Academy reacted to this by expelling the student swordmasters who came from Grumman, and declaring in the Landsraad that Hundro was "a coward and a mad dog". He sent a sneak attack force to Ginaz, killing more than a hundred Swordmasters.

Connections with House Harkonnen
When the Baron Harkonnen held a banquet on Arrakis, Hundro was the only guest not horrified by the desert he served, a cake full of live snakes.Viscount Moritani used a covert lasgun, hidden in a wrist bracelet to vaporize the snakes.

The Viscount then went to visit the beast Rabban on Giedi Prime, and proposed an alliance. Seeing Caladan left undefended while Duke Leto Atreides was assisting in the retaking of IX, they planned a surprise attack. At the close of the meeting Hundro threw his aide into the kennels above which they were meeting, and the hounds tore him apart. Hundro led the attack, along with his Swordmaster, Hiih Resser, but the attack was thwarted by the quick thinking of the Atreides Mentat,Thufir Hawat

Run up to the War of Assassins
As Wolfram's father, Hundro became despondent when Wolfram, his only child and the only heir to House Moritani, contracted an illness and disorder that caused him to physically waste away. The only cure for the ailment was esoit-poay, which only grew in the flora of the planet Ecaz, home to House Ecaz. Since the Ecazi-Moritani feud had been going on for decades, the leader of House Ecaz, Archduke Armand Ecaz, had a complete embargo passed against any of the substance going off planet, especially to the Moritani homeworld of Grumman.

Wolfram continued to waste away day by day, until he was only able to withstand being awake under a deep Semuta trance, in an almost incoherent state. His Suk Doctor, Vando Terboli, was completely unable to help Wolfram, and Wolfram died in the early part of 10,187 AG. Wolfram's death borught a bitter madness upon Hundro, who widowed and alone, started the events, which led to the War of Assassins of 10,187 AG.

Death
When the time arrived for House Atreides to converge with House Ecaz on Grumman; as House Atreides attacked the Grumman forces, with Ecazi re-inforcements, it seemed evident that Ritka, capital of Grumman would soon fall to Leto's and Armand's forces. As a way of acting as "the peacemaker", the Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV himself, arrived with Sardaukar in tow, to end the War, and to enforce the cease-fire. However, Hundro announced that he had all of the great pawns in the place where he wanted them. Leto, Armand, Shaddam, and even secretly, Rabban was there, fighting for an incognito House Harkonnen.

Hundro announced that House Moritani was descended from disgraced House Tantor, whom had blown up Salusa Secundus almost 10,000 years earlier. He then told the entire delegation that he was going to kill himself, and all nobles and armies present, with the atomics stockpiled by his House. However, the Viscount's bodyguard, Hiih Resser, obeyed Hundro in deploying the atomics but, in the name of greater honour, had never set the charges to the detonators on the nuclear devices. The Emperor condemned him to life imprisonment in the Imperial Prison in Corinth City; however while in transit to the prison he was killed in a depressurisation "accident".

In the aftermath of this final defeat, House Moritani collapsed and its fiefs, wealth and privileges, such as they were, were awarded to House Ecaz.

Appearances

 * Dune: House Harkonnen
 * Dune: House Corrino
 * Paul of Dune