Chapter 118: Dragon Reappears in Dorne
Rhaegar, riding the Silver Dragon, had to cross the sea and pass the Broken Arm before reaching Sunspear, having departed from Bloodstone.
Sunspear, the capital of Dorne, is particularly close to the Stepstones. The Arm of Dorne shattered into the Stepstones, extending from the Dornish lands.
Dorne is naturally close to the Three Daughters. During past years of conflict, for quite some time, Dorne and the Three Daughters allied due to shared interests in causing trouble for the Iron Throne. If not for Nymeria burning their fleet, which caused the Dornish navy to collapse and become utterly unreliable, Sunspear might have developed into a major maritime city-state.
As an envoy, Rhaegar needed to travel between Bloodstone and Sunspear in advance, carrying Prince Aerys's message of visit and greetings. After all, the Princess of Dorne was also a friend of Queen Rhaella.
The construction site on Bloodstone is currently bustling. Soldiers are renovating the simple stone fort. Coincidentally, the pirates had already dug many tunnels using the caves in the rocky hills, making it relatively easy to rebuild the castle's outer walls using wooden palisades. Since they were already here, temporary administration was still administration, and it was legal justification—not an inch of territory could be ceded. Once customs and the castle were established, the tolls alone would open up a new source of revenue for the Iron Throne.
Better safe than sorry. Rhaegar estimated that Lys and Myr were likely expanding their armies. They wouldn't intervene directly, but arming a few pirate groups would be easy. A mere contract bringing perpetual peace was a pipe dream. Furthermore, some merchants from the Three Daughters were actually connected to the pirates; how could they easily give up? Aside from direct warfare, perhaps the greatest concern should be the poisons or assassins from Lys and Myr.
Even Marajo, the Triarch of distant Volantis, reminded Rhaegar to beware of the underhanded tactics of the Lysene and Myrish people; they were always notorious.
Triarch Marajo greatly praised Rhaegar for making the Two Daughters temporarily yield. Volantis had been engaged in a trade war with Lys and Tyrosh just a few years prior. Historically, Volantis had even forcibly occupied Lys and Myr during the Century of Blood.
Rhaegar felt that the Free Cities were mostly in chaos. The three major powers—Braavos, Volantis, and the Three Daughters—disliked each other, but Braavos was slightly more detached due to its geographical location and financial resources.
"The gifts of the Lysene people are poison and assassination, so my gifts will be fire and dragon!" Rhaegar finished reading Marajo's letter, and silver flames danced from his fingertips, turning the letter instantly into smoke.
Ordinary people would fear and dread assassins and poison; the Lysene and Myrish people had indeed killed some of the dragonlord bloodline. Only by awakening the blood of the dragon and mastering flame and ancient runes could one be considered a true dragonlord. To restore the glory of the Valyrian dragonlords, Rhaegar didn't mind stepping over the blood and fire of the Lysene people. There were also a few historical blood debts he needed to discuss with the Lysene and Myrish people. If a peace treaty failed to bring peace, war was the only alternative.
"What a barren land! Poor and troublesome!" Rhaegar looked down from the dragon at the harsh landscape of the Dornish east coast; the climate was also scorching and agonizing.
The east coast was already considered the most fertile part of Dorne, yet it only had bare shrubs and dry, water-scarce soil. Further west and north, all that remained were deserts and tall hills. Dorne's south coast was also covered in reefs, lacked good harbors, had rapid currents, was sparsely populated, and made it difficult to replenish fresh water and timber. Comparatively, there were very few habitable places in Dorne. No wonder legend says that when Garth Greenhand saw the state of Dorne, he immediately fled to the Reach behind the mountains.
Rhaegar noticed that the population was sparse along the way; people must have gathered more densely in Sunspear.
A century later, three demon dragons roared and reappeared in Dorne, making Rhaegar unable to help but recall the grievances and conflicts between his ancestors and the Dornish people.
The Dornish lands, the place of sorrow for House Targaryen.
The North and Dorne are commonly recognized by the rest of Westeros as lands of barbarians—one cold, one hot. Their common points are sparse populations, rigid adherence to tradition, and customs different from other kingdoms. But the North is at most a distant realm, while Dorne has repeatedly brought war.
In this harsh land of Dorne, House Targaryen lost a queen, a great dragon, and later, a king. Not to mention the armies of other lords sent as vassals, especially House Baratheon and House Tyrell, who suffered heavy losses. Even House Stark lost the heir of Lord Cregan Stark, the Old Man of the North, who died fighting in Dorne.
Indomitable, even with few people, the Dornish still made all the kingdoms suffer greatly through their surprise attacks, guerrilla tactics, and harsh climate, accumulating much hatred in the process.
Later, the Iron Throne reconciled with Dorne through marriage, but the hatred remained enduring. It could only be said that the other lords pretended to obey out of respect for the Iron Throne.
"King Baelor's reconciliation and marriage alliance with Dorne had both pros and cons!" Rhaegar thought, looking at the vast land. The benefits of the Iron Throne marrying into Sunspear were numerous: the Seven Kingdoms were united, peace descended, and the Iron Throne gained Dorne's assistance. The realm changed because of Baelor's decision.
However, the drawbacks of the Iron Throne's marriage alliance with Dorne quickly became apparent. The lords worried not about scarcity but about inequality; unfairness and favoritism were the origins of all chaos.
Previously, few great lords married into the dragonlord line, except for House Baratheon, House Velaryon, House Hightower, and House Arryn. House Baratheon and House Velaryon were original supporters who followed Aegon the Conqueror. House Arryn submitted very early, and House Hightower had deep foundations. Even disregarding these, there were still great families who had pledged loyalty, such as House Tully, House Lannister, House Tyrell, and House Stark. By seniority, it was not House Martell's turn. The Dornish people resisted stubbornly until the very end, yet the Iron Throne treated them better than the older vassals.
For years, the lords and knights sacrificed their lives for the Iron Throne on the Dornish front line. Yet, the dragon king of the Iron Throne married a Dornish princess, gave the Dornish people special privileges, and fathered a crown prince who looked more Martell than Targaryen. As time went on, the nobles and knights of the Dornish Marches began to distrust Baelor and Daeron II. They continued to treat Dorne as an enemy, just as they always had, and preferred Daemon Blackfyre, who looked very much like a Targaryen. These persistent malcontents became the main foundation of the Blackfyre Rebellions.
Given the division of the realm, King Aegon V, the Unlikely, wanted to forge a grand political marriage alliance between House Targaryen, House Baratheon, House Redwyne, House Tully, and House Tyrell, but it was ultimately ruined by his children's willfulness, leading even to war and the tragedy of Summerhall.
The rights and wrongs involving the Dornish people amidst the yellow sand and the ocean, and the rise and fall of the Targaryen Iron Throne.
Rhaegar felt this was the charm of history; the era surged like a river, and he was merely a wave rider within that river. At least his ancestors left him a unified Seven Kingdoms, which included bringing Dorne into the fold.
The yellow sand, the ocean, and the lush earth—how many people's passion and dreams have they buried?
But in this era, I am destiny, and I create history!
Rhaegar's Silver Demon Dragon roared, soaring over the land of Dorne. The other two demon dragons also roared, even spitting out beautiful fireballs.
Rhaegar and the three dragons quickly arrived above Sunspear. Sunspear is surrounded by sea on three sides, built on a small peninsula, with the Shadow City to the west. Though called a city, Sunspear is at most a small town—yet it is the best city the Dornish have to offer.
Rhaegar smelled spices and the scent of the east in the air, seeing Sunspear, the Shadow City to the west, and the serpentine walls.
The Dornish people built houses around the walls of Sunspear and kept expanding. The Dornish also particularly favor mud-brick houses, and the Shadow City continues to grow in size. Here are narrow alleys and grand courtyards of the marketplace. The serpentine walls encircle Sunspear and snake through the Shadow City, and only by passing through the triple main gates guarded by strong soldiers can one reach the castle.
What attracted Rhaegar the most were the three great landmarks of Dorne: the slender Spear Tower, 150 feet high, topped with a gilded iron spike that added another thirty feet to the tower; the majestic Tower of the Sun, with its dome made of gold and leaded glass; and the dark brown Sandship, which looked like a large sailboat washed ashore and turned to stone.
Rhaegar knew that the Spear Tower represented House Martell, and the Tower of the Sun represented the Rhoynar. The Rhoynar and House Martell united, and inside the throne room beneath the Tower of the Sun, there were even two seats representing the two peoples.
However, Rhaegar wasn't very interested in these things. What interested him most was the Rhoynar water magic, wondering if any remnants still existed in Dorne.
The three demon dragons swept across the sky, shrieking and bringing wind. The Dornish people in yellow clothes looked up in astonishment at the dragons in the sky, pointing them out to their children.
Perhaps this was a coincidence: Meraxes, the great dragon that brought war and died here long ago, was of the same pale hue. Today, a Silver Demon Dragon was leading the way, bringing a message of goodwill.
Rhaegar did not stop at Sunspear but went directly to the Water Gardens, where the Princess of Dorne was also waiting.
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