Chapter 78: The Battle of Prince's Pass
The war in Dorne finally saw a glimmer of hope after prolonged suffering. The exhausted people chose to speak with their feet, and countless Dornish refugees flocked to the relatively safe Stone Way and the Red Mountains.
But more people hid, just as they had done against under . They hid in secret oases in the great desert, on small islands in the Sulfur River, and in caves in the hills.
Thus, several great Houses simultaneously found it difficult to recruit soldiers, and years of continuous warfare led to a catastrophic famine across Dorne.
In these years, changed hands six times, finally being destroyed in a great fire that swept through the entire castle. Both sides, maddened by slaughter, carried out massacres within the castle. House Allyrion was almost wiped out in these repeated struggles, and House Yronwood's cavalry even once charged into , burning and looting.
But , having acquired gold from unknown sources, quickly regrouped. Prince Corwin Martell hired pirate fleets from the Stepstones to raid 's harbor, almost burning down this historic seat. King Lewyn's retaliation followed; he also hired pirate fleets, loaded with the newly appointed Lord Jordayne and his army, to raid . Ghost Hill, having almost become a ghost town, naturally could not resist House Yronwood's attack, and the struggling Lady Toland was forced to raise the white flag.
Meanwhile, King Albin Dayne of seized amidst the chaos and confronted House Yronwood and House Martell in the Sulfur River region.
It wasn't until King Lewyn discovered that the excellent iron armor worn by Lord Gargon's elite cavalry came from the same place as his own guards' armor.
Only then did King Lewyn finally realize what their shortsightedness and foolishness had brought, but by this time, they had already lost the hearts of the people.
He sent cavalry, attempting to summon the heir of , but that cavalry never returned. The cautious King Lewyn again sent 200 spearmen, but they too never returned.
King Lewyn then realized that the Red Mountains no longer belonged to him, or even to Dorne in the traditional sense.
So he attempted to make peace with Prince Corwin, but Prince Corwin's reply was that he had personally led his army to break through Ghost Hill and hang the members of House Yronwood left behind.
King Lewyn could only send his army, attempting to retake the Red Mountains, but the final result was that his 4,000 infantry were routed by Ser Lann Vartyr and Ser Aslan Longdel leading 2,000 cavalry, and he himself was almost captured.
Soon after this battle, sent 2,000 infantry and 500 cavalry, joining with 3,000 infantry and 300 cavalry from and . Also joining were 1,000 infantry and 100 cavalry from , coming under the banner of defending Prince's Pass.
The core of this force was the 3,000 Silver Blood Army led by Ser Aslan Longdel, which included 900 cavalry.
This army slowly pressed towards . Moving with this army were eight dragons:
the young Arrax, Vermax, the rapidly grown Shadow Nightmare who could already carry riders into the sky, Vermithor, and King Aegon II's Sunfyre and Prince Aemond's Vhagar. Also present, representing the King, were and , and of course, most importantly, their dragons.
Silverwing remained at Dragon Nest City, which annoyed Valarr but also made him proud of his great responsibility.
At the ruins of , eight dragons rested in the mountains. The oldest and largest, Vhagar, slowly exhaled, her ancient jaw hanging low. The magnificent Sunfyre circled Syrax before being driven away by several furious roars from the Blood Wyrm, Caraxes, who lingered nearby. Vermax lay beside Vermithor, who gazed into the distance, as if lost in thought. Arrax and Shadow Nightmare played in the air. The gaunt black dragon had grown enormous; its curved horns and skeletal wings gave it a terrifying presence. Even Vhagar could not help but rumble in response when she saw it.
Prince Corwin Martell pursed his lips, occasionally glancing up at the eight colossal beasts.
"Yronwood is finished," the Prince sighed, turning to Princess Rhaenyra. "Your Highness, I know Dorne cannot endure another such loss."
"So, can you agree to our terms?" Princess Rhaenyra asked, her tone closer to a command than a question.
Lord Gargon, guarding the Prince, stared at the eight dragons in a daze.
"I did not expect the Iron Throne to offer such generous terms. I have no reason to refuse," Prince Corwin said with a deep sigh.
The terms offered by the Iron Throne were indeed generous: Dorne would be divided into three parts. Prince's Pass, the Red Mountains, the Stone Way, and the northern Yronwood valleys would be granted to the border lords. House Martell would retain the title of Prince of Sunspear and keep its lands from the Sulfur River in the west to the Narrow Sea in the east, but would surrender minting rights and control of the ports.
House Dayne also received nearly identical terms: the lands of and High Hermitage would be fully preserved. In addition, the other half of the Sulfur River region, along with the desert surrounding Sandstone, would fall under House Dayne. King Albin Dayne could retain the title of Lord of the Torrentine, but would surrender several key powers.
King Albin Dayne attempted to resist, but was ultimately suppressed by Obara Dayne leading her forces, and could only submit.
"My Prince, House Yronwood's army is approaching," Arrax descended rapidly. barely had time to catch his breath before delivering the report.
"Excellent," Dragonzel said as he donned his helm. "It is our turn."
Princess Rhaenyra was the first to mount Syrax. Prince Aemond eagerly patted Vhagar's back, though the ancient dragon kept her gaze fixed on Vermithor. The young riders mounted their dragons in succession, ready to act at a moment's notice.
King Aegon II was the most excited; he nearly took flight immediately, if not for Caraxes's warning roar.
The oldest and slowest, Vhagar, rose first into the sky, followed by Vermithor. These two would form the spearhead of the assault. Close behind came Caraxes, Syrax, and Sunfyre, while the three younger dragons took off last, tasked with hunting down any fleeing enemies.
Though the young dragons' scales had hardened, no one was willing to risk them in the initial clash.
The army of House Yronwood slowly emerged from the mouth of the valley.
When King Lewyn saw the eight dragons ascending into the sky, only one thought remained in his mind:
"Seven Hells."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you like the story please give it some power stones and reviews. And if you want to read 40+ advance chapters or just want to support me please join my patreon at [email protected]/Translatingfanfics