(Sunspear)
After a few days of hard travel Daeron and Shiera had finally made it to the capital of Dorne, he had landed his dragon a good distance away as he didn't think that creating such a panic would be necessary, especially in times such as these with war just over the horizon. He walked through the sand as he made his way towards the city, he could see it in the distance as it sat just beside the ocean. He hoped Doran would be agreeable to providing him with the venom that he needed, Ashara had protected his children at the cost of her own body, what sort of man would he be if he did not do his utmost to save her?
Doran was his uncle by marriage, and though the circumstances of his birth may be a problem, he hoped that knowledge of Rhaenys would make him more likely to give him what he needs. It is also possible he'll clap him in chains and throw him into a cell, which would not surprise him, he was partially responsible for the war that was brewing and if needed he would take responsibility for that fact.
As he got closer he felt more nervous with every step he took though it was overshadowed by his determination to save Ashara. The gate to Sunspear was open during the day as many people from the surrounding villages as well as traders poured in so he had no issue going inside, he had to admit that it was a pretty impressive city with a completely different type of architecture than what he had seen before. He wasn't entirely sure where he was going so he assumed that the biggest building would be where the Martells resided, rather childish reasoning he thought but usually true.
He just hopes that he wouldn't be forced into getting violent.
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Oberyn Martell walked hand in hand with his paramour Ellaria Sand through the streets of Sunspear, he was enjoying her company before he had to travel across Dorne to pick up his runaway niece, he thought it best to drain his balls as much as possible otherwise he'd end up sneaking Ellaria aboard the ship he was scheduled to take for Starfall, while he was used to going long periods without an intimate touch, he did not like it nor did he wish to voluntarily put himself in that position.
"Mmm Oberyn, look at that one there" his Paramour purred into his ear as she pressed herself against him, he looked in the direction she had gestured to, the boy was extremely attractive, though that wasn't what bothered Oberyn, it was the fact he looked very similar to a man he had met long ago, someone he did not like at all.
However, he was brought out of his thoughts by Ellaria "Oberyn? Shall we invite him to tour with us, the poor boy seems lost"
Oberyn put thoughts of Rhaegar Targaryen to the back of his mind, he was long dead and he didn't need to think of him "We shall my love, it is not every day we meet a lad prettier than both of us combined" he said jokingly getting a small giggle from her.
And they were right Daeron was lost, he had thought it an easy case of heading straight towards the keep, but he kept on hitting dead ends and had to double back, his frustration seemed to peak when he was approached by Oberyn and Ellaria "You seem lost my friend, perhaps we can assist you in finding what you seek" he said with a smirk on his face.
Daeron looked at the strange couple that approached him, though they seemed nice enough if they offered to help him, so he smiled at them "My thanks, I am a bit lost if you know the way to the keep I'd appreciate the help"
Oberyn raised an eyebrow at his destination "And why might you be going to the keep, are you perhaps a nobles son or a hedge knight looking for a new lord"
Daeron shook his head "No such thing, I am just in search of a rare venom that has medicinal properties, I heard the snakes the venom came from were bred in Sunspear"
Of course, Oberyn knew of these snakes, they belonged to him after all, he had interbred snakes for years and only a few years ago had he made a breakthrough, this new type of snake had a slow-acting venom that slowed the blood, while this was not all that dangerous by itself he would combine it with manticore venom to give the Mountain a gift that would leave him screaming for months before killing him. Though that was his plan if the Mountain had not already been slain by the Bastard Targaryen, though he was glad the dog of Tywin Lannister was dead he wishes it was by his own hands. However, at least Tywin Lannister and Amory Lorch were still alive and would be fully appreciative of the new mixture he created.
"I see... come and walk with us, we were heading to the keep ourselves and the company is welcome, especially from such a handsome man," Oberyn said with a smirk still present on his face.
Daeron laughed and took his flirtations in jest not realising the man was serious "I am thankful, I am in desperate need of the venom and have little time to spare"
"Well, I'm sure Oberyn here can accommodate you once we reach the keep, so for now how about we relax and enjoy the day we have been blessed with," Ellaria said as she rubbed Daerons back and looped her arm into his.
Daeron's eyes went wide at the mention of Oberyn's name, something the man had noticed, as they walked through the streets he addressed such a reaction "Tell me my friend, have I met you before?" Oberyn asks his attitude still light and non-threatening.
Daeron chuckled nervously "No, this is my first time in Dorne, so I have not met many people" he stated, while he wasn't lying Oberyn could tell he was leaving certain things out of his story.
Oberyn was slightly suspicious of the boy now "You know I feel ashamed, I have neglected to ask for your name, please forgive my rudeness" he said with a smile as they both looked at Daeron expectantly.
"It's Jon" Daeron quickly said without thinking too much about it.
"A strange name for someone with such clear Valyrian features, tell me where you hail from," Oberyn asks making Daeron sweat a bit more.
"Driftmark" he replies.
"A perfect answer" Oberyn stated with an amused smile as they kept walking, eventually they got to the gates of the keep and the guards immediately moved out the way for their Prince. However Oberyn walked slightly behind Ellaria who still had her arms looped around Daerons arm, she was talking to him about all the different places in Sunspear to visit, mostly the best pleasure houses.
He took a spear from one of the guards at the gate and once they were in the courtyard past the main gate he held it to Daerons back, Ellaria quickly removed herself from him and went back to her lover's side, while in town he signalled his paramour that he was suspicious of the boy and so she distracted him.
"Did I do something wrong, my lord?" Daeron asks with a nervous smile as he turns to see the spear pointed at him.
"Oh? So I'm a lord now, a rather generous leap in status, didn't you say you did not know me my 'friend'" Oberyn said with a humorous smile but with narrowed eyes.
Daeron felt that this entire situation was on the cusp of falling into violence, something he didn't need, especially with his wife's uncle "I do know the Red Viper of Dorne, however, I thought it unimportant to mention, now please I only wish to barter for the venom that I came for"
Oberyn chuckled once again "I do not barter with people who hide their identity, tell me the truth and we shall see if we can make a deal"
At this point under normal circumstances Daeron would've tried to escape, however, these were not normal circumstances and he had someone who needed his help, so with a sigh he stands up straight "I am Daeron Targaryen, I don't think I need to tell you anything else regarding my identity" he said.
Oberyn's eyes widened in realisation as it all started to make sense, the bastard was said to have fled to Dorne, and he was the spitting image of Rhaegar, his anger started to boil and he thought about attacking the boy but held himself back "You were right to keep your identity a secret, had you not killed the mountain then I might've lost control and attacked you, as you did a service to Dorne I will let you leave unimpeded" he states calmly as he lifts his spear.
Daeron shakes his head "I'm afraid I cannot leave until I have what I desire, someone is dying and they need more time"
Oberyn looks at him callously "It is not my problem, I have no reason to help you, now leave this is my final warning"
Daeron rapidly thought of any way he could convince the man that seemed so uncaring since learning of his true identity, he sighed, he had to tell the truth otherwise he'd leave here empty handed "You do have reason to help me, we are family... you are my uncle by law"
Oberyn looked at him for a moment before he glared dangerously, gripping the shaft of the spear so tight Daeron thought it might crack "You married my niece Arianne... so you are the reason she ran away" he said as he got his spear ready to thrust at Daeron.
Daeron stood there calmly, it would not be good to fight him at the moment "Not Arianne..."
Oberyn paused in his attack "Then it seems my nephews have similar tastes to me than I thought, though I doubt a septon would've married two men together"
"Rhaenys Targaryen" Daeron stated, his words silenced the courtyard, however only a few seconds later Oberyn lashed out at him thrusting his spear forward, Daeron was surprised at how fast it was and barely managed to dodge the first thrust, he withdrew his sword in time to parry another thrust.
"She is alive Oberyn, I swear this upon the old gods and the new" Daeron said as he jumped over a sweep of his spear and then parried another thrust.
"Liar! She was stabbed over 100 times by Amory Lorch, her corpse was presented to the King and he laughed" Oberyn said his voice thundering with fury as he Daeron with the butt of the spear before sweeping his legs out from under him.
"She is at Starfall with our children, we married not a month ago and she gave birth shortly after that," Daeron said from the ground as he held his hands up in surrender.
Oberyn however still enraged thought about taking the boy's life but in the end, the chance that Elia's daughter was still alive was too much of a temptation and so he threw the spear to the ground "Is she the reason why you need the venom? What has happened?"
Daeron shook his head as he stood up "Ashara Dayne, she looked after our children and was present when Gerold Dayne attempted to kidnap them, she sacrificed herself to keep them safe, so whether you wish to help or not... I will be getting what I came for" he said determinedly.
Oberyn looked at him with no readable expression on his face "Do you bring any proof of your claims?"
Daeron shook his head "I do not, however, you are welcome to come to Starfall yourself and see"
Oberyn paused and then nodded "Very well, however, I will be travelling with you, we shall not leave each other's side until I have seen my niece"
"If you insist" Daeron says with a hidden smile.
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(Starfall)
(While Daeron is in Sunspear)
Beric Dayne sighs as he looks over the wall of Starfall to the men that have been gathered "I should've raised the boy myself, he's turned out to be such a disappointment... only a fool would attack a castle with so little force"
With him stood his son Arthur and Rhaenys, it was the only time Arthur had left his sister's bedside. He and Rhaenys wanted vengeance the most out of those in the castle, Arthur because Gerold had grievously wounded his sister and Rhaenys because he dared touch her children.
"I will lead the men out to battle" Arthur stated calmly though his eyes hadn't left the enemy army since he had come atop the battlements.
"You will do no such thing, we have the advantage of being inside Starfall, out there he has the advantage he's set up his troops in such a way that it won't matter if we have 200 and he has 150" Beric states sternly.
Arthur scowled at his father's words with Rhaenys joining him, Beric sighs once again "Be calm and rational, if we stay inside we win, if we go out there we might lose and then what will happen to those inside the castle" he tries to reason.
But Arthur and Rhaenys were far beyond logic at this point, they only saw the man who had hurt or tried to hurt their loved ones and they would kill him before the day was out.
Eventually, Beric Dayne left to give some commands to the defenders leaving Arthur and Rhaenys alone "Arthur, when I break their army I want you to rally out the defenders and mop up the rest of them. Leave Gerold alive, I know you deserve to kill him more than anyone here but I wish to feed him to Vhagar" she says maliciously.
Arthur was conflicted at first but felt being fed to a dragon was worse than any pain he could inflict with Dawn so he nodded and went to leave, he knew he couldn't get all the garrison on his side but it wouldn't matter all he needed was 50.
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(Night)
Darkstar sat in his tent as he drank the milk of the poppy for the third time that night, he was still in large amounts of pain from having his face sliced open by that no name Dayne, he drank deeply from the cup and then when it emptied he found his frustration mounting and he threw it towards the tent wall "I swear upon the gods that I will kill everyone in that castle and claim my birthright" he spat out.
His Master at arms entered his tent and respectfully bowed "The men are nearly ready my lord, 15 of them will scale the wall while another 15 will swim through the river to the docks and set the ships ablaze, with the distraction they will open the gates for us"
Darkstar sat there with an unnatural smile on his face "Good, begin as soon as the men are able, I want the Lord of Starfall in chains before the break of Dawn, and then I will kill the-"
*ROAAAAAAAAAAAAR*
Darkstar felt his blood run cold as he heard the sound, he had heard the rumours but believed them to be false, and even in this moment he still did. As he got up from his seat and followed his master at arms out of the tent looking into the night sky he still held hope that he was wrong, that what he heard was just a trick of the ears.
The night was silent and there were no sounds except for the wind, however, the wind seemed to pick up second after second until it was very noticeable, all the men had come out of their tent or had stopped what they were doing to look up at the sound they heard, no one said a thing, they all just stood there in silence wondering if the sound they heard was just a phantom, however all of their doubts were broken when they heard the shout of a woman echo across the night sky.
"Dracarys!!!" They heard her shout and the last thing people saw was the spark of light that grew from a needlepoint to the size of a shield and blast out at them.
"DRAGON!!!" Someone shouted though it was the last thing he shouted as gouts of flame engulfed him Vhagar let his flames rain down on the Darkstars army, he was only just bigger than a destrier but it was enough that he could carry Rhaenys small size for a short time.
It was their first flight together and she rained down fire on the army, burning the tents and men alike, any sort of defence they tried to mount was instantly set ablaze and it was too dark for the archers to shoot at the dragon or its rider.
Darkstar started to panic "No! No! No! It can't end this way!" He shouted as he ran towards a horse that was engulfed in flames the moment he got close, he fell to the floor and looked up to see all his men in hysterics all running in different directions, some trying to fight back while others tried to retreat. However, it was all for Naut when they heard a war cry come from Starfall.
Arthur Dayne at the head of 100 men charged out the gates of Starfall and started slaughtering the enemy army with Dawn in hand. Rhaenys stopped reigning down fire on the ground and instead looked for her target.
Darkstar drew his sword and parried a strike from an enemy before decapitating him, he then kicked another person and thrust his sword into him as he fell to the ground 'I'll retreat for now, and join with the King, I won't rest until they are all dead' he thought to himself.
However he heard a loud earth-shaking crash behind him, he turned quickly only to be met face to face with a snarling dragon, and on top of it was a woman that he had seen in passing at Starfall "Who do you think you are! Have you any clue who I am? "He snarled.
She looks at him emotionlessly "I am Rhaenys Targaryen, and I know exactly who you are"
Darkstar scowls once more and goes to say something but is cut off by Rhaenys "You're a deadman"
"Dracarys..." she calmly states as Vhagar rears up his neck and the last thing Darkstar sees is the orange glow from his throat before he's engulfed his flames, his eyes explode and he can't see anything only feeling the pain of the inferno he was engulfed in.
All the while Rhaenys looked on watching him a small smile appearing on her face as he screamed in pain "Fire and blood" she whispers.
(AN: next chapter will have a time skip of around 2 months so that men can be Positioned and war can begin, I am going to finish this as soon as, so I can begin the Essos Arc and have Jon go to Valyria to stop his impending death.)
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