Pre-Chapter A/N: Here we go with another chapter, coming in right on time. Next three chapters on my patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga)— same username as here and link in bio.
XXXX- ICARUS JORDAYNE
He tried not to pinch his forehead as he looked over at Tyrene. He hadn't had wine in so long. Too long. The woman they'd grown up with had a scowl on her face that felt just as alien as the words she spoke.
"He wasn't even slightly interested. I would have taken him for one of the two of you if his relationship with his sister was not so well known," she said.
"Perhaps he's just a man so in love that he would never countenance another sharing his bed," Yorren offered. Tyrene scoffed.
"More likely, he's so twisted in the head that the only women he's interested in are the ones that look like family," she said.
"Or maybe even just the ones that belong to his family," she then added, almost as an afterthought.
"Does it matter? All that matters is that the plan failed," Icarus finally said, tired already of the conversation and the turn it was taking.
"I never liked the plan in the first place. Kill the dragonlord in my castle? What stops the dragon from bringing this whole place down and killing us all?" Yorren said.
"We weren't going to kill him immediately, remember? Hold him hostage. Force him to have his dragon leave, and then we deal with him," Tyrene countered.
"It was risky nonetheless. Too risky. I say we give him what he wants for now. Remember what Prince Qoren taught us. Patience. The time will always come. Perhaps that war that has been on the edge of brewing between House Velaryon and Braavos will break out, and then we will find our chance to buck the chains on our necks. But for now, that dragon is too dangerous. You watched it for months, Icarus. Tell me for true. Do you think we stand a chance in hell of killing that beast?" he asked.
"It makes no sense. The thing does things that no other dragon has been said to be capable of. I sent men to the pass just as I know you did. The stone melted to slag and flowed downwards to close the entrances. Fire hot enough to burn stone like that isn't new, but doing it across a mountain range in two nights alone? And then there's how fast the damn thing moves. Like that isn't enough, it now also happens to be agile enough that I've only seen one scorpion bolt get close to doing any real damage, and that had been because it came close to hitting the rider. The dragon is a monster. The kind of beast that lives in a different time and that you get raised on songs about. But it still has the one weakness all of them share. The rider," he said. At least talking now got his mind away from the fact that he hadn't had anything to drink for three nights now. Yorren despised his drinking these days, and for Yorren, he would behave himself. As much as he could.
"He sleeps in my castle. We can still make a move," Yorren offered, albeit reluctantly, if Icarus was correctly placing his tone, and he knew he was. Icarus shook his head almost instantly. The point of having Tyrene make the move was that she would be able to use a poison to disable him without it turning into some sort of struggle where he rashly ordered his dragon to do something. Icarus had watched both dragon and rider for moons across the various battles and marches and knew that the latter had some way to make the former act from a distance with no spoken words, signs, or signals. Almost like their minds were connected.
Times where he would randomly mention that the dragon was hungry and then for it to fly off seconds later, or for it to always know to return right when it was needed, or even the way they flew. Laenor Velaryon had none of the whips his ancestors had used to guide their mounts. Instead, he and his flew eerily silently and still managed to be on the same page virtually all the time.
Their bodies would tilt at the same time to avoid incoming attacks. Laenor would adjust for a sudden movement seconds before it happened. If it were not impossible, he would tell both Yorren and Tyrene that he suspected that dragon and man shared a mind. But they had not seen what he had. To them, his words would be insanity. If anyone else spoke his words to him without him having seen too many of the signs to deny it, he would not have believed them either.
"No. Let us bide our time. Another opportunity will come," he said in the end. And it was true. Other chances would come. Laenor Velaryon meant to rule Dorne. So he would come here over and over again, delivering himself into their hands multiple times. And each time he did so and nothing happened, his guard would fall. A bit at first, and then all at once, and when the time came, Icarus would be there. So would Yorren. Dorne would be free.
It was just a shame that the Velaryon would have to die to make it happen. He was a good man for the most part. It was just a shame that his eyes had grown too big for his stomach. Gold, trade terms, even land could have been arranged. The man just had to ask for the one thing that was not for sale. A true shame. But it would be a lesson many learned from with time.
----
Icarus stood with the rest of Yronwood's court of minor lords and knights as he watched the procession of the conquered. Those who remained alive, of course. Dorne had been ravaged in their conquest. Castles that had stood since the Dragon's Wroth had fallen once more to dragon fire, noble houses that had existed for centuries fell and were declared extinct so often that it was easier to ask who remained than it was to name those who were gone, and most importantly, the world as they knew it had changed.
He had been the first to swear his own oath. He had taken a knee with Oberon by his side, and he had sworn to Yorren as his prince and ceded final authority over Dorne to him. After him came the houses that had joined with words and conversation, and then after them came the houses that were conquered but without blood, and then came the houses that had been conquered with sword in hand. That last group was the smallest, as most of those lords had been executed or killed in battle to avoid having to deal with overly difficult bannermen when peace reigned.
Icarus watched them all walk up, swear their oaths, receive oaths in turn from Yorren, and then return to their places. It was impressive on one hand, because Yorren looked every bit the prince he had become, clad in a purple cloak and wearing the crown Qoren himself had once worn, and holding a sceptre of gold and rubies in one hand. He was beautiful. He was regal. He was perfect.
In contrast, however, Dorne was anything but. The line of lords coming to swear oaths was a short one. So short that Icarus had needed to be sure that no one had skipped out. House Dayne of High Hermitage brought up the rear, and the count showed that he had everyone. The Starfall Daynes had been stolen from Dorne, so they weren't here. The one who had had them swear oaths to him directly sat to the side, watching everything with those damn judging eyes that most likely saw the same fragilities in Dorne that Icarus himself did. The same things that made Icarus sure that if Dorne were to survive, then they had to move fast, and they had to enact their plan to the letter.
When that first line of oath-taking had passed, then came the main event. Yorren would call out men from the army and his household, granting them lordships in his name. This was the one ray of hope in their situation. The new lords would outnumber the existing lords by a wide margin, and since they all owed their positions to Yorren, they would be much less likely to join any foolishness. But then they would also be all the easier to conquer if another force were to try. He chanced another glance at the watching Laenor Velaryon.
He sat in those simple silks of his... It said something about the man that those two words could be put together. When silks were sewn into clothes, they tended to be made into extravagant attire that showed off the wealth of the one who wore them. Laenor Velaryon wore silk trousers and a silk tunic. They made for comfortable clothing, especially in the Dornish heat, but they also sent a message.
They told all who looked that he could afford to buy silk and then have it made into something like this. They told all that even the Velaryon's common clothes were silk. Imagine how wealthy such a man must have been. And they also said he was secure enough in his position that he did not need to show off, even though the act of not showing off in this case drew more attention than the grandest of purple attire could have.
When Yorren was finally done, the sun had begun to set. Icarus could feel his stomach demanding food and was sure that everyone else in the hall must have been as hungry as he was. Thankfully, there was another night of feasting to celebrate the new lords to look forward to. Seven nights of feasting in all to celebrate the gods for bringing a swift end to the war.
Icarus had wanted to ask Tyrene just which of the Seven had burned Hellholt to the ground, or which had crossed the gates first in Ghost Hill, when she had suggested it, but had held off. Discretion was the better part of valour, or so they said.
XXXXXX- LAENOR VELARYON
"Are you sure you would not like to stay longer, my lord?" Yorren asked. Credit to him, he almost sounded sincere. After sending his wife to seduce me, he'd laid off the tricks at the very least, but I'd still felt the tension whenever we were in the same room. This might have been a mistake in the end. Leaving Dorne fractured and letting Yorren fail in his conquest might have been better so that I could come and just take it at once, a part of my brain whispered.
But no. This was still the right move. Even if Yorren failed to abdicate when the time came. A united kingdom would be easier to rule post-conquest. Assuming I didn't need to burn everything to the ground, of course. But then some of the greater castles had been given to men who used to be sellswords. With a dragon at their gates, they would be more reasonable than true Dornish, I could tell.
"I am sure. My wife and children miss me, and I, them," I said.
"Then my best wishes to them. Thank you for your help," he said.
I stepped closer to him. His guards tensed but did not move.
"It was not free, Prince Yronwood," I said.
His face flushed, but he clasped his arms with mine. I said my goodbyes to Icarus next, and then Oberon, before climbing onto Igneel's back.
Please don't do anything Dornish, I wanted to say, but resisted.
Igneel shot into the air, heading northwards as we went towards the newest addition to my territory.
Going at close to full speed, I could see the towers of Starfall in the distance within the hour, and we arrived before it was two. Around the island castle were ships. Unlike the first time I had come, these were not ships bringing an invading army, but my ships. Bringing food, resources, and people. Bells rang, and I dismounted as I was met at the gates by the seemingly pliant Percival Dayne. His knee bent, and a servant came forward with bread and salt.
"Starfall is yours, my lord," he said. I dipped the bread into the salt and ate it after I whispered a small spell to myself. Poisoning the bread would have been a nice touch, but Dayne had managed to abstain. I walked into the castle and found it bustling with activity. Also with faces I recognised. Parvella was implementing my orders, then.
"Your people have been working ceaselessly to note everything down," he said, as I watched messengers move from one end of the courtyard to the other with massive heaps of papers. Starfall was mine now, and while I would never be able to do anything like this with every castle I conquered, I meant to understand this one as intimately as possible.
"How else will I serve you and your people if I do not know you? We swore oaths to each other, and now your problems are my problems, so these people are here to find out what those problems are," I said.
"You need only have asked, my lord," he said.
"Indeed. But then I would only know the problems that you can recognise. On my way here, I spotted one massive problem already," I said.
"My lord?" he asked.
"The lack of roads. I could see a caravan or two broken down and not all that many moving across. With a paved road system and bridges leading to and through Starfall to all the other holdings, we can see people and goods move at two or three times the speed. And that is only one problem. My people will find others, and you and I will work together to solve them," I said. Roads were necessary here, because no matter who I asked or where I looked, there were no camels in Dorne. There were most likely some in the more arid parts of Essos, but figuring out importation and breeding would have to be someone else's problem.
"You and I?" he asked.
"This is still your castle, and these are still your lands, no? You and they are sworn to me, so they are mine as well, so in a way one could say that we both have duties to do the best for these people, these lands, and this old storied castle," I said.
His mouth was gaping. Wide open. I'd got his allegiance at a dragon's maw, with the threat of turning him over to Yronwood to bend the knee to a man he saw as his equal, and now I was aiming to get his real loyalty by making his lands the best in all of Dorne and working with him all the while. I'd make him a rich man, reward him for his loyalty, and then hope he never got too Dornish and decided to bite the hand that fed him. Not for the first time, I wondered why I even bothered with Dorne at all.
"You mentioned a bridge," Lord Dayne said, moving the subject to my idea. I accepted the change and nodded.
"I did."
"Then I must warn you, my lord. My ancestors have tried. The Torrentine is beautiful, but she is wild. Many a Dayne has tried and failed to bridge her," Lord Percival Dayne said. I looked out in the direction of the sea and almost scoffed. The Romans had done more with worse. And while I was no Roman, I had the best architect from Braavos in my employ, labour capacity aplenty, gold, and most importantly, the knowledge of just how the Romans did it.
"Worry not, my lord. Leave it to me. I ask you to trust in me and wait. By this time two years from now, you will have a bridge," I said. He had that doubtful look people got when they were promised something that was too good to be true. It was a combination of doubt and hope. Because what else did people feel when they received ridiculous promises other than hope?
"If you say so, Lord Velaryon," he said, and we continued our walk into the castle.
"I apologise for the sparse reception. If I had known you were coming, I would have gotten something befitting together. As it stands, I ran straight here from my solar to welcome you. My wife must not have received the message yet," he said. I noticed the way he seemed to brace like he was waiting for an explosion.
"That is fine. With how fast Igneel moves, it would be silly for me to expect you to always be able to react in time to stand ready for my arrival," I said.
I looked over at the tower that was being rebuilt.
"I hope that is not turning out to be too expensive," I said.
"It is a burden, but a manageable one, my lord," he responded, not a drop of the bitterness one would expect showing in his voice. He was a better man than I. If the man that had damaged my castle looked at the damage they caused and then told me they hoped it wasn't too expensive to fix, I'd have attacked something for sure.
"I meant to ask about the rest of Dorne, my lord. I received the letter from Lord Yronwood as well as your own letter asking me to ignore the summons. How is Starfall to be administered now? Who do I owe ultimate fealty to?" he asked.
"Who did you swear oaths to?" I asked back.
"You, my lord," he said.
"And there's your question answered," I said.
"Does this mean I am no longer part of Dorne?" he asked.
"Starfall is what we would call a protectorate of the Stepstones within Dorne. Geographically, you're still in Dorne. But legally, you owe no allegiance to anyone other than myself and my heirs. Your taxes, if and when we decide them, will be paid to House Velaryon," I said.
A/N: Another one bites the dust, hmm hmm. This should be the end of Dorne for a long minute. Next chapter comes on here by Wednesday night. Next three chapters up on patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga) (same username as here and link in bio), you can support me there and read them early. Also, the new story I mentioned last week is up now. It's called Can You See the Vision and is an SI into Vision from the MCU. It's up wherever you can see this now and we did one chapter a day last week so we're already on chapter eight. You can go read that by clicking on my profile and looking at my other stuff.