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Dorne, Sunspear.
Sunspear stood at the eastern tip of a small peninsula of sand and stone, with the sea on three sides. The city had its own unmistakable style, built largely from brown earth and straw.
At first glance, the most striking sight was the Sandship, shaped like a great sailing ship washed ashore and turned to stone.
Then came the three winding walls that circled Sunspear and twisted through the attached Shadow City, serving as both barriers and a maze.
Today every ship in Sunspear's harbor district had been cleared away by the garrison, leaving enough room for a large fleet to dock.
The shore of the harbor was crowded with garrison soldiers and men of House Martell. They formed a dense cordon that kept all idlers away.
"Father, do we truly need to put on such a grand display for that woman?"
A beautiful young woman with graceful curves, dressed in a reddish-yellow silk gown slit high at the leg, spoke to Prince Doran in the wheelchair before her.
"That woman is a queen with four dragons, more than a hundred thousand soldiers, and several important cities of Essos under her rule.
"Arianne, mind your courtesy."
Prince Doran, who claimed to be gravely ill, looked in good spirits today. Hearing his eldest daughter's rude words, he rebuked her.
"Hmph. If I had dragons, I would do better than she has.
"A true queen should be like Nymeria, leading the women, children, and refugees of the Rhoynar to carve out a new world."
Arianne, fiery-tempered, headstrong, and long convinced that her father's rule was weak, gave a soft snort and muttered under her breath.
Her mutter was still loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.
"You..."
"Brother, Arianne is not wrong! You need not value this Dragon Queen so highly now.
"Arianne's betrothed... that man is already dead. Our agreement with them is void.
"Yes, in the rumors, Daenerys has dragons and more than a hundred thousand soldiers. She is powerful.
"But I have seen Robb Stark's giant wolf and the army under him with my own eyes. They are absolutely no weaker than she is.
"Besides, the Dragon Queen has crossed the narrow sea on an expedition. She has no deep reserve of troops or supplies. I do not think her chances are especially great."
Oberyn, who had been standing nearby with a dark face, interrupted Doran's scolding and spoke the opinion he had repeated again and again since returning.
Doran had little to say to Arianne, from whom many things had been hidden.
What he had not expected was that Oberyn, who had schemed in secret with him for years, would begin questioning him after returning from King's Landing.
This was not the time for a deep conversation. Doran frowned and said, "Oberyn, since you returned, we have not had a proper talk. When you have time, come to the Water Gardens.
"But please trust my judgment..."
Roar!
Before Prince Doran could finish, a long dragon cry came from the mouth of Sunspear's harbor.
Everyone looked toward the sound at once. A yellow-scaled dragon, about the size of a medium warship, broke through the clouds and entered their sight.
Then a red-scaled dragon nearly half its size appeared close behind, chasing the yellow dragon in play.
Splash!
As the two dragons wheeled freely in the sky, a green-scaled dragon suddenly burst from the sea in a spray of water.
Looking closely, one could see a shark several yards long clamped tightly in its jaws, still thrashing its tail.
After bursting from the sea, the green dragon snapped its neck upward and flung the shark high into the air.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The two dragons that had been chasing each other had already reached the green dragon. As it threw the shark up, two streams of dragonflame, one large and one small, struck the fish at the same time.
The flames appeared only briefly, but the heat charred the shark's skin at once.
Rip, rip!
Then the scorched shark was torn apart by the three dragons in midair and devoured in a blink.
Gulp.
Somewhere in Sunspear's harbor district, someone swallowed loudly, snapping the others out of their shock.
After seeing the three terrifying dragons with his own eyes, Oberyn, who had just been standing firmly on Robb's side, found himself comparing Bloodwind's size with theirs. Doubt immediately rose in him over the opinion he had insisted on before.
His gaze happened to meet Prince Doran's. Oberyn dipped his head slightly to his elder brother, an apology in his eyes.
Arianne, after her own shock passed, stared at the three dragons with open, possessive hunger.
Below the three dragons came the Braavosi purple fleet, covering the sea.
After a short while, the largest purple flagship, Secret City, docked first at the harbor.
"All members of House Martell welcome Her Grace Daenerys Targaryen, the rightful queen of the Seven Kingdoms, to Sunspear!"
Looking at the gangplank lowered from the purple warship, Prince Doran welcomed them in a deep voice.
"Thank you, Prince Doran, Prince Oberyn, and all the other princes and princesses for waiting here especially for us. On Her Grace's behalf, I offer you our sincerest thanks."
Tyrion, wearing the Hand of the Queen pin, was the first to come down from the purple flagship. Hearing Prince Doran's words, he answered with a bright smile.
"Hm? On Her Grace's behalf? Lord Hand, may I ask where Her Grace is?"
"Heh. Prince Doran, are we to stand here and discuss such important matters?"
Hearing Doran's question, Tyrion glanced around the harbor district and laughed softly.
"The Lord Hand is right. Please come with me. Do not worry. Someone will help settle the soldiers from the fleet."
Prince Doran nodded to Tyrion, then glanced at Oberyn.
Oberyn immediately understood his brother's meaning. He stepped forward and pushed Doran's wheelchair into Sunspear.
The Old Palace of Sunspear rose with two towers in a distinctly Rhoynar style. These towers were the source of House Martell's spear-and-sun arms: the Spear Tower for House Martell and the Tower of the Sun for the Rhoynar.
The place was called the Old Palace because, after the Water Gardens were built, the Prince of Dorne spent most of his time handling affairs there and rarely returned to the old seat.
Prince Doran clearly did not want to wait until they reached the Water Gardens several miles away. He had Oberyn push him to the Old Palace at once.
The throne room of the Old Palace was a round hall with thick windows and colored glass. Its floor was paved with pale marble.
On the dais stood two high-backed seats nearly identical in shape. The back of one bore the golden spear of House Martell, while the other bore the sun of the Rhoynar.
Oberyn sat in the golden spear seat in place of the immobile Prince Doran, while Tyrion sat in the sun seat as Daenerys's representative.
"Lord Hand, can you now explain the situation to us in detail?"
Prince Doran's wheelchair stood beside Oberyn's seat. As soon as everyone was settled, he returned to the earlier question.
"Our army split into two routes ten days ago. By my count, Her Grace should have taken White Harbor by now."
Since Prince Doran was so eager, Tyrion immediately revealed Daenerys's location.
"White Harbor? Her Grace means to begin with the North?
"But the North is poor and bitterly cold, and the northmen are united and hostile to outsiders. Even occupying all of it brings little benefit.
"After landing at Sunspear, the proper course is to strike suddenly through the Prince's Pass and take Highgarden, where grain and fodder are abundant."
As soon as Tyrion finished, Prince Doran frowned and gave his view.
"You are right, Prince Doran. On the surface, attacking the North brings no great benefit.
"But I understand Robb Stark better than most. He is a man who places great weight on family.
"If Her Grace attacks the North, Winterfell and House Stark will come under threat. He will surely lead troops north to rescue them."
Tyrion spoke with a look that said every piece had been calculated.
"But Her Grace has four thousand Unsullied, twenty thousand freedmen fighters, ten thousand Dothraki riders, and several thousand ironborn.
"She will certainly be able to take Moat Cailin before Robb Stark arrives, blocking him south of it for a long time.
"Meanwhile, our hundred thousand soldiers will take Highgarden and seize the Reach, solving the most important problem of grain and supplies.
"After that, Her Grace will march south from Moat Cailin, while we attack northward through the Prince's Pass.
"The key to this attack from north and south is that we have four dragons of unmatched mobility. At any time, either side can become the main battlefield.
"Robb Stark will find it impossible to handle the attacks from both north and south at once. His whole defensive line will collapse."
"Tsk, tsk. This strategy must be yours. Family affection is supposed to be a fine quality, yet you turn it into a weakness to exploit.
"Tywin once used refugees and the grey plague as weapons as well.
"You Lannisters truly are one blood."
After hearing Tyrion's words, Oberyn shook his head with disdain.
"Oberyn, have you drunk yourself senseless? Do you know what you are saying?"
"It is all right, Prince Doran."
When Prince Doran scolded Oberyn, Tyrion waved magnanimously. Then he turned to Oberyn and continued.
"Prince Oberyn, Robb Stark and his men were the first to defend castles with filth and other unclean things.
"Have you seen soldiers infected by that filth, stinking and oozing pus, alive only to wish they were dead?
"Once, we fought face to face according to noble dignity. Robb never did. He used tricks without regard for such dignity and won with them.
"War is using every means to defeat the enemy. Robb Stark taught us that lesson."
"Heh. Fine words. But no amount of righteous language will hide the filth of the methods you use."
"Enough, Oberyn!"
Prince Doran finally lost patience and stopped the two men with a low shout. After breathing out slowly, he spoke to Tyrion in as calm a tone as he could manage.
"We will proceed according to the Lord Hand's strategy. When do we begin marching on Highgarden?"
"Tomorrow. Seventy thousand of our hundred thousand soldiers are Dothraki riders. We can strike Highgarden before Robb Stark reacts."
Tyrion smiled as he answered.
"And will Her Grace return on dragonback to take part in the battle herself?"
"Her Grace will not personally join the attack on Highgarden.
"Heh. If nearly a hundred thousand soldiers and three dragons cannot take Highgarden, then there is no point in fighting this war."
Tyrion first shook his head, then continued with a small laugh.
"Hm? From the Lord Hand's words, am I to understand that someone besides Her Grace can ride a dragon into battle?"
Prince Doran had been somewhat disappointed to hear Daenerys would not join the battle herself, but Tyrion's next words caught his attention.
"No one else rides the dragons. The three dragons understand Her Grace's commands and can, to a degree, follow my direction."
Tyrion shook his head, then pointed to himself as he answered.
When Tyrion and Varys first came to Meereen to meet Daenerys, she had already formed a mysterious connection with the three dragons through Dragonbinder. She could clearly sense that they felt a faint closeness toward Tyrion.
After Tyrion worked hard to win Daenerys's approval and received the Hand of the Queen pin, Daenerys sometimes summoned him and had him try to touch and approach the dragons.
Tyrion had not reached the point of riding a dragon, but with Daenerys's command, he could use a special method to have the dragons attack designated targets.
"Good. Then we will provide twenty thousand men to fight with you.
"Lord Hand, please tell Her Grace what House Martell has contributed to her cause."
Seeing Tyrion answer with such certainty, Prince Doran asked no more. He only stated what his house was giving.
"Her Grace remembers it, of course. She also asked me to tell you that although Viserys Targaryen the Third is dead and his betrothal to Princess Arianne can no longer proceed, Her Grace is willing to continue that promise.
"She guarantees that her first child will one day wed a prince or princess of House Martell of suitable age."
"Oh! Her Grace truly is a ruler who keeps her promises. House Martell will follow her forever."
At this unexpected gift, a smile appeared at the corner of Prince Doran's mouth, and he expressed his loyalty.
"Mm. With the main matter settled, Prince Oberyn, could I trouble you to show me some Dornish food?"
The next day, after a brief rest and after accepting the Martell soldiers, Daenerys's army began a forced march toward the Prince's Pass.
Perhaps because the Reach's forces had all been summoned to King's Landing, Daenerys's army met no real resistance on the way. Six days later, Highgarden could already be seen in the distance.
After ten months, beautiful Highgarden was about to face disaster once more.
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