Chapter 37: Dorne(Nymeria's POV)

Bloodstone port took a few years to develop from a town to a major city in Westeros.

We trade the high-quality gods from the Rhoyne region through Westeros, which includes the fabric lace and tapestry from Anga; the clear glass from Ar Noy; Sarnoy salt; Fragrances from Sar Mell; wooden works from Groyan Drohe; Ny Sar instruments; Chroyane's pink wines and champagnes; sweet red wines and white wines from Lys; pale amber wines from Pentos; pale green nectars and screens of Myr. We also sell goods like wood, cinnamon, and fruits from the Summer islands.

After Anga's ruler prince, one of the company owners, financed an expedition to the Sunset Sea, we discovered the Sunset people with how we have intense trade. We trade their cocoa powder and coffee in Westeros and the Rhoyne region. Tre Sunset people have their neighbor island well documented

We also trade Westeros products in the Rhoyne region, like the Arbor sweet and dry red wines, white wines, including Arbor gold, sweet reds from other parts of the reach kingdom, Highgardens' hippocras, Lannisport's spiced honey wine, Dornish reds, and lemons. We also sell animal furs and wood bought from White Harbor. I imagine a wine collector would be crazy being here.

Mother and father usually traveled a lot, as they love the life of traveling merchants, living me to rule over the stepstones by myself. It is not a problem for me after all I am already an adult and I love to rule. Everything was fine, until that storm.

That time the sky rebelled I lost my parents. I am devastated but I need to hold back my tears and take over my responsibility. I am an heirless ruler princess, so I could not procrastinate any longer. As both their successors as they willed I sort of became the founder of the Stepstones royal family, which was named Bloodwater. A reference to our rhoynar origin and our capital, the port of Bloodstone.

So I held a tournament to get myself a husband, and the one that won it was not a Rhoynar, he was a blond andal, ten years younger than me and very cute. His name was Mors Martell.

He was a petty king of Dorne trying to ally, like a lot of other kings in Dorne, but there was something different about him. Most Andal princes and kings seem to view me as a futile Andal maiden, in some way only he saw me as an equal. People may try to be respectful and hide their thoughts from others, but they usually show the truth in their faces.

Some may be wondering why so many andal houses want an alliance with me, Westerosi nobles may look down on copper counters, as they call merchants, but they are not blind to the benefit of having a very rich ally that can contract a lot of mercenaries, have an army with the best equipment, and have a very strong navy. They may not know it, given the relevance of the city my parents contracted, as court mages, some relatives. Making our city even stronger.

I married Mors, going against all conventions, and our political marriage gradually became a love marriage.

"My dear, let us fight so that I could give you a proper marriage gift. "I said kissing him.

"What gift?"He asked me.

"What all young King would dream to achieve in Dorne, the end of the endless wars between dornishmen and the CROWN." I said.

And so I made my love declaration in my own way, I assembled an army together with him. From Martell's Sandship, we marched and took over a lot of small kingdoms among the Greenblood, including the very small kingdoms from Lemonwoods. Using water magic destroying a castle near a river defense was easy. After we defeated most of the House Allyrion's army, they surrendered Godsgrace and we took them as vassals. We took their kids as protected just as a safety measure.

After that, we attacked the shore and marched until we reached Saltshore, which we took over from another king, the house had few heirs and they all died in battle, so we gave it to one of our vassals.

Our navy traveled south and we took over Hellgate Hall from House Dryland, after their king joined, only one survivor of the house was left, his daughter, which bent the knee. I took her as a protected. All their vassals, including their strongest vassal, House Uller, surrendered.

We skipped Sandstone as we traveled by sea to the Torentine river, reaching Starfall. It is located in the western Red Mountains on an island in the Torentine where it pours into the Summer Sea and includes a tower called the Palestone Sword. Using water magic to break their walls' defense was not very hard.

As we broke the defense of Starfall and took the castle from the House Dayne, we found out, that they have already retreated to High Hermitage, northeast of Starfall. It was the seat of their cadet branch. It is located in the Red Mountains of Dorne, northeast of Starfall, but quite close to the Torentine. They may have thought that the castle was far enough to hold the ground against water magic, but it wasn't, so they surrender.

I send their king to the wall and took them as vassals. As High Hermitage was a none hereditary seat held by Dayne branch members, Daynes now lost Starfall and will be limited to High Hermitage, now let the main and cadet branch fight among themselves for who should be lord of High Hermitage.

Blackmont is the seat of House Blackmont in Dorne. It is near the confluence of two rivers that form the Torentine, north of High Hermitage and Starfall in the western Red Mountains. After using water magic to drop the castle walls. House Blackmont ended up surrendering. I sent their king to the wall.

The king houses Manwoody of Kingsgrave, Fowler of Skyreach, and Yronwood of Yronwood ended up making common grounds against us. Yronwood was the strongest of Dorne kingdoms Or army in Starfall sieged Sandstone at the west, while the army of House Dryland of Hellgate Hall sieged the east. And the siege continued for a long time.

In this battle, we could test our new camel cavalry, which performed very well. The camels were imported from the Red Waste, together with some dessert elephants. The elephants were proving to be quite a destructive weapon of war.

How can we have so many soldiers one may ask? A lot were rhoynar mercenaries directly contracted from the rhoynar cities' official army. The rhoynar alliance was in a truce period with the Valyrian Empire, but they still want to keep their elite battle-hardened, so some soldiers were working as mercenaries in free companies owned by their nations.

So it was the perfect moment to contract experienced mercenaries, which I did making use of my full coffers, I could even get some experienced generals and strategists. The Rhoynars have a very well-developed military literature, which become even more diverse with the advances in the matter done by the lord of Anga, Karna Mell. But the camel cavalry was only one of the adaptations I have to come up with for this war.

Meanwhile, a coalition of part of our army and House Allyrion's army at Godsgrace held their ground against House Jordayne of the Tor, a vassal of Yronwood defending the castle. The main battles were the ones fought between our army, I have to be absent in this step of this war because I was pregnant, so Mors commended the army alone.

Skyreach and Yronwood were near a river that flows to the Sea of Dorne, the river was thin, with too little water in it for water magic to be able to damage a castle. Both houses, in fact, take their water from wells. Meanwhile, Kingsgrave is far from a river and takes most of its waters from wells.

The fights in the sand were harsh from what I heard, but Mors was able to gradually push back the enemy's army. Everything was going fine until Mors was hit by a poisonous arrow. The army retreated for him to be treated. His condition was critical, water healing magic was not enough, even when I desperately tried to heal him. Only a miracle could save him.

"Am I going to lose someone dear to me again? This time, however, it's my fault. Isn't it? I started the war to distract myself from this grief that I never recovered from. Instead of enjoying what I have I greed for more. Only because I think it was cool to have Mors as the prince of Dorne. Now, I may lose you, my love. I don't have another way..." I said to myself.

So I prayed... No, I begged Mother Rhoyne to save him, but I did not hear any answer.

The next they, however, he was healed. This was Mother Rhoyne's miracle, there was not any other explanation. I will not let all our effort go in vain. While he recovered, I fought until the war was won. The Fowler, Yronwood, and Manwoody ended up with their kings sent to the wall as well.

After the unification, I was thinking of expanding and reforming Sandship, but I remember what happened on my night of despair, so we ordered the building of a temple in honor of Mother Rhoyne near the castle, instead.