Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

Viserys is somewhat similar to Aegon in this respect; after unifying the six kingdoms, Aegon liked to ride his dragon around and wander about when he had nothing else to do.

Viserys' wife, Arianne, held Diana's small hand as she saw her husband off.

"my sweetheart."

"Please forgive my father, no matter what."

Queen of Dorne's beautiful eyes were filled with tears as she held her toddler daughter's hand. As Viserys's bedmate, she naturally knew what her husband was doing on this southern tour. The battle reports that had been coming in every few days were all about the situation in Dorne.

The situation in Dorne is not optimistic. Lord Falcon, Earl of Skye, is not prepared to kneel and submit, but to fight to the end. He has even gathered many nobles who are on good terms with the Fowler family.

The Fowler family itself is not weak either. The Fowler family are the 'Guardians of the Pass'. They are a powerful family that is second only to the Martell family and on par with the 'Guardians of the Bone Road', the Ellenwood family, and have many vassals.

Even with the Martell family's intervention, the rebellion in Skye could not be completely quelled; after all, this was a drawback of traditional aristocratic rule.

The king is a high-ranking nobleman, while the lords below him are merely slightly higher-ranking nobles. Everyone acts independently, and if it aligns with common interests, they will listen to you; otherwise, they will each do their own thing.

Moreover, now that the Iron Throne wants Old Foller's head, how could he possibly confess and submit so easily?

“Of course, Ariane.”

"This matter has nothing to do with Prince Doran..."

Viserys' heart softened slightly upon hearing his wife's words. He gently kissed her forehead before climbing back onto Bellerion's back once more.

The massive black dragon turned its head and glanced at the silver-haired little girl who was wobbling and taking her first steps on the ground.

It knew that this was Viserys' daughter.

It then let out a low growl, and with a sudden burst of power from its hind legs, it flapped its wings and soared into the sky, flying towards the south of the empire.

Chapter 666 Negotiation

After the royal army retreated, the Dornish noble alliance did not pursue their victory, as they did not have a significant numerical advantage.

This rebellion in Dorne was merely the activity of a few nobles and did not receive approval from Sunspear.

Moreover, their demand was for the Iron Throne to repatriate the Dornish who had fled to other places and bring them back to face trial, rather than for them to actually rebel, so they dared not pursue the matter too hastily.

If this royal army is truly wiped out in Dorne, their future will not be easy.

Subsequently, an allied army, led by the Uller family of Prison Gate and composed of Dornish nobles, marched into Skyreach.

"Welcome, Count Hamman Uller!"

"My old friend!"

Meanwhile, Count Franklin Fowler, the old falcon, changed into his blood-stained armor and personally went out of the city to greet them.

House Uller's banner is a yellow and crimson flame, and Hellgate is located in the center of the Dorne Desert, near the source of the Sulphur River, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Dorne's castles are mostly located in perilous locations, which is why the Targaryen armies faced so many difficult situations when they invaded Dorne during the First War of Dorne three hundred years ago.

The sheer number of soldiers who would retreat to fight deep in the desert is enough to deter them. The desert also presents numerous challenges, such as lack of water, scorching sun, and poisonous substances. No amount of lives lost in the desert can compensate for these hardships.

Therefore, the Earl of Prison Gate Castle was able to jump out without fear, taking the initiative to oppose the royal authority and support the Earl of Sky City.

After all, there's a saying among the Dornish people: 'Half of House Ullens are madmen, and the other half are worse.'

"Hmph, I once campaigned for the Reach for the Iron Throne!"

"I never expected that young brat would betray Dorn."

The burly Earl of Prison Gate, Haman Uller, with his graying hair, jumped off his warhorse and embraced his old friend.

"Don't worry, old friend."

“I will not let Jon Clinton bring you to King’s Landing.”

Old Falcon Franklin Fuller feigned emotion and wiped his eyes, but didn't dare respond to Harman Uller's words. Everyone present knew perfectly well who the 'youngster' he was referring to was.

Franklin Fuller regretted killing people, but he didn't want to be taken away like that, as that would surely mean certain death in King's Landing. Therefore, Franklin Fuller was forced to start a rebellion.

He still wanted to reconcile with the Iron Throne and harbored a sliver of hope. He didn't want to go down a dead end, so he didn't dare to respond to his old friend and could only give an awkward laugh.

"Urilik".

"It's been a long time."

Then the old falcon turned his gaze to the middle-aged knight who was slightly younger than the two of them, standing next to Harman Uller.

His face bore a striking resemblance to that of Harman Uller; he was Sir Ulrik Uller, the younger brother of the Earl of Prisongate.

"Lord Franklin."

The middle-aged knight remained calm, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He shook hands with the old falcon, then retreated behind his brother without saying another word.

"Let's go into town to discuss this."

"Let's discuss how to negotiate with Jon Clinton and how to resolve this matter without offending His Majesty."

Then Franklin Fuller spoke, gesturing for him to enter.

"I met Jon Clinton when I was in King's Landing. He always had a cold face, a bad temper, and was stubborn. He wasn't someone easy to deal with."

"please--"

"please--"

The allied forces of the Dornish nobles, carrying their respective banners, entered Skyreach, while those unable to enter the castle set up camp outside.

"drive--"

"drive--"

The sound of horses' hooves was chaotic and noisy, and colorful flags fluttered in the wind. Dornish soldiers were busy on the mountain, but the atmosphere in the royal army camp below was somewhat gloomy.

"Lord Jon Clinton!"

"IMHO."

"With Dorne reinforcements arriving, it's no longer possible for us to take Sky City."

Sir Edway Fossoway of the Cider House spoke, his hand on the hilt of his sword, and his brother Brian Fossoway nodded in agreement.

"Yes."

"Supplies are running out. If we stay here any longer, the Dornish will surround us and we risk being wiped out."

In fact, Jon Clinton's army numbered only four thousand men. It was already quite an achievement that they were able to breach Prince's Pass, the northern gate of Dorne, and advance into the heart of Dorne.

If Jon Snow's four thousand men were merely tasked with suppressing the Fowler family's rebellion and escorting the Earl of Skyreach to King's Landing for trial, that might have been enough.

However, if other Dornish nobles intervene in this war, their numbers will be far from sufficient.

It should be noted that the Martell family of Sunspear City has yet to make a statement; they have neither sent troops to quell the rebellion nor announced their support for it.

If the Martell family were to suddenly join the rebellion, their small numbers might never leave Dorne.

The two thousand soldiers who followed Jon Clinton from King's Landing are doing well; their morale remains high, and they show no signs of retreat. Most of them come from across the Narrow Sea and are not afraid of the Dornish.

The local nobles of the Reach, however, were already having second thoughts. After all, they had already crossed the Prince's Pass and ventured deep into the heart of Dorne. If the Dornish suddenly turned against them, they would have no chance to escape.

Although it was a case of "the rabbit mourns the fox's death" and someone standing up for the Cenford family, no one wanted to die, especially not for standing up for someone else.

Therefore, they suggested to the King's Hand that they retreat to Prince's Pass and then send messengers to negotiate with the city of Tianji, demanding that Franklin Fuller voluntarily submit to the law.

Alternatively, Jon Clinton could appeal to King's Landing for reinforcements, requesting His Majesty to send more troops to Dorne, while they wait for the reinforcements at Prince's Pass.

Jon Clinton, standing before the map in the central command tent, remained silent throughout, his eyes fixed on the map below.

When the group of River Reef nobles finished speaking, all their eyes were on him.

The middle-aged man with gray-red hair finally raised his head, his gaze sweeping over every face present, and spoke calmly.

"The Dornish reinforcements are not much more numerous than ours."

"The fact that they did not mobilize all their forces means that they are not yet willing to fight to the end for the sake of the Fowler family and the monarchy."

"Therefore, if they dare to come out of the city to fight, we will take the opportunity to devour them; if they cower under the walls of Tianji City, we will fight them to the bitter end."

"I have already sent a letter to King's Landing to ask His Majesty for help. Perhaps the dragon will arrive soon."

Chapter 667 The Decapitation Messenger

As Jon Clinton had predicted, this did indeed happen.

Even though Skyreach was filled with members from House Fowler, House Uller of Prisongate, and House Kogel of Sandstone, the total strength of the Dornish rebellious nobles was no weaker than, and perhaps even slightly greater than, the royal army. Yet, they remained holed up outside Skyreach, showing no intention of launching an attack to drive the royal army out of Dorne.

Instead, he subsequently sent envoys to negotiate with Jon Clinton.

Dorne is ancient and glorious!

"The kingdom of Dorne existed long before the dragons of Valyria roamed freely!"

"The conquerors all crashed into the walls of Dorne, their heads bruised and their weapons crushed!"

"We are not so easily defeated!"

After the Dornish messenger arrived at the camp, he arrogantly made a series of demands of the Hand of the King on the Iron Throne.

The first clause requires the Reach and the Royal Army to provide reasonable compensation for the damages caused by the invasion of Dorne, with a total value not exceeding 100,000 gold dragons.

The second point is to distance Count Franklin Fowler from the Zeffold family tragedy.

The messenger claimed that Lord Franklin did not go to Centree Beach to seek revenge that day, but instead secretly went to take revenge through his subordinates who were on good terms with Sir Irwin, and murdered the family of Earl Centree.

Franklin Fuller was furious upon hearing this. He was willing to apologize and had all thirty-odd participants hanged, then send their bodies to Count Zenford as an explanation.

However, he himself was unwilling to go to King's Landing to confess his crimes. Instead, he wanted to back down and reach a private settlement with the nobles of the Reach, which was the most common solution to conflicts between nobles in the past Seven Kingdoms period.

If a private settlement can be reached, the Iron Throne will turn a blind eye and not want to get involved, since it's better to avoid trouble.

Because conflicts and brawls among nobles were common, the Iron Throne had been unable to control them in the past.

The third demand was made by the collective request of the many Dornish nobles who came to relieve the siege of Sky City. They demanded the repatriation of all Dornish who had fled to the outside world, to bring them back to their homeland for trial.

After all, the gates of Prince's Pass have now been opened, and many people from the territory have fled to the Reach to live a better life.

Dorne is hot and has a harsh climate, while the Reach has a suitable climate and fertile land. The power of the nobility is greatly reduced, and they dare not use vigilante justice or run rampant in the countryside. Most importantly, taxes are the lowest.

After paying their taxes, the people still had a lot of grain left over, which they could sell to merchants to earn more silver and improve their family's life.

This is the life people yearn for, which is why the Reach is the most populous region in Westeros, even several times more populous than the North, which occupies half of Westeros.