Chapter three (MMSS)

The aftermath of the War of the Usurper was... interesting, to say the least. Dorne didn't get their desired independence, but would no longer pay taxes, send men to aid House Baratheon, and Dorne's forces would be solely under House Martell's control so long as they weren't used against the rest of Westeros. In return, House Martell would not retaliate against House Baratheon or Lannister...
Tywin Lannister had faked the deaths of Elia, Rhaenys, and the non-existent Aegon by having innocent children murdered and an innocent woman gang-raped 'to make it look real'. This enraged House Martell, but Jon Arryn was insistant upon both houses being protected.
Mors was blessed with some joy in this time of turmoil in the form of his twin daughters, Lilith and Luna Martell, being born.
Mors still made it look like House Corbray died out due to infighting when Lyn Corbray was promised Lady Forlorn upon his fathers death. Greed was an excellent motivator and Lady Forlorn was now in House Martells possession.
Mors had been using magic to locate lost Valyrian steel and intended to recover all that he could and then melt down Brightroar. It took months, but Mors had recovered hundreds of blades and restricted the supply of them and placed most of them under his direct control.
It was the last day of Jon Arryn's visit and House Martell had a parting gift for he and House Lannister.
"Why are we in a forge?" Jon Arryn asked in distaste for the heat.
"To watch the reforging of a Valyrian steel weapon that I recently recovered. I believe that you will enjoy the show, but nowhere near as much as House Martell and people who despise House Lannister." Mors said as Brightroar was brought in.
"You wouldn't dare!" Jon Arryn said in shock.
"Oh, we dare," Doran said with a smile. "Tywin killed our sister and our niece and nephew, but you have forbidden us to kill any Lannisters or Baratheons. We agreed and shall only defend ourselves. Mors simply wishes to reforge a Valyrian steel weapon that he discovered."
"You would risk another war!" Jon said angrily.
"Nonsense, the Westerlands are so very far away, and the Tyrell's won't want any scum in the Reach and I doubt that the Baratheons will want any in the Stormlands either," Mors replied. "We have taken something truly priceless to Tywin and to the House of Lannister and we have ruined it for them. We will destroy Tywin Lannister's mere dream of regaining it and we have eternally denied him it. We may be restricted to only defending ourselves and Dorne, but there are things much worse than death. Like being laughed at; Tytos Lannister knew that well."
Jon tried taking Brightroar, but found Mors' sword at his neck.
"Give me a reason to send you to Baratheon in pieces," Mors warned coldly. "He spat upon the mangled corpses of my niece and nephew... I begged Doran to let me end his and yours line, as well as Lannisters. If Doran ever changes his mind then I will kill everyone that Robert loves... after making them beg for death, of course. So yes, give me a reason, an excuse... I beg of you to give me justification to turn Westeros into a mass grave." Jon looked horrified and was beginning to understand just what a dangerous enemy House Martell was.
"Reforge the sword into arrow heads," Mors ordered. "We'll give an arrow each to the enemies of House Lannister and even random people in Westeros and Essos... maybe even the Summer Islands." Jon looked shocked at House Martells revenge. Brightroar could never be returned to House Lannister!
The smith nodded and began his work.
"I hear congratulations are in order," Mors said with a smirk. "You married a lady of proven fertility in Lysa Tully... Pity that Hoster Tully murdered his own unborn bastard grandson, but your line should be secure... unless, of course, the Moon Tea damaged her or if Baelish continues to lay with Lysa."
Jon looked enraged.
"Aw, you didn't know? Poor Jon can't identify a maiden!" Mors said, amusing Doran and Oberyn. "Little hint, they bleed unless they rode horses. How did Petyr Baelish's leavings taste?" Oberyn and Doran burst into laughter.
"Enough, Mors," Doran said sternly, but he looked amused.
"I know, I know," Mors said. "He deserves our pity. Pity for him that Aerys sent the treasury with his wife and children and Elia and Rhaenys."
"W-what?" Jon asked.
"Oh, they're alive," Doran said. "Lord Tywin faked their deaths to save his image and ordered the murder of innocent children and the gang rape of an innocent woman."
"You see, I was in King's Landing and rescued Elia and Rhaenys, there was no Aegon; if there were then Rhaegar would have had no need for Lyanna Stark. Elia couldn't bear anymore children without dying and Lyanna never wanted your usurping pet project, Robert. It was a win for both parties and Lyanna went with Rhaegar willingly. Unfortunately for Aerys, he held my family hostage and I burned him alive upon the Iron Throne, murdered his Small Council, purged Lannister loyalists from King's Landing, and then set a trap for Tywin Lannister. Do you feel like you won Arryn? Hmm?"
"We'll be declaring our independence, we won't pay taxes, send our men, and we won't war against the rest of Westeros, but we also won't seek revenge against House Lannister and Baratheon unless they attack us. Your pet usurper will only destroy his own reign and defeat himself. He's already proving himself just as bad as other Targaryen's and he rewards rape and child-slaying." Doran said.
"You can't! Dorne is a part of the Seven Kingdoms!" Jon argued.
"Not any longer," Doran replied. "We intermarried into the ruling house, but House Baratheon is too lesser of a House to be considered and even then has poor leadership. They owe everything they are to the pity and failings of House Targaryen. Let your precious usurper be forever known as The King Who Lost Dorne."
"In case it wasn't obvious we have been stalling you while preparing our plans to counter any invasion by our enemies. Should Dorne be invaded your lines will be exterminated, as will all those who aid in it. Lord Stark has agreed that Dorne has a justified cause for independence. The men of the Vale seem honorable; with you being the exception, and most secretly question your leadership. The Reach would jump at a chance to plunder the Westerlands gold; as would the Greyjoys. You may find your lines purged and your houses supplanted from ruling... and with the surprises that I have in store the war will be short and destructive to our enemies."
"Or you can accept the tentative peace," Doran said.
"You call this peace?!" Jon questioned angrily.
"Yes, peace is the absence of a disturbance, such as war. So yes, you half-wit, this is peace." Mors replied, to his brothers amusement.
Jon Arryn would agree to peace and would later force Robert to accept it, while thinking that was the end of the matter.
The hired smith would soon reforge Brightroar and an arrow each would be sent to several of the important vassals of House Martell, House Stark, each of the surviving Targaryen's, House Baratheon; both branches, several other families who disliked House Lannister, and even people in the Free Cities.
Tywin Lannister was enraged and was implacable and he had no one to vent it all upon. The 'rumors' being spread around later about the bastardy of Robert Baratheon's alleged children Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen had made it much worse.
----
287 AC.
With Balon Greyjoy's rebellion imminent and him calling Ironborn back home, the Stepstones would soon be vastly under-defended and Mors intended to conquer them. He would just have to deal with the Tyroshi, Lyseni, and Myrmen... Mors estimated that he would have about two years at minimum to secure his new holding, but he was hoping to prolong the Greyjoy Rebellion from the shadows to buy himself more time. Simply sabotaging siege equipment would do that, but Mors might have royal ships burned at anchor or further sabotage the war against Greyjoy.
Mors would be looting the Westerlands and Iron Islands; taking wealth from the Lannister loyalists and the Valyrian steel, ships, and wealth from the Ironborn. This would cause Mors to win the war without actually getting truly involved. He would get the spoils, weaken the Ironborn and the Lannisters, win his own holding, and gain massive amounts of wealth for himself. He might even return all that he took from the Westerlands if someone that he actually liked took over there... but he probably wouldn't. Eternity was a very long time and Mors would need money for any emergencies.
"Mors Martell?" An assistant to the Iron Banks council said.
"Yes?"
"The council will see you now."
Mors nodded and entered the council chamber.
"Mors Martell, we are told that you have a business proposition for the Iron Bank."
"Yes, chief councilor," Mors replied. "I intend to conquer the Stepstones, purge the pirates and slavers, and establish an independent kingdom with myself at its head. If your bank backs me against any Westerosi, Tyroshi, and Myrish opposition, and the Iron Banks name alone should do that, I will grant the Iron Bank a monopoly for banking within the Stepstones, and when Tyrosh, Myr, and possibly Volantis oppose me, I will liberate all of the slaves and then grant you control over their banks. Not only that, but when I charge tolls to pass the Iron Banks ships shall pay far less than the others for passage." The council looked impressed by the generous opening offer.
"What would our backing require of us?" One asked.
"The Iron Throne is currently in immense debt and the threat of economic warfare and ruin would cow the Baratheons and Lannisters into submission. It should make Myr and Tyrosh wary, but they will eventually gain the nerve to declare war upon me and be destroyed. I can understand your reluctance to antagonize the Iron Throne, but the Baratheons and Lannisters will never pay their debts to you. Robert is a drunken brute, a whoremonger, and he wastes money on pointless excess. He deems financial responsibility to be counting coppers and is an idiot. Cersei Lannister is an idiotic whore, short-sighted, impatient, untrained in leadership, and prone to poor judgement... like conceiving bastards with her brother. Joffrey is the Mad King Aerys reborn, but is already bad and he won't start out on a high point. They are already a bad investment. If anything, the threat of calling the debt due would inspire them to begin paying off their debts much faster."
"Besides... the Iron Bank is already backing House Targaryen's return to power and I'm also aiding House Targaryen. The Iron Bank is taking very little real risk here, but gaining potentially great rewards." Mors could pass laws regulating the bank, if necessary, to ensure that the banking monopoly was mutually beneficial and would remain so.
"The Iron Bank would clearly gain a lot... vastly increased influence and wealth being but one benefit," one councilor said in agreement.
"And our relationship with House Targaryen and Martell is far better than ours with House Baratheon and Lannister," another said.
"Baratheon lacks discipline and maturity; he will never pay his debts and I've said that for years. I'm in favor of backing King Martells conquest."
"Martell could wipe out both houses now and leave us with nothing... It is a foregone conclusion that the Baratheons and Lannisters will lose this war. Our course is clear."
"All in favor?" the chief councilor asked.
It was surprisingly unanimous.
"You have our backing, King Martell," the chief councilor said. The Iron Bank was so powerful that for all intents and purposes, Mors' reign actually began with them declaring him king.
"Thank you, councilors. I won't waste any more of your valuable time." Mors said, before departing the room and shortly thereafter, Braavos itself. Secretly, he would also be leaving behind many ignorant spies belonging to the various spy masters. It was necessary that he modify their memories, kill, and simply evade them to keep his plans a secret.
----
Mors arrived near Castle Black in the North, needing to speak with Maester Aemon in private and he was able to easily sneak inside with his magic. Mors soundproofed the room so that he could speak with him in private.
"Maester Aemon," Mors greeted politely, causing Aemon to jump in shock. Aemon didn't know that he was there!
"Yes?" Aemon asked in concern and a little fear.
"I'm Mors Martell. I'm seeking the sword Dark Sister for your kin and I believe that you can give me a clue to finding it."
"Indeed, I can," Aemon replied.
"Did Ser Brynden Rivers leave it with you by chance?" Mors asked.
"He took it with him beyond the Wall, I'm afraid, and he may very well be dead with the sword forever lost."
"Well, I'm a knight without a quest so I'll take recovering the sword as one. You seem like the wise old man type, so it counts." Mors replied, to Aemon's amusement. "I'll be sneaking north of the Wall now, but it was nice to meet you."
"Likewise, Prince Mors," Aemon replied politely.
Mors turned invisible and intangible and left the room, while thankful that he was prepared for the cold weather and even the White Walkers and wildlings.
Sneaking into the true north was easy for Mors. Magic opened doors and impaired sight and so many on the Wall were weak-minded thugs... Once he was clear he began sensing out sources of magic while ignoring the Wall, which was a beacon of magic to contain the White Walkers.
Finding the biggest source of magic wasn't hard and that source was the remaining Children of the Forest.
They also sensed him...
"We know that you are there!" One called out.
Mors sighed and came out of his hiding place. "My apologies, I was looking for someone, a man named Brynden Rivers. This location had the highest concentration of magic, which was all of you, and Brynden was said to know magic. I apologize for scaring any of you."
"You did not scare us!"
"Good. Do any of you remember seeing a man who had silver hair, was albino or extremely pale, and had red eyes. He had a sword that his family needs back... it was made of Valyrian steel, but you may know it as Dragonsteel."
"I will take you to him," the one who seemed to be the leader said.
Mors allowed himself to be led away, but he couldn't keep silent. "So your people have been here all along?"
"Yes."
"Will you tell me where to find the Night King too, so that I can fight him?" Mors asked.
"He would kill you and animate your corpse as his servant."
"I'm an Avatar of Death, and undead cannot effect me. I was asked to destroy the Night King by Death itself. It wants me to correct the imbalance... I was born into this world for that very reason. I've already put the spirits of the slaves of Valyria to rest and this is my next task... I know that your race created the Night King and White Walkers, but I need a way to locate the Night King to end this."
The Child of the Forest looked at Mors, her eyes widening after sensing his magic and immense power.
"The only way to draw him to you is to anger the demon fuelling his powers, the Great Other, but he is likely already aware of your intentions. You could slay Crastor and his kin to prevent him from giving his sons to the Night King though. Destroying the Night King would undo all of the necromancy that began with him and cost the Great Other immense power and deny him trapped souls to draw upon for more power. This would leave him vulnerable to his rival R'hllor; a fire demon who burns people alive and adds their souls power to his own power and their life-force to his slaves who bring him more sacrifices."
"Would destroying R'hllors followers, temples, and artifacts weaken him?" Mors asked, and she nodded yes. "Thank you," Mors said as they arrived near a rather powerful sorcerer. "Lord Bloodraven, I presume?"
"I haven't been called that in many years, Master of Death," Brynden replied, to Mors' mild concern. "The future was changed irrevocably for the better when you were born. No longer do I see a second Long Night or a War for the Dawn, but I see the Night King being destroyed utterly and House Targaryen restoring the Seven Kingdoms from misrule and restoring peace and justice. You have done much to better the world."
"Do you know why I am here?"
"You seek Dark Sister for your niece Rhaenys and to lure the Night King into battle," Brynden replied. "The first I can easily give you and on the second I can give advice..." Brynden waved his hand and Dark Sister appeared in front of Mors. "Your holy fire when cast will burn away the necromantic and Dark Magic and if you conjure enough then it will spread like wildfire and burn away all of the wights, but not even holy fire is powerful enough to destroy the White Walkers. It would still force the Night King to confront you, but he might bring the White Walkers to aid him."
"Valyrian steel armor and weapons, immortality, god-level magical power, demigod-level physical abilities, and touching me or my aura will undo the magic powering them."
Brynden nodded. "The people living on this side of the Wall will be safe unless they use Dark Magic and the heat and holy fire will burn away the Great Others dark power infesting the atmosphere and even lessen the snow and cold. I wish that I could see it with my own eyes, but my place is here until the next Three-Eyed-Raven arrives to be trained to take my place."
"Thank you for your help and advice Brynden, and you too, though I don't know your name," Mors said to the Child of the Forest.
"My name isn't pronounceable by humans, but you may call me Leaf instead."
"Then thank you, Leaf."
After exiting the cave and getting some distance, Mors wasted no time in conjuring all of the holy fire that he possibly could without severely weakening himself... to the immortals watching they watched as purifying holy fire seemed to pour from the body of Mors; going into all directions and consuming ice, snow, any and all Dark Magic and targeting the wights hidden under the snow, ice, and even the water.
Mors exhausted nearly half of his immense power; power that was so far beyond Dumbledore, Voldemort, and Grindelwald that they didn't even merit his attention, and that fire spread all through the Lands Beyond the Wall and into the Lands of Always Winter... consuming all darkness and evil that it touched and freeing countless trapped souls and sending them to Death, burning away the bodies of wights, weakening the Great Other by stripping him of millions upon millions of souls that were being trapped and fed upon, and causing the White Walkers to feel great pain... but they were still active, even if they were not truly alive.
The Bloodraven's prediction proved true and the Great Other not only sent the Night King there, but broke divine laws by directly interfering and sending his champion and his soldiers, the White Walkers, all there immediately.
The problem was that there were hundreds of them. Mors drew his swords and was ready for one hell of a fight.
The White Walkers, all of them, attacked while the Night King watched in interest.
When the White Walkers were nearly upon him, Mors exploded into movement and spun to destroy twenty of them before beginning to cut his way to the Night King; moving his arms at over a hundred miles per hour and calmly and casually cutting White Walkers down by the dozen... reducing their number by half in less than a minute.
The Night King, believing himself vulnerable to only Lightbringer, allowed Mors to approach while drawing his own ice blade and preparing to end and enslave the powerful mortal.
It was while fending off and destroying the White Walkers that Mors' blade met the Night Kings... and Mors back-handed the Night King into a boulder; instantly killing him with the powers of Death within himself and undoing all of the White Walkers vile magic.
"Well done," Death spoke into Mors' mind. "You even pimp slapped him as I hoped."
"You're welcome," Mors replied.
"You managed to greatly weaken the Great Other. He invested a lot of power into them and he kept doing so while believing that no one would ever undo his work and when it was he lost over 40% of his power. He is now a mid-tier demon... Would you travel into the Land of Always Winter and destroy the Heart of Winter too? The Great Other used it to strengthen the White Walkers and weaken the North further by hindering food growth and their ability to wage war and feed soldiers, which allows his White Walkers to continually expand their ranks and his power source. It also allows him to prolong winter and directly project his power upon this world."
"I can, but I would need more than just a general direction," Mors replied.
"I can show you can image to apparate too, but I need to avoid direct interference. If you destroy the Heart of Winter, which will require channeling the power of the Hallows, it will horribly weaken the Great Other and enable his enemy R'hllor to destroy him. The Great Other can still project his power and even be invoked for effects, but he can do far less now, and destroying the Heart will reduce him only to being invoked... the knowledge for which is destroyed; excluding the Children of the Forest who refuse to ever do that again."
"I'll do it," Mors repeated.
Death showed him a location for to apparate to and then wished Mors good luck before retreating from his avatars mind.
Mors sighed and then vanished without a sound. Destroying the Heart of Winter wasn't hard and the results were immediate... the Lands of Always Winter immediately warmed by an estimated 50 degrees, but were still easily well below 0.
After retrieving Blackfyre from a Blackfyre supporter and slaughtering his household and entire line, Mors dropped the two swords off to the Targaryens... but he kept the dragon eggs and wealth for himself. Mors would give the eggs to the Targaryen's some other time... preferably after the mad Viserys died.
----
With his goals accomplished, Mors returned to his family in Dorne and continued training his children in combat and to continue his plans.
All followers of R'hllor were compelled to abandon their faith, but it wasn't enough to weaken the demon.
Hadrian and James, Mors' bastards, were knighted after reaching the standard that he expected... they were good enough to combat great knights and were taught magic to safeguard their lives. In short, they could slaughter the Usurpers entire Kingsguard. They underwent rituals to multiply their base speed and stamina and were immune to all poisons. They were also taught Rhoynar and Valyrian magic.
Mors was prepared for his conquest of the Stepstones...
He had an army and a small navy, but he had plans to rapidly build both of them up after his conquest. Mors would be using magic to transport his small army. Mors had been winning over the members of the various sellsword companies and he had thousands of men ready to kill for him... in exchange they would be given lands, lordships, and titles. Mors had 10,000 men and he also had to make sure that most survived to begin populating the new holding, which would be difficult. He also had to make sure that Hadrian and James would survive, which would be far easier due to their own skill and magic.
The Usurper and his brother Stannis had just left with all ships joining the war against Balon Greyjoy sailing past Dorne with the Stannis. Robert would be commanding the ground forces.
"Mors, do you have to do this?" Ashara asked.
"Yes, the Stepstones are a pirate den and full of scum and slavers. If I do this then not only will our children become royalty, but I'll be doing a good thing in combating evil. Besides, I need to weaken the Iron Throne further and ease House Targaryen's path back to Westeros. Long term, I intend to end slavery in Tyrosh, Myr, and Pentos while conquering or sacking them. Don't worry, Ashara... I'm damn near impossible to kill and so are Hadrian and James. I'll be abusing my magic and my full combat ability in this conquest. Taking every possible advantage that I can to speed up my victory and reduce casualties. I and my sons will return to you whole... one as a king and two as lords."
Ashara nodded sadly.
"I'll see you soon, I promise," Mors said softly, before kissing his amazing wife.
Mors, Hadrian, and James departed for the Stepstones... with an army and secretly a few dragons at their command.