Dorne

Dorne is the large peninsula which makes up the southernmost part of Westeros, and is one of the constituent regions of the Seven Kingdoms. The lords of the ruling House Toland style themselves "Prince" and "Princess" in the Rhoynish fashion.

## Geography

Dorne is the hottest region of Westeros. The region is rocky, mountainous, arid and dry, and features the only desert on the continent. Dorne is bordered by the Sea of Dorne to the north, the islands known as the Stepstones to the east, and the Summer Sea to the south. Stretched between them is the mountain range known as the Red Mountains, which separates Dorne from the Stormlands to the north and the Reach to the northwest and west. There are two major passes, the Boneway and the Prince's Pass, which go through the Red Mountains to the Dornish Marches of the Stormlands. The Prince's Pass leads to Nightsong, while the Boneway leads to Blackhaven. Ghost Hill and the Water Gardens are located in southeastern Dorne.

Dorne's rivers provide some fertile lands and even during a long summer there is enough rain and other supplies of water to keep Dorne habitable. The major Dornish river is the Greenblood in southeastern Dorne, which is formed by the Vaith and the Scourge near Godsgrace. The trading port called Planky Town is located at the mouth of the Greenblood along the Summer Sea. The Brimstone in southern Dorne flows past the Hellholt to the Summer Sea. The Torentine has its source in the Red Mountains of western Dorne and ends at Starfall along the Summer Sea. The Wyl flows across the Boneway in northern Dorne to the Sea of Dorne.

## History

### Early History

The First Men, who entered Westeros through the Arm of Dorne, and later the Andals formed many independent Realms across Dorne, some claiming the title of High King of Dorne. Among the Andal adventurers that entered Dorne and claimed their own lands were the ancestors of House Martell, who settled at the mouth of the River Greenblood.

The Petty Kingdoms were not united until the arrival of the Rhoynar under Nymeria of Ny Sar, who brought her people, who had been expelled from Essos by the Valyrians, to Dorne, and after marrying Lord Mors Martell of the Sandship, around which later Sunspear would grow, conquered the entirety of the peninsula, the Petty Kings either submitting to the rule of the Princess and Prince, or being expelled from Dorne.

In the generations after, the Rhoynar adopted many customs of the previous Dornish people, especially including the Faith of the Seven. Still, a group continued to hold on to their own religion and traditions, becoming known as the Orphans of the Greenblood, named for their separation from the River Rhoyne, which they named Mother Rhoyne.

### Resisting the Dragon

Aegon I Targaryen was unable to conquer Dorne after his conquest of the remainder of the Seven Kingdoms, the First Dornish War ending in 13 AC with the acknowledgement of Dornish independence. Since then, the Dornish had all the more emphasized their separation from the rest of Westeros, able to fend off their opponents in three more Dornish Wars, as they are known to the people north of the Red Mountains, in 37 AC, 61-63 AC, and 83 AC.

### Prince's Progress

Under Prince Nymor Martell, who had ruled Dorne since 76 AC, greater emphasis was placed upon the Rhoynish heritage of Dorne. While the Prince himself still professed to the teachings of the Faith of the Seven, the court at Sunspear, as well as the Water Gardens built for that very purpose, had been welcoming members of the Rhoynish Faith, the Prince himself advised by Water Priests in addition to the Septons and Maesters.

After the Fourth Dornish War, Prince Nymor had encouraged a policy of peace and trade with outside realms, including the lands of the Iron Throne, as well as realms in Essos and the independent Kingdoms of the Iron Islands and the North. The typical raids between Dornish and Marcher Lords on their respective sides of the Red Mountains had decreased since, the houses of the Dornish side warned by House Martell against a Fifth Dornish War.

### Passing of the Prince

Prince Nymor Martell died of an unknown illness in 99 AC, ending a progressive and peaceable reign of twenty-three years. His wife, Princess Teora Martell, immediately moved her children under heavy guard to the Water Gardens, and took up the mantle as Princess Regent, representing her twelve year old son Doran - the new ruling Prince of Dorne. Teora immediately began investigations into the perpetrator of her husband's death, and called the banners to swear fealty to her as regent. When the Iron Throne neither attended, nor sent their respects to Nymor’s funeral, Teora was gravely offended and she began to suspect foreign threats to her kingdom.

### War of the Setting Sun

100 AC, a combination of Princess Teora's growing paranoia, and warmongering in the Dornish Marches, led to the start of a bitter conflict between Dorne and the Stormlands. Strongholds were seized and taken, villages and farms razed and burned, and the blood of Dornishmen and Stormlander alike, streamed through the passes. The grueling war raged for over three years, with no end in sight, until a pact was made between House Toland and the Iron Throne.

### Fall of Sovereignty

In early 103 AC, House Toland, in alliance with Houses Jordayne, Santagar, and Dalt, marched on Sunspear to put an end to the bloody conflict. With the help of Iron Throne armies, Sunspear was sacked. House Martell bent the knee to the Crown, and Dorne was incorporated into the Seven Kingdoms. House Toland was named Lord Paramount of Dorne. A High Justiciar was assigned to Dorne to ensure their fealty.

With Sunspear sacked, and the Martells stripped of their power, it would seem their house ruined.  However, the King decreed the Martells would keep their ancestral castle, Sunspear.  At the same time, the High Justiciar would take up residence in the ancient keep of Sandstone within the formidable stronghold, to prevent any Martell retaliation.

### Princess Ashlynn Toland's Reign of Terror

The reign of Princess Ashlynn Toland in 104 AC began well enough, all things considered. Though she had sold her kinsmen to the dragon, the peace could have been far worse. The first years of the Toland lordship would prove to be peaceful and prosperous. However this would soon change. A group of Dornish smallfolk wanted revenge on the people who sold their kingdom, and ambushed Ashlynn, who was nearly killed if not for the intervention of the High Justicar. Though the attempt failed, several more attempts followed, and Ashlynn quickly fell into a spiral of fear and paranoia, prompting her to begin a reign that was about as cruel as it was short-sighted.

House Toland’s network of carefully placed informants and runners swiftly degraded into little more than groups of hired swords, ready to strike at any perceived enemy. Furthermore she requested additional Justicars to be deployed across the country, to ruthlessly enforce fealty to House Toland.  They became known as the *Sand Judges*. The Crown agreed to such a measure in hopes of keeping the Dornish fighting amongst themselves, instead of coming together to fight to regain their independence.

Ashlynn’s cabal of thugs and ruthless judges grew to vast proportions, leading to disappearances and abuse across the once peaceful lands. The pressure of controlling such a volatile security measure across the domain reached a tipping point, and the juggling act eventually proved too much to maintain.  Dorne became plagued by bandits and small scale rebellions, which crippled Ashlynn’s authority, and destroyed her credibility with the Iron Throne.  In response, in 118 AC, the Crown appointed a new High Justiciar, Lord Martyn Tarbeck, to oversee Ashlynn’s own actions, along with that of the rest of Dorne.

### Reign of the High Justiciar

Lord Tarbeck and his men moved to cull Ashlynn’s network of *Sand Judges*, spies and thugs, but were also under new orders from the Crown to stamp out the heathen religion of R’hllor.  While taking on these not so trivial tasks, Lord Tarbeck also took up a firmer position as voice of the King in the ruling of Dorne.  All judgements and laws were required to meet his approval - many of which appeared to favor House Martell, in the eyes of the Tolands.  Such heavy handed oversight chafed not only the ruling Tolands, but also the other nobility of Dorne.

Eventually, Ashlynn’s reign of terror greatly lessened thanks to the interventions of the High Justiciar. Finally realizing the consequences of the horrors of her reign, she turned to the Lord of Light for guidance.  She became obsessed with apocalyptic prophecy, and the mysteries of dragons - for they must surely be servants of the Lord of Light.  As the years progressed, she increasingly secluded herself in her studies, and withdrew from the politics of the world, leaving her children to rule Dorne in her name.

### Questions of Faith

While House Toland and its people had fully converted to the faith of R’hllor, much of Dorne was resistant to this foreign monotheistic religion.  But eventually missionaries of Red Priests managed to find pockets of believers throughout sand and stone, and temples were erected.  This did not sit well with the more devout followers of the Seven, especially in the Red Mountains.  Temples on the Torrentine were brutally sacked one night, prompting retaliatory attacks on septs in the region. In the Greenbelt, fanatic zealots of R’hllor burned septs, while devout parishioners razed temples in the name of the Warrior.  Even the Deep Sands could not escape such conflict, where followers of the Seven and R’hllor alike expressed their faith with clubs and swords.

Each engagement managed to simmer down before a full blown conflict could erupt, but as the years passed, distinct regions of faith inevitably formed.  The Red Mountains for the most part remained firmly devoted to the Seven.  The regions surrounding Ghost Hill became tolerant, if not fully acceptant of the Lord of Light.  The Deep Sands remained a mix of the two faiths.  Surprisingly, Plankytown escaped much of this strife, and retained their small population of Rhoynish faithful.

### Fate of House Martell

While House Martell maintained their ancestral seat of Sunspear, they initially faced a great many sanctions and their power was much diminished. Within Sunspear, the Threefold Gate and the Sun Tower, which had been destroyed in the sack, had been fully rebuilt by 130 AC.  Andrey Martell, brother to Lord Martell, was sent to Ghost Hill as a ward, to keep his family in check.  However, once the new High Justiciar, Lord Tarbeck, was assigned to clean up Dorne in 118 AC, such measures changed.  Andrey was finally allowed to move back into Sunspear, and any sanctions against the Martells were lifted.  By 130 AC, the Martells had regained much of their strength. Though he was merely following orders from the Crown, Lord Tarbeck’s heavy handed rule is resented by House Toland.

The Shadow City located just outside Sunspear, ever resilient, maintains business as usual.  A temple of the Lord Light has been established there for over two decades. The Water Gardens remain under the care of Sarella Martell.  Seen as a sanctuary, the function of the Gardens is largely unchanged.

### Children of the Spear

What started as a gang of passionate Martell loyalist smallfolk has turned into a secret movement to restore Dorne to their rightful rulers.  Dating back to the assassination plot of Ashlynn Toland nearly thirty years prior, this group of loyalists now boast prominent noble houses of Dorne as its members.  Crude drawings on city walls of a broken spear with a rising sun in the background can be seen throughout Dorne.

### Star-Crossed Love

In 128 AC, Plankytown served as witness to the origin of an ill-fated love affair.  Quentyn Toland, second son of Princess Ashlynn, frustrated with his place in life, found himself cooling off in the trading port town, searching for distraction.  As fate would have it, that same day, Tyene Martell, heir to her family, also sought solace from her overbearing father.  They knew such a tryst would be forbidden, but they cared not, and dove straight in.  Up the Greenblood they sailed, away from family and obligations, and spent many blissful moons traveling from village to village.

Unaware of this affair, but sorely missing their children, the Tolands and Martells sent ravens throughout Dorne, desperately searching for their whereabouts.  Finally the lovers were found in a settlement outside Godsgrace, and forced to return to their homes.  However, by then Tyene was already several moons pregnant, and a Toland-Martell baby was born at the end of the year.  Upon hearing this news, Quentyn rushed over to Sunspear and proposed marriage to his love.  When Lord Doran Martell refused such a joining to the hated Tolands, Quentyn offered a different sort of proposal, a duel for Tyene’s hand.

A few swipes was all it took, and the overmatched Quentyn gasped his final breath, bleeding his lifeblood onto Martell soil.  Judged as a fair and honest duel, the High Justiciar issued no punishment upon Doran for the slaying of the Toland scion.  However, when whispers spread that Doran planned to wipe the Toland baby stain from his household, the High Justiciar swiftly sent the child to King’s Landing for safekeeping.  Currently little Doran Sand resides at the Red Keep, as a ward of the crown.

### Recent Festive Events and Gatherings

While the last thirty years did not allow for much celebration in Dorne, there were pockets of bliss and joy.

104 AC - Wedding of Ashlynn Toland and Aenys Velaryon. Not well attended.

105 AC - Wedding of Doran Martell and Gwyneth Dayne. Bittersweet occasion in Starfall.

118 AC - High Justiciar's Tourney. Held outside Sunspear, foreshadowing the Martell's rise in power.

126 AC - Wedding of Elia Toland and Benjen Stark. Surprisingly well attended.

### Recent History

As Princess Ashlynn Toland nears age fifty, she has become deeply indoctrinated within the faith of R’hllor.  Her children begin the herculean task to bridge the rifts that have formed in Dorne, and rebuild Dorne’s defensibility by reinforcing the passes. They hope that a combination of marriage pacts and kingdom-wide feasts will be able to defuse tensions in their country, despite the efforts of the High Justiciar.

The High Justiciar, Lord Martyn Tarbeck, deeply loyal to the Crown, has for the most part ended the unruly and vicious repercussions of Ashlynn's paranoid rule.  At the same time, he is also remains under orders to extinguish any teachings of R’hllor he comes across, through violent means, if necessary.  Some of his men are overzealous with the violence toward the religion, causing much strife in lands committed to the Lord of Light.  Lord Tarbeck recently ordered a culling of the Red Temple in Ghost Hill, in which many helpless followers are injured and slain.  This act of violence is the tipping point for Andrey Toland, who has long resented the High Justiciar's actions, resulting in a duel, which ends with the High Justiciar slain. Andrey is placed under house arrest in King's Landing, and is awaiting trial for his actions.