Third Dornish War

Battle of Starfall

Many small skirmishes

The **Third Dornish War** was a lengthy conflict between the Kingdom of the Iron Throne and the Principality of Dorne. It ended with a peace signed by Gwayne Tyrell after he became Warden of the South, ending a war that was stuck in a disastrous stalemate.

## The Reachman Invasion

### Initial Progress

While the section of the Third Dornish War that is also known as Lord Rogar’s War went by quickly, with the Vulture King easily defeated by the Stormlander forces, the war as a whole was extended by over two more years by the decision of Lord Leo Tyrell, who, despite assurances from the Prince of Dorne that he disapproved as much of the self-declared Vulture King as the Westerosi did, declared an invasion of Dorne as a whole, and sent his armies into Dorne through Prince’s Pass.

The Reachman forces were able to establish a foothold in Dorne quickly, but as they came to Skyreach, they were held up in a lengthy siege that cost them many lives including the Lord Amaury Peake, and with that, morale. Nonetheless, Lord Leo pressed on, and insisted on a continuation of the war, pouring ever larger levies into Dorne. Eventually, they were able to capture Skyreach, but at an enormous cost, and so they progressed not further into the desert to the east, but rather went on to besiege Sandstone and Starfall.

### The Prince's Response

Meanwhile, the Prince of Dorne had assembled an army to relieve his western subjects, and so a large host marched along the Greenblood and along the desert, made up of men from everywhere in the east, as well as joined by Yronwood men on the way. They easily defeated the smaller force of Reachmen that had assaulted Sandstone, before they marched on to Starfall, where the greater part of Lord Tyrell’s army besieged the castle. House Dayne’s forces had held off assaults effectively, so far, inflicting casualties on the Reachmen, but the invaders were struck with true disaster when the eastern reinforcements arrived. Despite still outnumbering the Dornish, their lowered morale and lack of familiarity with the terrain placed them at a great disadvantage.

It is said that in the Battle of Starfall, over 10.000 Reachmen died, including many Lords and Knights, while the Dornish losses were a fraction of that number, Lord Allyrion merely sustaining a slight injury, while many of the leaders were entirely unscathed beyond a few cuts. Nonetheless, Lord Leo insisted on reinforcing the war with more men, and another host marched through Prince’s Pass.

### Peace At Last

Meanwhile Lord Leo himself, who had been visiting the royal court at King’s Landing, sailed back south through the Stepstones and around the Arm of Dorne. He never arrived back in the Reach, though, as he was set upon by privateers, and was slain in the fighting. Thus, Lord Gwayne Tyrell succeeded his father as Lord Paramount of the Mander and Warden of the South, and better capable of seeing the disaster that was the Third Dornish War, he immediately recalled the new army sent to march, and made peace with the Prince of Dorne, only demanding the survivors of Starfall to retreat safely and otherwise restoring the state before the war.