Dorne

Salty Dornish

**Dorne** is one of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. Historically, Dorne is known for being the only Kingdom to defy the Targaryens during Aegon's Conquest. Instead, Dorne defied the dragons for over one hundred years, eventually joining through a marriage pact. Dorne is ruled over by House Martell, who have retained their title of Prince and Princess. Dorne is also known for its progressive stances on issues of succession and gender equality. Dornish bastards of noble origin are given the surname Sand.

## Geography

Dorne stands apart from many of the other mainland kingdoms as a majority of its lands are dunes. he 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 Summerhall.

Most of Dorne south of the Red Mountains is an arid wasteland. Eastern Dorne largely consists of dry, stony soil ill-suited for agriculture, while western Dorne contains deserts of red and white sand. 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. Inland water is almost as valuable as gold, and wells are jealously guarded. The major Dornish river is the Greenblood in southeastern Dorne, which is formed by the Vaith and the Scourgenear 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.

## People - Dornishmen

**Dornishmen** are the natives of Dorne in the southernmost part of Westeros. They have a reputation for hot-bloodedness and sexual licentiousness. They are viewed with some mistrust and rivalry by the people of the Dornish Marches in the neighboring stormlands and the Reach. In Dorne, the descent from the Rhoynar is strongest. The Rhoynar were a slender people with smooth olive skin, black hair and dark eyes. Their impact on the Dornish gene pool is strongest along the coast, and grows faint farther inland. Dornishmen with more Andal and First Men blood are larger and fairer than those with more Rhoynish blood. Though the Dornish were seperated to three different groups by the Daeron I Targaryen such distinctions are not widely recognized within the realm itself due to centuries of a united coexistence, conflict against foreign regions, and intermarriage.

### Salty Dornish

Salty Dornishmen live along the coasts, mainly along the Broken Arm region, where the Red Mountains stretch out into the Sea of Dorne. These Dornishmen are lithe and dark, with smooth olive skin and long black hair, having been most strongly influenced by the Rhoynar. The Martells of Sunspear would be considered salty Dornishmen.

### Sandy Dornish

Sandy Dornishmen live in the deserts and the long river valleys. With faces burned brown by the hot Dornish sun, they are even darker than the salty Dornishmen. These may include the Ullers and Qorgyles, Houses which were founded by adventurers who braved the deserts.

### Stony Dornish

Stony Dornishmen live in the passes and heights of the Red Mountains. They have the most Andal and First Men blood. Some stony Dornishmen might follow Andal rather than Rhoynar laws of inheritance. They are fair of skin, freckle or burn in the sun, and have brown or blond hair. These include the Yronwoods with their blond hair and blue eyes, the yellow-haired Fowlers, and the pale blond or dark-haired Daynes.

### Culture

Dornish culture has First Men and Andal origins, but is also strongly influenced by the mass immigration of the Rhoynar who settled in Dorne during the Rhoynar migration. Their influence can be observed in many Dornish customs, including the laws of inheritance. In Dorne, unlike the other six kingdoms, no distinction is made between sons and daughters. Instead, children inherit in order of birth regardless of gender, as per Rhoynish custom. In the case of an inheriting female, her last name will be passed on to her children, instead of the name of her husband.

Furthermore, views on bastardy are milder in Dorne compared to the rest of Westeros. Especially when a child is born to a paramour, the Dornish are not greatly concerned if a child is born in wedlock or out of it. Many lords and some ladies in Dorne have paramours, and homosexuality is more accepted.

## Economy

Dorne provides many exotic products which are uncommon in the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. These products include olives, lemons, pomegranates, plums, cloth, spices, and blood oranges. Lemon orchards, and presumably other plants as well, are watered by a spider's web of canals. Because of the hot climate, in the deserts of Dorne water is most valueble, and every well is zealously guarded.[18]Famous is also the use of spicy dragon peppers.

The Dornish produce their own wines, often called "Dornish reds". In Sunspear's shadow city, numerous bazaars can be found. Before crossing the deep sands of the Dornish desert for the Prince's Pass, caravans take on supplies at Sunspear. Ships from across the narrow sea find the Planky Town a convenient harbor and come there to trade. As the port is located at the mouth of the Greenblood, often the orphans of the Greenblood come to trade, spreading the goods up and down the river.

## Military Strength

Dorne's strength of military comes from guerrilla tactics. The people of Dorne are able to disappear into her deserts without a trace, striking like shadows upon their enemies. These tactics won them their freedom when all other kingdoms fell to the dragons during Aegon's Conquest.

## History

Dorne has had a violent history, particularly with the houses of the Red Mountains, who lived by raiding across the borders into the Dornish Marches, feuding with each other endlessly. The various Dornish kings, the Kings of the Reach, and the Storm Kings fought border wars beyond count and made countless raids across mountains and marches even when at peace, leading to their great enmity. During the Andal invasion of Westeros, most Andals avoided Dorne, aside from adventurers such as the Ullers, Qorgyles, and Vaiths. The Allyrions, Jordaynes, and Santagars also established their own realms.

### Defying the Dragon

Three centuries ago, Aegon I Targaryen claimed the Seven Kingdoms and invaded Westeros. During Aegon's Conquest, he subjugated each of the Westerosi monarchs one by one, except Dorne. One of Aegon's sisters, Rhaenys Targaryen, flew on her dragon, Meraxes, above the Dornishmen guarding the Prince's Pass, but each Dornish castle she visited was abandoned. When she came to Sunspear, she was met by Meria Martell, Princess of Dorne, who warned that the Targaryens would face peril if they attacked Dorne.

Whereas other kings and lords had taken to the field against Aegon, or clustered in castles, the Dornish refused to give open battle and allow Aegon to deploy his dragons. Instead, they turned to ambush and raids, striking quickly and then slipping back into the desert or through the mountain passes, where even the dragons could not find them. Aegon's younger sister-wife, Queen Rhaenys, participated in this war, which eventually lead to her death. Meraxes was also killed, being hit in the eye by a scorpion at the Hellholt. In time, Aegon pulled away from Dorne.

Despite Dornish independence, House Targaryen continued to claim the Iron Throne's control over the land as part of the Seven Kingdoms. It is said that even Dorne was upset by the death of the Conciliator, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, in 103 AC.

### Unifying Westeros

Baelor the Blessed walked barefoot from King's Landing to Sunspear, personally escorting the hostages (who rode on fine horses) back home. The Prince of Dorne and Baelor came to an agreement regarding a peace. As part of the terms of the agreement, Baelor agreed to betroth his young cousin Daeron to Princess Myriah Martell, the eldest child of the Prince of Dorne. As both were still young children, the marriage took place later during Baelor's reign.

Due to the peacefully negotiated unification, the Martells were allowed to continue using the title Prince of Dorne, unlike their lordlycounterparts in the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. They additionally had won several concessions, resulting in significant rights and privileges for the Dornish lords that the other great houses did not. Additionally, Dornish influence at the royal court of King's Landing grew. All of these concessions resulted in dissatisfaction among some lords, and was one of the seeds from which the First Blackfyre Rebellion eventually sprang.

## Recent History

The Old King saw four diffferent Martell rulers though the last and the first only shortly. Though each could deserve their own section on the whole the effects of each Prince and Princesses action followed into the next generation.

### During Early Rule of The Old King

The early years of the Old Kings rule were marked with the ascendence of one Mors Martell upon the death of his sister, he was quickly named as the Cripple Prince. It was the year of 238AC when Mors Martell came to power yet his reign would be remembered with a loss of centralization and a rise in criminial activitiy in many parts of Dorne. The sickly body of the Prince resulted in him not being able to leave his own chambers often, few things of note happened aside from an encroaching of Stepstone pirates upon the Dornish trade routes.

Prince Mors Martell's sickness permitted him with the means to only have one child and as a Prince with no siblings left alive the whole region and his Houses future rested upon that single daughter lest there would be a civil war among cousins twice removed. Yet against all odds that daughter grew to be exceptional in the eyes of those around the Prince, she was marely at the age of 16 when her father passed away due to an unforeseen medical condition and Princess Eleanor inherited.

**Princess Eleanor Nymeros Martell** would be known with many names through her rule starting from the year of 259AC. A strict rule of law was the first thing the Warrior Princess introduced. Her skill with the spear legendary as was her strength and agility, thus she was able to use this image for intimidation with public displays of her strength. Though her reforms were taking good effect the first years of her rule would see a bigger event that many thought she wouldn't take part in.

*The 5th Blackfyre*, also known as the Marcher Lord's rebellion. It was unexpected for Dorne to have any involvement with the war, having at the helm an unexperienced Princess and a young one at that. But first hand records show though advised against it, the Princess Eleanor quickly formed whatever army she could (lower in number to the armies she was able to form later on in her life, which was attributed to how little trust she had behind her at the time) and rode up through Yronwood into the Marcher Lord's realms. The passage through Yronwood saw a little stop as seemignly under unrecorded circumstances a marriage between her eventual first born and one of Lord Yronwoods children were arranged in return of his levies. Thus she was succesful in creating a southern front. This eventually was an added factor in crushing of the rebellion. Forming a bond with the Targaryen King that Princess Eleanor would continue to cultivate all through the rest of her rule in the process.

### Stepstones Wars

Princess Eleanor, after having circled the criminals of her realm. Set her eyes for the now suffocated trade routes of Dorne and declared a war upon the Pirates, aiming to push them back into the Stepstones and wrench control forcibly.

The very first war against the piartes of Stepstones and the newly built Dornish fleet coupled with the Stormlands fleet was between the years of 264AC and 266AC. The pirates who hadn't expect a quick mobilization of the Dornish fleet were initially caught off guard initally but some hierarchy is noted to have appeared deeper into the war. Nonetheless the pirate fleets had suffered many losses and as they pulled back deeper into the Stepstones. The Martells and Baratheons shared some of the few fringe islands that were conquered during yet didn't risk comitting further as the initial goal of protecting the trade routes were achieved.

Though the Tigress Princess of Dorne during this period enacted more reforms the next great militaristic achievement was pushing back the first attempt of a Pirate offensive at the year of 278AC, their goal being pushing the Dornish back from the few islands they occupied opening the way of the pirates to reave the trading ships safer. Again the Stormlords aided her with their fleet but this time the war didn't last long, though the newly formed pirate fleet earned some victories early on, catching the unprepared Dronish islands. Once the disciplined fleet met the pirates they were quickly crushed and scattered. The grip of the Westerosi grew stronger in Stepstones.

The final war of Princess Eleanor's time came in the year 299AC, when she was much older and having lost some of her fire. Unable to personally lead her troop. After decades of internal strife between her first born and her. Resulting in the war effort being led by her first born two sons being less than ideal. The internal conflicts of the Dorne resulted in splitentered communication in the Dornish fleet, but they still had Baratheons with them, and this time even the Marcher Lord's came to help with manpower (Even some of the young dragons choosing to attend). Their enemy, the self recognized Pirate King of Stepstones turnt out to be suprisingly compotent in guerilla warfare. Setting traps and engaging with advantage on his side whenever he could. It was one such trap that took the life of the then Lord Baratheon, resulting in the Stormlands fleet pulling away. The manpower help from the Marches had remained but there was little choice but to call the war lost and give up on the islands. Returning to protect the trade routes with one half of the army heading back towards Sunspear for repairs.

### The Battle of the Two Princes

**Prince Oberyn Nymeros Martell** the firstborn and **Prince Alaric Nymeros Martell** the second born would be considered to have a normal upbringing but their path in life diverged in ways that would result great pain upon their realm in the future. As Princess Eleanor Martell got back to her governing of Dorne after the second war against the Stepstones pirates, in that decades long time it is written vaguely that there were intrigue and ambition coming from her firstborn. That her relationship with Oberyn had detoriated over time. The truth of such matters is unrecorded as most likely these actions were taken and countered in the halls of Martell's Palace in Sunspear. The only thing we can know for sure is the culmination of the ambition of her firstborn which was a written decleration approved by the Old King that legally changed her heir to her second born son Prince Alaric Martell. Humiliating both House Yronwood whom Oberyn wa married to and her firstborn son Oberyn himself in the process.

**“*I decided on my own authority that my firstborn is unsuitable for ruling Dorne.” -*** An excerpt from her written decleration to the public. 297AC

From then on though at that point a mythical figure, Princess Eleanor Martell only saw the loss of her grip on the Dornish politics as age withered her body. Her court slowly thinking of the future and seeking new allegiences among the two oldest of her children. This divide was what is attributed to be the reason for the failure of the third Stepstones conflict. Which resulted as that conflict ended another started.

At the end of the Third Stepstones War, Prince Oberyns fleet returned back to Dorne but to Yronwood, instead of Sunspear as ordered. A letter was sent from his armies camp to his mother, with Prince Alarics fleet staying back to keep away the pirates from the current trade and spilling further out from Stepstones in the bloodlust of having won a war.

The letter was read in the throne room in Sunspear and the poem went as;

*“O, mother, fairer than seas, yet now older than the sand*

*Rest now easy, upon this tamed land*

*O, your son thanks you, who you were no mother to*

*For being the one that he has outgrew.”*

This message and poem is guessed to be in half mockery, knowing that Prince Alaric  had written countless poems in his letters to his mother. This seems the only one of  Prince Oberyn’s as a homage to the writing style of the second Prince. It would be the last poem she would ever hear. Here, a smattering of guards and the messenger betrayed the Princess and slew her in her own throne-room. the First Prince, Oberyn Martell marched to Sunspear with his own army soon afterwards. With the assumption most of House Martell’s commanders and retainers would switch sides due to the lost favour of the late Princess after a failed war.
It is during this time that Prince Alaric Martell returned back to Sunspear with the Targaryen's of Summerhall that joined the war in his fleet.

The aftermath of Princess Eleanors death is described as bloodshed with each commander and ranking officer under House Martell made a choice regarding which Prince to be loyal to. The sight described Alaric had seen when he stepped upon Sunspears docks was the decapitated heads(or soon to be decapitated prisoners) that were disloyal to his mother. As such House Martell levies quickly formed under Prince Alaric for his march against his brother.

The two forces met near Godsgrace, the seat of House Allyrion. While Prince Oberyn was outnumbered, he had most likely expected the Martell levies to give into infighting. They did not. The new Prince of Dorne, Alaric Martell, ended his brother’s ambition together with years of plotting among the two. The battle was a disaster for the first prince’s side and, as Oberyn retreated, the few Lords that were by him were quick to give in. Lord Yronwood was captured and executed.

Prince Oberyn Martell had a decree written that he should be killed in the spot upon sight in the lands of Dorne and soon afterwards he left with his family to the lands of Essos, **Prince Alaric Nymeros Martell** sat the throne of Sunspear at the year of 300AC.

## Major Houses of Dorne

* House Nymeros-Martell of Sunspear
* House Allyrion of Godsgrace
* House Blackmont of Blackmont
* House Dalt of Lemonwood
* House Dayne of Starfall
	+ House Dayne of High Hermitage
	+ House Drinkwater
* House Fowler of Skyreach
* House Gargalen of Salt Shore
* House Jordayne of the Tor
* House Manwoody of Kingsgrave
* House Qorgyle of Sandstone
* House Santagar of Spottswood
* House Toland of Ghost Hill
* House Uller of the Hellholt
* House Vaith of Vaith
* House Wyl of Wyl
* House Yronwood of Yronwood