The Conqueror's Brother

Chapter 4

"Unbowed, unbent, unbroken, those are our words. You may burn us my lady, but you will not bend us. This is Dorne. You are not wanted here. Return at your peril."

Those were the words that Princess Meria Martell had told Rhaenys when they had met last. Dorne was the only region who were yet to be conquered by Aegon. Till now the conquest had gone just as they had wanted. The Riverlands, Stormlands, Westerlands, The Reach, North and The Vale were all under them, won through either battle or words. As was the thing with Aegon, if he set his mind to it, he'd accomplish it in any manner. The only opposition was Dorne, that remained defiant in the face of it all. Rhaenys couldn't help but respect them for it. But it was getting annoying at the same time.

Rhaenys had come back as promised and as she promised, she put Dorne to fire, or started to. She drew first blood in this war by burning Planky Town. Orys had led a thousand knights up the Boneway, while Aegon led a strong thirty thousand men through The Prince's Pass. Lord Harlan Tyrell, The Warden of The South led nearly two thousand men. But the problem was that The Dornish hid, burning everything so the marching armies had no food, shelter or a place to rest. Many died in the march, good men dying from thirst and hunger. Orys was captured alongside the stormlands lords, to ransom later. But it fared well for Aegon, who had spilt his armies before and headed his own way, winning one battle after the other until he found no Meria Martell at Dorne, but Rhaenys. They thought they had won the war, but on their return to Kings Landing had heard that Dorne was taken back by those that had fled. Dorne was once more in enemy hands.

And on it went and Rhaenys found herself tiring from it all. Maybe after this battle, she could retire to raise her son Aenys, who was only three then. Dorne was their last enemy she knew, all others had bent the knee to them. Hellholt was before them, a place they had come across quite a few times. Aegon had put the place to flame but they still stood defiant.

As Meraxes banked above Hellholt, green flames burst into the scene and engulfed the entirety of Hellholt. Men screamed and Rhaenys turned her eyes to the source of it. It was a dragon, obviously, with coal black scales. Its flames were a vibrant emerald, tinged with streaks of black. Her first thought was that it was Balerion from the size of the beast. But the flames were the wrong colour, and it was much bigger than the Black Dread terrifyingly. Hellholt castle was reduced to molten stone and the sand surrounding it turned to glass. But the dragon did not stop there. Rhaenys watched in fascination as the green flames swallowed up the town around Hellholt castle, reducing them to ash and the sand into glass. The dragon did not stop, flying away with Rhaenys following after it on Meraxes'back. Yronwood was next, reduced to ash and glass. A similar fate fell Kingsgrave, Blackmont, Starfell and Sandstone. All of them burned and all of the sand turned to glass. The people tried their defences, letting loose what looked like scorpion bolts. The large dragon dodged expertly and while Rhaenys was entranced, Meraxes too dodged the bolts being shot at her. Finally, the dragon stopped as night fell. But there was no darkness, not when the dancing green flames illuminated the night.

The large dragon circled the ground before finally landing, Meraxes landing before it at a respectable distance. Rhaenys got off her dragon and watched as a dragonrider got off the dark dragon. He wore armour that was completely black, a similar shade to the dragon's scales. He had a helm on in the shape of a dragon's head and a black cape fluttered as the desert wind blew. A sword was strapped to his side, a bastard sword. When he took his helm off, Rhaenys felt herself choking up.

The man was a Valyrian, proven by his silver-gold hair that was neatly tied into a ponytail. He was muscled, not as much as Aegon but e was as tall as him. And when he smiled at her, lilac eyes shining against the green of the flames, she couldn't help herself. She broke into a run, tackling the man for a hug. The man caught her and spun on the spot.