The Mountain of Ice and Fire

“This is the capital of House Martell,” Arianne Martell said, staring at the Mountain.

“I know that, madam,” the Mountain smiled. “The territory of Dorne will span Dorne Bay, connecting the Stepstones, Tyrosh, Lys, and Myr.”

“And add the Summer Isles.”

“The Summer Isles were conquered by Ser Redwyn and the Royal Navy. House Redwyne of Arbor has always been a vassal of Highgarden.”

“Are you going to give the Summer Isles to Reynard Westerling?”

Reynard Westerling was the brother of Queen Jeyne and was named the new Duke of the Reach by the Mountain.

“Reynard Westerling is family.”

“But he is not Gregor Clegane's son; he is Gavin Westerling's son. Reynard and Sansa's descendants will not be named Clegane.”

The Mountain's heart stirred.

Arianne said that Reynard and Sansa's son would not be named Clegane, implying that her son would be named Clegane, that she agreed?

Dorne is the territory of House Martell. Back then, Nymeria of the Rhoynar, from across the Narrow Sea, led two thousand warships to land on the coastline of Dorne and launched a territorial war to establish herself, to escape the conquest of the Valyrian Empire.

To enable the Rhoynar to gain a foothold in Dorne and reproduce, Nymeria chose to marry the local Martell lord.

This was a typical political marriage.

The foreign Rhoynar and House Martell joined forces and launched the Dornish unification war, eventually defeating the other six small countries and unifying Dorne. The defeated six countries' kings and their generals and soldiers were sent to the Wall by Nymeria to become members of the Night's Watch.

The first Dornish throne was not occupied by the Martell family lord but by the Rhoynar heroine Nymeria from across the Narrow Sea. The Sunspear is Nymeria's symbol. The Martell family's sigil, a gold spear piercing a sun, the gold spear represents House Martell, and the red sun represents Nymeria.

In the past, House Martell was only one of the seven powerful families. Dorne has never been the territory of House Martell; it was all taken with the military power of the foreign Rhoynar.

The Mountain hoped that his eldest son with Arianne Martell would have the Clegane surname.

One child, two names, two surnames.

This is a new beginning.

If the royal courtiers and generals are more willing to call the child by his Clegane name in the future, it will remind the child that he comes from the Clegane family in the Westerlands.

This was a little thought of the Mountain's.

But Arianne Martell proposed to give the child a Clegane surname, then add the Summer Isles to the territory of Dorne.

The Summer Isles are in the southern sea and have been conquered by the Mountain's Royal Navy fleet and the Redwyne family's navy fleet. The Prince of the Summer Isles has knelt and surrendered under the cannons and the swords and guns of the naval warriors. This time, in the conquest of Qarth, the Prince of the Summer Isles and Ser Redwyne joined forces to attack Qarth by sea.

“Okay, I promise you,” the Mountain said.

Arianne Martell stared at the Mountain's eyes and slowly revealed a mischievous smile: “Mountain, do you want to turn Dorne into the territory of House Clegane so much?”

“Dorne will always belong to House Martell,” the Mountain said sternly. “If you don't agree to give the child a name with the Clegane surname, I will stop immediately.”

“Really?”

“Really!”

Arianne Martell looked at the Mountain, and slowly her beautiful face bloomed: “Forget it, since I married you, and the Martell family and the Dornish soldiers have knelt and sworn allegiance to the Iron Throne, I don't want you to always feel unhappy. Since you hope that the child can have two names, maybe it is the glory of House Martell, I agree.”

The Mountain bent down and picked up both mother and son. He did not speak again. He took action, embraced the two of them in his arms, and kissed them with his thick lips, first kissing the child, then the mother.

There is no language more beautiful than a kiss, and too many words are a loss.

“What name to give the child?”

“Rhode!”

“Rhode Martell.”

“Rhode Martell, Rhode Clegane.”

“Mountain, Lady, Knight, and Teimeth, one dragon belongs to Jeyne, one dragon belongs to Gavin, and one dragon should belong to Rhode.”

“Whether Rhode can become a dragon knight requires his efforts and our training,” the Mountain said nonsense.

“Knight for Gavin, Lady for the Queen, Teimeth for Rhode,” Arianne insisted.

After Rhode was born, what she thought about most was that Rhode needed a dragon as a mount.

The Mountain put away his smile: “Rhode can't walk yet, madam. The empire won't only have Lady, Knight, and Teimeth. Sheepstealer is in her prime, she is only two hundred and fifty-two years old. She will hatch more dragon eggs. Viserys, Drogon, and Rhaegal are still young, they have a long growth period. When we take Qarth, and the army continues to advance eastward, in the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai's ghost grass sea, Sheepstealer with Viserys and Drogon, Lady and Knight, I think they can find more dragon egg fossils. Magic is reviving, dragons are returning, and some wild dragon egg fossils will also self-hatch, and wild dragons will appear in the sky again. And our Sheepstealer is the king of dragons.”

“Besides the ghost grass sea in the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai, I heard that on an island in Slaver's Bay, it used to be a large habitat for wild dragons. There must be many unhatched dragon eggs on that island.”

“Yes, madam. We all hope to train Rhode into a dragon knight, but his mount dragon may not be Teimeth, maybe it will be a more handsome dragon in the future.”

“Are you afraid that Lady Jeyne will be unhappy?” Arianne frowned slightly.

“I promised her that Lady, Teimeth, and Knight would be raised by her, and she has the priority to allocate them.”

“Then who will she allocate Teimeth to? She and Prince Gavin can only each have a dragon as a mount.”

“Maybe she will give Teimeth to Rhode Clegane, but if we take the initiative to ask now, she probably won't agree. Dorne has gained a lot of territory, the Stepstones, Tyrosh, Myr, and Lys, and the Summer Isles in the southern sea. If you propose to reserve a dragon for Rhode, it would seem too greedy, which would displease Queen Jeyne and the courtiers and generals around her.”

“If you don't take the initiative to propose it, what better way do you have?” Arianne didn't think about giving up.

“After the Qarth conquest battle, I will let Sheepstealer bring Teimeth to Dorne to see if Rhode has a chance to get close to Teimeth. If Teimeth shows hostility, then it must not be forced.”

“Okay!”

“Madam, counting the time, I should go back to Pentos. The great battle of Qarth will break out soon, and the three legions are already in place. I want to go to the sky over Qarth to check the battle situation.”

“I'll go with you.”

“What about Rhode?” To be honest, the Mountain didn't feel safe leaving his son in Dorne.

Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper who was killed by the Mountain, also had a mistress, Ellaria, and four young daughters. They were driven out of Sunspear by Arianne and entered the desert as commoners.

Oberyn's eldest daughter, Obara, and second daughter, Nymeria, were killed by Jeyne's ambush; the third daughter, Tyene, and Sarella were bewitched by the green prophet, the Three-Eyed Raven, and followed Bran Stark. After Bran failed, the two were escorted back to Dorne. Arianne executed the two after returning to Dorne. – But Oberyn's mistress, Ellaria Sand, the former acting ruler of Sunspear, and her other four daughters are still there.

Arianne looked into the Mountain's eyes and knew what the Mountain was thinking.

“Do you want me to order the killing of Ellaria and her four daughters?”

“Not all four daughters were born to Ellaria.”

“Killing Ellaria and her four innocent daughters would damage my prestige among my people. The people of Dorne all have a good impression of Ellaria because they love Uncle Oberyn.”

“Then think of a way to get rid of her.”

“I can only exile them all from Dorne.”

“That's a good way, drive them out of Dorne, maybe they die in a storm at sea, maybe they die under the swords of pirates, maybe they marry a good family, who knows.”

“I will exile Ellaria and her four sisters from Dorne. You promise to reward Teimeth to Rhode to raise two years later, and let the dragon grow up with him. Rhode is your son, named Clegane. If he becomes a dragon knight, he can also help his king brother Gavin manage the empire and fight against foreign enemies in the future. When we get old and the children grow up, the enemies of the empire will also grow up. Gregor Clegane's blood flows in both children's bodies.” Arianne said painfully, never forgetting to lock a dragon for Rhode.

“You first exile Ellaria, and then we will take Rhode Clegane to Pentos together. Before leaving Sunspear, I think I should visit Prince Doran Martell in the Water Gardens.”