That morning, for Sansa's sake, Tyrion and Aegon got into a fight. It was like Guan Yu fighting Zhao Yun—two masters meeting their match, equally skilled and battered, both ending up bruised and disheveled.
Aegon then went crying to his Aunt Dany. After pouring out his grief, he resolved to sever the bond of love and give up the romance that fate had denied him.
Tyrion also needed someone to talk to.
At Storm's End, the only acquaintance he had was Arianne, so he sought her out.
In truth, they comforted each other. Arianne already knew about Aegon's plan to marry Sansa.
How should one put it?Prince Doran of Dorne was too cautious. He was capable and wise, yet always chose stability over risk. He and his late brother Oberyn had been the perfect balance—one patient and calculating, the other bold and decisive. Together, they had been flawless. Unfortunately, Oberyn was gone.
As for his second brother, whose identity was beyond doubt, Doran examined and re-examined him endlessly.
His daughter was already in her twenties, yet he still hadn't sent her off to fulfill her "sacred marriage." Eventually, the second brother, seeing no hope for restoration, became increasingly extreme—and eventually unhinged.
The more radical the second brother became, the more hesitant Prince Doran grew, unwilling to risk his daughter and Dorne's future.
Thus, the once-promising "Pact of the Sea Palace" that Oberyn and William Darry had forged became nothing but a scrap of paper.
When it came to Aegon—handsome, well-mannered, yet burdened by uncertain origins and an unclear future—Prince Doran thought about placing his bet, but refrained from making an immediate decision. Instead, he sent Arianne to Storm's End to observe.
The result was not what he expected. Aegon was far more sought after than Doran imagined. "The Seven Kingdoms' Favorite Father-in-Law," Littlefinger, entered the field with his daughter in tow, and poor Arianne was swiftly and thoroughly outdone by Sansa.
So Princess Arianne was left bitter and depressed.
Two souls down on their luck, old acquaintances at that—naturally, they shared their troubles and drowned their sorrows in wine.
Wine is the medium of passion. When hearts are laid bare, bodies often follow.
Aegon, heavy with grief and regret, rode his dragon back toward Storm's End. But under the silvery moonlight and above the dark sea, he suddenly spotted Tysha gliding gracefully through the air. On her back, a pair of shameless lovers were engaging in a passionate act, moaning aloud with unrestrained abandon.
The dragon shuddered, and Aegon's mind was struck like lightning.Tyrion and Arianne, realizing they'd been seen, were equally shocked—three hearts trembling in unison.
"Raaaargh!"
Aegon's eyes turned crimson. With a roar, he spurred his dragon forward.
"Tysha, fly faster!" Tyrion cried in panic.
Earlier that afternoon, Bronn had been wondering aloud why he hadn't seen his old friend lately.
By nightfall, that old friend came knocking.
Well, more like chasing. Aegon pursued Tyrion all the way to Dragonstone, nearly reenacting a chaotic, monkey-style version of the "Dance of the Stormborns" (ps).
Ironically, Aegon had just left Dragonstone.
At noon, he'd confided in his Aunt Dany about his troubles. By evening, after deciding to part ways with Sansa, he returned again to inform her of his resolution.
Aunt Dany was already sick of him.
And now, late at night, he came to bother her for the third time in one day.
Tyrion, for his part, was desperate. He had nowhere else to run and no desire to keep fleeing endlessly, so he headed for Dragonstone to seek the Dragon Queen's mediation.
After chasing several hundred kilometers, Aegon finally regained his composure in the sea breeze. Seeing Tyrion land atop the Dragon Tower, he didn't follow him down. Instead, he shouted, "You'd better wait for me!" before flying off.
He returned to the Eyrie, free of guilt and even savoring a touch of revengeful pleasure. He held Sansa close, kissed her, embraced her—and if they hadn't been in the Eyrie, with Littlefinger smiling smugly in the corner, he might have done more.
When Bronn arrived with guards to investigate, he immediately understood the situation at the sight of Arianne and Tyrion—disheveled, panicked, and obviously guilty.
As Arianne limped away with her maid's support, Bronn sighed. "One day, you'll lose your life because you can't control your second head."
"You've done well for yourself," Tyrion muttered.
Looking at Bronn—confident, proud, radiating the poise of an old-school nobleman—then glancing down at his own open shirt and the two short, hairy legs beneath his rumpled shorts, Tyrion felt utterly humiliated.
"Not nearly as well as you," Bronn replied with a crooked grin. "You got to ride dragons and sleep with the king's woman. Tsk, tsk." His serious expression vanished, replaced by a lewd, mercenary smirk. "So, how did it feel?"
The familiar tone put Tyrion at ease. Forgetting his disheveled state, he sighed. "Terrible! Too much wine ruins everything."
Bronn dropped the grin, patted his friend's shoulder, and said, "This time, it really was your fault. You went too far."
"You don't understand. Things between us are complicated," Tyrion muttered.
"It's about Sansa Stark, isn't it?"
"You… know?"
Bronn nodded, his tone complicated. "Everyone knows that girl never wanted to marry you. Sure, she tricked you once with the Joffrey business, but think about what your Lannister family did to the Starks…"
"Aegon is different," Tyrion said, raising an ill-chosen example. "It's like this—if Loras were raped by me and got pregnant, wouldn't you be upset?"
Loras was Bronn's wife. Before marrying him, she'd been violated and impregnated by dozens of thugs in King's Landing, and Bronn, the mercenary, had taken her in afterward.
Smack! Bronn slapped Tyrion across the face.
"Your mouth's gotten filthier."
"Sorry," Tyrion said with a bitter smile, rubbing his cheek. "But crude or not, I'm right. If someone tried to take my wife, I'd be furious too."
"He should've taken your wife," Bronn snorted. "Too bad the young prince isn't as shameless as you. Instead, he let you beat him up and then ran off to the Eyrie to call off his betrothal to Sansa Stark."
"What?" Tyrion's eyes widened in disbelief.
Bronn nodded lightly and sighed. "He turned down Littlefinger's marriage proposal."
A storm of emotions churned within Tyrion.The marriage between Sansa and Aegon was settled.
This time, even Tyrion was too ashamed to oppose it, and Arianne awkwardly left Storm's End.
When Prince Doran learned the full story, he sighed and agreed to form an alliance with Aegon VI.
He no longer cared whether Aegon's identity was genuine. He had only one goal: to seek justice from the Lannisters.
But expecting Prince Doran to fully support Aegon was unrealistic.
Dorne agreed to provide fifty warships, four thousand sailors, three thousand cavalry, and three thousand infantry—a total of ten thousand troops to march with Aegon against King's Landing.
Ten thousand was already a considerable number. The entire population of Dorne, men, women, and children combined, did not exceed half a million.
For the cautious Prince Doran, sending out ten thousand strong men was no different from going all in.
There was only one condition: the Dornish troops could bring their own supplies as far as Storm's End, but afterward, all provisions for the campaign would have to be arranged by Aegon.
Dorne had not suffered through the War of the Five Kings and had accumulated vast stores of grain.
If Aegon truly were Rhaegar's son and married Arianne, Doran would have shouldered the entire logistical burden of the war.
But for now, Doran saw himself only as Aegon VI's ally. While helping Aegon claim the Iron Throne, he also intended to use Aegon's power to achieve his own revenge—fair and square, debts paid in full.
Aegon was deeply displeased.
Was it not natural for an uncle to help his nephew?
Tyrion stopped him.
"This is Westerosi politics. He's not only your uncle, but also the Prince of Dorne. Think about the Baratheons—their ancestors were Targaryen bastards!"
Well, those two had been fighting over a woman not long ago, and now they were back on good terms without an ounce of shame.
"Prince Doran's support for you now," Tyrion continued, "already surpasses the level of support Dorne gave to the Targaryens in Aerys's time."
Because of Rhaegar's scandal with Lyanna, Dorne had been furious with him. At the beginning of Robert's Rebellion, they had merely watched from the sidelines without intervening.
Why did Daenerys and her brother Viserys escape the war, yet Rhaegar's children perished in King's Landing?
The Mad King might have been insane, but he was no fool. After the Battle of the Bells, he realized the tide had turned.
At once, he sent his heavily pregnant wife and younger son to Dragonstone, but kept Princess Elia of Dorne and her two children in King's Landing as hostages to force Dorne into the war against Robert.
"Doran, come to the king's aid! If King's Landing falls, your sister, your nephew, and your niece will be slain by the rebels!"That was the message the Mad King sent to Prince Doran.
Shameless, wasn't he?Using his daughter-in-law and grandchildren as hostages to threaten his in-law!And the most absurd part—it worked.
Holding his nose, Doran led Dorne into the war.
But he did so reluctantly. Dorne never committed its full strength, and in the end, both sides suffered tragedy.
Rhaegar fell at the Trident. Tywin tricked the gates of King's Landing open, leading to a massacre of House Targaryen. The Mad King's threats had come true.
Two infants were slaughtered before her eyes, and she herself was raped and murdered by the Mountain. Elia became perhaps the most tragic princess in all of Westeros.
After Aegon reached a preliminary agreement with Dorne and the Vale, news of him spread like a storm.
Rhaegar and Elia's son, Aegon Targaryen, had not died—he had returned!Aegon Targaryen, riding the great dragon Black Death, had seized Storm's End!
Aegon Targaryen declared himself Lord of the Stormlands and took the name Aegon VI.
Before Septon Meribald, Aegon VI and Sansa Stark entered into a sacred marriage pact.
Aegon VI declared Tommen I a false king.
He then announced the formation of the "True Dragon Alliance," issuing a proclamation:
"Since the War of the Usurper, the Seven Kingdoms have been left in ruin—virtue lost, joy extinguished, and men reduced to beasts. Therefore, following the will of the heavens, we raise the banner of righteousness to cleanse the realm of corruption, restore the glory of the Seven Kingdoms, and reestablish the rightful Targaryen line."
Dorne answered Aegon's call and joined the True Dragon Alliance.The next day, Sansa Stark declared herself the sole heir of Robb, King in the North, and was crowned Queen in the North at the Moon Door of the Eyrie. She announced that the North and all riverlords willing to swear fealty to her would join the alliance.On the third day, Robert Arryn swore allegiance to Aegon, bringing the Vale into the alliance.Two days later, several Stormlands lords pledged fealty to their new Duke of Storm's End (a king can hold a duchy), leading their bannermen toward the fortress.
Aegon's True Dragon Alliance now encompassed nearly five of the Seven Kingdoms: Dorne, the Stormlands, the Riverlands, the North, and the Vale.
Even within the Crownlands, some nobles secretly turned to Aegon's side.
Littlefinger's marriage alliance had proven more effective than Tyrion's earlier plan of "leveraging influence to confirm legitimacy."
Once Aegon had the full support of the North and the Vale, Doran no longer cared about his true lineage. With Dorne, the Vale, and the North behind him, the lords of Westeros ceased to question whether he was a true or false dragon.
At that point, Aegon's power was at its zenith, blazing like the midday sun. The Seven Kingdoms trembled—Though not for him.
They were terrified by an even greater piece of news:Euron the Mad was on the rampage, and the Rose had withered!
*(PS: At the start of the Dance of the Dragons, both the Black faction under Princess Rhaenyra and the Green faction under King Aegon II sent dragonriders to Storm's End to win Baratheon support. The Greens succeeded; the Blacks failed. On the return flight over Shipbreaker Bay, the Black envoy was ambushed and slain by Prince Aemond of the Greens.
Similarly, Aegon and Tyrion also traveled from Storm's End to Dragonstone—two Targaryens once more, though this time, their mounts were wyverns.)*
(End of chapter)
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