265 ACThe Water Gardens of Sunspear
Five summers had passed since Mars Martell had first drawn breath. The tragedy of Summerhall had faded like an old ballad sung too many times, though in the hearts of the highborn, its embers still smoldered.
Dorne, distant from the machinations of King's Landing, basked beneath its southern sun. And within the walls of the Water Gardens, peace reigned — a tranquility found nowhere else in Westeros.
Here, the children of princes and lords played beneath swaying palms, splashing in cool pools as the wind rustled through the trees and the scent of ripe figs hung in the air.
Mars loved this place.
He darted down sun-baked paths, the laughter of his brother Oberyn chasing after him. The stones were hot beneath his bare feet, but he didn't care.He was quick, nimble — and if he willed it, he could almost imagine the wind itself carried him.
"You're too slow, Fire-demon!" Oberyn shouted, vaulting over a low pool.
"Just wait until I catch you!"
Elia sat beneath a palm tree, her legs folded beneath her, a book resting in her lap. The shade painted patterns across her face as she read.
"You two are like wild sand vipers!" she called, not bothering to lift her eyes.
"Because we are!" Mars shouted back with a grin.
He adored his sister. Elia was clever, patient, kind — and her words could cut sharper than a Dornish dagger when she wished. Where Oberyn was reckless and untamed, she was the steady voice that often pulled them from their foolish misadventures.
But that afternoon, as the sun hung low and the water shimmered gold, something strange happened.
Mars knelt beside one of the narrow pools. He let his fingertips trail through the water, savoring its coolness.Yet this time, something stirred.
A faint tingling, like a pulse of energy, surged through him.
The water rippled beneath his hand. A single drop lifted, round and shimmering, breaking from the surface and hanging in the air.
Mars held his breath. He stared, wide-eyed, as the droplet danced in the light, guided by an unseen force.
"Oberyn…" he whispered, without looking away. "Did you see that?"
His brother peeked around a palm and his eyes widened. "Seven Hells, you're mad! Do it again!"
But the droplet fell, sending tiny ripples across the water.
Mars's heart pounded in his chest. There was something inside him.Something ancient.Something not of this world.
He just didn't know what it was yet.