268 AC
Starfall – Mars' Chambers
Night over Starfall was silent. Only the distant rush of the Torrentine and the occasional cry of gulls echoed through the darkness. The sky hung heavy with stars, like a velvet cloak over Dorne.
Mars slept fitfully.
His breathing was shallow, the blanket tossed aside. And then… the dream began.
He stood in an endless hall of black marble. The walls glowed faintly, as if fire burned behind them. In the center of the chamber sat a figure — tall, beautiful, with silver-white hair that cascaded down to her waist.
When she looked at him, her eyes shone a deep, luminous violet.
"My blood… my heir…" she whispered.
Mars tried to speak, but his voice caught in his throat.
The woman raised a hand, shadows swirling around her like living mist.
[Anomalous dream manifestation detected. Origin: genetic bloodline. Subject: Valyrian descent. High probability: ancestral echo.]
Mars' mind raced. "Who… what… is this?"
[Data incomplete. Hypothesis: descendant of Shiera Seastar or related lineage. Magical signature compatible.]
The woman stepped closer, her gaze intense yet gentle.
"You will find her," she murmured. "When the time is right."
And then everything dissolved into mist.
Mars jolted awake.
Sweat dampened his brow, his heart pounding.
[Elevated heart rate. Normal stress response. No physical damage detected.]
"Thanks for the medical update, Dr. Know-It-All," Mars muttered.
He glanced at the window. The first pale streaks of dawn painted the sky.
He didn't know what the dream meant.
But something inside him whispered that this was no idle fantasy.
And that the woman with the violet eyes had not visited his mind for the last time.