Shortly after, Robert led his army to the ruins of Summerhall and, after defeating three Royalist families in the area, his morale soared. He didn't kill the defeated prisoners who had betrayed their liege lords. Instead, he returned to Storm's End and drank with them. Robert's big-brother persona was on full display, and from then on, the entire Stormlands were united.
A raven from Highgarden had already flown back. The letter contained only the words "Cinderhall." Robert knew at once that House Tyrell had agreed to the terms. He immediately led his main force and left Stannis with a thousand men to defend Storm's End. To guard against any treachery, Robert still sent out Scouts. They discovered that the entire army of the Reach had gathered at Honeywine Hall, including the troops of Randyll Tarly, known for their fighting prowess, who were also stationed near Honeywine Hall. The only troops on the front lines at Cinderhall were the soldiers of the local lord, House Cinderhall.
Robert detached a small force to engage Earl Cinderhall. The two sides fought back and forth. When the Reach army reinforcements arrived, Robert ordered his troops to drop some banners, weapons, and armor and flee, leading his main force north.
Under the command of Mace Tyrell, the Reach army bypassed the other towns in the Stormlands and headed straight for Storm's End, the home of the rebel leader, Robert. Facing the insurmountable high walls of Storm's End, Duke Mace ordered a siege. Soldiers set up tents outside the city and cooked meals. The nobles had plenty of wine and meat. He also sent ravens to King's Landing, announcing that he had defeated Robert, who had fled north. He was now besieging Storm's End, and the rebels were nothing more than that. The Mad King was overjoyed and sent a large amount of wine to reward the army.
A raven from Dorne had also flown back. Prince Doran said that Dorne would unite with the Highgarden army, but he couldn't control the other princes and their followers. He also hoped that Renly and Wight would go to Sunspear as guests to discuss matters between the four brothers. After Wight guaranteed that even if Dorne turned hostile, he and Renly would be able to escape, Robert finally wrote back, agreeing to Dorne's request. He sent twenty loyal guards to escort Wight by ship to Sunspear.
Several Baratheons each took their own side.
Dorne has the only desert on the continent of Westeros, but the Dornish people mostly live near the humid rivers in the southwest and some coastal areas. Dorne has a dozen cities and fortresses, with the capital, Sunspear, built on the coast.
The Iron Throne never conquered Dorne. Over 200 years ago, House Targaryen, riding dragons, burned almost all of Dorne's major cities. Although there were heavy casualties, they still didn't surrender. This is the pride of the Dornish people. Later, peace was achieved through marriage. Dorne nominally pledged allegiance to the Iron Throne but was actually self-governing, so the ruler of Dorne is called a Prince instead of a Duke like in other kingdoms.
Because they are separated by a desert, the Dornish people have less interaction with the other kingdoms, so they retain many customs of their ancestors, the Rhoynar from the eastern continent. For example, both men and women are passionate and open-minded, women practice martial arts and go to war, and women and men have equal inheritance rights.
The ship slowly approached the harbor of Sunspear. Sunspear is built on a small peninsula of reefs, with the castle surrounded by the sea on three sides. The towers of the castle can be seen from afar. As a monarch's castle, like his own Storm's End, its main function is military rather than a commercial city, so the harbor is very small, only meeting the needs of daily life and transportation.
Renly, along with his guards, disembarked. The Prince's guards had already arrived at the harbor to greet them. The group walked through Shadow City, where civilians lived outside the city walls, and there were some shops opened by civilians, similar to Storm's End. But the city walls of Sunspear were completely different from other places. The city walls had three layers, each layer winding through the civilian houses, making the whole city like a maze.
Following the guards into the inner city and arriving at the Throne Room, there were also stained glass windows. In front of the circular throne platform were two chairs. One chair had the Golden Spear sigil, and the other had the Red Sun sigil. Together, they represented the current House Martell's Golden Spear piercing the Red Sun.
The Golden Spear was the former sigil of House Martell, and the Red Sun was the sigil of the warrior queen Nymeria from a thousand years ago. She fled from the Valyrians in the east, leading her people to Dorne and marrying into House Martell. Many of Dorne's current customs were brought by Nymeria's people, such as girls who practice martial arts liking the Red Sun emblem. The Direwolf of the future Stark daughter will also have a Direwolf named Nymeria.
"Your Grace, good afternoon. Because I wanted to travel to Dorne, I asked my elder brother, Robert, to come forward. I trouble Your Grace for your care," Renly, acting as the older brother, said the prepared words. Now he was a hostage, but it sounded better coming from a child's mouth. After the greeting, the accompanying guards handed the letter bearing Robert's seal and the gifts Robert sent to the Prince's guards.
Wight and Renly were ostensibly traveling. To ensure the Prince would look after them, Robert had also sent several thousand gold dragons as a gift. After all, no one knew when the war would end, and in case of an emergency, the living expenses he provided might lessen the other party's anger.
After Prince Doran finished reading the letters, he looked at Wight. He had nothing to say to the two young children. The truth was known to everyone, so he went through the motions, having the steward Ricasso arrange rooms for Wight and Renly's party to rest. He also instructed the guards not to let the two of them and their entourage leave the castle garden.
The castle was huge. The steward arranged five guest rooms in the guest house. Wight and Renly shared a large one. The room was airy, with only pearl curtains for privacy. The eaves were inlaid with carved glass, and the furniture and carpets were adorned with traditional Dornish patterns. The vast garden was filled with palm trees and coconut trees, exuding an exotic charm.
The guards were unpacking the luggage while the two children were wandering in the garden. Wight told Renly that the coconut, which was as big as their heads, was delicious. Renly had never seen such large fruit before. He was so tempted by the tall coconut trees that he couldn't resist. Seeing no one around, he picked up a small decorative stone from the garden and threw it at a coconut.
"You two are already smashing my family's coconuts as soon as you arrive?" Three little girls walked over from a distance. The oldest was probably 10 years old, and the other two were about the same age as Wight and Renly.
Renly immediately bowed and said, "Good afternoon, ladies," It was a bit awkward for a noble to be caught trying to steal someone else's coconuts.
"This coconut grows well, but why isn't it sold to the Stormlands?" Wight, being thick-skinned, directly changed the subject.
"We Dornish people don't have enough to eat, so there's nothing left to sell." The oldest girl spoke as if addressing a criminal, "Father sent the three of us to keep an eye on you. You'd better not go anywhere."
"May I know your names?" Renly was at a disadvantage and, sensing the other party's hostility, didn't dare to speak. With his past life added, Robert had lived for several decades, so he didn't take the three little girls seriously.
"I am Obara Sand, and these are my sisters, Nymeria Sand and Tyene Sand. Our father is Prince Oberyn."
Robert remembered these were the future Sand Snakes, Oberyn's illegitimate daughters. As the younger brother of Dorne's supreme ruler, Oberyn had money and didn't need to worry about anything. He spent his time in tournaments and wandering around, never married, and had a lot of lovers, both male and female. He raised his illegitimate daughters as his own, truly a playboy.
Illegitimate daughters in Dorne all used the surname Sand. Oberyn was also known as the Red Viper. The illegitimate daughters around him were taught to be ruthless and skilled in hidden weapons and poisons. Thus, his illegitimate daughters earned the nickname Sand Snakes, of course, when they grew up.
But now, they were just little girls.
Robert looked at them, "I am Robert, and this is my twin brother, Renly."
Actually, the three girls had overheard their uncle, Prince Doran, discussing the two hostages from Storm's End with the ministers. They then ran over to see the twins. There were many twins in this world, but they were mostly from other countries. Dorne produced only one pair every few decades.
The three girls looked at Renly and then at Robert, trying to find the differences, while Robert was also looking at them.
The eldest, Obara, had brown hair and eyes set close together, and a strong build.
The second, Nymeria, had black hair and black eyes, and even at her young age, she was already beautiful. Named after the warrior queen, it was clear how highly the Dornish revered her.
The third, Tyene, had golden hair and blue eyes, and a sweet appearance.
Dealing with children, even if they were all older than him, was easy for Wight; to him, they were all children. He had lived two lives, adding up to being older than their father, Oberyn. Wight was well-traveled and knowledgeable. He easily diffused any tension by sharing some local customs and telling a few jokes, making Renly and the girls laugh and play.