Game of Thrones: Viserys the Three-Headed Dragon.

Chapter 118 One Step Slow
A raven was passing through the Throat, and would reach Dragonstone in a quarter of an hour. It was from Dorne.

It is a good habit to plan before taking action.

Viserys has such a good habit, and Prince Doran of Dorne also has such a habit, so Viserys has high hopes for it.

But even though they both have such habits, Viserys's execution ability is relatively stronger than Prince Doran, because the executor after the plan is Viserys himself, who takes the lead and is deeply involved, while Prince Doran, who is suffering from illness, can only command remotely in the Water Garden.

So his plans always encountered various problems during implementation.

Just like this moment.

Just to deal with Viserys's affairs, Dorne's plans for visiting Dragonstone changed many times.

At first, when Prince Doran received Viserys's letter advocating peace throughout the realm, he immediately recalled Prince Oberyn the Red Viper who was gathering his vassals at the Bone Road. But even though he reacted quickly, it took several days just to wait for Prince Oberyn to return to Sunspear from the Bone Road. This was because Oberyn rode as fast as he could, rushed back to Yronwood from the front camp of the Bone Road, changed horses directly to the upper reaches of the Fury River, took the army's supply ship and went down to Godsgrace, and then rode on land from the Lemon Grove.

Prince Doran compared Oberyn to a poisonous snake, dangerous and deadly, unpredictable, and thought that he was the grass swaying in the wind, diligent, gentle, kind and fragrant. The grass concealed the whereabouts of the poisonous snake, and the grass was the snake's umbrella, covering him to kill the enemy. It was through this close cooperation that the brothers ruled Dorne for many years, allowing this land to withstand the aftermath of the fall of the Targaryen dynasty, without internal strife, and prosper.

After discussing the grass and snakes of Dorne, Prince Doran decided not to reply to the letter for the time being, but to let Oberyn go to Dragonstone with a secret marriage contract, just as he had secretly gone to Braavos many years ago and made a secret agreement with William Darry under the witness of the Sea King of Braavos, to see the true intention of the "audacious" last Targaryen and his intention to cooperate.

However, things always go beyond Prince Doran's expectations. When Prince Oberyn arrived in Tyrosh and planned to borrow a merchant fleet from the Lord of Tyrosh, who was friendly with Dorne, to disguise himself as going to Dragonstone, he encountered someone selling important information to the Lord of Tyrosh.

The intelligence dealer came from a merchant ship in Pentos that passed by Dragonstone on its way to King's Landing. He heard that the Lord of Tyroshi had publicly "humiliated" the current Targaryen King of Dragonstone, and the King of Dragonstone had a dragon. The owner of the merchant ship heard that someone made a lot of money by selling intelligence in King's Landing, so he immediately gave up the plan to go to King's Landing and took a big risk to change to Tyroshi. He really made the right bet, because at that time, there was no news of Dragonstone in Tyroshi. It was also a setback. The intelligence dealer met the Lord of Tyroshi and told him the current situation of Dragonstone half a month ago.

At this time, Prince Oberyn learned that the Targaryens on Dragonstone might have dragons. In this world, the information brought by merchants is always lagging behind. In the original timeline, Daenerys has been the king of Meereen for more than a year. It is very difficult to find someone in Braavos who can explain the dragons clearly, and he will be laughed at if he tells others. Quentin was sent to find Daenerys, and he was skeptical about the dragons until he arrived in Meereen.

Now, the news of the dragon's appearance was too sudden, and there was no news before. Anyone who heard the news couldn't believe it at first. You know, a few months ago, Viserys was still begging people for money in the Free Cities. How could there suddenly be a dragon that could sweep across Dragonstone? It was rumored that it had three heads.

Even if we are more imaginative, we can speculate that Viserys hatched a dragon on the Valyrian Peninsula on his way to Astapor, but can a giant dragon that grows up in a few months sweep across Dragonstone?

The Free Trade City of Qohor also had a legend about a three-headed dragon being born in the city, but it was soon proven to be a lie, as some groups were trying to cause unrest in Qohor and take the opportunity to do something. It was always difficult for people to imagine such bizarre things before seeing them with their own eyes.

But the Lord of Tyrosh was very happy, and he was more eager to verify this than Oberyn.

When Lord Tyrosh met Oberyn, he smiled so hard that his whole body was shaking. Now thinking back to when he first met Viserys, what he lent was just a small sum of money to him, but he might have gained the friendship of a dragon king with dragons.

The history of Tyrosh is well documented.

The sudden destruction of Valyria created a huge power vacuum in Essos. More than four hundred years ago, the major city-states of Essos fought for power for nearly a hundred years. That period was called the Bloody Age.

During this period, before the conquest of Westeros, Volantis once tried to unify the disputed lands and invited Aegon and his dragon to join them in rebuilding the Valyrian Freehold. Aegon rejected Volantis, so Volantis completed the plan alone. When Volantis invaded Tyrosh, Aegon rode his dragon Balerion to meet with the Prince and Governor of Pentos who asked for his help, joined the Tyrosh side, and burned a Volantis fleet on the way to Lys. After defeating Volantis, Aegon returned to Dragonstone and no longer participated in the unification war in the East.

Now, the disputed land is in turmoil again. Tyrosh is in a standoff with Myr and Lys, and Volantis is ready to make a move. The Lord of Tyrosh wants to invite this new "Dragon King" to join Tyrosh like the story of Aegon four hundred years ago.

The fleet departing for Dragonstone from Tyrosh was in a hurry.

Now it was autumn, and the autumn storms in the narrow sea were coming. It would be very dangerous for ships without a fleet to sail on the sea. If Dorne planned to form a formal visiting team because he knew that the Targaryens on Dragonstone had dragons, it was unknown how long they would have to wait. And Oberyn himself was not a person who was willing to wait quietly, so he only asked someone to bring the news back to Sunspear City, and he still went to Dragonstone in secret by ship.

And this was another unexpected emergency that Prince Doran encountered.

Viserys has brought three emergencies to Prince Doran. The first time was when Princess Myrcella, sent by King's Landing, had just arrived in Dorne, and he received a letter from the Targaryen envoy; the second time was when he was about to let Oberyn form a visiting team to King's Landing on his behalf, and then he received a second letter from Dragonstone; this time, the team that planned to let Oberyn visit secretly had just arrived in Tyrosh, but they learned that there might be dragons on Dragonstone.

Prince Daolang had a feeling of helplessness. He always felt that for some reason, his plans were always one step behind, and there were always unexpected situations that would interrupt his original plans.

The following episode in Dorne takes place a few days before the ravens arrive at Dragonstone.

It was almost midnight when Hotah led Arianne to the study. Prince Doran looked at the dark night outside the study. The nights in Dorne were very cold, so he placed a charcoal brazier in his study.

Ever since the last time they talked, Arianne had always felt embarrassed and indebted every time she saw her father. It would take time for her to get rid of this feeling of shame: "Father." The prince turned his wheelchair to face her: "Ah, you're here."

The prince was out of breath just from maneuvering the wheelchair, and as he turned, the Myrish blanket covering his legs got caught between two of the wheel spokes, and he had to hold on to it to prevent it from tearing. Under the blanket, in the light of the study, his legs looked pale, weak, and horrible. His knees were red and swollen, and his toes were almost purple and swollen to twice their normal size.

Princess Arianne stepped forward. "I will help you, father."

The prince freed his blanket from the spokes. "I can take care of my own blanket. At least I can do this. Your uncle Oberyn has sent back from Tyrosh with news."

Since the conversation began, Arianne has become much more obedient. She no longer asks questions about many things, but chooses to trust her father's decisions.

But her father called her over so late today, which meant that he was going to let her participate in a discussion of something very important.

“Father,” Arianne said. “What news did my uncle bring back?”

"Dragons," the prince told him. "The king of Dragonstone had dragons. Perhaps. But it is very likely true. I visited Dragonstone when I was young. It is not a fortress that can be easily conquered."

Arianne said in amazement, “The dragons have been gone for a hundred years.”

“Everyone thinks so,” the prince said. “Your uncle is on his way, perhaps even now on a Tyroshi merchant ship in the Narrow Sea. He says the High Lord of Tyroshi is anxious to confirm this.”

"What if this is true?"

"The war has indeed begun, and we will make our choice. But," the prince said, "the Spider's informers are everywhere, even in the halls of Sunspear. Our decision will result in the bloodshed of Dorne. I would have waited for your uncle to confirm in secret, and for us to reach an agreement, but if the news is true, what we do now is folly. If the dragon is his reason, he has given us two chances to choose. The question is, does he know of the secret engagement? If he knows--"

Arianne was silent for a moment, but could not help but speak out: "Father, if he is the man you say is as meticulous and resourceful as he is, and if he knew about the engagement, he would have sneaked into Dorne and asked you to fulfill it, just like his envoy, who you said suddenly appeared that morning, wearing a Targaryen banner and asking to see you."

"You have a point, Arianne. I..." Prince Doran took a slow breath, "things always change very quickly, always beyond my expectations. I decided to form a formal visiting fleet. In the name of your uncle Prince Oberyn, I will recruit Dart of Lemongrove, Blemont of Blemont, Manwoody of King's Grave, Kogel of Sandstone, Uller of Hellgate, Arion of Godsgrace, Goggelus of Salt Coast, and Jordain of Tor to Sunspear and head to Dragonstone. The sea is different from the land, so a fleet is needed for escort. At the same time, the army will be stationed at the pass to guard the border. As for Myrcella Baratheon, our previous agreement with King's Landing..."

"Put Myrcella under house arrest and deal with her later? Since you have made up your mind not to cooperate with Junlin anymore, why not just..."

"Arianne, war is a war of any kind. But when we go to war, we must do so under the banner of justice, of justice. It is easy to call on the people to take up their spears, but in the end it is our people who will pay the price. A wise prince does not start a war without a good cause, nor a battle that cannot be won. Myrcella and the King's Landing envoys are guests under my roof, and they have eaten my bread and salt. I will not bring harm to them, never. We go to support King Targaryen, and we will act in accordance with his 'will.'"

Arianne heard the emphasis on 'will' and asked, "What if his will is contrary to our own interests?"

“So communication is needed, and that’s what the diplomatic envoys are here to do.”

Arianne had an idea. "My uncle has already left. Who do you plan to lead the delegation in his place?"

The prince paused and said, "Your brother."

Arianne spoke: "Father, I beg you to let me go."

"Arianne, have you not figured it out yet? Your brother is no threat to you." The prince emphasized, "You are my heir. You are responsible for the future of Dorne. Your place is beside me. Quentyn." Arianne saw her father close his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was the prince of Dorne. "We support King Targaryen, and Quentyn will become his Kingsguard."

“Father, I am not.” Arianne was shocked for a moment. “Quentyn is only eighteen. He, he doesn’t even have a bastard child.”

"That is the way he will go," said the Prince of Dorne.

"Father, I am not worried that Quentyn will threaten my position, but I was not able to witness the signing of my secret engagement. Now I want to negotiate the annulment. Please let me witness it myself." Arianne was inexplicably excited and insisted, "I must see what the man who could have been my husband looks like. Father, please agree to a daughter's willful request, not the request of the heir of Dorne. If something happens to me, then-"

Prince Doran raised a hand to stop her from saying anything. His knuckles were red and swollen like cherries. He looked tired. "Don't say that, Arianne. Never say it."

(End of this chapter)