[Sample] Arianne I

[BlueEyedCrow]

When Hotah and Obara find Darkstar a battle will commence. I get the feeling that Hotah will allow Darkstar a 1v1 battle. A battle ensues from which Hotah emerges the victor. However, before striking the killing blow to Darkstar, Obara will interfere on Darkstar's behalf. She and Darkstar want war. They have formed an alliance. One more POV character down.

[LeoSuperstar]

When Hotah and Obara find Darkstar a battle will commence. I get the feeling that Hotah will allow Darkstar a 1v1 battle. A battle ensues from which Hotah emerges the victor. However, before striking the killing blow to Darkstar, Obara will interfere on Darkstar's behalf. She and Darkstar want war. They have formed an alliance. One more POV character down.

And what is Balon Swann doing while that happens?

[Ran]

... now Ironwoods popping out of woodwork.

They've been noted to have been an issue for the Martells since the Dornish were first introduced, basically, in ASoS. AFfC underscored it significantly.

This is not out of left field.

The Yronwoods are clearly very powerful, the Boneway is very difficult territory, etc. The idea that a troublesome lord should just be utterly squashed and wiped out... well, Tywin Lannister does not, in the end, win the day with his tactics, right? The same ruthlessness that led him to wiping out the Tarbecks and Reynes was the same ruthlessness that lead his son to murdering him. There's pros and cons to every approach.

[Mark Antony]

This was a great chapter got me so much more excited for WOW. Is the Theon chapter not on his website anymore? Cause i really wanted to read it again after i finished this one.

[Alia of the knife]

I think the interesting dychotomy with Dorne is that while they are reminding the Targs. they could never conquer them and still need them, it's actually the Martells who need the Targaryens, since the Martells are one of the weakest Houses in the Kingdom.

They rely much on their dragon-defeating mystique, though they would be pretty ineffective outside their own borders on their own.

But, they also pride themselves on not being defeated, so I think there is a love/hate relationship with the Targaryens, which will come more to the surface in the death of Quentyn.

Strike one was Rhaegars treatment of Elia that the Martells were angry about, which caused Dorne to send spears less than enthusiastically given that Aerys was holding her hostage.

Strike Two will be Danys treatement of Quentyn, which by the time the news reaches the Martells, she will have flung him to her dragons with her own hands.

No matter that Arianne would have been just as happy to fight Quentyn for the right to rule, it's one thing for family members to go toe-to-toe, but another for an outsider to come in, so Arianne will have a "righteous" reason now to freeze Dany out of Westeros and attempt to form an alliance with Aegon, whether she believes he's real or not.

On the internal, political turmoils of Dorne:

I would not be surprised that the Martells would not be plagued by the same discontents that plague the rest of Westeros's powerful families. Maybe there are groups within the population that look upon the Martells as corrupt and debauched, and would like to see them replaced with another family. :dunno:

Personally, even though I've been indifferent to the Martells I do agree outside the Starks as "The Stallion that Mounts Texas" said, they are the most deserving of justice, because of what happened to Elia and her children.

[Lord Varys]

If GRRM is giving us a model of the 'ideal ruler' it would be through Doran Martell, I think. Yes, even he is not without any flaws, but the man actually puts his people first, not his personal ambitions. And even if he pursues his personal ambitions, say, revenge on the people who murdered his sister, then he only does so when he can be reasonably sure that his people is not going to suffer because of his actions.

The whole thing about the first Daenerys, the Water Gardens, and the bathing children was in ADwD to outline this thing.

This extends also to the way how a Prince deals with his noble subjects. The Martells have issues with House Yronwood since Nymeria came, and the Yronwood rode with Bittersteel during three Blackfyre rebellions in recent history. One has to assume that Sunspear always fought on the Targaryen side (assuming Dorne proper was part of the fighting - it was during the first Blackfryre Rebellion). Doran ensured that the Yronwoods remained in his camp, even after the problematic 'Red Viper' incident. He and his family may have suffered (and, honestly, Oberyn should have been chastised severely for that whole thing!), but the thing did not make Dorne suffer.

We have no reason to assume that Lord Anders is not firmly in the Martell camp. Quite the opposite, actually, since Doran and Anders apparently cooked up the Quentyn plan together (or at least Doran told Lord Anders about this whole thing - the man sent his son with Quentyn, after all).

[GoldenVale]

An interesting if not uneventful chapter. Arianne does seem to be going through some sort of change though how long that takes or what kind I'm not sure. She still seems to stick to her old methods (seduction and such and meh if it works theres no reason to knock it) but her thought seems more cautious.

The news of the goings-on about the events at Cape Wrath, the Step Stones etc. are one of the most interesting parts. It seems the GC are making some notable progress and have gotten their elephants.

Krakens, reavers, pirates and such. Aurane Waters seems to made a reappearance. I don't know what GRRM could have planned for the character and as such I'm going to assume that ts just a little mention and not some foreshadowing to some bigger role in the story.

Personally I think the doubts about Dany/JonCon/Aegon are all reasonable. Especially about Dany supposedly letting Viserys die. Yes we the readers do know better but no one who wasn't there knows anything about Viserys behavior or the circumstances of his death so coming to te conlcusion that Arianne seems to be coming too is understandable. Especially considering the Targaryen history of da crazies.

The young girls dream seems pretty straight forward this late in the prophecy/dream foreshadowing/etc.

I'm confused about Areo Hotah being sent after Dark Star. There's no mention of Balon Swann, who if I remember correctly had been set up to go looking for Dark Star as well. Did I miss something or read something wrong before?

[Arataniello]

I wonder what role the two young knights in Arianne's company will play. Their family names are ones we have not met before the in the series - Shells almost sounds like a bastard name? Although it is well established that Sand = Dornish bastard name, maybe Shells is for 'salty'/coastal Dornish bastards, and Sand is for 'sandy'/desert Dornish bastards?

[Where Boars Glow]

I wonder what role the two young knights in Arianne's company will play. Their family names are ones we have not met before the in the series - Shells almost sounds like a bastard name? Although it is well established that Sand = Dornish bastard name, maybe Shells is for 'salty'/coastal Dornish bastards, and Sand is for 'sandy'/desert Dornish bastards?

I like that the dornish are leaders in the bastards rights movement :)

[Arataniello]

I'm confused about Areo Hotah being sent after Dark Star. There's no mention of Balon Swann, who if I remember correctly had been set up to go looking for Dark Star as well. Did I miss something or read something wrong before?

From memory, it was Doran you thought that Ballon Swann would feel bound to go after Darkstar, once he heard the story from Myrcella about how she was injured. We didn't definitely get a yay or nay to him going in aDwD.

[Lord Varys]

Ser Kevan told Cersei that Ser Balon Swann would deal with Darkstar. Arianne I does not contradict that, Balon is just not mentioned there. One could ask GRRM to put him in the chapter to clarify things. Arianne most likely would think about Balon if she thinks about Arys...

[Arkash]

I read only the first 10 pages of the thread so I dont know if this has been brought up, but I just thought it will be funny for JonCon to meet someone with the name of his (beloved ?) silver prince wife and the same attitude of his (beloved) silver prince lover (?) in the person of Elia Sand.

Otherwise, news of Dany being (supposedly) dead should reach Westeros soon (her being taken away by Drogon): I wonder how people (Martells especially, and JonCon, Aegon and co) will react to this.

[Alia of the knife]

Do we know for sure that Darkstar went back to his home, (it seems that would be the first place people would look for him), or is he on the run?

[Arkash]

Well, maybe some spy of Doran at High Hermitage told him that Darkstar was back there... otherwise this is a loose end.

I except two Areo chapters in Winds,, and those chapters may end up at Starfall (which is a thing we would all love, I'm sure)... then I dont see him surviving any longer.

[pb31]

I'm confused about Areo Hotah being sent after Dark Star. There's no mention of Balon Swann, who if I remember correctly had been set up to go looking for Dark Star as well. Did I miss something or read something wrong before?

I wouldn't be too surprised if there's an Areo chapter before this one that maybe details Doran receiving JonCon's letter, sending off Arianne and co., and sending off Areo and co. There seems to be some space between this and the last Dorne chapter so it might help that.

[ACVG]

if Arienne was planning / plotting to take control of things, she would've been thinking of ways to seduce Aegon not JonCon, right?

All of these theorys putting Elia Sand with Aegon are ridiculous, Aegon wants to rule, and his original intention (with influence from Tyrion) was to woe and marry his aunt Dany who has these 3 dragons, not some bastard daughter from Dorne.

That horn from Claw Point is very interesting, I remember S.Saan saying that having a horn that could wake krakens from the sea could be very useful for a pirate like him. I wonder what has woken these krakens, I remember Varys mentioning them at a small counsel meeting as well.

[sifth]

I'm pretty sure Hoath was sent to make sure Balon Swann does not return from his hunt for Dark Star. Swann was planning to have Doran's son killed and the man is currently planning to make an alliance with a faction that's against the Iron Throne. Swann is the last thing linking Dorne and the Iron Throne, so it's pretty clear what's going to happen to the man, ha ha ha

[Arkash]

Who knows... Balon Swann can surprise us.

As for what pb31 said, I agree: I think there may be an Areo chapter before this Arianne one.

[Tormund Giant*****]

Two things about the Darkstar:

(1) With Obara, Balon, and Hotah looking for him, Darkstar has a kind of trump card. He knows who killed Arys Oakheart. Darkstar to Balon Swann, "If they could lie to you once, maybe they could lie to you about other things. I would never attack a little girl."'

(2) What kind of man would Doran consider "the most dangerous man in Dorne?" Doran is a smart guy who knows that martial prowess can come down to a slip or a glint of sunlight, a la Barristan's description of jousting prowess. Doran would consider a smart/devious/intelligent/well-informed (and possibly desperate) man to be "the most dangerous." Darkstar knows something.

Also, sample chapters are always awesome.

All makes so much sense, Darkstar will tell of Arys true death and then Balon and Hotah will fight, who knows what will happen then. The meeting of these characters could be one of the coolest chapters yet.

[I do not sew]

Is it possible Saan got his hands on the kraken horn, and he's using it against Aurane in some pirate power struggle?

Regardless I seriously doubt we've seen the last of Saan.