CHAPTER 336: CAMPAIGN IN THE SANDS

(Third Person POV)

[Sunspear]

"Where is Prince Oren?" a Man asked as he walked up to one of the guards, "I bring news from Starfall."

The man had walked into the hall near the Prince’s chambers, reaching a guard that was stationed there, holding a glaive.

The guard looked at him, "He is in his chambers, resting." He said, "What is it you require?"

"Lord Dayne has requested aid to deal with the Desert Beast." He pulled out a letter from his pocket, "There is sightings of the Duskguard moving through the reach and making a direct march to Dorne. With the Desert Beast controlling the Prince’s Pass, the army will make an uninterrupted trip to invade our borders."

The guard nodded, "Come." He said, "He’ll need to hear this."

They both walked towards the room, and the guard knocked on it, "Prince Oren." He said, "May we come in?"

"...yes...." A raspy voice said

The guard opened the door, and they both walked in. Inside the room, Oren Martell sat on the edge of his bed, shirtless. Half of his body was scarred completely, he lacked all of the hair on his head for the same reason; the burn scars.

A lady was standing next to him, gently tapping his shoulder with a wet cloth as he was hunched over.

Oren looked at the man, "Tristeyn." He said, "You’ve come back from Starfall...."

The man bowed slightly, "Yes, Prince Oren." He said, "I have come bearing the message from Lord Dayne."

He stepped closer to hand him the letter and the Prince took it, reading it slowly.

After nearly a minute, he simply let out an exhale, "Drakken has decided to hammer the final nail on the coffin." He said with a slight wheeze, "By releasing that beast in our lands...there is nothing our armies could do with a beast of that nature."

"Over the past few weeks, it has been creating tremors that have affected many villages in Dorne." Tisteyn said seriously, "It has shut down the Prince’s Pass completely, shutting down any trading to the Reach. Our alliance with the Crown has been shaky since then, especially since King Jaehaerys has knelt to Drakken."

Oren scowled, "That spineless fuck, Jaehaerys." He clenched his fist, "He is so weak-willed that he willingly accepts the Trinity?!"

"After who knows how many years of refusing, he finally gave in." Tristeyn said, "Not only that, killing Septon Barth was a clear blow to the Faith. There is no doubt that there would be resentment."

"Resentment?" Oren raised an eyebrow as he gestured at him, "Hatred.....I know that full well.....I have nothing but hatred in my heart!!!!"

Tristeyn nodded, "The Duskguard will soon descend upon the land again." He said, "We must act."

"Tch...." Oren said as he slowly stood up, "You came just in time."

He snapped his fingers at a guard who was standing at the edge of his room. The moment he did this, the guard nodded and walked over to the door, opening it and reaching inside.

He then pulled out a woman from inside, who stumbled into view. She had clear bruising on her arms and her cheek as she straightened up, a serious and angry look on her face.

Tristeyn frowned, "W-What? Princess Elia?"

"My sister." Oren walked up to her and clutched her by the chin, "This traitorous bitch."

Elia glared at Oren, "I...."

"Shut it." He said with anger, "You betrayed me when you surrendered yourself to Drakken all those years ago."

"Prince Oren." Tristeyn said, "She is your sister, what have you done wit-"

"Quiet you." Oren spat, "You are in no position to question me."

Tristeyn’s face hardened, "She is your blood." He said, "Your Father would not approve of the treatment you are giving her. And where is Princess Tyene?"

"My Father is dead. And don’t worry about the little rat." Oren said, "She is the reason this one is behaving."

Elia looked at Tristeyn, "What has House Dayne stated?"

"The Duskguard are on their way." Tristeyn said

"There is no defending against that." Elia said, "Not with the beast in our la-"

Oren cut her off by smacking her in the face, causing her to reel back and hit the wall.

"You speak when spoken to, Elia." He said, "If you were not my sister, I would have raped you by now, choking you till you can’t breathe."

Elia wiped her mouth as she straightened up, "What a man you are, brother." She said as she glared at him, "Do you understand that there is nothing you can do? You are a dead man walking. The only reason you still live is because Drakken was bored with you."

"Another word and I’ll have you whipped again." Oren said seriously, "Do not push your luck."

"Go ahead." Elia spat, "It will hurt less than a simple leaf falling on your skin, brother. When the Duskguard arrive..."

"You will die."

***************************

[Kingsgrave]

The entire castle shook violently as Manwoody soldiers were on the ground, being finished off by Duskguard Knights who sacked it. Just past the castle gates, many soldiers tried fighting back as the Black Knights pushed towards them, cutting them down with ease.

House Manwoody fell without much trouble; their Lord was killed by a falling piece of debris that was caused by the quakes. The Duskguard simply walked through their gates and killed half of their men by the time they surrendered officially.

As the soldiers were being finished off, many innocent people were being dragged outside of the castle by other Knights, corralled to a corner of the courtyard as the entire Castle shook. They watched as massive cracks appeared on the walls and ramparts, debris falling on the ground.

While this happened, Maegor came into view, his massive figure an intimidating one as he walked towards them.

His eyes were terrifying, considering his sclera were permanently blacked out completely and combined with his already dark purple shade, he looked almost demonic.

He slowly approached the massive group of innocent prisoners who were on the ground as the tremors slowly died down.

"That beast...." He said as he reached them, "What rowdy bastard...."

The knights stepped aside as he reached them, showing Maegor most of the crowd; many servants, cooks, and maids.

Maegor scanned the crowd, "And the Lord of this House?"

"Dead." a Knight said

"Tch." He said, "And what of his wife? The Lady of this House?"

A Knight walked into the crowd and pulled a lady who was being pulled by a girl.

"No, no!!" She cried out, "M-Mercy, please!!"

The Knight pulled her away as the crowd gasped in fear. He then gently pushed her in front of Maegor and she immediately got on her knees.

"Please....!" the young woman said, "I.....I.....I did not love that man! I was married off to him just the year before...please, I beg of you!"

Maegor tilted his head, "What?"

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, "Mercy...!!"

"Mercy, you say?" He scowled, "There is no mercy here!"

He reached down and grabbed her arm, pulling her arm as she yelped

"I will have you tonight, show you what kind of mercy I show!!" He shouted

"No, please!!" She cried out

He took a step forward and suddenly, an arrow pierce his throat, "W-What?!’ He said as he let go of the woman, coughing out blood, "Who?!"

He stumbled and turned around, seeing Olyver slowly walking towards him as he was being followed by several Duskguard Knights.

"KIng Maegor." He said as he pulled his hood down, "I am afraid you cannot do that."

Maegor broke the tip of the arrow off and pulled it out, glaring at Olyver, "You fucking bastard." He said with anger, "You dare....?!"

Olyver leaned his longbow on the ground, "Our Lord informed me of your immortality." He said, "It is quite something, I admit. To be given such a blessing....or a curse....you were meant to be Lord Sol’Tyr’s vessel."

"Fuck what that means." Maegor said, "Why did you stop me?"

"One of the Tenets of the Trinity." Olyver said, "You will not Rape."

"Huh?" Maegor said, "What does that matter to me?"

"You are a servant of the Trinity." Olyver said, "And you will obey the Tenets. Over the years of commanding the Duskguard, not a single one of my men has disobeyed these Tenets. Because they know that my wrath is the wrath of Lord Drakken. I will not have you violate a tenet by violating a woman."

Maegor spat blood on the ground, "Tch.....!"

"Kinsgrave will act as our base of operations. I will have the damages repaired." Olyver said, "We will establish supply runs through the Prince’s Pass and with the Desert God’s protecting, we can have more outposts built past the pass. These people will stay and serve us, acting as hostages."

"Do whatever the fuck you want." Maegor said, "I have an objective."

Olyver walked past him, "I am aware." He said, "There are Septs and Red Temples nearby. Take your men and fulfill your role in this campaign. And I warn you, Maegor Targaryen...you do not wish to cross me....you may be have been a King before...but now you are nothing more than a pawn of Lord Drakken....."

"You are below me."