Dorne: Difference between revisions

While Dorne proved a less than tempting target for most Andal conquerors, a few early Andal warlords did seek to carve out a place for themselves on the peninsula. Most notable among these were the Santagars, who settled in the thinly settled jungles of the Broken Arm and spent many years in peaceful detente with their Greenblood neighbors. Due to its proximity to Essos - as well as the small number of First Men already living there - the Broken Arm was one of the first regions in all of Westeros to become predominantly Andal.

Other early Andal settlements included Ghaston Grey, an island off the coast of Yronwood conquered by the Jordaynes, and the lands of Sandhorn in the Western Desert, where House Maltrevar erected a stout keep and, in Anchoran, dug one of the southern Dornish coasts' few proper anchorages. Many Andal adventurers chose to roam through Dorne without settling down; for a time, the Ullers, Allyrions, and Martells all commanded substantial hosts, traveling across the peninsula to sell their swords and practice glorified banditry. Conran Qorgyle, another early arrival, gathered one of the largest armies in Dorne about him over many years of wandering. House Martell once threatened to topple the Greenblood—and would have—were it not for the command skill of King Edred Lake, known as the Wetblade.

The decline of the Greenblood did not become truly apparent however, until the landing of Vorian Roxton in 86 A.I. Gavyn Brownhill, the newly elected Green King, sent Ser Samuel Santagar and Magnar Dylan Brook to negotiate with Roxton, only for Roxton to break off his unprovoked siege of the Tor to take service with the Yronwoods. Roxton would take part in fighting the uprising that centered around House Fowler struggling to regain their independence as kings. Despite Roxton and Yronwood's defeat, the [[Yorick III Yronwood|Bloodroyal Yorick III]] agreed to honor his word, and strike next into the Greenblood. Thus, after defeating the forces of the [[Gavyn Brownhill|Green King Gavyn Brownhill]], [[Vorian Roxton]] declared himself the 'Lord of the Tor' in 97 A.I. A second war would see the seizing of the Bramble, a famed redoubt that guarded the northern banks of the upper Greenblood river. These defeats led to the first deposing of a Greenblood King in the memory of the kingdom, and the raising up of [[Bastian Briar]] as Green King.

A majority of Bastian's reign was spent fighting the Andal house Santagar and their allies, Daelwell and Vyrwel. For a short time just before Bastian became king, the Santagars had sworn fealty to the Green Kings, but their continued friendship with the Bloodroyals quickly degraded that relationship. When the Santagars marched to aid their Yronwood kin, their inclusion in the kingdom of the Greenblood was forfeit. By the time of Bastian Briar's reign, the Andal warbands of Daelwell and Vyrwel landed in the Spottswood. With [[Symeon Santagar]] at their head, they began an invasion of the Greenblood, and knowing the reputation of the Daynes for fighting against Andals, Bastian sent to Starfall for aid. The conflict lasted for eight years and cost the lives of thousands of Andals and Dornish First Men alike. In the end, the Andals sacked and burned the Greenseat, bringing about the end of the most ancient of First Man kingdoms. The last of the Briars had nowhere to call home and fled to Starfall with the Daynes.