Throughout the years of Aegon’s conquest of Westeros, six of the seven kingdoms submitted
to his rule, with the Aegonfort settled upon the coast of blackwater bay, which soon became
the capital of King’s Landing.
However his campaign of conquest proved incomplete as he was unable to capture Dorne, sending
his sister-wife Rhaenys atop her dragon Meraxes, only to find their castles and towns abandoned
or else populated with only women and children.
When she arrived at sunspear, it too was abandoned, save for Meria Martell, the elderly Princess
of Dorne who remained behind to warn Rhaenys that Dorne would never submit, saying,
"You may us, my lady, but you will not bend us, break us, or make us bow.
This is Dorne.
You are not wanted here.
Return at your peril."
Following this confrontation, Dorne was left in peace for a time, until the rest of their
campaign was completed and Aegon crowned as King of Westeros.
House Targaryen then set out to finish what they started, and in 4AC launched the first
Dornish War.
Flying south atop Meraxes, Queen Rhaenys again journeyed to Dorne, capturing castles and
burning Planky Town before arriving in Sunspear to capture the seat of House Martell, only
to find that Princess Meria was not present.
Meanwhile King Aegon and Lord Harlan Tyrell battled their way through the Prince’s Path,
afterwhich Harlan led his forces to Hellholt, suffering many casualties along the way due
to the harsh desert climate, and finding the fortress abandoned upon his arrival.
King Aegon went on his own mission to capture Yronwood, but he too found the castle largely
abandoned, populated only by women, old men and young boys.
Moving on, Skyreach also proved deserted, yet Aegon at last encountered resistance at
Ghost Hill, where he defeated a champion of House Toland in single combat, only to then
discover he had actually fought a mad fool and that the rest of the castle was abandoned
like the others.
In the Boneway, Lord Wyl of Wyl attacked and defeated Lord Orys Baratheon and his host,
capturing a number of noblemen who were imprisoned for several years.
With Sunspear and many other castles, towns and fortresses captured, House Targaryen declared
victory, leaving the lord of House Rosby as Castellan of the dornish capital, while Lord
Harlan Tyrell remained behind with an army charged with quelling any rebellions that
might arise.
Yet once the Targaryens had withdrawn from the territory, the Dornish immediately began
their counter offensive, with Meria Martell re-emerging in Sunspear, leading her people
to take back her seat of power, capturing Lord Rosby and tossing him from the top of
the spear tower.
When Lord Harlan heard of this revolt, he gathered his army and departed Hellholt in
5AC, only for his forces to vanish in the Dornish desert, never heard from again.
Throughout the territory Dornish nobility and common folk rebelled against their would-be
conquerors, slaughtering the garrisons and overseers put in place by House Targaryen.
In 7 AC, Lord Wyl of Wyl ransomed the prisoners he captured during the battle of the boneway,
but decided to cut off their sword hands first, so they might never again raise a weapon against
Dorne.
Lord Orys Baratheon was profoundly affected by the loss of his hand, becoming bitter and
wrathful, desiring nothing more than to seek vengeance for this dishonour.
Having quickly lost all that they had gained in dorne, King Aegon mounted his dragon Belarion
the Black Dread, and flew south, burning a great number of castles in retaliation.
Yet rather than instilling fear, this only proved to escalate the conflict further, as
the Dornish marched north in 8AC, sacking a number of towns and villages as well as
burning the rainwood forest.
The following year, the Targaryen again unleashed dragonfire upon the Dornish, while House Fowler
led an army against Nightsong and House Dayne marched against Old Town.
Yet again the dragonlords went across dorne, burning Starfall, skyreach and Hellholt, however
as Queen Rhaenyra and Meraxes unleashed their fury against the seat of house uller, they
encountered unexpected resistance, as the Dornish used a scorpion to shoot them down,
presumably killing both the dragon and it’s rider.
Enraged by the loss of his sister-wife, Aegon and Belarion went on a rampage, burning every
Dornish stronghold they could find, save for Sunspear which was left untouched.
Some say this was because the Martells possessed special weapons that might take down Aegon’s
dragon, while others say it was a strategy, as the Targaryens were hoping to turn the
rest of the population against Sunspear by spreading a rumor that they had made a separate
peace with the throne.
Yet the Dornish remained loyal to House Martell, and the war continued, with both factions
placing large bounties upon the other side, resulting a great number of assassinations.
After a third failed attempt on the life of King Aegon, Queen Visenya formed the Kingsguard
in 10 AC, modelling their vows after those of the night’s watch, preventing them from
holding lands, titles or being wed.
The war then continued on for 3 more years until the death of the elderly Princess Meria
Martell, succeeded by her son Prince Nymor who then sent a mysterious letter to Aegon
in King’s Landing.
Although the contents of the letter remain unknown, some have theorized that it revealed
queen Rhaenys was still alive, having been captured and kept as a prisoner under torture.
The letter may then have offered to end her suffering in exchange for a cessation of hostilities.
In anycase Aegon burned the letter after reading it, and the next morning accepted defeat,
ordering the withdrawl of his troops from Dorne.
Despite the hostilities between their people, this peace lasted for the rest of Aegon’s
reign, and the king even remained on good terms with Prince Nymor’s daughter Deria
Martell, visiting sunspear in 23AC alongside his eldest son Aenys, for what was called
a feast of friendship.