While Aegon was still seething with rage over the betrayal, soldiers from the North arrived at Harrenhal, having marched down from the Riverlands.
Because winter receded later in the North, the Hand of the King's army was delayed. Hand of the King Torrhen had remained in Harrenhal to assist Queen Visenya with governance and coordination of military logistics.
The northern lords, hardened by harsh living conditions, were naturally fierce and resilient. If the Ironborn were savage and reckless, the Northmen were battle-hardened and unyielding.
Aegon's display of power on the southern bank of the Trident, combined with his winter tax exemption policy after conquering the North, had earned him the favor of the North's lords and people alike.
So, in this campaign against Dorne, the North responded in full. Virtually every noble house answered Aegon's call to arms, assembling a force of over forty thousand men.
Aegon received the northern vassals in the Hall of a Hundred Hearths at Harrenhal, delivering a fierce and impassioned speech to rally them for war.
The king sat on the throne, his expression dark, his fury palpable. Everyone in the hall could feel the Dragonlord's wrath.
At that moment, the Lord of the Dreadfort, Head of House Bolton, stepped forward and loudly addressed the king.
"Your Grace, why be angered by such fickle scum? Treachery runs in the blood of the Dornish. They were never worthy of your mercy. Only the North understands your grace. These rats that burrow in the desert—we'll make them pay for betraying you."
House Bolton, one of the most powerful noble houses in the North, traced its lineage to the First Men and the Age of Heroes. It was infamous for flaying its enemies alive.
Aegon rose and stepped down from the throne. He approached Lord Bolton, placing a hand on his shoulder with a calm expression.
"You speak the truth," he said.
Lord Bolton quickly lowered his head in deference. Aegon's eyes settled on the pink flayed man emblazoned on Bolton's chest, then locked with the lord's dark green gaze.
"Are my blades still sharp?" Aegon asked solemnly.
Delighted that the king understood their family motto, Lord Bolton responded eagerly, "Yes, Your Grace. Our blades are ever at your service."
"Good," Aegon nodded. "I've heard that in the Age of Heroes, your house took great pride in flaying enemies and wearing their skins into battle?"
Lord Bolton seemed to understand Aegon's intent. Overcome with excitement, he began trembling as he replied, voice unsteady, "Yes... that's... true, Your Grace. We believe power can be drawn from the skins of our enemies. It's just..."
He hesitated, his gaze drifting instinctively to Hand of the King Torrhen Stark, whose stern and piercing glare silenced him. Reluctantly, he lowered his head and fixed his eyes on Aegon's boots.
Torrhen, perceiving Aegon's intent, attempted to intervene.
"Your Grace, this ancient custom of House Bolton has been outlawed in the North for thousands of years."
In response, Aegon drew Blackfyre and held it angled toward the floor.
Seeing this, Lord Bolton was elated. He dropped to one knee, bowed low, and waited in reverent silence for what he clearly saw as a sacred moment for House Bolton.
Aegon rested the blade lightly on Bolton's shoulder and spoke with gravity.
"I am a man who respects the traditions of Westeros. Just as I reopened the ancient paths of the Ironborn and embraced the Faith of the Seven, I believe the nature of House Bolton should not be buried. In the name of Aegon I, King of the Targaryen dynasty, I grant House Bolton the right to resume the ancient rite of flaying—limited solely to enemies of the realm: the Dornish.
This is my justice for Dorne's betrayal."
Before Aegon had even finished speaking, Torrhen Stark turned and stormed out of the Hall of a Hundred Hearths in fury.
Lord Bolton, meanwhile, prostrated himself with both hands on the ground, kissing Aegon's boots like a loyal hound, loudly swearing his allegiance and showering praise on Aegon I for his "wise and glorious" decision.
Among the gathered lords, those close to House Stark were visibly uneasy about Aegon's controversial decree. Still, bound by caution and respect for the founding king, they kept their disapproval to themselves. Unlike Torrhen, they did not dare walk out. They knew they were not counted among Aegon's trusted allies—and if they crossed him publicly, he would have many ways to deal with them.
Thus ended the strange and uneasy audience with the lords of the North.
...
With Orys taken captive by the Dornish, the role of Lord Marshal was now vacant.
Aegon appointed Lord Bolton to serve as acting Marshal of the Realm, temporarily assuming Orys Baratheon's duties.
Like the Seven Sea Kings of the Iron Islands, the ancient practices of House Bolton were only permitted during wartime against foreign enemies. Once Dorne was fully subdued, both the flaying customs of the Boltons and the special privileges of the Ironborn would be once again sealed away.
This was the argument Aegon had used to placate Torrhen. Otherwise, with Torrhen's blunt and principled nature, he might have cast aside the badge of the Hand and returned to Winterfell, washing his hands of royal affairs.
...
At the following military council for the Dorne campaign, Lord Bolton eagerly proposed strategies, while Torrhen Stark remained stone-faced—but did not neglect his responsibilities.
Aegon had reworked his plan for Dorne.
In the previous war, he had relied on traditional tactics—massive armies advancing in formation—to conquer the North, the Vale, the Stormlands, the Riverlands, the Reach, and the Iron Islands. With Balerion at his side, he was nearly invincible.
But the underhanded methods of Princess Meria and the fickle betrayals of Dorne's lords had dealt the Targaryen army a harsh blow.
Now the Dornish were waging guerrilla war: retreating when pursued, harassing when encamped, striking when weary, fleeing when pressured.
Aegon and his council repeatedly simulated the campaign and came to a hard truth—Dorne's tenacity meant there could be no swift conquest. Total victory would have to be achieved gradually.
The War Council laid out the following strategic directives for the conquest of Dorne:
First: Enforce a naval and land blockade of the Dornish Kingdom. Use a concentric strategy to occupy territory gradually, shrinking the borders and reducing the Dornishmen's living space bit by bit.
Second: Relocate the Dornishmen living in occupied territories. The Six Kingdoms were all constructing segments of the Kingsroad—these Dornishmen could be sent to work on the roads. King's Landing was also short on labor. With spring approaching, the Crownlands had much uncultivated land that needed tilling.
If the relocated Dornish could be assimilated, they would help grow the population of the Crownlands—something Aegon had long sought. This was an opportunity.
Third: Psychological tactics were to be employed—spreading word of Princess Yellow-Frog's crimes among all Dornishmen, placing the blame for their suffering squarely on House Martell, while offering favorable treatment to certain Dornish nobles who had surrendered and refrained from rebellion.
By treating them differently, the aim was to foster goodwill toward the Targaryen dynasty and gradually achieve cultural integration.
In his past life, Aegon had witnessed far too many brutal and inhumane wars. He had no shortage of ruthless methods to "treat" the Dornish.
And while the concept of justice is murky in wars between nations, the Dornish were, after all, part of Westeros. Aegon did not want his realm to become a nation without conscience or limits.
...
Once the strategy was finalized, the army of the North began marching toward Dorne's border.
Some fortunate soldiers were able to ride the rail-drawn carriages—a new form of transport—to the southern reaches of Westeros.
At present, railways were not yet suited for large-scale deployment. Aegon had laid tracks only near Harrenhal and along the path leading into Dorne. These areas were patrolled day and night, as the value of steel made theft a constant threat.
Meanwhile, rebellions flared across Dorne like desert flowers blooming after a rainstorm.
Skyreach, Yronwood, Tor, and Ghost Hill were retaken by the Dornish in under two weeks. The royal garrisons in those locations were slaughtered, and the governors and castellans appointed by Aegon were only permitted to die after prolonged and torturous suffering.
According to Aegon's intelligence, the Dornish lords had even placed bets on who could keep a prisoner alive the longest while dismembering them.
As for the acting Castellan of Sunspear and Warden of the Desert, Lord Rosby—he was, relatively speaking, one of the luckier ones.
When the Dornish surged out of Shadow City and reclaimed the castle, he was bound hand and foot, dragged to the top of the Spear Tower, and personally thrown out the window by the elderly Princess Meria.
Now, only Lord Hightower and his army remained in Dorne, having been personally assigned to stay behind by Aegon.
Hellholt, once considered an unbreakable fortress along the sulfurous river, proved vulnerable in an unexpected way—the sulfurous fish caused illness among the Riverlanders.
The Seven Sea Kings' position in Sandstone was recaptured by House Qorgyle. Vickon Greyjoy sustained serious injuries but narrowly escaped.
Qorgyle spearmen then moved west, eliminating Hightower's foraging and patrol parties that had ventured too far.
To the east, House Vaith of Vaith Castle destroyed the Hightower army's eastern detachment.
When news of the defenestration at Sunspear reached Hellholt, Lord Hightower rallied his remaining forces and set off into the desert.
He declared his intention to first conquer Vaith Castle, then move downstream to retake Sunspear and Shadow City, and bring justice to those who had murdered Lord Rosby.
But somewhere in the red sands east of Hellholt, the Head of House Hightower and his entire army vanished without a trace.
No one ever saw another soul from that army again.
Thus fell the first Warden of the South, the first Lord of Riverrun.
...
At this moment, the northern host arrived at the border of Dorne. Lord Bolton, as Marshal of the Army, assumed command of the remaining Riverlands forces.
The northern lords' armies crossed the Red Mountains and were the first to retake Skyreach, the fortress closest to the border.
According to several reports Aegon received, Lord Bolton launched a brutal and horrifying reprisal the very day Skyreach was recaptured.
Before the eyes of tens of thousands of Dornishmen, he skinned the traitorous nobles alive, then draped their hides over his shoulders as a cloak.
The reports noted that some Dornishmen were so frightened by his cruelty that they lost control of their bowels.
From that moment on, the flayed man of House Bolton became the stuff of nightmares for all Dornishmen—capable even of stopping a crying child in the night.
Aegon read in one report that after Lord Bolton donned the human-skin cloak, he visibly grew a few inches taller, and red mist would occasionally rise from the garment.
He regretted not using a chip to analyze Lord Bolton's talents back in the Hall of a Hundred Hearths—but there was no doubt that the man was incredibly powerful.
...
After reclaiming Skyreach, the northern host pushed on. They retook Yronwood and Sandstone before advancing to Hellholt.
The Reach soldiers trapped inside, cut off from all aid, wept with joy at the sight of the northern reinforcements.
Lord Bolton absorbed the Reachmen into his command and proceeded to carry out a second large-scale "cloak-making" operation at Hellholt.
He built a gruesome display out of the bloodied, skinless corpses and arranged them before Hellholt's gates as a warning to any Dornish who dared resist the Targaryens.
Lord Bolton's grotesque tactics infuriated the Dornish—but facing the crushing might of the North, they could do little more than conduct nighttime raids and poison the soldiers' supplies.
Yet the Targaryens would not be fooled twice, and every such attempt was thwarted under Lord Bolton's watch.
...
The northern army halted its advance for the time being, as Hellholt now served as a fortified bridgehead deep inside Dorne.
To press further, they would have to cross the vast red desert—an unsafe undertaking for an army with no experience in desert warfare.
After all, Lord Hightower had once led over ten thousand men into that same sea of sand… and not a single ripple had returned.
The Head of House Bolton began implementing the encirclement, containment, and fortification strategies developed alongside Aegon and the Small Council. Groups of Dornishmen were rounded up by northern soldiers and placed under strict military control.
As these local Dornish youths were subdued, raids against the northern army dropped noticeably.
...
Following the arrival of the second army mobilized from the Crownlands, the process of transporting Dornish captives from the camps back to the Crownlands began.
Aegon ordered the logistics corps to extend the railroad further into Dorne, reaching as far as the Red Mountains. Troops were assigned to patrol the tracks around the clock. With the use of railcarriages, the relocation of Dornish prisoners became much more efficient.
The Federal Council of Volantis had already dispatched several groups of slave overseers, ensuring there would be no shortage of personnel to manage and "tame" the Dornish.
Upon arrival in the Crownlands, the Dornish were automatically granted the status of Targaryen commoners—since slavery was prohibited in Westeros. However, each was subject to a three-year term of penal labor. Only after completing this term would they be granted full freedom.
...
Simultaneously, a propaganda campaign targeting House Martell of Dorne was launched.
House Dayne of Starfall, which had not joined the rebellion, was rewarded by the Targaryen Kingdom. Aegon dispatched propagandists to several large castles throughout the Red Mountains to shape public opinion—highlighting, for example, tax reductions in Starfall, automatic citizenship and business privileges for its people, and the awarding of an honorary medal by Aegon himself to the current Head of House Dayne in Harrenhal.
At this stage of the Targaryen dynasty, the top priority was to consolidate control over the occupied regions of the Red Mountains, while relocating Dornish populations from around military encampments and the most defiant areas of resistance. The goal was to gradually erode House Martell's influence in the region.
...
By the end of the fifth year of the Conquest, Prince Aenys had begun calling Aegon "Father." From what could be seen, Aenys showed signs of intelligence and behaved like a normal child—just a bit thin and frail.
At the new Citadel in Harrenhal, an invention of world-shaking significance was successfully completed.
Thanks to calculations supported by Aegon's chip, paper was finally produced.
Lightweight, portable, and easily replicated, paper made it possible to spread knowledge and information far more widely. This gave a massive boost to the Targaryens' propaganda efforts against Dorne.
Even in Aegon's former modern world, leaflets—simple and cheap to produce—remained widely used during wars.
But the significance of paper extended far beyond propaganda. It held revolutionary potential in education, knowledge transmission, art, and cultural exchange.
For example, the new civilization being cultivated by Aegon and the scholarly circles of the Tower of Learning would see their development time drastically shortened thanks to this breakthrough.
...
Within just half a year, the dozens of academic schools within the Tower of Eagles had already developed more than ten new philosophical movements—blending Valyrian thought with ideas from the East. These included naturalism, materialism, idealism, restraint, humanism, and more.
At present, these philosophies remained in their infancy. Still immature, they required testing and refinement through real-world application before Aegon would grant them official sanction for public dissemination.
Shifts in thinking and philosophical transformation were expected to ignite sweeping changes—cultural, political, scientific, and artistic—throughout the Targaryen realm.
Of course, any change in human thought carried inherent risks.
...
As Chancellor of the new Citadel and one of the founders of these emerging schools of thought, Aegon was confident in his ability to steer their development.
He continued to sift through these new ideologies, seeking those most suitable for the Targaryen dynasty's future. But so far, none had fully met his expectations. Further refinement was needed.
Still young, Aegon was in no hurry.
...
[Upto 20 chapters ahead for now]
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