I. As South As South Goes
The Red Viper perched calmly on his red, plush chaise lounger, eyeing his dearest niece before him as she sipped her Dornish wine. She held her goblet against her red-coated lips while she stared at the short table in between them, contemplating his recent proposition. Her nails tapped absentmindedly against her cup, the sounds almost echoing through the silent chamber.
Eventually, he raised his own golden chalice up to her and she hesitantly watched his motion. "So, do you agree?"
Liaryne sighed slightly, "My grandfather won't be happy. You know he has a certain dislike for the Starks."
"He has every right. Lord Eddard killed your uncle during the rebellion." Oberyn nodded, bringing his wine to his mouth, "But if you also remember, it was the Lannisters that commanded your dear aunt and young cousins to be butchered."
She couldn't disagree. The Rebellion took a great toll on both sides of Liaryne's family. She had not even reached her first name day by the time her aunt, Elia Martell, and uncle, Authur Dayne, were taken as casualties to the war. Followed shortly by her aunt Ashara's suicide. And now another rebellion had started - and she was torn for sides.
Her mother, Shana Dayne, was sister to the legendary Authur Dayne. Due to the widely known fact that he was killed by Lord Eddard Stark at the tower of Joy, her family were slightly opposed to the Northern Warden and his family. However, Liaryne was slightly less hostile after she had learnt that the honourable Lord Stark had the decency to bring the famous family sword - Dawn - back to Starfall in respect for the acclaimed fallen Knight.
While her father, Doran Martell, the Prince of Sunspear, was the eldest brother to Elia - wife of Rhaegar Targaryen - who was brutally murdered on orders of Tywin Lannister, along with her young children. It was not a hidden fact that the Martells were aggressively vengeful, Liaryne's uncle Oberyn being the most notable.
She was raised by her father to be merciful, whilst simultaneous training with her skilled uncle, who had made it painfully obvious that he was raising her to help him take revenge on the Golden Lions of the Westerlands on behalf of his brother had been passive about the ordeal of starting a war. Oberyn wasn't about to let the opportunity of fighting against the Lannisters, in a war he didn't need Doran's approval to start, pass him by. He had asked his only niece to meet with him to discuss a possible alliance with the Northern Rebels that were being led by the Young Wolf.
He leaned forward, his brown eyes boring into Liaryne's violet ones, a family trait passed through her Dayne blood. "At least the wolves in the North are known to be honourable, even to a fault maybe, but the Lannisters are on the throne now. I know you've already heard of the horrors that boy Joffrey has committed before he was even King. Would you rather a conniving lion on the throne, or a righteous wolf?"
She nodded sorrowfully. "I heard he would skin the cats in the Red Keep, and abuse the servants, as well as his younger siblings."
"And we all know he could do so much worse with the power he has been granted, especially with his scheming mother whispering madness into his ear. I already know Doran would not let us take all of the Martell forces to fight in rebellion. He prefers peace and friendship, but us, we know that people need to pay for their crimes against our family - that the Martells will not be knocked down so easily. If we allied ourselves with the Northerners we might have more of a chance at taking Kings Landing and destroying the Lions."
"And what soldiers are you expecting me to take?" She narrowed her eyes, her uncle had probably been planning this since he'd heard the slightest rumour of a rebellion. His anger had not diminished over the years, he was still just as vengeful as the first time he had told Lyrine exactly what had happened to her aunt on her sixth name day.
"You've trained with some of the most prestigious warriors in Dorne throughout your life. You've befriended them and gained their trust. I'm sure if you asked, some would follow you North."
"You want me to ask my friends to come fight in a war they have no part in, and defy my father while doing so."
"Doran will not punish his eldest daughter."
"Besides, I am a bastard. You know how the rest of Westeros treat people like me. No one in the north will take a bastard like me seriously." She took a big gulp of her wine with a roll of her eyes.
"They need all the help they can get. Besides, the Stark boy was raised with his bastard brother in Winterfell. He must have a soft spot for them." She shook her head in disbelief and was about to put an end to the discussion. She wasn't about to betray her father by ignoring his commands and taking herself and her friends to their deaths in a strange land. But then she looked up at the stony face of her uncle. He'd never shown much emotion that could depict him as a weak man, he was the lethal Red Viper of Dorne after all, but she saw deeper. She could see the love he had for his slain family, an unrelenting anger he had for the Lannisters, the pleading need for revenge. He was not a patient man, she knew he wouldn't be able to wait much longer before he disregarded his sanity and slid himself straight into the Lions' den. She needed to help him, to at least stall him and give him a chance to think of a reasonable plan before willingly offering himself to be eaten alive.
"If you believe this is the best move, I'll send messengers to some of the families I think might be prepared to help. But we'll have to be quiet about this. It'll break my parents' hearts if they heard."
"Of course, Liaryne." He grinned at the 17-year-old girl, who could surpass most knights in the rest of the six kingdoms in single combat and warfare. She had trained harder and stronger than even the Sand Snakes, her cousins, taught by Oberyn himself that a war was coming for them all. He probably meant something about his revenge fantasy or downfall of the Lannisters. He'd never predicted the war coming was far bigger, far deadlier, and so much further North than he'd imagined.
Some of Oberyn's youngest bastard daughters came bounding into the chamber, giggling and chasing after each other, hopping over the seats and tables, hitting one another with wooden weapons. Liaryne's uncle smiled as he watched them, before turning to her.
"In years to come, people will sing songs of how our blood is that of ferocious warriors, who travelled to strange places for their people's well-being and fought to bring justice to our family name. They will sing songs about you, Liaryne Sand, the Valkyrie of Dorne, from as south as south goes."