Planning traps
10th March, Sunspear in Dorne:
Even if the darkness from Mordor was not reaching Dorne, they could sense its presence through the portal between the Old Palace and Dunharrow.
"Ugh…that darkness is really creeping me out, with how it blocks out the sun in Middle-earth and gives off a feeling that the sun may never be seen again! Just how powerful is Sauron really, as a fallen Maia once serving the Gods of Arda?" Mellario admitted without shame for her being scared of said darkness, holding her content grandson in her arms so Arianne and Daemon could take a nap without risking being woken up by Ramses crying.
"I agree, Mellario. And while we can not do anything about the darkness, we can still make plans to try ruining his plans for conquering the Free Peoples of Middle-earth."
Between Doran and Ihsan where they were sitting on the floor of all places, a literal sea of scattered parchments, old thick books and half-finished drawings was around the father and son pair.
"...are the two of you planning something of a trap? For Khamûl, I mean, given what a risk it is that he may try to attack Oberyn and the older Sand Snakes once he can smell that they are sharing blood with Rhaenys?"
Ihsan stopped writing for a moment at the question from his daughter-in-law.
"More or less, yes. I have been studying the hieroglyphs, the writing system of Kemet, by using the flashbacks of how Princess Mara lost her family and her father fell into the service of Sauron, so I am trying to figure out a trap for Khamûl by using the magic of his former realm. Hopefully, it may help us to weaken him in some form…"
"You may need a little help from me in this."
The unexpected voice of Morgal Martell caused them all to twitch in fright, as Mahaad showed up in the door but there was something different about him. His eyes were amber like how it would be for Rhaenys when Mara was possessing her body, and it was an adult male voice speaking when he opened his mouth.
"M…Morgan? W-why are you possessing our youngest?" Doran asked, taking a deep breath to calm down his heart.
"I am unfortunately a bit limited in how I can help you as a spirit that have never been reborn in a new body like my Mother over the passing of generations, and Mahaad surprised myself by offering himself as temporary host body when we discussed the various pros and cons that I would have with his siblings and cousins."
Of course. Arianne needed to focus on her role as a leader and new mother. The ability to spirit walk in his sleep made Quentyn a bit risky as a host, and Trystane was needed here in Sunpear to act as a central point for the protective barrier around Dorne, since his magical ability was something akin to creating a unbreakable shield of magical energy around himself and he could also expand this into a barrier to protect more people. Understandably, Morgan was worried about messing things up for the two older sons of Doran and Mellario if he was to try possessing one of them.
"Are Oberyn rubbing off on everyone in the next generation by doing things without telling the parents?" Ihsan joked in a deadpan manner, somehow not surprised at all but also knowing that his younger son could not be blamed for something like this.
"The Martell free spirit, Padre…"
Anyway, Mahaad walked over to sit down between Doran and Ihsan, so Morgan could see how far they had come until now.
"Quite a good start, I must say, for that you didn't know about this writing system until a few years ago. And it is good that you are teaming up, the more people to help out, the less risk of getting screwed up."
"Hah, and there are people north of the Red Mountains who think that this life-long hobby of mine, to study ancient texts and languages, is just a waste of time when they are the ignorant ones of how little they may know of their own history outside the tale of their family origins and ancestors! They would not be able to read the rune script of their ancestors at all, if they tried!" Ihsan smirked without openly boasting about his own ego.
"Ramses, please be as smart as your great-grandfather but be a little more self-confident around those northern fools who have this mentioned illiteracy about their own ancestors," Mellario joked to her grandson, who naturally ignored everything thanks to being fast asleep in her arms.
"Ah, he must be sleeping really nice if he is drooling in his sleep," Doran said, offering his wife a piece of cloth so she could wipe that off from the little face.
Much like Mellario, Ellaria Sand also felt unnerved by the darkness in Middle-earth despite being in sunny Dorne. Furthermore, knowing how he could be at times, she worried about Oberyn becoming careless in a coming battle against the armies of Mordor. Sure, her father and uncle were helping out in the war as well, but with Oberyn being a long-time lover and father to her four daughters, it felt rather natural to be alarmed about him.
"He is a good warrior, but even the very best ones can still be defeated and killed by an enemy…"
Would her sweet Eliana, Obella, Dorea and Lorzea risk facing a future where they had to grow up without Oberyn? The same fate that so many other children risked in every war, the loss of a father that some of them were too young to remember properly as they grew up?
"Mother, you are having your head up in the clouds! We are supposed to be helping the children from Rûm now on how to learn Dornish!" Obella commented, pulling on the sleeve of her mother for attention.
"Oh, I am sorry, girls. And you are right, I was going to help teaching his wives in the language classes too."
Given that the former Sultan Selim of Rûm had quite a high number of younger children born to different concubines, Oberyn had tasked the younger Sand Snakes with teaching those sons and daughters to learn how to speak Dornish so they could better blend into their new homeland and culture with time. It was also a welcomed distraction for the children about the war, since they were too young to do anything more meaningful due to their age.
"Lord Suleiman did ask for his father and younger half-siblings to be given sanctuary to start a new life here in Dorne if our plan to install him as the new Sultan was successful, of course we must uphold our part of the deal."
In fact, the former Sultan had come to see Doran about something, and naturally found himself taking part of the discussion about how to trap Khamûl in a manner so he could not use his powers as a Ringwraith.
"How about something like this?"
Drawing a basic seal in a circle on parchment, they agreed that holy symbols from Kemet could be drawn around it. But the big problem was the needed chant to make the seal effective.
"Morgan…I fear that you may be the one needed to do the chant, since you are the only one who can speak the language of Kemet without problems and your birth father was a priest…"
Mahaad crossed his arms, the amber eyes looking at the parchment drawing.
"Mother will likely be busy acting as bait for the trap, so yes, I will have to do it so no one of you gets in danger. I only need Mahaad to stand close to the the magical circle so my spiritual power is near."
No one felt that Rhaenys was going to enjoy her part of the plan, as the bait.
~X~X~X~X~X~X
The Stormlands, Storm's End:
Given how the heavily pregnant Selyse, her two daughters and all the bastard children of Robert had suddenly vanished like mist in the morning sun, the whole castle staff entering a state of panic was to be expected when none of them could be found anywhere.
"Oh…my Lady…."
And of course, the news of everyone in the younger generation being kidnapped and somehow taken to a different world of all things, sounded almost too impossible to be true. But no one had yet forgotten how a mixed barrier of wind and seawater had protected Storm's End from that massive fire pillar aiming straight at the castle not even a month ago. With that in still fresh memory, the idea of magic returning and a different world… sounded almost logical.
"While I regret not being able to join Stannis and King Robert on this mission to free our kidnapped children from those monster riders who took them, I am not so careless as to risk this little one that is still sleeping inside my womb! I would be a horrible wife and mother if I were so foolish as to do something to cause this child to be born way too early for survival!"
In fact, Selyse was showing off the very side of her that Stannis slowly had grown to be attracted to, in his own manner, over their marriage. That she was aware of her own limitations, and was able to think in most situations with a clear head.
"Maester Cressen."
The old Maester was surprised at being addressed, when Selyse first had made a few movements to go inside the castle and rest in her own bedchamber after the long journey by ship.
"Yes, my Lady?"
"Have the maids collect something for all the children, something that belongs to each one from a younger age. Nothing that they would miss at returning home. I…wish to make a prayer to Eleni about the children and my husband returning home safely. Before this little one is born."
All the present servants understood the hidden meaning. A pleading to Elenei, as the daughter of the storm god and goddess of the sea, to protect her missing family members when Selyse herself was unable to do anything in this situation.
~X~X~X~X~X~X
Meanwhile, in King's Landing:
Work to remove debris and other parts of the ruined houses after that strange hail storm was still ongoing. Andrew Estermont, acting as regent while the King and his brother were gone, would not let anyone help out to escape this work.
"Ugh…so heavy…"
For many of the noble heirs, among them Robb Stark, this was a taste of a situation where their noble status was not allowing them to slip away from unpleasant work. In fact, Andrew saw this as a perfect chance to let them realize just how different their upbringing was, compared to the children of commoners who had to start working from an early age.
"Oi, Stark!" someone called as Robb finally was freed of the heavy log that she had been carrying alongside a few others, "are your father still rambling about your sisters being kidnapped by a Targaryen ghost or something?"
The heir to Winterfell made a face in discomfort. Somehow, words had been spread about Lord Eddard Stark witnessing both his daughters being kidnapped in the attack, and for some crazy reason, he had been heard talking about his late sister Lyanna, the Tower of Joy where she had died and how his failure to save her back then was coming back in the form of a Targaryen ghost.
"Father suffered a concussion of the brain as they fell down the stairs that were broken by the hail. The Maesters caring for him and other injured people in the Red Keep says that this is why he is talking as he does, that he is mixing up the events inside his mind and is remembering the past…"
Since Robb had not been present to witness Visenya, his unknown cousin, kidnap Sansa and Arya to Gondor of all places, there was little he could do to make people ignore nasty gossip that Lord Stark somehow had lost his mind.
"Yeah, right. As if a ghost would kidnap someone of flesh and blood!"
"He has spent too many years up in the frozen North, not even letting his own children be fostered out among his bannermen! Too little travel outside Winterfell to be familiar with the wider world outside their own home!"
"Country bumpkins with no court manners, ha, ha!"
"And this is the family that King Robert plans to marry his oldest daughter, Princess Argella, into?"
And what did hurt more than anything, was how Robb was powerless against those words of open disrespect against House Stark spoken by people who had nothing to fear in this situation, since he was used to the North respecting and being loyal to House Stark. Here in the south, he was getting an awful awakening of how naive he had been to think that House Stark would be respected in the same manner here in the south thanks to his father being a foster-brother and long-time friend of King Robert, and how sheltered his life had been until the royal visit. This feeling of helplessness was horrible for Robb, who was not used to it, especially as he feared for the missing Sansa and Arya to be among those dead bodies that could still be uncovered somewhere.
"Oi, Stark, return to work or you will be scolded!" Galladon Tarth ordered, preventing a fight from breaking out. Walking after Galladon with his head low, Robb wished that his mother Catelyn could be there, with his father still healing from his head trauma.
~X~X~X~X~X~X
Author note: Of course people in the streets may think that Eddard Stark have gone crazy from the attack with the Nazgûl, because while it is known that Lyanna vanished with Rhaegar and died in Dorne at the end of the Rebellion, Ned have kept his mouth tightly shut about the existence of Visenya because he does not want Lyanna to become publicly known as the mother of a stillborn bastard child of Rhaegar and now, about fifteen years later, he is babbling about a "Targaryen ghost" also kidnapping his own daughters?
Robb is getting a taste of how many people view his betrothal to Argella as only a result of their father being good friends, and how unsuitable he is as a husband for a royal princess known for her clever mind and strong character. Him being the oldest son of House Stark and nephew of Lord Edmure Tully does not help that his sheltered upbringing did leave him with some gaps in social manners for the south
