A/N: I apologise for the longer wait; had quite the bad writer's block and got distracted by work and Youtube.

Chapter XX: Pride before the Fall, Part II

1 BC

Sandstone

For all that House Qorgyle loves to claim being an ancient, venerated House with three thousand years of history, one could easily forget most of that history was boring skirmishing, raiding and doing a whole lot of nothing. They built no great works, created no advancements in mundane knowledge and science, conquered no lands and founded no great ideology.

As Arin Rada would say: "What good have they achieved other than being nominal figureheads?"

Sitting across Rhodry Qorgyle, Arin saw that his uncle was really fidgety these past few days, moving even when standing or sitting still, his eyes darting from place to place despite his failed attempts to remain calm. One could be forgiven for assuming that he was still nervous about the invading Reachmen.

"So, that was your first battle, Uncle?" Asked Arin, who calmly sipped his coffee mixed with milk and sugar.

"I-Yes, that was my first battle," Rhodry said with strong jitters, "First time for everything, is there not?"

"I get your point," Arin conceded, "The first time I fought a battle, I was scared, praying hard I'd live to see another day. Good thing I arrived as soon as I did, yes?"

"Yes, it was," Rhodry nodded readily, "Thank the Se-I mean the Mother Rhoyne for your most fortuitous intervention."

"I see you have a rather smooth tongue," Arin pointed out, "Must be very helpful to you when negotiating with egotistical bullies of every denomination. Then again, plenty of us nobles are bullies either of each other or the people in general."

"Why would you say you are a bully, though? The people call you a guardian, a protector and defender of their livelihoods! Why demean yourself by putting yourself together with these other worthless nobles? Your neighbours were most certainly the very definition of egotistical bullies, I dare say!"

Arin felt himself sniggering at the thought of his family's old rivals meeting their end, and in the skilled, honeyed flattery his own uncle was readily showering upon him.

"You sound as if you know plenty about me, Uncle," Arin put forth.

"Well, I admit I was not there for your father and your family as much as I would have liked, but you have to understand I have my own reasons - old rivalries and politics with my neighbours and so on," Rhodry shrugged off, "Furthermore, we live on two opposite ends of Dorne; I cannot always make time to travel just to visit my brother or sister-in-law, much less my nieces and nephews."

Arin looked completely unconvinced, his stoic facade betraying no emotion.

"And especially right now, with the Reachmen knocking on my door, I cannot afford to leave Sandstone lest it falls into the enemy hands. Already, we've lost several outlying towns and villages and many forts along the way. If we fall, the rest of Dorne is vulnerable to invasion," Rhodry added with finality, "Honestly speaking, those arrogant Daynes, Wyls and Yronwoods always loved to portray themselves as powerful, ancient houses. I think their history as ancient Kings of Dorne went to their heads. About time they learned the price of their hubris.

Rhodry spoke with barely concealed distaste for the aforementioned houses, sneering at the very mention of their names, his eyes narrowed deeply and his anger like a stubborn scab that refused to peel off.

"In all honesty, I thought that your father was obstinate and stubborn, an old fossil doomed to die, clinging to Rhoynish traditions like that," Rhodry sighed, calming down after his earlier tirade, "Of course our father - your grandfather - preferred that my younger brother be his successor, himself being an ardent loyalist to old tradition."

"I recall father always wished things went better with you, that rather than you going off to marry into House Qorgyle to settle an old grudge between our families, you instead stayed and helped him with keeping House Rada afloat, keep it from being completely done over by our rivals," Arin said.

Rhodry added, looking as if he would spit to the side, "I kept on telling him that sticking to tradition wouldn't help, that unless we worked with our neighbours and stopped being so stubborn, we'd be better off. That at least, we would not be… ostracised."

Rhodry sighed heavily, rubbing his eyes and shaking his head as a heavy weariness settled upon his shoulders.

"Of course, I never thought House Rada would come to rule all of Eastern Dorne and bring down House Martell and become filthy rich in the process," Rhodry added, his voice softer and more tired, as if letting out a lifetime of regret, "So much for being stubborn and clinging to tradition."

And that was the last of his long speech, Rhodry reclining on his chair and looking ready to doze off into a well-deserved slumber.

"I truly apologise; I did not mean to rant and vent my frustrations like that," Rhodry said, "So, what's your plan for dealing with the Reachmen?"

Rhodry looked at Arin, his nephew completely unperturbed by the numerically superior Reachmen just on their doorstep, and he was unsettled by this fearless and supreme confidence.

"My father will handle the border defence of Eastern Dorne with my trusted general Franklyn, so do not worry about that," Arin reassured calmly, "All we need to do is kill the enemy before us."

"That we do," Rhodry agreed, "But what is your plan?"

"Follow me," Arin beckoned.

They entered the War Room of Sandstone Keep, an austere, spartan room with only a single table and a map of the desert region unfurled on its surface. The tokens of Houses Rada and Qorgyle were cornered in the town, while the Reachmen tokens had the entire town under lockdown - a bleak situation for weaker defenders.

Gathered inside were three men: Generals Huang Xue and Arron Darrel, and another Yi-Tish man. Said Yi-Tish Man carried himself with an arrogant, confident swagger, his face welcoming and his demeanour calm and disciplined like a soldier. His black hair was tied in a ponytail, his clothes immaculate, and his posture like a slippery viper.

"Rhodry, this is Gongmak Phoq, Chairman of the Tian Feng Huang (Heavenly Phoenixes), and he serves as my spymaster for this campaign," Arin introduced.

"Good morrow, Your Lordship," Gongmak Phoq curtseyed, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

The calm, polite smile Phoq gave him, combined with his predatory gaze shook Rhodry down to the core, and it was his years of politicking and watching countless masks others adorned that he perceived that made him wary of this man, especially with the shining, predatory gleam in his eyes.

"Yes, good morrow to you too, Gongmak," Rhodry greeted.

"Actually, his first name is Phoq," Arin clarified, "His family name is Gongmak."

"Oh, I see," Rhodry said, then remained silent, arms crossed with a defiant expression on his face.

"There is no need to be so cautious around me, Lord Rhodry," Phoq smiled, then his own smile faltered ever so slightly, "I follow His Lordship Arin's orders, and he has amply reminded me of the… consequences, should I disobey."

Arin's hard stare upon Phoq and the Yi-Tish man's subsequent discomfort made Rhodry relax slightly in relief.

"In any case, that aside, how should we deal with the Reachmen?" Rhodry asked, peering over the map, "Surely it does not involve sallying forth to meet the besiegers in battle?"

"It does," Arin confirmed nonchalantly.

"Wha-Are you serious?" Asked Rhodry in disbelief, "I thought you came here to reinforce the castle's defences, not gamble away our chances at survival in a risky attack!"

"It's not so much gambling away, rather our only option at survival," Huang Xue clarified, "Lord Rhodry, how long have your people been forced to stay in the castle, withstanding constant attacks while your own strength is slowly whittled away? Surely even you cannot take it all without wanting a change to this grizzly situation?"

Rhodry had to bite his tongue at this counterargument. Still, he remained unconvinced.

"Even then, there's no guarantee it will succeed," Rhodry pointed out, "I hate to sound defeatist, but we can't match them on the open field; I learned that the hard way."

"I know," Arin said, "Which is why we'll mount a surprise attack."

"What? That does not sound much different from a head-on engagement," Rhodry said, "And I'm most certain the Reachmen, having fought us on several occasions, will be doubly-wary of a night attack."

"You do bring up valid points, Uncle," Arin nodded, "And that is where I have a countermeasure. Phoq?"

"Yes, My Lord," Phoq bowed, "I and my boys are going there under the guise of merchants. We'll give them plenty of good drinks, put them into a drunken sleep, then we attack."

Though it sounded risky, Rhodry nodded slowly; the Yi-Tish were foreigners in every sense of the word, and as far as anyone knew they were neutral to the wars of Westeros, believing themselves above the troubles of a 'savage' continent as the Essosi do. Furthermore, between all the battles they fought with the Dornish and the unforgiving desert sun, no Reachmen would begrudge a nice cold drink to soothe their spirits and quench their thirst.

And with how close both his house and the other Desert houses came to defeat at their hands, after defeating the Red Mountain Dornish, who is to say their enemy was not going to become complacent?

"Be that as it may, they might be suspicious of the coincidental, sudden appearance of merchants who offer them good drink on the cusp of victory," Rhodry put forth again, and this time Arin looked rather annoyed, "There is too much at stake to take this lightly, so we must-"

"Uncle," Arin interrupted, "Do you want me to win this for you, or are you asking me to dig your grave in place of the Reachmen?"

Rhodry stopped himself at the sight of Arin's expression of annoyance, his nephew's hand and the hands of his officers drifting towards their swords.

Haltingly, he swallowed and composed himself before saying, "I apologise, nephew. I've just been on edge lately and I fear the consequences of our defeat."

"I've had to gamble with far less at my disposal, Uncle," Arin stated with certainty, his tone slightly accusatory against his kin, "The only differences now are: Our family rules Eastern Dorne, and I get to score first blood against the Reach."

Rhodry felt like he was a small, insignificant being under Arin's piercing gaze, as if his nephew were a titanic mountain in comparison to this gnat of an uncle with little to his name but his family name. It infuriated him, made him frustrated, and yet he knew that his nephew held all the cards in this situation.

"...I will hold down the castle and await news of your victory," Rhodry bowed.

And with that, he left, leaving Arin alone with his circle.

"...That old man is a slippery fuck," Phoq cursed, "I can't help but feel he's hiding one thing too many from you. Where's his family, for one? He's hiding one thing too many from us all."

"He's avoided talking about his wife, son and daughter, for one - we did not even meet them in person," Huang Xue pointed out, "And he avoided talking about the more important points of business, content to vent out his frustrations about your father, his neighbours and attempt to flatter your ego."

"Too bad I'm a numbskull to pick up on that," Arin shrugged.

"Bah! If you call yourself a 'numbskull', My Lord, then your uncle is a completely useless imbecile!" Phoq exclaimed.

A brief laugh was shared among them before Arron interjected, "In all honesty though, I do have to agree with Phoq; who knows if he is not planning to betray us once he is no longer in danger? I faced that sort of situation once with House Martell."

"Arron is right, we cannot slacken our vigil with House Qorgyle," Huang Xue added, "My Lord, please give us your permission."

Arin nodded without hesitation, "Huang Xue, you work with Phoq and the Tian Feng Huang to plant our spies in Sandstone and all the other towns in this region; I want all our people in place the moment we have to do some dirty work."

"As you command, My Lord," Huang Xue bowed.

"Phoq, our Omsyak shipments?"

"All of them fully stashed in the town's warehouses," Phoq smiled wickedly, "I hope to see for myself if the Reachmen's tolerance reaches as high as their mighty egos."

"Good," Arin smiled, "And I believe, Phoq, this will be your gang's time to shine."

Phoq chuckled softly, a cruel and anticipatory laughter, "I may not leave much of anything left for you, My Lord."

"If that is the case, I want in," Aaron declared.

Phoq flashed him a look of surprise, "I know you are a formidable warrior, old man, but surely you have contributed plenty in previous battles in Eastern Dorne?"

"I have always wanted to wet my blades on Reachmen blood," Arron declared, "I am a warrior by nature, and I figure that before my retirement, I should gain some lasting achievements as a glorious end to my career. I'm getting old for this - way too old - and that's why."

"I beg your pardon for saying this, Arron, but surely your time could be spent on other things?" Asked Huang Xue.

"I already spent too long confined to my home, forced to spend time away from the battlefield as I raised my grandchildren, raised my eldest granddaughter to be ready to take the reigns of power as next Lady of House Darrel," Arron said mournfully, his eyes brimming with unshed tears, "I have already done all I can for for my home and family; it's time I do what I can for my country, now that the shackles of House Martell are gone."

Arin placed a gentle hand on Arron's shoulder, "I appreciate it, Arron. In fact, I need you on the frontlines with me."

Arron's eyes widened with surprise, and quickly he shook Arin's hands gratefully.

"Thank you, My Lord, for giving me this chance," Arron said, "I won't let you down."