AN: Alright, getting right into it.

DORNE-SUNSPEAR

ARIANNE

Princess Arianne woke up lazily in the comforting heat of Dorne. No sooner had she gotten out of bed to prepare for the day then there was a knocking at her door.

"Enter." She said.

To her surprise it was Areo Hotah who came in.

"Your father wishes to speak with you. I must find the Sand Snakes." He said bluntly before leaving as soon as he entered.

'Probably going to inform me of other suitors he has decided to spend the next decade mulling over.' Ariane thought as her maids came in to aid her in getting ready.

Soon she was on her way to her father's solar. She made a brief stop by the kitchens to grab some fruit before engaging in what she was sure to be a long and tedious meeting.

When she arrived, her father was standing by the Maester, a sullen look on his face.

"Oh, what is it Father? A match too good to deny? Or someone you wasted years on considering rescinded?" She said trying to play the mood to her advantage.

"Oberyn is dead." Doran said.

That one statement completely changed her.

"What?" Arianne said. The words not making sense.

Prince Doran held up the letter that was in his hands.

"'As of Prince Oberyn Martell's unprovoked attack on Lord Tywin Lannister, a state of war now exists between the principality of Dorne, and the remaining kingdoms of Westeros. Though Lord Tywin managed to defend himself, the attempt proves the disloyalty of the Dornish Houses to the Iron Throne.' It keeps going to include terms of surrender."

Arianne snatched the letter and poured over it. The Dornish border lands would be given to the southern Reach and Stormland houses, the Sand Snakes would become Silent Sisters, she herself would have the King himself decide her husband. Trystane would be a hostage in the capital.

She read it over several times before turning to her Father. "What are we going to do about this? Call the banners, we need to fight this."

"Fight? How exactly would we do so? We are gravely outnumbered, and that's with the Iron Throne overestimating our forces thanks to King Daeron. If we engage in open warfare, we will lose before the year ends."

"So you are just going to concede? Going to allow the man who just MURDERED YOUR BROTHER to dictate our lives?"

"It was not murder." Doran said, though his voice did hold both rage and grief. "Tywin killed him in self defense. Oberyn poisoned the kitchens in Casterly Rock. He also enlisted the aid of House Qorgyle to do so." Doran said as he started to rub his leg.

"No one knows where Sallera is. I may be able to hold out long enough to spare Ellaria's daughters. I had thought about asking Tyene to join that Septon's group to keep an eye on them. If I told the crown that she had already left, then she could still join up. That leaves you, Obara, and Nym. You, fearing for your future, convinced your cousins and friends to help you escape. You also seduced a guard as you made a break for it and bought passage across the Narrow Seas and are running to Norvos to seek refuge with your mother. In actuality, you will be heading to Pentos. Specifically, to Illyrio Mopatis' Manse."

Arianne looked at her father, who seemed to have a fire in his eyes that reminded her of Oberyn.

"Pentos? What is there?" she asked.

Doran had a sad smile on his face.
"Your betrothed."

Two days later, Arianne, Obara, Nym, Andrey Dalt, Garin, and Sylva Santagar, stared at Dorne from the deck of a Braavosi ship.

Little did they know that they just avoided the first ships from the Redwyne Fleet securing the seas.

THE REACH-HIGHGARDEN

WILLAS TYRELL

"Brother…"

Willas turned around upon hearing his sister's voice.

"Still not used to it? Neither am I." The new Lord of the Reach said to his sister.

Their Father, Mace Tyrell, had died.

That Septon he and Garland had cornered was not alone. He had a new recruit. A Hedge Knight who had been spurned the hand of one of the Tyrell maidens. As Garland faced off against the Hedge Knight, Mace dueled the original criminal himself.

According to Garland, Lord Mace Tyrell did not disgrace himself. In fact, Garland said it was the finest duel he had ever seen his father in.

In fact, that was his downfall. Mace had been brought down to only 800 Life Points, but his opponent had only 50. In addition, Mace had on the field Botanical Lion, Mariña, Princess of Sunflowers, a Fluff Token from the effect of Dandylion, Giga-plant, and Aromage-Bergamot. He also had a Ring of Magnetism Equipped to Mariña. This meant only she could be attacked, and she still had 2300 attack.

And then the Septon played a card known as Megamorph.

He equipped it to his newly summoned Panther Warrior, which had also been given Forbidden Chalice so it did not need to tribute an ally to attack.

And so, the Panther Warrior, boasting 4400 Attack, Sliced the Sunflower Princess to pieces, and moved in to kill the Warden of the South as well.

Garland immediately avenged his father. He did not give the Septon a chance to plan any long term strategies.

When he returned with Father's body, they had all weeped. Their Mother was despondent, Garland and his family hardly left their rooms, having spent the time together.

But none were affected more than their Grandmother.
This left Willas to step up to be Lord of the Reach and Warden of the South. The raven declaring such should be getting to King's Landing any day now.

Willas looked at his deck. To carry on his Father's legacy, he had added some of his monsters into his deck, but that was not the only newest addition. Garland had claimed Megamorph from the Septon's corpse, and gave it to Willas. He said that the card that had ripped their hearts out would be used to keep the family strong forevermore.

He shook his head and focused back on his sister, who had been sadly quiet at the reminder that her brother was now a lord.

"What was it you wanted to tell me sister?" He asked.

"I...I am afraid a raven just arrived from the Capital. Orders from the King."

THE WESTERLANDS-CASTERLY ROCK

TYWIN

As Tywin was in his solar, writing orders to his lords to begin preparations for war, one of the Pages knocked on the door to give him a letter the Maester just untied from a raven. It had the crown stag of the Iron Throne on the wax.

Tywin opened the letter and began reading it.

It was mainly as he expected. Permission to begin mustering troops and all the other preparations that he was already doing. The letter was more of a formality than anything else.

Writing a reply with all the necessary words, Tywin handed the letter to the Page and told him to bring it to the Maester.

Tywin got up when he finished all the necessary letters, and set out to find Kevan. While Tywin was away, he would be Castellan of the Rock. With the speed Tywin was going, he would depart for the Dornish border within a fortnight.

He found Kevan in the great hall with Tyrion.

As loathe as he was to admit it, Tyrion would be coming with him to Dorne. Prince Doran's indecisiveness in terms of his daughter and heir's engagement would be ended by this brief conflict. If Princess Arriane is forced to accept Tyrion, then their children will inherit Dorne. Children that will inherit the name Lannister. If she kills Tyrion, then she will be executed and Joy Hill can be legitimized and married to Quentyn. Robert may be the one officially making the match, but there was little other choice in the matter. Especially given the huge debt that could be forgiven by arranging such a high match to the two lowest Lannisters.

As he walked up to the two of them, they stopped talking.

"Tyrion. How is the deck?"

Tyrion had been given a good chunk of Oberyn's deck. He said that they felt right when added with certain other cards that he had himself. The cards Tyrion or someone else did not grab would be formally returned to Dorne with what remained of the foolish prince's body.

"Well I admit the origins of the deck is a bit too morbid to brag about, I do believe it will get the job done well enough." Tyrion said with that usual smirk on his face.

"Make sure of it. Kevan come." Tywin said as he continued walking. Kevan said farewell to his nephew before trailing Tywin as they went to do additional preparations.

RIVERLANDS-RIVERRUN

EDMURE

"What is this?" Edmure asked his father as he walked into his chambers. The item he was referring to was a letter that held the King's seal.

"Something that is not yet your concern Edmure." Hoster responded to his only son.

"Yes well, here I was about to head out to go speak with Walder Frey about his missing descendants, and then Vyman comes to ask me if it was wise that I was heading out with so few men and supplies for a WAR." Edmure pointed out.

"HA. Don't even bother with the Late Lord. Any trouble that happens to him is his own fault." Hoster said.

"Even so, it's at least a score of people with noble learning joining someone who is becoming more dangerous at every mention I hear. He started out as some Septon in King's Landing, no one seems to know him from before hand-he might not even be a Septon for all we know- and now he has followers all over the Kingdoms." Edmure said, unloading some of the stress he had been building up.

"He is still nothing to be concerned about. Once his followers grow tired of hearing him speak and still having to live off so little they will dwindle and stop supporting him. He is not the first charismatic person to not deliver on their promises. Why, the last thing Baelish said before I threw him out was that I would regret it. Well, the only regret I have is that I ever accepted his father's offer in the first place." Hoster said with a contempt to Baelish equal to his contempt for Walder Frey.

"Please, do not remind me of that. I thought Brandon was going to just mess around with him, maybe let him get a good strike in just to impress the audience. Let a lowborn maid see him be valiant and show him Cat is not the only lady in the world. I did not think he was going to almost murder him." He had tried to apologize to Petyr when he was healing. But the boy had yelled at him to get out, and feeling guilt over helping Brandon even indirectly hurt someone he thought of as a brother-even an annoying one- kept him from trying again.

At the reminder of what happened all those years ago, Hoster had a glossy eyed look. He was muttering something under his breath that Edmure could not make out.

THE VALE-GATE OF THE MOON

MYA

"This is outrageous! It's just a goat path. I am sure we can walk on it without needing to pay you such a price." A baby faced merchant said when Mya told the man her price to reach the Eyrie.

Mya was used to such outrage from outsiders. Either they get lucky and manage to pay her the next time, or they do not come back.

"Suit yourself then. Just know both I and Lord Royce have warned you. The last group who refused my help was a Septon and some followers of his. They said they did not need the help of a sinful Bastard and went up the goat path all at once. The idiot knew nothing of the mountains and from what remains it looks like they tried to scale the mountain only to cause a rockslide. Took Lord Royce's men and I half a moon to clear out the path." She warned the merchant.

She returned to the castle and grabbed some food from the kitchens. She sat down when Myranda Royce found her. Despite this, Mya did her best to try to drown out the gossip her friend was trying to spread.

"Mya my dear, have you heard what your knightly love has done?"

That got Mya's attention. She and Mychel Redfort had been seeing each other whenever he and Ser Lynn Corbray were at the Gate of the Moon. They had yet to do anything too scandalous, but she honestly hoped that his father would let them marry. Though, knowing Lord Redforts disposition, it was admittedly unlikely.

"What happened? Did the Mountain Clans attack?" The Clans had made some more trouble than before when the cards first showed up, but had gone back to the usual amount of trouble after a few moons. Though come to think of it, she had not heard much about them attacking recently. Whereas before you could hear of five or six new attacks every moon, now they had just heard of two or three.

"Apparently he got into a bit of a drunken fight amongst the squires at the Bloody Gate. They decided to settle it by dueling while racing on their horses. The Blackfish stopped them before they could though."

Mya could not help but laugh at that. "That is one of the most ridiculous ideas I have heard. Which is saying something considering the mystery behind the cards."

Myranda laughed as well. "I don't know, I think it would be entertaining. Watching knights race around an arena, having the monsters chase after their leaders."

"Maybe, but I doubt it will catch on so fast." Mya said as she continued to eat.

THE STORMLANDS-STORM'S END

BRIENNE

Brienne and the Storm's End forces returned after several days of hunting and dueling.

Ser Cortnay Penrose was dead. Burned by some monster's white light as his life points trickled down to 0. Brienne was unsure of the exact numbers, but she knew over fifty had ridden out counting her. As she looked around, at the men, she could count maybe thirty at most.

The good thing about dueling was it healed injuries procured during a duel. Unfortunately, the enemy had set traps.

A Horse falls into a pit and the rider snaps their neck, Four had been lost that way. Another six had died during the duel, when their life points hit 0. Others had either died or were missing or maybe captured by the retreating enemy. She was unsure what happened to the soldiers who had been in the southern group.

It was hard to say if this counted as a victory. They had routed the enemy, but failed to capture any of them. Gathering the bodies of those they managed to kill -fifteen in total- the soldiers noted four enemies they had seen engage in battle who were not amongst the dead.

At the very least, it was likely that the raven's would be able to resume their duties.

Brienne headed to the Maester's ravenry in order to have him send a message appraising Renly and King's Landing of what had occurred.

The bandits had looked to come from all over. Some had clear signs of being Smallfolk, but that was not going to answer why they had done such a thing.

The only thing they all had in common, was a circular scar on some part of their body. The leader-or so they assumed, had a line inside the circle, as if to show he was of higher rank.

IRON ISLANDS-PYKE

ASHA

"This is a terrible plan." Rodrik Harlaw stated to his rightful king.

"Always a coward I see. It took me awhile to realize that my wife inherited the manhood of House Harlaw. Mayhaps that's why Rodrick, Maron and Asha grew to be such fine warriors." King Balon spoke. He may lack the Driftwood crown for now, but his kingship did not end when he gave it to that oaf of a Greenlander. He had just bided his time, like a kraken waiting for prey to swim by. And now, the chance has come.

Letters declaring war with Dorne were sent out to every kingdom. No one expected the Ironborn to spare men for such a battle, but no one would bat an eye if they prepared for conflict. While everyone was away, the Ironborn would remind them the meaning of the Iron Price as they take Thralls and Salt-wives like the old days.

"Such fine warriors they may have been, but strategy is just as important. And the simple fact is that we simply have too few men and resources to invade the mainland. Can we hold land until the army returns? Possibly. Can we defeat the armies when they march home once they hear of our attack? No." Rodrik stated.

Balon grumbled, but said nothing. He was in a tricky position. The Drowned God's gift of the cards to summon monsters and warriors to command in battle had brought a renewed sense of victory to Balon, but as time went on, Rodrik Harlaw became more prestigious as he has yet to lose. He went from being looked down upon for his reading, to being seen as the Iron Island's greatest duelist. If Balon challenged and lost to him, that would be almost the end of House Greyjoy's rule. IronBorn were forbidden from spilling each other's blood, but if it came to a duel, then Balon would lose both it and credibility, and House Harlaw could be seen as having taken leadership by paying the Iron Price. Such an irony was not lost on Asha as she watched her father and uncle debate.

They were not alone of course. This meeting was meant to be between the lords and captains of the Iron Islands, but these two dominated the conversation. By looking at the others, one could judge who they sided with.

Balon had the support of Victarion and Damphair, as well as most of the lords. But the captains who got their ships through their own prowess seemed to favor Rodrik's views.

She herself believed in her father's words. If not now, when would they get another chance such as this? Her nuncle was dear to her, but sometimes he was too cowardly.

"Besides Lord Balon, if you make any move against the Kingdoms, your brief reign will be noted to have started with an act of Kinslaying against your son and heir." Rodrik pointed out.

That was a stopping point of the meeting. The lords who supported Balon would be wary if Theon's death caused the Drowned God to curse Balon's reign. Even Victarion and Damphair-who had no love for Theon since he left, looked a little less sure.

Eventually, the lords and captains returned to their ships. They would continue to rebuild the Iron Fleet to its former glory, but would not yet make a move against the rest of Westeros.

DRAGONSTONE-THE RAVENRY

DAVOS

"Another burning tonight?" Maester Cressen asked.

"Aye. Davos replied as he looked at the servants who went around the beach setting up pyres.

Ever since the Red Priestess Lady Melisandre arrived, she had been holding these nightly burnings for her followers. As few as they were.

Lady Selyse was an adamant follower of R'hllor, and her uncle Axel seemed to have followed suit, the entirety of R'hllor worshipers on Dragonstone numbered between a dozen and a score. It was hard to get an exact number as some people would attend the burnings just out of curiosity, and some would stay while others go back home.

Melisandre may have assumed that her claims that her God was behind the cards would cause new believers to flock to her, but the High Septon, followers of the Old Gods and even some IronBorn merchants all claimed their religion was behind it. Had Melisandre already been on Dragonstone, and had the cards only appeared on Dragonstone, then she may have had most of the island converted. As it stood, most of the people on the island followed Stannis' orders regarding her: As long as she is not breaking any laws, accommodate her as an honored guest of Lady Selyse.

And so most of the island carried on as they had in the past. If Melisandre spoke to them they were as polite as if they were speaking to Lady Selyse, but otherwise did little to change their lives.

Honestly though, some were complaining about her stalking the training yard, and whenever someone won a duel, she would interrupt to expound upon how R'hllor favored them. Especially if they used FIRE attribute monsters.

Eventually Davos found out some interesting information about the Lady Melisandre. He was having drinks with his old friend Sallador Saan, when he made passing mention of Melisandre.

Apparently, Melisandre was a traditionalist even among the followers of R'hllor. When the cards appeared, she took it as a sign that now was time to show their God's power.

The Church of R'hllor was allowed to burn some condemned criminals in Volantis, but only the really depraved and it was rarely done. Which made sense, Davos had met Thoros of Myr several times, and he never wanted to burn him alive. Thinking that they were failing, she and some others suggested that non-believers are just as guilty as murderers. Long story short-Selyse may have been Melisandre's only way to get out of the city alive, as she had lost her standing in the temple.

Suddenly, a raven flew into the room. He may have been old, but Maester Cressen handled it with expert care as he unwrapped the letter and began to read it.

"A message from the Capital." He muttered.

After a few minutes Cressen started to chuckle.

"Something amusing Maester?" Davos asked curiously.

"You could say that, My Lord." Cressen replied.

Davos looked at him strangely. He knew Cressen was getting old, but his mind had not yet gone, had it?

"I'm just a knight. Perhaps the only one with onions for a symbol, but that does not make me a lord." Davos reminded Cressen. Should he call the man's new assistant Maester? How would he explain this to Lord Stannis?

"Not officially, but it is a customary title for those who serve on the Small Council." Cressen said with a bit of a grin.

Davos looked confused as Cressen handed him the letter. Shireen's lessons had started to stick, and now he could read more than just his cards.

It took Davos three minutes to read the full message.

He spent another ten rereading it.

He was about to reread it for the twelfth time when Cressen confirmed the contents were what he thought.

"Congratulations, new Master of Ships Lord Davos Seaworth!"

"This must be some mistake. What about Ser Axell? Or Lord Velaryeon?" Davos asked. Surely they were better fitted than him?

"You can ask Lord Stannis himself when you get there. I am not sure if you read that far but it also mentions the Princess Myrcella asking how Shireen is doing. The Princess was kind to Shireen whenever they met, as rare as that was. So you better take her with you. ...For more reasons than just that ..." Cressen said, muttering the last but as he looked out the window.

THE NORTH-WINTERFELL

EDDARD

"Jon?" Ned Stark asked the one family member that did not share his name.

"Yes Father?" Jon replied.

"Why does Theon have a black eye?" Ned asked.

"Because Rickon asked him where babies come from. I found them about to go into the Brothel." Jon replied.

"Okay then, never mind." Ned said as he kept walking.

After a moment of walking he realized something. The Brothel was isolated. The only reason to go in that direction would be to go there. So if Jon saw them…

Ned shook his head. 'I suppose it's to be expected. Jon is almost of age. As is Robb. And I suppose Samwell as well.'

The reminder of the Tarly issue burned the Wolfsblood inside of him. He would not deny that the Watch was in constant need of more men to fill its ranks, but the point of the Watch was it was voluntary. A criminal could not be forced to go, but for their own will.

Ned was reminded of one of the times his father and Brandon had brought him along to witness an execution. A man had gotten drunk and killed his brother. Lord Rickard had offered the man the black, but he said that his crime deserved death, that it was the only way to atone to his brother and the gods. And so he was given it.

So to think that Randyll Tarly would threaten to either kill or frame his own son for Kinslaying, it was enough to make the Quiet Wolf be mistaken for the Wild Wolf.

It took some coaxing from Ned to get Samwell to admit to his father's actions, but once he did Ned assured him that he was not bound to the Watch. He could go if he wished, but until he made a decision he would be an honored guest of House Stark.

Sam did not just laze about though. He could be found helping Maester Luwin, or in the Library, or even helping Gilly.

THAT was another issue entirely. Anyone who looked at the two could see the boy was smitten, but the girl was nervous when interacting with almost anyone.

'Considering her history, I can not blame her.'

The rest of the Wildlings were taking care of themselves as well. The young ones were as obedient as any child their age. Knowing the Wildlings rebellious nature, Ned suspected they were chosen from the most obedient children in the village for that very reason. Ygritte was becoming Arya's personal hero. Which was worrying. Tormund had also been staying out of trouble. There was an occasional issue just from traditions that were seen as strange, but cooler heads always prevailed before it got too bad. In fact, Tormund had outdrank the Greatjon when he came to Winterfell to see the Hostages for himself, as they had avoided Last Hearth along the way. Ned was unsure if that made the two companions or greater enemies.

After this trail of thought, Ned finally reached his destination- The Godswood. He bowed to the Weirwood tree and sat down by it, letting the Old Gods know his thoughts. He found himself praying for his family, as he always did, and asked for the wisdom to handle the current challenges.

After awhile, he was about to stand up when he heard a sound not of nature. It was the rattling of metal hitting metal. Ned turned around and saw Maester Luwin approaching with a message in hand.

"Apologies, My Lord, but urgent news from the Capital, I thought it best you see this as soon as you could.

Ned took the letter, it was too formal to be from Robert directly, so it was likely the grand maester Pycelle. As he read it he felt his blood go cold.

War. With Dorne

Ned turned back to the Weirwood, and muttered another quick prayer, before rushing to his solar to write a letter asking what His Grace expected from him.

He hoped it would be over quickly, but he would do what was asked of him for his King.

PENTOS-ILLYRIO'S MANSE

VISERYS

Viserys stared at Illyrio as he was informed of the news from Westeros. Dorne had jumped and struck first, unifying the other six kingdoms against it. With that one move, Viserys' one confirmed ally was going to be battling on its own.

That was it then. He lost his best chance of regaining the Throne.

He returned to his private rooms in the manse. Once he was behind closed doors, he let out a scream. A scream that encapsulated years of misery, sorrow, and despair.

'Failure. I have failed. I did not do ANYTHING. How did I spend these years? Just running. You failed. You're a disgrace to the House. You have done nothing to avenge Me...'

Little did Viserys realize, the voice in his head had changed from his own to his father's.

As he felt himself fall into the darkness of sleep, he barely noticed the sound of the voice being drowned out by the purring of a small creature. The voice faded as he dreamt dreams filled with dragons. His dragons.

AN: Sorry for the delay. Was going to post when I woke up but then I realized it was community day in Pokemon Go. (Got 3 shinies!).

So, Arianne and her allies are on the move, and the Sand Snakes are split up.

Mace is dead, but he went out swinging and almost won. So the Reach is shaken, but stable thanks to Willas, who then immediately learns what happened to his friend.

Tywin is preparing for the war. A Lannister always pays their debts and all that. He finds a way to spread the Lannister name and humiliate his foes. Tyrion-Arianne is a way to put Tyrion to use. Their children will choose to carry the name Lannister instead of Martell and bring Dorne under the lion. I also was not gonna waste Oberyn's deck after spending so long making it. But Tyrion has changed it up to include cards he prefers as well.

Edmure still is being left in the dark by his father's decisions, but he also gives his take on the Brandon v Petyr duel.

Business as usual for Mya. There will be little to no Turbo Duels at this point in the story.

Brienne gives an epilogue to the bandits cutting Storm's End off from their ravens. Penrose is dead, and if it was not clear, this version of the Sparrows uses the 7 pointed star symbol to denote Rank. The High Sparrow and his original followers have the full star, new recruits have just the circle, and as they do more they get an additional part of the star carved onto them. I may go more into it with Tyene.

Asha witnesses her uncle keep the IronBorn from invading. She is caught between the two, but leans more to her father. Rodrik gets to Take a Level in Badass due to his dueling reputation.

Davos gives us a rundown on how Dragonstone has been dealing with Melisandre, before being ordered to head to the Capital. Mel is the fourth religious authority to claim credit for the cards. So most just let her be, or go to her prayers out of curiosity.

Ned gives us his thoughts on the Tarly issue. He is wroth that the Night's Watch was the only choice besides being framed for murder or being murdered. An oath said at sword point is not binding, so Ned is stopping Sam from going and keeping him as an honoured guest for now. He plans on contacting Robert over the issue, but now is not the time.

And Finally, Viserys loses the one alliance he was just recently informed of. Seeing just how outmatched he is, his coin finally begins to fall. But it has not landed just yet.

Next chapter, we will mainly focus on Winterfell. Also, a fan favorite makes their first appearance.