Blood And Iron (ASOIAF/GoT)

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-Pov of Ellia Martell first moon 289 AC

"Queen Rhaella, Queen Mother Elia, I bring news from Westeros. It seems that the war that had erupted against the Prussians and later against the Ironborn has finally come to an end… though not with the outcome we loyal to your cause had hoped for..."

The messenger's voice trembled—the same nervous, shaking voice that had once brought us the news of Rhaegar's death.

Dorne and Oberyn had sent letters assuring us that this war would be the first step toward restoring my children to the throne, the opportunity to rebuild everything that had been shattered during these dark times. They told me that the Prussian gold found in the Torentine would finance mercenaries, that allies would come in droves once we controlled the Prussians' main source of wealth. But the Seven were cruel to us once again.

Not only did the Prussians hold their ground, but they went on the offensive, sowing chaos throughout the realm. And if that were not enough, the Ironborn pirates saw this as their moment to rise, believing the weakness of the Seven Kingdoms had opened the door to their independence.

The lands burned, the kingdom crumbled, the armies were exhausted, and in the end… all for a shameful agreement to be signed.

"Speak." My voice came out harsher than I intended, but I did not care.

The messenger swallowed hard before continuing.

"The Iron Throne and the great lords have accepted a truce with the Prussians."

The words hung heavy in the room. For a moment, no one spoke.

"A truce?" Queen Rhaella's voice was barely a whisper.

"Yes. Not independence, but an autonomy never before seen under the rule of a Westerosi king. The Reach is now more Prussian than Westerosi; its laws and administration are their own, its economy no longer answers to the Crown. The truce was agreed upon because none of the great lords could continue fighting without seeing their lands fall into ruin."

My breathing was slow, measured.

The opportunity that Oberyn and Doran had assured us we would have… had slipped away.

"And the other lands?" I asked, my jaw clenched.

"The Riverlands were devastated before the harvest. Famine is beginning to take its toll on the peasants, and without enough grain, the situation will only worsen with the coming winter. The Crown has lost power—Robert has been weakened."

I closed my eyes for a moment. The dream of the Targaryens' return was not dead… but the war had not brought us any closer to it. On the contrary, it had pushed us even further away.

"Dorne… what happened to Dorne?" I asked, my voice barely steady.

The messenger hesitated, as if searching for the right words to soften the blow of the truth. But there was no way to soften it.

"Dorne did not fall… but neither did it emerge unscathed."

Silence weighed heavily in the room. Dorne had been our greatest hope, the only land that had stood firm against foreign invaders in the past. If Dorne endured, there was still a chance.

"Plankytown was sacked. Karl von Rugen led the attack with precision. They burned the warehouses, destroyed the merchant ships, and left the trade routes in ruins. Without a functioning port, Dornish commerce has taken a severe blow. There was no full-scale invasion, but the message was clear: the Prussians can do it whenever they want."

I found myself unable to speak for a moment. Oberyn would not sit idly by. He had said that this war would be the beginning of our opportunity, that the Seven Kingdoms would weaken, and that at the right moment, we could bring back the true royal bloodline. But now…

Dorne did not have the resources for a military campaign, its trade was fractured, and the Crown had no means to support it.

"This complicates matters," said Willem Darry, in the tone of a man who had seen too many defeats in his lifetime.

"My family still remains loyal to the cause of the rightful kings, but with each passing day, we lose potential allies."

His voice was grave, and his face bore the same concern we all shared in the room.

"The Riverlands had multiple houses that supported us, but now I doubt any remain outside Tully control. We have no support in the North, and Arryn has ensured that no one loyal to us remains in the Vale. Little to say of the Westerlands; with Lord Lannister's iron grip, no one would dare support us there. In the Crownlands, we still have many loyalists, but as I said, with each passing day, their allegiances shift. In the Stormlands, only one or two houses show interest in aiding us."

He paused, frowning.

"In the Reach, there are only Prussian nobles or nobles who have aligned with the Prussians and owe loyalty to the foreign mercenary."

"And the Iron Islands?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.

Darry shook his head.

"The Iron Islands as well. What little remained of their fleet has been destroyed, their lands occupied, and their people under foreign rule. Only one Greyjoy remains alive, but even if he were to attempt a rebellion, he is isolated. Dorne is the only place where we have guaranteed support."

The silence in the room grew heavier.

Dorne… our last hope.

But even Dorne had been struck.

And though Oberyn was willing to fight to his last breath, Doran Martell would do nothing unless he was completely certain of victory.

"And what of the other Free Cities and the support the Braavosi magisters have offered us in exchange for generous future agreements upon our return?" asked the widowed Queen Rhaella, with the tone of a woman who refused to surrender.

Willem Darry sighed, the weight of the negotiations pressing on his shoulders.

"The Braavosi magisters have offered us swords, spears, and ships should we return to Westeros, in exchange for ensuring that their merchant houses and the city of Braavos will pay no trade taxes in the future. Essentially, they seek to guarantee that if the Targaryens return to power, their ships will have unrestricted access to all ports."

He paused before continuing.

"Pentos has offered us several thousand soldiers under similar conditions, with the additional demand that a member of House Targaryen marry into one of the city's oldest families, ensuring a lasting alliance. They believe our cause is viable enough to wager on, but they also want to guarantee that we will never turn against them should we reach the Iron Throne."

His tone grew more tense, and everyone in the room knew what was coming next.

"We had deals with Myr, Tyrosh, and Lys… but with the Prussian warlord's presence in Essos, we have no one left to negotiate with."

"The magisters and the Iron Bank have good relations with the Prussian warlord, and if the reports are true, he was exiled from his own kingdom. If that is the case, he may bear a grudge against his former king, which means an alliance with him could be possible," Rhaella said, her gaze calculating.

Both of them looked at me.

"From what I have heard, he commands around eighty thousand men, though no one has seen him in some time. But if the opportunity is there… having an army trained in the Prussian manner could provide a strong foundation for our campaign," Willem Darry said, his tone that of a man who knew this opportunity could not be ignored.

Eighty thousand men.

That was no mere mercenary force. That was an army capable of toppling entire kingdoms if used correctly. If they were trained under Prussian doctrine, their effectiveness in battle would surpass any peasant levy, any hastily gathered cavalry that the lords of Westeros could muster.

If the Prussian warlord in Essos truly resented his former kingdom, could we exploit it?

"If he agrees to an alliance, we could gain more than just soldiers. We could gain a foothold in Essos," I added, letting the thought hang in the air.

An alliance with a man like that could change everything.

"But once again, we remain waiting. Even if Robert's rule is weak, he can still rally a good number of lords, and if we do not go with sufficient strength, he could defeat us… Still… we should make another attempt to reach out to the Prussian mercenary," Rhaella said, her expression shrewd.

"After the betrayal Doran dealt him?..." Willem Darry replied with a skeptical grimace. "I see about as much chance of Robert feeling guilty and handing back the throne as I do of that man making another deal with us without guarantees. And if he does, he will demand no less than half the realm in exchange for his aid."

"We have no realm to give him," I murmured. "But Robert has little to offer him either. The king in Prussia has shown no interest in the Iron Throne, only in securing his hold on the Reach and expanding his influence. If we approach him, we must do so with something he values."

Dorne had offered him the Westerlands in exchange for his help in our landing… and he had accepted. But then Dorne had broken the deal by attacking him in the religious war.

"I understand he holds significant influence in the North. We could offer him dominion over the North—not to him directly, but to a Prussian lord, as was done with the Iron Islands. His army is vast; if we win him over, we could return to Westeros tomorrow."

Willem Darry scoffed, shaking his head.

"I doubt he would sacrifice his army for us. He didn't when Dorne offered him the Westerlands, and now that he has been betrayed, even less so. If he agrees, he will expect us to do the hard work or simply abandon us at the most critical moment if he deems the war unfavorable."

"Then we must give him reasons to stay," I insisted. "The king in Prussia is not an impulsive man—he is calculating, ruthless, and methodical. He does not act out of loyalty but out of convenience. If we offer him something that guarantees long-term benefit, he will consider the offer. If he wants the North for his men, if he sees the opportunity to establish his order in another corner of Westeros, he may accept."

"And if he betrays us?" Rhaella asked coolly.

"Wouldn't Robert, Tywin, or any other Westerosi lord do the same if given the chance?" I replied calmly. "Everyone plays their own game. We just need to ensure that if the king in Prussia plays his, it benefits us as well."

Willem crossed his arms, his brow furrowed.

"Dorne already failed him once. He won't trust us, and rightfully so."

"Dorne broke its word, but we were not involved in that betrayal. We can present ourselves as a new opportunity, a different bargain."

"And what would we offer him?"

"Besides the North… we could guarantee him what Dorne could not. The Westerlands."

The silence in the room grew heavier.

"The Westerlands are the economic heart of Westeros," I continued. "The gold of Casterly Rock is the foundation of the Lannisters' wealth. If we ensure him complete control of that region, he will consolidate both his economic and military power. Even more so, if the Prussians dominate Westerosi trade, their influence will surpass even that of the Crown itself."

Willem let out a sigh. "We cannot rely on him to reclaim the throne. But we can use him to hasten the war. If we reach an agreement, his army will move before Robert can reorganize his lords. If not, time will continue to work against us."

"But because of that power he will accumulate, we must ensure that his dynasty remains permanently tied to the Targaryens. Marriages in every generation so they are always linked to the Crown," Rhaella said with calculated coldness.

Willem Darry frowned.

"That would mean accepting that his line becomes one of the most powerful in Westeros. He would not be a mere vassal but a family that, over time, could claim a legitimate right to the throne itself."

"And what other option do we have?" I responded firmly. "Even if we reclaim the Iron Throne, we cannot afford to have a foreign power like the Prussians remain beyond our control. At least this way, their loyalty will be sealed by blood."

Rhaella nodded."It is the price we must pay. If we do not, in one or two generations, his power will be too great for the Crown to contain. If we bind them to the Targaryen dynasty, they will always remain under our influence."

Willem let out a sigh."Robert fell to his own pride and allowed his kingdom to weaken. We will not make the same mistake."

"Then it is decided."

The proposal would not be merely territorial—it would be dynastic as well.

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Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.

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I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.

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