The citizens and slaves of Volantis hide inside their homes, as the ruling council has decreed that the conflict between the followers of the Lord of Light and the Dragon Cult is to be handled without the involvement of outsiders. The conflict has been ongoing for some time now, and all economic activities in the city have come to a halt. Only the followers of the Dragon Cult in their white robes are allowed to bring in food and supplies.
Before the conflict broke out in the city, the fighting between the two Partys had already started among the armies.
Volantis is divided into the Tiger and Elephant party. The Elephant Party advocates for economic development, while the Tiger Party supports military growth. The two Partys complement each other, allowing the city-state to thrive. As a result, most of the soldiers and generals belong to the Tiger Party, and regardless of whether they serve in the army or navy, they all have tiger tattoos on their faces, known as the Tiger Cloak."
Before the rise of the Dragon Cult, half of the military followed the Lord of Light, but after the Dragon Cult emerged from secrecy, the number of followers has decreased, with about a quarter of the army still following the Lord of Light.
Under the joint orders of the three rulers, the entire army is being moved north in batches to Volon Therys, Valysar, and Selhorys. Each batch of soldiers has been carefully divided, with those who follow the Lord of Light being killed in their sleep by Dragon Cult soldiers upon arrival at their posts. Their bodies are dragged into pre-dug pits and buried, awaiting the next batch of Lord of Light followers.
The navy has been completely sent to the city of Lys for rest. This order seems strange; why would the entire navy be stationed in another city-state? However, considering that it is peacetime and there is no war, questioning officers still followed orders and docked their ships in Lys Harbor.
Too many navy soldiers have disembarked, and the only place to hold their festivities is in the spacious harbor.
By nightfall, those who couldn't handle their alcohol returned to their cabins to sleep, while some of the soldiers, still unsatisfied after their fill, found scrap wood in the harbor, built a bonfire, and began dancing around it. They didn't notice that more and more of their comrades were disappearing.
The revelry continued until late at night, with the secret killings also ongoing. By this time, the strong scent of blood could not be hidden, and experienced veterans began to resist.
The harbor descended into chaos as the followers of the Lord of Light banded together to try and escape to the city, but Lys soldiers had already blocked all the roads near the harbor.
A few were successful in escaping by boat. As they watched the massacre raging in the harbor, relieved to have survived, they loudly called for the Lord of Light's protection, only for dozens of fireballs to fly from the island of Lys and blow their ships to pieces.
Fifteen days after the massacre at the harbor, the Treading Waves Knight arrived in Volantis with only the Dragon Cult's fleet remaining.
Likewise, the Volantis army, now composed entirely of Dragon Cult followers, immediately returned to defend the city upon hearing of the unrest. They set up roadblocks around the Temple of R'hllor and the Dragon Cult's temple, leaving a street connecting both temples, and ordered all the city's army to refrain from participating in the conflict.
The Temple of R'hllor, like a fortress, is enormous and exceptionally sturdy. Even without food supplies, the stockpiles within the temple could sustain them for a month.
The high-ranking members of the Dragon Cult are directing the battle from their temple, and Wright is here with them. They are not in a hurry to break into the enemy's temple but are intentionally leaving this sacred ground untouched to draw in scattered followers of the Lord of Light for an easy ambush.
Soaked in blood, Thoros walks into the hall, places his longsword aside, and grabs a water jug to gulp it down. Wright, who is reading nearby, watches him quietly.
"You're back safe and unharmed, good. How many mages did you encounter?" High Priest Dofas Pennymion asks with a smile.
Thoros puts down the water jug and points to the door. "I found three today!"
Dofas waves his hand, and a follower rushes to the door, opening a sack to reveal three severed heads that roll onto the ground.
"I recognize them. It's definitely them!" says the purple-robed dragon priest Naissos Visama.
Upon hearing this, Wright stops paying attention to Thoros and returns to his book.
Thoros's life story is no secret. He has lived in Westeros for over a decade and has often spoken about it in taverns. Wright and Varys investigated him many years ago, and there are no issues with his identity.
However, he had once followed the Lord of Light and now followed the Dragon Cult. Wright had no choice but to send him alone to kill a few R'hllor priests to see if he still held any old loyalties.
At this moment, Volantis' intelligence officer ran in, directly approaching Wright, giving a salute, and then presenting a thick stack of letters. "Lord Wright, these are military intelligence reports from Tyrosh."
"Thank you for your hard work!"
"It's my duty." The intelligence officer left quietly.
The chaos in Myr had been contained locally, and since there were no battles in Tyrosh, the military intelligence must have come from Dorne. The letters contained copies of original documents from Dorne, as well as records analyzed by Tyrosh officials. Wright opened the letters one by one and carefully reviewed them.
Having understood the situation of both enemy and ally, Nymeria changed her strategy from a cautious, steady advance to a strategy of multi-pronged, continuous offense.
In early March of 301 AC, the army gathered in Yronwood, and before the soldiers, who had just completed a long march, could rest, they launched a full assault on the small town of Wells. Both sides had similar numbers of soldiers, with the enemy fresh and waiting to fight a defensive battle, while their own soldiers were exhausted. This is a military taboo, yet the outcome was surprisingly effective.
Lord Yronwood, though not politically aware, was a skilled war commander. Upon hearing news of Nymeria's army advancing east, he immediately organized an efficient defense, planning to kill Nymeria in Wells.
However, even the best plans couldn't withstand chaos from below. When the battle started, the rebellion army descended into total disarray. When the weapons, freshly serviced, were distributed to the soldiers, they turned out to be old, broken wooden shields, spear shafts eaten by worms, and bowstrings that snapped after just a few pulls.
Many units fell back as soon as they encountered the enemy, disrupting the entire battle line. Nymeria's cavalry charged through the positions as if there was no resistance.
Meanwhile, their own cavalry, which was supposed to flank the enemy's side, after crossing dune after dune, ended up wandering aimlessly and didn't know where they were anymore!
With the war in such disarray, even the politically unaware Lord Yronwood realized something was wrong. But after an investigation, he found that the mistakes were made by the lower-ranked soldiers, while the nobles and commanders were all excellent. He had no idea whom to punish.
Lord Yronwood wanted to execute a few of the most suspicious soldiers to make an example, but was advised against it. Retreating after such a defeat was already a blow to morale; doing so would certainly lead to rebellion, so in the end, he could only execute a few soldiers.
The situation now was practically a rebellion! Furious, Lord Yronwood nearly fainted and had to be supported into a carriage.
By the end of March 301 AC, the first clash between the main forces of the two Factions in the Dornish Civil War ended on the outskirts of Wells. Nymeria's forces killed nearly ten thousand enemies, captured close to thirty thousand prisoners, and retrieved the remains of Prince Trystane, greatly boosting their morale.
Lord Yronwood suffered heavy losses and was forced to retreat east to Godsgrace, his son-in-law Ser Roger Allyrion's stronghold.