"Aurane, Balon, Theon, Wendel, come over and take a look together."
Wright handed over the letters he had read and then moved on to the others.
These were events that had already occurred, so there was no need for secrecy; sooner or later, they would spread through various channels. Allowing his officers to see them now would also give him the chance to hear their opinions.
Aurane and Balon held equivalent military ranks, but as it was the naval patrol period, Aurane naturally took the first letter.
In early April of 301 AC, Nymeria's army split into two routes. It was later learned that the ceasefire agreement sent by Lord Yronwood had been destroyed during a clash between reconnaissance units halfway.
The northern route, led by three Dayne contingents from Starfall, High Hermitage, and Gemstone Island, with twenty thousand men, attacked the Drinkwater's castle. Ashara Dayne personally charged the castle gates, killed enemies, and opened the gates, allowing the army to storm the castle in a single day, capturing over six thousand prisoners. The few fleeing soldiers escaped by boat to Ghaston Grey, and the Daynes had no ships and could not pursue them.
After the battle, House Drinkwater was annihilated, and all the knights loyal to them perished.
The army then continued eastward, recapturing Tor, which had been seized by House Jordayne, and headed south to join Nymeria's main forces in the siege of Grace.
Nymeria's main forces, pursuing along the southern side of the Yronwood army's escape route, prevented the enemy from reaching Vaith. After capturing Vaith, the main force split into two groups.
By mid-April, Nymeria's main army reached the outskirts of Grace. The city's walls were tall and difficult to breach. Nymeria ordered the army to camp and begin constructing siege equipment while waiting for the northern and southern forces to meet. Lord Yronwood sent another ceasefire agreement, which, by the time it reached Nymeria, was covered in blood, and the text was too smeared to read.
By the end of April 301 AC, the southern route force, commanded by Lord Harmen Uller, had taken Salt Shore. Harmen's illegitimate daughter, Ellaria Sand, was with him, along with her four illegitimate daughters, three generations of women fighting on the battlefield. Following their victory, they were to continue eastward to attack Lemonwood, but upon receiving a letter from Nymeria, they immediately changed course to participate in the siege of Godsgrace.
Nymeria's letter stated that she had made an agreement with some of the enemy commanders. The fall of Godsgrace was now inevitable, and once the city fell, if the enemy troops retreated southward to Lemonwood instead of following Lord Yronwood, Nymeria would treat them as surrendering forces.
The nobles in Nymeria's army were eager to kill every enemy soldier, and without Nymeria present, they would leave no prisoners. To spare more Dornish lives, this was the only way to keep them alive.
By early May 301 AC, after the three armies joined forces, they launched a strong assault on Grace. After three days of resisting, both Lord Roger Allyrion and Lord Yronwood escaped through a secret passage.
When Nymeria found them, she discovered the bodies of Roger's mother, wife, and his two sons, aged eight and seven, hanging at the castle gates, along with the servants who hadn't managed to escape.
Roger, who had already fled, returned on horseback upon hearing the news. His ancestral castle had been captured, and his entire family was dead. Having lost the will to live, he handed a wooden box full of letters to Nymeria and then, beneath the bodies of his mother, wife, and children, used a spear to take his own life.
The letters Roger Allyrion gave Nymeria were no ordinary documents. His final cry revealed they were handwritten copies of the plots made by Oberyn and Doran Martell to overthrow King Robert over the last decade, documents secretly left by his deceased illegitimate son, Daemon Sand. Lord Yronwood had already sent more copies of the letters via ravens to the noble families of the Seven Kingdoms, informing them that the originals were in his possession. By exposing the Martells' plot to the world, he aimed to use the collective power of the noble families to protect himself.
This was Roger Allyrion's plan: even in death, he wanted to sow discord between the Martells and Baratheons.
By mid-May, Nymeria's army had completely surrounded Sunspear City.
After Aurane and the others had finished reading, Wright handed the letters to the Dragon Cult members and then asked his officers:
"We first went by ship to Myr, then to Volantis. So much has happened in Dorne. After you've read it, do any of you have thoughts?"
"Roger left a big problem behind!" Aurane spoke cautiously, aware that it involved the royal family.
Wright noticed the others were similarly reserved and didn't press the matter further. This wasn't something they could resolve; it would require a personal trip.
"Inform the Tyroshi navy to take off their uniforms and join the Dragon Cult to attack the Temple of R'hllor!"
"Understood!" Aurane knew Wright wanted to resolve matters here quickly.
Wright added, "Go quickly, Theon, stay here."
Once Aurane and the others had left, Theon approached Wright.
Wright looked at Theon, who had grown somewhat taller, and asked, "How are things between you, Littlefinger, and Ramsay, who are active in the ruins of Ny Sar?"
Theon guessed Wright was about to ask them to handle something, but didn't elaborate too much. "We get along, but it's a mutual use situation. Those two have no bottom line when it comes to their actions. I haven't had much contact with them."
Wright responded, "According to intelligence, they are still operating along the river, centered around Ny Sar. I need you to run an errand. The Dragon Cult needs to make a deal with them."
"My lord, those two are unreliable! They'll help anyone who offers more money; they have no integrity!" Theon felt uneasy, trying to find a way out of the task.
Wright smiled. "You've heard the story of the urinal, right? When you don't use it, you dislike it so much that you throw it in the corner, out of sight and out of mind. But when you need to use it, you can't find it and have to pee in the room."
Theon nodded in understanding.
Wright continued, "Exactly. Give them a business offer: let them freely hunt R'hllor followers across the lands. They'll get three Volantis gold coins for each robe or relic they return."
"That price is high in the mercenary world of the nine major trade cities, except for high-risk jobs like wars or assassinations. Giving them this much money?" Theon, having spent some time with the Golden Company, knew a bit about mercenary fees in the nine trade cities.
Wright explained, "Thirty thousand gold coins for a hundred thousand men, and Volantis gold coins contain more copper. It's equivalent to just over one hundred thousand gold dragons. The Dragon Cult can afford this! And do you think they're capable of killing a hundred thousand?"
Unable to escape this task, Theon settled into the idea. "Lord Wright, what should I be mindful of when delivering this message?"
Wright replied, "The conflict between the Dragon Cult and R'hllor will soon spread. I need their forces to shift targets, easing the pressure on the Dragon Cult from the attacks they'll face."
Wright trusted Littlefinger and Ramsay to handle this because, according to intelligence, Ramsay greatly admired him. For their first business transaction, if Ramsay could manage a little effort and kill a few hundred of R'hllor followers, it would suffice. If actual lives were required, regular armies and assassins would handle it; their role was only to stir the waters.
Wright had the High Priest Dofas write a letter with the dragon-headed seal and handed it to Theon, explaining the reward he would receive based on how many followers of the Lord of the Light Ramsay and Littlefinger killed. Theon left with mixed feelings of excitement and sorrow.
"Dofas, notify the troops—tonight, we launch a full assault on the Temple of R'hllor! I'll be with you!"
Wright looked at the dragonbone armor on the wooden figure by the wall, feeling it had been ages since he had worn it.
As magic began to flourish, the true magic-wielding cults like the Lord of Light also developed. The Volantis triarchs had repeatedly ignored their requests to meet with armed personnel, making grandiose claims that the Lord of Light's image was being defiled.
In territories under Wright's control, such armed cults could not be allowed to exist. If persuasion failed, bloodshed would be inevitable.
"The night is dark and full of terrors!"
"The night is dark and full of terrors!"
Several armed men from the cult of R'hllor had arrived, chanting the same unified slogan as they approached the gates of Volantis.
There were common followers dressed in simple red robes, wielding various weapons, as well as armed soldiers in standard armor with longswords. Leading the procession was the well-known red-robed priestess Melisandre, a familiar figure even to Nymeria, who had praised her physical appearance.