268 ACStarfall
The walls of Starfall glimmered in the evening light like dull silver. The Torrentine River rushed below the cliffs, gulls wheeling and crying above the towers. The wind off the sea was crisp and salty, carrying the scent of freedom.
Mars stood in the paved courtyard, eyeing the old fortress. He'd heard plenty about Starfall, about House Dayne, the ancient keepers of the legendary sword Dawn. But at that moment, neither swords nor stories interested him — only the fact that Elia had dragged him along.
"Don't look like such a grump, Fire-head," Oberyn grinned beside him. "The Daynes are good folk. And their daughters are easy on the eyes."
Mars scowled. "I don't care about girls."
"Yeah, you say that now." Oberyn laughed and cuffed him lightly on the shoulder.
"Welcome to Starfall," came a clear, friendly voice.
Mars turned — and found himself looking straight into the violet eyes of a girl his own age. Her hair tumbled in dark waves past her shoulders, and she wore a simple dress in her house's colors. She wasn't shy, nor haughty — just… real.
"I'm Ashara," she said with a smile.
Mars blinked.There it was again.That odd sense of something familiar — a whisper of something he couldn't name.
"Mars," he mumbled, then cleared his throat. "Mars Martell."
"I know," Ashara grinned impishly. "My mother says you're a troublemaker who loves picking fights."
Oberyn snorted behind him.
"Well… half of that's true," Mars shot back — and for the first time in days, he grinned.
Ashara laughed.
In that moment, Mars didn't know why this girl felt oddly familiar to him. But something within him stirred — a thread only she seemed able to touch.
No magic.No oath.Just the first, cautious echo.
"Want to see the river?" Ashara asked.
Mars nodded.
And so began the journey of two children, who had no idea that their path would one day shape kingdoms.