The Red Viper's Choice

The storms of Shipbreaker Bay have never ceased for tens of thousands of years, causing unpredictable storms and silencing countless ships. Meanwhile, Cape Wrath's Storm's End Point resembles a giant fist, fighting against these raging winds since the time of Storm King.

Oberyn stood on the walls of Storm's End, the fierce winds making him sway slightly, the howling gale blowing away all other sounds, as if he were facing this endless storm alone.

But this was for the best; in the howling wind, Oberyn felt his mind was both calmer and sharper.

He had received news from the Vale that Shireen had been crowned Vale, taking the title of Queen Shireen Baratheon I.

Oberyn had just received the news, was somewhat puzzled. If Young Griff was about to land, what was the point of supporting Shireen as queen?

However, Varys soon sent him an explanation, stating that Shireen's ascension to the throne was orchestrated by Petyr in order to consolidate his own power.

He hoped that Oberyn would hold the Stormlands and prepare for Young Griff's landing.

"Father, it seems that Young Griff and his gang aren't quite what they seem—"

Oberyn's eldest daughter Obara, spoke loudly in the wind, but her voice was drowned out by the wind.

Because communication was so difficult, Oberyn chose to temporarily leave the spotlight.

The father and daughter both believed that there were serious problems within Young Griff's group. They seemed to have their own agendas, and although they all hoped to achieve their goals by having Young Griff reclaim the Targaryen throne, they didn't seem very united.

There's no need to elaborate on Petyr, whose reputation is already so tarnished.

Jon used the Citadel to guide public opinion throughout Westeros, essentially doing two things.

First, we must remind everyone that Long Night is coming, and we must do everything we can to conserve and store food.

Secondly, he exposed Petyr. It should be noted that Jon never said a bad word about Stannis when facing his true adversary. At most, he thought that Stannis's request to hand over his children as hostages and his failure to prioritize the Long Night were somewhat inappropriate.

But Jon Petyr no effort in exposing Petyr's true colors to the Seven Kingdoms.

Regardless of whether there is evidence or not, Jon has a loud enough voice to spill all the dirty tricks he's done.

Such things as instigating Lysa to murder her husband, encouraging Joffrey to go back on his word and kill Eddard Stark, and sending assassins to incite war between the Stark and the Lannister.

In short, Young Griff's League of Heroes was considered inferior, even ten times inferior, in terms of character because of Littlefinger.

The goal was to make even those lords who were still observing reluctant to associate with such a person.

This caused Oberyn great trouble in coordinating the Vale's resources.

"You're right. We Dorne far to the south of Westeros. We never yielded to the Targaryen when they had dragons, and we certainly won't now. We fear no one, nor do we need their cooperation. We will rely on ourselves."

On Oberyn's advice, Doran has also dispatched a fleet to Slaver's Bay.

Perhaps the Dragon Queen will choose to marry Dorne.

Daenerys's legitimacy and authority far surpass those of Jon and Young Griff, and most importantly, her identity is absolutely beyond question.

While Varys ' story is good, its biggest flaw is why he didn't send Young Griff to Dorne but instead sent Pentos.

Therefore, Oberyn wasn't entirely convinced of Young Griff identity.

But he still wants to hold the Stormlands and hold out until Aegon's Landing, since Dorne alone is not enough to resist the entire Westeros.

He kept track of the Reach army's location every day, but on this day, Davos arrived at Storm's End's End before the army.

"So, Ser Davos, is he now serving Jon? Ready to serve a second king?" Oberyn mocked, looking at the travel-worn Davos.

"Your Highness, my answer is both yes and no," Davos said, looking at Oberyn with pride. "Jon promised me that he would address him as His Majesty only when he acknowledges Oberyn's suitability as king."

"Oh?"

Oberyn sat up abruptly, surprised that Jon had such a magnanimous heart.

This made him feel a sense of crisis.

Obara, standing to the side, chimed in, "Whether you call him Your Majesty or not is not important. The key is that you've already treated him as the only legitimate king, haven't you? You've come to persuade us to surrender on behalf of that bastard son, aren't you just pushing him onto the sole throne of the Seven Kingdoms?"

"Obara, show some respect. After all, he avenged your aunt and niece," Oberyn reminded her.

"Yes, Father." Obara apologized to Davos. "Then I'll call him Your Grace."

Davos smiled politely but said nothing. He indicated that Jon already knew about Young Griff's situation and that Dorne was actually supporting the child who was suspected to Elia.

"Jon wants me to tell you that the child is not Elia's; he is merely the child of a Pentos merchant and a woman with Blackfyre bloodline."

Where is the evidence?

Oberyn asked the question, but Davos could tell he wasn't that surprised.

"Now that Jon knows that Prince Doran has a leg injury and that His Highness Arianne was once married to that beggar king Viserys, what does this matter? Of course, you can choose not to believe it, but isn't it too much of a waste to sacrifice the blood of Nymeria's descendants for someone of unknown identity?"

The House Martell considered themselves descendants of Nymeria, Oberyn, listening to Davos's words, began to hesitate.

After Dorne and Jon had no old grudges; at most, it was that Dorne's mother had taken Rhaegar away, causing Elia to be divorced.

But you can't blame Jon for this; it's unfair to hold someone who only recently learned about his origins responsible.

Jon's intelligence-gathering ability is truly astonishing, and remarkably accurate; Doran's gout incident was a demonstration of this intelligence-gathering prowess.

If the truth about Young Griff's identity is true, then Dorne will surely become a laughingstock among the Seven Kingdoms.

"Your reasons are quite valid," Oberyn began, "But Martell currently has no intention of pledging allegiance to any king."

"You can rest assured about that," Davos said. "Jon has already said that the biggest problem facing humanity right now is the Long Night. He allows Dorne autonomy, but he also hopes that Dorne that the war between humans and the White Walkers is a battle of life and death. Dorne, after all, still part of Westeros, and it would be best if they could contribute to the fight against the White Walkers in the future."

Davos's offer on behalf of Jon surprised Oberyn, making him much more peaceful and friendly.

This gave Davos the feeling that working with Jon was easy.

Davos always felt exhausted while serving Stannis, as if he were at odds with the whole world.

It seemed that cold faces were everywhere.

But doing things with Jon is different; everything feels like it falls into place naturally.

His most memorable moment was in Riverrun, when Jon Snow persuaded Robb to give up the throne with reason and emotion, and the whole process was quite thrilling but ultimately safe.

He was less there to persuade Oberyn to withdraw his troops and more there to deliver a message to Jon.

With such favorable conditions, Oberyn, unless he was foolish, would not choose to put up a stubborn resistance. He only brought a little over 10,000 men, but he had to face an army of 60,000 from the southern border.

Moreover, the troops were led by Jon and Robb Stark, two commanders widely recognized as having exceptional talent.

"Very well, I agree to withdraw the troops, but I want to see Jon in person and hear his guarantees. If Dorne is unwilling, he cannot levy a single Gold Dragon or soldier from Dorne, and he must make guarantees to the entire Seven Kingdoms."

"This----"

Davos was now in a dilemma. If Jon made such a guarantee, it would undoubtedly place Dorne in a superior position.

This is very disadvantageous for the alliance centered around Jon, and it could easily cause discontent among others.

"Can't you make a promise privately?"

"Of course not, it must be a face-to-face, or at least a public, guarantee."

Davos tried to say something more, but Oberyn escorted him out of the country.

Davos himself was certainly not satisfied with the result. No matter how eloquent he was, Oberyn didn't give him any chance to perform, which frustrated him.

Unexpectedly, Jon sent a telegram through the Citadel to the entire nation, stating that as long as Dorne did not support any king other than himself, Jon would guarantee Dorne's autonomy. If Dorne refused, Jon Snow would not take a single grain of food, a Gold Dragon, or a single soldier from Dorne.

Of course, if the Dornishmen are inspired by the Targaryen' fight against the Long Night and the White Walkers and wish to go north to provide support, Sunspear must not obstruct them in any way.

If Dorne needs his support, he can help in the form of loans; whether or not to maintain independence is entirely up to the people of Dornishmen themselves.

Oberyn was overjoyed upon learning of this condition, and even checked the envelope repeatedly to confirm its authenticity.

They thought that as long as they guarded the Prince's Pass, no news from the outside could get in.

Even if someone were to make claims about the Long Night White Walkers in Dorne, it wouldn't reach most people's ears.

Oberyn agreed to this seemingly fair condition without even thinking about it.

However, if there really are White Walkers, then Oberyn would probably be unable to resist going to the Wall to take a look.

As for Dorne needing Jon's help—he just took it as a joke.

And so it went. On the first day, Oberyn led over ten thousand Dorne troops south and left Stormlands. On the third day, Jon entered Storm's End without bloodshed. On the fifth day, he successfully took control of the entire Stormlands.