After completing the canonization of the illegitimate son, Titus's mind was still spinning with other thoughts.
Referring to some vague information revealed by the latter during his previous chat with Ned, coupled with the in-depth on-the-spot investigation by the Corps soldiers, he finally found the exact location of Tower of Joy.
Titus couldn't help but sigh, Rhaegar is really brave.
He always thought that Tower of Joy would be closer to the direction of the ruins of Summerhall in the east, but he never thought that it would be hidden near Prince's Pass.
Thinking of the admiring attitude of the newly promoted knight Roland Storm when facing him, Titus had made a new decision in his heart.
Wangjiacheng is now burned down.
Then set up another "Tower of Joy Knight" to guard the center of the pass for him!
Prince's Pass, near the southernmost exit.
A precipitous and majestic castle stands on the cliff, overlooking the pass channel for north-south travel right under your eyes. This is the residence of Dorne House Fowler-Skyreach.
It is located in the south of Wangjiacheng, and has guarded the chokepoint from the south to the north for generations.
The east side is adjacent to a long and surging river, which winds eastward and eventually reaches the seaport of Yronwood.
For House Fowler, this river is not only a natural water source, but also a potential supply line and escape route.
House Fowler is a Dorne noble with the bloodline of First Men. His ancestor once proclaimed himself the "King of the Cliff and Sky".
This title is very consistent with the temperament of their family, and it is also the best portrayal of the shape of their castle.
Skyreach is built on the cliff and under the sky.
The entire castle was built according to the trend of the cliff. The walls and the cliff are integrated into one. The highest tower seems to reach into the sky. Standing under the castle and at the bottom of the cliff - when you look up, you can only see the thick stone wall connecting with the sky.
The name "Tianji" is well-deserved.
That is to say, the highest points on both sides of Prince's Pass are not as high as "Giant's Lance" of Vale of Arryn, otherwise Westeros will have another "supreme" fortress.
The history of Forrester jiapu has long been closely connected with the history of Dorne's struggle.
During the First Dornish War period, the "conqueror" Aegon·Targaryen I marched south and once swept through Skyreach, which was nearly evacuated at the time. Aegon thought he had captured the "face" of this Dorne place.
But when Aegon led his army back to King's Landing, the small number of troops left behind could not stop the counterattack of Dorne soldiers. The latter, who knew the secret of Skyreach, easily recaptured it in an instant.
Later, Forrester Earl in turn invaded Dornish Marches from the north and burned Nightsong—this act completely angered Aegon I.
"The Conqueror" vowed to make Skyreach "the second Harrenhal in the world". He drove his dragon "Balerion" and used Dragonfire to destroy most of the castle.
Faced with the death threat of "Balerion the Black Dread", the lord of the Forrester family appeared to be extremely flexible and tenacious.
When you invaded, I withdrew and gave up the clan fortress; when you burned the fortress to the ground, I rebuilt it again. Relying on the natural dangers of the cliffs and the resilience of the family, Skyreach was reborn on the ruins again and again.
Today, more than two hundred years have passed since the death of Aegon I. This ancient castle, which has been baptized by war, still stands on the top of the dangerous cliff southeast of the pass.
Its unique shape built against the mountain is somewhat similar to the Nightsong at the other end of the pass, except that it lacks the howling mountain wind that lingers outside the fort all year round.
Due to its dangerous terrain and remote location, it has always been rarely inhabited. Except for House Fowler's clansmen, servants and soldiers, it is only accompanied by the sound of distant river running all year round, making it very quiet.
But today, this tranquility that has lasted for countless years has been broken by the iron hoof from the north.
On the wall of Skyreach, the gray-haired old Earl Franklin Forrester stood in person. He was nicknamed "Old Jiying" and his eyes were indeed very sharp. At this moment, he was staring in the direction of the city, and his face was so gloomy that it could drip water.
He was "watching" a chase that was almost a play - no, it was obviously a humiliation.
Not long ago, Franklin sent the scout cavalry team to the direction of Kingsgrave to "reinforce" Dagoushi. At this moment, it was being driven away and massacred by another unit.
The people in my own family were no match, so I was in a very embarrassed state and fled all the way down Skyreach.
All the invading enemy troops were on horseback, and the riding skills displayed by all of them were so superb.
Franklin Earl glanced at the flags of the opposing team and found that there were three of them, which were the most conspicuous and had the largest number of flags:
On one side is a white young deer leaping towards each other; on the other side is a silver long pterosaur on a black background; and on the other side is Unicorn with a golden mane.
He knew that the first two were the coats of arms of the lords of Rivendale City, Fawn Hall and the Reach, which were adjacent to Dornish Marches, but the last one felt strange to him.
The old lord of the Forrester family had doubts in his heart.
The more famous family with "Unicorn" as its crest is the Brax of Westerlands. But their family emblem is a purple horse with the complete image of Unicorn.
It doesn't match the pattern on the flag in front of me.
The number of the opponent's cavalry was about seven to eight hundred. Their pursuit seemed a bit "sloppy", but the occasional force showed that the Forrester family's scout cavalry had no power to fight back in front of them.
When the enemy kills them, they are as skillful as killing chickens and ducks.
The Forrester family members were killed while running away.
The last scout cavalry was hit by an arrow in his vest, and his outer armor was soaked with blood. He grabbed the reins tightly, lay on his horse, and used the inertia of the horse to rush along the steep stone path to the city gate before falling heavily to the ground and losing his voice.
Until then.
After killing all the prey, the enemy cavalry accurately reined in the enemy cavalry outside the shooting range of the archers on the city wall.
The sound of large horseshoes hitting the ground was very dull, like a drum, beating in the hearts of every soldier on Skyreach who witnessed this scene.
Old Franklin frowned.
Old Earl, who has experienced many things, knows in his heart that this is just an appetizer.
After operating the pass for many years, he had received news that the Wangjiacheng in front of his home had fallen, and that Dagoshi Manwudi was also dead.
Inside the northern pass, Titus·Peake from Dornish Marches is leading an army of ten thousand people heading straight towards his home base.
The cavalry under the city was obviously his vanguard.
The purpose is to block the pass first and contain their own forces, and also to block the gate of Skyreach.
Franklin felt that he had seen almost everything he should see. He ignored the group of arrogant enemy knights under the city, and old Earl quickly left the city wall.
Just like Wangjiacheng Earl would choose to ask for help from him back then - now that he is about to be forced into the city, he also has to find more reliable reinforcements for himself and his family.
Someone has to help!
Otherwise, he alone and the Skyreach city alone will not be able to deal with the veritable "Dornish Marches Guardian"0
Franklin Forrester made a prompt decision and directly targeted the Supreme Lord of Dorne for help. He asked the bachelor to write a letter and send it to Princess Martell of Sunspear quickly.
The family name of the Sunspear ruler actually has a full name, which is: Nameros Martell.
"Nameros" means "bloodline of Nymeria", and the family's paternal bloodline comes from Martell of Sandship Castle.
The latter is really lucky. He not only got a princess and a beauty, but also unified the entire Dorne with the help of the beauty princess.
Old Forrester often daydreams:
If his Skyreach was also built on the seaside instead of on a mountain, maybe it could win the favor of Princess Nymeria who crossed the ocean back then.
After that, the unified Dorne will become Nameros·House Fowler?
You must know that the House Martell of Sand Ship Castle has never claimed the title of king, and even in some cases, he has proclaimed himself a vassal to neighboring kings, such as Qiao Dayne, Elion, Yronwood, etc. - Martell can do it Prince of Dorne, but I Forrester can't do it?
Not to mention old Forrester's crooked attitude towards Nymeria.
Since Martell's inheritance, the family emblem has evolved into "a golden spear that pierces the red sun."
The "golden spear" is the coat of arms of Martell in the past, and the "red sun" symbolizes Rhoynar----well, it's a bit colorful.
The appearance of its people is typical of "Salt Dornishmen", with more distinctive Rhoynar features than elsewhere. Most of the Martell family members have smooth olive skin, black eyes and black hair, and occasionally some members have brown hair.
Because of Titus, the top management of Dorne has not changed.
Not only is Princess Elia not dead, but her mother is still alive and well----
Titus Earl, who had countless people alive, didn't know yet. Old Falcon lowered his face and called for help to Sunspear.
After Kingsgrave was destroyed in the next city, Titus Earl, they allowed the army to rest for a while and then marched south again.
Tens of thousands of troops advanced steadily along the flat road of Prince's Pass. When they passed through the entire pass, they finally arrived in front of the towering Skyreach.
Titus first praised his military police commander Aigon Leavell, and Cavron Earl who cooperated with him in the battle.
The two of them took their knights and cavalry and ate up the assistance troops sent to Wangjiacheng from Forrester's family.
Then Titus discovered that the ancient city built on the top of the cliff in front of him was already ready to defend it.
The steep stone wall was filled with defenders. Through Lady White Eagle's observation, the opponent even gathered a large number of archers and stood ready at that high place.
He could guess that in addition to arrows, there would also be rolling stones and hot oil waiting to entertain them.
Franklin is more sophisticated than Dargos.
It is also a family that has been crowned king, and Forrester itself is more powerful than Manwudi.
Moreover, the resistance of House Manwoody played a role to some extent. They contributed to Skyreach, allowing the latter to have more time to prepare in advance and be fully prepared.
Of course, the most critical thing is the terrain where Skyreach is located.
Compared with Wangjia City, which is uninhabitable on flat ground, the difficulty of conquering Forrester jia Castle is undoubtedly doubled.
Fortunately, Titus was not completely unprepared.
Previously, a large number of siege equipment captured from the southern border army came in handy at this moment.
For example, there are cloud vehicles that can carry infantry to climb the city, and counterweight trebuchets that use the change of center of gravity to launch stones.
Kingsgrave is so bad, it collapsed in just half a day, and I didn't even enjoy it.
Skyreach is built against a mountain and the terrain is complex. It may be difficult for the cloud cart to be used here, but the trebuchet can still be used.
Master Black Earl, who seemed not in any hurry, was also here. He had experienced the addiction of besieging the castle for the first time in a long time.
Mace·Tyrell likes to besiege the city, and they won't get tired of it even after a year of continuous siege! After actually getting started, Black Earl was surprised to find that there is indeed some fun in it.
Yes, Titus finally felt the "happiness" of Lord of Highgarden.
On the first day, he sent a loud voice to shout to Skyreach, asking House Fowler to take the initiative to open the city gate and surrender, on the condition that his tribe and family property could be preserved.
The other party refused to respond. Even old Forrester didn't come out to answer the question in person. There was no sign of admitting defeat at all.
If you don't want to give me a chance, then fight.
Titus then ordered to use a trebuchet to throw it at Skyreach on the opposite side.
From time to time, I would throw a few big rocks for fun, and watch the huge rocks shatter on the other side's high wall, or hit the surrounding cliffs and scatter debris all over the sky. I felt a refreshing feeling of succeeding in my desire to destroy.
Then.
Starpike Earl's attack on Dorne received simultaneous interference from King's Landing and Sunspear.
Titus, who was interfered with, had expected this.
He wrote back to Red Keep, still playing his stone-throwing game.
Black Earl has a way to deal with the questioning from Hand of the King Jon·Alyn.
But he didn't expect that it was Sunspear who sent someone here first----
Skyreach from Forrester: