House Martell

House Nymeros Martell of Sunspear, usually simply called House Martell, is one of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms and the ruling house of Dorne. "Nymeros" indicates "of the line of Nymeria," referring to the union of the Martells with the Rhoynish warrior queen Nymeria around 700 BC. The Prince of Dorne rules from Sunspear in southeastern Dorne.

The Martells of old used a spear as their emblem, while Nymeria and her Rhoynar used the sun as theirs. When Nymeria wed Lord Mors Martell, the symbols were combined into a gold spear piercing a red sun on an orange field. Their words are Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken.

Appearance and Traits
In appearance they are what Daeron I Targaryen considered salty Dornishmen, with dark eyes, dark hair in ringlets, and olive skin.

History
House Martell was founded by Morgan Martell, an Andal adventurer who settled between the mouth of the Greenblood and the Broken Arm during the coming of the Andals to Dorne. Morgan led the defeat of the local First Men, including Houses Wade and Shell, establishing his rule over a strip of land fifty leagues long and ten leagues wide. They did not rule as kings, but were cautious vassals of kings from Houses Jordayne, Allyrion, and Yronwood, as well as petty kings of the Greenblood.

Nymeria's War
At the time of the Rhoynish Wars, the Martells were one of the lesser ruling families of Dorne. At the time of the arrival of the Rhoynish warrior queen Nymeria, around 700 BC, the lands of the Martells were dwarfed by those of House Yronwood. Mors Martell, the Lord of the Sandship, saw an opportunity in the arrival of the Rhoynar, and took Nymeria to wife. Combining their strength, the two managed to unite all of Dorne under their rule in Nymeria's War.

The union of their peoples saw the Martells abandon many of their older Andal customs in favor of those of the Rhoynar. Nymeria named Mors Prince of Dorne instead of king, and their lands and title passed down to their eldest child, their daughter, regardless of Nymeria marrying again after Mors's death and giving birth to a male child. The Spear Tower and the Tower of the Sun, the towers of Sunspear's Old Palace, were built in the Rhoynish fashion.

Invasion of Dorne
With an adult dragon breathing down on them, and the military powers of Lys and Tyrosh pressing, Sunspear fell easily. Aegon mocked the Martells' arrogance, and fed the Martell to his beast, stating that there could only be one Prince.

The Crown responded quickly to this attack on their southern neighbor. Jacaerys knew that if he sat idly while the latter burned, the Targaryen would eventually make his way up north, too. He called his banners and mustered a force in the capital, but made no move, yet - he simply waited.

Jacaerys's patience paid off: as he had suspected, envoys from Dorne practically begged for his intervention. He agreed with a smile, asking for nothing less than the full integration of Dorne into his Kingdoms. Presented with such a choice, they agreed, and then the wise King commanded his hosts to march south, with the wheeling rumble of scorpions and ballistae.

After grueling battles across the Kingdom of Dorne, it was at Sunspear where Aegon had finally been driven out of Weesteros. The garrison at Sunspear had finally fallen to the trickery of the Dornish, and even worse - with Jacaerys's urging, Braavos was bearing down on the fleets of Tyrosh and Lys. Although the majority were still there and not with Aegon, they strained to match the craft of the Arsenal. Cursing, he and his host made their way back to the east. Although no attempts were made to tempt fate with the maddened Godswrath, his backlines and rear were continuously harried. Were it not for the dragon, it would have been impossible for Aegon to leave Dorne alive at all. When they arrived at Sunspear, they found it empty, save for the heads of the soldiers on the battlements, the ones the Prince Protector had left as garrison after his storming.

Upon the conclusion of the conflict, King Velaryon turned his attention to Dorne. He arranged a marriage with one of his daughters and the new Prince Martell. The next last four years of his life were spent placating the Dornish aristocracy to quell any signs of unrest or ambitions for independence, and he was met with striking success.

War of Red and Gold
The war began as fleets of privateers hired by the Dornish on one side and the Riverlander-Arbor merchant alliance on the other raided each other's shipping; capturing a fleet here and there or holding a notable merchant hostage for ransom. Though it wreaked havoc on the economy and engendered the breakdowns of law and order in King’s Landing, the so called “war between merchants” was seen as beneath the notice for royal authority proper, especially considering said royal authority was still reeling after the previous rebellion. This would prove to be an error as the war continued unimpeded  growing more and more deadly each day.

Off the stormy shores of the Torrentine, the joint fleet of Dornish and West faced the Arbor head on. Though setting up to be a grand conflict of several hundred ships dueling, the choice of a battlefield would see nature be the true mistress of the tides. The already rough seas would be turned over in colossal storms that saw the clashing ships involuntarily crash against each other, sometimes washing entire crews into the cold depths below. Often friendly fire incidents occurred, as vessels were thrown across the waters hopelessly, attacking anything in sight. By the end of the five hour torrent, dozens of ships wound up wrecked against the Dornish coast, several lifeless hulks floated in the seas as their crews had been washed away, and nearly every hull had been damaged in nature's fury. The battle was indecisive and a complete waste, with some going as far as declaring it to be the Seven's punishment for a war fought solely in the name of avarice. So, the Battle of the Storm ended with only the Gods' being triumphant.

After such a senseless battle that left the Dornish-Westerner and Arbor fleets scarred, Maelor’s demands could not be ignored, with the ringleaders of the war assembling to negotiate - or so they thought. Rather having been infuriated both by the wasteful war and the seeming ignoring of his first commands, Maelor punished them with harsh tariffs.

Darklyn's Rebellion
When Lord Robin Darklyn rebelled against King Maelor, Prince Martell, ever loyal, immediately sent Dorne into raids against the Stormlands.

Dorne Presses the Assault
The Stormlords were caught on the back foot at the start of the war, but quickly regained a semblance of order. Lord Caron and Dondarrion were met by Lord Connington, who had orders from Lord Baratheon to repulse the Dornishmen at all costs. Their combined host was made up of 3,000 footmen and 4,000 heavy horse.

This army was commanded by the three lords in the center, right and left, respectively. However, they were far slower than their Dornish foes. By the time they reached the Boneway, they were exhausted. When the army finally stopped to rest, they were beset by Dornish archers and light cavalry. A stray arrow took the life of Lord Connington in the Battle of the Boneway.

The Stormlords were caught at the mouth of the Boneway and were cut off from retreat, by a field army that had marched from Skyreach through the Prince's Pass into the Stormlands.

Lord Caron's Refusal
Many in the Stormlands camp suggested surrender, to try and save themselves from total destruction. Lord Dondarrion agreed, but Lord Caron did not. Making a rousing speech to many of his men, primarily the knights, which rallied his demoralised army. Rather than trying to break out and return to friendly territory, Lord Caron marched to Wyl regardless of the losses. Despite heavy casualties, the tired and angry troops stormed the castle Wyl and sacked it a second time within the last ten years in the Second Sacking of Wyl. The violence was not limited to the castle, as villages too were ransacked for days. Rape, murder and scenes of great violence were rampant. Lady Wyl herself was slain during the Sack, alongside her two sons and daughters, though her sisters family survived due to fleeing to Yronwood before the siege.

The supplies, rest and food garnered at Wyl was a respite for the battered troops. After two more weeks of uncontrolled looting, the Stormlanders demanded to return and block off the Prince's Pass as well.

Lord Caron was hailed a hero, but his victory was short lived. They had taken heavy losses and when they attacked the Fowler force gathered during Second Battle of the Boneway, they lost their leader in the fighting, being killed by Ser Timoth Fowler the Owl. The Stormlords retreated with even more casualties back to Blackhaven. Of the 7,000 men gathered at the start, some 1,000 remained alive.

War's End
Having heard news of the dire state of the West and Stormlands, King Maelor launched a final all or nothing gambit at Harrenhal. The Battle of Harrenhal was a ferocious one, concluding with the King pushing his dagger in a captured Lord Darklyn's neck, putting an end to the wasteful conflict.