SIREN (noun) : a person who is considered to be alluring or fascinating but also dangerous in some way. A siren will easily charm all who encounter them.
╰┈➤ ❝ Princess Aliandra had come young to her seat and thought herself a new Nymeria. A fiery young woman, she encouraged her lords and knights to prove themselves worthy of her favours by raiding the marches. ❞
Inheriting Dorne at seven-and-ten, in the direct aftermath of the Dance of Dragons and ascension of Aegon III, Aliandra had two younger siblings; one of which was proposed as a husband for Baela Targaryen. Described as fiery and strong-willed, as well as beautiful, she saw herself as the "New Nymeria". Courted by a great many suitors, she encouraged them to raid the Marches for her favour.
When Alyn Velaryon sailed around Dorne to fight the Ironborn, he stopped in Sunspear to ask for provisions. One source claims that Aliandra demanded sexual favours in exchange, though most other sources disagree. She was described as flirtatious, and had an ongoing friendship with Alyn after providing provisions for his fleet; enough so that it was at her court where the Rogares informed Alyn of their possession of Viserys Targaryen, and Baela had ongoing bouts of jealousy whenever Aliandra was mentioned.
Marrying Drazenko Rogare during the Lysene Spring, Aliandra's reign saw both friendly relations with Westeros, and the largest expansion of Dornish power since Nymeria. Allying with Lys, Tyrosh and Pentos, Dorne crushed the pirate occupation of the Stepstones, incorporating the territory into the Principality. She named Drazenko 'Lord of the Stepstones' as well as Prince Consort, suggesting a good or at least respectful marital relationship.
Drazenko would die choking on his food soon after, with many believing it was an assassination in the aftermath of the downfall of his family. It is unknown if they had any children, or if the line even continued through Aliandra's issue. However, if it did, it would have been the first blood tie between Houses Targaryen and Martell, through Drazenko's niece Larra Rogare.
Nothing is recorded about Aliandra's life after the death of her husband. She was dead by 157 AC, and it is during this time that dominion over the Stepstones was lost - and Dorne conquered by Daeron I Targaryen. The incumbent Prince may have been Aliandra's brother, who was once to be wed to Baela, her nephew through her brother or sister, or her own child with Drazenko or a second marriage.
The island of Lys is a mercantile city known for its fertility, in both land and pleasure. It is famous for its pillow houses, as it is deeply involved in the trade of sex slaves.
The Lyseni share the most physical characteristics with those of old Valyria than any of the other free cities. The island used to be a popular destination for old Valyrian lords.
It would be super interesting if Myriah and the Martells descended from Aliandra & her Rogare husband.
I know it makes Daeron & Myriah related but 2nd cousins once removed isn't even close to incest in asoiaf.
The family dynamics would just be so peak.
Aemon the Dragonknight being spared and escaping his cousin Daeron I's fate because he shares Rogare blood with the Martells and kinslaying is considered a sin in all of Westeros. (I know in universe the reason was just to have a royal hostage but imagine.)
& think about the additional parallelism between Myriah & Larra as foreign brides (both with no choice in their marriages) who face constant xenophobia from the Westerosi.
As much as I enjoy the various relationships Alyn has with other characters in F&B, I do sometimes wish there wasn’t a constant undercurrent of sexual assault.
When Alyn was taken captive, he was threatened with death unless he followed orders and his captor (Racallio) also expected Alyn to be willing to have sex. When Alyn was traversing a foreign land, and his crew was in need of water and food in order to continue onwards, the person (Aliandra) who could provide these supplies required sexual favours from Alyn in return. When he was trying to learn about a missing relative’s whereabouts, Alyn expressed fear over the other person (Drazenko) trying to kiss him in exchange for information. It’s left ambiguous to what extent these characters got what they wanted from Alyn or if they received anything at all, but it’s still disconcerting that this is a recurring motif.
Though it doesn’t bother me too much because I’m okay with dark themes in fiction but at the same time, I believe GRRM was going a bit overboard.
aka my “who the hell was Myriah and Maron’s father” meta
Like many of the ruling princes and princesses of Dorne, we have very little information to go on when trying to piece together this Unnamed Prince of Dorne. It’s equal parts odd and frustrating, because this Unnamed Prince was one of the most important figures in Westerosi history and yet we don’t have a birth date, ascension date, marriage information, birth dates for his children, a death date, or even a name.
And yet this is the man who stopped Daeron the Young Dragon’s conquest of Dorne only to successfully negotiate a cease fire between Dorne and the Six Kingdoms as well as a marriage contract for his heir and daughter Myriah with Baelor the Blessed. His influence lives on in his son, Maron, who furthered his father’s peace negotiations by meeting with Daeron II and agreeing to enter the Seven Kingdoms at last - but with a Targaryen bride and more than a few concessions. Daeron’s shortsightedness in dealing with Dorne leads directly to the Blackfyre Rebellions but you can’t deny that Maron at least was a shrewd negotiator because he and his people came out of this negotiation having given up very little. Myriah, for her part, is a well loved Queen despite racism in Westeros against the Dornish, and goes on to have several children with Daeron, who she seemed to love.
So…who the hell was Maron and Myriah’s father? Well, looking at the series proper, the world of ice and fire, and fire & blood, I’ve come up with two theories on him.
Theory One: The Marence Martell Theory
Marence is the son of Aliandra and Drazenko (or possibly, he’s the son of a second husband).
Theory Two: The Qyle Martell Theory
Qyle, the younger brother of Aliandra and only son of Qoren Martell, takes the principality when Aliandra dies childless.
Let’s delve in…
The Facts
Aliandra Nymeros Martell is born in 115 AC so any siblings must be born after this date.
Aliandra's younger brother brother Qyle (and their younger sister Coryanne) is old enough to disapprove of Aliandra's flirtation with Alyn Velaryon in 133 AC.
Aliandra and Drazenko Rogare married during the Lysene Spring 134.
Drazenko died in 135 under suspicious circumstances (it's because his family was acting up see: The Fall of the House of Rogare)
Now a little bit of speculation here...
The Small Council is desperate to marry off Baela in 132 AC (when Aliandra is 17) bc she’s unruly and mean and does hot girl shit, so they’re not gonna betroth her to someone much younger than her, because they need this girl to get laid and calm down.
Qyle is brought up as a potential match. If Aliandra is 17, he could very well be 16, or near enough, and an option for her to marry. This would make his birth year 116 and make him 42 at the Submission of Sunspear.
If Marence is Aliandra's only child by Drazenko, born in 135 AC, it would make him 23 during the Submission of Sunspear.
If The Unnamed Prince of Dorne Is Marence Nymeros Martell
This is interesting for a few reasons. For one thing, it puts Marence of an age with Aegon IV, who was also born in 135 AC during the Lysene Spring as well. It makes sense that Baelor, with his cousin Aemon already on his mind due to his captivity, would see a man roughly the same age as one of his male cousins, and think of Aegon's recently born son, Daeron II, as the key to smoothing things over.
Baelor eschews marriage, not just with his sisters, but in general, and while we don’t have his POV to see what he was thinking about an heir (if he was even thinking of it), given the precedent of uncles and younger brothers usurping female Targaryens, and Baelor’s own *waves at the Maidenvault* nonsense about women, it seems likely Baelor viewed his uncle as his heir and not Daena the Defiant, and thus betrothing the first born son of Viserys’ first born son to Myriah, Marence’s first born daughter, ties everything together neatly.
For Marence’s part, this plan is incredibly risky. Daeron and Myriah are around 7 and a lot can change in the ten years it will take for Myriah to reach the age of majority. Maron could die, and there’s no guarantee Marence can have another child before he himself dies. Myriah could die and throw the whole plan into question. Marence’s people did just torture the everloving hell out of Aemon (and while the Wyl's are a bit notorious for being super violent towards invading forces, we have no idea whether Marence encouraged that the way Aliandra and Deria do, or if he discouraged it the way Nymor does), and Viserys might not be too fond of the plan. But this is Aliandra’s son. This is the son of a goddamn Rogare. High risk plans with little hope of succeeding are their lifeblood and it's clearly a chance that may be worth taking if he wants to finally calm down the warring.
And being Aliandra's son, it's even possible she told him stories about her relationship with Alyn (hopefully not the sexy ones but who knows). Perhaps he's thinking that this might work out, if Baelor can come here and forgive him after they tortured Aemon and killed The Young Dragon, if his mother could find something worth respecting in Alyn. It's a young man's dream for a better, less violent future for his people and for his young children.
If Marence is the Prince, it also means he dies pretty young. Maron is ruling Prince by 174 AC, so even if we push the death date to have happened the very first month of 174 AC, it means Marence is just 39 years old when he passes. He lives long enough to send his daughter to an unknown fate in a still hostile kingdom, to see Baelor die, Viserys II die, and Aegon the Unworthy take the throne and make overtures at continued war while Mariah is essentially a hostage in King's Landing, and now, with only his young son Maron to protect her and to protect Dorne. A wild, risky life with a sad, early death; just like his mother Aliandra.
If The Unnamed Prince of Dorne Is Qyle Nymeros Martell
Firstly, if it's Qyle, I can 100% see why he kills Daeron I and tortures Aemon; we already know he dislikes the other kingdoms of Westeros and after spending years being forced to make nice because of Aliandra, who dies childless and passes the principality to him, an older, hardened Qyle may decide there is no point in trying to make peace with these people. He takes a page out of his ancestor Meria's book and decides to fight dirty and to the last man. Why on Earth would he trust them, why on Earth would he confine himself to the rules of their game? Even without dragons, these people insist on destroying his home so he will fight them until his last breath.
And then this deeply pious seventeen year old (the same age as Aliandra when the principality passed to her!) shows up barefoot with all the hostages who are mostly unharmed and asks to make peace. And now Qyle is approaching middle age (being like 44 at this point), looking at this very odd mirror to his deceased older sister, who is asking him to put aside all anger. There's no charming flirtation or coy words like what Alyn offered Aliandra nor is there the threat of violence and subjugation like what Daeron offered just a few years before. It's a risk yes, but when faced with this bloody-footed seventeen year old and the release of the hostages, it might seem like a risk that's worth taking.
And again, if we push his death date to the first month of 174 AC, it means Qyle is 58 years old. Hardly old by our years, but it's more than several other notable rulers get in ASOIAF. Old enough to have seen relations with the Iron Throne go up and down and when he dies, the future is uncertain yes, but he's spent his life trying to make things better in the only ways he knows how.
SO THAT'S THE UNNAMED PRINCE OF DORNE.
I think both scenarios are interesting and they both seem likely! I hope one day we know a little bit more about this elusive character, as well as about Myriah and Maron - did Myriah resent the marriage her father arranged for her? Did she resent having to give up her claim to the principality or did she see this as a chance to gain further power? Clearly, Maron believed in continued peace making through marriage because he agreed to marry Daenerys as an adult; how close was he to his father then? Was he devastated by his father's death? Did he love Myriah and write to her the way Oberyn and Doran loved Elia? If he is Qyle, and older when he has children, does this impact how he sees them? And if he's Marence instead, and had children young-ish, does that impact their relationship? How does he even die???
Much to think about and I hope we get concrete answers one day!
The wedding attire of house Martell when a family member is wed, princess Coryanne and prince Oyle in this case are wedding in a double ceremony to members of Jordayne, closely linked with the Yronwoods
Princess Aliandra is wary and feels the drums of war closer than ever, and arranges a second marriage to secure allies. While also gaining protection for her young children twins Aliandre and Ariana born of her Rogare husband to secure their claims and Thalassa Sand whose father was rumored to be Alyn.
Excerpt:
Written by Maester Kalos and edited by apprentice Alleras and approved by Maester Marwyn
