( HOUSE MARTELL. )
House Martell was originally a tiny, obscure noble house of Dorne back when the peninsula was home to numerous small, warring states, approximately one thousand years ago. The Rhoynar, refugees from a war against Valyria on the eastern continent, fled to Westeros led by their warrior-queen Nymeria, where they made landfall in Dorne and allied with Lord Mors Martell. After a brief war, Mors named himself the ruler of the unified Kingdom of Dorne, adopting the title "Prince" rather than "King" in Rhoynish fashion. Mors married Nymeria, uniting the bloodlines of the Rhoynar with the native First Men and Andals. As a result, the full name of the family is actually "House Nymeros Martell", with "Nymeros" signifying "of Nymeria". For example, Oberyn's full name is given as "Oberyn Nymeros Martell". However, even the Martells themselves do not usually use the full name, with the inclusion of "Nymeros", except on very formal occasions.
When Aegon I Targaryen invaded Westeros, he conquered six of the seven kingdoms extant at that time, but the Dornish refused to give open battle where Aegon could destroy them with his dragons, instead resorting to hit-and-run attacks which severely damaged his army through attrition. Aegon agreed to leave Dorne to its own devices after trying to conquer it again during the First Dornish War of 4 AC to 13 AC. However, the Dornish once again prevailed and the Martells managed to kill Aegon's wife, Rhaenys, before forcing the Conqueror to agree to peace on their terms. Aegon never tried conquering Dorne again.
A century and a half later, Dorne was briefly occupied by the armies of King Daeron I, but overthrew them in a bloody rebellion. Eventually, roughly a century before the events of the series, Dorne joined the Seven Kingdoms through a peaceful marriage alliance. House Martell's motto, "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken", directly references the fact that they were never conquered by outsiders. Because they came under the authority of the Iron Throne through marriage instead of the sword, House Martell and the other Dornish houses continue to practice absolute primogeniture, in which the eldest child is the designated heir, regardless of whether they are male or female. Another major difference is that the rulers of Dorne are styled ruling Princes (or ruling Princesses) instead of Lords Paramount. At the time of the beginning of the narrative the current head of House Martell is the aging Prince Doran. His daughter and eldest child is Arianne Martell: despite being female, she has been actively groomed to succeed her father, as are eldest daughters all over Dorne. In his old age and infirmity (though he retains his wits) Doran has semi-retired, delegating most of the day-to-day governance of Dorne to Arianne.
The Martells were loyal vassals of the Iron Throne, with Princess Elia Martell marrying Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and bearing him two children. During Robert's Rebellion, the Martells were unhappy with Rhaegar's betrayal of Elia by taking Lyanna Stark as his paramour and sparking a war over the matter. Still, they supported King Aerys II Targaryen's bid to retain the throne, predominantly due to Aerys effectively holding Elia as a hostage to ensure their loyalty. The Martells lost many soldiers at the Battle of the Trident and Princess Elia and her children were brutally killed during the Sack of King's Landing by Lannister soldiers. Ironically, the Martells had only grudgingly stayed loyal to the Targaryens during the civil war, but the needless and brutal murder of Elia turned Dorne into a hotbed of pro-Targaryen sentiment (to the point that, after the Sack of King's Landing, Oberyn had wanted to continue the fighting on behalf of Viserys Targaryen). Though House Martell swore fealty to King Robert Baratheon after the war (though this was only due to extensive peace negotiations on the part of Jon Arryn), they have harbored anger and resentment towards the Lannisters ever since and have adopted a mostly isolationist policy ever since, not mixing with the other Great Houses unless totally necessary. As a result, the Dornish have stronger relations with the Free Cities of Essos than the rest of Westeros.
The Martells and Tyrells have been sworn enemies for many generations. Over the centuries, they have fought border wars beyond count, and raided back and forth across mountains and marches even when at peace. The enmity between the two houses waned a bit after Dorne became part of the Seven Kingdoms, but the maiming of Willas Tyrell by the Dornish prince Oberyn Martell in a joust fanned the animosity between the families, though Willas himself does not hold any grudge against Oberyn, as both men knew what happened was simply an unfortunate accident.
In the second novel, Varys reports Tyrion that Prince Doran Martell has called his banners, and there are rumors that he intends to join Renly (Renly tells Catelyn the same thing). Knowing that an alliance between Renly and Dorne will be disastrous to the Lannisters, Tyrion take steps to prevent it by offering Prince Doran to marry Myrcella to Trystane, his sister's killer, a seat at the Small Council, and some castles on the Marches. Despite Cersei's protests, Tyrion sends Myrcella to Dorne as a token of good faith. The Martells stay neutral throughout the war, although it is unclear whether the reason is Tyrion's offer, or the Martells bide their time.
Cersei deeply hates the Dornish in general and the Martells in particular, thinking that all Dornishmen are snakes, and the Martells are the worst of them. Her hatred is fueled by the fact that Oberyn fought for Tyrion at the trial-by-combat, and had come within a hairbreadth of a victory that would have allowed Tyrion to escape the blame for Joffrey's murder. This is perhaps the reason for her unsuccessful scheme to assassinate Trystane.
SWORN TO HOUSE MARTELL
House Allyrion of Godsgrace, House Blackmont of Blackmont, House Dalt of Lemonwood, House Dayne of Starfall, House Gargalen of Saltshore, House Jordayne of the Tor, House Manwoody of Kingsgrave, House Qorgyle of Sandstone, House Santagar of Spottswood, House Uller of Hellholt, House Yronwood of Yronwood, House Wyl of Wyl, House Toland of Ghost Hill, House Fowler of Skyreach, House Vaith of The Dunes.
Nymeria was the leader of the Rhoynar refugees and is seen as the founder of unified Dorne. Before the Valyrians defeated the coalition of Rhoynar city-states, Nymeria herself was the ruling Princess of Ny Sar.
After Nymeria died she was succeeded by her eldest child, her daughter with Mors Martell. Within her own lifetime she was able to enforce the gender-blind equal primogeniture laws of the Rhoynar in Dorne, even though she had a younger son by a different husband (after Mors died) who by the laws of the Andals would have inherited rule of Dorne after her.
A minor detail in the books is that after Nymeria married Mors Martell, the formal name of their descendants' House actually became "House Nymeros Martell" (Nymeros meaning "of Nymeria"), combining their two names. The TV series has not mentioned this, though it is rarely mentioned in the books either.
"Nymeria" became a popular name in Dorne in later generations. Even Arya Stark named her direwolf "Nymeria" after her. In the novels, her choice of name for her direwolf is specifically explained in the first novel: in contrast with her refined sister Sansa Stark, who gave her direwolf the elegant name "Lady", Arya named her direwolf after a famous warrior-queen.
Nymeria is remembered as a warrior-queen, though she actually was not a warrior herself, in the sense of carrying and wielding weapons. She was considered a warrior for being a cunning military strategist and commander of armies (comparable to how in his later years Tywin Lannister was considered a dangerous war-leader, without actually wielding his own sword anymore). That being said, many of the Rhoynar refugees in her army were female, because Rhoyar women were taught to fight alongside their men (and most of the men had died fighting the Valyrians).
As the founder of one of the Seven Kingdoms, Nymeria is revered in Dorne much as Brandon Stark the Builder is revered in the North, Lann the Clever in the Westerlands, or Garth Greenhand in the Reach. A major difference however is that these figures all lived over six thousand years ago in the Age of Heroes, before written accounts, and all of the tales about them are shrouded in legend - many maesters question if "Bran the Builder" or "Lann the Clever" ever truly existed at all, or are just folklore. In contrast, Nymeria unified Dorne only one thousand years ago, long after the times of mythical heroes had progressed into the era of written history, so Nymeria is fully understood to have been a real person.
Princess Elia was the wife of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, who was also her distant cousin. hey had two children; a daughter Rhaenys, and a son, Aegon. She died with her children in the Sack of King's Landing. She was the sister of Princes Doran, the ruling Prince of Dorne, and Oberyn Martell. Elia was born nine years after Doran, and a year before Oberyn.
Her marriage to Prince Rhaegar was arranged by King Aerys II Targaryen and considered an insult by Tywin Lannister, Aerys's Hand of the King, who had proposed his daughter Cersei as a bride for the Prince but was rejected. The marriage was one of the reasons Lord Tywin resigned his post as Hand. Like her younger brother, Elia was very popular among the Dornish people.
As a teenager, Elia accompanied her brother Oberyn on a visit to Casterly Rock. While there, Elia and Oberyn were eager to see the monster that had just been born. Cersei finally showed them the baby, but the Martell siblings were somewhat disappointed to see that Tyrion was just a baby, and somewhat disturbed by Cersei's already strong hatred of him.
Elia loved her husband Prince Rhaegar dearly. She bore him two children, Rhaenys and Aegon, to whom she was equally devoted; according to Oberyn, Elia took care of them from birth, rather than delegating the task to a wet nurse. Both pregnancies were very difficult, and each nearly killed Elia.
During Robert's Rebellion, Gregor Clegane raped and killed Elia after bashing in her son's head, while his hands were still tainted with the infant's blood. Elia's daughter was killed by Amory Lorch.
In actual fact, Tywin Lannister didn't order the Mountain to kill Elia. He tells Tyrion that there was no need to kill Elia because "by herself she was nothing" (in contrast to her children - as Rhaegar's blood heirs everyone knew they had to die for the war to end). The Mountain killed Elia simply because Tywin did not tell him to spare her. Tywin doubted if he had mentioned Elia at all, for he had many pressing concerns to worry about at that time, nor did he yet realize what kind of monster the Mountain was. On the other hand, he never punished Gregor for the rape and murder, because that would be an admission of indirect guilt on his part. This of course backfired: his inaction only served to convince the Martells that he was actively responsible and must have directly ordered Gregor to kill Elia, harming relations with the Martells far more than if he had simply admitted the truth. Tywin was also uncharacteristically defensive when Tyrion voiced his suspicion that he ordered Gregor to not only kill Elia, but rape her first, showing that even Tywin was disgusted by what Gregor did (but still did not punish him for it).
The Martells (particularly Oberyn) were so outraged by Elia's brutal and needless murder that they initially intended to continue fighting in Viserys' name. After the rebellion's end, Jon Arryn's first act as Hand of the King of the King was to travel to Dorne and negotiate with Prince Doran; Arryn convinced the Dornish to cease hostilities, but the fact Elia's killers were never punished caused the region to adopt a largely isolationist policy with the rest of the Seven Kingdoms.
As part of the Lannister alliance with the Martells that he negotiates, to prevent them from joining Renly's host, Tyrion pledges to bring those responsible for the death of Elia and her children to justice, including the Mountain. Tywin later reneges on this, as he does not wish to lose as effective a soldier and terror weapon as Gregor, intending to place all the blame on the now-deceased Amory Lorch. Oberyn does not seem to believe that new version, and Tyrion assures him that Lorch killed Rhaenys, while the Mountain killed baby Aegon and then proceeded to rape and kill Elia. After Gregor roars his guilt for all to hear during Tyrion's trial by combat, Tywin is forced to have Gregor healed if only so Ilyn Payne can execute him to appease the Martells, for fear inaction might lead to Doran Martell supporting Stannis Baratheon.
Prince Oberyn is the hot-headed younger brother of Prince Doran Martell. He has eight bastard daughters, called the Sand Snakes, the four youngest of them by his current paramour, Ellaria Sand.
Oberyn has a lined face with thin eyebrows, black "viper" eyes and a sharp nose. His hair is lustrous and black with only a few silver streaks and recedes from his brow into a widow's peak. It is rumored that he has sexual relations with his squires when Ellaria is unavailable. It is not unusual for lords and ladies in Dorne to be openly bisexual, due to the relaxed attitude towards sexuality among the Dornish.
Oberyn is called "the Red Viper" by friend and foe alike due to his penchant for coating his weapons in lethal poisons, so that even a glancing wound will prove fatal.
Oberyn was the youngest of the three Martell siblings: Elia was born nine years after Doran, and Oberyn one year after Elia.
During a tourney, Oberyn jousted against Willas Tyrell, eldest son of Mace Tyrell and heir to Highgarden. Oberyn knocked Willas from his horse, but Willas's foot got caught in the stirrup and the horse fell on him, crushing his leg and leaving him crippled. Though Willas does not personally bear any ill-will towards Oberyn for the incident and they continue a friendly correspondence, it becomes a new source of friction in the ancient feud between Dorne and the Reach.
Although Oberyn is known to have studied to become a maester in his youth - successfully forging several links of his chain - he is noted to have studied the poisoner's art while travelling the Free Cities, not at the Citadel, as the show specifies. When Oberyn visits Tyrion Lannister in his cell following Joffrey's murder, he jokes that he owes Cersei his gratitude for accusing her brother of the deed. Had she not, Oberyn himself may soon have come under suspicion, because "who knows more of poison than the Red Viper of Dorne, after all?"
Before Oberyn travels to King's Landing, Doran gives him instructions: to take the measure of Joffrey and his council; to make note of their strengths and weaknesses; to find friends for Dorne, if there are any to be found; to learn what he can of Elia's end; but not to provoke Lord Tywin unduly. Oberyn laughs and says "When have I provoked any man unduly? You would do better to warn the Lannisters against provoking me". Eventually he goes beyond anything Doran asked him, refusing to wait any longer in seeking justice for Elia.
When Oberyn travels to King's Landing to take Dorne's seat on the small council, he meets Tyrion at the gates of the capital with the main Dornish party, not in a brothel as depicted in the TV series. It is at this point that he tells Tyrion about the first time they met, soon after Tyrion had been born, which the series held back until Oberyn visited Tyrion in his black cell, probably for dramatic effect. Similarly, Oberyn offered to be Tyrion's champion before Tyrion actually demanded a trial by combat, whereas in the series he dramatically volunteers to be his champion when Tyrion has lost all hope of finding anyone to fight for him, and is resigned to facing the Mountain himself.
Due to their shared hatred for House Lannister, Oberyn and Tyrion form a bond of sorts. He offers to take Tyrion to live in Sunspear with the Martells should he defeat Gregor Clegane and gain Tyrion his freedom, in order to get him away from Cersei, who may still have him killed. Oberyn loses the duel against Clegane, however, and is killed, though he manages to poison him with manticore venom in the process.
Prince Doran is a cautious, pensive man who does not wear his emotions on his sleeve. He weighs the consequences of every action before he makes them, but whatever action he ultimately takes is therefore very deliberate. Tywin Lannister himself warns that Doran's patience and insistence on long-term planning should not be mistaken for indecision or laziness, and considers him a genuine threat. Since he is not a POV character, his plotline is narrated by his daughter Arianne and Areo Hotah.
Doran was the eldest child and heir of his mother, who by the equal primogeniture laws of the Dornish ruled as Princess of Dorne in her own right. It is unknown what noble House his father was from. He had two younger brothers who died in infancy, and his two younger siblings Elia and Oberyn were born a decade after he was (Elia nine years later, and Oberyn a year after that). As a result of their age difference Doran was raised alone, which probably reinforced his tendency to not share his thoughts, though he deeply loved both Elia and Oberyn (similar to how Robb Stark and Rickon Stark were born ten years apart, but still cared greatly for each other).
Doran has three children: Princess Arianne, Prince Quentyn, and Prince Trystane, all born of his wife, Lady Mellario of Norvos. Doran married Mellario for love, not as an arranged marriage; however, the two of them later fell out of love, and Mellario moved back to Norvos.
Doran was devastated by his sister Elia's rape and murder during Robert's Rebellion. A full decade older than his siblings, he never thought he would live to see the day when he heard of her death. The Targaryen loyalists were crushed on the battlefield, with the main Dornish army destroyed at the Battle of the Trident (Doran and Oberyn's uncle Lewyn, a member of the Kingsguard, also died in the battle). Even so, Oberyn was so infuriated by the atrocity of Elia's death that he urged that Dorne should continue the fighting with the aim of placing Viserys Targaryen on the Iron Throne. Doran, however, would have none of it, recognizing that Dorne was in no position to resist the combined power of the victorious rebel armies. Relations with the Iron Throne were deeply soured and it was only through extensive negotiations with the new Hand of the King, Jon Arryn, that Dorne remained loyal to the Iron Throne - but the Martells completely withdrew from the royal court.
At the time of the War of the Five Kings, Doran has a bad case of gout and has trouble walking, preferring to move in a wheeled chair constructed by his maester. He hides his disability so as to not appear weak to his potential enemies. Instead, while still in command of his wits, Doran has semi-retired to the Water Gardens palace, and delegated much of the day-to-day running of Dorne to Oberyn. Doran went about using canes for a time, but he had to switch to using a wheelchair about two years before he first appears in A Feast for Crows (which would make it around the time the war started).
Doran's gout is bad enough that he cannot walk more than a few steps, but he is not a complete invalid, and thus he could have come to King Joffrey's wedding if he truly wanted to, travelling by ship or palanquin. His physical condition was just bad enough, however, to make a convenient excuse for not having to go to King's Landing - enough that the Lannisters couldn't overtly express their displeasure that he did not come. His maester administers him milk of the poppy regularly to dull his pains, but he does not take it on occasions when he needs his head clear, in which he bears the pain silently.
A few years after Robert's Rebellion, Doran and Ser Willem Darry, acting on behalf of Daenerys and Viserys, signed a secret pact of alliance between Dorne and House Targaryen in Braavos. The alliance was to be sealed by a marriage between Viserys and Princess Arianne Martell, in return for Dorne's help overthrowing the Baratheons. Ser Willem never told Viserys and Daenerys about the pact, and Doran chose to keep the pact a secret, fearing that if Robert knew of that, he would smash Sunspear and all the Martells. Thus Viserys died unaware of it, and Daenerys learns of it many years later.
Doran's brother Oberyn takes his place and goes to King's Landing. In the novels the agreement was slightly different: to secure the neutrality of Dorne in the war, the Lannisters betrothed Cersei's daughter Myrcella to Doran's son Trystane, but also offered Doran a seat on the Small Council. Oberyn arrives instead and takes the Small Council seat (simply as an advisor without a specific office). The TV series condensed this somewhat (because the agreement was last mentioned two full seasons before and viewers may have forgotten) to simply say that Doran was supposed to come to Joffrey's wedding, though Oberyn took his place - and then after Joffrey died, Tywin gave Oberyn a seat on the Small Council to try to keep Dorne loyal to the Lannisters. The overall effect is minimal: either way, Oberyn ended up arriving in King's Landing soon before Joffrey's wedding, and wasn't heavily involved in the Small Council before Joffrey's death.
Before Oberyn travels to King's Landing, Doran gives him instructions: to take the measure of Joffrey and his council; to make note of their strengths and weaknesses; to find friends for Dorne, if there are any to be found; to learn what he can of Elia's end; but not to provoke Lord Tywin unduly. Oberyn laughs and says "When have I provoked any man unduly? You would do better to warn the Lannisters against provoking me". Eventually he goes beyond anything Doran asked him, refusing to wait any longer in seeking justice for Elia.
Doran is aware that Dorne is an angry and divided land, and his hold on it is not as firm as it may be; many of his subjects, nobles and commoners alike, demand to avenge his brother and think he is too meek and weak and cautious, too lenient to their enemies, while they would have welcomed open war with the Lannisters and the boy king on the Iron Throne. Only the Sand Snakes, however, are bold enough to tell him that to his face, claiming that he does nothing except "procrastinate, obscure, prevaricate, dissemble, and delay". Nymeria claims that if Oberyn was alive and Doran was dead, Oberyn would have not waited even one moment before leading his banners north, and the spears would have been raining upon the marches. Doran, however, does not yield to the public pressure or to his unruly nieces. He believes in what his mother taught him many years ago: that only madmen fight wars they cannot win; that valor is a poor substitute for numbers; and it is an easy thing for a prince to call the spears, but in the end, the children pay the price. For their sake, the wise prince will wage no war without good cause, nor any war he cannot hope to win.
Doran secretly sends his son Quentyn to Meereen, to realize the pact signed many years ago at Braavos. Arianne discovers that her brother and a few escorts were sent under false names across the narrow sea, but has no idea for what purpose.
In the beginning of "A Feast for Crows", the prominent Sand Snakes confront Doran, chide him for doing nothing to avenge their father, and tell him the plans they have in mind to settle score with the Lannisters: Obara demands him to give her and Nymeria an army, that she can sack Oldtown while Nymeria heads to King's Landing; Nymeria suggests that she and Tyene will assassinate Tywin, Cersei, Jaime, and Tommen; Tyene's plan is to crown Myrcella in order to provoke the Lannisters and Tyrells into attacking Dorne, then the Dornish will bleed them in the passes and bury them beneath the blowing sands. Doran answers each of them evasively that he will think it over.
Doran orders to imprison the Sand Snakes, to make sure they do not ignite a war, and as a further precuation - to detain Ellaria and the remaining Sand Snakes (except Sarella). In order to maintain the pretence that he is loyal to the crown, he reports the Small Council about arresting his nieces, commenting that he cannot hope to calm the waters until he receives the justice that was promised him. The ploy works, and Cersei, who thinks that Doran is "a tiresome creature" (in contrast to her father's opinion), is satisfied that Dorne does not pose any threat. As a friendly gesture, she orders Ser Balon Swann to travel to Dorne and deliver the Martells the Mountain's head, and also to play his part in her scheme to assassinate Trystane.
Doran warns Ser Arys Oakheart that there are many hot-headed Dornish who may try to kill Myrcella as a payback, and invites him and Myrcella to the Water Gardens. Doran does not order to imprison his daughter Arianne, what almost turns to be a fatal mistake: she concludes that her father wants to keep Myrcella away not from those who wish to harm her, but from those who'd seek to crown her. She attempts to execute Tyene's plan to crown Myrcella, and by that to provoke the Lannisters into war. Arianne and her escorts, among them Ser Arys and a questionable knight named Ser Gerold "Darkstar" Dayne, are intercepted by Aero Hotah on the way to Hellholt. During the confusion moments, Darkstar slashes at Myrcella and escapes. Myrcella survives, but is horribly injured.
Doran orders to imprison his daughter, and only after many days he comes to talk with her. He is furious at her, not only for dishonoring her house, but also because had Myrcella been killed - surely the Lannisters would have declared war against the Martells, what the Sand Snakes and Arianne attempted to achieve and Doran tried to prevent. Similarly to her cousins, Arianne exclaims angrily that Doran's meekness shames all Dorne, for doing nothing to avenge his brother, and that he has been disappointing her for years. Doran points out that Dorne is the least populated of the Seven Kingdoms, without allies, hence not ready yet for an open confrontation with the Lannisters. Although Myrcella is alive, the danger is not over: she is the Martells' guest, betrothed to Trystane and under Doran's proptection; the Lannisters may still blame the Martells for what happened, once Ser Balon Swann arrives at Sunspear and reports to King's Landing. At Doran's command, his bannermen delay Ser Balon for weeks by holding feasts, games and hunting trips for his party, till Doran comes up with a way to resolve the unpleasant situation Arianne got him into. Arianne suggests to make Myrcella tell Ser Balon that Darkstar killed Ser Arys, when the latter tried to protect her. Doran doubts the Lannisters would believe that.
Doran reveals his daughter that he has in fact been plotting Tywin Lannister's downfall since the day he was told about the death of Elia and her children. It was Doran's hope to strip Tywin of all that he held most dear before killing him, but Tyrion has robbed him of that pleasure. While Doran takes some small solace in knowing that Tywin died a cruel death at the hands of his hateful son, thousands more will soon be joining Tywin, if Arianne's folly turns to war. Then he tells Arianne about the secret pact he signed with Willem Darry years ago. Since Viserys was killed before the pact could be realized, he sent Quentyn on a long and perilous voyage, with an uncertain welcome at its end, to bring them back their heart's desire. Arianne asks "What is our heart's desire?". Doran answers "Vengeance. Justice. Fire and blood".
Ser Balon Swann and his party finally arrive at Sunspear, where they are welcomed by Doran. Then Doran frees his daughter and nieces. Doran speaks with Ser Balon amicably, pretending he is unaware of Cersei's plot to murder his son. After the feast, Doran holds a secret conference with Arianne, Ellaria, the Sand Snakes and Hotah. The Sand Snakes are totally dissatisfied about receiving the Mountain's head, claiming it is not over until all the Lannisters die. Obara doubts whether the Mountain is really dead and if it is his skull (she has no idea how close she is to the truth). Tearfully, Ellaria begs them to give up their vengeance, fearing it may cost more of the people she loves, but in vain. Obara states the time is ripe for a war, which will come whether they want it or not, thanks to the near-fatal attempt on Myrcella's life. Arianne repeats her suggestion to make Myrcella lie about the incident.
Doran chides his nieces for seeking war, warning them that had they not been his nieces, he would have sent them back to the cells and kept them there for good. He continues: "I am not blind, nor deaf. I know that you all believe me weak, frightened, feeble. Your father knew me better. Oberyn was ever the viper. Deadly, dangerous, unpredictable. No man dared tread on him. I was the grass. Pleasant, complaisant, sweet-smelling, swaying with every breeze. Who fears to walk upon the grass? But it is the grass that hides the viper from his enemies and shelters him until he strikes. Your father and I worked more closely than you know... but now he is gone. The question is, can I trust his daughters to serve me in his place?"
Tyene answers for the three of them: "Set a task for us, any task, and you shall find us as leal and obedient as any prince could hope for" and they swear to serve him. Then Doran surprises them by revealing Cersei's scheme to murder Trystane. Dorne still has friends at court, who told him about that. Enraged, Obara wants to kill Ser Balon and his party, then send their heads to Cersei. Doran refuses, since Ser Balon is protected under the guest right. He accepts Arianne's suggestion to make Myrcella tell Ser Balon that Darkstar killed Ser Arys and injured her, and ask him to hunt Darkstar down.
Doran sends his daughter and nieces on seperate missions as part of his revenge against the Lannisters: Obara will go with Ser Balon after Darkstar; Nymeria will escort Myrcella to King's Landing, where she will take her father's place at the Small Council; Tyene will go to King's Landing too, and will try to get close to the new High Septon; Arianne will travel to Ghost Hill to meet potential allies. They all follow his orders obediently.
In the meantime, Quentyn and his escorts arrive at Meereen. Daenerys is surpised to hear about the secret pact. She declines Quentyn's marriage proposal, as gently as she can, explaining she is pledged to wed Hizdahr. She promises Quentyn that one day she shall return to Westeros to claim her father's throne, and look to Dorne for help, but at present the Yunkai'i have her city ringed in steel, and she must make peace with them. Following her departure, Quentyn attempts to steal the dragons, and it costs his life. So far, the Martells have not been informed yet about his death. To Arianne's question, Doran tells her he heard news about a fleet of ships, sailing from Lys to Westeros, carrying elephants; he is uncertain whether Quentyn is with them.
ARIANNE MARTELL
Princess Arianne Nymeros Martell, better known simply as Arianne Martell, is a member of House Martell and is the eldest daughter of Doran Martell, the ruling Prince of Dorne, and his consort, Lady Mellario of the Free City of Norvos. According to Dornish customs, she is the heiress of Sunspear, and the future ruling Princess of Dorne. Arianne is a POV character in A Feast for Crows and The Winds of Winter.
As a young girl, Arianne was pudgy and flat-chested, and she would pray to the Seven nightly, hoping that she would be given beauty when she was older. Now a woman in her early twenties, Arianne is buxom and beautiful, with olive skin, large dark eyes and long, thick black hair that falls in ringlets to the middle of her back. She has full lips and round ripe breasts with huge dark nipples. Favoring her mother, she is short, standing at five foot two. When attending to matters of politics, she conceals her lush and curvaceous body with flowing silks, jewels, and other ostentatious displays of wealth.
Arianne is calculating, adventurous, and fierce-tempered. When she sees something she desires, she strives to obtain it at all cost. She does not shy away from using her looks to get what she wants, nor from seducing men to get them to do her bidding, occasionally granting sexual favors in this context. Ser Arys Oakheart thinks that Arianne's nature compares more to her uncle Oberyn's than to her father's. Arianne considers handsome men her one great weakness, in particular when they have an air of adventure and the forbidden. Arianne has a vivid sexual imagination and has had sexual experiences from an early age.
Born in 276 AC, Arianne was the firstborn child of her father, Prince Doran Martell, and his wife, Lady Mellario of Norvos. As her father's firstborn, she was Prince Doran's heiress, according to Rhoynish customs and Dornish laws. Arianne spent several years of her early life at the Water Gardens. She had two younger brothers, but since Quentyn was sent away as a page to Yronwood at an early age and Trystane was eleven years younger than herself, Arianne was never close to them. Instead, her best companions during childhood were Andrey "Drey" Dalt, Garin (whose mother had been her wet nurse), Sylva Santagar, and her cousin Tyene Sand.
Tyene in particular was Arianne's best friend, since they were the same age, and thus were as close as sisters. Arianne and Tyene shared everything, including learning how to read, ride, and dance; they even shared a flagon of wine they had stolen at the age of ten, and an early attempted sexual experience with Drey. On occasion, Arianne's older cousin Nymeria Sand would join Arianne and her four companions, and sometimes her cousin Sarella Sand would attempt to join them as well. Once, Arianne crossed the Mander in the Reach, when she and three of her cousins went to visit Tyene's mother.
Arianne held her young cousin Princess Rhaenys Targaryen once, but she was so young at the time that she no longer remembers. She does remember her great-uncle, Prince Lewyn Martell, of whom she has cherished memories, and who used to tickle her until she couldn't stop laughing. When Robert's Rebellion ended, Arianne was seven years old. At the age of eight, Arianne became afflicted with redspots, and learned that the disease, while harmless for children, could be lethal for adults.
From a young age, Arianne was half in love with her uncle, Prince Oberyn. At some point, Prince Oberyn brought her, Tyene, Sarella Sand, and Garin to the abandoned holdfast of Shandystone. While Oberyn showed Tyene the best way to milk a snake's venom, and Sarella went exploring, Arianne sat on a rock, dreaming that a tall, hard robber knight, with black eyes and a widow's peak, had taken her there to have his way with her.
Arianne had a close relationship with her father, Prince Doran Martell, when she was a girl. She would run to him when she had hurt herself, and would go give him a good night kiss. However, when Arianne was fourteen years old, she stumbled across a half-written letter from Doran to her younger brother, Quentyn, who was being fostered at Yronwood. In the letter, Doran stated that Quentyn would one day sit in his place and rule Dorne, suggesting to Arianne that Doran intended for her younger brother to succeed him, passing over Arianne entirely. According to her own account, she cried about her discovery for many days. Arianne longed to be a dutiful daughter, but wanted her father to show that he valued her. She began to rebel against her father in small ways. When she was still fourteen, she lost her virginity to Daemon Sand, the bastard of Godsgrace, (an encounter which she still remembers as clumsy but sweet), and told Doran about it immediately afterwards. Doran did nothing about it, adding to Arianne's feelings that he was "very good at doing nothing".
In truth, Doran was only planning for Quentyn to inherit the rule of Dorne because he intended for Arianne to become Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Unbeknownst to Arianne, her uncle Oberyn had traveled to Braavos years before, where he signed a secret marriage pact in which Arianne was betrothed to the exiled Viserys Targaryen. In return for Arianne marrying Viserys, Doran would support Viserys's claim to the Iron Throne. He once planned to reveal the truth about the betrothal to Arianne, and was going to send her to the Free City of Tyrosh to serve as a cupbearer to the Archon of Tyrosh and secretly meet with Viserys. However, Doran abandoned that plan due to suicidal threats from Arianne's mother Mellario, who was already deeply upset that Quentyn had been sent away to be fostered. Doran then planned to tell Arianne about her betrothal and his plans to help restore the Targaryens to the Iron Throne when Arianne turned sixteen. However, he changed his mind over time, and kept the betrothal a secret from Arianne because he felt that she was too willful, and feared that if he told her, she would tell her cousins (particularly Tyene), and there would be no way to ensure the secret would remain a secret.
When Arianne reached the age of marriage, Doran presented her with several suitors, all of whom were elderly lords (including Ben Beesbury, Walder Frey, Gyles Rosby, Eldon Estermont, and Hugh Grandison), while rejecting an offer from Lord Hoster Tully, who had invited Arianne to travel to Riverrun and meet his heir Edmure. Arianne refused all of the elderly suitors, and asked to travel to Highgarden to meet Willas Tyrell. When Doran refused, Arianne and Tyene tried to go on their own, but were intercepted by Prince Oberyn at Vaith. Another time, when Lord Renly Baratheon visited Dorne, she attempted to seduce him, but he seemed confused by her attempts and she was not successful. Because of having read the letter to Quentyn, the insulting marriage candidates Doran presented her with, and Doran's apparent coolness towards her, Arianne became convinced her father hated her. But in truth, Doran merely presented her with the elderly lords as suitors because he feared that it would be suspicious if he did not attempt to arrange a marriage for her, and because he knew that Arianne would refuse them (which she forcefully did), thus keeping her free to marry Viserys.
During those years, Arianne also had suitors from Dorne. Her friend Andrey Dalt and his brother Deziel had both wanted to marry her, and her first lover, Daemon Sand, had even gone to Prince Doran to ask for her hand, though he was rejected. Arianne believed that her father did not wish for her to marry a Dornishman, and also realized that a bastard was not a worthy consort for a princess of Dorne. While her friendship with Daemon Sand was never the same after her father rejected his offer, Arianne took on multiple lovers over the years, including at least one of her childhood friends, as well as Ser Gerold Dayne of High Hermitage.
Arianne had long been dissatisfied with her father and his style of rule, thinking him weak and vacillating. When her father moved to the Water Gardens in 298 AC, Arianne remained in Sunspear. However, instead of being made the castellan, or given a position of power, she was put in charge of "feasts and frolics", while Prince Oberyn was given the highest place of power at Sunspear's court. While her uncle would visit Doran at the Water Gardens twice every fortnight, Arianne was summoned by her father only twice a year, which all further enforced her belief that her father did not want her as his heir.
QUENTYN
Prince Quentyn Nymeros Martell, better known simply as Quentyn Martell, is the second child and eldest son of Prince Doran Martell and Lady Mellario of Norvos.
Quentyn is short-legged and stocky, thickly built, with a plain face, brown hair, brown eyes, and stubble on his cheeks. He has a high forehead, broad nose, and square jaw. He does not smile easily. Ser Barristan reflects that he "seemed a decent lad, sober, sensible, dutiful... but not the sort to make a young girl's heart beat faster." Daenerys Targaryen feels he looks solemn. She does not consider him handsome, though she thinks he seems pleasant and well-spoken. In Meereen, he dresses plainly.
Quentyn speaks the Volantenese tongue, and Ghiscari, and while he can read and write High Valyrian, he has had little practise in speaking it.
Quentyn is cautious of nature. When sent on a mission to Meereen by his father, Prince Doran Martell, Quentyn is filled with doubts, fears and insecureties. He does not want to be remembered as a failure, and can't bear the thought of his father's disappointent, nor does he want his friends to have died for nothing. When in Lys, Quentyn plays the role of a merchant, but the mummery chafes at him, and the next time the ruse is required, the role of merchant is granted to one of his companions.
Quentyn is a virgin, and uncomfortable around girls.
Fostered at Yronwood, Quentyn came to see Cletus Yronwood, his dearest friend, as a brother in all but blood, and Cletus' father, Lord Anders, as a second father.
Quentyn was born the second child of Prince Doran Martell and his wife, Lady Mellario of Norvos. At a young age, Quentyn was sent to be fostered by Lord Anders Yronwood, whom he served as a page and later squire. Quentyn was fostered at Yronwood to repair the relationship between House Martell and House Yronwood, which had been damaged by the outcome of the duel between Quentyn's uncle Prince Oberyn and Lord Edgar Yronwood, more than a decade before. Lord Edgar and Prince Oberyn had both taken cuts during this duel, but while Oberyn recovered, Lord Edgar's wounds had festered and he had eventually died, leading to whispers that Oberyn had fought with a poisoned blade. Sending Quentyn to Yronwood was to settle this blood debt. However, Quentyn was very young when he was sent away. Too young, according to his mother. His fosterage was one of the strains on his parent's marriage.
When Quentyn first arrived at Yronwood, he had been smitten with Lord Anders' eldest daughter, Ynys. His crush lasted until the day she wed, and left Yronwood. His first kiss, he received from one of the Drinkwater twins, though Quentyn never knew which one had been the one.
Once, when Quentyn had already been at Yronwood, Prince Doran had written him a letter in which he instructed Quentyn to do all his maester and master-at-arms required of him, as Quentyn would one day rule Dorne, and therefore needed to be strong of both mind and body. This was before Prince Viserys Targaryen died, to whom Doran secretly betrothed Arianne (his eldest child and legal heir, according to Dornish custom). Had things gone as planned, Arianne would have become Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, so that Quentyn would be the successor to Dorne. Quentyn has been riding horses since he was six, and has been trained with spear and sword and shield since he was old enough to walk.
At Yronwood, Quentyn befriended Lord Anders' eldest son, Cletus, Cletus' cousin Archibald, Gerris Drinkwater, and Willam Wells. Quentyn received his knighthood at the age of eighteen, from Lord Anders Yronwood, after turning down the same offer made by his uncle, Prince Oberyn.
Amongst the people in Dorne, Quentyn is little known.
TRYSTANE
Prince Trystane Nymeros Martell, better known simply as Trystane Martell, is the youngest child of the ruling prince of Dorne, Doran Martell, and his wife, Lady Mellario of Norvos.
Born in 287 AC, Trystane was the youngest child of his father, Prince Doran Martell, and mother, Lady Mellario of Norvos. At the age of four, Trystane suffered from redspots. While he was still young, his mother left Dorne and returned to Norvos, the city of her birth. Trystane has olive skin and straight black hair.
In the novels, Trystane and Myrcella get along well, but never declare their love nor kiss.
Trystane does not participate, and perhaps has no idea of his sister Arianne's plan to crown Myrcella. The plan is foiled as Areo Hotah intercepts Arianne's party. During the commotion, one of Arianne's escorts, Ser Gerold "Darkstar" Dayne, slashes at Myrcella. Unlike in the show, Myrcella survives but is terribly disfigured. It is unknown how Trystane reacted when he heard about that.
One of Cersei's ill-conceived schemes is to assassinate Trystane (it is not explained what she intends to gain by that). For that purpose, she sends Ser Balon Swann to Dorne, while the formal reason of his coming is to take Myrcella back and invite Doran and Trystane to King's Landing. The plan is as followed: on the way to King's Landing, somewhere in the kingswood, Ser Balon's party will be attacked by outlaws, and Trystane will die. Prince Doran was asked to court only so that he may witness that attack with his own eyes, and thereby absolve Cersei of any blame. The outlaws will be shouting "Halfman, Halfman" as they attack. Ser Balon may even catch a quick glimpse of Tyrion, though no one else will. However, unbeknown to Cersei, the Martells have friends at court, and they forewarn Doran about the scheme.
When Doran tells his daughter and the Sand Snakes about Cersei's scheme, they are shocked and can hardly believe - that Cersei seeks to murder Trystane, and that a Kingsguard knight is involved. Obara is furious, suggesting to kill Ser Balon and his party, and send their heads to Cersei. Doran rejects her offer, since Ser Balon is their guest and since the time is not yet come for Dorne to act openly against the Iron Throne. He explains in details how he intends to foil Cersei's plan without open defiance.
The Sand Snakes are infamous throughout Dorne. Their names, in order of age, are Obara, Nymeria, Tyene, Sarella, Elia, Obella, Dorea, and Loreza. Obara was born of a prostitute from Oldtown; Nymeria of a noblewoman from Volantis; Tyene of a septa; Sarella of a trader from the Summer Isles; the rest of Ellaria Sand. Despite inheriting widely different appearances from their birthmothers, they are all said to have their father's eyes. Being Dornish bastards, they all have the surname "Sand" and are associate members of their father's House.
The oldest four are close friends and confidants of Prince Doran Martell's daughter and heiress, Princess Arianne.
Each of the eldest four Sand Snakes inherited or took after one of their father's famous traits: Obara has her father's martial prowess; Nymeria inherited Oberyn's good looks, sex drive, and cunning; Tyene has her father's skill with poisons; Sarella inherited her father's keen intellect.
The younger four Sand Snakes do not appear prominently in the first five novels, due to their ages: Elia Sand, the eldest, is fourteen years old near the end of the fifth novel, and Loreza (the youngest) is only around six years old. Elia, however, is old enough to share her half-sisters' rapport with Princess Arianne, and is just starting to be old enough to take part in the activities of her elders by the beginning of the sixth novel. Sarella has not make any appearances in the novels yet either; she is only mentioned to be at unknown location outside of Dorne.
Doran Martell acts very cautiously when any of his nieces are present. He is aware how dangerous they are, and that their kinship will not stop them from harming him (after he caressed Tyene's head, Maester Caleotte examined his palm very carefully and thoroughly for any scratches or a particular smell to see if she poisoned him). Areo Hotah watches them closely in such occasions, ready to take action whenever they make a potentially harmful move.
On the second novel, Tyrion said "The Martells have every cause to hate us. Nonetheless, I expect them to agree. Prince Doran's grievance against House Lannister goes back only a generation, but the Dornishmen have warred against Storm's End and Highgarden for a thousand years". Tyrion was wrong at least in respect of the Sand Snakes, whose hatred is mainly aimed at the Lannisters, and barely speak about the Tyrells. The reason is perhaps that specific and recent atrocities - let alone exceptionally savage ones, as the murder of Elia and her children - are burnt in memory much more vividly than general hostilities. Morever, Oberyn's death has greatly increased the hatred the Sand Snakes feel toward the Lannisters, thus belittling any grudge (if at all) that they have against the Tyrells.
Prince Doran rejects the above plans, and takes steps to prevent all his nieces from stirring up troubles, by arresting the three elder daughters and confining the four youngest and their mother to the Water Gardens; Sarella he leaves alone, as she is not in Dorne at the time. However, his daughter Arianne attempts to accomplish Tyene's plan, which nearly results in Myrcella's death: one of Arianne's escorts, Ser Gerold "Darkstar" Dayne, injures her severely and escapes. Myrcella survives but is terribly disfigured. Arianne is imprisoned, like her seven cousins.
As much as the Sand Snakes hate the Lannisters and wish to exact revenge, they (and Ellaria Sand) never had any personal grudge against Myrcella, and never intended to harm her. They are not responsible at all to the near-fatal attempt on her life, although it can serve their purpose well, as Obara commented.
In the fifth novel, after Ser Balon Swann arrives in Dorne to retrieve Myrcella (and to play his part in Cersei's scheme to assassinate Trystane), Doran orders the release of his daughter and nieces, and gives them tasks: Obara will lead Ser Balon in the chase after Darkstar, while Nymeria and Tyene accompany Myrcella to King's Landing; Nymeria will take her father's seat on the Small Council, while Tyene, disguised as septa, will befriend the new High Septon. All three of the Sand Snakes swear that they will serve their uncle when he reveals that he has been conspiring for years to gain total revenge on the Lannisters by working to restore House Targaryen.
As for the youngest Sand Snakes: according to Arianne's sample chapters of the sixth novel, Elia accompanies Arianne on a mission to meet potential allies; Loreza and her mother travel to her grandfather's seat at Hellholt; Obella is dispatched to Sunspear to serve as a cupbearer to the wife of the castellan Manfrey Martell; Dorea remained at the Water Gardens.
In sharp contrast to the show, as much as the Sand Snakes are angry at their uncle for lack of action against the Lannisters, none of them has ever harmed him or Trystane; even if they had such intentions, Areo Hotah would have never acted so carelessly as he did in the show: he always watches the Sand Snakes very carefully when they are around his prince (perhaps even more closely than he watches other people), knowing how deadly they are, ready to react to any potentially harmful move on their behalf. It's quite the contrary, after Doran tells them about a plot of Cersei to kill Trystane in an ambush, with the plan to get her daughter back and to blame Tyrion for this, all the Sand Snakes are shocked; Obara is outraged and wants retaliation against Ser Balon and his party who are part of this scheme.
Though in the novels the Sand Snakes are fierce warriors, they adhere to a strong code of honor and absolutely refuse to harm innocent people, unlike in the television series where they are depicted as villainous mercenaries similar to the likes of Ramsay Bolton: Obara is presented as almost machine-like in nature, ready to commit cold-blooded murder solely for her own amusement; Nymeria appears indifferent towards the taboo of kinslaying but has a very competitive personality; and Tyene possesses a particularly sadistic streak, greatly enjoying poisoning her enemies and watching the effects kill her opponents slowly. While they claim to fight for Dorne, it is heavily implied that the Sand Snakes have no true alliance to anyone but themselves, and appear prepared to kill anyone who might stand in the way of their goals, even their own people or family members.
( DORNE. )
Dorne is one of the nine constituent regions of Westeros. It lies along the large peninsula which makes up the southernmost part of the continent. It is bordered by the Sea of Dorne to the north, the islands known as the Stepstones to the east, the Summer Sea to the south, and the Red Mountains to the west and north-west. The landscape consists largely of rocky mountains and parched deserts, with more fertile lands along the rivers and eastern coast. Dorne is ruled from the castle of Sunspear by House Martell.
One thousand years ago, Dorne was a shifting patchwork of small Andal states, with no ruler strong enough to seize control of the entire region. However, a people known as the Rhoynar had fled Essos after their homeland was overrun and destroyed by the expanding power of the Valyrian Freehold. After much wandering, the Rhoynar eventually landed in Dorne, and their leader, Princess Nymeria, forged a marriage alliance with Lord Mors Martell of Sunspear. With his support, she was able to conquer the entire peninsula, uniting it as the Principality of Dorne.
Seven centuries later, when King Aegon I Targaryen invaded Dorne, the Dornish refused to give open battle. Having heard of the defeat of the Reach and the Westerlands at the Field of Fire, they knew that a pitched battle would allow Aegon to deploy his dragons, so instead they adopted guerrilla warfare tactics, striking at Aegon's flanks and supply lines. Aegon was forced to concede defeat and leave the kingdom untaken. A century and a half later King Daeron I, the Young Dragon, invaded Dorne and successfully subdued the kingdom, but lost ten thousand soldiers in the process. Unfortunately, Dorne rose in rebellion almost immediately after Daeron's troops returned home. In the resulting conflict, forty thousand Targaryen soldiers died, including the Young Dragon, and his successor King Baelor ended up making peace with Dorne instead. Fifty years later, after the long and fruitful marriage of Princess Myria Martell to Prince Daeron (later King Daeron II), Dorne finally joined the Seven Kingdoms through peaceful alliance.
The people of Dorne, the Dornish, are considered a passionate and fiery people, and have more relaxed views on sexual morality than other parts of the Seven Kingdoms. Since Dorne joined the Seven Kingdoms through peaceful alliance and a marriage contract, its people were allowed more indulgences than the other regions conquered by the Targaryens in war. In particular, the rulers of Dorne are allowed to style themselves "Prince" rather than "Lord" and inheritance always passes to the eldest child regardless of gender, in contrast to the male-favoring primogeniture practiced elsewhere in Westeros.
Dorne has never been a sea power; the ten thousand ships that the Rhoynar arrived in were destroyed at Princess Nymeria's order, who turned her back upon the sea forever once she married her Dornish prince. Even though many years passed, the Dornish have never made any efforts to rebuild a fleet. Some Dornish, however, have chosen to continue to practice the traditions of their river-faring ancestors, and built boats from the hulks of the burned ships - they are known as "Orphans of the Greenblood". The watercrafts they have cannot be considered as a fleet, though.
Dorne and the Reach are old enemies, and their ambivalence remains strong despite being unified under the Iron Throne. In the current generation there is also great antipathy for the Lannisters, due to the death of Princess Elia Martell (married to Rhaegar Targaryen) and her two children during the Sack of King's Landing by Lannister armies. Dorne has maintained something of an isolationist policy for much of the last generation.
According to author George R.R. Martin, Dorne is loosely inspired by Spain, particularly the south's Moorish heritage, which culturally sets it apart from the rest of the country and of Western Europe. There is also some slight inspiration from Wales; the Norman Invasion of England in 1066 didn't succeed in conquering the mountainous peninsula of Wales, and it took generations to bring Wales under control. Similarly, the Targaryen Conquest didn't succeed in conquering Dorne, and it remained an independent border state which frustrated any further attempts at conquest by the Targaryens for another two centuries, before being peacefully absorbed through marriage-alliance. Furthermore, Dorne's status as a Principality also matches that of Medieval Wales, which styled its rulers as princes.
Climatically, culturally and geographically, however, Dorne has many more similarities with Moorish Spain. Politically, Spain's isolation from the rest of Europe throughout much of its history also mirrors that of Dorne. Daeron's invasion of Dorne and subsequent rebellion against him also has strong parallelisms with the Spain's guerrilla war of liberation against Napoleon
Dorne also seems to have taken some inspiration from Cornwall, the southwestern peninsula of Britain that like Wales was ethnically distinct from England (being Celtic) and for a time independent. This is in keeping with Martin's comments that Westeros was generally conceived of as a continent-sized analogue of the British Isles. Both Cornwall and Dorne are peninsulas whose relatively isolated position allowed them to remain ethnically distinct from the core regions of their landmass (Cornwall is hilly, Dorne has mountains and deserts). Moreover, the adjective for people and things from Dorne is "Dornish", while the adjective for people and things from Cornwall is "Cornish", which seem to parallel each other.
Another subtle hint of Welsh/Cornish inspiration for Dorne is that despite its people and climate physically bearing a closer resemblance to medieval Spain, many Dornish characters have names taken from Celtic mythology: one of Prince Doran's sons is outright named "Trystane Martell" (as in the Cornish knight Tristan from the romance of Tristan and Iseult), and "Oberyn Martell" is a homonym for "Oberon" (magical king of the fairies/sprites and powerful sorcerer, also several other characters from Arthurian myth); others have names which appear in French adaptations of the original Welsh Arthurian myths - Arianne (Ariane), Quentyn (Quentin), Lewyn (Lewin), etc. instead of pseudo-Spanish/Moorish-style names. However, it is important to take into acount that Celtic culture is also a part of the multicultural heritage that Spain takes from it's northern countries, like Asturias or Galicia, where Celts also settled.
( SUNSPEAR. )
Sunspear is the principal stronghold of House Martell. It is located on the far-eastern coast of Dorne and consists of two strong towers, the Spear Tower and the Tower of the Sun, the latter of which contains the Prince of Dorne's throne room. The castle walls are sand-colored, setting it apart from the other major castles of Westeros.
Sunspear is surrounded by the shadow town, which consists of shops, markets and bazaars. The town is also walled, though more buildings - mostly mud-brick hovels - stretch beyond it. The castle and town also have a modest harbor. Areo Hotah, who is from the Free Cities, notes that the town around Sunspear isn't really large enough to be considered a true "city" on the scale of Norvos, Pentos, or King's Landing, but it is still the largest settlement in Dorne.