Dragonstone is the ancestral home of the Targaryen.
It is also known as the daughter farthest from Valyria.
The Targaryen came from a powerful nation—Valyria.
The 'Valyrian steel swords' coveted by the Seven Kingdoms and even the Free Cities were products of the Valyrian Empire.
Before the Doom of Valyria, there was a woman named Daenys in the House Tyrell.
She dreamt of the terrifying Doom of Valyria.
Her father, Aenar, believed his daughter's 'prophetic dream' and moved his entire household to Dragonstone.
The House Tyrell's choice was naturally mocked by the other Dragonlord families, but time provided a fair answer.
Sure enough, not long after, Valyria was destroyed in a terrible catastrophe, and even the subcontinent peninsula where the nation of Valyria was located was torn apart in that cataclysm.
Aenar's daughter was also known as Daenys the Dreamer.
The House Tyrell became the sole survivors among the forty Dragonlord families of Valyria and lived on Dragonstone for a century.
A century later, Aegon the Conqueror landed in Westeros, and the War of Conquest began.
In the Targaryen's most prosperous years, there were many dragons and wild dragons here.
After the fall of the Targaryen dynasty, Dragonstone was granted by Robert to Stannis. The most unique features of Dragonstone, besides the dragons, were the distinctively styled fortresses.
Most of these fortresses were built in the likeness of dragons.
Coupled with the perennial fog on Dragonstone, these dragon-shaped statues and buildings appearing and disappearing in the mist seemed like true dragons reborn.
At this time, a large fleet had gathered at Dragonstone. Masts stood like spears in a military formation.
Colorful banners flew, and the nobles of the Stormlands had already pledged allegiance to Stannis.
Davos, known as the 'Onion Knight,' looked at the massive fleet, somewhat lost in thought.
"Father."
A call pulled Davos out of his thoughts. Davos looked back and saw his third son, Marcus.
The gods blessed him; a smuggler, yet his wife bore him seven strong boys.
The first four had already come of age, so Davos sent them all into the fleet of his beloved Stannis.
"Father!" Looking at his excited son, Davos smiled and asked, "How is the Fury?"
"It's much bigger than our Black Pearl."
The Fury was Stannis's flagship. He had once used this warship to capture Dragonstone and suppress King Balon's rebellion.
He believed that this time, the Fury would also bring him victory and the throne.
Now, Marcus served as a 'Master of Oars' on the Fury.
"Such a massive fleet, even a storm would be powerless against it."
"Heh heh."
Davos chuckled happily. Yes, just looking at this fleet from afar, he could feel his own insignificance.
"No! A storm!"
Davos suddenly remembered that when the Targaryen were about to be overthrown, they actually still had a powerful fleet.
But it was a storm that destroyed it in the harbor, and it was precisely because of this that Stannis was able to successfully capture Dragonstone. Could Lannister summon storms?
"No, only Stannis has the blood of the Storm King."
"But what if there's a trap?"
Davos remained uneasy. He decided to go talk to the Fleet Commander, Lord Imry.
However, his advice might not be listened to. Imry was Stannis's wife's brother, his brother-in-law.
He probably looked down on Davos, a noble who rose through smuggling onions.
But Davos still had to try, all for his King, Stannis!
A wolf with fur almost pure white, its shoulders reaching an adult's waist, came to a high point, lifting its long snout and sniffing the air with its wet nose, as if searching for traces of prey.
Behind the direwolf, an army was rapidly moving south along the Kingsroad, approaching King's Landing.
No one noticed them, no one knew them.
They were like a pack of wolves lurking in the night.
It was the army Jon brought from Harrenhal.
And that wolf was Ghost.
They were still about three or four days away from King's Landing.
Unfortunately, most of Jon's subordinates were infantry; otherwise, they could have moved even faster.
Furthermore, some basic siege equipment had to be carried, which slowed them down.
Fortunately, according to the messages brought back by ravens, the army on Dragonstone was still preparing.
He would still be able to launch an attack together with Stannis then.
At this moment, Dondarrion came to his side and said, "Jon, we are almost at Sow's Horn. Ahead is the territory of House Hogg. I think perhaps we should let the soldiers rest here until tomorrow morning? The number of stragglers has already exceeded two hundred."
When Dondarrion spoke to Jon, his tone carried both suggestion and respect. He even leaned forward slightly.
There was no other reason; the young man's decisiveness, or rather ruthlessness, had already proven that he was no ordinary person.
The mutiny at Harrenhal happened in an instant, without any hesitation. He imprisoned Roose Bolton without a moment's doubt.
Even his oath in front of the Northern lords.
He truly disregarded his own life and future, single-mindedly focused on avenging Eddard.
"Alright, Ser. Arrange for the soldiers to rest here until tomorrow morning. Also, deploy scouts to block any news of our army. I will take the cavalry and go attack Rosby first."
"Rosby?"
Dondarrion was somewhat puzzled. They could now follow the Kingsroad directly to King's Landing. Although Rosby was also very close to King's Landing, only a day's journey, it required a detour.
"Jon, the lord of Rosby is Gyles. He's so old he can barely walk, even fleeing would be difficult for him."
Dondarrion's implication was that Rosby had no combat power whatsoever, and Jon had no need to waste valuable troops there.
But Jon had a compelling reason to go.
"What if Tommen and Myrcella are there?"
"What!"
Dondarrion exclaimed, as if a lightning bolt had flashed through his mind.
Yes, Tommen and Myrcella could indeed very likely be in Rosby.
As King and Queen Mother respectively, Joffrey and Cersei naturally could not leave King's Landing.
But Tommen and Myrcella had to be sent out of King's Landing. Once King's Landing was breached, at least Tommen could still raise Robert's banner.
And with just a little thought, it became clear that they seemed to have no choice but to stay in Rosby.
After all, Stannis had already blockaded the coast, and Cersei's options were not many.
Dondarrion secretly scrutinized Jon from head to toe, unconsciously taking half a step back.
This young man's mind was too sharp, his thoughts too meticulous.
Such a person could only be a friend. To make him an enemy would be extremely unwise.
Soon, Jon, along with Harken and Tormien, led over four hundred cavalry directly to Rosby.
Of course, Ghost was leading the way.
Tommen and Myrcella were essentially a 'future trouble'.
Even capturing them might not be of much help for the current siege.
But they were crucial to Jon's plan.
Only by controlling the siblings could he dismantle the alliance between the Tyrell and Lannister after killing Joffrey.
Even if the Tyrell Family's core principle was that they only cared about being queen, no matter who was king, the Lannister would still have to produce a king.
In this battle, he not only had to capture King's Landing.
More importantly, he had to dismantle the 'Lion-Flower Alliance'.
This was the biggest goal.