Chapter Text
300 After Aegon’s Conquest
Sunspear, Dorne
How does one live on after blow after blow is thrown at them, after feeling so much grief that one almost drowns in it?
Ellaria very much wished to know the answer to that question.
First she lost Oberyn. Oberyn, the man she loved more than anything else except possibly their daughters. Oberyn, the man who made her laugh, made her feel warmer than the sun herself ever could, made his own vows to her in private that one day with no one around to hear save Mother Rhoyne herself, no matter whether or not politics said they were allowed to marry.
No doubt some would say he brought his end upon himself. She did wish he had not fought that fight, that he had chosen some other type of poison, that he had done something different.
But too many nights had she been woken by his cries as he imagined the fates of his sister Elia, of little Rhaenys and Aegon. Too many nights had some darkness forced him to imagine their fates given to Ellaria herself and their own children.
No, his fate rested at the feet of none other than the human monsters that started all of this.
(Tywin Lannister should be glad that he was killed quickly by his own son. If Ellaria had been the master of his fate, she would have dragged him to the Hellholt and let him rot slowly. Peace loving she may be, but she was still a daughter of House Uller. And her House was the one trusted to dole out justice to those that deserved it.)
If that had been the only loss… saying she could have borne it, that may be a lie. She would always feel his loss, would always wait for the day that she saw him again, when he would embrace her and lead her into Mother Rhoyne’s halls.
But she would live and voice no complaint for the sake of their daughters. The loss of their own father was a hard enough blow, they did not need more grief.
But that was before these latest ravens had arrived.
King’s Landing had gone up in flames. Details were scarce on what exactly had happened, but it was known that casualties were high.
Casualties that could include their own family, for several members had been there.
Arianne herself, the woman that had insisted on calling her aunt from the moment her uncle made it clear that she would stay, was one of them, but she was not the only one.
Her own daughters were also there.
Nymeria, their own Lady Nym, who had taken to her easily, who had come to her for comfort and reassurance when a full year had past since her birth mother last sent her a letter and her father was away.
Tyene, who had quickly begun to call her madre in private, who always greeted her with a warm hug whenever she could.
Elia, her little Lia… her fifth daughter, the first she carried in her womb and nursed at her breast… she had gone north as well.
And all of this came on the heels of whatever had happened in Oldtown, where Sarella had disguised herself to study at the Citadel. She had worried for the woman her fourth daughter had turned into, the one so determined to seek knowledge, but never before had she thought this should be one of her worries.
Maybe some of them survived, but how was she to know?
How was she to look at her remaining daughters and tell them they lost four of their beloved sisters and their cousin so soon after the loss of their own father?
And there was Doran to think of as well. Not two days before, her brother in all but name had been taken by a fever, leaving Manfrey to take charge as the highest ranking member of House Martell. If he found out that his own daughter may have died so soon after his only remaining sibling, with his son’s fate unknown, both of them having been on missions he sent them on…
How were they to continue on after all of this?
Without any conscious thought on her part, Ellaria found herself down at the sea. There was no need for her at the palace. No need for a dead man’s paramour in any of their plans, one who had never had any true place in Sunspear to begin with…
That was what finally opened the floodgates.
She would never be able to say how long she knelt in the waves, uncaring of who would hear her sobs or see the tears streaming down her face. She would have to be strong for her remaining daughters soon enough. She had no more energy to care for what anyone else but them could think of.
However, eventually she became aware of the water around her rising, and not from the tide. No, this was somehow… magical in nature.
Before she could do anything more than blink in confusion, the riptide pulled her under.
Rather than drowning as one would expect, Ellaria found herself kneeling in a shallow pool of water, waterfalls surrounding her- a place not of this world.
“Oh, my child, I am so sorry.”
Ellaria blinked, wondering if her eyes were deceiving her.
No, there truly was a tall woman- taller than she herself was, which was no small feat- with richly tanned skin, black curls tumbling down her back, wearing the water herself as a gown standing in front of her.
“Mother Rhoyne?”
The goddess, the source of all the water in the world, knelt in front of her, her eyes the same color as a clear pool of water filled with grief and regret. “Ellaria, my daughter, how I wish none of this had ever happened.”
Ellaria had thought she had cried all of the tears left in her.
But when Mother Rhoyne took her in her arms, just as she remembered her own mother doing when she was a child, she found she was wrong.
Throughout it all, the goddess just held her close, stroking her hair and simply providing what comfort she could.
“Why must all this happen?” Ellaria finally whispered an uncertain amount of time later, voice breaking from her grief.
Mother Rhoyne kissed the top of her head, just as Ellaria herself had done many times to her own children. “There are dark forces in this world, ones that wish to see all light snuffed out. There is darkness in men’s hearts too, but where there is darkness there is always light. There has been since Sola saw the first Rhoynar huddling together for warmth, and spread her light into the sky to lead them to shelter, and when Luna lit the stars to give hope during the night when her sister was forced to rest.”
Ellaria couldn’t help but bitterly laugh at that. “It feels like there is none now. My love, four of our daughters, our niece, perhaps our nephew… all of them are gone.”
“As things stand now, they are. But the flow of the river can always be changed.”
Ellaria froze. No, she had to have heard the goddess wrong.
She couldn’t hope. She couldn’t.
As if she sensed what she was thinking, Mother Rhoyne leaned back and cupped her cheek with a warm hand. “One does not know where the water will end up. It is always flowing, and at any moment it can be changed. Some try to say that the future is set in stone, but I and my fellow gods, those of us who have cleaved to the Rhoyne and later to the Greenblood as well, know differently. What few know is that there is a way to turn back the tides and change what some would see as fate.”
Despite her best efforts, hope started to rise, and she shook her head to try and stop it.
The mother of all who followed the Rhoynar’s way smiled at her. “I regret that events have caused me to feel this is necessary, but I believe that it is time. If you agree, I can send your soul and memories back far enough to prevent all of this pain.”
She had to be dreaming. This was just a projection from her delirious mind. This couldn’t… this couldn’t be true.
No matter how much she wished it was.
As if to disprove her thoughts, Mother Rhoyne moved her hand down to her arm.
And pinched her.
Ellaria couldn’t have stopped her shocked squeak had she tried, and Mother Rhoyne threw her head back and laughed. “I am sorry, my child, but I know you believe you are dreaming. This seemed to be the best way to prove you wrong.”
The goddess of the Rhoynar herself had a sense of humor. Well, if nothing else, there was something that would be far more unbelievable than time travel.
Time travel.
Ellaria shook her head in disbelief. “You are suggesting that I be sent back, to change all of this? How? And why would you ask me to do this?”
“I ask you because you are you, Ellaria. I have seen the pain that have been dealt to my children by those that wish to snuff out their light. I have also seen you, seen how you interact with your family. You are in a position to be believed- and in a position to help cooler heads prevail.”
She shook her head again, looking away, unable to meet the warm eyes of the deity before her. “What if I cannot?”
The same warm hand from before gently cupped her chin and made her look up. “You can. I would not choose you for this did I not feel you were meant to succeed.”
Tears slipped from her eyes once more, though not of sadness. No, these were from the warm feelings that arose at Mother Rhoyne herself telling her she believed in her.
There was one more thing that kept her from agreeing, however. “My daughters, the youngest four. What if they don’t… what if this means they are never born?”
“Some things are meant to be, and others are not. I believe that your daughters may very well be in the first category. The water is always flowing, but a river does flow through the same areas each time should it not be forcibly diverted. I cannot say for certain, but I believe that your children with Oberyn are one of them.”
That got Ellaria to let out the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. It wasn’t the complete assurance she had hoped for, but it was still reassuring. With that, how could she not agree to this?
“I will do as you ask.”
Mother Rhoyne gave her a warm, trusting smile and kissed her on the head once more. “You shall do well, my daughter. I do have two more things to inform you of before I send you off, however.
“First, I shall warn you that sending you back may have more effects than one may expect. Water magic has not been seen in the world since my children were forced from the shores of the Rhoyne, but this may bring it back. Do not expect it to come back in time to help you, however. It will take more than a few turns of the moon for that blessing to come back, if ever.
“And second… I shall bring you back to just before that war they call Robert’s Rebellion, but there shall be one more change I shall make far before that, one that shall bring you a happiness that you were denied. Do not worry, for you shall have those memories in addition to the ones you carry with you now, nor will it truly effect your mission.”
“What is that?”
Mother Rhoyne simply gave her a mysterious smile. “You shall see, my child. I assure you that it is not one to fret about, and it shall soon become clear. Now come,” she said, helping her to stand and leading her forward. “Walk into this waterfall, and you shall be sent to the time you seek.”
She was about to do just that, but hesitated. “Mother…” she started, trailing off when she realized she did not know how to say what she wished.
Thankfully, Mother Rhoyne seemed to understand, for she embraced her once more. “I know, Ellaria. Now take heart, and know that I and the rest of my fellow gods are with you.”
With those words, Ellaria walked forward, feeling the water rush over her…
…and woke gasping in a bed on a ship she had not been in for years, a voice she thought she would never hear again calling for her and warm hands reaching for her.
“Ellaria!”
She stared up at the face before her, one younger than the last time she had seen it. Not daring to believe this was not some cruel trick her mind conjured, she reached up, tracing the man’s face, the smooth cheeks, the well-trimmed beard and moustache he had started to grow after she had suggested it a couple of years ago.
This was real. Mother Rhoyne truly had given her another chance.
“Oberyn,” she whispered, surging forward to embrace the other half of her soul, the one she thought she would never see again.
Oberyn was confused, she could tell that right then, but he still held her tight as she cried, her joy and relief too strong to be contained.
Ellaria had another chance to save her family, and she refused to fail them all.