Laena Velaryon, Tamara Ralph SS26

The mummers off the Ship showed her how a hero stands, and taught her speeches from The Song of the Rhoyne, ...

"Our wanderings are at an end. We have found a new home, and here we shall live and die."

After years of arduous journeys full of storm, disease, and slavery, Nymeria led the surviving Rhoynar to Dorne in southern Westeros. Some Rhoynish ships landed on the Stepstones or surrendered to slavers from Lys and Tyrosh, but the remaining ships landed at the mouth of the Greenblood in Dorne.

"We will build ten thousand ships as Nymeria once did and take sail with all our people to the land beyond the sunset."

Hey, I just wrote this because either got a very similar ask, so I will leave my rational answer here

But with that in mind I do think we could have a very different adaptation of her character by doing one thing.

Making her Rhoynish.

I've talked about this entirely wild headcanon for a bit to looking but I do think if they wanted to include her and add her arc but thought the audience would confuse her and Addam in their adaptation as characters with similar parentage, they could go for the cultural aspect.

What this does in length is ensure that there is always some level of mistrust between Nettles and the Valyrians. There is a long history there that they could wistfully exploit.

It also allows for a more grounded approach to the introduction of Martell/ Rhoynar and Valyrian hate. Imagine Nettles shocking herself by claiming a dragon and just refusing to bow. Simply because she won't be the Rhoynish person to start.

It also allows us to parallel her with a character like Ser Criston, who is from the Dornish Marches. It shows the cultural difference between those who wouldn't integrate into Westeros entirely and those who did to that extreme degree.

That way, Nettles' question of Targaryen Exceptionalism I the narrative isn't just a theory, but she has an actual narrative as to why she won't claim it.

Lastly, she lives on an island, and the second she gets close to a Targaryen (Jace), he dies in the water. Walk with me down the road of psychological torture.

Hotd is many things , especially completely unaware of racial tropes that they fall into time and again and Nettles narrative inherently subverts that but I do think if they wanted to do their own thing, it would be easy to take her real world tropes and balance them with an in world narrative about prejudice by using the stereotypes against both Dorne and the Rhoynish.

For instance with the Maidenpool arc:

Instead of Nettles being casually called a witch, she can use the fact that Daemon is too prideful as a Targaryen to lower himself to sleep with Nettles. Have mysaria egg it on with the whole the Rhoynish have yet to bend before. She takes liberties as she sees fit. Then we get witch accusations.

I just think if they wanted to ensure her and build her into the world not just as a mystery there would be an easy route.

Even her connection to burning Driftmark and losing Driftmark I this instance can be tied to the identity crisis they could conjure up for her. Choosing fire over water leads to destruction, and it's not hers.

They crossed the rolling hills of Norvos, past terraced farms and small villages where the townsfolk watched anxiously from atop white stucco walls.

They forded three wide placid rivers and a fourth that was swift and narrow and treacherous, camped beside a high blue waterfall, skirted the tumbled ruins of a vast dead city where ghosts were said to moan among blackened marble columns.

They raced down Valyrian roads a thousand years old and straight as a Dothraki arrow.

For half a moon, they rode through the Forest of Qohor, where the leaves made a golden canopy high above them, and the trunks of the trees were as wide as city gates.

Ahhhhh respectfully - While in the past I have made Harry Potter edits - I am going to refrain from discussing or endorsing Harry Potter or Harry Potter adjacent work due to the established transphobia from it's creator JK Rowling. That's not to say you're required to due the same. I simply don't want to give it attention.

With that being said - I also want to point out I love the Targaryens - I love how bloody and brutal their entire lineage is meant to be from their House Words to their Valyrian "culture". They are a mostly a toxic megalomaniac mess but they are fun.

With all that being said I'd figure I'd use this ask to talk a little bit about how awesome the Rhoynish are described as and they are ancestors of House Martell.

First of the "Rhoynar" come from the Rhoyne which is described as is the mightiest river in what we know of as Planetos and the Rhoynar grew very rich of the bounty of said river which they affectionately called "Mother Rhoyne".

In the headwaters of the Rhoyne - The Rhoynish people built the "loveliest" cities - Cities like Ny Sar known as the city of fountains alive with songs and the city of Sar Mell of the flowers. The people of these cities are described as scholars, traders, teachers, workers and generally peaceful.

TWOIAF makes note that "art & music flourished in the cities of the Rhoyne and that it's people were known to have their own magic" - A water magic different from the sorceries of Valyria which were woven of blood & fire.

Something I felt that needed to be pointed out was that despite so many fan head canons of "Valyria being this equal rights Utopia for women" - LOL. The slaving empire is never described as being equal on accounts of gender.

However George makes a point to note various times that the Rhoynar people viewed men and women as equal and thus were ruled by men and woman.

As I pointed out above the Rhoynar people are described as having no desire in expanding their territories or expanding their "empire" - Very different from the Valyrians on that account. The Rhoynar were a peaceful people that's not to say they weren't formidable when roused into battle. Rumors of "Rhoynar Magic" mention many things such as Mother Rhoyne itself informing its people of impending threats - Rhoynar Princes wielding "strange powers" and Rhoynar women who fought as fiercely as Rhoynar men. There is also a mention of Rhoynish cities being protected by "watery walls" that would rise and drown foes.

As mentioned above the Rhoynish had no interest in "controlling" people and thus when they first encountered Valyrians - They welcomed them amongst their ranks and religious priests of the Rhoyne stated - The Valyrians were entitled to enjoy the fruits of mother Rhoyne - Valyrians were even allowed to build their own cities on the Rhoyne.

However it appears the Rhoynish and Valyrians came into conflict - and the Rhoynish came to regret their kindness. The conflict arose first amongst the ancient Rhoynish city of Sar Mell and the walled Valyrian city of Volon Therys - According to legend the Valyrians "netted and butchered" a gigantic turtle that was revered in Rhoynish culture as a consort of mother Rhoyne.