Carved out of the sunburnt rocks of the Red Mountains, Eldfall castle overlooked the vastness of the Dornish marches facing the western Stormlands, and beyond, the Reach. Located between the two main passes through the mountains connecting the rest of the Seven Kingdoms to Dorne, the castle was conveniently located without being a place that saw many visitors, or, as the keepers of the castle would often call it, foreigners and intruders. Eldfall had belonged to House Santon since the arrival of the Andals had forced the family to retreat to the Red Mountains. As the Santons lost their influence over the deserts of Dorne, they built their dwelling well-hidden inside the Red Mountains. Watching the mountains from the distance of the Dornish marches, the castle was seemingly invisible, looking like nothing more than a peak among many others. The cool air and humid darkness of the castle’s insides protected the family against the heat of Dorne, while the outside had protected them against invaders and foreign armies. Inside the peak was a myriad of halls and corridors, where the proud family had chosen to remain hidden from the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. 

The family was headed by Elden Santon, a man who never forgot how the Martells had driven his ancestors into the Red Mountains and then aligned themselves with King’s Landing to join the Seven Kingdoms. His affection for Prince Martell was strained, and the few times he had visited Sunspear he had quickly left, swearing that he would only remain sworn to the Martells for the sake of the protection of his own house and keep. Elden Santon claimed to be a descendant of the First Men who sat foot on Dornish land, and he did not like being forced to bend to the wills of newer, albeit nobler and more powerful, men. Like many Dornishmen, Elden Santon was both proud and hotheaded, a trait he had passed on to the both his firstborn son Harden and his daughter Eira. 

Since Lord Elden was reaching an advanced age, he often let, in accordance with Dornish custom, both his son and his daughter travel across the Kingdoms to gather news for him. Although his castle was well-hidden, its vicinity to the major passes through the Red Mountains meant that he often received news from the rest of Westeros before many other of the houses in Dorne. One day, his daughter Eira came back from a ride through the Stormlands bringing news from King’s Landing. As she knelt before her father, out of breath and just recently off her horse, Eira told him the news that spread throughout Westeros.

“Father”, she began, not knowing whether the news would enrage or please his father. “There are news from King’s Landing. King Robert Baratheon, the Usurper, lies in bed before his death. There are preparations for his son Joffrey to succeed the throne.”

When Lord Elden did not reply, Eira continued.

“Mind you, this is only what I heard as I passed through the Stormlands. The Baratheons are preparing to seize the throne from his son. They believe…”, she stopped, catching her breath. “They believe that Joffrey is not the son of King Robert. They believe that he is Cersei’s bastard. Stannis and Renly Baratheon are...”

Enraged by the news that he was not only currently ruled by a usurper, but would soon be ruled by a Lannister bastard, Lord Elden left Eira before she had time to finish her sentence and retreated with proud, angry steps to his private chambers. First, his family had been forced hundred of years ago into the mountains by the Martells. Then, the Martells had allied themselves with the Targaryens, forcing the Santons to join the Seven Kingdoms as a part of Dorne. The throne had been usurped by the Baratheons, and now it was to be succeeded by the bastard son of that wretched Lannister woman? He could accept being a part of Dorne, where his family had lived for centuries before him, but being ruled by the greed of the Lannisters? Something had to be done… and it had to be done quickly.