Nymor's Letter... Why the "Rhaenys was tortured" theory makes no sense (and what Aegon was actually doing on Dragonstone)
We all know the great unanswered mystery of the First Dornish War. Aegon reads the letter from Prince Nymor, grips it so hard his hand bleeds, burns it, flies off to Dragonstone, and returns the next day to sign a peace treaty.
Here is the passage from the book, with the most popular theories "in universe"
>What the letter contained, none know to this day, though many have speculated. Did Nymor reveal that Rhaenys lived still, broken and mutilated, and that he would end her suffering if Aegon ended hostilities? Was the letter ensorceled? Did he threaten to take all the wealth of Dorne to hire the Faceless Men to kill Aegon’s young son and heir, Aenys? These questions shall never be answered, it seems.
But when you actually look at the logistics of the delivery and Aegon's immediate reaction, the torture theories completely fall apart. Two massive clues point in a different direction:
1. The Messenger was Princess Deria Nymor didn't send a random envoy or a disposable maester. He sent his own daughter and heir, Princess Deria, straight into the Red Keep to hand deliver the message. You do not send your heir into the literal dragon's mouth if the letter contains a credible assassination threat against the Targaryen bloodline, or news of horrific torture. That is a suicide mission.
You only send your daughter if the letter is deeply personal, undeniably authentic, and fundamentally deescalating. Which leans heavily into the theory that Rhaenys survived, was treated well, and chose to stay in Dorne (which aligns perfectly with her free-spirited personality, and why Aegon was so angry, yet didn't lash out).
2. The Flight to Dragonstone A furious, grieving conqueror who just got blackmailed doesn't typically retreat to an island to sulk. He mounts his dragon and starts burning things. Aegon flying straight to Dragonstone is the biggest behavioral tell we have. He didn't go there to be alone... he could be alone in his own chambers in King's Landing. He went there because he had to check something or consult someone that he couldn't access anywhere else.
A few possibilities for what he was doing:
A Glass Candle?: We know Dragonstone is a Valyrian outpost built on a massive repository of dragonglass, and we know Valyrian dragonlords used dragonglass candles to communicate and see across distances. If the Targaryens retained one in their ancestral seat, Aegon wouldn't just take a Dornish prince's word for Rhaenys being alive. He would fly to Dragonstone to use the candle to look into Dorne and verify it with his own eyes. I admit this isn't directly supported in canon that I am aware of.
Consulting Visenya on Magic: If the letter contained a threat of Rhoynish water magic or blood magic ...he needed an expert. He went to ask her, "Can they actually do this?"
The Painted Table: If the letter forced him to abandon his life's ambition for a deeply personal reason, he went to the room where the conquest started to look at the map and psychologically accept that he would never own the bottom of it.
The torture theory just doesn't fit the mechanics of what actually happened.
What do you guys think he was doing on Dragonstone? Why did he immediately fly to Dragonstone, and why did it make the difference in giving up Dorne?