Dany's eyes flickered as she asked,"Captain, from Qarth to King's Landing, how long would the voyage be? And how much time would it take?"
The black-skinned captain thought she meant to return to Westeros aboard his Laurel Wind. After a moment's consideration, he said,"Your Grace, you must understand—we are merchants. We can't simply sail straight back to King's Landing. Along the way, we would likely make many stops in Slaver's Bay and the Free Trade Cities.
"We sell goods from the Far East at high prices, buy local specialties cheaply, then move on to the next city and repeat the process.
"That way, a merchant's profits snowball rapidly.
"So, from Qarth back to King's Landing, it might take a year or two.
"And besides, Qarth isn't my final destination. My ship will pass through the Qarth Strait and circle the Jade Sea along the trade routes. That would take even longer. The next time I reach the Sunset Sea will probably be three years from now.
"Well… assuming I don't end up buried at sea."
"If you didn't do business at all," Dany pressed, "and sailed at full speed straight for King's Landing, how long would it take?"
"Even then, sailing empty, we'd still need to resupply food and fresh water, and let the sailors rest. At the very least, three to four months—and that's only if the sea doesn't lose its temper."
Dany nodded and said gratefully,"You've brought me valuable information. I wish you fair winds and prosperous trade."
"I should be thanking you instead," the captain said, his eyes shining. "Her Majesty has given me the most generous reward of my life."
"Oh?" Dany asked. "And what reward is that?"
"Dragons!" He stared straight at the dragon beside Dany, sprawled on the ground gnawing on bones. "I've seen a true dragon with my own eyes. This is a miracle moment in my life."
"I'll give you an even greater reward," Dany smiled and beckoned to him. "Come—touch them."
"Th-this…" Ku Huru was shocked and delighted, yet afraid. He stood up, stepped forward three steps, then retreated two, hesitating nervously. "Is that really allowed? Will they bite me? Will they breathe fire on me?"
"They won't," Dany reassured him. "I am the Mother of Dragons. They all listen to me."
The black captain, sweating profusely, edged closer and looked at Dany for confirmation.
"I grant you the highest honor," Dany said. "You may touch the strongest one. His name is Black Diamond." She pointed to the massive black dragon in front of her.
If he dared touch the white dragon or the green dragon, a tragedy even Dany couldn't predict might occur.
But she could never admit to others that she couldn't fully control her dragons.
On the contrary, she wanted everyone to believe that she was the true Mother of Dragons, capable of perfectly commanding her dragon children.
That way, when people felt awe toward dragons, they would feel the same awe toward her.
At the same time, it would discourage ambitious schemers from thinking, If I just kill that woman, I can take the dragons.
—In truth, the green dragon and the white dragon really did have a high chance of being taken by someone else.
The prophecy said: the dragon has three heads.
Dany was only one of them.
Three months had passed—nearly four. Big Black was the most imposing in size, his body already as large as an adult police dog. When he spread his wings, they were enough to cover Dany's entire bed.
After arriving in Qarth, Dany didn't dare let them fly around freely. For the past few days, thick refined iron chains, as thick as a wrist, had been fastened around their necks.
To soothe the dragons' violent temperaments, she had no choice but to provide them with unlimited food.
At this moment, Big Black lay sprawled on the marble floor, sucking the marrow from a charred wild ox thigh bone.
"Big Black, don't hurt him. He admires you very much—he just wants to touch you," Dany conveyed, then gestured for Ku Huru to go ahead.
The man's face was full of longing, yet fear kept him shrinking back.
Finally, after repeated encouragement from Dany, he crept closer to the black dragon, stretched out his trembling right hand, lightly touched Big Black's wing once—and immediately recoiled as if shocked by lightning.
Big Black ignored him and continued sucking marrow from the bone.
Encouraged, the captain gathered a bit more courage and reached out again, gently stroking Big Black's back, as light as a falling feather.
"Wow… just like the legends say," Ku Huru exclaimed, his dark face flushed red with excitement. "A true dragon's scales are scorching hot. Only a true dragon can ride a true dragon!"
"You've heard those legends about dragons before?" Dany asked with a smile.
The black captain only touched him briefly before retreating several steps, hands at his sides. His demeanor was even more respectful than when they first met.
He said,"I've heard maesters in the Citadel of Oldtown speak of dragons many times. They say only the true dragonblood of House Targaryen can subdue great dragons. Others can't even withstand the heat they give off.
"Back then, I didn't believe it. What kind of animal could be so hot that a rider couldn't endure it?At most, you just add a saddle, right?
"But today I finally understand. If a dragon grows to the size of Balerion, even a saddle wouldn't block that furnace-like heat.
"Even though the maesters believe dragons have little intelligence, they are still the most legendary creatures in the world."
"The maesters even know how intelligent dragons are?" Dany grew curious. "They really study dragons that deeply?"
"If scholars don't study dragons—the very embodiment of the world's wonders—then what reason do they have to exist at all?" Ku Huru said, his tone complex, uttering a surprisingly philosophical line.
"Have the maesters determined how intelligent Balerion was?" Dany asked.
This time, before the captain could answer, Jorah spoke up,"About the level of a seven- or eight-year-old child. That's what my family's maester told me."
"Yes," Ku Huru agreed. "Balerion possessed intelligence surpassing other dragons."
"Heh," Dany chuckled softly, then lowered her head and said to Big Black, "Mr. Ku Huru gifted me three barrels of wine. Draw him a picture in return."
"A picture?" Ku Huru was utterly confused.
Without waiting for Dany's command, a Lysene maid immediately brought over a large wooden tray. On it lay a roll of parchment and a small bowl of ink.
The maid showed no fear of Big Black. She squatted beside him, spread out the parchment—one meter long and half a meter wide—and pressed down the edges with paperweights.
Then she placed the porcelain bowl of ink at the lower left corner of the parchment.
Big Black glanced at Ku Huru and extended his right claw. Like humans, dragons also had five fingers.
He curled the other four into a fist. After dipping his dagger-sharp index claw into the ink, he began to "write"—the claw moving like a dragon in flight, lines appearing swiftly across the snowy white parchment.
At first glance, the lines looked chaotic, like a child's random scribbles. Ku Huru hadn't expected much to begin with, and seeing this, he wasn't disappointed—at least the dragon hadn't simply stamped a claw print.
But as time passed, second by second, he began to see something different.
Lines of varying thickness and depth gradually outlined one… then two figures, one of them—
"Gods bless me, I'm not seeing things," his mouth fell open wide enough to fit a goose egg. "That's me. This is me speaking with Her Majesty. Even the gauze by the palace window—you can feel the breeze through it. This—"
"Even the court painters of Braavos couldn't compare…" Ku Huru swallowed hard. When he looked at Big Black again, there was no longer fear in his eyes—only pure reverence.
In his heart, the black dragon had been sanctified, endowed with a will like that of a god, incapable of harming people at random like a mere beast.
In truth, he was overthinking it. Big Black's intelligence might be relatively high, but it was still far below that of an eight- or nine-year-old child—let alone a god.
At this point, Big Black could even do some simple arithmetic. If Dany asked Ku Huru to give a few addition or subtraction problems within 100, Big Black could probably answer them—scratching numbers into the floor with his claws.
But that was nothing compared to the shock of drawing a "Scene of Audience with the Queen" right on the spot.
It was also during cultural lessons that Dany had discovered, to her surprise and astonishment, how greatly a dragon's spatial perception enhanced drawing ability.
Anyone who has taken sketching classes knows that one of the most important skills is three-dimensional structural analysis.
Why did Leonardo da Vinci keep drawing eggs from different angles?
Wasn't it to cultivate a sense of spatial awareness? Black Dragon was born with maxed-out spatial intuition. His perspective on objects was more complete than that of humans.
Ku Huru left with the parchment rolled under his arm, his expression dazed. What he had seen and heard today had completely overturned his worldview.
The visit of the Laurel Wind's captain opened the precedent for ordinary visitors. Merchants from all over the world gathered like a trickling stream that, at an unimaginable speed, converged into a roaring flood.
Ship captains brought Myrish lace, crates of saffron from distant lands, amber and dragonglass from Asshai. Poorer traveling merchants offered bag after bag of silver coins.
Beyond merchants came artisans, wandering poets, and singers.
Silversmiths presented rings and necklaces. Blacksmiths, measuring Dany's figure and arm length, forged her custom arakhs and greatswords.
Dyers and weavers gifted her colorful fabrics, their rich hues making her marvel at the wisdom of the ancients.
Then countless tailors flooded the palace, volunteering to sew the most beautiful garments in the world for her.
There were pipers playing flutes for her, actors performing acrobatics to make her laugh, and entertainers performing sleight-of-hand tricks.
Two dwarfs rode a sow and a large dog, imitating Westerosi knights in a jousting match.
There was also a young blond, blue-eyed Volantene man who begged Dany to take him in as a close attendant, promising to compose epic poems with Queen Daenerys as the eternal heroine.
In conversation, he repeatedly hinted that he was well-versed in the Seven Arts of Spring Cry from Qarth.
Dany couldn't stand the lecherous way he looked at her and directly ordered the Bloodriders to throw him out.
Later, even the Jhogwinai from north of Yi Ti arrived. They gifted Dany a black-and-white striped zebra.
Yes—Yi Ti. In this world, Yi Ti was essentially the "Great Eastern Empire."
For ease of understanding, one could roughly think of it like this:Westeros = BritainThe Ghiscari city-states of Slaver's Bay = Ancient EgyptWestern Essos = EuropeThe Dothraki Sea = RussiaThe Dothraki = CossacksQarth = SuezYi Ti = the Great Eastern EmpireThe Jhogwinai = the northern nomadic tribes of that empire
As with all Western authors, whenever they touch upon the Great Eastern Empire, things tend to get… well. A Song of Ice and Fire wasn't too harsh, really—it's just that Yi Ti was far too small, while Westeros was far too large.
Alright, that's a digression.
Dany invited the two visiting Jhogwinai to stay as guests. Overwhelmed by the honor, they gladly accepted.
That night, at the banquet, Dany told them,"Like the Dothraki, you are warriors of the saddle. I wish to seek your wisdom on how to lead and govern tribes."
...
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Here are a few fan-fic titles that I've recently uploaded on my Patreon:
"Game of Thrones: Dragon Prince"
"Game of Thrones: Political Life"
"Game of Thrones: Holy Flame"
"The Game of Thrones Upgrade System"
"Game of Thrones: Lannister Kingdom"
"Game of Thrones: Godzilla vs. Dragons"
"Game of Thrones: Ruler of the Deep Seas "
"Game of Thrones The Glory of a Knight"
"Game of Thrones: The Most Powerful Dragon Queen"
" Game of Thrones: From the Elden Lord to the Young Wolf"
"Game of Thrones: Rise of a Lord with the Army-Building System"
(End Chapter)