Jorah had never had a particularly good relationship with his father, Lord Commander Jeor Mormont of the Night's Watch. After his marriage to Lynesse, the rift between them had become irreparable. Leaving behind his family's Valyrian steel sword, Longclaw, he had walked away from House Mormont altogether.
When he read the news of his father's death, he was both shocked and enraged.
Jeor had been advanced in years, but he remained exceptionally robust. As Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, he was actually less likely to encounter danger than the rangers who ventured beyond the Wall. Jorah had never imagined that his father would die by the swords of his own sworn brothers.
The Others had vanished for a thousand years.
Could something have happened at the Wall that he knew nothing about?
Otherwise, why would the Night's Watch—whose duties usually amounted to little more than dealing with scattered bands of wildlings—betray their long-serving Lord Commander?
Lost in thought, Jorah read through the letter once more before walking over and handing it back to Barristan.
Barristan accepted it and gave Jorah a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
Daenerys nodded to Jorah as well, expressing her condolences for his father's death.
In truth, the letter had arrived that very afternoon.
At the time, both Tyrion and Jorah had been occupied with work, so no one had shown it to them immediately.
Because two of her closest subordinates had just learned of their fathers' deaths, Daenerys naturally had no intention of discussing the other intelligence Varys had sent.
After dismissing the meeting, she told everyone to return and rest.
The next day, the council chamber within the Great Pyramid was quiet.
Only Daenerys, Tyrion, and one dragon were present.
Both Daenerys and Tyrion were somewhat weary from organizing the academy, though neither was in poor spirits. Tyrion had also managed to recover from the shock of hearing about Tywin's death.
"Lord Tyrion," Daenerys asked, "how do you think I should govern Slaver's Bay? And when will I finally be ready to cross the Narrow Sea and attack King's Landing?"
Drogon knew this was Daenerys testing Tyrion's abilities, so he perked up and fixed his gaze on the dwarf.
Tyrion had already begun thinking about this question soon after arriving in Meereen.
He raised his goblet, took a sip of red wine, considered for a moment, and said,
"The first problem the three cities of Slaver's Bay need to solve is food."
"I've noticed there are vast stretches of uncultivated land surrounding all three cities."
"They lie along the sea to the south and west, border the Dothraki Sea to the north, and remain far enough from the Red Waste to the east. Both the Skahazadhan and the Worm River flow nearby."
"The climate and water supply make the region exceptionally well suited for farming."
"We can send the slaves who lack any specialized skills to reclaim the land."
"Especially those from Yunkai."
"They're the least capable of surviving on their own."
"This would not only solve the food problem but also give them meaningful work."
Although the three cities of Slaver's Bay were not particularly large, their populations were enormous.
Daenerys's greatest concern had always been how to feed everyone.
Unlike the former slave masters, she couldn't simply sell slaves to buy food for the remaining slaves.
Listening to Tyrion, she suddenly realized she had never appreciated just how favorable Slaver's Bay's geography truly was.
And as port cities, the three cities possessed another tremendous advantage.
The last time Tyrion had suggested expanding recruitment, it had not only given many unemployed freedmen something to do, but had also brought her thirty thousand new soldiers.
She had been delighted.
She hadn't expected him to surprise her again so soon.
Perched on Daenerys's shoulder, Drogon also nodded slightly in agreement.
Ever since Daenerys had liberated Slaver's Bay, the sight of hundreds of thousands of hungry freed slaves had worried even him.
Yunkai's two hundred thousand bed slaves were the greatest concern.
Everything they had learned had become useless the moment they were freed.
After all, the Mother of Dragons certainly wasn't about to give them opportunities to put those skills to use.
Seeing that both Daenerys and Drogon approved of his proposal, Tyrion felt greatly encouraged.
He continued,
"Meereen produces excellent wine, fine salt, and abundant mineral resources."
"As a port city, transportation is extremely convenient."
"We should expand production and export those goods throughout the world."
"Slaver's Bay may not lie as close to Westeros as the Nine Free Cities, but it sits right beside both New Ghis and Old Ghis near the Gulf of Grief, with Qarth—the greatest port city in the world—not too far beyond."
"There will be no shortage of buyers."
"Meereen also has the academy and the largest fighting pit within a thousand miles."
"In the future, it will inevitably attract more nobles, merchants, and talented individuals."
"It will only become more prosperous."
"We can develop other industries as well."
"I'm not particularly skilled in those matters, so I can only offer broad suggestions."
Tyrion had never been particularly gifted at making money.
Spending it—that was another story.
As the once-carefree Imp of House Lannister, his reputation for generosity had spread through nearly every brothel and tavern in King's Landing.
Daenerys found his suggestions highly persuasive.
The problem was that she seemed to lack capable financial administrators among her followers.
As she was pondering this, Tyrion presented his third proposal.
"While continuing to publicize Your Grace's accomplishments, we should also send people to explain the laws."
"Both former slave masters and free citizens need to understand the importance of the law."
"At the same time, we should make greater efforts to win over the former slave owners."
"That would gradually weaken the Sons of the Harpy."
There was one more idea Tyrion had.
But he didn't dare voice it.
He wanted Daenerys's three dragons to each be stationed in one of the three cities, serving as a deterrent against both the nobles of New and Old Ghis and the Sons of the Harpy.
The problem was...
The dragons were unquestionably Daenerys's personal companions.
She regarded them as her own children.
The last time Drogon had suggested letting his two siblings help defend the cities, Daenerys had already been reluctant.
She feared they were still too young and might get hurt.
Yesterday, when Drogon had injured his leg, she had nearly burst into tears from worry.
Whether she would even accept such a proposal was doubtful.
And if she did...
If one of the dragons were injured—or worse, killed—because of his suggestion...
Tyrion figured he'd have no future in Meereen.
He'd be wise to seek employment somewhere else.
After hearing Tyrion's third recommendation, Daenerys also found herself worrying about the Sons of the Harpy regaining strength.
Ever since Drogon's display of force and subsequent suppression, there had been no further assassinations by the Sons of the Harpy over the past several days.
Though she allowed herself to relax slightly, she didn't believe they had truly abandoned their cause.
Having finished his three recommendations, Tyrion took another sip of wine before continuing.
"Now is still far too early to cross the Narrow Sea."
"Not only are the three cities of Slaver's Bay still unstable, but the thirty thousand new recruits haven't completed their training."
"And even after both of those problems are solved..."
"...you still shouldn't attack King's Landing immediately."
The moment Tyrion mentioned Westeros, Daenerys's spirits lifted.
Countless times in her dreams, she had conquered the continent of Westeros and claimed the Iron Throne.
It was the greatest desire of her heart—
So powerful that it had become an obsession.
She had assumed that once she fully secured Slaver's Bay and finished training her new army, she would finally be ready to cross the Narrow Sea and seize King's Landing.
She hadn't expected Tyrion to say that even then, the time still wouldn't be right.
Perplexed, she looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
"Although you are the rightful heir of House Targaryen and the daughter of King Aerys..."
"...the army under your command consists almost entirely of foreigners."
"Westeros has its own pride."
"They will never willingly accept defeat at the hands of an army of outsiders."
-----------------------
Completed English PDF of this fan-fic on my Patreon shop if you want to support and own the full fan-fic in one go. Just grab the PDF and binge the entire story from start to finish!
Guys, I've uploaded some High Quality english translated fanfic on my Patreon shop! Feel free to check it out-if you're interested, you can grab a copy and support me there.
Here are a few titles of recently uploaded fanfics:
New Addition:
" Game of Thrones: The Rising Direwolf "
" Game of Thrones: The Beginning of a Fantasy Journey "
" Game of Thrones: High King of Padania "
" Game of Thrones: The Throne at the Peak of Power "
" Game of Thrones: Pride of Winter "
Your support means a lot-thanks in advance, legends!
many more are available 30+.
patreon.com/EminentWriter
(End of Chapter)