Game of Thrones: Rise of the Supreme Dragon Queen

The Sea Lord's expression turned extremely grim. Even Dany and Jelo beside him realized—he truly had no knowledge of the actions taken by the Doctor and the Wardens.Could it be that Braavos also plays the game of thrones?Well, that game exists everywhere.

Still, among the Nine Free Cities, Braavos was famous for its political stability.

There had never been any foolish kings, mad rulers, powerful ministers, traitors, or warlord rebellions.

The Sea Lord, the Doctor, the Iron Bank, and the Isle of the Gods—these four powers had a clear division of responsibilities, operated in harmony, and worked in unity.

It might not be the best political system in the world of Thrones, but it was certainly the most effective.

Especially compared to the cesspit that was Westeros.

"Since the Doctors and Wardens are already here, why not come up and have a seat? Let's finalize things directly," Dany suggested.

Although the appearance of the Doctor and Wardens had left the Sea Lord shocked and angry, he remained rational, unwilling to lose face in front of outsiders.

He did not object, merely turned his eyes to Besaro.

"Matters that affect the future of Braavos must be discussed and decided jointly by the Doctors and Wardens," Besaro tactfully declined. "But they are merely advisors to the Sea Lord. The Sea Lord can represent Braavos in signing an agreement with Your Majesty."

The Sea Lord's expression eased a little.

"So?" Dany asked.

The fat key-holder stood up, bowed to the Dragon Queen, and said, "Your Majesty, since you're leaving tonight, could you wait a bit and allow me to inform the Doctor and Wardens of your request?

As you said, it comes down to a single word—yes or no. If they agree, then the details of the agreement can be discussed slowly between myself and Ser Jelo Dayne."

"How long?" she asked.

"Not long—an hour or two at most," the fat man replied.

"All right. I'll wait for two hours," Dany nodded.

Once the fat man had trudged off, the old Sea Lord and the Dragon Queen sat in awkward silence.

After a moment of staring, he suddenly seemed to remember something and asked,"Dany, may I ask why you're buying so much grain?"

"If I said, 'The Long Night is coming, and I want to save the world'—would you believe me?" Dany sighed.

"If you don't want to say, fine. But why make up nonsense to fool me?" the old Sea Lord said irritably.

"Fine, I'll be honest," Dany said with a bitter smile. "Winter is coming, and Westeros hasn't prepared food stores. Out of tens of millions in the Seven Kingdoms, nearly half are at risk of starving. I plan to ship some grain back and win the hearts of the people."

"Hmph. If the common folk could decide who sat on the Iron Throne, then with all the grain Highgarden shipped to King's Landing, it would be the Old Rose on the throne—not Cersei.

Surely you understand that much," the Sea Lord sneered coldly.

"Sigh… You really do have a sharp eye," Dany muttered in resignation, then added recklessly, "At this point, I won't hide my true intentions anymore.

I want the Iron Throne. I must have the Iron Throne. The Targaryens cannot be without it.

But with my allies still close by, I can't draw on Slaver's Bay's forces in Westeros for the next few years.

And in those years, the Lannisters will stabilize the realm, helping the Seven Kingdoms recover from years of war.

By then, I'll be facing a powerful enemy—perhaps even stronger than the one I face now.

So I must first seize Dragonstone, plant a stake in Westeros, and prepare for a long war against the Lannisters. With a food stockpile to last ten years, I'll make the Seven Kingdoms bleed for five.

After five years, either I'll be defeated by my enemies, or the blockade on Slaver's Bay will be broken.

Either way, I'll be able to commit my full strength to the war for Westeros."

"Good!" cried Sea Lord Ferrego.

What a ruthless, cunning, and crazy woman.

Worthy daughter of the Mad King Aerys. Worthy commander who crushed over a hundred thousand Ghiscari in Slaver's Bay.Worthy Dragon Queen who makes the world tremble!

"If the spirit of King Aerys could see you now, he would be proud—immensely proud.

The Iron Throne is yours by right.

Watching you grow from a child into a worthy ruler makes me proud as well," he said sincerely.

"You flatter me. I'm far inferior to my predecessors," Dany replied with a slightly stiff smile of humility.

A sharp gleam flickered in the Sea Lord's eyes. He lifted his grey-bearded chin with a reserved smile and said,"Perhaps the Iron Throne is only a part of your greater ambition, hmm?"

"What do you mean?" Dany blinked in confusion. Had she revealed her grand designs too obviously? Could the old man tell at a glance that she was destined to become the empress of the world?

"I heard you had the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms swear an oath: 'The one who ends the Long Night shall be king'? You saw White Walkers beyond the Wall and believe the Long Night is coming?" the Sea Lord chuckled slyly.

"You even know that?" Dany's pupils contracted.

"Accurate and timely intelligence is money. The Iron Bank has the most gold in the world—and the most powerful intelligence network," the old Sea Lord said with confidence.

"That's right. There are White Walkers beyond the Wall. I even fought them once. If the legends are true, the Long Night is coming. That's why I want to buy grain on a massive scale."

Dany decided to be an honest child and simply told the truth.

She came up with the "Save the World with Futures Plan" because the warm and fertile lands of Essos had no tradition of stockpiling food.

Her plan was to use gold to motivate merchants to plant crops in excess. When the Long Night arrived, people would survive on that food.

If others came to believe the Long Night was truly coming, they would work even harder than she did to prepare.

In that case, her goal would be achieved in a roundabout way.

And she'd save a lot of gold, too.

"Ha—hahaha!" The Sea Lord threw back his head in laughter, full of the smugness of someone who believed, I've seen through it all, while you remain clueless.

"What's so funny? You don't believe me?" Dany was confused.

"I do. Of course I do," the Sea Lord nodded with a beaming smile.

"Then what are you smirking about?" Dany snapped.

"Ah, my apologies…" The Sea Lord grew embarrassed.

Was the contempt and pride in his laugh that obvious?

After decades as Sea Lord, how had he failed to match wits with a young queen? Unacceptable.

"Dany, I told you—the Iron Bank has the most gold in the world and the most powerful intelligence network.

To be honest, that eunuch in King's Landing, the one they call the 'Spider', is an intelligence prodigy.

With his talent, combined with the bottomless financial backing of Illyrio from Pentos, they created an intelligence network that even King Aerys, Robert Baratheon, and Tywin Lannister all relied on."

"But no matter how capable an individual may be, they are still no match for an organization. When it comes to intelligence gathering, they're not even qualified to carry the Iron Bank's shoes," the Sea King said proudly.

"So, what have you found out?" Dany asked expressionlessly.

"White Walkers!" The Sea King replied solemnly. "White Walkers are real. We discovered them as early as twenty years ago, when they first appeared along the coast near Hardhome."

(PS)

"You're not joking?" Dany abruptly stood up, bracing herself on the table, staring in disbelief at the frail old man grinning across from her.

The Dragon Queen's loss of composure greatly pleased the Braavosi—they felt satisfied.

"That's right, we discovered the White Walkers twenty years ago," the Sea King nodded with a faint smile.

"Impossible! If the White Walkers had appeared twenty years ago, the Long Night would already be upon us. And with something so monumental, how is it that we've heard absolutely nothing about it?" Gerold Dayne firmly disagreed.

"Every year, Braavosi merchant ships sail to Eastwatch in the far North, and even further north to Hardhome, to trade with the Night's Watch and the wildlings.

It's been a tradition for over a thousand years since Braavos was founded!A palm-sized lump of dog-head gold, a single iron sword, a wineskin of low-quality spirits, or a sack of salt blocks could make trades there."

The Sea King extended his right hand—muscles shriveled, bones protruding, skin marked with bean-sized age spots—then frowned and quickly withdrew it.

"Of course, while purchasing furs, gold, and other goods, Braavosi merchants would also ask about news from wildling tribes.

Not to spy on the free folk beyond the Wall—there wasn't much of value to report anyway.

Merchants even travel to Bear Island and the Frozen Shore on the other side of the continent. They need to know what those wildling tribes have and what they lack.

Then, every four or five years, they would bring what the wildlings needed, circle around Essos, and trade there.

As it happened, a wildling casually mentioned the White Walkers to one of the sea traders.

The White Walkers—symbols of the Long Night—how could we not take that seriously?"

"Did you send anyone to verify it?" Dany asked.

"Of course. Something so serious—if it turned out to be a false alarm, it would've been laughable," the Sea King nodded, recalling. "At that time, I personally escorted ten 'Ghost Hunters' aboard the Soaring Giant warship. They quietly left port at night.

And they didn't disappoint. With a wildling guide, they spent two months and finally encountered the White Walkers."

At this point, the Sea King paused, his expression distant.

"Did they catch one?" Gerold asked.

Snapping back to reality, the Sea King shook his head and said, "No. Nine of the ten warriors died. My first Sword—my own younger brother—was among them.

The last surviving warrior died three days after returning to Braavos. We lost nine Valyrian steel swords as well."

"Nine swords?" Dany widened her eyes in disbelief.

"Since we were preparing to face White Walkers, of course we had to arm them with magic-resistant Valyrian steel," the Sea King said as if it were obvious.

"Where did you get so many Valyrian steel swords?" Gerold asked the question Dany had in mind.

The old Sea King dismissed their doubts, saying, "The Valyrians forged over three thousand Valyrian steel weapons. Westeros alone has more than two hundred.

As the world's foremost trading city, would Braavos really lack a few Valyrian blades?"

[Not lacking? Very well, that's excellent. Let's hope your performance continues to be this impressive,] Dany thought blankly.

"You lost the swords and never tried to recover them?" Gerold asked.

"We searched, but couldn't find them. Maybe a wildling picked them up," the Sea King replied.

"No. The wildlings don't have Valyrian steel. Most likely, they became trophies of the White Walkers," Dany suddenly said.

Valyrian steel can break magical defenses, but that doesn't mean it's immune to evil. Malevolent forces can wield it too.

"They know how to collect trophies?" the Sea King asked skeptically.

"White Walkers are intelligent," Dany nodded. Then she asked, "Twenty years ago, did you also stockpile grain? Were you planning to use food to plunder and control the world?"

**(PS: The White Walkers' appearance dates back far more than twenty years.Look at Sam's wildling wife, Gilly—how old is she? At least eighteen.Doesn't she have any brothers?Gilly is one of Craster's daughters—but where did her brothers go?They were sacrificed by Craster to the White Walkers!

The books never mention the Braavosi discovering the White Walkers, but there's another related event in Book 1: when Tyrion visits the Wall, Old Mormont tells him that fishermen on the eastern shore have seen White Walkers walking along the coast.

Clearly, the wildlings encountered them long, long ago.The real issue is whether the Night's Watch and the Braavosi merchants believed them.

Personally, I think anyone with a functioning brain—whether they believe it or not—should have sent someone to investigate.After all, the White Walkers mean the end of the world.Can you really afford to ignore an apocalyptic threat?

Given that White Walkers have a habit of strolling along the coast, it's not impossible that the Braavosi 'ghost-hunting team' encountered them.)**

(End of chapter)

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