Kuixi agreed to set aside two hours every day to exchange magical knowledge with the Dragon Queen.
The "Brandon Town Evil-Repelling Formation" contained a vast amount of information, including ancient languages and Green Seer runes that were completely incomprehensible to Kuixi.
It took multiple lessons from Dany for Kuixi to begin to understand it.
At the same time, Kuixi also shared with the Dragon Queen the sealing techniques she and the Queen of Thunder Island had developed.
The underground palace of Thunder Island had influenced its queen for thousands of years, during which it accumulated a wealth of evil-repelling techniques and formations—one of the forms of compensation Thunder Island provided to Kuixi.
The evil-repelling formation was merely an additional benefit for Dany; her main goal was to consult Kuixi on the challenges she encountered while researching necromancy.
The matter of Hades, the spirit in the magic jar, was top secret. Until the Academy of Black and White was completely destroyed, Dany had no intention of telling anyone about it.
The Three-Eyed Crow might know, and since she knew that he knew, she would have to kill him eventually to keep him silent.
By the time Dany ended her exchange with Kuixi, the sky outside was bathed in twilight. Sunset approached.
"Ah, autumn has arrived. The wind is rising more often now, fluttering my robes, lifting my hair."
Dany stood behind Big Black, listening as he stammered his way through reciting a lesson.
"Very good. Big Black, you're both smart and hardworking. One day, you'll become a true Dragon God!" She gently stroked Big Black's steaming nose, speaking with satisfaction.
She always used the "Eastern Dragon Tongue" when speaking with Big Black.
It was like practicing spoken English with foreigners—daily conversation sharpened her fluency.
She wasn't worried about him not understanding. While she and the dragon remained in dragon-spirit communion, even incomprehensible words could be intuitively understood. In fact, every time he heard a new word, he learned it.
"Dragon God," Big Black repeated her words, his blood-red eyes glimmering with a human-like light.
"Head to Dragonstone Island and bring back the blacksmith Tobho Mott," she said, patting Big Black's forehead with a smile.
"Blacksmith!" Big Black stood up and leapt off the cliff beside him.
With a whoosh, his wings beat the air, quickly stabilizing his body, then accelerating as he turned into a small black dot, flying straight into the giant red sun in the west.
"Little Gold, come here. Let me see how much you weigh now."
Dany turned her gaze away and beckoned to the golden dragon lying on a stone slab, staring off into the distance.
"Hiss-gah!" Little Gold called out to Dany, then crawled toward her in confusion, nudging her chest with his head.
Less than half a year old, Little Gold appeared long, about seven meters from head to tail, but most of that was his slender neck and tail. His body resembled that of a scrawny, bony mule.
Dany placed her left hand under his neck, slid her right arm beneath his legs, and with a sudden effort, lifted him into the air.
"Wow, nearly two hundred pounds now. You're growing so fast."
Her cheeks flushed slightly, but she didn't seem particularly strained.
"Hiss-gah!" Little Gold squirmed uncomfortably. He wanted to struggle but was afraid of knocking his mother over. Like a captured goose, he simply stretched out his neck and let out a plaintive cry.
"Hahaha!" Dany burst out laughing, then gave a strong heave and tossed him off the cliff.
"Flap-flap-flap!" Little Gold tumbled through the swirling clouds, rolling several times before disappearing from view.
"Hiss-gah—!" More than ten seconds later, he burst forth like a soaring crane from the mist dyed red by the evening glow, letting out a clear and resonant cry.
"Come on, let's go back," Dany said, climbing onto Little Green's back, her spirit refreshed.
Astapor.
A full moon hung high in the sky. The lights in the city were as sparse as stars, and most of the residents had already gone to sleep after a long day of labor. Only the harbor district remained noisy, with chaotic sounds drifting with the sea breeze, occasionally reaching the ears of those atop the Great Pyramid.
A dragonfire orb the size of an orange hovered in mid-air, casting a reddish glow over the map spread across the long table.
Having bathed and changed into a beige linen dress, Dany stood by the table, drawing a circle on the map of Slaver's Bay with a red pen as she instructed the Bloodriders:
"Starting tomorrow, Jhogo will lead his thousand-man unit north to Meereen. From now on, you will roam the edge of the Dothraki Sea near Borash, monitoring any vanguard forces from the great grass sea allied with the enemy."
"Khaleesi, do you suspect that a Khal has joined the enemy alliance?" Jhogo asked, both surprised and suspicious.
"It's a precaution."
"With only a thousand men, if you really run into a Khal's forces, I'm afraid they won't hold. There's even a chance they'll be swallowed up by enemy light cavalry," Clinton said with a frown.
Though Clinton had shown some rigidity in the Battle of the Bells, he was nonetheless a noble-born officer, a veteran commander of tens of thousands, with significant experience in large-scale operations.
In terms of military skill, only Barristan surpassed him, while Jorah Mormont was a step behind.
Thus, Dany appointed Clinton as a military advisor and asked him to teach the new freefolk commanders about combining heavy cavalry with infantry tactics.
Yes, Dany knew her newly freed soldiers had almost no formal military training. Ever since capturing Astapor, she had established a "Famous General Training Camp," with Jorah Mormont, Grey Worm, and Barristan serving as instructors.
It was something like a bargain-bin version of the Whampoa Military Academy.
In fact, all of her current generals had received some degree of instruction from Barristan and could be considered his students.
As for the Dragon Queen herself...
She wasn't the headmaster of the school. Like the many illiterate new freedmen, she too was learning the art of warfare from old Barristan.
"Ser, what you describe is conventional warfare. But we have dragons—we don't fight conventional wars. As long as the enemy's main forces carrying dragon-killing scorpions haven't entered Slaver's Bay, no one will dare surround my troops," Dany said with a smile.
Clinton furrowed his brow and asked, "Will Astapor receive Ser Jogo's call for reinforcements in time?"
Of course not.
It's over a thousand kilometers away. A raven would take about two days to deliver the message—and two days are enough for Jogo's thousand cavalrymen to die several times over.
Dany explained, "Once the vanguard of the allied forces leaves Matalis and enters Slaver's Bay, I will declare the bay in a state of war readiness.
At that point, dragons will patrol the surrounding area daily. Our forces won't be caught off guard or quickly surrounded and wiped out.
Besides, Jogo's thousand riders are all mounted and can immediately retreat upon encountering large enemy forces, avoiding prolonged engagements.
Their main task is to prevent small enemy units from infiltrating our rear and sabotaging our crop-growing plans."
"Mm, please continue," Clinton nodded in realization.
"Grey Worm, take five thousand Unsullied to Meereen and take over Jon Bolton's city defense duties."
"Yes," Grey Worm replied solemnly.
"Bolton," Dany turned to the recently recovered commander of the royal guard, who still looked a bit pale, "have your guards follow the HLJ upstream to where it meets the White Dragon River, and build a permanent fortress on the Two Rivers Plain."
HLJ refers to what was once the Skahazadhan River, originating in Razza, where the Red Waste meets the Dothraki Sea.
The people of upper Razza call it the Razza River.
'Skahazadhan' means "Noble Slave Master" in Ghiscari—similar to "Great Master"—so naturally, Dany could no longer use that name.
Thus, the main river from Razza to Meereen became "HLJ."
It wasn't that she missed the northern city of her past life—Black Dragon. She meant the actual black dragon, Balerion.
And the tributary from Meereen to the Kaevan Plains became the "White Dragon River."
"You're worried that the horselords will sail down the Razza River?" Jon Bolton asked in confusion.
"Not the horselords—they don't ride boats," Dany moved her finger further east. "See this? Two city-states—Shamiliana and Bayasabuhad."
Razza is only 800 kilometers from the Jade Sea. At the junction of the Jade Sea and the mountain range are two cities—one to the north, one to the south.
They were built by the descendants of the people of Hyrkoon.
The kingdom of "Hyrkoon's Heirs," founded by Azor Ahai's descendants, was destroyed by the horselords and zebralords. The displaced survivors established three fortress-cities—Shamiliana, Kayakayanya, and Bayasabuhad—at the three mountain passes.
Yes, the so-called "Dragon Mother" who helped the Great Sage of Kaevan hatch his dragons was a priestess from the Temple of Mishariana.
"The Ruby Warrior Women have joined the alliance?" Clinton asked in shock.
Mishariana is ruled by the High Father (ps), but its army is composed entirely of female warriors with ruby studs in their cheeks and iron rings on their nipples.
Just as Westeros is a knockoff version of Britain, these Ruby Warriors are a knockoff version of the Amazons.
"No," Jorah Mormont shook his head, "but those fierce women won't refuse to support the alliance. For instance, they're open to hiring out their services or leasing docks for our fleet."
Dany said, "Actually, there's little to worry about. As long as we guard the river mouth where HLJ enters Meereen, it doesn't matter how many enemies come.
Bolton, you have three tasks. First, I want a town built there—at least the foundations of one. On your way, select thirty thousand from the labor camps.
Second, use the new town as a base to clear land and establish farms in surrounding areas with ample water.
It's a crime that the Ghiscari let such fertile land grow wild for thousands of years—it's far too wasteful.
Third, I want you to serve as my representative and travel upriver to Razza. I intend to form an alliance with the Razza people."
"Sheepherders are useless. When faced with curved blades, all they do is cry," said Rakharo.
"Sheepherders are cowards. Everyone knows that," Jogo agreed with a nod.
"But the Razza people are good at farming. Horselords fight, sheepherders farm—it might be a good combination," said Qhono hesitantly.
Dany looked at her Dothraki bodyguard in surprise. Could dragon blood really enhance intelligence?
"Sigh… back when you were fifteen, you were all the same—pure horselords. No brains, just recklessness.
Now you've grown taller, but you still won't use your heads.
Look at Qhono. I dare say he'll become the most legendary sage among the horselords," she said, sweeping her gaze over the group of Dothraki with a complex expression.
Qhono's bronze face flushed. "It's all thanks to Khaleesi's teaching," he said.
See? Now that's how you speak properly.
Rakharo gave Qhono—a growing example of the "other people's child"—a glare and declared, "Even if there were no Qhono, Khaleesi would've still thought of allying with the sheepherders to help us farm.
So with Khaleesi around, we horselords don't need to think."
"Exactly. As long as our arakhs are sharp enough…" Jogo looked over Qhono in his full armor with disdain and said, "Look at how soft he is now. I bet without that armor, he couldn't last ten strikes against me."
"Fine! Let's try it later!" Qhono rested his hand on his sword hilt, fuming.
Though he had gained wisdom and knowledge, he still retained the courage and fire of a true horselord.
"You can fight—but use blunted swords, and Qhono keeps the armor on. On the battlefield, Jogo, would you ask your enemies to take off their armor first?" Dany shrugged casually.
---
(ps: The High Father—ruler of the three city-states founded by Hyrkoon's heirs—raises daughters who learn to ride and climb before they can walk. As children, they are trained in the bow, spear, knife, and slingshot.
As for sons, 99 out of 100 are castrated upon reaching adulthood and live as eunuchs, working as scribes, priests, scholars, servants, cooks, farmers, craftsmen, etc., in service to the cities.
Only the most promising and physically perfect male is allowed to remain intact, breed, and eventually become a High Father himself.)
(End of Chapter)
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