When Daenerys, riding Dreamfire, brought the two brothers back to the ground, the Manderly Brothers, who were experiencing dragon-riding for the first time, could barely stand steady.
The younger brother, Torren, even sat directly on the ground, his legs giving out, without any regard for his image. Although his older brother Mederick's legs were trembling, he still desperately controlled his body while pulling Torren up from the ground.
This sixteen-year-old Manderly Family heir never forgot to maintain his noble demeanor.
"Mederick, did you bring what Samwell asked for this time?"
Daenerys walked over to Mederick and asked softly.
After taking several deep breaths, Mederick replied to Daenerys in a steady tone,
"Yes, Princess!"
"As per Mr. Samwell's request, the Manderly Family collected samples from several clay-rich areas in the North."
"I brought them all this time, and I've already had servants deliver the samples to the porcelain factory in White Sheep Town."
Daenerys immediately said excitedly upon hearing this,
"Excellent! Let's go, let's go take a look quickly."
Through studying the geographical atlas of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, Daenerys discovered that although the North had a cold climate unsuitable for growing crops, its vast land contained rich mineral resources, especially an abundance of clay.
So she instructed Samwell to contact the Manderly Family to obtain some samples for inspection.
Although the clay reserves in the Royal Forest were massive, their quality was mediocre, with a somewhat grayish color. Moreover, the dense vegetation in the rainforest made organizing mining operations inconvenient and easily damaged the vegetation.
Furthermore, the Royal Forest was the private hunting ground of the Lord of Westeros, and even Daenerys could not destroy it at will.
Ordinary people, even if they hunted a rabbit in the Royal Forest, would have their hands chopped off or be exiled to The Wall to serve in the Night's Watch.
With Daenerys's current status, small-scale mining like now wouldn't pose any problems. Expanding the scale would have to wait until her father, Viserys, ascended the throne.
"Hmm?! Where do these two types of clay come from?"
Daniella gently pinched a sample of light white, delicate clay and a warm, soft purple clay sample, then asked Mederick.
Mederick respectfully replied.
"Reporting to Your Highness, Princess! This white clay comes from the White Knife River."
"The purple clay was also collected from the barren mountains near the Wolf Den!"
"The quality of these two types of clay is good, is the output large?"
Looking at the samples in her hand, Daniella was very satisfied, as their quality was no worse than kaolin.
"Of course, it's large!"
Torren Manderly, standing nearby, immediately interjected,
"The White Knife River is called the White Knife River precisely because both banks of the entire great river are made of this white clay, which from afar looks like a white blade."
"And the mountains near the Wolf Den are all purplish-red; this clay is simply inexhaustible!"
Hearing this, Daenerys was overjoyed and immediately said,
"Very good, from now on, the Manderly Family can transport five ship-loads of each type of clay to White Sheep Town every month, and we can pay 500 gold dragons per ship."
"500 gold dragons per ship?"
The Manderly Brothers were both surprised by Daniella's offer.
Of course, Daniella could have pushed the price very low, even 100 gold dragons would not have been impossible. This is because currently, each of the Manderly Family's ships earns only one or two hundred gold dragons in profit from a single trade within the Seven Kingdoms.
However, she highly valued the Manderly Family's influence in the North and their loyal character.
To tie the Manderly Family to her faction, small favors would not be enough.
Moreover, the cost of 500 gold dragons per ship of clay was truly insignificant compared to the high profits of dragon porcelain.
However, this transaction could effectively bind the Manderly Family to Daenerys's grand ship.
Furthermore, Daenerys also planned to use this as an opportunity to see if she could establish a popular porcelain factory in the North.
In the upcoming Prince Selection Assembly of 101, the Duke of the North would choose to support her aunt, Princess Rhaenys.
Given the Manderly Family head's character, Daenerys did not believe he would fail to inform the Stark Family about the Manderly Family's dealings with White Sheep Town.
Such a stable business with virtually no investment, the Manderly Family would surely bring the Stark Family along.
This was also why Daenerys wanted to purchase the purple clay from the Wolf Den as well.
In fact, modern dragon porcelain requires high-quality white clay. While porcelain made from purple clay is antique and beautiful, White Sheep Town has not yet begun firing it.
This is because the Wolf Den is not entirely under the jurisdiction of the Manderly Family of White Harbor. If the Manderly Family wanted to mine the purple clay there, they would certainly need the support of the Stark Family.
Majestic Dreamfire
In the following days, Daenerys accompanied the Manderly Brothers on tours of the two Dragonstone islands every day, or took them to feed the dragons in the White Sheep Town orchard.
Watching those god-like dragons behave as obediently as large dogs in front of Daenerys, the Manderly Brothers were filled with admiration for her.
Originally, her father, Viserys, had hoped that her sister, Rhaenyra, and Daenerys would act together, but it seemed Rhaenyra was also somewhat afraid of the bald, obese genetic trait from White Harbor and dared not have too much contact with the Manderly Brothers.
King Jaehaerys still owed the Manderly Family a royal marriage, you know!
She was probably afraid that her Great-grandfather King Jaehaerys would directly play matchmaker and arrange a marriage for her.
The Manderly Brothers had also begun their training in knightly swordsmanship, but their talent was truly hard to describe. Even when they teamed up, they were no match for Daenerys, who had only trained for three years.
However, they both possessed excellent abilities in business and managing their territory.
When discussing the development and utilization of Dragonstone New Island with Daenerys, the two noble youths, who were only in their early teens, surprisingly shed their usual shyness when interacting with Daenerys. They spoke voluminously and articulately.
Dax Magna
On the fifth day after the Manderly Brothers arrived, another group of teenagers from Skagos Island in the North also arrived at Dragonstone.
The leading youth, Dacks Bagna, was the eldest son of the chief of the Bagna clan from the King's Hall on Skagos Island.
At only 16 years old, he had already grown to a height of one meter eighty-nine, with a robust and muscular build. Although he was a bit dirty all over, his bright, clear blue eyes, without a trace of impurity, immediately captivated Daenerys's attention.
Just as the Viserys family was curiously observing these Skagos Island youths, who rarely had contact with the outside world, Daenerys's personal guard, Cameron Tarth, ran over to report,
"Prince Viserys, Jason Lannister and Tylan Lannister, young masters of the Lannister Family from Casterly Rock, have arrived!"
Her father, Viserys, quickly ordered,
"Please invite them in!"
Soon after, two proud and handsome youths with golden hair and blue eyes, equally tall and dressed in red brocade robes, entered the Dragonstone hall with elegant posture and full of confidence, surrounded by numerous attendants.
Tyrone and Jason