Ignoring her father Viserys's distraction, Danyla continued,
"Besides, a tournament will consume plenty of food and drink. To ensure the safety of the contestants and spectators, we should have designated suppliers handle all of it."
"We can invite vendors to apply, charge them a fee for their stalls, then take a share based on their sales."
Seeing the blank looks on her mother and sister's faces, and even her father Viserys's expression of bewilderment, Danyla explained,
"In the Seven Kingdoms, holding a tournament is already a way to display power and wealth. Those nobles will naturally be quite willing to spend a few Gold Dragons showcasing their houses' distinctive food and wine at the Fighting Arena!"
"And if they win everyone's recognition and praise through it, won't that bring them an even steadier stream of wealth afterward?"
Once Danyla explained it that way, they immediately understood!
They all silently marveled at Danyla's cleverness!
Aemma offered her heartfelt praise,
"What a novel idea. How did you ever come up with it? If I hadn't watched you come out of my own belly, I would hardly believe I'd given birth to such a clever little daughter!"
Viserys added,
"We must also ensure the Fighting Arena is safe enough. After all, the contestants will be children of the great houses. If anything happens to them, it could cause a great deal of trouble."
Rhaenyra spoke up confidently,
"I have an idea for that! Dragon Isle may not have many knights, but we have Great Dragons!"
"Besides stationing soldiers and knights there, we can have Vhagar, Dreamfyre, and Syrax lend their presence. I doubt anyone would dare cause trouble then."
"And with Great Dragons there, the spectacle will draw even more people, won't it?"
Danyla immediately agreed,
"I think my sister's suggestion is excellent. A tournament hosted by House Targaryen should naturally have Great Dragons in attendance."
"We can also hire some painters. Anyone who wants a portrait with the Great Dragons can have one, provided they pay enough Gold Dragon Coins."
Rhaenyra immediately responded to Danyla's suggestion,
"That's a good idea. How much do you think we should charge each time?"
Danyla considered it before answering,
"At least a thousand Gold Dragons."
"Of course, if someone is bold enough to want our help getting onto a Great Dragon, the price should start at ten thousand Gold Dragons."
Her father Viserys immediately objected,
"That won't do! Although we members of House Targaryen can command Great Dragons, we cannot guarantee they won't attack strangers! It's far too dangerous."
"Besides, how could we let other people ride House Targaryen's Great Dragons?"
Her sister Rhaenyra immediately pouted in displeasure. Danyla, however, disagreed,
"Isn't the whole point of displaying power to inspire respect and submission?"
"Preserving the Great Dragons' mystery and majesty will naturally keep people in awe of House Targaryen."
"But if they can experience our Great Dragons' power up close, and see that only we can properly control such powerful Great Dragons, they might transfer their awe of the Great Dragons to the members of House Targaryen themselves."
Silverwing
After more than an hour of discussion, Viserys and his family finally settled on a rough framework.
Danyla then summoned Samwell and tasked him with putting their plans into practice. She also assigned her Sworn Warrior, Cameron Tarth, and her personal maid, Rhaella Royce, to serve as his temporary deputies.
Cameron was conscientious and tactful, while Rhaella was decisive and efficient. With their assistance, they were sure to take a considerable burden off the busy Samwell.
Danyla also personally invited Medrick of House Manderly of White Harbor to take charge of setting up the tournament's betting pool and recruiting suppliers.
After spending these past few days with Medrick and his brother, Danyla greatly admired their abilities. She was particularly impressed by twelve-year-old Medrick's maturity, steadiness, and competence.
Faced with Danyla's sincere invitation, Medrick readily agreed. Fortunately, he had brought quite a few people from White Harbor this time, so he immediately got to work.
Since a dedicated Fighting Arena still had to be built, the tournament was scheduled for a month later.
As soon as the news spread, Dragonstone, already bustling with activity, once again became the focus of attention throughout the Seven Kingdoms.
Participation in this tournament was restricted to the younger generation of the Seven Kingdoms' noble houses. Thus, even houses with no aspirations of marrying into the royal family sent their children hurrying to Dragonstone.
Vermithor
Danyla chose a site at the boundary between old and new Dragonstone for the tournament grounds.
White Sheep Town lay less than two kilometers to the northeast, while Dragonstone's Fisherman's Village stood across the great river to the southwest.
Danyla intended to develop this place into New Dragonstone Island's harbor in the future. The harbor was broad and deep, and hills surrounded it along the island's edge.
Building fortresses on the coastal rocks on either side would make it easy to defend the entire harbor.
Danyla had put off taking action because she lacked sufficient funds. Now, Dragon Porcelain had brought her twenty million Gold Dragons in one stroke, with another two hundred thousand or so coming in each month from then on.
Taking advantage of the construction of the tournament grounds, Danyla planned to formally break ground.
Since Danyla had mastered the process of making blackstone and had the help of Dreamfyre, Myracis, and Grey Ghost-the three young dragons-the speed at which they smelted the blackstone needed for the tournament grounds increased dramatically.
Her sister Rhaenyra and father Viserys would even occasionally bring their Great Dragons over to help.
Danyla's status as House Targaryen's dreamwalker was no longer a secret within the family, so they were not at all surprised that she could produce black dragonstone.
Instead, they were all quite interested in the process of forging black dragonstone, though after seeing it for themselves, they felt there was not much to it!
Danyla, however, could clearly sense that the black dragonstone they forged now was very different from what they had made before.
In particular, the black dragonstone forged with the dragonfire of Dreamfyre and the others was noticeably superior to that forged by Syrax and Vhagar.
Danyla knew this must have something to do with magical energy, but her knowledge of magic was still nonexistent. All she could do was rely on her unusual perception to faintly sense some indistinct fluctuations of power.
Still, she was now certain of one thing: the special energy contained in the gemstones in the cave where Dreamfyre and the young dragons lived had to be magical energy.
That was also the fundamental reason why the dragonfire of Dreamfyre and the others had become different from that of Syrax and the others.
Before you continue