Drogon knew that this captain had traveled a long way from Westeros and that his information was outdated; the War of the Five Kings was likely in full swing by now.
Eddard is dead... and who are the Five Kings?
Daenerys was just about to ask Khululu again when she heard Drogon's mental voice.
Casting a conscious glance at Drogon, who was listening intently to their conversation, Daenerys suppressed the questions in her heart and continued, "Captain, thank you for bringing me this good news. When will your ship return to Westeros?"
"Not within the next year, I'm afraid. My ship still has cargo to haul east to Asshai in the Shadow Lands," Khululu said with regret.
"Thank you again. I wish you a smooth voyage to Asshai and a bountiful return. When we meet again, I shall reward you handsomely."
Daenerys truly had no decent gifts to offer at the moment.
As Khululu took his leave, Daenerys ambitiously questioned Jorah about the situation in Westeros.
The old king was dead, the new king struggled to command respect, and the old king's brother was in rebellion; it was the perfect time for her to enter Westeros.
"King's Landing hasn't changed much. Even if Robert's brother and Joffrey start fighting, you won't be able to intervene, not to mention the many nobles eyeing the iron throne."
Jorah, as usual, delivered his daily dose of reality to the future queen.
"I have dragons!" Daenerys said stubbornly, though her momentum weakened as she recalled Drogon's earlier mental words.
Then she suddenly asked, "Eddard committed treason; will he be executed?" She still didn't believe her dragons would die so easily—two of them, no less—and sought confirmation of Drogon's prophecy from Jorah.
"After Eddard's arrest, his eldest son Robb will serve as the acting Lord of Winterfell and lead the entire North. Although the North is sparsely populated, its combat power is exceptionally strong. Even if the new king has captured Eddard, he won't execute him; otherwise, he would become an enemy of the entire North. Given the temperament of House Stark, they would surely march on King's Landing to avenge Eddard."
"And since the King's brother has already defected from King's Landing, a battle with the capital is inevitable sooner or later. The new king will absolutely not create another powerful enemy in the North. Moreover, with great chaos looming, other lords will certainly not stay quietly in their territories; they will weigh the pros and cons, seek allies, and reenact the War of the Usurper."
After listening to Jorah's analysis, Daenerys couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Drogon's prophecy wasn't necessarily all correct; her dragons wouldn't die.
Although she hoped Drogon could foresee the future, if that future meant two of her dragons would die, she would rather he were talking nonsense.
"When can I go to King's Landing?" Daenerys looked at Jorah expectantly.
"You have nothing right now. Even if the Seven Kingdoms go to war, you still need an army, large ships, and allies; otherwise, the war will have little to do with us."
"I have dragons!" Daenerys said softly.
"But they are too weak right now and can't do anything. Who knows how long it will take for them to grow up," Jorah continued his reality check on the future queen.
Having heard such cold words repeatedly, Daenerys chose silence this time.
Seeing Daenerys's dejected expression, Jorah felt a bit of pity, but she was the future queen. If she couldn't face reality or endure even this much frustration, how could she fight for the iron throne?
"Khal Drogo, you originally intended to send Rakharo southeast to find a way out of the wasteland that day. Why did you stop him later?" Jorah asked curiously, recalling the news he had heard today.
Daenerys didn't know why Jorah was asking about this; she couldn't exactly tell him it was because she heard Drogon's mental voice saying Rakharo would die.
After thinking for a moment, she lied, "I felt that wasn't the way out of the wasteland. Why do you ask?"
"I just heard people in the streets talking about a Dothraki Khal raiding northwest of Qarth. It's likely one of Khal Drogo's former Ko, Khal Pono or Khal Jhaqo."
"If Rakharo had gone out that day, he likely would have encountered them. Since Rakharo joined a Khalasar led by a woman, that Khal would have definitely killed him," Jorah said with a hint of respect in his eyes.
A single thought from Daenerys had likely saved Rakharo's life.
"What?"
Daenerys stood frozen on the spot, the last bit of wishful thinking she held was ruthlessly shattered.
Jorah looked at Daenerys's stunned expression with total confusion. Wasn't saving a Bloodrider something to be happy about? Why was the Khal Drogo so terrified?
"Ser... Ser Jorah, keep a closer eye on cargo ships from Westeros during this time. Inquire about King's Landing and Westeros. We cannot only focus on Qarth."
"Also, find out if there are any cargo ships heading west. We must leave here as soon as possible."
Zaro had gone as far as cutting his hand to invoke Sumai. She didn't know what Zaro wanted; she only had herself and her dragons, and she could give him neither. She had to leave as soon as possible.
"Yes, Khal Drogo." Seeing Daenerys gradually recover from her loss of composure, Jorah felt relieved enough to leave, though his doubts grew stronger.
Glancing at Drogon in the distance, who was working hard at roasting meat, Daenerys's mind remained troubled.
"Jeyne, Illyrio, when there is nothing to do, let my dragons practice flying and breathing fire. Do not keep them locked in cages."
Drogon said he would train Rhaegal and Viserion. Daenerys didn't know how he would train them, but she had to give him as much time as possible for it.
The next day, while Daenerys and Jorah attended a welcome party hosted by Zaro, Drogon officially began his dragon-taming plan.
Drogon's appetite was three times that of the other two dragons, and his size was now nearly double theirs.
In his past life, he hadn't paid attention to the sex of the three dragons, nor had he seen them mate. Having soul-transmigrated into Drogon, he finally thought of this issue. After checking, he was relieved to find he was still male, while the Green Dragon Rhaegal—named after Dragon Mother's brother Rhaegar—turned out to be a little female dragon.
As a straight-as-an-arrow male dragon, Drogon had no interest in the little female Rhaegal. Instead, he quite enjoyed admiring the fit bodies of Jeyne and Illyrio as they roasted meat for him.
However, his admiration was just that; he had no further thoughts or urges. He wondered if it was because he was too young and his body wasn't fully developed yet.
Because of this, Drogon felt a faint worry about his future sexual orientation.
When it came to taming dragons, Drogon didn't care about gender; a female dragon wouldn't get any mercy from an enemy. To save them from death in the future, Drogon would not be soft-hearted.
After two days of following and imitating Drogon, although the two dragons couldn't fly as high as he did and their flames weren't as far-reaching or hot, it was nearly impossible for an ordinary person to kill them.
Drogon didn't have many training methods planned; it was basically just flying, breathing fire, and fighting.
They had been practicing the first two constantly. The two dragons occasionally fought while competing for food. They had even tried to snatch food from Drogon, but he had kicked them away with his claws. After that, they became much more behaved and only dared to steal from each other.
At the moment, the two dragons were fighting over a piece of meat. The maids Jeyne and Illyrio watched them struggle from the side, with no intention of feeding them more or breaking up the fight.
Daenerys had instructed them yesterday that except for Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion were not to be fed separately; whoever grabbed the food got it.
As long as they didn't set the house on fire or get too seriously injured during their fights, they were to be left alone.