Chapter 36: The Citadel, 253AC
Doran Nymeros Martell emerged from Seneschal's Court with a smile on his face. He had just presented the Archmaesters council with a thesis on how to improve steel, more specifically how to reduce its brittleness when forged. The recipe for creating steel that they have been using in this world is very primitive and when mixing the iron and the other components to create the steel the mixture is especially fragile during one phase of the process, and the slightest mistake ruins the final result.
In many cases the resulting steel is brittle and unstable. Doran presented a more efficient method to achieve stronger and more resilient steel.
Archmaester Willas and Archmaester Pycelle were his biggest supporters when discussing the thesis, they both support ingenious youngsters trying to propel the world into a new era through ingenious inventions, something very rare among Archmaesters as most are traditionalists reluctant to change.
Doran has been at the Citadel for a year now. After returning to Sunspear, he spoke with his grandmother, convincing her to send him to the Citadel for a few years to further his studies. Dorna supported the idea of her grandson but argued that they should wait until he is a few years older. Doran did not agree, he did not want to have to wait several years, that would only delay his plans. The prince already has a reputation for being very intelligent but in order to present his inventions to the world he needs to increase his reputation.
The Citadel is the perfect place for that, it is the cradle of knowledge in this world. The Citadel is one of the focal points of information. The Citadel not only has the largest library in the Known World, with millions of tomes, but it also has the largest information network in Westeros: there is a maester in each castle and they all report to the Citadel.
Doran not only plans to create a reputation as a genius but also to start his own network of spies, he knows that his family has theirs but he wants to have a private network that covers the whole world, Westeros is the beginning.
One of the things he learned during his time in Kings Landing is that every good politician has his informants, going into politics without a network of spies is like going into battle with a tape over your eyes. It's a stupid thing and will result in your death.
And the Citadel is the perfect place to start a network of spies, many of the acolytes will eventually become maesters and will be sent to different kingdoms. If Doran gains the loyalty of the future maesters of Westeros...
Apart from those two objectives, Doran has more things to do in this place, one of them is to get his hands on a glass candle. He wants to analyze the magic items in this world to get an idea of what kinds of magic exist here. He already knows that there are runes and magic buildings, as well as seers and wargs. Upon learning of the existence of Wargs through his friendship with Rickard the prince regreted a bit not being born in the North, warging is a skill he would have loved to possess.
"How do you not have steel link yet?" asks Luca Uller. "Archmaester Willas looks at you as if you were the son of the Smith and the Crone!"
Doran chuckes at the praise of the boy. Luca is the youngest son of Lord Uller, who is the nephew of his grandfather which makes them cousins. One of the conditions imposed by his parents to be able to study here is to be accompanied by a Dornish entourage. Luca is part of that entourage, one of more than a dozen young Dornish nobles who accompanied him.
His cousin is three years older than him and a genius when it comes to any form of art, from music to painting. Doran had never seen such a gifted child before. The two quickly became friends as Luca is very affable and well-mannered, but also somewhat eccentric.
"I'm still young to forge my links, cousin." Doran replies.
"Oh? Does that mean you will wait until you reach adulthood to forge your links, nephew?" Lewyn asked with a sly smile.
"A decade without our Snake Prince, how boring will visits to Sunspear be." Michael Toland grew a lot over the years and at twelve years old he is almost as tall as Lothar, standing at 167cm. Doran wonders if he has giant blood.
"Har ha Michael. I'll forge my links before I leave the Citadel, in a year or two."
"Many will be left heartbroken when you leave."
"Len is right Dany, I have heard more than a dozen of maesters complain about you being your mother's eldest son." Doran blushes a little at Michael's words, during the last year he became the favorite student of many teachers.
The nickname `Dany` emerged a few months ago and since then his friends refer to him as such, at first it took him a bit to get used to it but in the end he decided that he likes the nickname.
'At least it's better than Dory' the nickname by which his uncle and his brother called him was never to his liking, but he didn't say anything to them so as not to hurt their feelings. When Lucacame up with the new nickname and Lewyn changed from `Dory` to `Dany` the prince was very grateful.
"I am a prince first and foremost," he says as he walks toward his chambers.
He has to finish packing his belongings because in two days his family will come by ship to pick him up, they will go to Casterly Rock for Lord Tytos's nameday.
Doran is very excited because he hasn't seen his Lannister friends for a long time. The last year they have been exchanging letters regularly but that is not the same as seeing each other in person.
In their letters they talked about many things, from their daily activities to deeper topics. With Tywin he had many philosophical discussions, on very varied subjects. Doran was amazed at the intelligence of his friend, Tywin is a very bright and pragmatic boy.
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