So there are two basic ways to go about replying to this. One is to simply be blunt, and address the fact that our good name has been fighting a constant uphill battle in Westeros ever since we started to really become known to it. It's simple, it's effective, and it's also
entirely not what we want to do. No matter how tempting it is.
The point I want to push has already been raised, but we're going to have to be...um...rather careful in doing so. Hitting the 'child of Braavos' button is guilt in all caps, regardless of it being true. The easiest way to approach it is
probably pointing to the fact that it's the most effective way to make money within the Free Cities, and Braavos was built on trade.
@Diomedon raises an excellent point too, in that within the city where we grew into our power it was the most effective means to win friendship and support. I'm actually going to fold that line directly into a vote. Key issues here are as follows, as I see it:
[X] I Had To Change Too - Pt 1
-[X] "Within the City of Secrets, there are few ways for one to support a comfortable life that don't involve trade, mother. And my successes won acclaim and friendship that simple magic could not. Without those, much of what I've done in civilising the Stepstones would have been impossible."
Reference to what we have, what she knows already. Impossible without the financial streams that Azel has painstakingly constructed.
-[X] "If I am to claim Westeros, it will take more than magic. It will take coin, in great measure, and I must be able to sustain that. Legions cannot march without arms."
Speaking of the future, with certainty. As a Queen, she might have some understanding of the cost of raising or supporting a true army.
-[X] "Creations of magic do not come without price, either. Many of the items most precious to my company have been crafted by our own hands."
The wonders we've forged, that she now knows are real. Make it clear that miracles aren't without physical cost.
-[X] "For all my heritage, I have never had the resources of a Kingdom of Westeros, and there is but one way to match them for one growing to adulthood in Essos."
Said wrongly, this could be Guilt, but it's not designed that way. We worked within the limitations in front of us, as did our ancestors when they left Valyria behind, and have prospered for it.
-[X] "Yet now I find myself in the position of one soon to do so. The Iron Bank itself is a junior partner in my latest endeavour, and mine is a fleet of ships that fly the Dragon banner. A fleet I could not maintain without the coin that they bring flowing through my fingers.
Relate the notion that you are, for all intents and purposes, approaching the status of a Merchant Prince as well as King of your own domain. This is already done, already known, and there is precious little that could ever be done to change it.
-[X] If a reasonable opportunity presents itself, mention in jest that ledgers appear to act as a remarkably effective talisman to make Dany vanish...as if by magic.
-[X] Once more, be gentle in your words. You fought with this opinion in your early days, after all, as you did with the complex figures of trade until at last you mastered them. Don't expect to change her mind here, but for an opinion to change you must first show why yours did before.
Ha. I forgot the Westerosi's disdain for actually having money.
I sure as hell didn't ![:V :V :V](/styles/sv_smiles/xenforo/emot-v.gif)