[Chapter Size: 3000 Words.]

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Thrid Person POV

Yi-Ti, 296 AC.

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Yin was finally in sight that morning on the horizon as the 50 Arctic ships approached. Yi-Ti was an isolated empire, bordered only by the Jade Sea, with few daring to venture beyond to the other side of Essos. This country was quite closed off, but at the same time, Jon had acquired a great deal of knowledge about it through greensight, which had greatly helped Arctic grow so quickly in such a short time.

This land did not have the same noble system as Westeros, though it had its own hierarchy. The warriors here were called samurai, unlike the so-called knights of Westeros, where even men like Gregor Clegane were considered knights who were expected to uphold a code to protect the weak and innocent. Here, the samurai order followed a philosophy of honor, defending what was right above all else, and fought with true honor. Jon thought that even his uncle would be considered lacking compared to the honor code of this class.

The ships outside the city, mainly those of fishermen, soon noticed the 50 vessels approaching from the ocean.

“What flag is that?” one of the men in a boat commented in his native language.

“I don’t… it’s an unknown flag… shouldn’t we alert the city?” his companion asked.

The first man looked over at another fishing boat 20 meters away, with a small group of fishermen on board. He yelled and pointed toward the approaching ships, which were still a fair distance away. The man on the other boat looked at the ships in surprise, then turned back to his companion, equally baffled.

“What should we do?” his colleague asked.

“Let’s go back to the city! We must inform our lord!” he replied, and the other man nodded, and they began quickly rowing back to the port of Yin.

The noble in charge of the city was conversing with some other samurai when men hurriedly came to fetch him, informing him of the fifty ships approaching directly toward the city.

“Is this true?” he asked, surprised.

“Yes… we don’t recognize their flag, and it’s on all fifty ships,” a guard reported.

“I see… this is a bit concerning…” he muttered thoughtfully, before making a decision.

“Very well, gather the men, and let’s see what these ships want…” he ordered, and everyone nodded. They assembled a large number of guards dressed in the standard armor of medieval Japan, while the noble and a few others wore samurai armor.

Quickly, his group began marching toward the port, gathering nearly all of the city’s guards. After all, they were in the midst of a war; a fleet of ships appearing out of nowhere was highly suspicious, and it wouldn’t be the first time their enemies had tried to attack Yin due to its importance as almost all maritime trade flowed through it. It was the second-largest city in the empire.

The city lord approached the port with many citizens watching the ships with suspicious gazes, as they could now see the vessels just ten minutes away. Meanwhile, the Arcticans were equally curious about Yin and all of Yi-Ti, observing the city from a distance, which looked vastly different from anything they were accustomed to in Westeros and Essos.

As Jon gathered with the girls to see the city from the ship’s edge, he couldn’t help but feel excited. He had seen much of Yi-Ti through greensight when learning from some of the great merchants and thinkers of these lands, but seeing this land in person was far more impressive.

The oriental houses had distinctive structures with large upturned roofs and cultural decorations, with kanji signs indicating shops and important places. There was no stone castle in the middle of the city, but rather a gigantic mansion with curved roofs, much larger than all the other houses, visible even from the ships. It symbolized the grand central structure of the city—an oriental mansion in place of a castle at its heart.

“This is strange…” Arya’s voice appeared beside Jon at that moment.

“What is it?” Daenerys asked, also looking toward the city.

“Look at the number of ships in the port… Jon, didn’t you say this was the main commercial city of the empire? Why is it so empty?” she asked.

Indeed, it seemed that half the port was vacant as they approached.

“I don’t know…” Jon replied, sending his birds to scout the area and trying to understand the situation in the city. He, too, felt a bit confused.

Jon said nothing further, as it wouldn’t be useful, and they continued advancing. The presence of the ships stirred considerable commotion in the port; the atmosphere was becoming increasingly hostile toward the Arcticans, with many civilians running through the city, gathering their belongings. Through his eagles, Jon could see hundreds of soldiers mobilizing from all sides of the city, amassing over three thousand men at the port, ready to fight.

“Is this country at war or something?” Jon couldn’t help but ask, curious about the people’s reaction, though many remained at the port with the city lord’s men, clad in samurai armor, standing behind him.

The city lord had three thousand men and twenty samurai prepared for anyone who dared set foot on Yi-Ti’s land. The city typically housed five thousand soldiers, but during wartime, that number had tripled, with over ten thousand men spread across the city, prepared to fight if there was an attack.

They waited for the unknown visitors to arrive, maintaining their formation. As the Arctican ships approached the port, the samurai couldn’t help but notice how different these vessels were from anything they’d seen before—far more elaborately constructed than any ship in Yi-Ti. It was clear that these ships weren’t from the Jade Sea, but the question of where they were from and why they were here lingered sharply as they awaited their arrival.

The ships finally entered the port area, approaching the vacant docks left empty due to recent dangers on the Jade Sea. The city lord and the other samurai waited calmly as the ships began to touch the edge of the port and finally docked.

The lord stepped forward, standing before the largest of the ships, assuming it to be the command vessel. He observed the activity within and thought he saw enormous people, but dismissed the idea, doubting his initial impression. Instead, he noticed the ship’s prow lowering as small men handled the operation, wondering if there were many dwarves among them. Some of his men began murmuring about it, even finding some humor in the sight. Yet, the samurai noted that these small men certainly knew how to dress, as all of them wore armor that covered their bodies more fully than even the samurai armor did.

“My lord… there must be at least fifty men on each of those ships…” one man murmured, and the lord nodded, sharing the same thought. This meant there were at least 2,500 men with an unknown flag entering Yin, making everyone even more cautious.

As the gangplank was lowered, a group began to advance. All could see that the men wore the same symbol on their armor, as small men carrying hammers and common-sized men with swords—unusual weapons in Yi-Ti—approached, with their leader at the forefront and the others guarding him.

He was a young man who looked to be around seventeen, which surprised many. Still, it was not impossible; he could very well be an orphaned son of a powerful family, with no other heirs to take the reins of his household.

But he still observed the young man, noting a certain maturity that was hard to believe someone in this city would possess. Jon maintained a steady gaze, seeming unfazed by the crowd surrounding him, with thousands of guards poised to fight. Though there had been no resistance to docking the ships, it didn’t mean they couldn’t be hostile. Jon stepped forward, looking directly at the man he believed to be the leader.

The city lord stepped forward, looking directly at the young man with a curious expression, standing firm. He couldn’t help but notice the katana-style swords at the young man’s waist, surprising him, though he quickly set this aside and focused directly on the young man.

“Hello, stranger. I am Kin’emon of the Fujiwara Clan, noble samurai and leader of this city. I demand that you state who you are and what business you have in Yin?” he said, uncertain if the foreigner would understand, as these people clearly did not resemble anyone from this part of the world.

“Greetings, Lord Samurai. I am Jon of Arctic, ruler of a kingdom north of the western lands. I am here for trade,” Jon replied calmly.

At first, Kin’emon was surprised to hear the stranger speaking his language perfectly, though his accent marked him as someone from a distant place. Second, he claimed to be the king of a distant land that neither Kin’emon nor the others had ever heard of. And third, he said they were merchants, though given their armor and weapons, Kin’emon began to seriously doubt this.

“You’re here for business…? Lord Jon of Arctic…” he said, eyes narrowing slightly before continuing. “Where exactly are you from? We’ve never heard of such a place.”

“I imagine so, as we are from the lands of the sunset, accessible only by sea, beyond Essos, though not by much,” Jon explained.

“The Land of the Sunset?!” The city lord expressed mild surprise, knowing how rare it was to see visitors from those lands in Yi-Ti.

“Precisely. I come from a place even farther than you might imagine; my kingdom lies in the extreme north,” Jon continued.

“I’m somewhat surprised by this, especially given that you say you’re a king,” he said, looking from Jon to his guards, who stood ready to protect him if needed.

“Yes… but, anyway, I noticed this city seems a bit different than I expected… is something happening in Yi-Ti?” Jon asked directly.

“…” The man was silent for a few seconds, while the others exchanged glances, a darker mood settling over them.

“We are at war… and as you can see, our port has been rather empty lately. Our enemy is preventing most ships from reaching our city…” he said, and Jon raised an eyebrow.

“We encountered about a hundred ships at sea… we thought they were pirates…” The Arcticans had been in the Jade Sea for two weeks and had encountered a large fleet advancing on them, apparently preparing to attack. Well… things hadn’t ended well for them.

“Then it’s the Mongols… acting like cowards and bandits… all to seize our lands,” the man said, spitting on the ground.

“Mongols… aren’t they the people from the east?” Jon asked, having heard a bit about them through greensight, though he had never delved into their culture and didn’t even know their language.

“Yes… Yi-Ti has been in conflict with them for thousands of years, but never before in our history has there been such a massive invasion as what is happening now,” the man said, and Jon felt surprised by this.

“So now… they’re on your lands? What’s the situation?” Jon couldn’t help but ask.

“I don’t think you need to know that, foreigner…” one of the samurai behind Lord Kin’emon said in a harsh tone. Jon’s guards, unable to speak the language, couldn’t express their thoughts but could convey their intent, placing hands on their swords.

“What did you say, slit-eyes… you want a beating?!” But there was one among them who cared little for the language barrier and spoke his mind openly. Tormund was ready for a fight, a mocking grin spreading across his face as he stared down the samurai.

They looked at each other, not understanding what he was saying, but they sensed the foreigner’s boldness.

“Calm down, Tormund…” Jon commanded in the common tongue, trying to prevent a bloodbath before they had a chance to talk.

“You don’t need to treat a guest this way either, Lord Kuzen,” Kin’emon told his man.

“I apologize for my man’s behavior,” Kin’emon finally said with a sigh, adding, “After all, these are difficult times, and I understand your frustration.” He looked at Jon, who nodded in understanding.

“It’s all right, no offense taken,” Jon replied, “especially as I’m quite curious about what’s happening in a land I’ve always wanted to see.” He then continued, “In any case, we would like to know if we might be welcomed here, as we’re interested in purchasing many local items and also intend to sell some of our own.”

Kin’emon considered Jon’s words, debating whether or not to do business with these visitors. The situation was complicated, with commerce scarce and the war impacting both land and, most significantly, maritime routes. Additionally, he couldn’t simply turn away fifty ships without understanding the real potential of Arctic’s fleet after a journey all the way from the lands of the sunset to this side of the world.

“What kind of goods do you have to offer us?” Kin’emon asked, narrowing his eyes. “Considering the journey’s length, I doubt you’ve brought food from your lands—something we’re greatly in need of in these dark times.” He assumed they would be dealing more with material goods.

“Food is exactly what we brought, Lord Kin’emon,” Jon replied, surprising his host. “And we brought it in large quantities. We’re willing to offer it at a fair price, as long as you’re open to negotiating with us. Additionally, I’m interested in learning more about the unique offerings of this land.”

Kin’emon nodded silently, impressed and pleasantly surprised, and even the other samurai showed interest upon hearing of the food offering.

“That’s excellent. If you truly have the food you claim, we’re willing to negotiate,” Kin’emon said, finally voicing his concerns. The war was bringing famine, and the productive lands of Lord Shimura’s province—which fed much of the country, producing for nearly half of the empire—had been devastated by the Mongol and pirate invasions. With those lands now occupied, food was growing scarce, with shortages already hitting certain regions.

Trade was the only way for the people of Yi-Ti to obtain more food, but the Mongols had become experts at blocking maritime routes with pirates to weaken Yi-Ti… Kin’emon knew this could be a vital opportunity.

It was a risky decision. This group was unknown and could be a threat. But they appeared very different from any hidden enemy or anyone the Mongols might hire to deal with the kingdom. Kin’emon then made a choice that could change Yi-Ti forever, looking firmly at Jon.

“Very well, to the man who claims to be king of Arctic. We’re interested in doing business with you. I’d like to invite you to my castle so we can negotiate and see the types of goods you have to offer,” the lord said, nodding his head as Jon appeared equally pleased, offering a friendly smile.

“That sounds perfect, Lord Kin’emon,” Jon replied. “I’ll organize a small group to accompany you.” He spoke confidently, believing these people were honorable, or at least the samurai, bound by their code of honor.

With Kin’emon agreeing to Jon’s request, the Arcticans returned to the ship while the city lord gathered with the other samurai, debating the decision. Some were displeased, protesting Kin’emon’s choice to invite strangers into his home when they might be enemies. But Kin’emon remained resolute, giving Jon a vote of trust; after all, they were merely negotiating first. At the very least, this way, they could evaluate whether these foreigners truly had anything to offer.

Jon organized his group for the meeting, deciding to bring Daenerys and Arya along to accompany him in the initial negotiation, while Ygritte and Rhaenys would stay on the ships for more obvious reasons.

The initial tension at the port was beginning to ease. The soldiers started to disperse, and though still present in large numbers, they were no longer in combat formation. Gradually, the Arcticans began disembarking from the ship in their usual calm manner, bringing samples of their products. However, Jon’s chosen group quickly attracted astonished looks from the inhabitants of Yi-Ti.

The moment Jon began descending the gangplank, the onlookers’ surprise grew. At the bottom of the ramp, right behind Jon, a man approximately four meters tall appeared, clad in full armor, following closely behind him. The reason for the ship and its gangplank’s enormous size now became clear to all.

“What is this?” some of the samurai murmured, astounded as they watched the first giant advance with Jon’s group, followed by more giants right behind.

The Arctican warriors consisted of three distinct races, so the sight was already commonplace for the Arcticans at every port they visited. While dwarves might attract attention, a giant was something entirely different. Jon seemed amused by the samurais’ reactions as they made their way toward the city, beginning their journey in Yi-Ti.

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Raccoon Here: This chapter took me way too long to complete! Sorry for the delay, but I had to rethink how I wanted to portray Yi-Ti here and how to execute this arc with good quality. It took me almost five hours to put this together…

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