章 2: Chapter Two.

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~~~Third Person, date unknown~~~

~~~High Council Hall, Ischyros, Xandar~~~

"What do these documents refer to about the borders with the rest of the continent being gone?" Minister Valentina asked heatedly, not believing the letters embodied in the documents.

"It happened after the tremor and the sky's darkening, Minister. According to reports from the lords of the border cities, the landscape in front of the cities of Xynar and Yarrin changed from one moment to the next. Reports say that the sea level rose several meters after the clarity returned to the skies, then calmed down, and a vast sea appeared before the Empire's western borders."

That was worrisome; such a thing had never been seen before. That terrain would change from one moment to the next was not difficult to see since Azrael himself had been responsible for showing such capabilities when he changed the entire Great Red Desert into green areas teeming with life. But in this case, Azrael had not interfered with that, which made the situation more critical.

"Do we know anything about the military outpost located in Qarth?" Azrael asked the man since he knew the most about what was going on so far, "Several Wyvern riders took flight, Your Majesty. There is nothing but sea east of the Bone Mountains. Whatever happened, it moved the entire Empire to an unknown location."

Likewise, more scholars from Amanda's Academy entered the room, bringing rolls of documents; apparently, more reports had arrived.

"High Council, reports have arrived with urgent news from Silver Port and Elia," the academy scholar spoke, handing several reports to an aide of Gallio, who passed them to him.

"Your Majesty, the Lord of Silver Port reports that the archipelago is intact and that they also felt the day's tremor and darkness. Otherwise, its inhabitants are fine, besides..." Gallio explained to Azrael, who was very focused on being informed of everything happening, "Besides what, Gallio? Say it."

Gallio sighed, unable to comprehend how this was happening, "Lord Jestrik, from what he mentioned in these texts, says that the archipelago was united from a large expanse of northern Sothoryos, both Wyvern Point and several miles of jungle, but that to the south, the jungle ends and gives way to beaches and sea, much like what happened to the mainland."

Azrael momentarily went blank, not understanding what was happening and why. He felt the High Council room become much larger than it was. At the same time, the voices in the room faded away.

His Majesty.

A thousand fanciful thoughts were running through his head, each one crazier than the last, and none could provide an answer to what was going on, for what could explain the entire Xandarian Empire being detached from Essos and left in who knows what place?

His Majesty.

It could very well be interference from some unknown god. General Micaela had brought reports from Valyria that told from the last inhabitants of that place what had happened sometime before its destruction, relating divine intervention in the destruction of Valyria. It didn't seem far-fetched to claim that a god had something to do with what was happening to Xandar.

"Your Majesty!" Gallio's voice brought Azrael out of his thoughts, making him snap out of it and concentrate on the session again, "Yes?" Azrael asked, somewhat confused. "What do you command, Your Majesty?"

Becoming serious again, Azrael regained control of his body, knowing that he could not lose control of himself in this crisis. So, rising from his seat, he commanded the attention of the more than one hundred people in the room.

"I know the situation is confusing! We don't know what's going on. We only know the consequences of what happened left us. For the moment, we are only expected to continue gathering information of the situation, mobilize emergency responses throughout the Empire if needed, and stay alert with the army on a war footing if necessary," Azrael spoke with confidence and firm voice, conveying serenity and calmness to everyone, "once enough information of what happened is gathered, another session will be adjourned as soon as possible, meanwhile, let's all see to maintain control and internal security."

"For Xandar." Azrael finished speaking and then rang the bell again, which he had rung at the beginning of the session, ending the meeting. He was dismissed by a chorus from everyone, "For Xandar!"

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Days after the High Council chamber debacle, the entire Empire was still confused about the future. All contact with the rest of the world had disappeared, the caravans of traders from the free cities no longer visited Xandar, the Sand Pass, one of the three ancient roads that connected the west and east of the Bone Mountains, and the only one that was enabled after Azrael ordered the closure of the Steel Pass and the Stone Pass, no longer connected with Yi Ti or any other city. It only reached an extensive beach in front of the sea.

The newspapers reported on the relevant investigations regarding the interior of the Empire, but it was still early, and nothing was known about what happened to Xandar.

The situation was precarious. There was no Qohor or Volantis to the west, Yi Ti to the east, or Ibben to the north; the Xandarian Empire was alone.

The important thing was that Xandar could fend for itself; it did not need the free cities to exist, but the fact of being in a new and unknown place was the alarm in itself, one that kept the members of the High Council and the Privy Council in constant meetings, to come up with answers that would reveal explanations of what was going on.

The Wyvern riders found no land nearby, only sparse uninhabited islets. Even Azrael had ventured out with Endoxes to investigate and try to find something, but he only saw the sea, and due to the unknown territory, he was not motivated to go far away.

However, the long-awaited contact finally happened at the beginning of the seventh day after losing contact with Essos.

The day had begun as usual. The people had been getting used to the loss of proximity to the free cities of Qohor and Volantis and the loss of trade between Tharlan and Ibben.

And what had followed as an ordinary day ended the tranquility when more than eight huge ships managed to be spotted from a distance, causing the calm to be shattered, with reports reaching nearby cities and alarming the forces stationed near Tharlan.

From Vaes Dothrak, three legions were mobilized northward with the help of trains connecting the entire Empire. At the same time, nearby witches and evokers were put on standby to gather information from the crews of the approaching ships.

One of those witches was Valka, who was in Karamirk when she received the news of contact with foreign forces. This forced her to leave what she was doing and fly on her wyvern to Tharlan.

The ships that arrived off the shores of Tharlan were utterly different from those seen before. They were much more significant than any vessel seen, surpassing the Xandarian ships, which were twice the size. This indicates that they were quite possibly some unknown and powerful kingdom or empire.

The eight huge ships had kept a safe distance from the coast as they were intercepted by the Xandarian ships stationed on the northern coast of the Empire. Valka boarded one of the ships, determined not to miss anything.

The banners of those ships were unfamiliar, with only a red dot on a white background, something that, in Valka's opinion, was simple and vague. Nevertheless, the ships were strange, but not for that reason, very well-built at first glance.

From a distance, several decks could be seen, as well as several weapons located on the deck, which could be some scorpions.

After arriving close to the nearest foreign ship, a loud voice could be heard, speaking in a language very similar to that used by the Jhogos Nhai, albeit with a strange accent. This signaled that communication could take place, beginning a new chapter in the tribulations that Xandar would have to go through.

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