PREVIOUSLY.
[I stood up, resting my fingertips on the oak table.
"We shall improve the conditions of all our shipyards, seawalls, and seaports. With the imminent arrival of valuable goods from both east and west, dozens of larger, heavier ships will reach our shores every month. The sea will bring us wealth, but it will also bring the weight of the world. I want stone foundations beneath the water before the year is out. Dawn City must be prepared to welcome the entire world."
With that, I took a final sip of my tea and brought the explanation to an end. The machinery of government already had its course, and my vice-ministers, their minds teeming with projects and calculations, knew precisely what they had to do.]
One week later.
Year 14 of the SuaChie Calendar, Third Month (May 1496).
Dawn City (Santiago de Cuba, Cuba), Caribá Region (FRFI).
Chuta's Office, Stone Manor.
An exact week had passed since that heavy meeting with the vice-ministers in which we charted the future of the kingdom's bridges and seawalls, but my mind, restless by nature, had already leaped from stone and mortar to salt and sails.
I stood before the grand window of my office in the Stone Manor, arms crossed behind my back, watching the unceasing bustle of Dawn City's harbor. The previous evening, I had received the long-awaited official notification: Captain Sogeking's topsails had appeared on the horizon, and his flagship was now berthed at the deepwater docks.
Regrettably, the bureaucracy of an expanding kingdom has no regard for personal eagerness; an endless session on agricultural tariffs and port dues had forced me to postpone our meeting until this morning.
Now, as the hourglass on my desk dropped its final grains of sand, I found myself tapping my boot rhythmically against the floor, expectant.
My plan for today was quite simple: I intended to reprimand him with all the severity my office afforded for his latest unauthorized incursions. Yet, in the quiet depth of my thoughts, I knew that reprimand was a mere theatrical formality.
What I truly felt was a swell of overwhelming pride and an immense desire to congratulate him. His achievements in the maritime exploration of the Dawn Ocean were, quite simply, monumental.
I turned away from the window and walked over to the central table, where a scroll of parchment lay unrolled, held down by bronze weights. It was one of his latest cartographic drafts.
I reflected in silence on how Sogeking—and in particular the group of learned scholars, cartographers, and naturalists he always insisted on taking aboard—had transformed our understanding of the world.
With every voyage, he returned with an overwhelming avalanche of maritime data: precise nautical charts, current logs, and coastal maps. Without explicitly setting out to do so, that obsessive work had elevated the safety of every captain in the kingdom; today, our merchant fleets sailed the seas with a certainty European navigators could scarcely dream of.
Yet, as I traced one of the routes annotated in the map's margin with my finger, a pang of worry tightened in my chest. Sogeking was becoming far too attached to the sea.
He spent less and less time on dry land; urban life and the kingdom's formalities seemed to stifle him, as though his true homeland were no longer Suaza soil, but the wooden deck swayed by the swell. I feared he would ultimately turn into a ghost of salt, beyond the reach of those of us who governed from the shore.
Two sharp knocks on the solid wood door cut through my train of thought.
"Leader Chuta," my assistant's voice announced from the threshold after leaning half his body in, "Captain Sogeking and Admiral Nygua request permission to enter."
"Send them in," I ordered, straightening my posture and adopting a suitably stern expression.
Two minutes later, the footfalls of both officers echoed across the polished stone floor of the office. The pair's entrance was a study in fascinating contrasts.
Sogeking wore an outfit that anyone in Central City would categorize as European in style, though in truth it was perfectly adapted to the rigor and agility of life at sea.
He wore a loose white cotton shirt, comfortable for maneuvering among the shrouds, adorned at the collar and cuffs with understated sun and moon embroideries in navy thread—emblems representing the unity of the kingdom's army and navy.
His trousers, broad and loose to allow easy movement, were cinched firmly at the calves with tanned leather straps and secured at the waist by a wide belt with a blued-iron buckle.
From that belt hung a slender sword, a singular piece whose design I had personally introduced based on the boarding sabers I recalled from my past life: a thin, single-edged blade, nimble and subtly curved, engineered for swift, lethal swordsmanship within the cramped confines of a ship's deck.
Beside him, Admiral Nygua embodied the institutional dignity of the Suaza Navy at its absolute pinnacle.
He wore a far more formal attire suited to the gravity of his rank: a long, open coat of deep naval blue, revealing beneath it a pristine white cotton shirt buttoned to the collar with polished horn buttons. His trousers were cut with much sharper definition and precision than his subordinate's, free of extra straps or slack, projecting an almost aristocratic elegance.
Yet it was a subtle detail on their belts that caught my eye—a small distinction that, as I caught in Sogeking's sidelong glance, irked the captain far more than he would ever admit aloud.
Both carried the same style of boarding saber, but Nygua's hilt was forged in gleaming gold, crowned by a radiant sun carved into the pommel; Sogeking's, by contrast, was matte silver with the relief of a crescent moon. A difference in rank forged in metal, separating the strategist who commanded the fleet from the navigator who executed the orders.
"Welcome, gentlemen. Please, take a seat," I greeted them in a steady voice, gesturing toward the leather armchairs set near my desk.
Both acknowledged the greeting, though their gestures betrayed their polar natures.
Sogeking, displaying the familiarity and trust forged over a thousand informal conversations with me, offered a broad grin, nodded casually, and sank into the nearest armchair with an almost brazen ease, resting an ankle over his knee.
Nygua, on the other hand, executed a crisp bow from the waist with military precision and sat with his back straight, hands resting elegantly upon his thighs, his face composed in solemn attention.
Giving them no time to settle completely, I decided to cut straight to the point. Hardening my features, I leaned against the edge of my desk with arms crossed and fixed my gaze on the moon-hilted navigator.
"Sogeking," I began, letting a sharp, accusatory tone permeate my voice, "I have a long memory, and command logs do not lie. I recall with crystal clarity warning you, explicitly and prior to setting sail, not to navigate the waters south of Guanza Quyca."
Admiral Nygua, seated beside him, nodded slowly in silence, endorsing my interrogation with the gravity of his station.
Sogeking straightened his posture somewhat, his nonchalant smile vanishing instantly. He opened his hands in a defensive gesture and tried to speak. "Chuta… Sir, if I may clarify the situation regarding the currents in that region, my men and I—"
"I am not finished, Captain," I cut him off sharply, taking a step toward him to emphasize the weight of the reprimand. "Your final direct orders were to patrol, chart, and secure the northern route of the Dawn Ocean. It was a mission of security and commercial sovereignty. So, explain to me, Sogeking: what in the world were your sails doing so far south? And how is it possible that your navigator's preliminary report notes your vessel was dodging floating chunks of ice in southern waters?"
The captain shut his mouth, swallowing hard. He knew full well where I was heading, but I was not about to give him quarter. I walked back to my desk and leaned against the edge, crossing my arms.
"Because of your fascination with southern ice," I continued, dropping my voice to an icy register, "the Portuguese have advanced with utter impunity. Our intelligence networks indicate they have pushed even farther south, and it is highly likely they intend to map a route completely rounding the south of Guanza Quyca. Worse still… English ships navigated northern waters attempting to reach North Quyca just two years ago. They sailed right under our noses, Sogeking. In the very sea you were tasked to guard."
Sogeking lowered his eyes to the polished floorboards. For a moment, all that indomitable, oceanic energy defining him crumbled away. He was at a loss for words. He was prepared for a scolding over disobeying exploratory routes, but not to bear the geopolitical burden of leaving a doorway open for the Europeans.
The silence in the office grew stifling. I knew, as did he, that he had not set foot in northern waters for over two years out of sheer obsession with the mysteries of the south. Guilt surfaced on his sun-hardened face; his hands, resting on his thighs, clenched into tight fists.
I shifted my gaze to Nygua. The admiral maintained his unyielding posture, but his dark eyes reflected a quiet, strict approval. To a career officer like Nygua, disobedience was a cardinal sin, and seeing the brilliant yet rebellious Sogeking cornered by the consequences of his actions offered him a sense of satisfaction.
I held the pressure for a few seconds more, letting the lesson take root. Then, letting out a measured sigh, I uncrossed my arms, my expression softening entirely.
"That being said…" I shifted tone so abruptly that Sogeking snapped his head up, completely off-balance. "I must thank you, Captain."
Sogeking blinked, confusion etched across every feature of his face. "Sir?"
"All the work you and your experts have carried out over these past two years is monumental," I confessed, offering a faint smile I could no longer suppress. "By straying from course, you managed to chart the southern coasts with terrifying precision—both of South Quyca and the imposing Guanza Quyca. And not only that; the reports from your onboard ambassadors speak of solid initial connections with the native peoples of both continents. These are bonds the kingdom will undoubtedly capitalize on in the near future… You have given us the key to the southern world."
Nygua, beside me, let out an almost imperceptible breath and rolled his eyes with subtle elegance. His face wore that unmistakable look of "I knew he wasn't actually going to punish him."
Nygua knew my weakness for discovery and the expansion of knowledge; to me, the worth of those maps far eclipsed the insolence of his disobedience.
I pushed off the desk and walked to the window, turning my back on them for a moment as I gazed out at the vast maritime horizon.
"However, rules are rules, and disobedience demands discipline," I announced, turning around slowly. "As punishment for your negligence in the north, I have decided to assign you the most harrowing and grueling mission this kingdom has ever conceived. It will be a logistical nightmare. A challenge even more difficult and dangerous than that time you braved the seas aboard the first Tequendama I, with all the damned structural and rudder flaws that ship suffered back then."
Sogeking leaned forward. The guilt had vanished from his eyes, replaced by a feverish gleam. The mere mention of an impossible challenge was the only fuel his spirit required. I had no desire to prolong the agony of suspense.
"Pronounce sentence at once, Great Leader. I am ready. What must I do?"
I fixed my eyes upon him, savoring the moment both of us had anticipated for years.
"I am tasking you with circumnavigating the entire globe. You shall set sail toward the west and return from the east. It is high time the Kingdom of Suaza beholds the full majesty of the sphere the gods have granted us."
Sogeking did not react with the outrage expected of a man condemned to oceanic exile. Quite the contrary—he sprang to his feet as though launched by a spring. The silver hilt of his saber clattered against his leg. He was ecstatic, his breathing hurried, a wild grin splitting his face.
It was precisely what I had secretly promised him after his first successful expedition to Guanza Quyca… It was his golden dream.
I glanced sideways at Nygua. The strict admiral made no move to protest the "lenient" sentence. Though he deeply resented Sogeking's disregard for the chain of command and established regulations, Nygua was a pragmatic man.
He knew better than anyone the monstrous capability of the captain standing before him. After all, that was the reason Sogeking wore at his hip that silver-hilted saber carved with the moon—a weapon that, by right and rank, only vice admirals of the navy were permitted to carry. He had earned it by defying the sea and vanquishing it time and time again.
I raised a hand to stem the obvious frenzy threatening to send Sogeking sprinting toward the docks that very instant.
"Calm yourself, Captain. You will not plunge blindly into the abyss," I warned, forcing him to pay attention. "As you must know by now, the expeditions across the Sunset Ocean have been remarkably fruitful while you were playing with ice. The kingdom has already established a firm foothold and port presence in the waters of Xiefiba Quyca. You will have friendly harbors on the far side of the world. A voyage that five years ago would have been certain suicide is now strategically far more viable. I need you to confer with the vice-ministers to—"
"With all due respect, Great Leader," Sogeking interrupted, waving a hand in the air as if swatting away a fly, his eyes fixed on a horizon only he could see within the confines of the office. "Leave the provisions, the calculation of the Xiefiba Quyca currents, and the port logistics to my researchers and quartermasters. They delight in those parchments."
He took a step toward my desk, placing both hands flat on the wood, looking at me with the intensity of a predator poised to strike. "I only need to know one thing, Chuta. When do we set sail?"
I paused at length, slowly leaning back into the crest of my chair. Interlacing my fingers over my stomach, I quietly observed the captain's feverish expression. The muffled calls of seagulls and the creaking of rigging drifted up from the harbor through the open window, filling the air with the promise of the open sea.
Most of the time, whenever I commissioned a new expedition, Sogeking had to endure the agony of waiting several months. Assembling provisions, caulking hulls, and recruiting proper hands was no easy task.
Yet for this particular undertaking, I had pulled the strings well in advance. Still, witnessing the inveterate navigator's desperation to throw himself into the waves, I could not resist the temptation to torment him just a little longer.
"Well," I began, drawing out my words with deliberate slowness, "we require vast stores of salted meat, citrus to stave off scurvy, barrels of treated fresh water, gunpowder, spare canvas…"
Sogeking drummed his fingers against my desk, his eyes darting from one corner of the room to another, as if he might conjure the supplies right then and there. "All of that can be handled quickly, Great Leader. My boys will work day and night if I ask it of them."
"I know," I grinned with quiet malice. "Which is why, if your crew is truly prepared, you will weigh anchor in two weeks."
Sogeking blinked, his fingers freezing. His face shifted from anxiety to utter astonishment in a fraction of a second. "Two… two weeks? Are you serious?"
"Entirely," I confirmed, straightening up and resting my elbows on the wood. "The logistical preparations were completed months ago, behind the scenes under my direct orders. Had it been according to my original schedule, you would have weighed anchor early this year. But there was a slight delay due to… let us say, your 'chilly southern adventures.'"
The captain's enthusiasm faltered abruptly. He lowered his gaze, rubbing the back of his neck in a gesture heavy with guilt. He knew full well that his obsession with the ice had delayed the single greatest maritime milestone of our kingdom. Beside him, Nygua let out an imperceptible huff of disdain, elegantly crossing his legs.
"In fact," I added, shifting to a far more serious tone, "the storehouses are full. You could set sail tomorrow at dawn. But there is one fundamental thing you and your sailors must do first, and that is what will take these two weeks."
Sogeking knitted his brow, intrigued. "What could possibly cause such a delay if the holds are already stocked?"
I held his gaze, delivering the stroke. "You need to change ships."
The mere mention of those words silenced Sogeking as though the breath had been stolen from his lungs. Beside him, Nygua nodded with solemn conviction, endorsing my decision.
"No!" Sogeking protested instantly, taking a step back as if struck physically. "My King of Shooters can still sail any sea, Great Leader! That ship is my soul—it survived the fiercest storms and the southern ice! Don't ask me to—"
"The King of Shooters has fulfilled its duty," I cut him off in a sharp, decisive voice, raising a hand to stem his outburst. "And it did so with honor. But to sail around the world, to cross waters that appear on no map, I require a ship in peak condition, not a miracle of floating timber."
Admiral Nygua intervened then, his deep voice echoing through the office with the chill of a medical diagnosis.
"Your maintenance logs do not lie, Captain. The hull of your vessel suffers severe structural damage. We know that several sections below the waterline have been 'patched' at sea using questionable methods. In the Dawn Ocean, that is a tolerable risk; but subjecting such a structure to the stress of a circumnavigation could mean the absolute loss of your crew."
Sogeking opened his mouth to deny the claims, but shut it immediately. He clenched his jaw, staring intently at the hilt of his saber. He knew in his heart that the admiral spoke absolute truth. The King of Shooters was mortally wounded and needed rest.
Seeing his shoulders slump in honest resignation, I decided to ease his burden.
"Your ship will not be abandoned in port to rot, Sogeking. You have my word. It will be moved into the royal dry docks this very day. While you are away, it will be fully repaired and restored using royal treasury funds. It will be waiting for you when you return."
The captain's face lit up once more. The tension drained from his body in a long sigh. He knew all too well how astronomically expensive it was to repair damage on a ship of that size, and having the royal treasury backing him was an invaluable gift. He brought his right fist to his chest and offered me a deep bow.
"Thank you, Chuta… Great Leader. I do not know how to repay you for this." He straightened up, the spark of curiosity reigniting in his dark eyes. "So then… what will be my flagship for this voyage?"
I stood and walked over to the drafting table, unrolling a parchment detailing a design from our finest shipyards.
"It will be the Going Marry," I announced, sliding my hand over the technical drawing. "A Yaguar-class vessel."
Sogeking's eyes widened. The Yaguar class was the crowning jewel of recent naval engineering, built for matchless speed and maneuverability.
"And you will not sail alone," I continued. "You will be escorted by two light-variant Tequendama I vessels, guaranteeing both agility and firepower along the way."
The captain accepted with excitement, without uttering a single word of complaint. I knew he had been dying for a long time to test the devilish speed of the Yaguar class.
"In addition to these three," I added, rolling up the map, "Tequa will command a standard-variant Tequendama I, heavily armed to escort you until you reach Discovery City."
Sogeking's mouth formed a perfect "O" of understanding.
"No wonder!" he exclaimed. "Now I understand why that bastard Tequa left our crew a little over a year ago. You had surely given him his orders in secret already."
"Preparations take time, Captain," I winked.
We spent the next few minutes outlining the more bureaucratic details.
I communicated to Nygua the final arrangements regarding the garrisons remaining in Dawn City, and outlined the general geopolitical objectives of the expedition with Sogeking. Once everything was clear, I concluded the meeting.
Both men gave a martial bow and prepared to leave. Yet just as Nygua was opening the heavy oak door and Sogeking was about to cross the threshold, I spoke once more, keeping my tone casual.
"Hey, Sogeking… one last thing."
The captain paused and turned his head.
"Yes, Great Leader?"
"Did you truly round the south of Guanza Quyca?"
Sogeking froze. It was like watching a child caught red-handed with his arm in the candy jar. Slowly, he turned his entire body back toward me. Cold sweat broke out on his brow, his eyes darted about searching for an escape, and finally he swallowed audibly.
"W-well… I…" he stammered, unable to articulate a coherent sentence, resorting instead to nodding frantically.
Beside him, Nygua snorted in sheer fury. The admiral's nostrils flared, barely suppressing the urge to arrest him on the spot for high treason and ongoing insubordination.
Sogeking raised his hands in a conciliatory gesture, wearing a nervous grin as he backed into the corridor.
"It was the winds, Great Leader!" he excused himself in a piteous, half-joking tone. "I swear it by the gods! The currents drove us; I didn't want to go down there! I tried to turn the wheel, but… the wind is terribly stubborn!"
I couldn't help myself and burst into a bright, booming laugh that echoed throughout the office. I waved a hand, dismissing them from my sight. Sogeking went sprinting down the corridor, and Nygua closed the door with a tense bow.
As I sat back down in my chair, I was still laughing, knowing full well that dark look on Nygua's face meant Sogeking was in for an extra—and exceedingly severe—reprimand at navy headquarters here in Dawn City.
.
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[A/N: CHAPTER COMPLETED
Hello everyone.
Thank you all for your support.
I realized that in the note for the previous chapter I said 'I don't have much to say' and I ended up writing a lot.
Here I'll just say that there will be chapters about Sogeking's journey. My only question is whether to link them to each chronological point, meaning a couple of chapters at a time, or publish them all at once at the end of his journey.
I'm thinking of including some details about small ethnic groups or even kingdoms that Sogeking visits, or perhaps just focusing on the journey itself. Or why not, both?]