24 Chapter Twenty-Four: Empires Fall and Empires Rise.
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I didn't like this chapter, but it was necessary to write it, although there are important things in it not to lose them, another thing, the west part of the city I created it, as well as the east part that will be shown in future chapters, it took me two days to do it but I would believe that my efforts were worth it.
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~~~Viewpoint: Azrael Sanchez; second moon, 276 AC~~~
'Come on, one more and the inner part of the city will be done' I thought, as I placed rows and rows of mother blocks.
After the conquest of Astapor, I got quite busy, and I wanted to use the location of the city, as it was in a very strategic part, close to the free cities and the eastern part of Essos, very close to Qarth, Yi Ti, the summer islands and Asshai.
Astapor had been badly destroyed after the sacking, from which cattle, tons of gold, grain, and even expensive real estate had been obtained.
It was thanks to this that I did not worry about feeding all the people who were now under my command, which, after a census that lasted four days, was documented at two hundred and seventy thousand people.
With the help of the tags, I created a kind of identification card that showed the name, occupation, and serial number.
With this label, people could do many things. From applying for jobs in the city if they showed their label and the knowledge they possessed, to receiving a monthly pay of two gold coins only if they were a citizen of the city and held a government job.
Something that had been put into operation, was the so-called Colfree, which were banknotes and coins. The banknotes used materials such as leather, wool, and cotton, and with the hard work of the furriers, they managed to make the first banknotes in this world, their design was not very exaggerated, plus they were not large, being able to fit comfortably in the palm without having to fold them, plus thanks to its manufacturing materials, they were very durable.
Their designs varied since their denominations ranged from 1, 5, and 10. In addition to the number located in the upper right part of it, in the center of it was embroidered my face with the help of the loom, and they were of three colors: gold, silver, and brown.
The colors were used to distinguish which group the banknotes belonged to, whether bronze, silver, or gold coins.
And unlike the confusing and difficult-to-understand monetary system used in Westeros, I decided to use a quick and easy convention.
It was as follows: thirty copper coins were worth one silver coin, and fifteen silver coins were worth one gold coin. Thus, the exchange of goods and payments for labor moved splendidly.
"And that's it!" I exclaimed, managing to see how the city walls were finished.
If I was right, it had been five months or moons since Astapor fell, during which time I had spent making the first part of the city, which would be protected by a great wall made of mother block.
The walls, reaching fifty meters, and about twenty meters wide, created an amazing sight, magnified by the block with which they were made. Being unbreakable, I knew that in Minecraft it was impossible to break unless you were in creative mode, and while I had my doubts, I also discovered that it was impossible to break even a small hole in the wall, being the only one who could do it so far.
As for the city building part, I first had to improve the terrain, and this is where the structure block worked its magic.
It was a great surprise when I discovered that the structures block was in the menu; to access it, you would need to enter a command.
But for some reason, in my case, it wasn't, and I took full advantage of it. With the block, I was able to create the wall in a matter of only three weeks, and I was able to build the western part of the city much faster.
As for the design of the city itself, I decided to build it in such a way that it was crossed by the Worm River, the same river that I widened considerably, obtaining a thickness close to that of the Amazon River, located in Colombia, approximately forty to fifty meters wide.
This divided the western part of the city into two parts: a northern part and a southern part.
It was here that I focused a lot on where to build and what not to build. In the northwest part, just after entering the three gates north of the river, I built an area that I called the pink area.
The name was attributed to the fact that it was the part where the taverns, hotels, brothels, small theaters, and circuses would be located.
After passing the pink zone, you entered the middle zone, a large housing estate where I built an endless number of five-story houses to house people with higher incomes.
Near the middle zone were also the city's two huge blacksmith shops, large buildings with black walls and red roofs, about the size of two stadiums each.
Past the smithies, one would find the shipyards, which had a large dock that could hold at least thirty ships the size of galleons.
(Image)
Already in the southwest part of the city, which was connected to the northwest part by four large bridges, was the place where I decided to build two military posts near the southern gates, which were divided by a building called Custom, a place that would meet all foreigners entering the western part of the city, as no foreigner could enter through the gates north of the river.
Past that part, one would come upon Central Park, an immense natural park that is close to the green zone, an area where two large coliseums have been built, whether for tournaments, annual city festivals, or the occasional carnival.
Next to Central Park were Amanda's Academy and the Arcane Center.
The former was a huge building specializing in providing education of all kinds to children and the elderly.
As for the arcane center, it was the place of convention for witches and evokers, beings who specialized in the investigation of the magic of this world, as well as the place where all the potions that people needed were distributed, such as potions for ailments, for not getting pregnant, and endless other various diagnoses. Yes, potions of human enhancement were forbidden by me to be accessible to the public.
Very close to the Arcane Center and Amanda's academy, was the upper zone, a place for the richest people in the city, although to live there, you would need my permission.
And finally, very close to the upper area, was my castle, a gigantic fortress, perhaps three times the size of Harrenhal, although as I had never been there, I couldn't be sure.
But what I was sure of, was the magnificence of what I called my home, a light brown concrete fortress, with a light red roof, with access to a private dock and a zoo for royalty access only. As I was the only one there so far, I pretty much spent most of my time alone, apart from his workers and the few animals he had.
But perhaps what I changed the most, was to create a large mountain range within the sea that protruded from sea level to an impressive seventy meters. This mountain range had a large opening, through which ships could pass and enter the fjord, a huge deep lake where ships could reach and enter the city from the sea and pass through the middle of the river worm, which was now called the pink river, the product of the thousands of pink leaves that fell from the cherry trees that grew on both sides of the river.
(Image)
The city was complete, or at least part of it, and though the city itself was two-thirds the size of the crown lands in Westeros, I still didn't feel I had enough of it, not least because there were still many parts to be built, such as forests, mines, farmlands and so on.
But I wouldn't do that today; I was already very tired, and while a rehabilitation potion might fix that, I was still left with a slight dizziness for several hours, so I didn't want to strain my mind too much.
So, flying in the direction of the castle, I arrived in about ten minutes. This far away were the castle walls, something that spoke volumes about the ridiculously immense size of the city I had built, but that part gave me pleasure, thinking that maybe that's how Bran the builder felt when he erected those great constructions of old.
Arriving at the castle, I landed slowly, as one day I hadn't measured my speed and almost ended up as a watermelon when I hit the ground. I had to take two regeneration potions to heal my broken arms and broken hip and collarbone. It was not a good experience.
(Complete image of the western part of the city)
