Lo Quen's heart stirred, and he nodded. "I've heard the rumors. They say that deep beneath Leng Island, terrifying ancient beings are sealed away or dwell there. Some call them demons."
"Yes… demons…"
Khiara's voice dropped even lower. "Only a true dragon can completely eradicate those demons beneath the earth and bring Leng real peace and light."
As she spoke, she moved closer, her arms resting lightly around Lo Quen's neck, admiration shining in her eyes. "And you, Your Grace… you are the True Dragon I have been waiting for."
Before Lo Quen could respond, she leaned in, her intent clear and unreserved.
Lo Quen had not expected the Empress of Leng Island to be so forthright.
Still, at such close proximity, with her presence pressing in, he could not deny the tension in the air.
For a moment, the atmosphere grew charged and intimate.
...
The next day, the rising sun swept away the last traces of night from the imperial palace of Yin.
From the great hall, Lo Quen issued an edict: the army would set out at once, marching straight for the Five Forts.
As for the matter of the Empress of Leng Island, Lo Quen promised her that once the immediate crisis before him was resolved, he would personally travel to Leng Island and help her deal with the so-called demons lurking beneath its ancient ruins.
He already had his suspicions.
From the Bloodstone Emperor, he had learned that Leng Island had once been one of the Dawn Empire's major blood-magic experimentation sites.
Those so-called "demons" were likely warped creatures left behind by ancient blood magic gone out of control, or remnants that had endured through the ages.
They were dangerous, but compared to the true threat looming ahead, still within manageable bounds.
Five days later, the massive army marched out of the now-subdued Yin.
Somewhat to Lo Quen's surprise, Empress Khiara of Leng Island personally led several thousand Leng Island warriors to accompany the campaign, claiming she wished to support him and help defend the Five Forts.
These Leng Island soldiers were poorly equipped, most wearing leather armor and carrying short spears, a far cry from the refined gear of his own legions.
Even so, Khiara's willingness to help was better than nothing.
What amused Lo Quen most was that his queens seemed to harbor little resentment toward this young empress who had once tried to claim their husband.
Perhaps it was Khiara's open and straightforward nature, or perhaps they trusted Lo Quen's judgment. In any case, the women quickly grew familiar with one another.
Khiara even blended into their circle, chatting with them about the customs and landscapes of the East, the atmosphere unexpectedly harmonious.
During the march, there was another piece of good news.
Lo Quen successfully hatched the pale green dragon egg that belonged to Myrcella.
The former princess had shed much of her childishness. Her figure was beginning to show graceful lines, and her green eyes carried the bright shyness unique to a young maiden.
After the hatchling was born, she cradled the lively young dragon, its scales a pale green like fresh leaves, and in her excitement she leaned close to Lo Quen, her joy impossible to hide. In that moment, Lo Quen sensed her deep affection.
Myrcella named her dragon "Jadeshadow."
The pale green scales shimmered beautifully alongside her clear green eyes, as though they were meant to belong together.
Buoyed by the joyful mood surrounding the young dragon's birth, the army continued its advance to the northeast.
It had to be said that the road network within Yi Ti far surpassed that of Westeros.
Beneath their feet stretched broad avenues paved with enormous marble slabs, smooth and solid.
It was said that this vast project had begun during the ancient Pearl-White Dynasty, built during the reign of the legendary God-Emperor of the Nine Eunuchs.
At first, Lo Quen had been skeptical of the tales surrounding this "eunuch emperor," but recalling how even the seemingly absurd moon myths of the Dothraki held grains of truth, it seemed unlikely that Yi Ti, famed for its long history, would fabricate such a story.
If Tyrion had been present, he would likely have sworn to its truth without hesitation.
After all, he himself was a living example of a eunuch managing the finances of Westeros with remarkable efficiency.
The army followed this ancient and durable Yi Ti road, cutting through dense, humid rainforests, crossing rolling hills, and finally entering the vast marshlands of the northeast.
The only route connecting the Yi Ti heartlands to the Five Forts was this marble road running straight through the swamps, with impassable mud and foul miasma stretching out on both sides.
The terrain reminded Lo Quen of Moat Cailin in Westeros, strikingly similar in its strategic nature.
They spent three days moving swiftly and cautiously through this perilous marshland.
As the view opened up once more, a black silhouette like a colossal pillar holding up the sky finally came clearly into sight on the distant horizon.
The Five Forts!
They stood like silent black giants, looming between Yi Ti and the vast plains beyond.
The Five Forts were first built during the era of the "Pearl Emperor" of the Great Empire of the Dawn.
According to legend, a towering black stone wall over a thousand feet high once linked the five fortresses into a single, unbreakable barrier.
However, during some unknown catastrophe in the last Long Night, those connecting walls collapsed completely. What remains today are five massive fortresses, standing alone and separated by distance.
Even so, each fortress is awe-inspiring in its own right.
Their heights generally exceed three thousand feet, far surpassing the Wall in Westeros.
The scattered ruins of the collapsed walls, in both thickness and height, dwarf the castles that sit beneath the Wall.
Lo Quen led his army to the southernmost fortress.
The garrison there was pitifully small, fewer than a thousand men. Reports suggested that the other four fortresses were in even worse condition, with all their defenders combined numbering only three to four thousand at most.
These so-called soldiers were largely exiles, prisoners, or people with nowhere left to go. Discipline was lax, and their equipment was worn and outdated.
They were less an army than a group of wretches barely clinging to survival, with almost no real defensive capability.
As they entered the empty, cold fortress, Luo Wen, a native of Yi Ti, looked around at the decayed surroundings and spoke with mixed emotions.
"Your Grace, beneath our feet is the Pearl Fortress, the foremost of the Five Imperial Cities."
"Pearl Fortress? Why is it called that?"
Lo Quen asked.
Luo Wen explained, "Legend says that the Pearl Emperor of the Great Empire of the Dawn was the first ruler to build a fortress here. After him, four other great emperors each constructed one as well. The five fortresses were named after them and collectively called the Five Imperial Cities. It is said that by the time the throne passed to the Amethyst Empress's father, the Opal Emperor, the empire had already declined and could no longer afford to build more. Thus, the Five Forts remained at five."
"The Five Imperial Cities…"
Lo Quen turned the grand name over in his mind, feeling a mix of irony and disbelief.
He knew well that the Pearl Emperor and his successors had not built the Five Forts to protect the people. More likely, after abusing blood sacrifices and creating vast numbers of uncontrollable monstrosities like chimeras, they were forced to construct these defenses to guard against their own creations turning on them.
That later generations would praise and revere such power-hungry seekers of immortality was, in itself, a sharp irony.
Yet when he truly took in the full form of the Pearl Fortress, he understood another meaning behind its name.
The entire fortress was built of massive black stone, stretching a thousand feet in both length and width. High walls and sharp-tipped towers encircled it.
At its center rose an especially imposing main tower, the highest point of the entire defensive system.
But the most striking sight of all stood on the fortress's front wall facing the Grey Waste.
Carved entirely from black stone was a colossal statue nearly a thousand feet tall.
The figure wore ancient armor, one hand resting on a massive sword planted into the ground, the other extended forward with its palm raised in a stern gesture barring passage.
The statue's most remarkable feature was its eyes, set with pearl-white gemstones.
Even beneath the overcast sky, they gave off a faint, cold glow.
Luo Wen pointed to the enormous stone gate beneath the statue, which led into the fortress interior.
"This is the statue of the Pearl Emperor. It's said that every emperor who built a fortress left behind a colossal statue of himself at its front, as a symbol of his authority and power."
Lo Quen gazed at the lonely Pearl Fortress and the vast ruins of collapsed black stone walls stretching around it, then sighed.
"It's a shame those connecting walls have all fallen. If they still stood, the Five Forts' defensive system might be even stronger and more complete than the Wall."
He thought of one of the Wall's greatest flaws: its castles were built on the southern side, with troops and supplies dependent on winches to move up and down, an extremely inefficient arrangement.
By contrast, the design of the Five Forts had once made the fortresses and walls a single integrated structure, allowing soldiers and supplies to be deployed rapidly along the ramparts. In theory, their defensive efficiency would have been far superior.