Progress

Maximus envisioned a city that not only held grand structures and sprawling marketplaces, but also wide-open areas for horses to roam freely, an homage to the Dothraki's nomadic roots. There would be an expansive arena, a place for combat and feasts alike, mirroring Vaes Dothrak's Dosh Khaleen.

His plans also included proper fortifications, something the Dothraki weren't accustomed to, but under his leadership were learning its importance. Stone walls would surround their city, tall watchtowers would rise above the skyline, a clear sign of their power and resilience.

For him a grand palace would be constructed on one of the many coastlines as its own separate area from the rest of the city. Around the palace would be its own waterway with bridges that connected the main city to the Palace. The Palace itself would sit atop a hill with the surrounding area being barracks for soldiers, important characters, and buildings for throwing feasts and such.

Outside of the city would be farmlands, barracks, and more houses for people to live in. Of course, all of this was not going to be completed within 5 years. The city would continue to be under construction for the years to come but will be able to support a population of well over 5 million people.

There would be a stadium for horse racing/fighting among other entertaining activities which would become a good way for the Dothraki to entertain themselves and still hold on to their ancient customs. Separate from that would be another Arena just for fighting. It would be located near the Eastern Gate of the city and be one of the first places that people see when they enter the city.

The city would be called Heaven's Reach, a name that captured both the ambition of its creator and the awe-inspiring vastness of the Great Grass Sea it overlooked. Maximus's vision for Heaven's Reach was not merely as a city, but as a beacon for the birth of a new civilization.

A hub for commerce, culture, and community to thrive. The city would have districts dedicated to trades, arts, academia, faith and more, each one meticulously planned and organized to support the people.

Construction began at the dawn of the next day. Scores of Dothraki under the guidance of stonemasons and carpenters delved into their tasks with fervor. The once abandoned ruins of Ny Sar started to buzz with concrete action as plans started taking physical form.

He had also completed one of his quests:

[Quest completed: Find and claim a location for your Empire's Capital city]

Rewards: 20k System points

x1000 Stonemasons

x500 Carpenters

The work continued like this for a week before Maximus set off with 30,000 men to conquer the rest of the Dothraki Khalasars and become the sole Khal in charge of the Dothraki.

There was still close to 4 million Dothraki and slaves left for him to conquer within the Dothraki Sea, so together with Olorin he took his army back into the Dothraki Sea, leaving behind a garrison of 20,000 warriors and Eonwe to protect the city should an attack happen.

The Journey was long, stretching on for days that turned into weeks. They traverse the vast Dothraki Sea, riding through the plains during the day, camping beneath the vast sky at night.

Each week brought with it fresh encounters with various Khalasars who had heard of Maximus's growing power and were not pleased with him calling himself a self-proclaimed Khal. For Maximus this was perfect since he didn't want to leave any Khals left alive to challenge his authority.

Each confrontation with the standing Khals was met with fierce battle cries and galloping horses, an orchestra of war that echoed across the sea.

For every Khal that resisted, there was merciless retribution. Maximus chose not to kill them immediately, but instead challenge them to a duel in front of their followers. He would then best them in combat, showcasing his strength and dominance.

As they continued their conquests, word spread like wildfire across the Dothraki Sea about the rising power of Maximus, the self-proclaimed Khal who was uniting all Khals under his rule. His reputation preceded him, and there were even tales of smaller Khalasar's submitting without battle at his approach.

Meanwhile in Kingslanding, King Aerys II had showed a slight improvement in terms of his health as well as his sister Queen, Rhaella Targaryen. Although he still acted like his former self, he had become more rational and less prone to sudden outbursts of madness. The pyromaniacs were still under his employ, but they were no longer given free reign to ignite their wildfire wherever they pleased; a small improvement, but a significant one, nonetheless.

Prince Rhaegar Targaryen had also become a behemoth with the vigor that he had gained from Maximus's potions.

Faraday had already established a branch of the Shadowhand within Kingslanding and infiltrated the Red Keep. Faraday had also used this to keep Maximus in contact with the King who wanted to grant Maximus a reward for what he had done for the Royal family.

The King's reward came in the form of an official invitation to serve as an honored advisor within the royal court, an intriguing proposal that Maximus considered. Yet, Maximus knew he needed to tread carefully. Accepting such a role would inevitably draw attention and scrutiny from those already nestled within the tangled web of court politics.

The king's main motivation for this was because of the stories he was hearing from Varys about Maximus in Essos. He had taken over dozens of Khalasars and was becoming a rising power within Essos. On top of his potions, King Aerys wanted to secure Maximus as a potential Ally as the current year (282 AC) which had just started had made him see that a potential rebellion might happen soon enough.

And if that happened, he would need more of those potions to win the war. If Maximus was in Kingslanding then he might have forced him to take up the position, but since he was across the narrow sea in Essos, there wasn't much he could do.

Already things were taking a turn for the worse, he had just found out that his son had disappeared with Lyanna Stark, which he knew would cause problems from the North. But he wasn't worried since if they dared to do anything, then he would just burn them all.

Faraday on the other hand didn't just establish himself in Kingslanding, but also spread out to other major cities of the major houses of Westeros. He had personally met with various lords and ladies in secret while using the excuse of delivering more potions to meet with them.

He had established various contacts and created various relationships with many of them, gaining him some valuable pawns to use. He was already aware of the situation that was happening in Westeros and of the impending war and had already informed Maximus about.

The reply that he got was a list of names upon which he was to make sure are constantly watched and protected, and when needed they are to be saved from any dangers. The list wasn't long, but it was filled with some names who he already recognized as major chess pieces on his board. He made sure that each person on the list was constantly watched and their location was always known.

———

Back in Essos, Arin had expanded the pub business a great deal. Now there were more than 3 Pubs in each city bringing in money, 8 Caravans constantly moving between the Free Cities, and 2 trade fleets which had about 40 ships for each fleet. The organization was named The Silver Serpent Trading Company and had the logo of a serpent placed on everything it owned.

The Silver Serpent Trading Company had grown to such an extent that it had become a staple in the economies of the Free Cities. The employees of the company were well paid, and it was already known that if you worked for the Silver Serpent, then you were set for life.

Though this also caused problems for some workers since if they could be robbed by bandits and thieves since it was known that they had money, and there weren't enough guards in each city to protect the workers without risking the Pub. In response, Arin contracted local sellswords and mercenaries to protect the pubs and their workers in each city.

In addition to that, the Silver Serpent Trading Company continued to flourish. They started manufacturing their own goods, thereby reducing the cost of importing from other cities. They set up textile mills, blacksmithing shops, and started training people in various trades under expert guidance. The free cities began to see them not just as a trading company but as an economic powerhouse that was majorly contributing to their increased prosperity.