Cursed tales

Lord commander Qorgyle eyed the stained parchment in his hands, finding the contents hard to believe. It was a follow up missive from commander Urrigon. It was the third and latest to come in after the previous one where the foreigners had suddenly shown themselves.

Honestly, if he didn't personally know Urrigon from his days ranging or recognize maester holt's writing by now, he would've wondered if a learned wildling had broken into the castle, written a silly letter of Grumpkins and Snarks and sent it to waste his time.

That was much more believable than the current correspondence he was having with Eastwatch-by-the-sea.

As he massaged his beard and wondered what to do in response to the message; his ears picked up on the familiar clinks and shuffling coming from outside the room.

"Enter." He invited him in without waiting for maester to knock.

The door was opened and in came a black brother escorting his elderly charge. If he wasn't so shocked by what was happening at the eastern shore, he would've marveled at how old the almost completely blind maester was.

"So you're finally ready to tell me what's been eating at you." The old man spoke as the room was cleared.

He nodded instinctually. "I've been receiving troubling missives from Eastwatch. I can't make sense of them, or rather, I struggle to believe them."

The old man stared at him, though Qorgyle was certain the learned man could barely see his figure at the moment.

"What could you have heard to trouble you so Tremond?"

"Almost a moon ago, Urrigon sent brothers to Skagos to trade for furs. When the men came back, they told wild tales of a sail-less stone ship in the Skagosi docks and Yitish men garbed in crimson furs among the Skagosi." He paused in hopes the maester had something to say.

"Sail-less Stone ships? Floating and cruising atop the seas?"

Qorgyle almost chuckled, the old man heard so much outlandish things but pondered on the sailing ability of the ship. "The Captain of the storm crow claimed he spoke with Skagosi and was told these Fire or Burning men came to the island moons ago. The few which were seen are guests of house Stane. The majority of them apparently reside somewhere along the northeastern shores of the island."

"Did they speak with these 'burning' men?" The Maester asked.

"Yes, though they claim the speech of the strangers was rough and conversation was tedious even with a native speaking for them."

"How do we know they are Yitish? Did they say they were from Yiti?"

"Not at all. For all the matter they could be from Leng or further east. When questioned on what they were doing on the island, the foreigners claimed they were seeking asylum from some storm that blew them of course."

"What's more the brothers claimed these men rode atop large birds, traded strange wares and creatures with the Skagosi." Tremond Qorgyle added.

There was a pause as the Maester contemplated before speaking. "I find it hard to believe these people are from Yiti or even neighbouring nations. The peoples of the distant East are rarely seen in the West much less near the shivering sea.

"The Yitish in particular dislike traveling too far from their golden empire. It seems these individuals are of a different group entirely. Of course, they could be lying about their origins, however there are no known lands in the world where creatures and crafts you described exist."

"Haah..." He nodded and sighed.

"If that's the case then perhaps this most recent missive on the claims of these strangers is true." Qorgyle caught himself almost offering the missive to the nearly blind old man.

"Hmm? How so?" If the aged maester noticed the embarrassing gesture with what little eyesight he still possessed, he didn't show it.

"These... 'Burning men' are now claiming to be unfamiliar with all the landmasses, seas and peoples of the world. When shown maps of both the east and west, they claimed to be clueless. They claim no knowledge of the Jade or Summer seas and no allegiance to Yiti or Leng." The Commander looked up from the missive as the Maester digested his words.

"It seems we have quite the mystery on our hands Lord commander. " The shrunken Targaryen said in the end.

"That we do... I'm afraid it'll continue to be that way until they arrive and we can get a measure of them ourselves." Tremond dropped the report onto his desk.

Aemon perked up at his words. "Oh, they plan to travel to castle black?"

"Aye. Apparently, they wish to speak with both Lord Stark and myself."

"That would make sense, they are living in his territory after all. Have you written to Winterfell?"

Qorgyle shook his head redundantly, "No, not until I've seen these strangers in the flesh."

(-)

Weeks later, across the sea, attendants made the final adjustments as the council members strolled in and took their seats. All were dressed in exquisite silk robes as they had no fear of the bitter chill which prevailed just outside the building.

Not with the pressurized steam being circulated throughout the building.

"All rise for the prince!" The royal announcer heralded the prince's approach.

The council members quickly rose to their feet as the dragon of the west entered the council chambers and ascended the royal dais; sitting only after the prince settled in his seat.

"Well then, let's start this meeting off with the reports of the recent islet and coastal expeditions." The prince smiled as he looked around the room.

Admiral Feng sat up straight and raised a stack of papers to his face. "On February 17th the Sea Serpent, sailed between the islands of Skagos and Skane."

Iroh nodded; he long wished to know what lay on the island with such a dark gloomy folklore around it. The island that had so much infamy among the stone born who claimed their ancestors sailed across the seas and committed unspeakable acts upon the native population who were wiped out.

"As there was no port for the ship to pull into, the ship anchored near the shore and smaller vessels shipped exploratory personnel to the island. The first individuals were military personnel of course. They secured the area and set up preliminary facilities for which the other teams would come along."

"As the island isn't very large and relatively flat, it only took a few days for the men to scout the island's perimeter on Komodo-Dragonback. The scouts reported nothing but tumbled stones, thick vegetation and small creatures."

"Was there any evidence of the great attack the natives claimed there was?" Iroh raised his eyebrows.

"Not any that our researchers could find your highness." This time it was head geologist Wong Tu who spoke up. A skinny old man with long, grey eyebrows.

"Our geological teams did find evidence of brief human habitation due to stone and bronze tools. However, they have not found any evidence of civilization as of yet. There are no human burial sites or remains which would indicate a great battle and 'feast' occurred. It could be the case where a great battle and raid occurred on the island and the marches of time and decay has wiped away all traces."

'Hmm... it's possible the island was an outpost of some kind during the sailing days of the natives.' Iroh thought.

"What else was found?" A council member asked. It was a rather anticlimactic end to the eerie tale.

"Aside from tumbled stones and vegetation, our people have found large limestone deposits along the coastline. Unlike the volcanic main island, Skane seems to be primarily made up of sedimentary rock. Our geologist teams believe the island could serve well for quartz and limestone quarries." The old man Wong concluded his report.

"What of the coastal reports from the land beyond the Ice wall?" Iroh moved on as the matter was now settled.

"Well, my prince, this place is much more interesting." The admiral retrieved another stack of paper.

"On march 5th, the Black Eagle-Mamba pulled into the dilapidated port of the place known as hardhouse by the natives." The admiral smiled as he could barely detect the spike in the Crown prince's interest it was yet another piece of folklore about a hunted place.

Similarly to Skane, there were eerie stories of the coastal region. Apparently, it was once a place where people lived but then mysteriously, the population was butchered and the land was scorched. The natives claimed their ancestors saw light in the distance and believed the sun was also rising from the north.

"Our men had no problem landing and scouting the general area. The coast of hardhouse seems to be a natural harbour of sorts. There, the preliminary reports stated of there being nothing but overgrown wilderness and otherworldly wildlife, however later geological and biological inspection reports found remnants of homes, humans and animals." Admiral Feng paused for dramatic effect.

"-as of the time of the last report, our people have found substantial evidence of long-term human habitation in the form of wooden tools, clay pottery, human and beastly remains along with signs of burial grounds." Old man Feng finished.

"... Hmmm, it is rather amusing that there is more evidence of human habitation in the place judged to be wiped out far longer ago than Skane." Iroh hummed.

"That is to be expected your highness, judging from the evidence on hand, it's likely that there were many more people inhabiting the region for a longer time period in what seems to be a small town before whatever ruination befell it. The people of the main land are far more advanced than the natives as well." Wong Tu added.

"Has there been any clues which hint to what this catastrophe may be?" Iroh wouldn't allow his people to be endangered due to the unknown. They would need to be prepared for any hostilities; be they mystical or natural.

"Ah yes my prince, though research is still ongoing, our geologists are almost a hundred precent sure about what tragedy fell upon the original inhabitants." Wong Tu spoke up while leafing through sheets of paper.

"In fact, the disaster which struck the town is rather familiar to our people..." All the council members sat up and in interest.

"The ruined town is located beneath a great cliff pocketed with cave mouths and vents... Volcanic vents." The eyebrows of the councilmembers rose at the old geologist's words. Even those hailing from the colonies knew of the struggles and trials which would periodically plague their ancestors.

"Ongoing research has allowed my teams to be fairly certain the town was engulfed in volcanic gases and ash due to spontaneous volcanic activity at the time." A somber air covered the rom as their internal theories were confirmed.

In ages past, ghost towns were a rather common occurrence on the fire island archipelago. Spontaneous volcanic activity would lead to islands being buried beneath ash and lava over night with the inhabitants being too weak or unconscious to save themselves due to chocking fumes and smoke. Traders would leave their home island to market their wares on another; only to return to smoking volcanic slag.

"Hmmm... this is good news; the chemical and industrial departments will be glad to hear of this." Iroh commented; breaking through the gloom.

The councilmembers all nodded in response while some took notes. The fire nation denizens were resourceful as ever, they would harness the heat and gases and use them to benefit their people.

"Be sure all safety precautions are being taken." Iroh looked to Admiral Feng.

"Of course, your highness, all landbound personnel have been outfitted with gas masks and are on high alert."

"What are the resources in this area?" A heavy-set councilwoman asked.

"There is an extensive forest spreading for miles along the north-western shores and wildlife is plentiful. The waters along the coasts are similarly teeming with aquatic life. Further inland exploration is required to be certain, but we are likely to find untouched veins of valuable metals and minerals."

"We may not ability to claim the coastal area as readily as Skane and the other inlets surrounding Skagos, I can see the area being a great place of resources for the development of our people on the future your highness. The entire northern region beyond the icy walls is free for the taking." The councilmembers were all but salivating over the possibilities.

"Yes, that is true, however we will have to be mindful of the risks. Similarly to this land there are roving barbarian and savage tribes squatting in the wilderness along with otherworldly creatures we haven't encountered so far." Iroh interjected to lower their boiling excitement to a simmer. There were more treasures and resources a hand for exploitation, however they needed to move slowly and carefully.

"On a different note. What of our men on the mainland?" Another councilmember asked.

"Not much since they departed East-look for Castle Dark. The Dragon-hawkery's expecting a missive of their arrival any day now."

The much-anticipated native contact was about to occur. So far, their interactions with mainlanders have been good. And judging by the expansive and mindboggling world map they received courtesy of the Night's watch; it was paramount it stayed that way... at least for now. The plan to achieve this was to slowly introduce themselves to the native powers.

For now, the Fire nation remnant fleet would only sail at or beyond the wall until then. The Night's watch was perfect for this as they were claimed to be a neutral force on the continent.

The meeting moved on from the new lands and to internal affairs. The relations with the natives of Skagos was going well aside from the other two noble clans and their respective regions.

A member of the public relations department informed the council of the various spies they found to be lurking around. These 'spies' are believed to be from Maganr or Crowl origins.

A few of the fire nation council members laughed at the pitiful attempt. If it was one thing the fire nation was good at, it was protecting their technological secrets and rooting out spies. Firebending wasn't the only thing which made the fire nation a world superpower.

While the noble clans wasted their time and efforts trying to figure them out. The fire nation was sowing seeds of discontent around. They had discovered a dastardly practice the lords of the islands would do.

"It is called First night or One night when translated directly to our language. It is where a noble clan leader is entitled to another man's wife upon the first night of their marriage." Many of the assembled council members scrunched their faces up at the barbaric practice.

How unreasonable! The time a newly wedded couple would spend together was sacred! None could imagine this most cherished time being soured by the fresh horror of another inserting themselves.

"And the people go along with this?" Iroh asked.

"This is where our operatives have found potential for discontent my prince. While many didn't speak out, quite a few people are discontent. The practice is said to be one which the lord lobster over-indulges in."

Iroh smiled thinly at the councilman's words.