Chapter 49: The New Astapor
Astapor had changed. The once-decaying city, with its red-bricked towers coated in dust, had found a new pulse—a rhythm of life it had never known before. Under Daenerys's rule and the guidance of individuals like Arren, the city was transforming, not through battles, but through quiet innovation. What set this reborn Astapor apart were the unique inventions Arren had introduced—subtle, practical, and tailored to the needs of a city crawling out from under the shadow of slavery.
Arren's approach was not to impose grand ideas but to work with what was available in the time, place, and culture. Materials were limited, but creativity was not. He focused on improving the daily lives of the citizens, aiming to make their hard-won freedom sustainable and prosperous. What emerged was a collection of inventions that would not only change Astapor but, in time, influence all of Essos.
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#### **The Marketplace: A Silent Revolution**
Where slaves were once bought and sold, the marketplace was now alive with goods and innovations. Vibrant stalls with colorful awnings shaded items like spices, silks, and grains. But the real transformation was not in the goods, but in how they were transported. Arren introduced an innovation suited perfectly to the needs of a bustling marketplace—the **modular push-cart**.
Unlike traditional wheelbarrows, these carts had detachable containers that could be swapped out quickly, allowing vendors to transport multiple types of goods without having to return to their stalls. The carts were made from wood and reinforced with local metals, using rubber harvested from nearby jungles to coat the wheels for smoother movement on Astapor's uneven roads. Vendors could now move efficiently, cutting down labor by half.
Hakim, an old spice merchant, marveled at the change. "I used to break my back every day carrying these sacks. Now I can haul twice as much, and in less time. I never thought something as simple as this could make such a difference."
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#### **Water and the Art of Irrigation**
Astapor had always been plagued by water shortages. Wells ran dry quickly, and the labor to draw water was exhausting. Arren's next gift to the city was a basic **aqueduct system**, constructed from local stone and designed to channel water from the distant, cleaner streams into cisterns around the city. However, instead of large, complex structures, Arren used a **gravity-fed piping system** that was simple, but innovative.
He repurposed materials from dismantled slave pens and redirected them into a network of underground pipes, bringing water closer to where it was needed most. For the first time, the people of Astapor could access fresh water without hours of hauling it in buckets.
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#### **The Windmill for Flour: A Game-Changer**
The laborious task of grinding grain was an all-day affair in Astapor, done by hand with millstones. Arren changed that by designing a **windmill**, something rarely seen in Essos. Using the constant desert winds, these windmills powered simple gears that crushed grain, allowing the city to produce flour at a scale it never had before.
The materials were all local—wooden beams and clay bricks for the base, with linen sails capturing the wind. The windmill was built to withstand the harsh elements of the Ghiscari landscape and could produce enough flour to feed twice the population of the city.
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#### **Street Lighting: The Oil Lamp Network**
As night fell, Astapor used to descend into darkness. But Arren's latest invention would change that. Using oil extracted from local plants and animal fat, he designed a system of **oil lamps** that lined the main streets. The lamps were connected by a simple chain mechanism that allowed them to be lit easily at dusk, ensuring that the city's main streets remained illuminated through the night.
This innovation not only made the streets safer but also extended the city's business hours. The night markets began to thrive, creating a new layer of commerce and vibrancy in the city.
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#### **A Scholar's Perspective: Jaliq**
In one of the modest buildings near the city's edge, Jaliq, a former scribe, marveled at Arren's invention of **sandglass clocks**. They were small but accurate, measuring time in hour increments. For a city that was just learning how to govern itself, these clocks became indispensable.
Jaliq was tasked with managing the new council, formed from the freed slaves. The challenge of coordinating meetings and keeping track of daily business had been chaotic. But now, thanks to the sandglass clocks, Astapor's administration was functioning with newfound precision.
"This is not just a timekeeper," Jaliq mused. "It's a tool that gives order to our lives, one grain of sand at a time."
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#### **The Future: A Glimpse of What's to Come**
Arren's work in Astapor was far from complete. His mind was already buzzing with ideas for further inventions, from more efficient farming tools to larger-scale irrigation systems that could turn the desert into fertile land. He envisioned a **pressurized water pump** to bring even more water from the distant rivers, and perhaps even **glazed ceramic pipes** for sanitation.
Astapor was not only a city reborn, but a city ahead of its time, where innovation was shaping its future.