"Our story begins when the Great Empire of the Dawn once ruled over the eastern plains before the long night came and the remaining islands rose to power".
"They were once ruled by the God on earth, the only begotten son of the lion of night and the maiden of light. The rich were once carried in a palaquin carved from a single pearl and carried by a hundred queens, his wives. For ten thousand years, they flourished until he ascended to the stars to join his forebearers, and his kids' rule in turn became shorter. Beasts now hunted the Great Empire borders as the people gave themselves over to envy, lust, murder, incest, gluttony, sloth, and power".
"The daughter of the opal emperor succeeded him as the amethyst empress. Her envious brother cast her down and slew her, proclaiming himself the bloodstone emperor and beginning his reign in terror. He practiced the dark arts and cast down the true Gods to worship a black stone that had fallen from the sky( The scholars of old believed the bloodstone emperor was the first priest of the sinister church of starry wisdom), which still exists in many ports today."
"They claim it was the blood betrayal, as his usurpation is named, that ushered in the age of darkness called the long night, which ended their dynasty".
"If not for the hero who carried the flaming sword called Lightbringer, the world would not be here as of today. Many claim that the structures built in the eastern islands were because of the great empire. Their descendants have each given the hero a name that benefits their culture".
"Hyrkoon the hero"
"Azor Ahai"
"Yin tar"
"Neferion"
and lastly the "shadowcastor".
"They say after the long night, every tribe of men went its own way, fearful of all the others, war, lust, and murder still endured during those days. It is said that we may very well be the descendants of the Great Empire ourselves, for we carry the very genes and appearances of the kings".
"Yi-ti has taken to the name the golden empire. They are ruled by the Gold empress, who has two husbands from both ethnic groups. Yi-tsch live in the north and the legi from the south. Each husband is given command of the army and navy. It is punishable by death for those who wander the lost cities in Leng, for those who always return speak of rubbish and monsters of old".
"The island of Leng in the jade sea has many forests and jungles that inhabit most of its terrain. Tigers, monkeys, and apes as large as giants are said to live there. Humpback apes are as intelligent as humans, so I've been told".
"Fisher Queens once ruled the Sarnor kingdom. The last remaining queen gave birth to Huzhor Amai, the forefather of the tall men, who founded the kingdom on the river Sarne from the great silver sea. Amai was said to wear a great cloak made from the pelt of the hairy men. And took to wife one of the great lord's daughters from Zoqora, she drove his chariot and his other wife from Cymmer, crafted his armor".
"Women in that region can fight in battle as they ride their husbands' chariots. They trade with Yi ti, leng, and many others because they explored the shivering sea by ship, reaching the thousands of Islands and Moscow. They fight with the Qaathi people, but not much is known".
{Everything here is from YouTube, and the credit goes to them and the creator. I tried my best to summarize all that I could. Now you will be reading quotes from the book. Everything I've written will make sense in later chapters. After I give you the lowdown, it will mostly be about politics: the Sarnor Kingdom vs. the Ghiscari. Some factions wish to wage war with them for killing their men, and others want to prevent it. After that, I will write about the journey to Asshai and how hard it is to live there. I'm gonna have to create some loopholes in my story since the protagonist is still only six years old.
"No discussion of Yi ti would be complete without the mention of the five forts, a line of hulking ancient citadels that stand along the far northeastern frontiers of the golden empire, between the bleeding sea{named for it's characteristic hue of it's deep water's, supposedly a result of a plant that grows only there} and the mountains of the Morn".
"The five forts are very old, older than the golden empire itself; some claim they were raised by the pearl emperor during the morning of the great empire to keep the lion of the night and his demons from the realm of men... and indeed, there is something godlike, or demonic, about the monstrous size of the forts, for each of the five is large enough to house ten thousands men, and their massive walls stand almost a thousand feet high".
Certain scholars have suggested the fort was made out of the same stones that suck out the light in Asshai.
The ruling monarchs of the Great Empire:
Pearl emperor
jade emperor
tourmaline emperor
onyx emperor
topaz emperor
opal emperor
amethyst empress
bloodstone emperor
"Easternmost and southernmost of the great cities of the known world, the ancient ports of Asshai stand at the end of a long wedge of land, on the point where the jade sea meets the Safiton Straits. Its origin is lost to the mist of time. Even the asshai'i do not know its origins, only that it has been here since the beginning and stands here until it ends".
"Asshai is a large city, sprawling out for leagues on both banks of the black river ash. Behind its enormous land walls is ground enough for Volantis, Quarth, and King's Landing to stand side by side and still have enough room for Oldtown. Yet the population from Asshai is no greater than that of a good-sized market town. By night, the streets are deserted, and only one buildings in ten show a light".
{Some of this information is from the ,future so bear with me}
"Few places in the known world are as remote as Asshai, and fewer are as forbidding. Travelers tell us that the city is built entirely of black stone: halls, hovels, temples, palaces, streets, walls, bazaars, all. Some say as well that the stone of Asshai has a greasy, unpleasant feel to it, that it seems to drink the light, dimming tapers and torches and hearth fires alike. The nights are very black in Asshai, all agree, and even the brightest days of summer are somehow grey and gloomy".
"Despite its forbidding aspects, Asshai by-the-shadows has for many centuries been a thriving port, where ships from all over the known world come to trade, crossing vast and stormy seas. Most arrive laden with foodstuffs and wine, for beyond the walls of Asshai little grows save ghost grass, whose glassy, glowing stalks are incredible. If not for the food brought in from across the sea, the Asshai'i would have starved".
"The ships bring casks of freshwater, too. The waters of Asshai glisten black beneath the noonday sun and glimmer with a pale green phosphorescence by night, and such fish as swim in the river are blind and twisted, so deformed and hideous to look upon that only fools and shadowbinders will eat of their flesh".
"Every land beneath the sun has need of fruits and grains and vegetables, so one might ask why any mariner would sail to the ends of the earth when he might more easily sell his cargo to markets closer home. The answer is gold. Beyond the walls of Asshai, food is scarce, but gold and gems are common... though some will say that the gold of the shadow lands is as unhealthy in its own way as the fruits that grow there".