Sothoryos (I)
Jon wanted to scream, but he didn't have the strength to do so. After having walked after seeing the wood in the river, he decided to continue on his way, as there was no point in staying in that place, not when he didn't even have the resources to make a small, safe camp. But, his persistence to continue forward, paid off when he found what was left of a small boat. The boat was broken in half, sunken in the river, but with enough to cross to the other side, where the reason for his desire to scream was.
There, before his eyes, was a city. Or rather, the ruins of a city. Stones piled up in what looked like remains of buildings, vegetation growing everywhere, trying to reclaim what was left of the city. Jon didn't even take the time to try to investigate the destroyed boat, he simply carefully jumped between the planks and large pieces buried and sunken, in order to reach the other side.
He didn't know what the city belonged to. It could have been part of a kingdom, or just an ordinary city, that rose up in these parts of the jungle. Jon's hope for finding food remained the same, but this might be enough for him to complete his quest. Those thoughts made him want to scream in relief as he walked towards the ruins, looking curiously at the dirt paths between all the destroyed buildings. That's when he realized that the city, despite having things built out of stone, much of the rest were wooden constructions.
There was no evidence of people, not even bones. It was just a ruined city. But, a little further away, he could see what was left of a wall.
[Quest: The Infernal Forest]
[Rank: Iron]
[Quest Completed!]
The system window appeared in front of Jon's eyes, only for another window to appear, with the rewards. Jon, happy to have completed the quest, thought of storage to open said system window and look at his rewards.
The first thing he saw was a drawing of a package and when he thought about it, a description appeared.
[Adventurer's Camping Pack: Contains the essentials to set up a camp and survive for several days]
[▪ Tent]
[▪ Sleeping bag]
[▪ Lighter]
[▪ Several cans of food]
[▪ Small box of medicine]
[Map of the known and unknown world: It is a map of the entire world and shows you where you are at all times]
Jon inhaled deeply before taking out the map. He was hungry and tired, but he wanted to know where he was, he needed it. The map appeared in his hand out of nowhere and Jon carefully opened it. His eyes first went towards Westeros, then through Essos, until he saw a red dot indicating his position with the words "you are here."
"Sothoryos..." Jon muttered as he read the name, but there was also another name right above the dot of his location.
"Zamettar... I don't know anything about that. But I do remember Maester Luwin talking a bit about Sothoryos. I think it was the place Princess Nymeria passed through, long before she came to Dorne," Jon thought, nervous about his chances of returning to his old life.
Swallowing hard, Jon saved the map to the system storage, so he could get a better look at the ruins. He had a lot to think about and needed to rest, so he decided to look for some structure that was relatively in good condition. After doing that, which took several minutes, he went to get some wood around him, so he could make a good fire.
. . .
Looking up at the holey ceiling, Jon was inside his sleeping bag, leaving only his face visible. He was warm and had done the right thing in creating a fire, as the night was indeed cold. But, while he was not cold thanks to completing his first quest, his mind was flooded with things.
After he had created a fire, he pulled out a can of food out of curiosity. The can had instructions on it, so he placed it on the fire for a few minutes, before he opened it and ate some meat and vegetables. It was quite delicious in his opinion, but while he was doing that, he also checked the map.
Jon thought Westeros was big, while Essos was bigger, from what little he knew. But when he looked at the map, he was surprised by how big the world was. Sothoryos, the place he was in, was equal to or bigger than Essos. From what was on the large scroll, Sothoryos was a gigantic piece of land painted green with many rivers. North of where he stood was the Summer Sea, and to the west were the Summer Isles. And beyond that, the Sunset Sea.
South of where he stood was all of Sothoryos. To the east was a land called Ulthos, connected to Sothoryos. But that wasn't all, further east was yet another gigantic piece of land divided by a great sea.
It was so much. And that wasn't even counting the shadowlands, Yi Ti, Mussovy, The Thousand Islands, Ibben; there were so many things he'd never heard of, that Jon felt small. In the face of the gigantic world, he seemed like just an ant that could be crushed at any moment.
The ceiling, dirty and full of openings, didn't matter to Jon. His eyes were fixed there, but his mind was thinking, spinning through every new or old thing that passed through his head. He was still afraid of all the unknown that could be surrounding him right now. But for a moment, just a few seconds, he felt excited. A feeling that came from the possibility of a new life. Not as a bastard, not as someone unwanted by almost everyone, but for a life that he could say was his.
And as he thought of everything and nothing, his eyelids moved involuntarily as sleep had come to claim his consciousness.
That night, Jon dreamed. A dream of immense forests plagued by dangerous beasts and death at every inch. He dreamed of a different forest, a peaceful, beautiful and quiet one, full of life and countless stories.
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