PREVIOUSLY.
[Every fishing net, every shipyard, every word they managed to exchange with the Mamanwa and the ambassadors of Butuan, was a piece on a chessboard infinitely larger than Columbus or the European captains had ever imagined.
"If General Umzye returns expecting a small colony," Tyfo decreed, adjusting his belt, "he is in for a surprise. We are not founding a village; we are trying to survive in the backyard of a kingdom that knows the world better than we do."
The captain sighed, feeling the heavy burden of responsibility.]
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Year 12 of the SuaChie Calendar, Twelfth Month (February 1495).
Discovery Town (Surigao, Philippines), Archipelago Mai.
The warm archipelago breeze blew through the rudimentary windows of his makeshift office in Discovery Town, carrying with it the distant echo of laughter from some European settlers fraternizing with the Mamanwa women.
Tyfo clenched his jaw at the sound.
Days ago, he had issued exceedingly strict, almost draconian directives, ordering the utmost caution when establishing romantic relations with the local inhabitants. He had not done so out of blind puritanism, much less because they were orders from the central government.
In fact, the reality was diametrically opposite.
The Suaza Kingdom, under the vast vision of its leader Chuta, actively encouraged miscegenation and the freedom of cultural exchange as tools for peaceful integration. Tyfo was certain that, at that very moment, the members of the main expedition led by Admiral Umzye were likely pairing off with women from the mythical Cipango, shielded by those same liberties.
But Cipango had the backing of an invincible fleet. Discovery Town did not.
I cannot allow blood to dilute our loyalty or make us vulnerable from within, Tyfo thought, his gaze sweeping over the incomplete maps scattered across his desk. One false step, one offense to the fathers or chieftains of those women, and they will devour us.
His paranoia was not unfounded. Their recent contact with the Rajahnate of Butuan had shattered his preconceived notions. They were no longer dealing solely with isolated tribes of gatherers. They had discovered that there were other kingdoms and merchant unions just as formidable on the neighboring islands, and what was even more terrifying: to the west, beyond the known horizon, loomed the imposing shadow of a maritime empire called Brunei.
Tyfo ran both hands over his weathered face, feeling overwhelmingly small. If they were a month away from the great Dawn City, or if they at least had a towering Tequendama II-class vessel anchored in the bay, bristling with the lethal firepower of the fearsome Juracán cannons, he would sleep soundly.
But they were far from everything they knew, isolated at the edge of the world, with no heavy artillery or war fleets to back them. They were barely a handful of Suazan and European men facing Asian powers that could wipe them off the map with a simple snap of their fingers.
The only viable strategy to survive until the arrival of the second expedition was ironclad cultural integration and absolute commercial pragmatism. They had to blend in, to become indispensable.
And the first step of that survival plan was taking shape that very morning.
Trade with the people of Butuan had flourished with astonishing speed. The emissaries of the Rajahnate had been deeply marveled by the improved iron tools produced by the Suazan forges, but their primary interest had fixated on the shipyards.
Tyfo's shipwrights had not only grasped the structure of the Barangay—the swift local vessels—but they had replicated them using Suazan assembly techniques, rendering them lighter and more resilient.
Just an hour ago, an ostentatious "ambassador" from Butuan had docked at their pier with a retinue laden with gold and spices, bringing with him a massive order. They required an entire fleet of those newly modified Barangays.
Upon conversing with the diplomat, Tyfo discovered the reason for such a desperate demand: the colossal Ming Empire had imposed severe trade restrictions on its mainland ports.
To circumvent the blockade, Butuan's merchants were forced to undertake far longer and more perilous sea voyages to procure the goods their nobility demanded.
The ambassador had been clear about his list of urgent necessities from the mainland:
Blue and white porcelain: The ultimate luxury for the archipelago's courts.
Iron cauldrons: Vital for large-scale cooking and industry.
Bronze mirrors: Items of high ceremonial and aesthetic value.
Bolts of silk: The softest and most coveted currency of the East.
Tyfo paced in circles around his office, rubbing the back of his neck in frustration. He was annoyed, deeply unsettled.
His training at the Academy and his initial plans were designed to establish basic barter routes with "less advanced" tribes, trading glass beads and cloth for food.
He had not the slightest idea how to adapt his minuscule colonial economy to satisfy the industrial demands of a Rajahnate that traded with the Ming Dynasty.
The creak of the door interrupted his internal debate.
A Suazan researcher, his tunic covered in soot, his face smudged with ash, and his eyes gleaming with a feverish euphoria, burst into the office unannounced.
"Captain Tyfo!" the man exclaimed, breathing heavily as he leaned against the doorframe. "We have done it. We have ignited the core."
Tyfo stopped dead in his tracks, the tension in his body instantly morphing into high alert.
"What are you talking about? Explain yourself."
"The furnaces, sir." The researcher took a step forward, his voice dropping on pure instinct. "Using local refractory clays and the few pieces of iron we sacrificed from our tools, we have managed to replicate a version of the Suazan smelting furnaces. It is... it is flawed, yes, it does not reach the perfect temperatures of our homeland, but it works."
Tyfo's eyes lit up with a spark of pure hope. If they could raise the forging temperature, the game changed entirely. He approached the researcher, closing the distance in a single stride.
"Steel?" Tyfo asked in a raspy whisper, almost like a plea. "Tell me we can yield steel with them. If we can forge steel, we will have weapons that Butuan and Brunei will not be able to break."
The researcher lowered his gaze, slowly shaking his head.
"No, sir. I am sorry. To purify the iron and reach the level of Suazan steel, we need the central government's master metallurgists and coal of a much higher quality. Our current knowledge and materials do not reach that far."
Tyfo let the air out of his lungs, but before disappointment could settle in, the researcher looked up again, a soot-stained smile on his face.
"But... high-quality iron is possible. Strong, malleable, and durable iron. Not to mention we will be able to handle lesser metals and bronze alloys twice as fast as any artisan in this archipelago. We can manufacture the items Butuan needs."
Silence enveloped the room as the captain's analytical mind processed the magnitude of the news. It was a miraculous advantage. With that flawed furnace, they could monopolize the trade of tools and naval parts, becoming economically vital to the Rajahnate and injecting wealth into Discovery Town.
However, that sword was double-edged.
"Listen to me carefully," Tyfo ordered, his voice taking on an absolute coldness as he gripped the researcher by the shoulder. "This news does not leave your workshop. If the leaders of Butuan, or the spies of Brunei, discover that we have the capacity to produce superior-grade iron right under their noses, they will not buy from us... they will conquer us to steal the secret."
The researcher swallowed hard, his initial euphoria fading before the harsh political reality, and gave a stiff nod.
"We will proceed in the shadows. We will feed their trade drop by drop, just enough to be indispensable, but never enough to be a threat. Let the furnace fires burn only at night."
Tyfo looked to the east, toward the immense sea that separated them from their home. They had lit a flame in the dark, but now they would have to dance around it to keep the rest of the world from noticing.
The mid-afternoon sun dyed the Sunset Ocean a thick amber, casting long shadows through the woven cane windows of the main office. A few hours after sealing the pact of silence regarding the smelting furnace, Tyfo was once again on his feet, offering a measured bow to the diplomatic envoy from the Rajahnate of Butuan.
The emissary, a man with a serene face whose silk garments rustled with every movement, wore heavy bands of carved gold that attested to the wealth of his land. He had requested a second audience before setting sail, and his gaze reflected profound satisfaction.
"Captain Tyfo," the envoy began, bowing his head with a respect that was no mere formality. "I have personally inspected the shipyards before boarding my vessel. The dexterity with which your artisans are assembling the new Barangays is formidable. My people will know how to reward this diligence when the ships ply our waters."
"It is our people's commitment," Tyfo replied, maintaining a warm yet firm tone. "Our word is as resilient as the cured wood of our keels."
The ambassador smiled, revealing teeth perfectly stained by the chewing of betel nut, a sign of status in those islands.
"It is because of that very trust that my lord, Rajah Kalaga—the man whom the datus of our great union have chosen to guide Butuan's destiny—has entrusted me to extend you an invitation of honor… On the twelfth day after the next moon, we shall celebrate the fifth birthday of his beloved son, Siawi. It will be a feast where leaders and merchants from all across the archipelago will converge. The Rajah expects to see you seated at his table, Captain."
Tyfo blinked, barely concealing his surprise. A direct invitation to the Rajah's court, and for nothing less than an intimate dynastic celebration of the ruling family, was a dizzying diplomatic leap. It was the ultimate validation that Discovery Town was no longer seen as a camp of intruders, but had become a legitimate economic player.
"It will be an immense honor for me to attend little Siawi's celebration," Tyfo replied without a second of hesitation, placing a hand over his heart. "Tell the venerable Rajah Kalaga that I shall be there, and that I will bring with me gifts worthy of the grandeur of his house and the friendship that begins to unite our peoples."
"I shall convey it as such. May the winds be in your favor, Captain Tyfo."
With a final bow, the envoy withdrew, leaving behind a subtle scent of camphor and spices. Tyfo let out the air pent up in his lungs and collapsed into his carved wooden chair.
Two soft knocks on the doorframe pulled him from his abstractions.
"May I, Captain?" The clear voice of Kusi, the young scholar from his small linguistics team, broke the silence. He carried in his arms a bundle of pressed bark scrolls and leather-bound notebooks.
"Come in, Kusi," Tyfo greeted him, gesturing to the seat across from him. "What brings you to my office at this hour? I thought you would be in the southern sector classifying the phonetic variations of the gatherers."
"And so I was, sir, but the end of the month demands order in the records. I bring you the updated census and the report of permanent residents in Discovery Town. We are already at around three hundred souls living permanently within the town's palisades."
Tyfo leaned forward, taking one of the scrolls with genuine astonishment. "Three hundred? When the fleet set sail, we were barely eighty Suazans."
"Exactly," Kusi smiled, pointing a slender finger at a column of symbols and numbers. "That means some two hundred and twenty people from the surrounding tribes and villages have abandoned the jungle or the neighboring coasts to settle here permanently."
As Kusi broke down the demographic data, Tyfo's mind drifted back weeks earlier, recalling the turning point that had triggered that peaceful migration.
Two local leaders, two lesser datus operating on the periphery of the archipelago, had approached the town, drawn by the magnetism of Suazan trade.
The first was a tribal chief dedicated body and soul to deep-sea fishing. Upon witnessing the stability of the port and the technical superiority of the vessels, he had made a bold decision: he purchased several of the mixed-design ships—those with the traditional Butuan hull reinforced with Suazan tension engineering. The result was devastatingly efficient.
With ships that maintained local agility but doubled their cargo capacity without fracturing, the chieftain multiplied his catches and relocated his entire people next to the port, becoming the main purveyor of fresh fish for the three hundred mouths of the settlement.
The second leader had seen an even more sophisticated opportunity.
His tribe inhabited the inland forests and specialized in the harvesting and refinement of waxes and beeswax, a product in extremely high demand for the shipyards and metal smelting.
Taking advantage of the Suazan iron tools and the protection of Discovery Town's walls, the chieftain established his processing workshops in the town, transforming himself not only into an exemplary settler but into one of the largest suppliers of pure wax for the Kingdom of Butuan itself. Both tribes had merged with the Suazan colonists in perfect synergy, sharing food, construction techniques, and night watches.
"It is an admirable integration," Tyfo murmured, returning to the present. "We work as a single people."
"Here, yes," Kusi pointed out with a glint of irony in his dark eyes, switching parchments. "But in United Town, the story is... somewhat different."
Tyfo could not help but let out a dry, tired laugh. He knew exactly what he meant.
The European enclave, situated on the island to the northeast, had experienced much more timid growth, barely reaching a population of one hundred people. However, its social dynamics were a fascinating and, in a way, comical spectacle.
The Spanish, Portuguese, and English sailors, fancying themselves cunning conquerors of wills, had thrown themselves wildly into accepting the "engagements" with the local women that the natives offered them. They had fallen headlong into a honey trap as harmless as it was relentless.
In the archipelago's culture, pairing with a woman was not an isolated romance; it was the signing of a social security contract with her entire lineage.
Now, those proud Europeans found themselves sweating blood, working from sunup to sundown in the orchards and docks just to feed not only their new wives, but the local mothers-in-law, brothers-in-law, cousins, and uncles who had moved en masse into their elevated homes, demanding the fulfillment of familial duties.
"Let them keep chopping wood for their in-laws," Tyfo commented with a half-smile. "It will teach them humility and keep United Town tethered to the earth, even if they grow more slowly."
Silence settled in the office for a few seconds, interrupted only by the murmur of waves crashing against the pilings in the distance. Tyfo felt the accumulated exhaustion in his muscles, that chronic fatigue of one who has spent months holding up the sky with his bare hands. He turned his face toward the window, looking at the bluish horizon to the west.
"Kusi..." His voice lost its military firmness, adopting a more intimate and vulnerable tone. "We are approaching the half-year mark since Admiral Umzye and the Europeans set sail. The estimated timeframe for the first return voyage or the dispatch of reinforcements from the Suazan mainland is almost up. Tell me with the coldness of your erudition: do you think the second expedition will arrive soon?"
Kusi let his hands fall into his lap. The lightness vanished from his face, replaced by the gravity of an undeniable mathematical and geographical calculation. He thought about it carefully before responding.
"I find it highly unlikely, Captain," he said softly, but without hesitation. "Yes, the half-year is up, but that was an ideal calculation. The Sunset Ocean is not a lake. The currents change with the seasons, the monsoons in these parts are unpredictable, and the logistics to assemble a second fleet on the Suazan isthmus require immense coordination. It would be very difficult, almost a miracle, for a rescue or reinforcement expedition to manage to reach these shores in the expected time… We must prepare ourselves for a much longer wait."
Tyfo closed his eyes and let out a deep, heavy sigh, feeling the reality of their isolation definitively settle in his chest. No one was coming to save them anytime soon. They were alone on the Asian chessboard.
He opened his eyes. The weariness had vanished, swept away by a steely determination. He stood up, squaring his shoulders with the authority of someone who has accepted their fate.
"Then we will not wait staring at the waves, Kusi. We will build our own strength," Tyfo declared, his voice resonating with imperious command in the small room. "Prepare my formal attire and a shipment of our finest wrought iron tools, mirrors, textiles, and pelts. In twelve days, I will go to that celebration at the court of Butuan, and I will sit with Rajah Kalaga as an equal."
Kusi quickly stood up, nodding with pride.
"While I am in the Rajahnate, the military and civil command of Discovery Town will fall to you," Tyfo continued, ticking off the directives on his fingers. "First mandate: keep a watchful eye on United Town. Do not let the familial disputes of the Europeans escalate into tribal conflicts. If they need grain or fish, sell it to them, but make them pay with worked timber or bronze."
"Understood, Captain. What of the linguistic research?"
"Therein lies your most critical order." Tyfo's face hardened. "I want you to relegate Cebuano to the junior translators. You and Nuru will focus all your efforts on advancing as rapidly as possible with the Malay language. It is the lingua franca of the merchants and, most importantly, it is the language of the Bruneian Empire to the west. If that power reaches our shores, I do not want them understanding us through gestures."
"I will work day and night on the commercial grammars left to us by the Butuan sailors, sir," he promised, clutching the scrolls to his chest.
"And finally," Tyfo added, walking over to the door to throw it wide open, "personally oversee the instruction of our Suazan soldiers and artisans. I want every Suazan settler in this archipelago to learn to speak the local tongues. I care not for accents or grammatical perfection; I want them to know how to communicate, to understand a warning of danger, and to be able to negotiate a price for themselves."
Kusi executed a flawless martial salute, his eyes gleaming with the same ferocity as his captain's.
Tyfo looked out once more toward the bustling street of Discovery Town, where the voices in Cebuano and Suaza melted into a single murmur beneath the setting sun.
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[A/N: CHAPTER COMPLETED
Hello everyone.
Thank you all for your support.
First, I'll assume you can see the map images and won't ask any further questions. Also, I've updated the character list. This time there are no narrative descriptions; it's simply a fact sheet.
In addition, I'll update the list every 10 chapters.
UFD: Every Spanish advance in Southeast Asia followed the same approach techniques as in the Americas. They used fragmented local politics, rivalries between kingdoms, and, of course, their superior firepower and defenses. However, just as in the Americas, they faced resistance from some of the local peoples, with the Empire or Sultanate of Brunei as an example.
What I'm not sure about is whether the diseases brought by the Europeans affected them as much as they did in the Americas.
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Read my other novels.
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#The Walking Dead: Emily's Metamorphosis (Chapter 34) (ON HOLD)
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You can find them on my profile.]