Sorry this took so long to get out, was in a minor block for the time
-pacsonic22
As Ibraim sat at the table with his family, enjoying the new cuisine he introduced to the chiefs. Right now, he's enjoying a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. Something he had constantly in his past life. Unfortunately, he quite enjoyed cooking, despite the perceived notions of being less of a man for it. Though the chefs were quite adamant about him not cooking for the family. While he was enjoying his breakfast and thinking of new meals he could possibly introduce, he didn't pay much attention to the small conversations at the table, and especially not to the person calling his name.
It was his little brother, who was not amused at being ignored by his older brother. So when he finally got Ibraim's attention, he chastised him for a moment before going on with his question.
"Big Brother, you meanie! I've been calling you for the past 5 minutes!" Fodé said with annoyance laced within his voice. "Ive been wanting to ask you something." The child said with a small pout which amused the young lord. He was the youngest in his entire family in his past life, so he's enjoying being in the role of the older brother.
"Of course little brother, just what did you want to ask me?" Ibraim would say with a hint of amusement poorly hidden in his voice which caused the little boy to pout once more.
Once Fodé calms down, he asks his question. "Big Brother, could you spend the day with me? I want to explore the city like we did when I was a baby!"
Now, this surprised Ibraim as he has wisps of some of this life's memories, that being one of them. While he knew that they went out to explore, he did not know where, why, or for how long. Of course, he would have to get more information out of the young boy before truly answering him.
"I'm sorry Fodé, my memory is a little spotty. I remember taking you out but I don't remember why or where we went. Could you perhaps fill in the gaps of my memory for me?" Of course Fodé would happily answer, he loves to talk about the little adventures he's gone on throughout his life. Though, not without a little teasing for his older brother's forgetfulness.
"Big Brother you're so forgetful! I can believe I have to remind you of our journeys we used to go on all the time! But fine, I'll tell you." The child would say with a grin, satisfied with how he got back at his older brother for ignoring him. "We would leave the castle and walk around the city! We would talk to the people and you would let me play with other children! The city has changed so much in the years since we stopped doing them and I was hoping to see the impact you've had on the city!"
Ibraim paused mid-bite, his attention now fully on his little brother. The thought of seeing the city again sparked a quiet curiosity in him. He hadn't ventured beyond the industrial district much, not since his focus shifted entirely to development. It would be good, he thought, to see the results of his plans firsthand.
He smiled, wiping his hands with a napkin. "Very well, Fodé. Let's go see this city of ours."
The boy's face lit up instantly, and within the hour, the two brothers were walking past the castle gates, accompanied by a pair of guards who followed at a respectful distance.
What greeted Ibraim was a sight that stirred something deep within him. Something between pride and disbelief. The once-sleepy trading city was alive with movement and sound. Brick buildings now stood where stone housing had been. The scent of metal and smoke hung faintly in the air as ironworks and workshops alike clanged in rhythm. Wooden carts rumbled down newly paved streets.
The people, merchants, workers, even children bustled about with a sense of purpose. The marketplace, once a patch of dirt and simple stalls, slowly had now become canopies of woven cloth shading rows of goods: smoked meats, fabrics dyed with new colors, tools shaped from domestic iron.
Fodé tugged at his brother's sleeve, pointing toward a group of men assembling a tall brick building near the riverfront.
"They're building something new again! I heard they're making a place to fix the metal wagons!"
"A locomotive works," Ibraim murmured, watching as the men carried the materials up along the outer scaffolding of the new building. "Good… new companies are good for the economy."
As they continued walking, Ibraim's thoughts wandered. The rhythm of progress was steady, slow, yes, but undeniably real. What had once been a decent sized trading city was becoming something more, something industrial. He stops at a nearby waterfront, looking out upon it and seeing significantly more ships of all nature being built or being moored at the city's docks. While they were still all wooden sail ships, there was still a sense of pride throughout him as he viewed some of his products being loaded onto ships that could travel all over the world, especially Europe.
While the young lord took in the views he realized what was truly missing in his city. It wasn't industry, food, or anything of the sort. Music. Specifically Swing Jazz, Cool Jazz, Big Band Music, Smooth Jazz, almost everything that would work especially well in this time period. His people's own little Harlem Renaissance. In his past life, he played the trumpet and fell in love with multiple different styles of Jazz, with Swing being his favorite.
As the sibling's adventure throughout the city comes to an end, Ibraim soon returns to his quarters with a small sandwich for dinner. Instead of drafting new technology or tactics for the militia to drill with, he decided to draw up some instruments. Though his brass supply was limited, he still wished for a music revolution to happen soon as he had begun his plan to start growing his own cotton clothing. He rarely drinks but one night he got so hammered he spent his night in a drunken stupor creating machines of madness. Though, the machines were the cotton gin and the automated cotton picker.
After designing the essential brass instruments needed to create Jazz and the plans to import some string instruments from Europe, he settled into his bed, ready to sleep off his earlier excitement.
As Ibraim went to sleep a new development had started to begin. The call for the Muslum people to kill those that had helped create the "demonic engines" that moved without life had finally left the confines of the city. Now, it was only a matter of time before trade is interrupted and blood is shed.