Thousands of miles away, beneath a cloudless blue sky, the heart of Narnia was preparing for the greatest gathering in its history.
The harbor of Caer Peverell had become busier with each passing day. From sunrise until well after sunset, ships entered and departed almost without pause. Some arrived carrying cargo from distant kingdoms, while others were loaded with food, building supplies, and gifts before setting sail once more across the Narrow Sea.
One after another, sleek Narnian merchant ships disappeared beyond the horizon, each destined for another corner of the known world.
Standing upon the highest balcony of palace , Harry watched them leave in silence.
From where he stood, the entire city unfolded beneath him like a living painting. White stone buildings gleamed beneath the afternoon sun, their polished walls almost dazzling against the deep blue sky. Wide streets bustled with merchants, craftsmen, and families going about their daily lives. The laughter of children drifted upward from the parks below, while the distant ringing of temple bells echoed softly across the city.
Beyond the city walls, fertile fields stretched toward the horizon, broken only by patches of forest and the occasional farming village.
It was peaceful.
Exactly as he had always hoped it would become.
"You've been standing here for nearly half an hour."
Harry smiled without looking back.
Lyanna stepped onto the balcony beside him, carrying several neatly organized reports under one arm. She glanced toward the harbor before handing him the newest stack of papers.
"There are... rather more guests than I expected."
Harry accepted the reports with an amused smile.
"Only rather more?"
Lyanna raised an eyebrow.
"I was trying to be polite."
Harry laughed quietly as he looked over the newest additions.
The list seemed to grow every time someone placed another report on his desk.
"The Sealord of Braavos has confirmed."
"The Prince of Pentos."
"Delegations from every Free City."
"Merchant guilds."
"Scholars."
"Craftsmen."
She looked at him with an expression somewhere between disbelief and amusement.
"The King of Westeros."
"The Lords Paramount."
"Even minor noble houses are sending representatives."
She folded her arms.
"Harry..."
"...everyone is coming."
Harry lowered the papers and nodded.
"That was the idea."
Lyanna shook her head with a laugh.
"I know but seeing every name written together makes it feel real."
She looked down at the seemingly endless guest list once again before smiling knowingly.
"This stopped being Sirius' birthday a long time ago."
Harry didn't deny it.
"It was never just a birthday.''
She had lived beside Harry long enough to recognize that particular expression on his face. Whenever he stood quietly watching the city while wearing that small smile, it usually meant he was thinking several years ahead.
She walked to the stone railing beside him.
"So..."
She rested her elbows upon the smooth white stone.
"What is this really about?"
He watched another merchant ship slowly leave the harbor, its white sails filling with the afternoon breeze as sailors upon the docks waved farewell.
Only after it had become a small speck upon the sea did he finally speak.
"For years, the world has searched for Narnia."
His voice was calm, almost thoughtful.
"They imagined hidden kingdoms buried beneath mountains."
"Cities concealed by ancient magic."
"Fortresses surrounded by endless storms."
He smiled faintly.
"I've heard some rather creative stories over the years."
Lyanna laughed.
"We let those stories spread because they protected us."
He rested both hands upon the balcony railing as he looked across the city.
"The mystery gave us time."
"Time to strengthen our economy."
"Time to educate our people."
"Time to develop our industries."
"And, most importantly..."
"...time to become strong enough that no kingdom would dare threaten us."
Lyanna slowly nodded.
"When you first founded Narnia, revealing ourselves would have been dangerous."
Harry turned toward her.
"Back then, people would have looked at us and seen an opportunity."
"They would have counted our soldiers."
"Calculated how much land we possessed."
"And wondered whether they could take it."
"Now they won't."
The confidence in his voice wasn't arrogance.
Narnia had reached the point where its existence no longer depended upon secrecy.
Its wealth rivaled the richest kingdoms.
Its craftsmen produced goods desired across the known world.
Its navy protected trade routes stretching from Westeros to the eastern Free Cities.
And above all...
It possessed a dragon.
No ruler with even a shred of common sense would willingly wage war against a kingdom that could reduce castles to ash.
Harry looked once more toward the bustling streets below.
"It's time they stop imagining Narnia."
His eyes followed a group of schoolchildren crossing one of the city's broad avenues under the watchful eyes of their teachers.
"I want them to see the schools."
He turned slightly, watching priests leave one of the temples to greet passing citizens.
"The temples."
Beyond them, the smoke rising from countless workshops drifted lazily into the afternoon sky.
"The workshops."
Then his gaze settled upon the endless fields outside the city.
"The farms."
Finally, he looked back toward the harbor where another merchant vessel prepared to depart.
"And most of all..."
"...the people."
Lyanna remained silent, allowing him to continue.
"They've spent years believing Narnia is powerful because of magic."
"They think our dragon is the reason we've prospered."
He smiled as he watched ordinary citizens laughing together in the marketplace below.
"Narnia became strong because ordinary people were given the chance to build extraordinary lives."
"They were educated."
"They were treated fairly."
"They were rewarded for their work."
"They were allowed to dream."
"And when you give thousands of ordinary people that opportunity..."
He looked back toward Lyanna.
"...they build something no king could ever create alone."
Lyanna simply watched the city below, seeing it through Harry's eyes.
A warm smile spread across her face.
"They're going to be amazed."
Harry laughed softly.
"I certainly hope so."
Another bell echoed across the harbor as workers hurried to prepare the next departing ship. Sailors shouted orders, dockworkers rolled barrels toward waiting vessels, and children waved excitedly as another white-sailed merchant ship slowly left the harbor.
Soon, many ships would come.
Thousands of people who had spent years imagining the hidden kingdom beyond the sea.
And he intended to ensure that the truth surpassed every legend ever told.
Harry had never intended to keep the location of Caer Peverelll hidden until Sirius's birthday.
The invitations had been sent one month in advance for a simple reason.
Distance.
A king could not simply read a letter, gather his household, and board the nearest ship before sunset. Neither could a Lord Paramount, a Free City prince, or the head of a powerful merchant guild. There were councils to convene, retainers to summon, guards to select, ships to provision, and gifts to prepare. Every great lord would need time to consider the political meaning of the invitation before deciding how grand their arrival should be.
The journey itself would take weeks for those coming from distant ports such as Volantis, King's Landing, White Harbor. Harry understood noble customs well enough to know that inviting the world and expecting it to arrive within days would be unreasonable.
That was why he had given them a full month's notice.
But the magical veil hiding Narnia itself?
That disappeared the very same day the invitations were sent.
Few days later, a Braavosi merchant vessel named the Sea Swan sailed east across calm waters.
Captain Marco Vellos stood near the bow with a brass telescope pressed to one eye. He was not a young man anymore, and decades spent at sea had carved deep lines into his face, but his eyes remained sharp. Few ships could pass within sight of the Sea Swan without Marco noticing their flag, their build, and their likely destination.
That morning, what caught his attention was not one ship.
It was five.
A sailor hurried toward him from the forecastle and pointed toward the horizon.
"Captain. There."
Marco adjusted the telescope.
Another Narnian merchant ship cut across the distant water, its white sails gleaming beneath the sun.
The captain frowned thoughtfully.
"That's the fifth one."
His first mate stepped beside him.
"Yes. And they're all coming from the same direction."
For years, Braavosi merchants had wondered where Narnia truly lay. Every voyage ended the same way. They boarded a Narnian vessel at port while their own ships remained behind, then sailed under the guidance of Narnian captains until they reached the hidden kingdom. When they returned, none could properly explain the route. Some blamed magic. Others admitted they simply could not remember.
This time, however, something was different.
Marco slowly lowered the telescope.
"They aren't trying to lose us. That captain knows we're following him."
Indeed, the Narnian captain had clearly spotted the Sea Swan. Yet instead of changing course, increasing speed, or vanishing into mist as some stories claimed they could, the ship simply continued sailing east.
A slow smile spread across Marco's weathered face.
"Well then. If they are willing, let us see where this road leads."
The order passed across the deck within moments. Sailors adjusted the sails, ropes snapped tight, and the Sea Swan turned eastward, following the Narnian ship across the glittering sea.
Hours passed.
Then another Narnian merchant vessel crossed their path.
Then another.
Then another.
The farther east they sailed, the more traffic appeared upon the water. Fishing vessels cut across the waves with practiced ease. Heavy cargo ships moved steadily in small groups. Farther out, whalers sailed toward deeper waters, while sleek warships patrolled calmly along the sea lanes.
Marco watched it all through his telescope, his earlier curiosity slowly giving way to astonishment.
"I've never seen so many ships in these waters."
His navigator nodded.
"This isn't normal trade.
Few days later, the lookout shouted from high above.
"Land ahead!"
Every sailor who was not tied to an essential duty rushed toward the bow.
At first, the coastline was little more than a dark line upon the horizon. Then cliffs emerged from the sea, rising higher and higher as the Sea Swan drew closer.
And then someone gasped.
"What in the hells..."
Two colossal statues stood upon opposite cliffs, guarding the entrance to a vast bay.
Each towered hundreds of feet above the sea. One held a massive spear pointed toward the sky, while the other had a sword. Their stone faces stared silently over the water, watching every ship that approached the narrow passage between them.
Marco stared speechlessly.
"They have..."
He swallowed.
"...their own Titan."
His first mate nodded slowly.
"Except there are two."
One nervous sailor whispered, "Do you think they're magical?"
Another answered just as quietly, "They're Narnians. Of course they are."
After a moment, he decided not to ask too many questions.
"Take us through."
Slowly, the Sea Swan entered the narrow passage between the colossal guardians.
No one spoke as they sailed beneath those silent stone faces. Every man aboard looked upward, feeling the strange and uncomfortable certainty that the statues were watching them pass.
Only after they cleared the entrance did the bay open before them.
And every sailor aboard forgot to breathe.
The Bay of Tusk stretched farther than the eye could see.
Ships filled the water in every direction.
Hundreds.
No...
Thousands.
Merchant vessels unloaded cargo at long stone docks. Fishing fleets returned with fresh catches. Whalers prepared for another expedition. Construction barges transported blocks of stone toward a growing section of the harbor. Sleek warships patrolled the outer waters with calm discipline, their crews moving with practiced precision.
There was no desperate shouting.
No ships fighting for space.
No bribed dockmaster waving one captain forward while ignoring another.
Everything moved with astonishing order.
Marco slowly lowered his telescope.
Even Braavos did not feel this organized.
One sailor whispered, "Gods..."
Marco nodded.
"We've found it."
His eyes fixed upon the city rising beyond the harbor.
"Narnia."
A small boat approached not long after, carrying a Narnian harbor pilot dressed in clean blue-and-white clothing.
The man smiled warmly as he came alongside the Sea Swan.
"Welcome to Caer Peverell."
Marco bowed politely.
"We thank you."
Then curiosity overcame him.
"Were you expecting us?"
"You're hardly the first."
Marco blinked.
"We're not?"
The pilot pointed toward another section of the harbor.
Several foreign ships already rested there. One carried Pentoshi color. Farther away, Marco thought he recognized a Lorathi merchant flag.
He smiled despite himself.
"So the race has already begun."
"It certainly has," the harbor pilot replied cheerfully.
The pilot guided them toward an empty dock, and the efficiency that followed amazed everyone aboard. Dockworkers approached immediately. Inspectors greeted them politely. Custom officials processed their cargo without unnecessary delays or demands for bribes. Merchants were directed toward the appropriate market districts, while sailors were informed where they could find inns, taverns, and supplies.
Marco could not help comparing it to Braavos.
"Remarkable," he murmured.
His first mate nodded beside him.
"No bribes."
Within hours, the Braavosi merchants completed several profitable trades.
They purchased timber, fine steel tools, medicinal herbs, glassware, farming equipment, and several crates of Narnian spices that would sell for astonishing prices back home.
By evening, the Sea Swan departed with its cargo hold nearly full.
Marco stood upon the stern, watching Caer Peverell slowly shrink behind them.
"This voyage alone made us richer than the last three combined."
His crew laughed happily.
"Let's hurry home."
Another nodded eagerly.
"Others will want to know."
The moment the Sea Swan reached Braavos, the news exploded through the city.
"Narnia has revealed itself!"
"You can sail there yourself!"
"They've opened their harbor!"
Every merchant house immediately began preparing ships. Some did not even wait until morning. Warehouses emptied overnight, dockworkers labored without rest, and captains shouted orders across the moonlit harbor.
Entire convoys departed east.
Nobody wished to arrive late.
Everyone feared someone else would secure the best trade agreements first.
One city after another learned the truth. No Narnian captain needed to guide them anymore. All one had to do was sail east, find the colossal guardian statues, and enter the Bay of Tusk.
By the end of the second week, nearly every merchant guild in the Free Cities knew exactly where the Kingdom of Narnia stood.
Trade maps were hastily redrawn.
Captains memorized the journey.
For the first time in history, Narnia had become a destination rather than a legend.
Inside the Administrative Hall of Caer Peverell, Harry listened as Ragnar finished his latest report.
"...and today's count reached one sixty five foreign merchant vessels."
Harry raised an eyebrow.
"So many?"
"Word spread faster than wildfire. The markets are overflowing, the inns are full, and the harbor master is already asking permission to extend the docks again."
Harry chuckled.
"I expected this. Though perhaps not quite so quickly."
"They've waited years to find us," Ragnar said with a grin. "The moment they learned the way, they all came running."
Harry walked toward the tall window overlooking the magnificent harbor.
Foreign flags fluttered beside Narnian banners.
Ships arrived almost continuously, their sails filling the horizon like white birds coming home to roost. The Bay of Tusk had become the busiest stretch of water in the world almost overnight.
Trade had truly begun.
"Good. The kingdom needed customers."
Behind him, Ragnar laughed.
"I don't think finding customers will ever be our problem again."
The world had finally found Narnia.
And judging by the endless stream of sails appearing upon the horizon, it had no intention of leaving.