Haven

Will began raising the rock from the seabed to build an island. On the island, he built a 50-meter-tall base for the statue. Will set the base on a stone compass about 10 meters tall and he engraved the cardinal directions into the compass.

Then he built a 200-meter-tall statue of Pontus stretching out his head and right hand to hold a massive 10-lantern out to sea, and his left held up his watery toga. On the toga were different sea creatures.

Before he had a chance to turn on the light in the lighthouse, it flickered on itself.

"Did you mean to do that Will?" Elizabeth asked wearily.

"No," Will said and called out to Nisha, just to be safe.

"Ha-ha, no need to be scared nephew!" the statue laughed his voice traveling for kilometers. "I like this, statue immensely. As I agreed, I'll grant you one boon," Pontus said.

Will pulled up his divine panel and went to the Golden Phoenix Trading Company, LTD.

He knew anything that could be purchased would be found there.

Buildings were a great example of that. A city cost millions of Faith Points. And each additional building would only increase the cost.

Will searched until he found some ready-made designs for sale. If he wanted to buy an airport and rail station, castle, bridges, churches, banks, casinos, horse track, theatre, auction houses, barracks, dams, and locks they all increased the expenses astronomically.

Prices for property blueprints and humans or demi-humans were astronomical since it was assumed that only those rich gods would bother paying for the system to build.

If building a city was this expensive, Will wondered how much it cost to plant new human colonies.

"Uncle, I humbly ask you to build this city I designed, and fill it with humans," Will said sending his uncle the blueprints he purchased with the added additions.

"Done," Pontus looked at the price and raised his left eyebrow in surprise.

After a few minutes of making his modifications, mainly adding more statues and his face across the city, He agreed.

Before he paid, he picked up Will and Elizabeth and placed them on his statuesque chiseled stone shoulders.

Soon buildings began appearing from light and solid structures. The flat land they were standing up on morphed into a huge city, three times the size of Gadreel, in a matter of minutes.

From her high vantage point, Elizabeth saw the tall outer walls, four bridges, two large piers on either side of the river, guilds, three large churches, four academies, Will's businesses, a large castle set high above the riverbank about 10 kilometers from the river's mouth, and more!

Will designed the castle after Prague Castle in the Czech Republic. Will thought renaissance architecture meshed well with the rest of the city.

In less than an hour, the 10,000 square kilometer city spanning two kingdoms was finished. The new city looked like it had stood for generations.

They continued to watch as humans began to appear. Like a simulation, they stood briefly in place before running off to complete so task. Will saw farmers framing the fields, crafters busy crafting, people bargaining at the bazaar, shipbuilders hard at work, and city guards patrolling the streets.

Elizabeth was both terrified and in awe of the primordial gods' powers. In less, than an hour Pontus built a self-sustaining city.

"Thank you, uncle," Will bowed.

"Tis nothing. I promised you a boon and I've kept my word," he said and disappeared. The statue returned to stone.

"Well, should we look around?" Will asked teleporting them back to the ground.

As Elizabeth walked around, she noticed all the houses already had sanitation and electricity.

The city's wide streets and pleasant atmosphere made a lovely afternoon. They ate at a local restaurant, walked across the bridges, and explored the city.

Elizabeth enjoyed talking to the new citizens. Through the conversations she learned, every human said the same thing. They were refugees seeking safety in…but they never remembered the city's name.

It wasn't until Will met with the city administrator did, he officially name the city, Amphitrite, after Pontus' favorite granddaughter. After turning on the water array, Will and Elizabeth returned to Annapolis.

…

By the end of the week, the boundaries were redrawn, a peace treaty was signed, and Jacques married Melody.

With their diplomacy finished, King Roland, Will, Francis II, and their families returned to Fermion.

While things in Fermion returned to normal, they could not be said for the rest of the world.

While the southern lords had all signed a peace treaty, no one believed it would last longer than a month.

Angriest of all we're the Kingdoms of Icer, Zhekid, Principality of Suyuet, and Dukedom of Kro. Each lost territory to the former Qhosnir lords who marched westward to expand their budding kingdoms.

It would not be a stretch to say, the balance of the world hung on a shoestring.

With the conference ended the southern lords left Annapolis and sailed back to their fiefs.

For the majority that fastest route home involved sailing past the Azures Islands and up the Yangtze River.

The others would need to travel directly to the Kingdom of Icer and up the Francroft River.

Last night as they sailed, they saw a tall lighthouse illuminating the sea in the darkness.

None had remembered seeing a lighthouse here before a set off to investigate.

What they saw the next morning terrorized them. A gigantic statue of Pontus stood tall looking out over the sea.

A statue of that size would take mundane stone masons decades to build, or a grandmaster terramancer a single day.

It was then that they remembered this imperial land belonged to Marquis von Ballard.

Most had seen his prowess during the Third Schism they didn't need a reminder of what of his capabilities.

When they brought their heads down from the clouds, they were treated to another marvelous sight.

A massive city that did not exist a month ago, stretched out far on the horizon. As they traveled upriver, they felt their eyes betray them.

The land was the Allied Army first engaged the demons were a city filled with life.

"Where did this city come from?" asked a lord

Where did the people come from?" asked another.

With the truce still in place, they agreed to explore the city in groups. After paying the dock master 8 silvers each they stepped ashore.

As they explored the city, they saw Will's businesses, airships, K-8 schools, four academies, bridges, a castle, and military barracks. All the buildings had electricity and sanitation.

"Truly, Grandmaster von Ballard is very strong. He built this city and dammed the river. He is forcing us to trade with him and pay to use the river. He takes too much. We should destroy this city!" argued a young lord.

"Ha-ha, the ignorant of youth. To destroy this city would trigger the wrath of a grandmaster, sage, their spirit animals, and the Great Eastern Empire. While you dream folly, I plan to purchase the city's fine iron weapons," said the King of Icer.

"I agree," said the Prince of Suyuet not hiding the new iron weapons he bought.

What surprised the Prince of Suyuet, and others was the quality of the craftsmen, especially the blacksmith.

By the time the lords left, they began calling the city Amphitrite by another name: Haven. The city was busy but also serene.

As Haven was an imperial city, they knew it is peaceful. It was the perfect place to send their wives and children during the war.

The only people that stayed behind were King Gaozong and Prince Xiaozong.

They were excited to hear the other lords debating whether it was wise still to attack the Kingdom of Song.

Just placing half a city in their kingdom, was enough of a deterrent. A feeling of peace washed over them, that they had not felt before. They quickly wrote Will and Lingling letters of gratitude.

News quickly spread of a new miraculous imperial city, a haven, across the southern continent. Amphitrite's great size, grandeur, and amenities were a magnate for those wanting to escape the constant wars.

The news even came as surprise to the rest of the world, especially Emperor Pius II and King Roland. When they read the report, it seemed too fantastical in nature.

Yet no one questioned if such a feat was possible by mortal standards. They were so used to Will doing the impossible, that it felt expected.

Moreover, it was common knowledge he built Gadreel as a journeyman. As a grandmaster, could he not build a larger city faster?

The quick construction of the city was expected, what was not expected were the people. The entire city was filled with people who acted as though they and their families had lived in Amphitrite for generations. That was the great mystery.

Most theorists postulated the city existed under the water and Will simply moved the city from the sea bed onto land. Less believed there was a conspiracy between the Will and the three empires.

But what everyone agreed upon, Will was one of the greatest men of the century. Already biographies of Will were in every local bookstore.

"The flow of history is a river that most ride, but every so often a man, through sheer brilliance or force of mind, builds a dam and redirects the course of civilization," Dean Trevor wrote an autobiography.