Once upon a time, salt was not of this land, just as sand was not of the sea. Back then, fanatical laws had not yet gripped the land, and a king still sat atop Iberia's royal throne. Back then, the king was the master of his domain, the mighty forces at his disposal conquering city-state after city-state. His bravery and renown outlived Catastrophe after Catastrophe, and his forts and outposts sprouted across increasingly remote frontiers. He erected palaces and great courts, and his cities were filled with statues bearing his image. But the king could never be sated, for he wished his name to be sung everywhere. And so, the King of Iberia decreed thusly to his hundred cities: 'Gather all learned men to my royal city, so that I may know of the vastness of the land and sea.' The first to seek an audience was a merchant, old and frail, yet bearing a treasure he wished to present. The king trusted in the wisdom afforded by time, and summoned the merchant to his hall. The merchant presented a burning-hot hourglass, proclaiming that the hottest desert marked the ends of the earth. 'I have once reached the ends of the earth, where the wind scalds like flame and the sun blazes like a torch, and I bring to you the sand of that place!' The second to seek an audience was a fisherman, youthful and naive, yet bearing a treasure he wished to present. The king trusted in the wisdom innate to youth, and summoned the fisherman to his hall. The fisherman presented a flask of black seawater, claiming that the darkest water filled the ends of the sea. 'I have once reached the ends of the sea, where the water is bottomless and the currents run relentless. I bring to you the brine of that place!' The next to seek an audience was an alchemist, shrouded from sight and of age unknown, yet bearing a treasure he wished to present. But before the king could decide whether or not to trust this figure, the alchemist appeared within his hall. He asked the king to give him the hourglass and the flask, and the king readily agreed, curious as to what he would do. The sand from the ends of the land melted into red liquid before his eyes. The brine from the ends of the sea crystallized into white sand before his eyes. The alchemist scattered them both nonchalantly, and they seemed to dissipate into thin air. As if responding to his will, a strong wind blew through the kingdom for three days and nights. 'I know not how vast the land or the sea are, but regardless, neither are as vast as Iberia's boundless power.' 'From now on, the winds of the land and sea obey your will, O King of Iberia. 'Starting today, see to it that a fleet is built, and follow the direction of the wind.' 'Be it by land or sea, Iberia's fleet shall show the way.'