Chapter 28 — The Circle of the Earth
The map room of the Palacio del Sol glowed with the light of hundreds of candles. Charts sprawled across the tables like the veins of the world itself — seas inked in sapphire, continents brushed in ochre, and newly added lines tracing the vast waters of the Southern Ocean.
Emperor Leon I of Aragon stood before it in silence. His eyes followed the crimson threads that stretched from Seville to Mexico, from Manila to Nueva Castilla del Sur. For the first time in human memory, a single empire had drawn the circle of the earth.
Behind him, Admiral Juan de Estrella entered, his beard silvered by age but his eyes still sharp as the horizon.
"Majesty," Estrella said softly, "we have seen the edge of the world. Beyond Papua, the waters grow cold — and the stars shift. Some among us say there is land even farther south."
Leon smiled faintly, his gaze never leaving the map.
"There is always more land, Estrella. The Lord hides wonders beyond each storm to test our faith."
He turned to the gathered council — governors, cardinals, shipwrights, and scholars from every corner of the empire.
Among them stood a young astronomer-priest, Fray Mateo de Salamanca, whose voice trembled with fervor.
"Your Majesty," he said, "if we may unify our navigators, explorers, and scholars under one order — a society of both discovery and devotion — we can map the world entire before your reign ends."
Leon stepped closer, his cloak brushing against the table.
"You speak of an order not of swords, but of compasses."
"Yes, sire," Fray Mateo replied. "An empire of minds to mirror your empire of faith."
The Birth of the Royal Geographical Society
And so, upon that very day — beneath the vaulted ceiling of the royal chapel in Manila — the Real Sociedad Geográfica de Aragón was founded.
Leon himself placed the first silver seal upon its charter, bearing the motto:
"Per Fidem et Scientiam — Through Faith and Knowledge."
The society drew men of every colony:
Cartographers from Mexico, astronomers from Formosa, mathematicians from Seville, and even native scholars from the Philippines — all united under the twin suns of Aragon.
They mapped the heavens as earnestly as they charted the seas, believing that the stars themselves were the handwriting of God.
In the University of Seville–Manila, classes on geometry and theology were held side by side. Professors spoke of magnetism and miracles in the same breath. Steam engines and sextants gleamed beside relics and crosses.
To the people, this was the Age of Illumination under Faith — when the empire's light burned not by conquest, but by understanding.
The Emperor's Dream
Late one night, Leon walked alone through the observatory gardens.
Above him, the southern stars shimmered — unfamiliar, vast, silent.
He thought of Daniel, the soldier he once was — a man of earth and steel, now ruler of sea and spirit.
And as he watched the stars, he whispered:
"Perhaps heaven gave me two lives so that one might build what the other could only imagine."
Behind him, Queen Isabella appeared in the archway, holding a candle.
"You're awake again," she said softly. "Even kings must rest."
"How can I?" Leon replied, looking toward the horizon. "Every day, new worlds are born beneath our flag. If God has allowed us to circle His earth, then what awaits beyond that circle?"
She smiled faintly, placing her hand upon his arm.
"Perhaps not another world, my love. Perhaps only peace — if you can hold it."
Proclamation of the Global Empire
The next morning, in the cathedral square of Manila, Leon stood before his gathered subjects — nobles, friars, sailors, and citizens from every race and colony.
In his hand he held a golden globe, forged from the silver of Mexico and the gold of Formosa. Upon its surface, every new colony was marked by a tiny cross.
"People of Aragon," he proclaimed,
"Today, we have encircled the world in the name of Christ.
Not by the sword alone, but by courage, knowledge, and faith united.
Let this globe remind every soul — the earth is round, yet heaven remains above all."
The crowd erupted in cheers. Bells tolled from every tower. Cannons boomed from the harbor, their thunder echoing over sea and sky alike.
And so, in that moment, the Aragonese Empire became the first realm in history to rule the circle of the earth.