Disclaimer: This is fanwork based on the manga the Quintessential Quintuplets (Go-Tobun no Hanayome), by Negi Haruba. Its setting, characters and plot belong to its rightful creator. I write this only for fun and as a little writing experiment.
Discovery
Long before the arrival of the Nakanos, the New Continent was inhabited by the Uesugi peoples.
According to the most recent archaeological findings, the ancestors of the Uesugis crossed the strait of Hinojim over 10,000 years ago and quickly settled the continent. In time, the Uesugis were divided in three main cultural groups: the Isanaris, the Futaros and the Raihas.
According to Uesugi myths, the Isanari clans descended from the god-hero Uesugi Isanari, founder of the first known civilization in the continent and the first person to claim the title of "Shogun of All Uesugi". Easily recognized by their bleaching tradition, by the time of the discovery they were but a remnant of their golden past, reduced to an extensive but weak collection of nomadic and impoverished tribes, displaced by the rise of the Futaros.
The Futaro line started as a secondary branch of the Isanaris. Originally, they were among the most belligerent of the Uesugi tribal confederation, bold explorers and warriors. However, legends say that, at one point, a tribe of pink-haired people from the other side of the ocean* arrived and intermingled with the Futaro clans, who experienced an uncanny transformation. Writing and new technologies were introduced, and the Futaros abandoned traditional tribal structures to establish a hierarchical society, where position was earned according to personal tests.
*Future Nakano scholars would claim that the "pink-haired goddess" of Uesugi myth is a reference to the arrival of explorers from the Renan Empire centuries before the official discovery of the continent. While popular, this theory remains inconclusive in modern scholarship.
Soon, the more dynamic and better organized Futaro clans replaced the Isanaris as the dominant culture in the New Continent. However, political unity was short-lived and the Uesugi confederation imploded in a myriad of disjointed clans, paving the way for the future Nakano dominance.
The Raihas were the last Uesugi branch to appear. Like the Futaros, the Raiha clans descended from the original Isanari line. After crossing the continent, the ancestors of the Raihas sailed to the nearby Raiha Island (from which they took their name) and settled in it. Enjoying a warm climate and fertile lands, and isolated from tribal conflicts in the continent, the Raihas developed a pacifist civilization, where all people were welcome and where local agriculture and trade routes provided for everyone.
This was the new world that the first Itsuki expedition encountered in Year 1 of the Discovery.
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Quintus Negi
The man who discovered the New Continent for the Nakano countries was Quintus Negi, an experienced sailor and captain obsessed with tales about a mythical land that produced the most luxurious spices and where people wore clothes made of gold and silver. He claimed that he had found ancient Renan maps that pinpointed its location and was convinced that, by sailing to the West, a ship would arrive to this continent in about six weeks.
At first, he presented his plan to the Ichika Empire, who rejected it. "Too expensive and lacking a solid foundation in proven scholarship", the empress' advisors said. Thus, Negi left his homeland and travelled to the Itsuki Commonwealth, where Grand Princess Kodansha was sponsoring ambitious maritime expeditions in collaboration with other Nakano countries.
While Kodansha's advisors raised the same objections, questioning the authenticity of Negi's "ancient maps", in the end the Grand Princess agreed to organize the expedition.
And thus, three ships departed from the port of Harubia in search of the fabled western continent.
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The discovery
On the 8th of August, after weeks of voyage, sailors from one of the ships sighted strange lights on the horizon. The next day, the expedition arrived to the New Continent and met the Uesugi natives.
Captain Quintus Negi was ecstatic. With this discovery, he thought, his name would achieve eternal fame and his theories would be vindicated for posterity. And while the land and the locals he had discovered did not match the wild fantasies he had imagined, they represented a completely new world for the Nakanos.
As instructed by the Commonwealth's authorities, Quintus Negi was to establish peaceful negotiations with the natives. After all, the Commonwealth was interested in finding new markets for its food surplus, and through trade they might acquire valuable spices, minerals and other raw materials that could only be found beyond the Nakano borders. Thus, the crew of the expedition attempted to earn the natives' trust with lavish offerings of food.
Sadly, it did not have the intended effect.
The main problem was a cultural misunderstanding. While the crew's food offerings would have impressed the Isanaris or the Raihas, the natives Negi had encountered belonged to one of the Futaro clans in the region. Among the Futaros, frugality was considered a sacred virtue and the Itsuki food display was deemed wasteful and boastful, rather than a sign of generosity.
Not that the Itsuki expedition members had a better impression of the locals, though. Quintus Negi wrote in his journal:
"These 'Uhesugiquns', as they call themselves, are the most vulgar people on the face of earth. While a salutary interest in writing and reading is commendable, the inhabitants of this country take it to perverse extremes. They read while they walk, eat and drink, and would bring their books to their beds if only they knew how to read while sleeping. This lack of education does not bother them in the slightest, for they all share this mania and do not know how to appreciate a good meal. Their tastes are so twisted that they do not distinguish their rotten meat from our good Itsuki produce, and eat everything without care or manners."
In the end, while Negi managed to establish some connections and trade some goods for local specialities, and even convinced some of the natives to accompany him back to the Itsuki Commonwealth, the captain was disappointed. This was not the glorious feat he had expected.
With nothing else to do, the expedition set sail and went back to the Old Continent.
That was the end of the first Nakano expedition to Uesugi lands, but it would not be the last. Despite the initial disappointment, the Discovery was the start of a new era that would forever change the cultures and the balance of power across the globe.
The Age of Exploration had begun.
Author's notes:
Yeah, I know, this project is crazy. But as a Crusader Kings II fan, it's also lots of fun!
Inspired by Lord Nayrael, I decided to make the Uesugis a combination of medieval Japan and Native Americans, with a bit of Chinese in the middle. Which sounds strange, until you remember that Columbus' own goal was to reach Japan, India and China, and ended up in the Americas instead.
Quintus Negi, unsurprisingly, is based on Christopher Columbus. And the name of Kodansha comes from the publishers of the Quintessential Quintuplets manga. Also, the date? It's both a reference to the date the manga was published for the first time (August 9, 2017) and to the date Columbus started his first voyage (August 3, 1492).
By the way, I didn't explain the calendar: the years are based on manga chapters. Anime only viewers will be safe until Year 32. Beyond that, it's spoiler territory.
Also, here are the government systems and titles of the rulers in each main faction so far:
-Renan Empire: Imperial monarchy (now defunct), led by Her Majesty, the Empress of Rena.
-Ichika Empire: Imperial monarchy, led by Her Majesty, the Ichika Empress.
-Kingdom of Nino: Absolute monarchy, led by Her Majesty, the Queen of Nino.
-Holy Church of Miku: Elective theocracy, led by Her Holiness, the First Apostle of Miku.
-Republic of Yotsuba: Merchant aristocratic republic, led by Her Most Serene Duchess and the Council of 428.
-Itsuki Commonwealth: Elective monarchy, led by Her Highness, the Grand Itsuki Princess.
-Uesugis: Tribal confederation (now defunct), led by His Celestial Excellency, the Shogun of All Uesugi.