The foundation of the chapter focuses on the Madjriti experience in El-Rabeeah, chronicling their expansion after first setting foot on the continent in 1522. Although Madjrit initially established itself as the oldest colonial power in the New World, its outward spread from its settlements in Azimland was perpetually hampered by the continent’s central geography. The inner reaches of the continent enveloped themselves in infinite jungle, a vast and forbidding wilderness that proved immensely difficult to explore or settle due to its punishing climate and environment. This region became known to the Madjritis as the Ghabat ("Hell’s Forest"), a name that was well-earned, given that dozens, if not hundreds, of Madjriti explorers perished or became hopelessly lost between 1543 and 1650. The Sultan eventually conceded to the immense cost of this endeavor, enacting a decree in 1678 that strictly banned any further exploration of the jungle indefinitely.

Despite the official prohibition, the enduring allure of a kingdom rich in gold and silver, rumored to lie on the far Pacific coast of the continent, continued to captivate many Madjriti adventurers. Defying the Sultan’s directive, an explorer named Tariq al-Sayyid set out on May 8th, 1682, with 250 men, exploiting the known laxity of law enforcement in the frontier regions of El-Rabeeah. The initial expedition was catastrophic; dozens of men died from sickness or native attacks, forcing Sayyid to contemplate failure by July, at which point only 52 men remained. However, on July 21st, Sayyid's fortune dramatically shifted when the dense jungle suddenly gave way to towering, formidable peaks. Sayyid, astonished by the magnitude of the mountains, christened them the Jibal Alsama ("Sky Mountains").

As they ascended these imposing heights, the remaining Madjritis encountered remnants of civilization in the precarious elevations. They soon learned that these people were part of a vast, yet rapidly disintegrating empire whose capital was named “Center” (Cusco). Upon meeting the emperor, Apu Inti, the Madjritis were astounded to learn that they were not the first Europeans to reach the realm; the French had been there decades earlier, around 1570. According to native accounts, the French, led by De Morny II (the son of the famous explorer Jean-Baptiste de Morny), violently clashed with the empire after their demands for Christian conversion were rejected. A final, brutal confrontation occurred in the capital in 1575, where French artillery shattered the city and resulted in the capture and subsequent killing of the emperor by De Morny II before the French commander took his own life. This foreign presence, coupled with subsequent civil war, succession struggles, and the devastating introduction of Old World diseases, led to the loss of at least half of the empire’s population by the turn of the 17th century.

The empire, existing in a dire state of fragmentation and barely held together by the fear of further invasion, readily handed over massive amounts of gold and silver to Sayyid, who, in turn, renamed the realm ‘Djebel-es-Sama’ (Imberia, the Empire of the Golden Mountains). Madjrit was thus bequeathed a new source of immense revenue. Because his men were unwilling to risk recrossing the perilous jungle, Sayyid convinced the Imberate to guide him and his remaining men across the flatter southern regions of the empire, concluding the expedition by early 1683. Learning from the sheer devastation wrought by the French, the Sultan resolved in 1690 to formalize a relationship with the Imberate that entailed absorbing the empire without conquest or subjugation, requiring only that the natives convert to Islam. The Imberate, viewing this as their only option, submitted to Madjriti tutelage, thus ensuring the survival of their populace.