Demon continent Alsace in the year 0 in the 9 month Lilithum on the 3 day after the beginning of the unification wars
All the inhabitants and dignitaries had gathered in the great temple of Vanadium to witness the greatest ceremony of their days, the founding of the Demon Empire.
Nobles loyal to the new ruling house, along with other important demons, sat in the front row at benches set up in the temple for just this occasion. Behind them, as their social status decreased, the other guests sat, until finally only the population of Vanadium sat on the benches, and the space was just enough.
Everything began with a service, which was held by the new high priestess, who had played an active role in the construction of the revolution, this in her new function as high priestess. It was she, too, who had announced with the voice of Lilith and Asmodus that a new era would begin and that they were pleased with Justinian and Theodora and gave them their consent to become rulers of a new demon kingdom.
The basic features of the service were known to all present, so at the beginning, prayers were made to the gods. Here it was important to pray to the god who helped one the most in life and then to the two great ones of the demon pantheon. After everyone had sent his own prayer to his god in silence. Thanks were given to the three great gods, one to Yasamaq for a good and long life. One to the three sisters for good luck in all deeds and that past mistakes would not catch up with you, as well as that the future would be better. The last prayer was for Ini'Äigi and as always, because it has always been done this way, she was asked for protection, no one knew why, it was just done.
After everyone had done this, a sermon was given by the high priestess of the coming Empire. "As a spiritual leader, it is my duty to act as a mouthpiece for the gods on Arcan. But also vice versa, I communicate your desire and sorrow to the gods." She pauses to enclose the entire audience with an arm around everyone gesture. "However, you all know how our gods behave, yet I would like to mention here again that they will never help us directly, seeing that we can do everything on our own and that we have the strength to conquer the problem before us on our own." As she spoke, the temple was lit up by an aura of the divine and every single person present felt that they were seen by the gods and that they saw each and every one of them. "Which is why today I am privileged to announce another message from the gods." Another pause, the tension in the room could literally be felt with hands. "I hereby proclaim the new demon realm and that from today a new era shall begin." Thunderous applause sounded in the hall of the temple.
The high priestess told Justinian and Theodora and their children to come to her. They followed this request, of course, they had already been informed in advance about the procedures. Today was the day of their coronation as rulers of the new demon realm, they had already been crowned rulers, but now it was meant more as a symbolic beginning for the people. As many people who had taken a long trip to be here today to witness this historic event.
Raising her right hand, she had silenced the crowd. The divine aura, which had spread throughout the room, returned to the high priestess so that she literally shone with divinity. In a voice in which a female and a male voice resonated, she continued speaking.
"My children. You have done well to chase away the traitor and take your rightful place. -" The high priestess turned to the audience. - "And all of you our children have done well to do the same.
"My children. You have done well to chase away the traitor and take your rightful place. -" The high priestess turned to her audience. - "And all of you of our children have done well to do the same. Now that you have cleared the first hurdle, we trust you could clear the next and be ready for the wars to come." A heavy pause arose. "We hereby present to you our direct descendant and your new rulers Justinian as your King Theodora as your Queen Minerva as your heir to the throne and her brother Basil. Bow to your new rulers." The rustling of thousands of garments could be heard as all present fell to their knees. After that, the aura of the gods disappeared and the High Priestess was once again just a High Priestess and not the mouthpiece of the gods. "Let the festivities begin." She announced, causing more cheering to erupt and music to begin.
The common people celebrated in the streets of Vanadium, while the nobles and finer classes of the population celebrated in their own homes or in the palace if they were invited.
Thus, on this day, food and drink were consumed in a way that the capital had not seen in a long time. However, while celebrating, the powerful of this country met behind closed doors. In the war room of the palace, where the leading military officers, as well as the most influential nobles, found themselves. Among them were Abraxas and his daughter Sappho, together with her wife Sia, who was present in her capacity as a general. Abraxas was in charge of the conversation and just gave himself the floor.
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"As many of you know, I have been working for decades to bring us back under the leadership of a child of our gods. -" A quick nod in the direction of Justinian and Theodora. - "Now that we have achieved this, I can move on to other projects." Light laughter rang out. Many of those present had long been companions of Abraxas and knew of his wish, as well as the one immediately following.
"Many will know, but I think I'll mention it here again, I can still remember when we were led by Basil the Great and went to war against the followers of Meinoume to rid ourselves and the world of him. Unfortunately, we couldn't stop him from infiltrating us then." He shook his head and had a somewhat downcast demeanor. "This time, however, we were able to prevent it and were able to drive him and his followers away." He seemed to literally grow before the eyes of those present. Until he stood above them all and seemed to look each one of them in the eye. "But I am now an aging man and it is the task of the younger generation to survive this trial and that is why I would like to present my daughter, who many remember from her time as my assistant. She will take up this task again and I will prepare her to take over my task as well one day not too far away." Friendly applause from those present.
"Until that day comes, however, I would like to have a few things wrapped up. Which is why I will come to our first item of the day." He waited for a moment to see if there would be any more ideas from those present, but since no one showed the desire to say anything, he continued. "Good, then without further digressing, let's get to the first point. The reunification of the former demon realm. First, to the current situation." With a wave of his hand, a map appeared on the table in the center of the room, showing the national territory of the new Demon Empire, as well as the renegades, loyals, and colonies. "As you can see, we have taken over almost the entire national territory of the loyalists. Only a few towns or villages are still in the hands of the enemy. We must take care of these first, as they pose a greater danger than any other enemy of the Empire." He showed the individual areas, which were still under the control of the loyalists. "For the military point of view, I give the floor to General Georgios." The latter stood up with a nod to the chancellor.
"As the Chancellor has already said, our main focus is to bring the territories in the hands of the Loyalists under our control and to eliminate any supporter of Meinoume. History has shown us that we cannot trust them and that they only want the worst for us. At the same time, we must not forget the renegades." He points with one hand to the areas of the renegades, which were thereby highlighted. "Through our spies, we know that they are preparing together or independently to invade and rule over our land. All the renegades believe that they should be the true rulers of the demons. At the same time, the colonies are trying to expand and would use any chance to do so. The bottom line is that we must not show any weakness to our enemies and must hurry to defeat the loyals as soon as possible before they can reorganize and stab us in the back." Afterward, they discussed late into the night how best to proceed. What was the best defense strategy and how they could win against this or that enemy. Strategies were worked out, plans were prepared for emergencies. All of them were aware that their army was not as strong and experienced as they would like it to be and more enemies would come like sharks smelling the blood in the water if other countries became interested in what was happening on the Demon Continent and sensed their opportunity.
"Ah, one more thing which my spies have brought to my attention. -" Said Georgios to Abraxas, leaning down to him when everyone else had already left the room. - "I have not been able to find your daughter." He said, turning to Sappho and Sia. "But about the troops of the Empire, about which you had informed me, I can tell you. They have split up and according to the reports, it is a small army that is scouring the continent, they seem to be looking for something. They are scouring the continent in our direction. Under the banner of a snake with a crown."
"Thank you, General." Said Sappho for everyone as the General turned away and started to leave the room. "Father, I believe they know we have the soul of Caleb, but I don't believe they know what we have done with it. But we will have to deal with them sooner or later."
"Yeah I think you're right, I think I pushed my luck with his soul. By Vanadium, a little more luck wouldn't hurt." What he hadn't told his daughter and her wife was that he had the latter's heart, head and core brought along, just in case. Since his assassin couldn't find any record at Caleb's house, it had been a good idea on his part. Its heart and core were not bad for magical rituals. So the core had been processed into the new crowns of the rulers. From the head, various specialists were still trying to obtain information without success. And he could not shake the suspicion that Caleb was conscious and continued to live in Cali, how else had Cali escaped? But why was she still a level one mage? What if it really was Caleb? He had reached level ten, after all. All questions he would have to answer at a later time, preferably before parts of the Empire's armies arrived.