Endora

Seth, Hollie, and Maya were floating high in the air, looking at the giant academy that Seth had just completed the other day, a smile present on each of their faces.

At the moment, it was utterly deserted, but Seth felt like he could already see the thousands of students walking around the sheer white pathways, heading towards their lectures.

Maya also seemed somewhat emotional, quite different from the numb Hollie, as she tightened her hold on Seth’s arm and said: “Congratulations. It turned out amazing.”

The small patches of greenery along the paths, even in the middle of autumn, paired with the blooming patches of colored flowers, gave the usually stoic marble a vibrant feeling. Each energy classroom had a giant symbol of the energy type painted on its rooftop, and each sign was painted in its own color as well.

Without looking past its walls, the beauty of the academy seemed taken directly out of a fantasy book.

Seth nodded and looked at the rest of the city, which looked just as ugly as it did when he arrived. Sighing, he turned towards Maya and asked: “How is everything with the housing and farming area going?”

Maya smiled wryly and shook her head. “We only have around 4000 houses, which can hold only a small part of the population. You were the one with the most creation energy out of everyone there, so with you focusing on the academy, the time needed to complete everything doubled.”

“Still, it’s not all bad. The farming area already produces enough food to feed everyone, which boosted the morale and brought even more able hands willing to help.”

“There are also a few issues. You haven’t delivered the laws or created lavatories for everyone, so there are small incidents of food theft and public defecation. We must take care of that before the newly built houses turn just as smelly as the rest of the city.”

Seth nodded with a sigh and turned towards Hollie. “Since most people have already gotten used to you after all the reading and writing classes, I need you to tell everyone to gather in the city’s center tomorrow. Have Alexa take some time to clean a large enough patch of land to fit everyone. It is best if the land is close to the academy.”

“I’ll announce the academy’s construction, the new set of laws, the kingdom’s name, and have my official introduction. I’ve been postponing it for too long.”

“It is time for the inauguration of our new kingdom.”

Once Hollie nodded, she dropped Maya and Seth off in front of the academy before rushing to grab Alexa and find a large enough patch of land. On the other hand, Seth started looking through the laws created by the system, making some minor adjustments here and there.

Once the system informed him that some space was cleared next to the western academy entrance, Seth spent the entire night before his great speech creating three giant pillars where he wrote the most critical laws for everyone to read.

There were more laws, almost filling an entire book if written down, but those three pillars containing the most basic rights and laws were enough for now. Having them on pillars would also be a constant reminder for the people.

With the rest of his creation energy, he made a high platform from which he would address the city’s people and also prepared a new outfit for himself. By the time he was done with everything, it was already the following day, and people had already started to gather.

Seth made a chair and waited quietly on the platform until noon for people to gather. By then, Maya, Hollie, Tiana, and Henrietta joined him, as Seth had asked them to.

Sal, with his family, and Winston, Alexa’s father, with his sons, were also dressed in knightly armor created by Seth, forming a perimeter around him.

At noon, Seth stood up with a smile and walked to the edge of the raised platform, looking at the sea of people beneath him.

Sal and Winston took this moment to fall on one knee in front of Seth in a knightly manner. Sal had long made a knightly oath to Seth, willing to serve him for his entire life, but Winston had not since he was not even a knight in the first place.

Winston was just a general, but today, he wanted to take this chance to express his loyalty to the new king, so he also requested a set of armor for himself.

Seth smiled as he saw them and motioned with his hands for them to sit up. After they were back at their own spots, Seth fixed his eyes back on his people.

‘System, are all of them here?’

<Most of them. 92 412 people have gathered, leaving a few thousand who were sick, too young, too old, or simply didn’t want to come.>

Seth nodded and turned towards his ladies in the back: “You come as well to stay by my side.”

Once Maya and Hollie took his right and left, with Tiana sitting by Maya’s side and Henrietta by Hollie, Seth had Hollie transmit his voice over the entire city, reaching even the people that had not come.

“When I last addressed everyone, it was the day I took down the former king of the Blood Kingdom and respected the tradition by having him tied to a pillar to pay for the sins he had committed against you all.”

“That was a long tradition, worthy of the Blood Kingdom and its bloody history.”

“Today, I appear in front of you to officially declare that to be the last tradition of the Blood Kingdom I plan on honoring. From today onwards, there would be no Blood Kingdom anymore.”

Whispers and murmurs started coming from the people gathered, unsure of Seth’s intention behind his words, but Seth didn’t give them time to make assumptions as he continued right after.

“The name Blood Kingdom has stuck with this land for a long time and has only carried with it what the name dictates. A bloody fate painted with the blood and suffering of its own people.”

“To celebrate the end of that misery and bloody period, I will change this kingdom’s fate and name before raising it to a level of prosperity never seen or heard of on this continent.”

Pointing towards the three large pillars by the side, Seth continued: “I promised you all a new set of laws the day I took over the throne, so now you have them written on those pillars for everyone to see. Remember to follow them all to the letter because everyone who doesn’t will be punished starting today.”

Ignoring the new set of whispers, Seth pointed toward the academy behind him. “As most of you might have guessed, this building behind me is a training place for ascended, an academy grander than even the one in the Oath Kingdom.”

“Asteria Academy’s gates are still closed for now because we have not yet finished building the houses for everyone, but don’t worry, since we’ll be done in a couple of months with that as well. Once the housing problem is resolved, Asteria will finally open its gates for those of you meant to become ascended.”

“The food problem had been solved already, with the fields we built at the city’s periphery already able to sustain the entire city. If you are worried about winter coming, don’t be.” Seth made a slight pause and turned towards Tiana on the side.

Tiana took a deep breath, and her energy spread outwards, covering the entire gathering of people. The cold autumn air suddenly turned lukewarm, making everyone glance around, confused, not understanding what was happening.

“As you may have witnessed with any recent rain, ascended not only have the power to fight and topple kingdoms but also the ability to resist nature. With us ascended watching over you, there is no need to fear rain, cold, or snow. Fire ascended energy would protect the crops from the chilling winter wind, and earth ascended energy would ensure the plants continue to grow, even in less than ideal conditions.”

As everyone was getting excited, Seth gave them a moment to calm down before continuing.

“Change doesn’t come easy, but if every one of you wants it and is willing to respect the law and help as much as you can, I’ll give it to you. I’ll ensure the days of famine, sickness, and fear are long behind you.”

“Stand by me, and we’ll create a kingdom that would be the envy of the entire world.”

“The blood name, so deeply ingrained into the kingdom, its lands, and its people, I’ll cleanse them all away and allow everyone a path towards a brighter future. One of power, prosperity, and happiness.”

Ignoring the pain coming from his destruction source, he channeled all his energies and spread them above him, creating a rainbow of pressure that covered the entire city.

“Let today mark the beginning of the Holy Kingdom of Endora.”

“From now I on, I am King Seth of Endora, and by name, I swear to lead you all to greatness. We’ll no longer be the joke of the entire continent but a force that would instill fear and awe into every other kingdom.”

Once his passionate speech was over, Maya, Hollie, Tiana, Henrietta, and all the other ascended who followed Seth from the capital released their energies into the air, covering the entire sky into a sea of color.

Even the most indifferent of the citizens couldn’t remain unmoved at the mystical display, the pressure coming from all the energy active in the air pressing heavily on their shoulders.

Like a wave extending from Seth’s platform, the residents all fell on their knees, but their heads were raised up, eyes still captivated by the energy rainbow above.

Silence reigned over the entire gathering for a whole minute before all the ascended started retreating their energies back into their sources, with Seth being the last one to do it.

When all the people lowered their heads at the end of the spectacle and fixed them back on Seth, they were stunned to find him wearing completely different clothes than before the energy show.

Seth wore a modern black coat with tight black pants and golden lining. A long black cloak extended over his shoulders, adorned with black and white fur around his neck, and flowing down his right shoulder.

He completed the outfit with a simple, pure white crown to show his status as a king.

He passed through all sorts of different outfits for this occasion, going through all colors of the spectrum, but he found black to still fit him the best.

The modern style, paired with Seth’s imposing display from earlier, roused a sense of awe in everyone there, making them bow their heads to avoid staring at him too much.

Seth spoke a few more words of encouragement before creating a portal and stepping inside, followed by his queens right after.

Once the portal disappeared, a feast was organized by Seth’s knights and other people that followed him from the Wrath Kingdom. Everyone pertained to the served food while reading over the laws displayed by Seth.

The feast ended all the way into the evening when everyone started returning to their homes. They were both anxious and excited, but none mattered more than their full bellies.

Looking at the tide of perception energy flooding towards him from the feast area, Seth smiled while muttering something under his breath.

“I guess even the way to an entire kingdom’s heart is through their stomach.”