Chapter 802: Coronation
The four of them were deposited at the edge of the garden by the staff, who had just spotted Dominic and Alexis standing nearby.
They were surrounded by foreign Nobles, all looking highly excited about the crowning ceremony that was due to start in just a few minutes. By definition, it was a once in a generation event, and they were in the best spot to see it proceeding.
Katerina wasn’t interested in the event itself. It was just pretty words to verify what they already knew.
What she did notice was that the guests of honour in the front row were almost all powerful mages, veteran soldiers, and all noted in her lesson books as being devoutly loyal to the King.
She suspected that most of it was self-interest.
Katerina knew that her father had chosen not to try to form his own nation once he took back the territories that once belonged to her grandfather. But it wasn’t because of loyalty, it was largely pragmatism.
He hated paperwork enough that he didn’t want to be the one ultimately in charge.
He was already the Governor, and he made ninety percent of the decisions, but if there was a problem too annoying for him, he could refer it to the King. That was brilliant logic to Katerina.
She wanted to delegate the annoying parts of her life too.
Like when she had to get her hair done to test a style, or stand for dress fittings. She had tried convincing Amie to do it for her, but the mage wasn’t willing. She could shift her size enough now that she could actually imitate her, so it wasn’t impossible.
She just didn’t want to do it, either.
The girls dragged the Duke over to join the crowd, and found that every one knew him, and that Larry had put his mask back on.
"You’ve collected a Troll in a Demon mask?" Dominic asked.
"Larry, the son of Duke Bridmin." Katerina agreed.
"Ah, good to meet you, Larry."
The boy bowed politely and whispered his greeting, with the hopes that nobody would notice the slight lisp that came from his teeth. His father had tried pulling them to make him look human again, but they grew back in under a day. He had too much troll blood to lose teeth.
Dominic could hear the cheering of the crowds as the Royal Procession moved through the city, spreading the news, and allowing the people to see their new King for perhaps the first time.
That was the official prelude to the ceremony, presided over by members of the church, and intended to spread the news to every corner of the world.
Generations ago, the incoming King would tour the major cities of Cygnia during this step of the ceremony, and it would last for weeks or months before he would officially be King. That had led to many attempted assassinations, and a huge amount of political drama, where another heir had simply tried to hold a ceremony and usurp the throne.
But now that they had instant communications, radios and wireless telegraphs appearing in every city, the Royal Procession was a local event, led by the clergy of the Dragon Church.
The cheers got louder as the procession reached the Palace gates, marking the King’s return, and the imminent start of the final stage of the event.
The part that everyone had been waiting for.
After a few minutes, the Advisors moved to the platform, and a hush fell over the crowd.
"Presenting His Majesty, King of Cygnia, and the Heir Apparent, Claudius."
That was different, Dominic noted. Normally, they would go into the full titles of the King and a bunch of other formalities before mentioning anyone else. Perhaps it was something that they did for the handover so that the attention remained on the new King?
Or perhaps this ceremony had happened after the King’s death for so long that he wasn’t customarily present at it?
The Royals walked out onto the balcony, where nearly every Noble in the nation had gathered to watch from the courtyard, and where the common folk of Cygnia City could watch from outside the Palace walls.
If they had a good seat.
"Thank you all for gathering here today.
We have gathered to witness history, King Claudius, first of his name, shall undergo the trials and accept the title of King of Cygnia and all the power that comes with it."
Claudius smiled as his father spoke those words.
For the first time in recorded history, there was very little doubt that this should go smoothly.
The sword had already been passed over, and that was normally the first step. If you did not have it in your heart to protect the people of Cygnia, the blade would turn on you.
In a literal sense, as it would explode with magical energy and tear apart any unworthy wielder. Nobody had expected anything like that to happen to Claudius, he had spent half his life directly serving the nation, and had implemented many programs that were still helping the people.
It was the part that came next that would be the issue.
The crown was also a magical item that judged the "Worth" of the heir. However, nobody quite knew what that meant.
The crown of Cygnia was not a modern invention, it was the crown worn by the King of one of the human tribes before the region had been organized into nations. The official titles of the King still included "King of the Cleolego Tribe", despite there no longer being any such tribe, unless you counted the city named after it.
Presumably, in Dominic’s mind, it was a test of physical might. That was the sort of thing that the tribal civilizations tended to prioritize.
"King Claudius, step forward and accept your rightful place as the Sovereign ruler of all Cygnia," the outgoing King announced.
The Crown Prince moved to take a knee in front of his father, and a Cleric of the church approached with the official crown on a purple velvet pillow. Not the ceremonial one that was used for daily events, and considered the mark of office. The traditional crown that marked the true King of Cygnia.
The Cleric plucked the crown from the pillow, and placed it on the new King’s head.
Then, a flood of magic swept over Dominic and Katerina. Dragon magic, as ancient as time, filled their minds, while the rumble of thunder in the distance and a blinding golden light marked the successful transfer of authority to everyone else.
The Cleric helped King Claudius to his feet and moved to address the crown.
"The King has been chosen. Those loyal to their oaths, present your tribute."
This was the fun part, Katerina decided.
Everyone with magic cast a spell straight into the sky, exploding like fireworks before being absorbed by the golden light and transferred to the King.
"Give it all you’ve got. The better we do, the better the King will fare. It’s a superstition about good fortune for the nation," Alexis whispered to her daughter.
Oh? Now she really needed to pull some mana to create better fireworks.
