After the massacre of Wei… the face of the continent changed.
In the northern kingdom of Iskan, the high council gathered.
Their eldest member spoke grimly:
"If this is what he did to one of the south's oldest kingdoms…
what will he do to us?"
Three days later… a white banner, sealed in blood, arrived at Van's palace.
A short message:
"We recognize the Empire.
We do not wish for extinction."
The first official surrender.
And in the mountain kingdom of Hargos,
people began calling Van The Great Shadow.
His banners rose over temples—without a single battle.
But elsewhere, chaos brewed.
In Kalyon and Tedora, fear turned to desperation.
The old king of Kalyon declared:
"If we do not unite today…
we'll be buried alone tomorrow."
And so, the seeds of the first secret alliance were sown—
an alliance known as:
"The Flameborn Seven."
Seven kingdoms bound by one fear…
and one knight who could not be conquered.
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📍 Location: The People's Square – Before the Golden Palace
👑 Attendance: Tens of thousands — soldiers, nobles, citizens, ambassadors
In the grandest ceremony since the Empire's founding,
Van stood on the high platform.
Beside him: Kaiden, clad in gilded black armor, bearing a crimson banner.
Van raised his hand, and silence fell.
Then, he declared:
"This man… did not only save me.
He saved the Empire from the shadows.
He fought fire, sea, and betrayal—
and asked for nothing but honor."
From the sacred banner chest, Van drew an ancient sword,
and his voice thundered across the square:
"I proclaim today, before all,
that Kaiden Raith is the Empire's Sacred Knight—
its shield, its sword,
its final wall against tyranny."
Then he added:
"And because glory means little without responsibility…
I grant you, Kaiden, the full lands of the fallen Kingdom of Wei—
its borders and its ruins—
to rebuild and govern in the name of the Empire."
---
Kaiden knelt on one knee.
Then he rose and spoke quietly:
"I vow, my liege…
to turn this land of fire and screams
into a city that never sleeps.
A capital for those who kneel only to truth."
---
The ceremony ended with the lighting of the new imperial flame
in the heart of Wei's ash-gray square.
The provisional capital was given a name:
"Nirvan" — From the ashes of ruin… a dawn is born.