All the important representatives of the new empire soon gathered in a huge hall. The lords of all the lands of Ordania and their most important feudatories, as well as the governors and other representatives of the other kingdoms of Kaphkos, the church representatives and, of course, August, Theodor and Wenzel. Also present was the envoy of the Camenian king, whose kingdom had, just as Theodor had correctly predicted, submitted to the terms of the Holy Ordanian Empire. Basically, everyone of rank and name, or at least their representatives, were present. It was a great moment, for today the new institutions would be decided and established. As was now almost customary, August took the chair. He raised his voice: "My Lords, I hereby welcome you to the first Imperial Diet in over eighty years. I would ask you to take your seats." A lot of squeaking now echoed through the great hall from the chairs that were pushed around on the floor as those invited were sitting down. Once everyone was settled down, the "meeting", which was more likely to be understood as an announcement of how things were going to be in the country from now on, could begin.

  "The empire is now going to be turned upside down," August began his explanations. I have the necessary documents in front of me, the contents of which I will first explain and then pass on until everyone has signed them. Then they will be moved up here to the end of the table to get the final signature from His Majesty." He was referring to Wenzel. "Only then will they be legally valid. Have all those present understood this?" The gentlemen all gave their verbal confirmation, with some merely nodding. The man continued: "Good. Now then, the first matter is the regular assembly of all the estates in the realm, which from now on is to be established as the 'Imperial Diet', the successor to the institution of the same name under the Melgarions. The assemblies are to take place every six months and deal with important matters at imperial level." He handed over the document and the first people signed it. Meanwhile, Wenzel was looking up at the ceiling, where an old fresco depicting Melgar could be seen. It had been abraded beyond recognition by those who hated the first Chosen One so deeply and fervently.

  "In addition, the other kingdoms, which will in the future fall fully under the sovereignty of the Holy Empire, will also have their own assemblies of estates to deal with more local and national matters. In case of doubt, the authority of the Imperial Diet always takes precedence over that of any other diet. Then we’ll get to the matter of central state institutions and offices. The government at the court in Meglarsbruck is the only legitimate one in the empire. Any refusal to recognise this or to obey their orders will be considered rebellion. Their future representatives by descending importance will be: The sovereign, His Majesty Wenzel Althun. Then we have the Supreme Marshal Theodor Kuhn and the Imperial Chancellor August Vogt." Finally, the man went on to list all the newly appointed ministers. Wenzel was only listening with half an ear, as he was mentally preoccupied with the fact, that Theodor now apparently had a surname. Upon closer inspection, however, he realised that he had never actually had one and that his new surname was clearly not Kashar. He had probably adopted Irnfrid's name, because he needed one now that he was very important. Usually, the common folk didn’t have surnames.

  In any case, Theodor remained the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, but August took on the most important political office in the state. Not that he wasn't up to it, but the rise from chief of staff of a group of insurgents to the highest political office in Ordania was a very steep one. Wenzel wasn't exactly happy with it, but he knew that it made perfect sense and he didn't dare contradict the decisions they had all discussed and made. After all, August was a very clever and outstandingly capable man. The Martyrs' Brigades would no longer exist from now on. They would be renamed the Holy Ordanian Army and become the regular standing army of the empire. Now the first parchments arrived at Wenzel and he began to sign them one by one. In the meantime, however, August addressed one of the issues that the magician had already learnt about from Theodor.

  "A special committee will be set up to deal with the handover of anti-revolutionary property to those who have remained loyal to the empire. Please read the document in more detail. I will not read it out in full here. When this specific document reached Wenzel, as an exception actually did so. It did mention that new titles of nobility were to be issued to allies, but nothing else was mentioned. This meant that a few lucky souls could now rise up the social ladder on this occasion, but nowhere was there any mention of the end of serfdom. The Martyrs had broken this promise, which never had a consensus within the organisation anyway! This left a nasty aftertaste in Wenzel's mouth. He was relatively indifferent to most other things. National diets, imperial diets, new offices, whatever! But this would not change the lives of the people in the realm. Still, he said nothing about it.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  In the end, all the resolutions were passed, because no one had the courage to oppose the revolutionaries. All this was also in preparation for what would take place in a few days' time. Finally, the meeting ended and all the participants slowly left the meeting. Wenzel, accompanied by his veteran bodyguards Brahm and Ferenc, did the same. On the way out, the three of them talked a little more. "Man! You look tuckered out, Wenzel!" Brahm observed. The lad didn't even react to the obviously correct observation. The three of them continued to walk across the marble floors, keeping a good distance from all the noblemen and high lords. There would be a banquet for these people today, but Wenzel had no interest in attending. He didn't know what to say to these snobs anyway. But now Ferenc had one more question for his friend: "Hey, boss! What's going on between you and the girl you've been spending more and more time with? Is there something going on between you?" Wenzel was surprised. Out of embarrassment, he didn't answer. The two of them realised this and preferred to leave the matter alone for the moment. In any case, there were important things coming up that they all had to prepare for. And, yes, this also included Wenzel. The day of the coronation was fast approaching.

  Finally, the big moment had arrived. It had now noticeably become summer and, therefore, hot. Everything was ready. The streets had been swept spotlessly clean and the representative buildings along the parade route had been spruced up and beautifully painted. As in the days of the Melgarions, some of the roofs had been re-covered with yellow tiles, which are meant to be heraldically understood as "golden". Meglarsbruck, the city named after the Chosen One, even if the pronunciation had become a little distorted over the centuries, was to become the "Golden City" once again. Not only were the flagpoles of all the important institutions flying flags, but the sunflag of the Holy Ordan Empire was also hoisted all over the city on lampposts, building facades and so on. Just as it had once been Theodor's dream, the sun had truly risen again over Ordania!

  Representatives from all the territories and kingdoms were here. Along the route leading from the Imperial Palace to the Cathedral of the Annunciation, more and more people flocked to witness this historic event. Eighty years after the fall of the Melgarions, a new emperor was being crowned today, marking the beginning of a new era. Huge crowds of onlookers gathered from an early hour. This was hardly surprising, as the day of the accession to the throne had been declared a public holiday. The city's inhabitants lined the streets in droves as Wenzel, followed by his guard, finally descended the steps of the huge palace, saddled his horse with them and rode off. He had insisted that he not be chauffeured in a carriage, "as he was only one person". The young man wore an overly pompous outfit with a red cape and several military insignia on his chest, which Theodor had said symbolised his service in the battles of the revolution, which is why he insisted he should wear them. Technically, the badges of honour had been awarded by Wenzel to himself, even if the whole thing hadn’t even been his idea. Personally, he didn't care, but he respected tradition. He now trotted leisurely down the avenue, secured by soldiers and lined with cheering citizens, into the city centre. Then he finally arrived directly in front of the cathedral, where there were huge crowds.

  He dismounted his horse and his guards, dressed as usual in red and white, did the same. He glanced up at the fa?ade of the largest church in the whole of Kaphkos. It was still as imposing to him as it had been when he had first laid eyes on it. In the lowest rows of statues that the Alethic iconoclasts had defaced, the first few had already been restored. The complete restoration of this monumental building, which had taken over two hundred years to complete, would still take a long time. But then a cloud, that had partially obscured the sun, moved in, forcing the mage to shield his eyes from its harsh rays. He walked forwards to the main portal of the church, where everyone was waiting for him. In front of it flew the flags of the Teleiotic Church, meaning the Old Believers' Commune, which now claimed to be the only "true" Teleiotic confession again, and the flags of the Holy Empire. There was a great deal of commotion as Wenzel positioned himself in front of the steps of the cathedral and a row of uniformed men lined up around him. The ceremony could now begin.