A large flag showing a red lion surrounded by a black background flapped wildly above my palace. The white balcony below the flag overlooked masses of people waiting for my speech.
Yesterday, I talked to the two viziers, Kaljar and Vold, about preparing a speech for the public.
My father died a few days ago, and I became a king two days ago, and we entered a war yesterday. So I had to wrap all of this up in today's speech for the public. At least this is how we do it in the Djinn Kingdom.
In other nations, a public official becomes the ruler's mouthpiece and quotes the king's words on any new matters. Many rulers do not like to speak in public. But for us, this indicates a weak king who cannot hold his own feet.
"Are you ready Your Majesty?" asked my Chief Servant Ludik. I was about to step outside to the palace balcony where my three kings stood there waiting for my entrance. "It is your very first speech. It will be a memorable day."
"I am ready," I replied as I walked toward the balcony. "And I do not believe in memorable days."
I opened the door to the large balcony.
The bright sun assaulted my eyes, while the heavy wind fluttered my red robe. The three viziers bowed their heads in unison. The public, which was noisy with their daily gossip, turned dead silent.
I waved my hand to the masses under me once my feet touched the end of the balcony. Shouts, cheers, and cries shook the area while men with trumpets began to sing the national anthem.
Once the trumpets went silent, the people likewise were quiet and waiting. With this, I began my speech.
"Citizens of the Djinn Kingdom, I welcome you all to this beautiful day and beautiful era in our kingdom."
The claps were going on like mad; I waved my hand to stop them.
"But in the midst of this beautiful era, a few days ago we lost a great man and a father, King Justinian the second."
Thankfully the crowds did not clap this time. They understood that what I said is tragic.
"King Justinian the second uplifted our nation during his reign of thirty-two years. He converted our country from an ordinary nation to one with strong and solid might. The other nations today associate the Djinn Kingdom with pride and respect."
I noticed a few darkened their faces in disagreement, but I moved to my next point.
"But the Three-Year-War was an unexpected fall to the might of our kingdom. Despite losing it, we learned from this war ten times more than all the wars that we have won under the reign of my father."
Beside the Third-Year-War, Father had initiated seven wars in total to widen our lands. They all succeeded except for the last one.
"We have learned from the Third-Year-War that no matter how strong you are, no matter how smart you are, there is always an unexpected factor that lies beyond anyone's control. By that unexpected factor, I am talking about the mythical beast Salamander."
Salamander's name has such a magical effect on people. The crowds turned pale as if the god of death had passed by.
"A myth, a legend, a creature that exists only in fantasies. This is what Salamander was to all of us. But the Third-Year-War blurred the difference between myth and reality. And who knows, perhaps another myth might descend upon us tomorrow. This is why we sharpen ourselves. Regardless of how many myths we will face tomorrow, we have to remain sharp. We have to show every other beast and myth out there that they should not underestimate humans."
A few who were daydreaming returned their gaze to my face.
"Yesterday I received a letter from Emperor Lustratous of the Lorope Empire. He began a war against us the Djinns."
The eyes of the men grew large, while the ladies gasped. The different responses between genders amaze me.
"We have confirmed that half a legion is heading our way as we speak. They are heading to the Castle of Remna and lead by Emperor Lustratous himself. Lustratous plan is obvious; he wants our Kingdom to be under Lorope. Here I ask you all, ladies, gentlemen, guards, soldiers, ministers, and viziers, will you accept this? Will you accept another disgrace and humiliation after the Third-Year-War? Will you accept seeing your families and fellow friends massacred by the hands of greed and evil?"
Many shouted, "No!" and "Never!"
"I cannot accept it as well. My father would curse me if I did. Until my last drop, I will endure it all. I will endure Lorope's whole army, Lustratous, and even Salamander himself. Even if it turned out to be a 100-year-war, I would still endure it."
Between the shouts and cheers, one person shouted, "But we can't stop Salamander!" His voice stopped the cheers, and the public instead waited for my response.
"Salamander cannot leave the Lorope Empire. Salamander is weaker than what you all might think. Our army died back in the Third-Year-War because they were all inside the Lorope Empire lands. Had they been outside it, none would have died. The war this time is on our land, so forget about Salamander."
Doubts and relief appeared on the faces of the listeners. I have to press further.
"And to prove that, if Salamander did ever appear on our Djinn lands, I would resign my role as the king at that same moment. I am this confident with what I am stating."
Risky words, I know. But I have to solidify the hearts of my people. I cannot take chances.
"Though a major fact cannot be ignored, that my hands alone are not enough to win this war. This why I am asking all of you, all my people, humbly, to lend me your strength and patience in winning this war. A war that I will thus call as the War of Revenge."
A curious little child asked among the crowds, "War of Revenge?"
"We are avenging all the men that died in the Third-Year-War. We are avenging all the ladies who wept for years on the loss of their husbands. We are avenging the children and the orphans who slept with empty bellies at the middle of the streets, buried under the snows of winter. We are also avenging and taking back the lands of Jandra and Mandra that the Lorope Empire took brutally from us."
Jandra and Mandra are areas located North of the mountains that currently border us with the Lorope Empire. Their size together was about one-fifth or 20% of the total land in our Kingdom. We lost a lot.
"The people living in Jandra and Mandra today are akin to prisoners of war. The Lorope citizens see them as inferior humans. They have little to no rights and are heavily taxed as a punishment for being once under our Kingdom. I have even heard many of them were sold as slaves to the nobles of Lorope. I dare not imagine the disgrace they did to them. Therefore remember everyone, if we lose this war, we will receive the same treatment if not a worse one."
The faces of the masses turned ugly imagining the hellish lives that await them.
"And on this note, I am ending my speech; be patient, be disciplined, and be kind to your fellow citizens in these upcoming harsh days."
I raised my hands to the masses once again. They responded with claps and aggressive cheers as if they are ready to face the enemy.
I walked to the door that I had used to enter the balcony. The three viziers were still standing beside the door. As I walked by Vizier Lya of Agriculture, she said, "It was a great speech, Your Majesty."
The wind breezed strongly once again.