A dramatic pause in speech.
The Prince knew how much an effect such a small thing did to the audience.
But this was more than the art of public speaking. His voice today was awe inspiring. It did not sound natural, even to himself.
This is my moment! I must surprise even myself.
"You are all a great People!" He said. The people cheered. His Voice echoed and reverberated throughout the place.
"And it is time to make you even greater!" He raised his voice at this point, emphasizing on the words time and greater. The inhabitants broke into wild screams of cheerful applause to this.
"We love you Prince!" someone shouted from the crowd.
"I love you all Back!" He responded. There was a crescendo of cheering at this too.
"Oh he responded! How sweet!" someone in the crowd said.
The Old Seer watched from a few steps behind the Prince and smiled.
"Indeed! Indeed!" He nodded.
He was happy with his work.
"My People, a time has come, that which you have waited for far too long! Finally it is Here! A time to make Amarkale safer and greater! A time to trounce our enemies! A time of great prosperity for each one of us!" He thundered over the people. They clung at each of his words.
"Yes!
"Yes!
"Burn them up Prince!
"Bring them on their knees!
All sorts of chants rented the air as they rejoiced. Frank looked at the charged atmosphere in his audience and felt a trickle of joy flooding his heart.
"And now," the Prince continued after the pandemonium subsided. "I present to you beloved People, Princess Nila, daughter of the Old one, the wisest king who birthed our kingdom. In her veins his blood still runs warm, and through her we shall steer this kingdom to even greater heights!" He held her hands as he brought her forward.
"Princess!
"Princess!
"Princess!
The people sang her name high throughout their numbers. Noel smiled and waved to the people.
"My People, as the dictates of our ways state, the princess and I are going to be enjoined this very moment, through a very special ceremony, and all of you shall be our witnesses! I implore you my People, to grant us your blessings, so that Princess Nila will henceforth be crowned your queen! And she will be in charge of this supreme kingdom, while I your Prince, get deeper and higher through the realms, to completely wipe out all that dare to stand against our lovely kingdom!" The Prince ultimately made it clear to the people. He paused to see their reactions. Their response was amazing.
"You have all our blessings!
"We grant you all the authority!
"We love you Princess!
"Yes our Prince! Go crush our enemies!
"Yes! Give us the queen!
The queen! The queen! The queen! Everyone called forth for the queen.
The Chief Seer stepped forward then. Around him royal maidens carrying various tools and cauldron stood. The seer beckoned the Prince and the princess to move to the second specially prepared podium. This was the podium of integration.
The podium was slightly higher than the first they had stood on. It was decorated by various golden veils and beads of different sizes and colours. It looked like a sacred altar.
The seer raised his hand and all the people quieted down. He cleared his throat loudly and said.
"Fellow citizens, the hour has come, it is Here with us! By this ceremony, our two leaders will become one and their power shall increase a hundred fold! By their union, a new era shall begin on our land, and even beyond! And our lives shall never be the same again!
"However," he went on, "you must take note: no one except the true daughter of the Wise Old King and the one true noble son of this land, both of whom for our future's sake were taken to live in a land beyond time, none but just them, can undergo this ritual successfully!"
The sombre voice of the seer travelled deep into the ears and hearts of the people. His words were equally weighty. No one dared to question this mysterious old seer! His word was law on this land. It was rumoured that he was an immortal being; no one knew when he was born and has never showed any signs of dying soon.
The solemnity of the moment made everyone to keep silent. Some even trembled.
This was the moment all doubts would also be wiped away from those who had not accepted the two as their leaders. Not only the ordinary citizens, but also some noble lords held same doubts.
The hour to demystify all had come.
"My Lady, My Lord, please climb on to the podium!" The seer directed.
Frank looked at Noel. She looked back at him. She was calm but He was nervous. He still remembered the conversation they had last night.
I hope this process doesn't hurt our unborn, he silently wished. As he did so, his eyes unconsciously travelled to Noel's belly. Her eyes followed his and she understood his fears.
"Don't worry, we will be alright!" she assured, moving closer to him.
They then walked on to the podium, Frank first, then Noel.
The seer took a vase from one of the maids and opened it. He went round the altar chanting some mystical words and finally stopping after three laps around it. He poured a certain white powder from the vase and placed it on the ground in front of the podium. The people looked on intently!
Then he placed the cauldron next to the vase and stood back. Everything was quiet.
For a moment nothing happened.
Some people raised their heads to have a clear view. Those behind tried to crane their necks too. They were all anxious.
Are these two really suitable for this! Some nobles thought. People held their breath!
Still nothing happened.
A baron turned his gaze from the cauldron and looked at the seer. The Old man was as calm as ever. He quietly watched the two on the stand without any anxiety.
That baron was about to step forward. He felt like shouting at the Old Seer.
See! We told you! This is not the true daughter! Neither is he our Prince!
But just as he was rising up, a shrill piercing sound like a whistle could be heard loud and clear from the cauldron. Then a gushing sound like that of running water also erupted. The cauldron began shaking.
Whoosh!
A beam of light shot upward from the jar into the sky. Many exclaimed as their eyes followed the beam upwards.
The lights reached the sky and burst into a spectacular display of patterns and words! Then the characters condensed and formed two huge golden symbols of crowns. The crowns then descended smoothly over the podium.
At this time, the white powder that was poured by the seer also arose on its own and turned into dazzling lights. The lights rose while swirling and engulfed the princess on the stage.
Suddenly, without warning, the princess disappeared completely.
She vanished!
She just got engulfed by the light! and she turned into the white dazzling light. This light turned into a single ray and shot upwards. It then enveloped the two crowns in the sky. The crowns also melted when the ray touched them.
The people exclaimed.
On the stage, the Prince was like in a trance with his eyes closed. He did not move but stood rigidly straight. It was like he was not aware of what was happening around him.
The ray of white light was now descending smoothly over the Prince. It came and rested on top of him. Then it started entering his body!
He gasped as the warmth filled his entire body. The people could see him slightly moving his fingers as if to adjust the flow of the light in him. After a moment his body started radiating the light too.
The Prince appeared like a god figure at that moment! His face was so bright that no one looked at him directly. He had his eyes closed still. It felt like they were burning hot too.
Their was another loud explosive sound as more days erupted from the cauldron and engulfed the entire podium where the Prince stood, alone, radiating in yellow and white lights.
When the new burst of rays surrounded the entire podium, the lights swirled at great speed and people could not look on any more.
"What's happening!
"I can't see! I don't know!
They were all dazed.
In reality, something spectacular had happened all too fast within a fraction of a second that no one really saw it. The lights on the podium had suddenly burst forth and engulfed the whole sky and the world all around. All creatures were momentarily blinded by it.
When their eyes finally opened, it was like they were waking up from a nice dream. Then a new awareness dawned on them. Something clicked in their minds.
Everyone could see a screen display in their consciousness! They had each acquired a system and new notifications rang out to each one.
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[Congratulations for your rebirth]
[Please confirm to see your stats]
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Everyone was now a new citizen. They looked around with a certain level of familiarity. Their memories had also been enhanced. It was like they had slept today and woke up one hundred years later. Yet they knew who they were and where they were, only that everything looked so different.
At the same moment everyone remembered their leaders and their eyes turned on the podium.
Seated on two huge golden thrones were none other than Noel and Frank! They were each with a golden crown on their heads and attired in purple and red royal robes. Frank had in his hand a golden staff which ended in a dragon head at the top! This was his symbol of authority.
Then a man stepped forth from beside the throne. He was the same old chief seer. But he looked even younger and more energetic.
"Citizens!" He called out, "Behold our new King and Queen! Hail His majesty the king!"
"Hail the king!" The shouted and bowed down.