It was a 20hr ride to Heaven's Reach, but Maximus was hungry from fighting for so long, so he decided to stop at Vaes Dothrak and eat something before heading to Heaven's Reach. Arriving at Vaes Dothrak, he was impressed by how much the city had changed.
More than 1 million people lived within the city, many of them were the Dothraki as it was their homeland, and the city is a symbol of their ancient heritage. The city was pretty much kept the same as before except for a few improvements to its infrastructure and overall improvement of the material that the houses were built with.
The old Hall which used to house the Khal's of the Dothraki, had been rebuilt into a small residence for Maximus when he visited the city. Landing within the dedicated landing zone for the Dragons and wyverns, Maximus and Hela descended from the Dragon's back and approached the residence.
A crowd began to gather around to welcome their beloved Emperor. He waved and smiled as he greeted them, while Hela looked around, surprised at how loved Maximus was with the people.
After spending a few minutes with the people, Maximus went into the residence as the staff quickly prepared a meal for him.
At Heaven's Reach a few hours later, a raven had arrived, informing Olorin of his success and where he was at the moment. Having received this, he quickly informed the rest of the most powerful people in the Imperial Union and prepared a massive celebration to congratulate him.
The people were quickly told about this feat, and rumors had begun to spread overnight about whether or not this information was correct, even if it came from the Chancellor himself. The fervent believers of Maximus believed almost immediately, reinforcing their original belief. The worshippers of the Great Stallion and Mother Rhoyne had gained tens of thousands of more followers overnight.
Meanwhile, Maximus had finished eating his food with Hela and went to sleep, wanting to get some rest before returning to Heaven's Reach. What he didn't know was that the news had begun to reach Vaes Dothrak as the Heralds of the Imperial Union started to spread the news throughout every city.
The ability to inform the people of changes quickly was something that Maximus wanted to make possible, which is why he created the Heralds. Heralds were people who spent most days traveling to different cities and informing the population of new policies, decrees, and maintaining public relations.
An informed population is a stable population. Knowledge kept the people content especially with the rise of literacy for the common people.
The next morning, Maximus rose from his bed, to find Hela standing in front of the window, looking outside. He was sure that she snook in and wondered what was doing.
"What's going on Hela?" he asked.
Hela remained in her spot as she replied, "There's a great gathering outside. Tens of thousands possibly more in front of the residence."
Standing up and approaching the window, Maximus saw what she was talking about. A large number of people were gathered in front of the residence, some holding wooden signs, there were children riding on their father's shoulders, and elders being supported by their kin.
The atmosphere was festive, and excitement filled the air. "Seems like the news of my success has spread throughout the empire." He turned towards Hela. "I hope your good with people," he jokingly stated.
She scoffed as she replied, "I'm great with people, your excellency. In time they will come to love me more than even you."
Maximus laughed at her words as he got ready. Once he was done, they walked to the entrance of the residence where the Imperial Guards opened the doors.
"Your Excellency," one of them greeted. "The city has heard about your ascension and has come to congratulate you. We have formed a perimeter around the residence. Shall we clear a path to the Landing area?"
Maximus placed his hand on the guard's shoulder, "That won't be needed. Just hold your positions captain, I won't need protection today from the people."
As much as he wanted to say otherwise, he just bowed his head, as Maximus walked past him. Approaching the gate, the guards stood ready to open it as Maximus and Hela approached.
Ordering them open the gate, the crowd went wild upon seeing their emperor. "Long live Emperor Maximus!" they chanted rhythmically, causing a wave pride to surge through Maximus's heart.
He raised his hand calling for silence. The crowd quieted almost instantly, their adoration turning into eager anticipation. "My people!" he called, "I return to you victorious from my trials given to me by the Great Stallion and Mother Rhoyne!" he stated. While that wasn't exactly true, his system wasn't something that was known to anybody except him. It was best to continue fabricating the story he had already created decades ago.
A deafening roar of cheers erupted from the crowd, shaking the very ground beneath them. Children waved banners, elders shed tears of joy, and warriors pounded their fists against their chests in salute.
Hela watched with a smirk, arms crossed, as Maximus basked in the love of his people. "You do know how to work a crowd," she murmured under her breath.
Maximus turned slightly toward her, grinning. "It's not work when it's genuine," he said before addressing the people again.
After addressing the people, he walked through the crowd all the way to the landing area. But as he was about to hop on one of the dragons, Nyxara had flown overhead, landing directly in front of them. She practically crushed him as she laid her head right on top of him.
But with his new strength he was just fine. Maximus chuckled, patting the side of Nyxara's massive head. "Missed me, did you?" he said.
"It has only been a month, but yes." she replied.
'A month, Jesus.' He didn't know how long he had been gone until now.
"But let's not waste time and go to Heaven's Reach as everybody is waiting for you," she stated as Maximus hoped on top of her.
Meanwhile Hela simply stared at Nyxara, curious about this massive dragon. "Oh, Hela this is Nyxara, my personal companion and the mother of all the other dragons."
"Nyxara," Hela repeated the name. "Pleasure to meet you."
Nyxara tilted her head, examining Hela. She didn't find anything particularly bad in her nor did she sense any bad intentions. "Likewise," she replied.
Maximus helped Hela onto Nyxara's back, then took off to the sky followed by the other dragon riders.
By the time they arrived, the capital was already in a frenzy of celebration. The entire city had gathered to witness his return. Every street was lined with banners bearing his sigil, flowers petals rained from balconies, and thousands of Imperial guards formed ceremonial lines along the streets leading to the Palace.
As Nyxara descended, trumpets started to play, alongside the announcement of his arrival. He stopped just outside of the Eastern gate and proceeded to walk on foot through the city.
Olorin, Eonwe, Lilith, Merlin, Faraday, and all the other members of the High Council were waiting in front of the Palace for his arrival. It took him almost 2 hours to walk through the streets and reach the Palace as the people tried to garner his attention.
Once he reached one of the entrances of the palace he stopped, turning around to face the people who had gathered in front of the palace. Today was a special day for the empire as not only has he become a Demi-god, but now he had the ability to stand against the forces of R'hllor and that was the direction that his empire would take.
He raised his hands, causing the people to quiet down.
"We stand at the dawn of a new age," he declared. "With my ascension, we now stand much stronger than ever. Those who stand against us get weaker with each passing year, soon enough there'll be nobody to stand against us."
The crowd erupted into another wave of cheers; the sheer volume of their voices could be heard for miles. Maximus let the excitement settle before raising his hand once more, bringing silence back. "But let's not pretend this journey was easy," he continued, "In fact, if I had a gold coin for every time I nearly died, well… let's say I'd be wealthier than I already am." A wave of laughter spread through the crowd. While it may not be true how many times he almost died, he wanted to keep the calm atmosphere within the crowd.
"Soon enough, we will march upon R'hllor and his demonic forces before he is able to attack any citizen of the Imperial Union. The battle will happen in about 18 months, and it will be a devastating battle that will cost a lot of lives. But if we don't do it, then we will be invaded and many more people will die as a result." He explained as the crowd instead of going silent, a few people started shouting, "Where do I sign up?" and "Let's send these demon's back to Hell with their God".
Soon enough the entire crowd joined in, filled with immense patriotism for the empire. Millions of people had better lives because of the empire, and they were prepared to fight and die for it.
"Good!" Shouted Maximus. "We will send them crawling back to the depths of hell as we fight to secure our future. And with that round of applause, he raised his voice even higher. "We will protect our land, our people, our future!"
The people raised their fists into the air prepared for the battle ahead. In their heads a lot of them planned to work even harder for this battle. One didn't have to join to win, they could support the war effort in other ways as well.
Maximus turned slightly toward Hela, who was standing beside him, arms still crossed but with the faintest hint of a smirk. "As you can see," he murmured, "I am well loved by the people."
Hela rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes. Emperor of the people, loved by all," she teased. "Just don't get so full of yourself that your head outgrows your crown."
Maximus chuckled. "It's custom-made. It'll fit, don't worry."
The celebration continued, and soon, a massive feast was prepared in the Grand Hall of the Palace. The tables overflowed with roasted meat, fresh fruits, and enough wine to drown a small army.
As he took his seat at the head of the table, Eonwe leaned over with a smirk. "So, you're a Demi-God now," he mused. "Does that mean you'll start glowing? Maybe shoot lightning from your hands?"
Maximus took a sip of his wine, grinning. "Not yet. But give me time, I'm working on a good dramatic entrance."
The feast carried on into the night, the entire empire celebrating the dawn of a new era of power.