Four strong men carried a platform on top of their shoulders. The platform was decorated by colorful red carpets and a prestigious seat was in the middle, where Nirpendra sat comfortably as the platform moved up and down as the four men took each step.
His attire was a heavy robe with a bunch of jewelry on his neck. He was wearing a hat made of cloth with a large bird's tail on top of it. This was not exactly the king's crown but a lesser version of it worn by the royal family. The bird's tail was swaying left and right, up and down, as the carriage made its way to the center.
He was looking around at the crowd below him held behind a line of military men. Some groups of people were cheering, some were silently observing. People also got a good view from the windows. Most of the spectators wore curious looks on their faces, trying to get a good look at their new king.
Kantipur was a really small country, only occupying around an area of around 50 km so it was surprising to see this many people in a single area. But it made sense, considering that a new king didn't appear so regularly.
Upon reaching the center of an intersection where the coronation would be held, Nirpendra could see a large stage decorated with luxurious colorful red carpets. Surrounding this stage, a group of people wearing the same white clothes were playing traditional music. Nirpendra recognized this as the Panche Baja, a combination of drumming, trumpets and the rhythmic beat of the Cymbals.
'This really is a grand ceremony.'
Thinking that, Nirpendra's platform was lowered on the stage and he stood up. His attire was made out of a lot of cloth. It was hard to take a step since he wasn't used to how heavy his clothes were.
As Nirpendra approached his throne, nobody spoke a word, only the Panche Baja was playing in everyone's ears. Such silence was necessary when a king was ascending to the throne.
Reaching the center, he was facing the throne made for him. He saw the two brothers giving him a meaningful nod, signaling him to take his seat.
He wondered what schemes the two brothers were cooking up behind his back already before finally seating on the throne.
Immediately after he sat a person wearing all black clothing started ascending the stage, holding a hat embroidered with excellent jewels on all sides, and most importantly, a beautiful bird's tail with a gradient of white and light red was on top of this hat. Niprpendra, a modern day person, would typically freak out on seeing this bird's tail because the owner of that bird is of an endangered species. But of course, during the medieval times, nobody really cared about that stuff.
As the person holding this crown reached the king and stood before him, Parthibendra signaled him to stop. He stood up from his small stool and took the crown from this person to crown the king himself.
Nirpendra immediately recognized this as a power play. If Parthibendra was the one to crown the king, it would seem like Parthibendra was the one granting Nirpendra his king status, and it would suggest that Parthibendra actually has power over the king.
But Nirpendra couldn't have this happening. Wearing a slight smirk on his face, he stood up and singalled Parthibendra to stop, just as he'd done to the person in black clothing.
Parthibendra had a moment of confusion in his expression which quickly turned into the expression of realization as Nirpendra took the crown off his hands calmly as ever.
" No… you wouldn't…" A mutter escaped his mouth, not even a full sentence because utmost silence was required during the coronation. His eyes were enlarged as he could only look in surprise at Nripendra raising the crown above his head.
As the trumpets played a final triumph, he lowered the magnificent crown with the bird's tail on top and with the final beat of the cymbals, the crown fit excellently into his head.
Below the stage, many people saw this spectacle and were whispering into each other's ears.
"No way! He crowned himself!"
"That has never happened before!"
"The balls on this man!"
"How straight forward he is!"
Meanwhile, in the sidelines, where a grand entourage of the King Of a neighboring kingdom Bhadgaon shook his head, "That bastard has really done it now."
Right beside the king of Bhadgaon, another entourage for the king of Patan was located and in its center, a very old man was stroking his chin. "How interesting!"
Pathibendra on the other hand was shocked that his plan had been ruined. But he couldn't do anything but accept this fact for the moment. He still had many other methods to make his older brother lose his power. He couldn't give up as of right now.
'That's right… there's still more chances.'
Reassuring himself, he forced a smile and congratulated the king, along with Mahipatendra who had been clueless of what was happening.
Almost immediately after that, a large sparkling object flew into the sky in the distance and once it reached a certain height, it exploded in a blinding light.
'Fireworks…?'But it didn't exist in Kantipur during the 1600s, right?' Nirpendra stared at the explosion silently.
"Younger brother, is that a firework rocket?" Nirpendra asked.
"What do you mean, older brother? That is clearly fire magic." Mahipatendra responded.
Nirpendra was dumbfounded for a moment as he stared at the remnants of the firework explosion.
'Wait what? Magic?' He started questioning in his mind.
The newly crowned king quickly searched through his inherited memories, searching for Magic and he finally found something. 'Magic… It exist in this world?'
Sitting down, he rubbed his temples a few times while redefining this entire situation.
Somehow, he had been transmigrated into the body of Nripendra Malla in the year 1674 as the new king of Kantipur. However, what's weird is that in this world Magic exists and Nirpendra is actually a Mage, tutored by various old men inside the palace
Previously when he'd received his memories, magic had been omitted from it for some reason. But now when he went through his inherited memories, he could clearly see a young Nirpendra practicing magic with his younger brothers while being tutored by a very old person tutoring him.
However, he had no time to think about the sudden revelation as a person started ascending the stage wearing a similar crown with a large bird's tail on top. He immediately recognized him as the then King of Patan, Srinivasa Malla.
He was an old man of around 50 years of age. He was accompanied by some servants who stopped halfway. When the King Of Patan reached the red carpet, he greeted the new king of kantipur respectfully with joined hands.
"Namaste! Young King, congratulations on your ascension. Let this day mark the start of our friendship!"
The old king was all smiles and laughter but Nirpendra knew better. It was almost around three hundred years ago that Jayayakshya Malla, the final king of the Kathmandu Valley died and his sons inherited the three pieces of his kingdom. Namely, the Kantipur, Patan and Bhadgaon kingdoms. Ever since then, most ruling kings of these three kingdoms wanted to reform the Kathmandu Valley under their rule.
"Thank you, Srinivasa Malla. If our ancestors wanted our friendship to flourish, then let it flourish."
After him, the king of Bhadgaon gave the young king a visit. Quite a contrast to the king of Patan, he was a young man of around twenty.
"Namaste, king Nirpendra Malla. I hope you remember the favor between us… because you wouldn't have gotten the throne without me."
He said the last part into the young king's ears, making sure his two younger brothers beside him didn't hear it, much to the two brother's suspicious looks.
"Haha! King Jitamitra Malla, you're very direct aren't you?"
"Yes. I don't fancy roundabout methods like that old fossil of patan."
"If our ancestors wanted a favor to be remembered, then let it be remembered!"
"Also, about how you crowned yourself, Where'd you pick it up from?"
"Haha! I wouldn't let my younger brother crown me as if he's granting me the kingdom."
Nirpendra said the last part into the king's ear, ofcourse.
Similarly like the two kings, important members of the kingdom came to give their congratulations and respects. Most notable people of them were the commander in chief of the army who was a stern old man in his forties and the finance minister, an incredibly skinny man with cheekbones poking out of his skin.
Finally in the end, after every important figure came to greet the new king, it was almost evening and many spectators were returning to their normal lives already. The crowd was lessened to around half of its original size.
Nirpendra Malla stood up from his throne and took a few confident steps forward. Looking at the thousands of people gathered together and the entourage of the two kings getting ready and the other important people of the kingdom, he announced:
"And before marking the end of this ceremony… I daresay, to the subjects of my kingdom, that I will bring another golden period of prosperity into this nation, challenging the likes of the Licchavi period. Continuing the legacy left behind by my father, the economy will flourish even further and I will achieve greater things than he ever could, for I am the greatest king that there will ever be."
The two kings getting ready for their departure looked at him both with different looks on their faces. His father, Pratap Malla, was a great king who brought not only economic development but also openly invaded the two other kingdoms on several occasions to unite the Kathmandu Valley.
"Achieve greater things than your father, you say?" The older king of Patan thought inside his head with a grim expression.
"Hmph! He's daring enough to directly confront me right in front of my face." The younger king of Bhadgaon mused.
And with that, the coronation ceremony concluded.