sinovels Chapter 350: Praise the Iron Kingdom!
Chapter 350: Praise the Iron Kingdom!
August 23, 870 AD.
City Titan, Iron Kingdom.
Four months had passed since Erik’s wild expedition first landed on the freezing shores of Iceland...
And more than six months had melted away since the conquest of Calais, the Frankish coastal city that was now securely ruled by Bjorn, the Supreme Commander of the southern forces.
Inside the walls of City Titan, Ragnar Ulfsson stood in front of a glass mirror inside the warmest room of his stone keep.
"Damn..." Ragnar grumbled, trying to adjust the belt that held his custom-forged steel pistol. "Who designed this fucking coat?"
"You look exactly like a King, Ragnar." a soft, amused voice called out from the doorway.
Ragnar stopped fighting his collar and turned around, a smile instantly spreading across his face.
Standing in the doorway was Gyda. She was wearing a beautifully stitched silver-gray dress, and resting in her arms was a tiny, sleeping bundle wrapped in warm bear furs.
This was little Floki. Ragnar’s second son, born healthy and screaming just a few weeks ago.
"He is finally asleep?" Ragnar whispered, stepping carefully across the floor so his heavy boots wouldn’t wake the baby.
"For now..." Gyda chuckled softly, looking down at the tiny face of their son. "He has your loud mouth, Ragnar. The nurses couldn’t get him to stop crying all morning. He only stopped when he heard the cannons firing the practice blanks outside."
Ragnar reached out and gently stroked his son’s soft cheek with his thumb. "Of course he likes the cannons! He is a true prince of the Iron Kingdom!"
Gyda smiled, looking up into her husband’s eyes. But her smile held a slight edge of nervousness.
She looked out the window at the cheering crowds gathering in the city square below.
"Is all of this really necessary today?" Gyda asked quietly. "The parades, the new banners, the giant ceremony... everyone already knows you are the King. They already love you."
Though Gyda was completely right about the loyalty of City Titan, Ragnar knew that ruling a single city was vastly different from holding an entire empire together.
"Our people know, Gyda," Ragnar explained, wrapping a strong arm around his wife’s waist. "But the rest of the world does not... they all still look at us and see a bunch of dirty Viking raiders who just got lucky with some explosive black dirt."
Ragnar stepped away from the window, his expression turning deadly serious. He grabbed his crown from the table.
"We need this coronation," Ragnar said firmly, placing the crown onto his head. "The world must see that there is indeed an organized kingdom here. They need to see a unified government, structured laws, and a mighty power that everyone should absolutely fear. Even though everyone already knows we can crush them in a fight, it has to be official today. No more shadows. No more raiding bands."
As such, the time for preparations was over. The booming sound of the royal trumpets echoed through the stone hallways of the keep, signaling that the crowds were ready.
Ragnar held out his arm, and Gyda took it gracefully.
Together, with little Floki sleeping soundly in her arms, they walked out of the warm room and headed toward the massive stone balcony that overlooked the main square of City Titan.
When Ragnar stepped out into the morning sunlight, the response was deafening.
Tens of thousands of people were packed into the snowy square below.
Factory workers with soot still stained on their hands, farmers from the outer fields, and thousands of disciplined musketeers in their sharp gray uniforms all let out a roar of loyalty.
Ragnar stood proudly at the edge of the balcony, looking down at his empire.
He waited a full minute for the cheering to die down. Then, he raised his hands.
"People of the Iron Kingdom!"
"To celebrate the birth of my second son, Floki, I am enacting new laws!" Ragnar declared loudly. "Starting tomorrow, the children of every factory worker and soldier will receive free daily bread from the royal grain stores! Furthermore, the tax on winter coal is hereby cut in half! No family in this kingdom will freeze in the dark!"
A joyous cheer erupted from the lower classes. Ragnar smiled, knowing how to win the devotion of the common people.
Keep them warm, keep their kids fed, and they will forge you the greatest weapons the world has ever seen...
"But we are not just a city anymore!" Ragnar shouted, his voice rising to cut through the cheering. He gestured to two of his elite guards standing on the balcony. "We are a recognized power! And every true power needs a face!"
The two guards grabbed a massive canvas roll hanging above the balcony and threw it open.
The crowd gasped. It was the new official banner of the Iron Kingdom.
The flag was a deep, blood-red color. Right in the center was a massive, pitch-black iron anvil, with two detailed silver muskets crossed directly over it.
"This is our flag!" Ragnar roared. "Under this banner, we will build a world where our children never have to fear the cold, the hunger, or the swords of weak kings ever again!"
Ragnar raised his hand one last time, preparing to dismiss the crowd and start the massive city-wide feast.
"Leofric!" Gyda ordered, "Go inside the keep and get Magnus. He is old enough to stand on this balcony and wave to his people. We will give the crowd a beautiful family moment."
Ragnar let out a small breath of relief. "Yes. Leofric, bring Magnus out here."
"At once, my Queen." Leofric bowed quickly, stepping back into the shadows of the stone hallway.
"And Leofric!" Ragnar called out, stopping the commander in his tracks. "Tell the guards to assemble the entire inner court in the great hall right now. Tell them I am going to honor them with a sword today to celebrate the coronation."
"I understand, King Ragnar." Leofric nodded.
"Also..." Ragnar’s blue eyes darkened with seriousness. "Find Louis. Tell him to get his skinny Frankish ass into my private solar the second I am done with this sword ceremony. Tell him it is a matter of life and death."
For the next five minutes, Ragnar and Gyda stood on the balcony, waving and smiling at the massive sea of gray-coated musketeers and cheering citizens.
Afterward, the doors clicked open, and a tiny blur of fur and wool ran out onto the stone balcony.
"Papa!" a high-pitched, excited voice yelled.
It was Magnus. The three-year-old prince was wearing a tiny, beautifully tailored gray wool coat that matched the uniforms of the Iron Kingdom’s army.
He had a small wooden sword strapped to his waist, and his bright blue eyes were wide with wonder as he looked at the massive crowd.
Ragnar dropped to one knee, scooping his firstborn son up into his strong arms. "Look at you, my little warrior! Are you ready to see your kingdom?"
Magnus giggled, grabbing a handful of Ragnar’s thick beard.
Ragnar stood up and lifted the three-year-old boy high into the air for the entire city to see.
"Prince Magnus!"
"Long live the Prince!"
"Wave to them, Magnus." Gyda smiled.
Magnus waved his little sword at the crowd, giggling at the loud noise.
"People of City Titan!" Ragnar roared over the cheering, "To properly celebrate this day, I must now retreat to the great hall... I will honor my most loyal commanders and court members! The feast will begin in the square shortly! Praise the Iron Kingdom!"
With one final roar of approval from the city, Ragnar, Gyda, and the children finally turned around and walked back into the quiet safety of the stone keep.