Chapter 53: Crown of Accord, Shadow of War
Yvanna shook off the shock that gripped her chest like frost. The silence that lingered after the merchant’s words was tense and suffocating, but she dismissed it with a slow, steady breath. She would not falter, not today.
With a graceful wave, she dismissed the merchant and turned from the shadows of her study toward the brite light spilling through her balcony. Today was historic. Today, the Gilded Dominion would crown its queen.
Her position was stronger than ever. Corvin had dismantled the opposition, three ducal houses lay in ruin thanks to his silent, surgical campaign. The remaining political voices had either pledged their support or fallen silent in the wake of overwhelming force.
There would be no challenge. No whispered defiance. Only celebration.
Goldhaven would not simply mark this day, it would remember it for generations.
She stood up and started to walk within her palace to the ceremony hall. Thus was her last walk as duchess. One last time she will bed her knees in front of clregy. After the what will arise would not be considered a person anymore. She will be the embodiment of Gilded Dominon. Each of her steps carried the weight of her psyche. The sparkle on her eyes increased in intensity with her new mindset, a mindset of a ruler.
The midday sun broke through parting clouds, gilding the marble and gold facades of the Royal Square with radiant brilliance. Every banner snapped in the wind, the colors of House Vellgard now shimmering with new meaning. The entire court had gathered atop the tiered dais facing the sea, nobles clothed in their finest silks and embroidered velvets, while honored citizens lined the outer balconies and crowded the lower tiers of the capital’s amphitheater.
A procession of temple priests, clad in flame edged robes, ascended the ceremonial stairs. At their center, Duchess Yvanna Vellgard stepped forward, now robed in ceremonial white with golden trim that shimmered with arcane embroidery. Her hair was braided into an intricate cascade of silver gilt threads, and upon her brow sat the diadem of the old queens. Polished, ancient, and reforged for her reign.
The Crown of Sovereign Accord, a circlet of seven interwoven golden bands forged from metals mined from the Dominion’s three founding provinces, was presented upon a velvet pillow. The High Seer lifted it with both hands as silence fell across the square. Even the sea seemed to pause.