The White King's Favorite

Intro [PROMO]

The Dragon Empire.

A very old Empire that had seen centuries pass by, and never flinched. From the northern barbarians to the Pirates of the white sea, and then, the vain attempt of the Eastern Republic, nothing had been able to scratch an inch of those strong borders. The long line of its rulers, always covered in the gold and Imperial Purple, only ever feared their own progeny, for it seemed each heir was stronger than their fathers. Their only notable conflicts were internal wars, between the fierce brothers, all hoping to claim the golden throne as theirs. However, for over two decades now, no man had seated on the large, golden throne of the Emperor. This vast Empire was thriving, now more than ever, with an Empress at its head. The man had tried to study as much as he could to prepare himself. It was no easy task. His country had been at odds with the Dragon Empire for centuries, and their cultures were too different. He had tried to grab scraps of information, here and there, to get ready for this very special day. A day that would be recorded into history, perhaps. He took a deep breath, his eyes on the Imperial Palace as he stood in the long line of people wishing to be granted entrance.

This Imperial Palace itself was as vast as a small city. For centuries, it had been the house of the Emperor and his large family. The Empress and their children, when there was one, but most importantly, all the concubines. The long line of the Dragon Emperors had mostly continued through the many children those Emperors had fathered. Those large families needed to be housed in the Imperial Palace, thus that place had only grown with time. As an emperor thrived, he had his concubines, and his children often have their own concubines and children... Of course, it was also practically cleared out at each new Emperor taking over. No smart man kept his rivals close, and thus, the said siblings were usually all killed in a matter of days before the new Emperor sat on the throne, had his own children and concubines taken over, and that circle of life and death would start all over again. However, now, there were no concubines residing in the Imperial Palace.

The Empress did have male concubines, but none of them was allowed to live there. She had declared, within the year she had become the new ruler, that she wouldn't have any children to succeed, and instead, her nephew should be the new heir apparent. Strangely, he couldn't find why this decision had been welcomed. The said nephew was the son of the Empress' brother, the rumored War God. Yet, why would she allow her brother's son to inherit her throne, instead of having her own children? There had been no proof of the Empress being sterile, but according to the locals, she actually had taken medicine to prevent pregnancy since years before she even fought to rise to the position. ...Did she feel like she owed this to her brother, who had helped her rise? Then, why not let the War God himself become Emperor? Surely, this would have been much simpler than establishing a woman on the golden throne... This was a mystery he hadn't solved yet.

"Next!" Yelled the Imperial Guard.

He had to hand out his papers, quickly, and explain the reason for his visit. The Guard raised an eyebrow. Surely, not many foreigners made it all the way there. Eventually, the man in a silver armor scoffed, and gave him his papers back.

"Good luck with that!" He laughed.

His papers shoved back into his hands, he nodded and made his way inside. He knew he had come with no easy request, but it was of utmost importance he succeeded. The future of their Kingdom depended on the outcome of this audience with the Empress... Following the long line of people walking in, he was a bit lost inside those high walls and long corridors. He had to ask his way twice to the Imperial Servants. Thankfully, he had studied enough to know the servants in this place traditionally wore green clothing. Although the Empress had abolished the centuries-old Imperial Decree behind a lot of the rules on the different casts' clothing, the Imperial Servants most likely wore green out of tradition. Some wore some little accessories or pieces of clothing of different colors, but the green was still prominent. The man internally congratulated himself for having chosen a simple blue attire. This was the color of scholars, officials and educated people in general. Everyone showed him respect, despite his poor appearance.