The Staff

Emperor Egher touched him, and whispered something.

"You can hear their thoughts. You need to control them, and do not let what you feel right now rule you. It is part of the power you received from the Staff. Get the Staff from me, and face them."

He obeyed. Still dazed by the idea of reading other people's thoughts, he turned around to face the assembly behind them. Emperor Egher robed him with the Imperial Purple Cape behind him, and placed on his head the Crystal Crown. Only Egher must do it.

Everywhere, faces of Lexais, Mekholis and lesser beings looked at him with awe and fear. Their faces reveal their feelings and their look reveal their thoughts. He is the new Emperor, yet he would not be able to talk until his father presented him to the audience.

"It is time." Emperor Egher broke the inexplicable silence of the assembly. The Canon requires that they must applaud him. They must cheer him but they did not. Emmer was even more surprised by what his father said. That is not what his father is supposed to say. But Emperor Egher went on.

"The Galactic Rise signals the beginning of a new era. The child of my son is formed and my son takes over as the new Leader of the Galactic Empire. The Canon of the Plain Gem promised that the seven-thousand years of Great Peace will end on the tenth Galactic Rise. On the time when Andromeda reaches the same spot in the sky. This day is the beginning of that era. I am happy that my one and only son is now the New Emperor, but I am sad that it is not I who will face the era of Great Contention but him. May Mother Nature give him strength for the next seven-thousand years as no other Emperor ever had, for he needs more than any Emperor before will ever need."

Emperor Egher continued, as he pointed his trembling hand toward the apex of the Tetrahedral Palace. His voice equally high, almost shouting.

"Mother Nature, I offer you my son - the Lord of the Black Onyx Throne. May the Powers at Your command be with him, may the Wisdom beyond our own be rained down upon him. For in the coming centuries shall his strength be observed. It is through his will that he may either have one but never the other."

The audience displayed mixed emotions. The Canon! It has revealed another thing to their Emperor.

However, the Canon is specific enough to list that the Black Onyx Throne, with an Iridium Staff will become Red Beryl Throne and a Rhenium Staff.

"Still, this is a time of rejoicing for in this Era of Great Contention, shall rise the Great One. Seven Thousand Years for the Lord of the Red Beryl Throne!" Egher raised his hand, and the entire assembly of dignitaries and servants stood up and hailed the Emperor of the Onyx Throne.

Emmer, still puzzled by his father's unexpected address, raised his hand and said what he is supposed to say.

"From Black Onyx to Red Beryl, so shall my reign be! Let the tranquil and meek be replaced by strength and justice, fairness and respect that only the Red Beryl can symbolize."

After saying that, Emmer fully realized the entire meaning of his succession. The reign of the Tungsten shall be replaced by a reign of justice - plain, almost ruthless justice. The mark of the Osmium Crown! He knew the Canon yet he never grasped many of its statutes. Stones, Metals and Jewels symbolize many things, and each of these things change their meaning when certain celestial events happen. The Galactic Rise is such a rare event that it happens only every seven thousand years. At a precise point in space, when the Sun of Xaven - their planet, merges with the center of the ever-present Galactic Cloud, the Galactic Rise happens.

Everyone around him hailed - "Emperor Emmer Xai, Master of Billion Suns and Lord of Trillion Souls!"

The sound is deafening, as if there are more people around him than what Emmer can actually see. Yet two voices stood out of his mind. The voice of his child, and of its mother, his wife - the new Empress as well. In an instant, the crowd hushed when they saw him raise his hand again. It is something he anticipated but found its effect more powerful than what he wanted. Can it be that even thoughts can be quieted down?

He turned around and saw his father shaking, and before he could react, his father dropped on his knees. Emmer was afraid that this pattern should end, but it did not. The old Emperor, weak and his energy sapped further by the transfer of memory crumpled in a heap.

"Father Egher!" Emmer shouted in his mind, and few heartbeats later servants milled around the father and the son.