The Rise of Rambasi Empire

After the dust of war had vanished, the new Rambasi Empire began preparation for the coronation of the emperor. Emperor-designate Selasto was in his early 40s. He was athletically built and a battle-tested soldier whose bravery was admired in the old Diaspa Empire. He had been exposed to statecraft when his father ruled the Diaspa Empire for about 21 years. A highly respected combatant, his major weakness was his penchant to personally take on any difficult situation even at the expense of his life, rather than delegate responsibilities. His philosophy of leadership by example stood him out among other princes in the old Diaspa Empire during the reign of his father.

As the commander of the elite guards, he once defied his father's order not to directly take on a band of marauding horse thieves from one of the adjoining empires. He chose a platoon of highly trained warriors to confront the powerful band of horse rustlers and routed them in one single combat. At the end of the mission, he suffered an ankle injury that caused him to limp once in a while, a condition that often served as a reminder for disobeying his father. Nevertheless, he and his fellow soldiers that survived the battle were honoured with the highest imperial medals for bravery on the advice of the Council of Advisers.

The preparations continued for months because a befitting palace and venue of the coronation had to be constructed. The breathtaking Diaspa Palace, a magnificent edifice that housed successive emperors, had been lost by the newly created empire. However, the affairs of the new Rambasi Empire were piloted by the Emperor-designate as the head of the Council of Advisers pending his coronation. The mansion serving as the seat of the Sanpiyo Ruling House was considered not suitable to serve as Rambasi Palace.

About a year had gone past since the breakup of the Diaspa Empire. A new palace had been constructed, complete with a 20,000-sitting capacity Royal Square. The Emperor-designate was a man of high taste who would not settle for anything less than the standard of the Diaspa Palace. He personally supervised every stage of the project. At the end of the day, he delivered the most magnificent piece of architecture in the region. During one of his rounds of inspection of the project site, he had told the architects and builders that if they failed to deliver an architectural grandeur that would dwarf the palace in the Diaspa Empire, he would not only treat them as lepers but also banish them from his domain. His threat was never passed as a joke. Everyone knew what he could do.

A coronation committee was constituted, headed by one of the senior members of the Council of Advisers in the new Empire. A timetable was set and preparations began in earnest. The Rambasi Empire was rich in culture and its inhabitants had maintained some dominance in the region at various music, dance and art competitions. After elaborate arrangements which the Emperor-designate certified as meeting his standard, invitations were sent to all the neighbouring emperors to attend the occasion. The Emperor of Diaspa was understandably excluded for security reasons.

The Royal Square was heavily festooned with flowers and banners. Portraits of the Emperor-designate also dotted all the gateways to Tanus City, the seat of power, strategic streets leading to the newly built palace and the venue of the historic event. The whole of Rambasi Empire had been agog for several days ahead of the ceremony. The Rambasis could not hold back their excitement. There was merriment in every home in the days preceding the coronation, with children and women forming groups to showcase their dance skills and struggling to out-sing one another.

On the eve of the D-Day, guests began to troop to the Rambasi Empire. By the late hours of the morning of the coronation, the venue was already swarming with a mammoth crowd. About 10 emperors and kings accompanied by their spouses honoured the invitation. The royal invitees were conveyed from the guest houses located within the palace to the venue in their horse-driven carriages. It was a colourful sight as each ruler was sandwiched by a retinue of officials and guards riding on their horses along the route to the venue, cheered by ecstatic crowds. The previous night had been alive all through to the morning. Most of the people came to the venue with red eyes for lack of sufficient sleep.

The ceremony was held amid pomp and pageantry. The Emperor-designate Selasto, decked in his imperial regalia and accompanied by his beautiful spouse, Alsia, was led to the venue by the Council of Advisers. Their imperial majesties, who were already seated, rose to their feet as a mark of honour for one of their own. The coronation ceremony began in earnest. The new emperor was presented with his staff of office and a sword by the Head of the Sanpiyo Ruling House, Sir Avaraska Solsati. There was jubilation that almost brought down the roof of the Royal Square the moment the symbol of power was handed over to the new Emperor Selasto, heralding the dawn of a new era.

After the Emperor delivered his acceptance speech, the royal guests took turns to congratulate him and pledged their support to his leadership. There was a display of breathtaking horsemanship by selected members of the Imperial Elite Guard, followed by a colourful presentation of the cultural heritage of the various groups. The highpoint of the ceremony was an exhibition of swordsmanship and combat-readiness of the members of the newly established Royal Defence Force.

The occasion was rounded off with a sumptuous royal banquet for the guests. Everyone at the Royal Square had enough to eat and drink. The magnitude of the ceremony, never before witnessed in the region, kept the lips of all those that witnessed it busy for a very long time. Each royal guest went away with a white horse. There were more than 1,500 horses in the royal stables. Rambasi Empire was a favourite destination for horse merchants who travelled from different locations to buy the animals. Horses were the commonest means of transportation in the region.