A/N: Hey there minna! This is Wildfurion once more and this is my newest fanfic!
As most of you know, ZNT was the first anime I've ever written a fanfic of and, although I've long thought about posting it, I never had the energy to finish all the edition and translation of some words from (Classical) Han Chinese.
About my OC, I'll tell some more details about him later on but he's not going to be too much of an OP as are my other characters. He's somewhat in the mid-term between Saito and God, even though he IS very strong initially.
Talking of the Devil, Saito WILL come in this story, but I'm still deciding how exactly he's going to (maybe as Yuan's familiar, I dunno.).
Also, there will be many references on Chinese History and some more animes( Such as Chaos Dragon and Arslan Senki), though the anime references will be very few and most of the story will come from my own ideas.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy the reading and, please, don't forget to review. The reviews are my thermometer to see if I'm going well or not.
Yenking, capital of the Empire of Han, Lands of the Eastern Jade.
If there was one day when night never came at Yenking, the enormous, rich, fortified and beautiful capital city of the Celestial Empire of Han , the world's oldest and most powerful empire, was during the Spring Lantern Festival, when the Han people commemorated the end of an year and the start of another.
As the sun was setting on the horizon, hundreds of thousands of people, more of them carrying paper lanterns and wooden ignitors, walked towards the Hongbaoshi Lake, one of the five Great Lakes and where the Imperial White Lotus Palace Complex was located and started reuniting in front of the residence's front gate, where a wooden platform for the night's main event was placed on top of the walls. The nobles wore the finest and most colored silk and had their places right in front of the gate, where various servants held palanquins over their heads while the commoners and burghers usually wore traditional wool or silk (for the wealthier ones) and stood behind the nobles, separated from them by a double line of City Guards wearing golden scaled armors with the Eunuch Faction's crest, a long golden Chinese dragon inside a coin, on their armors' chest and holding long staves . All of them waited for the most powerful man in Empire, the young emperor to show up and greet his people, as it was always done in the festival.
The Imperial White Lotus Palace Complex was, at the very least, gigantic. The structure itself was almost of the size of a medium-sized city and had a total of 980 building complexes built on 72 ha (About 180 Acres or 0.72 square kilometers) of terrain. It was the peak of Han architecture and was built ten-thousand years ago by the first ruler of the Middle Kingdom, the Zuànshí(Diamond) Empress, also known as Diamond Princess and legendary founder of the ruling Wei dynasty and also of the Han Empire and Mandate of Heaven system. Standing in attention in front of the palace's gate and over the walls, the Lapis-lazuli Guard protected the emperor dressed in dark-blue armors, holding 6ft long spears and with swords and crossbows to their hips and backs respectively.
The night was falling when a bell rang in distance, signaling arrival of the Divine Emperor. The lanterns were ignited at the same time as the one who held the Mandate of Heaven walked into the platform, fireworks being shot at the sky when the people saw their emperor was watching.
"The Son of Heaven, God-emperor Zi Jing, 249th ruler of the Middle Kingdom comes to meet his people and loyal sheep!" said an eunuch herald through a Chakra seal on his hand, the bald man's voice reaching most of the people reunited there through magic.
The Son of heaven Yuan Wei, also known by the era name Zi Jing (Amethyst) was a very intriguing person.
The first thing one could notice was that, even though he was the absolute ruler of millions of people, he was young, about only 20 years old, and very handsome. If one should look carefully, he/she would also be able to distinguish his appearance from the other Han people. The Han usually have black hair (which they usually kept short or braided) and eyes, while the young emperor had long chocolate brown hair which was tied in a long, thick braid behind his back, an almost girly face with no trait of masculinity and violet eyes which shone with intelligence, happiness and also youth, even though maturity could be seen from his serious expression.
Overall, he was an impressive figure and wore a jet-black Hanfu (A/N:Chinese robe) made of the finest silk decorated with purple tomoe patterns on the sleeve ends and neck, as well as a golden dragon (made of Gold wires) running all over the right arm. He also had a Fox-shaped silver collar on his neck.
As Yuan took his position on the platform, he stepped out of his shoes into the cold wood, the sudden temperature change on his feet sending a good sensation through his body. The emperor then stood there, barefoot, in a gesture of humbleness in front of his people, as the commemorations officially started.
"Long live the Emperor, long live the Han Empire, long live the Han People! Long live Emperor Zi Jing! Long live Emperor Zi Jing!" roared the crowd as fireworks were fired and the young emperor, hearing the clamors for his name, raised his hand to the sky.
"Senjūtsu Arts: Fire Style, Wrath of the Fire Serpent." chanted him as nature's energy flowed through him and formed flames over his palm, before releasing them in form of a long red and orange Chinese Dragon which flew over the palace in a great show before exploding in a rain of fire.
The people then saw as the Divine Emperor smiled, bowed and lightened a paper lantern which was handed to him by a servant.
The party would still last for the entire night, 100 babies would be made, with love or forcefully, more than 10 drunken people would drown while trying to swim in the lakes and there would be various crimes to be solved by the City Guard the next day, but it was a peaceful and frivolous event overall.
As was the life in Yenking, the millennia- lasting jewel of the Han crown and the world's richest and most populated city, located in the world's biggest and most powerful country and ruled by the most powerful ruler of the entire world.
(Time Skip, some days after the Festival)
The Diamond Rose Hall was an impressive room which served as the throne room for the Han Emperors. The hall had purely white marble walls decorated with medium-sized pink diamonds over a lapis-lazuli 3 inch-thick stripe limited by thick lines of Gold. In the back end of the room was the Turquoise Throne, an impressive masterpiece of art which was gifted to the 2nd Emperor of Han, the Zhezhu (Pearl) Emperor by the Samrat of Hindura, Samudragupta I.(A/N: Think of it as half of a light blue Chrisantemum and a golden seat, but fancier.) and behind it was a gigantic pink diamond called the Jewel of Life, another creation of the Diamond Princess.
The emperor Yuan sighed heavily on his throne, he was wearing a long high-collared white royal kimono with black dragon patterns on the sleeves and a nine-tailed fox amulet around his neck which showed his Yokai origins (He was currently half human, his other half was Yokai thanks to his Nil Kamuian mother). The ministers, advisors and eunuchs present shivered in alert immediately, making the emperor rest his back even more on the throne with a tired face on. Only his loyal bodyguard, Cao Cao, a man on his mid-fourties with deep black eyes and very long black hair which was kept tied in a pigtail and wearing the Lapis-lazuli Guard armor ,didn't show any reaction, standing behind him in a mute seriousness.
What was the meeting about?
Simple, it was about Territorial administration.
The Han Empire was immense. With it's core lands located on the margins of the great Yellow and Blue rivers, it extended it's rule over the fertile plains and river valleys of the Mid-lands of the Eastern Jade, limited by the Yellow Sea and the Nil Kamui islands to the east, the sky-piercing mountains of U-Tsang, where humans and magic creatures lived in peace, and the great desert of Rub' al Khali to the west, the Great Wall and the vast and frozen steppes of Xianbei to the north, the mountainous Goguryo peninsula to the northeast and the huge Hindura subcontinent and Song La peninsula to the south. Such a vast empire wasn't easy to administrate and, as such, the emperors created a system in which the control of the lands was viable. (A/N: Think of it as Ming China, but with a mix of Ming, Han and Song political systems.)
Basically, it was a Celestial Empire system, in which the Emperor, who had the Mandate of Heaven and thus the right to lead his people, had direct control over the capital city, the surrounding provinces and the Imperial Estates. The remaining territory was divided in three categories: 1- Commanderies, principalities (or Kingdoms), free cities and provinces, which were centrally-administered by the Imperial Cabinet and the own Emperor, had a low degree of autonomy, and the governorship wasn't hereditary, usually those were the provinces in which the Han were the majority; and 2-Military governorships and protectorates, which were semi-feudal, non-Han, highly autonomous and usually hereditary border territories which were granted by the Emperor to nobles, militaries or burghers who detached themselves during a war or crisis.
But… what about the third one?!
This one involved the relationships between the Middle Kingdom and the surrounding nations.
Basically, most of the surrounding nations, with the exception of the Yokai Empire of Nil Kamui to the East and the Hindura Rajas and Maharajas in the south, were indirect subjects to the Han and were referred to as tributaries. The tributaries basically paid hefty tributes (usually gold, concubines, soldiers or any interesting trade goods) to the Han Emperors in exchange of protection and access to the extremely prosperous Han trade. They were: The Kingdom of Goguryo, the various princes of U-Tsang, most of the Song La states and the northen Xiongnu and Gorturk Khanates.
And that was only the Territorial administration. There was also the Faction System, in which three factions, the Eunuchs, the Bureaucrats and the Temples, competed for power and influence in the Imperial Court.
The Eunuchs basically focused on Trade and Diplomacy. They were an ambitious faction and had multiple functions in the Imperial Court, from secretaries to advisors and ambassadors.
The Bureaucrats focused on internal affairs and provincial administration and development. They were represented by the Grand Secretariat and the Six Ministries. The Secretariat, which drew its members from the Hanlin Academy , operated as a coordinating agency, whereas the Six Ministries – Personnel, Revenue, Rites, War, Justice, and Public Works – were direct administrative organs of the state.
The Temples represented the religious militant orders and the priesthood. They were a highly aggressive faction which sought external expansion and militarization of the state, meaning conquest of new territories and army expansion.
The economy, social and military administration was also very complex.
The Han Empire had the most prosperous and advanced economy in the entire world, with detach to agriculture, silk and chinaware production and metal extraction. The Han people usually invested their funds in joint stock companies and in multiple sailing or flying vessels as most of the monetary gain was assured from the vigorous overseas (with neighboring nations) and domestic trade along the Grand Canal and Blue River. Prominent merchant families and private businesses were also allowed to occupy industries that were not already government-operated monopolies(such as ship industry, clothing, weaponry…), creating a somewhat independent burgher class which helped reducing the power of the nobles and strengthening the Emperor's position.
Their military was chiefly organized to ensure that the army could not threaten Imperial control, often at the expense of effectiveness in war. The Han's Military Council operated under a Chancellor, who had no control over the imperial army. The imperial army was divided among three marshals, each independently responsible to the Emperor. Since the Emperors rarely led campaigns personally, the Han forces lacked unity of command, but compensated it with a superior technology (with very developed cannons, muskets and armory).
A common person could gain status and prestige in society by becoming a high-ranking military officer with a record of victorious battles, like the current Marshall of the North and commander of the Great Wall garrisons., Yu Xinglou. Following the need to defend their extensive borders, the Han military had one million of permanent infantry soldiers (usually equipped with 15 ft long wooden spears, scale armor, a shield and a curved Dao sword) divided into platoons of 50 troops, companies were made of two platoons and the battalions were composed of 500 soldiers. The Crossbowmen were separated from the regular infantry and placed in their own units as they were prized combatants, providing effective missile fire against cavalry charges. The cavalry, meanwhile, was composed of mounted archers (usually nomads) and heavy armored knights which were armed with charging spears and swords. The Han artillery also had an extreme importance in the wars and the corps had their own engineers and cannon operators.
Their Navy was also very important and had more than 1000 ships as well as 300 flying vessels in order to protect their trade and interests in the Eastern Jade region and to defend their own boarders as well.
All of this fell on the Emperor's shoulders, making him a really busy person who usually didn't stop working. Back to the scene…
"So, let's get today's audiences started." Said Yuan to the present court members in a calm, but commanding tone, even shocking his eunuch herald, who wasn't expecting him to speak first. Inside, however, he felt a terrible headache but his duties as ruler prevented him to rest.
"Yes, Son of Heaven." Answered the presents quickly, anxious to not bring imperial displeasure towards them.
"The first petitioner, ambassador Pin Chun Ho of Goguryo, step forward." This time the eunuch called, much to Yuan's inner annoyance. The Emperor was so high in the society that he couldn't even speak to common people, what an annoyance. Then a short bald man wearing a light green Hanfu and the typical ambassador insignia stepped forward, kneeled and paid a respectful Kao-Tow in front of his throne.
"Divine Emperor, Son of Heaven, I, a humble son of the Tributary Kingdom of Goguryo, came to the court of Diamond to report your majesty that this year's tribute has arrived safely at Yenking." Said the man, still sitting in the typical eastern position. "The king hopes the Son of Heaven enjoys our simple gift to express our gratitude for your protection against our common enemies, the Yokai from Nil Kamui and the barbarous nomads from the north."
"The Son of Heaven would like a written repor-" started the eunuch but he was interrupted by Yuan's raised hand.
"Have you brought what I requested?" asked the emperor calmly, the serenity on his face intimidating the courtiers even more as they imagined how someone so young got such a mature personality.
"Yes, Son of Heaven, our tribute includes 1000 horses of our finest breed, 200 boxes of our special tea, which the Son of Heaven greatly appreciates, 300 rolls of silk,2000 coins of bronze, gold and silver each, 200 eunuchs and 5 of our most beautiful, young, intelligent and polite princesses for the Imperial Harem." Said the old ambassador respectfully, although he knew the emperor wasn't interested in the other parts of the tribute, only on the women.
That's right, the only girly thing about Yuan Wei was his face. In fact, his harem of concubines was one of the biggest any emperor of his age (the older ones had much more consorts) had and there were more than 20 of the most breathtakingly beautiful girls from the entire Eastern Jade Lands at his disposition, although he was usually busy in other activities such as working or fighting off rebellions, he still tried to establish a good relationship with his consorts, even though most of them just submitted to his desires, much to his displeasure. He liked women of attitude, not peaceful consorts who thought only about being a good concubine and mother, not a companion or friend. Despite the number of women in his harem, Yuan had no children, he wasn't ready for them yet.
"Very well, I, God-emperor Zi Jing of Han, accept the tribute from Goguryo in exchange for protection . Thee shall not worry about invaders, the Han swords will be ready to defend you, should they come." Answered Yuan seriously before resting his back against the throne while still keeping erect and turning his head to the herald. "The next petitioner."
"Yes, Son of Heaven." Said the Herald with a bow before pulling out a scroll with a list of names. " The Prince of Mong Yang, step forward."
'This is going to be a long day…' thought the emperor with a mental sigh while smiling and starting it all over again. "Very well, what do you have to say?"
(Small Time Skip)
It was early night when the audiences finally finished.
After the last courtier left the room and the great doors were finally closed, Yuan sighed tiredly and lazily rested his back against the throne's couched seat. The only other person in the room was his personal guard, Cao Cao, one of the few people whom he allowed to see his relaxed side and some of his personal secretaries, who were already used to the emperor's routine.
"What a tiring day…" said the Emperor sighing again and accepting a glass of fresh water from Cao Cao, who served it from a glass jar over a small table beside the throne. "Thank you, Cao Cao."
"No need to thank me, Yuan-sama." said the guard seriously with a bow. He was also the only person who called him by the name, not by his title. After all, they knew each other ever since Yuan was a little boy. Despite this, the boy didn't offer water to his bodyguard. The water of the Fountain of Jade was only for the Imperial Family.
After finishing his glass, the boy stood up from his throne and yawned.
" I wish to take a bath now, before I go for my night studies." Said him to his secretaries, who obediently nodded in agreement. "It would be pleasurable if my dearest Chaka and Eykha joined me in the bath. After this, I'd like my studies to go unbothered for the night"
"Yes, Son of Heaven, we'll call them immediately!" answered the men while bowing before leaving the room.
' Such a long and tiresome day…' said the Emperor sighing before looking throughout the window into the vast city of Yenking. 'But being the Emperor also has it's advantages.'
He then left towards the Palace's baths, thinking about how the warm water would help him relieve himself from the stress of the day.
(Small Time Skip)
The Imperial bath was a huge room with an open roof which allowed one to see the sky, but could also be closed quickly in case of rain. The theme was the typical eastern garden, and various plants and sculptures could be seen around the boiling pools. There were also small fish ponds full of Golden Fishes, another thing the Empress Dowager brought from her home country, the islands of Nil Kamui.
'To think that the combination of two enemy countries would form such a beautiful scenario.' Thought Yuan as he rested his back against the pool's wall. 'But at least the relations between the two have improved since my parents' marriage…'
His hair was loose behind his back and his kimono was hanged on the wall. His thin but muscled body was uncovered, except for a towel around his waist.
The Emperor then heard the sound of a paper door flipping and turned to see Chaka and Eykha, two of his 'wives', come into the room with towels around their slim bodies.
Chaka was a classical Han beauty and was the youngest daughter of the king of Hsi Hsia, a distant small kingdom far west of the Han Empire. She had a pale white skin which resembled the finest chinaware, long black hair which reached her mid-back and that she kept tied in a ponytail, a pair of mid-sized breasts and black eyes which could hypnotize any man.
The other girl, Eykha, was a Yokai from Nil Kamui who was first called to be one of his mother's handmaids when she was 5 but, in the end, both started falling for each other until Yuan took her as a concubine. She was 2 years younger than him and had short chin-length black hair, an angel-like face, golden eyes and furry black cat ears which denounced her Nil Kamuian origin.
"We have arrived, Yuan-sama." Said Chaka with a bow while Eykha just greeted him with a head movement. The two then entered the bath with him and he saw as they removed their towels, showing their bodies to him and making him aroused. The two then began to wash his upper body with care, making sure to clean every part of his body with soap and oils as he sat there in the bathtub. During all of it they talked about various subjects such as politics, poetry and reading. Eventually, the two were finished and Yuan sat there, the two women laying on his chest, already sleeping.
One thing he was sure as he felt their soft skin rubbing against him was…
It was good to rule Yenking.
(Small Time Skip)
After a long and pleasurable bath with two of his favorite women, Yuan went to his personal studio.
It was a huge, circular room with bookshelves full of scrolls which contained almost all of the knowledge of the Lands of Eastern Jade (from basic spells and preparing Cho Dofu to how to build cannons, aircraft prototypes and advanced Senjūtsu) instead of walls, a circular map carpet covered the ground showing the Han Empire, the surrounding states of the Eastern lands, the Rub' al Khali desert and eastern stepped, the Elven kingdoms and, very far to the west, a land called Halkeginia, where a huge realm called Kingdom of Brimir dominated the whole land. There was also a 20ft long table made of wood from Goguryo, where various documents, papers and read scrolls were located at.
Sitting in front of the table, Yuan was working on his most recent research. He was wearing his favorite Hanfu, the black silk one he wore during the Lantern Festival and his hair was running free over his back.
One of the few hobbies the Emperor had was to study the neighboring civilizations' history, languages, medicine, magic, geography, politics and technological development, write volumes containing those information, and store this data in the Imperial Archive, a huge building inside the White Lotus Complex which contained millennia of research of the technologically advanced Han civilization, where the cannon, gunpowder, dragon taming, Senjūtsu and other innovations first appeared.
His most recent interest was on the far western lands, in the Halkeginia continent. Yuan has been trying to uncover the mysteries surrounding that strange people since some merchants arrived at Yenking, two months ago.
Halkeginia was never visited by any Han, even though the 178th Emperor, Lánbǎoshí, ordered the building of a great road starting in Yenking, crossing the Middle Kingdom and Rub' al Khali until the Elven realms, in order to transport the precious silk, chinaware, tea and other products from the Han Empire until the Western lands. That's the reason why it was called the Silk Road. However, ever since then, the Empire has closed itself from western influence and the Silk Road grew into a dangerous highway where bandits, wild monsters and nomadic tribes could attack even the airships at any moment, only heavily protected groups of merchants guided through the desert by their enemies, the elves could survive the month-lasting crossing. As such, westerners were rare(appearing at a century ratio) in the Eastern Jade, where they were also deemed as barbarians who had undeveloped magic and hygiene, even though Yuan agreed they took only a few baths a month, unlike the Han, who liked to bath every day.
'Whatever, I just want to satiate my curiosity.' Thought the Emperor as he then continued to register more info on his scroll.
Little did he know, but his life was about to change as, on the other side of the globe, a pink haired mage prepared to summon her Familiar.
(Meanwhile in Halkeginia)
Magic Academy, Tristain
The second year students were really excited about this day.
It was the day when they'd summon a companion for life, a familiar
However, one of these students was worried about today.
Her name was Louise Françoise de La Vallière and she had light pink hair and eyes ,white skin and beautiful, but childish looks.
She was known as Zero Louise, duo to her failing in casting any spell.
But she made a promise to herself, that she'd summon the best familiar ever to serve her and that her familiar would show the others she was able to use magic after all.
As the students performed the summoning rite, some familiars were amazing, while others weren't so much.
Her rival Kirche summoned a huge red salamander with a flaming tail, Tabitha surprisingly summoned a blue dragon, Guiche summoned a brown mole(which was pretty weird) and Montmorency summoned a small orange frog.
Now, it was her turn...the moment she waited for her entire life
As she walked towards the middle of the group, Kirche said "Go there Zero Louise, summon something worth of you"
"She'll probably cause another explosion!" teased another student.
"She's really a Zero." Said another one.
Enraged by her words, Louise started the summoning chant:"My servant that exists somewhere in this vast universe, my divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant, heed my call. I wish from the very bottom of my heart, add to my guidance and appear!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOM
As soon as she finished, a huge explosion covered the circle with smoke, hiding her familiar from her view.
(Back in Yenking)
The Emperor yawned lazily while resting his back against the chair some more. He was tired from the entire day of work but he fought back against sleep, he had a research to do and he wasn't going to stop until he finished it. The, he suddenly heard a voice echoing from far away, it was feminine, almost childlike, and spoke in a completely foreign language to him.
"My servant that exists somewhere in this vast universe,"
He raised from his chair immediately, his hand going for a sheathed Piandao, a deeply curved saber meant for slashing and draw-cutting, leaning against the wall and prepared to fight. As the voice returned no more, he went towards the paper door and slid it open, before looking around the corridors. Seeing no one coming, he returned inside and sat back on his chair, keeping the sword on his hips though.
'Maybe it was just my tired mind pulling a prank on me.' Thought Yuan as he then was about to resume his work when suddenly…
"my divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant, heed my call." The feminine voice echoed again and this time, he was sure he heard it.
"Senjūtsu arts: Chakra Pulse!" chanted him as he then felt as his senses went up tenfold, he could visualize all the beings with magic inside the palace. Cao Cao's serious signature was training with hid sword, his younger sister's Tianzi signature was in the gardens, taking care of the flowers, his mother, the Nine-Tailed Fox, Yasaka's signature was currently taking a bath with her handmaids. All the other signatures were also doing their normal activities, nothing out of normal or hostile. But then, how was he hearing this voice? Was it an unknown technique?
"Well then, I should investigate it myself." Said him as he prepared to leave. "Maybe Cao Cao can help me."
" I wish from the very bottom of my heart, add to my guidance and appear!"
The voice said once more and this time, a green mirror-like magic screen appeared in front of him. It looked like liquid crystal and he couldn't see what was on the other side, he could just feel a strange magical signature from there.
'What is it?' thought the boy curiously as he then touched the surface, only for it to wrap around his arm and start pulling him in. 'What?!'
"Guards!" he called furiously as he then extended his hand to the side and it suddenly started to glow. "Nine Tails mode, release Seal 1!"
Light surrounded the young emperor and suddenly, red lines appeared on his cheeks, his long hair turned white, his eyes turned blood red, his canine teeth grew until they became fangs, claws formed where before were nails and nine long pure-white furred fox tails formed behind his back. That was his inheritance from his mother's side, the Kyuubi form.
Each of the tails then formed furry hands that immediately grabbed anything fix in the room in order to keep him in place. But even that wasn't enough and the portal kept pulling him more and more. Almost the entirety of his arm was already swallowed by the green screen. He then heard as the door was kicked open by Cao Cao and other members of his Lapis-lazuli guard, plus some eunuchs and servants.
"Help!" asked Yuan as he tried to channel magic energy into the green screen without success. What kind of magic was that? Would the Emperor of Han lose for a simple spell.
"Your Majesty!" said Cao Cao as he then unsheathed his sword and prepared to cut Yuan's body in half, should it be necessary. Noticing this and not wanting to be maimed, the young emperor raised his free hand towards the soldier and started channeling his own magic energy into it.
"Wait, Son of Heaven!" pleaded one of the guards when he saw what the boy was about to do.
"Diamond Goddess Blessing: Crystal Tulip!" chanted him. The result was almost immediate and his magic solidified and formed a small beautiful Tulip flower made of purely pink crystals over his palm. He then sent it floating towards Cao Cao. At this point, the portal was already at his neck, the nine tails failing to hold him in place so he deactivated his Yokai form." Use it to find me, Cao Cao. I have a feeling you'll be able to do it."
And with a last serene smile, Yuan finally stopped resisting and felt as his body was entirely sucked inside the portal, the light completely embracing him as he felt lighter, as light as the wind.
"Until then, have my sister rule for me, right?"
With this last statement, the Emperor of Han vanished in an explosion of light, leaving his subjects astonished.
"Yuan-samaaa!" screamed Cao Cao furiously as he tried to jump into the closing portal, only to be held by his companions.
"Wait a little, general." Said one of the soldiers.
"The Son of Heaven left us with a way to find him, don't worry." Said another.
"That's right, Cao Cao." Said a calm feminine voice behind them and all turned to see a breathtakingly beautiful middle aged woman with an angel-like face, long chocolate brown hair going down until her waist, shining purple eyes and cat ears appearing from her head, showing Yokai origins. "My son used his Diamond Goddess Blessing to leave you with a guiding star towards his location."
Her name was Yasaka, Yasaka Nakatomi, first princess of the Island Empire of Nil Kamui, daughter of the current Yokai Fox Emperor (Yuan's grandfather) and Empress Dowager of Han. While her origins made most of the courtiers initially hostile to her when she married the late emperor, her sympathy, sweet smile, strength as Nine Tailed Fox and, mainly, very sharp intelligence made her very popular and influent in the Imperial Court. She also did her best to keep her two only children, Yuan and Tianzi, safe.
"What should we do now, Yasaka-sama? The Son of Heaven is gone, a co-emperor must be crowned as well as a Regency Council must be established in order to keep order in the country." Said an eunuch administrator as he bowed to the Empress Dowager.
"I'll make sure to tell Tianzi she will be assuming the Imperial Throne while her brother is gone." Said Yasaka seriously as she then left the room, leaving an astonished Cao Cao behind as the ministers, eunuchs and guards followed after her to help in the plannings.
'How can she be this calm while her son was sucked out to somewhere far away?' thought the guard. 'Where are you, Yuan-sama?'
He didn't know, however, that the Empress Dowager also had her worries about her only and beloved son. As the princess walked on the corridors of the vast palace towards her daughter's room, she started thinking about how things changed for her son.
Yuan and Tianzi were children of a late marriage of the former Emperor, Dorgon. Yasaka, their mother, was given by her father, Emperor Teiji of Nil Kamui, to the old man as a part of the peace treaty between the two great nations of Han and Nil Kamui after a long-fought naval and land war over the peninsula of Goguryo. She still remembered how she and her children were segregated and isolated, mainly by the Emperor's other children, from the court for being Yokai or, in the case of Yuan and Tianzi, half-yokai. This was expected to keep happening until Dorgon died. Then, Yasaka expected her and her children to be expelled from the palace and sent to exile somewhere, maybe even her home country. She never expected her children to inherit anything.
That was, until Yuan's talents came to surface, when he was only 11.
Diamond Goddess Blessing was a legendary skill, only present on the annals of Han history, when the first two God-Emperors ruled all these lands but now, one of their descendants awakened it.
Using this power as a way to build support for him and his family, the young Yuan, backed by Yasaka and the loyal Cao, earned the title of heir of the Mandate of Heaven, eventually excluding his siblings from the succession line and sending them to exile in different places of the globe, such as the wild islands of Aotearoa, to the south. Then, three years ago, Dorgon died, leaving the path clear for their ascension.
Now, however, her son was gone and Tianzi was only 12, meaning only her had the power to keep the Mandate of Heaven in their hands.
Yasaka wouldn't give up. The Nine Tailed Foxes were known for their wisdom and power, she would show them what she was made of.
Should any claimant appear, she would crush them with fangs and claws, just like she did to her enemies in court.
( In Halkeginia)
At the first moment, everything was dark, then suddenly, light came, before a cloud of dust was lifted around him, blocking most of his vision.
The first thing Yuan Wei, Son of Heaven, God-Emperor of Han and the world's most powerful ruler saw when got out of the car was a kid. She looked like she was 12 and had pink hair and eyes. By her side was a bald man ,who wore glasses and looked like a teacher. Both, however, looked much different than the other people he had seen. They had different facial traits and hair colors and their clothes were also different from anything he had seen in Eastern Jade, long cloaks made of wool ad well as white long-sleeved shirts and tight pants.
Looking around, he could also see that almost everyone there, except the bald man( who looked like the eunuchs at his court) was young, maybe 16-17 years old and the combination of hair colors and styles almost made him dizzy. The wands in their hands were also a strange asset, his people has developed a much more efficient way to channel magic through magic circles, equations and Senjutsu, meaning he was dealing with technologically backwards people.
There was also the architecture. The place he was in was built mostly in stone, with round towers, tall stone walls and strange glass windows, contrary to the light mixed structures they usually built in Han. The structure at all was different even from the Hinduran temples built when the subcontinent was unified, millennia ago.
'Basically, it means that…' he then returned his gaze to the two people standing in front of him with looks of curiosity. 'I'm in barbarian land.'
As the Emperor of the Han, Yuan decided to adopt a respectful and dignified position, as if he didn't care a bit about the number of people around him. His serene face didn't show any of the curiosity he had about the strange Westerners, who seemed to be muttering about him in a strange barbaric language which was a mix of sweet sound like 'çois' with stressed sounds like 'Tristain'. Much different from the Han language he was used to but a but similar to the ones spoken in Hindura. The beasts around him also called a bit of his attention, what was their exact function?
Unknown to the Emperor, however, Louise's mind was just as messy. The pinkette girl was having a lot of trouble trying to define what the young man in front of her was.
(Louise POV)
At first, she thought she had summoned a commoner as a Familiar, as such bringing shame to her family's name for centuries to come but then, she started seeing the details on his appearance and her opinion started to change…
The first thing was his beauty. The man in front of her was one women would fight like dragons for. He had long dark brown hair which was let loose on his back, purple eyes which seemed to hypnotize her every time she looked at them, pale white skin which looked like pure porcelain and an almost girly face which made her think whether he was really a man.
There were also his clothes, they didn't look like anything made in Tristain…no, in the entire Halkeginia! The long black robe he wore covered most of his body and had strange patterns on the sleeve edges and collar, as well as a long serpent-like beast made of Gold wires over all his left arm. It was also made of the rarest kind of fabric in the continent, Silk. Silk came only from legendary lands beyond the Great Desert and even higher nobles had difficulties in buying it because of the price, but that man wore the finest of it as if it was an usual attire.
Another thing she could also see in him was authority. His face was calm and serene, almost as if he despised the people around him. That characteristic was only present on Kings and Queens, maybe not even Henrietta had such an air.
That's why she was sure he was no commoner, but a noble. And a very powerful one. Louise shivered when his penetrating purple eyes fell on her once more. She was brushed out of her thoughts by Kirche and the other students.
"It seems Louise really overdid herself~" said the older girl playfully.
"She really is a Zero after all, to summon a commoner as a familiar!" said Mallicorne laughing.
"But he really is handsome…" commented a girl.
"Ms. Vallière, please finish the summoning rite." Said her teacher Colbert in a commanding tone.
"Please sensei, let me try it again!" pleaded Louise desperately as she then looked back at the man and pointed at him. "I don't want a Human Familiar!"
"I'm afraid you can't, that would be a violation of the Holy Law." Said Colbert with a headshake. "Now please, finish the ritual or you'll be really expelled from the academy, Ms. Vallière."
Louise then looked back at the stranger.
He still seemed to be on the same position, but now his eyes were looking at her with curiosity, his head slightly tilted to the side.
"Yes, sensei…" muttered Louise embarrassed before walking towards the stranger.
"You should be grateful, it's not everyday a noble does it to you." She said embarrassedly, even though he didn't seem to understand her and just stared back with curiosity. "My name is Louise Françoise de la Baume le Blanc de La Vallière." The girl then waved her hand in front of his face." Pentagon which rules the 5 elements, bless this man and make him my familiar."
She then stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips, the boy surprisingly answering to it. His tasted like cinnamon, as if he had been eating the rare spice frequently. Finally breaking free from the kiss, Louise panted while the man just stood normal.
After breaking free from the kiss, Louise saw as runes formed on the stranger's left palm, glowing with a white light. What most surprised her (and even the other students), though, was that he didn't seem up to talking at all. That was, until the torrent of words was released…
"Wènhòu xīfāng rén. Wǒ shì shàngdì - tiānhuáng zǐ zi, tiāntáng zhīzǐ, zuànshí gōngzhǔ de hòudài, hànrén de hànwèi zhě hé tiānshǐ de chí yǒu rén, hěn gāoxìng jiàn dào nǐ." Said the stranger in a very strange language, nothing she had ever heard of. The words left his mouth so quickly that neither her, nor Colbert, nor none the other students could understand a single word.
"Colbert-sensei, which language is he speaking at? Is it Germanian? Or, could this be the Elven Language?!" asked Louise, somewhat afraid her Familiar was a Firstborn, but her teacher shook his head in denial.
"No, Ms. Vallière. His language… I've never heard something like this."
The strange way to speak was already causing whispers among the other students.
"Hey hey, have you heard what he said?" asked a girl.
"I have no idea." Answered another.
"Could he be an elf? He has no pointed ears though…"
Seeing that he wasn't being understood, the young man sighed before spreading his arms, making a scroll of paper and a writing brush covered in black ink appear from nothingness. He then started writing and after he finished, he dismissed the brush and showed them the paper.
"問候西方人。我是上帝- 天皇子子，天子，鑽石公主的後代，漢人的捍衛者和天使的持有人，很高興見到你。"
'What the hell are those symbols? Are they drawings?' thought Louise sweat dropping.
"I believe I have a solution to this problem, Ms. Valliére." Said Colbert as he then raised his staff towards the stranger noble and pointed it at his face. " Ousulu Berou Om"
'That is, a translation spell?!' thought Louise surprised as she saw her teacher offering his hand to the handsome man who, however, didn't make any signal of taking it.
"Greetings, Familiar-san, my name is Jean Colbert, professor at the Tristain Magic Academy. May we have your name?" asked the bald man with a kind smile. His hand still in the air in front of the stranger, who still didn't answer to the handshake. He instead gave them a slight bow with his upper body before raising once more.
"Greetings Westerners." Said the man this time in their language, his voice sounding really authoritative this time. "I am God-Emperor Zi Jing of Han, the Son of Heaven, defender of the Han people, descendant of the Diamond Princess and holder of the Mandate of Heaven. It's nice to make you an acquaintance."
"God-Emperor?!"
The surprise of the students echoed all over the courtyard, making Yuan sigh at their ignorance over the Eastern world.
"Yes yes, now…" he said incisively and, this time, his voice sounded furious and even more authoritative. The magic power suddenly becoming dense around him, as if gravity has just increased by 5 times. "I want to know why did you bring me here?"
A/N: Don't forget to review and until next month! Byebye~!