THE NEW RULER OF THE EMERALD NATION

After conquering Emerald City, Urfin thought for a long time on what his title should be, and settled down with 'Urfin the First, the all-powerful king of Emerald City and all surrounding countries; the Master, whose boots are rested on top of the Universe.'

The first to hear the new title where Topotun and Guamoko. Topotun was impressed by it, but the owl squinted and said: "First, let's see if the nobles can pronounce it."

Urfin decided to follow the owl's advice. He summoned Ruf Belan and a couple of other nobles, and repeated his title twice. After that, he ordered Belan to pronounce it.

The short and fat Ruf Belan started to sweat from the cold look Urfin was giving him and mumbled: "Urfin the First, the mighty king of Emerald City and sovereign countries; the ruler, whose boots are rested in the Universe."

"Bad, very bad." said Urfin harshly, and turned to the next one: "Now, overseer of trade and markets, it's your turn.

He then started speaking: "You are to be called Urfin the First, the advantaged king of Emerald City, and other sluggish nations; who is rested out of the universe with boots…"

A horse, choked cough was heard. It was Guamoko, trying to keep in his laughter. All red from rage, Urfin ordered his followers out.

After thinking about for several more hours, he made this title: 'Urfin the first, the powerful king of Emerald City, and the entire Land of Oz.'

The nobles were summoned again, and this time the tests were passed successfully. The new title was announced to the public, and saying it was considered equivalent to betrayal.

A festival was announced to honor Urfin's new title. Knowing that no one would come there willingly, the Prime Minister and the General made several measures to ensure everyone would be there. Before the start of the festival, at night, while everyone was sleeping, the oakheads went around the city. They woke the sleeping, and took them to the castle square. There, they could finish sleep or just wander around, but they couldn't leave.

So when Urfin came out in a royal cloak, he saw a large group of people. The weak cries "Hooray" were heard from the soldiers and the nobles.

The orchestra started playing. But it was not the orchestra, whose music was famed throughout the Land of Oz. Despite the threats, the musicians refused to play. Their instruments were confiscated and given to the oakheads and the nobles. The soldiers got the percussion, while the nobles got the windpipes.

The music was a mess. The tubas groaned the windpipes emitted a high pitch noise; the drums were beaten out of order. The oakheads beat the drums so hard that the skin on them popped. And the people couldn't take it, and fell over laughing. The chronicler stated that the laughter was a sign of happiness of Urfin the First's rise to power.

The crowning ceremony was over, and everyone who wanted to could go to the feast that followed.

Urfin, despite Guamoko's encouragement, couldn't bring himself to eat mice and leeches, so he devised a trick.

Before the feast, the Baker Baluol was summoned to Urfin for a private talk. Walking away from the meeting site, the chef made ugly faces, trying to keep in his laughter. The Chef would have loved to tell someone the secret they discussed. But he was threatened with death to not reveal the secret to anyone. When he got to the kitchen, he banished all his assistants and got to work.

The feast was nearing its end. The nobles had given multiple toasts to the new ruler.

Urfin sat on at the end of the table on Oz's throne, which was brought there to remind everyone of the conqueror's glory. Except for the throne, the emeralds were taken out from the entire city, and when the light from the throne illuminated Urfin's dry, gloomy face, it made it even more unpleasant.

Guamoko perched on one of the throne's handles, his yellow eyes half closed. Topotun stood to the right of the throne, ready to pounce on anyone who didn't give the proper respect to the king.

The door then opened, and a fat chef walked in, carrying two large plates.

"His majesty's favorite dishes are ready!" He exclaimed, and set the plates down to the king's table.

The people present shuddered when they saw what was on the plates. One was filled with baked mice, the other with leeches.

Urfin stated: "We sorcerers have our own tastes, ones that may seem strange to ordinary folks…"

Topotun supported him: "I would like to see anyone that may find our ruler's tastes strange."

A morbid silence followed as Urfin ate several of the mice, and then brought a leech to his mouth, which started to squirm.

The people present then turned away, except for Ruf Belan, who continued to stare at his superior.

The scene would have been strange or horrifying to anyone who was in it, had they not known the secret that only Urfin and the chef knew. The food was fake. The mice were made out of rabbit meat, while the leeches were baked chocolate dough, and squirmed due to Urfin's crafty fingers.

With his trick Urfin hoped to accomplish two things: convince Guamoko that he was a real magician, and too scare and astonish his followers. He managed to accomplish both things. Guamoko, unable to see very well in the candlelight bobbed his head up and down. Urfin's second wish was fully completed as well.

When the nobles returned to their homes, they told their servants what they saw, and there were plenty of exaggerations.

Soon, the entire area was talking about how Urfin swallowed live snakes and lizards at the feast, which shocked and revolted the people.

Three days after the feast, the chronicler made an article that stated that Urfin was a descendant from the old kings that once ruled the entire land.

From this the article made two conclusions. The first was that Urfin was the legal ruler of the entire Land of Oz. The second was that the Witches of the North and South took Urfin's land without any legal justification, and that the two should be dealt with severely.

For his efforts, the chronicler got a silver cup that was confiscated from a merchant, and had not yet reached the royal treasury.

In order to spy on the unhappy citizens, Urfin decided to make a police force. Soldiers were too bulky and slow for that job.

He then proceeded to make a prototype of one, and, satisfied with the results, ordered his wooden carpenters to start production.

The police were slimmer and weaker than soldiers, but they were much more agile, thanks to their long legs, and their huge ears allowed them to pick up conversations with ease. Each policeman had long, fingers, with about 7 to 10 on each hand, since Urfin believed that it would allow them have a better grip. They were assigned slingshots for weapons, and, with practice, were able to use with great effect.

The chief of police had the largest ears, the most fingers, and the longest legs. He had the same rank as the Prime Minister and the general, and could come in at any time to the throne room to give a report.

In the basement of the castle, the former soldiers worked relentlessly. After Emerald City was conquered, the Purple and Orange squads were trained to become carpenters, with the soldiers making the parts, and the former corporals putting them together. They made multiple faceless bodies, with a redwood corporal for every ten soldiers, and stacked them in a special room. At night, Urfin went into the room and carved out the faces, not trusting the carpenters to do it, and put in beads for eyes.

After that, he sprinkled the magic powder on them, and they were sent for their coloring. After that, the soldiers were sent to the corporals for training, while the corporals were sent to Lan Pirot for a military education.

Squad after squad walked out of the castle…

Urfin's army was reaching 120 soldiers, and 50 policemen. Soldiers and police patrolled the city and surrounding farms. The Blue and Yellow Squads were sent to Blue and Yellow land correspondingly, with one of the nobles in command.