The morning after the Naming Festival, the place felt different. And I'm not just talking about the hangovers.
I walked out of my manor and almost did a double-take. My people had… bulked up. Overnight. Every single adult Ursine and Shungmo was taller, broader, and looked like they spent every waking hour lifting boulders. The males were ripped. The females were powerfully built. They were just standing around, buzzing with this new energy, looking confused but strong. It was like a convention of superheroes who didn't know what their powers were yet.
It was time to get organized. But first, I had to fix something that had been bugging me.
'Aethelgard?' I thought, making a face. 'What was I thinking? It sounds like some stuffy old castle from a textbook. Way too… Middle-earth.'
I needed something cooler. Something that sounded like a world power, not a tourist attraction.
'How about… Yggdrasil?'
Yeah. That was it. The World Tree. It sounded ancient, powerful, and connected to everything. I liked it.
I focused on the skill I'd used to manifest the land's potential. It wasn't a conscious thing, more of a feeling. I just… updated it. In my mind, the name Aethelgard on that particular function just glitched and rewrote itself into Yggdrasil. The land itself seemed to hum in approval for a second. The name just fit better.
Next order of business: a flag. Every cool kingdom needs a cool flag. I couldn't just have a boring dragon or a tree. I needed something iconic.
I pictured it in my head: a sword pointing down, with crazy jagged wings or flames curling off the sides, almost like a demonic face with horns curving up. It looked fierce, draconic, and totally badass. I'd seen it somewhere before, and it was perfect. Colors? A blood-red background with the sigil in stark black. Simple. intimidating.
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With a thought and a whisper of [Genesis Forge], I made it real. A giant flagpole of dark iron grew from the ground near the lake. A massive red banner unfurled from the top, the brutal black sigil staring out across the territory. It snapped in the wind with a satisfying thwip.
A few of the nearby Ursine jumped, then stared at the new flag with wide eyes. They didn't know what it meant, but they knew it looked serious.
"Alright, listen up!" I yelled, my voice carrying. Bogdan and Bjorn snapped to attention and hurried over. The rest of the crowd gathered around.
"First things first. We're not 'Aethelgard' anymore. That name was weak. We are Yggdrasil now. This…" I jerked a thumb at the terrifying new flag. "…is our sigil. Get used to it."
They just nodded, accepting the change instantly. Good soldiers.
"Now, you're all strong. But strength without a job is just being a loud nuisance. We need structure."
I looked at my two generals.
"Bogdan, Bjorn. You're in charge of sorting this out. Not everyone is gonna be a front-line fighter, and that's fine. We need hunters to bring in real food. We need scouts to watch the borders and tell us what's going on out there in the world. We need guards to patrol our forests and keep things calm here. And we need an elite group—the strongest and most loyal—to be the Yggdrasil Guard. My personal knights. You figure out who's best for what."
Both of them slammed their fists against their chests, a new habit they'd picked up. "It will be done, My Lord!" Bjorn said, his voice deeper and more confident than before.
"Good. Get to it."
They turned and started barking orders, beginning the process of turning a mob of powerful beings into a functioning society.
I watched them for a minute. I could easily use [Panoptēs] to scan the entire island myself. I could learn everything about our neighbors without moving a muscle.
But what was the fun in that? And more importantly, my people needed to feel useful. They needed to contribute. If I did everything, they'd just be pets. I needed them to be citizens.
Once the scouts were picked, they'd have their first real mission. Go see what—and who—else was on this island with us.
The kingdom of Yggdrasil was open for business. And it was time the neighbors knew we were here.
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Author's Note
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Kingdom Designation: Changed from Aethelgard to Yggdrasil.
Sovereign: Hades Azrathor, The Dragon of Genesis.
Capital: The Heartland (Cathedral-Manor, Forests, Grove, Lake).
National Sigil: A stark black emblem on a red field. The design is a downward-pointing sword shape with mirrored, jagged wing-like extensions and upward-curving horns, creating a fierce, draconic-demonic appearance.
Military Structure:
Yggdrasil Guard: Elite Knight Order & Royal Guard. (To be formed).
Frontier Scouts: Reconnaissance and intelligence division.
Sylvan Hunters: Resource acquisition and tracking division.
Territorial Wardens: Internal security and policing force.
Current Status: Population is stabilized and empowered. Military and societal structuring is underway. External reconnaissance pending.
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