The throne room was adorned with crimson silk and golden banners. This was no ordinary day. The people, gathered in the Golden Dragon Plaza, knew they were about to witness something that happened only once per generation.
The Imperial Dragon Consort would receive his crown.
Drums resonated at dawn.
The sky seemed clearer.
The birds, more silent.
As if the entire Empire held its breath.
Jin Long remained on his throne of black jade and gold, dressed in the imperial robe embroidered with five ascending dragons. Suwei, in contrast, wore the sacred pearl color: a long cape with crane wing brocades, open in the front, revealing the ceremonial robe embroidered with silver thread and moon crystal.
As he walked, imperial priests sprinkled the ground with essences of moon flower and water from the ancestral spring.
"Suwei, of House Jinhai," proclaimed the Grand Master of Ceremonies. "Do you accept the burden... and the glory of the highest title beside the throne?"
