A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

While the chanting continued to spread, Elora whispered in his ear. "You should make use of this situation. Speak to your people! Imprint your voice in their hearts!"

Erik blinked… and realized he was actually a little nervous. He had spoken in front of crowds before, and well, just take Sigurd's trial back in Kirkenes. But… this time felt different. These people were his first true followers in this fledgeling empire he'd forced his way into.

His first followers as, apparently, the Silver Emperor.

Last time, the people listened to him more because of his mother than because of him. Now, they were there for him. They wanted his words. His leadership.

Still, he wasn't going to run from this. This was what he and Elora had wanted for years. So, he hid his nervosity and steeled his mind. His brows furrowed sternly.

"Girls, my arms, please," he told Nora and Anne through their bond as they were still clinging to his sides. Noticing he was about to do something, they quickly let him go and waited to see what would happen.

Slowly changing to his werewolf form, he rose up and stretched his back. The silver-white fur that likely earned him the monicker of Silver Emperor quickly grew all over his body as his wolfish features became clear.

At the same time, he pulled Astrid, Emily, and Elora out of his dimension with little warning, pulled out his hammer to plant it on the ground in front of him, covered his body in armour again, and finally told Nora and Anne to change position.

By the end, his hammer, its head planted on the ground in front of him, was firmly held with both hands. Gathered around him were Astrid, Emily, and Elora, with the latter taking the most prominent position. He wanted to get Emma out, too, but she'd already retreated into an isolation barrier for training.

Even so, with Astrid and Emily there, he had some vampire and human representation as well.
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Meanwhile, Nora and Anne had taken up servile positions, just behind the main family, with their heads bowed in obeisance.

Despite receiving little warning, his three wives participated in this grandstanding as if they'd choreographed it beforehand. Like Erik, their power flowed from their bodies as they looked sternly at the surroundings.

His preparations took barely two blinks of an eye, and by the end, he truly looked like a Silver Emperor. The people around them watched the transformation with stunned expressions. It all happened so fast that they could barely react, but now that it was over, they held their breaths at the majesty of this picture.

Erik's fantastical armour, powerful hammer, and steadfast stance gave him an intimidating aura. Although his armour was still a little damaged, that just gave the entire picture an extra edge.

The chanting had died down, and they now all waited for him to speak. Erik panned his stern, amber gaze across the crowd. Seemingly, he was letting the tension build, but in fact, he was trying to decide what to say.

In the end, he decided to keep it simple.

"Today…!" he roared over their heads, his voice a litle gravelly due to his transformation. "Our warriors stood strong against the forces who wanted to do us harm! And we drove. Them. Back!"

Slightly lifting his hammer, he brought it back down to the ground with the sound of a roaring thunderclap. At the same time, an icy white lightning bolt struck down from the heavens onto his hammer with a boom, causing a wave of icy power to surge into the surroundings.

Awed by his words and display of power, the people observed only another moment of silence before starting to chant and cheer once again. Weapons were raised in the air, and people went wild. The joy of victory blended into the relief that their dark times were finally over, and all those feelings were being carried over to Erik.

Many of them truly started to feel like he was the harbinger of their golden age. Some even felt a hint of the fanaticism that Nora preached earlier.

Emily and Astrid looked around at the enthusiastic crowd and felt a little surreal. They could feel that a part of the crowd's admiration was directed at them as well, and it was an intimidating feeling.

Fortunately, they were not easily intimidated.

Giving each other a glance, they both grinned widely, the painful moments of earlier already starting to sink into the background. Imitating the crowd, Astrid raised her dual swords into the air and started to roar with them. Emily raised her arms and joined in as well, bloodlust flickering in her eyes.

Elora remained more subdued. She was now human-sized, with hidden wings. Dressed in elegant clothing worthy of an empress, she stood beside her husband with a proud grin.

After a few moments of this, with Erik simply looking around sternly, occasionally nodding, he raised a hand. He wasn't sure how much effect it would have, but he was pleasantly surprised to find the crowd rapidly quieting down.

"Unfortunately, all we bought today was a temporary reprieve," he continued gravely, quickly causing the crowd to get a little nervous. "The hunters are still out there, and they are not the only faction looking to rule over, or even wipe us out!"

His voice boomed over the gathered warriors, and they all felt their hearts steel for the future, even as their burgeoning admiration for the Silver Emperor grew.

"But they won't succeed!" he roared, once again smashing down his hammer and creating another thunderbolt.

"They will break upon our warriors!" he continued, creating another thunderbolt.

"They. Will. Bow. To us!" he finished, creating a final thunderbolt as his power and words rolled over the crowd.

His words caused the cheering to swell to a whole new level as the ground shook with their stamping feet and roaring voices.

"For Enkare Nkai!"

"For the silver Emperor!"

"They will bow!"

"We will never break!"

Subtly, Erik had already begun to plant the seeds of future conquest in their minds, and Elora looked at him proudly.

After speaking to his subjects, Erik remained among them for a while longer, until he subtly made his exit, together with his wives, leaving the cheering crowd to their own devices.

Nora and Anne had actually decided to stay behind for a while, as Nora wanted to talk to some more people about her master. Erik looked at her a little strangely for that, but he let her do as she wished.

For his part, it was finally time to have a conversation with Elora. He had a lot to tell her.