The Ancient Imperial Calendar, Year 1820
There was practically a riot in front of the palace.
Millions of people from the Five Lands, eager to see the new House Lord up close, had stormed the Kislavein Palace.
Thousands had camped in front of the palace for an entire week just to get a close look at the new House Lord.
The three most powerful Legions of the Kislavein House—the Blood Hawks, the Blood Orphans, and the Blood Bastards—were lined up around the ceremony area, trying to control the enthusiastic crowd.
The crowd, in their eagerness to get even a step closer, were almost trampling each other.
A Blood Bastard shouted angrily.
"GET BACK, DAMN IT!"
The crowd reacted with anger.
"WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?! WE JUST WANT TO SEE OUR NEW HOUSE LORD UP CLOSE!"
"IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK, DAMN IT?!"
The Blood Bastard grew even angrier at this reaction.
"HEYYYYY!"
Just as a fight was about to break out, ten drummers beat their drums exactly one hundred times.
When the drums fell silent, the people and soldiers bowed their heads and knelt.
As the palace doors opened, the new House Lord, Ricardo Kislavein, emerged from the palace.
His attire was the representative Dark Blood Red of the Kislavein House.
He wore a long cloak in Dark Blood Red.
His shoulders bore golden tassels.
Like every House Lord before him, he wore a magnificent outfit symbolizing his warrior past and his rule, embodying the pinnacle of craftsmanship.
On his left hip was his Bloodstone sword.
On his right hip was the Ice Dagger Silvarist, once the symbol of the Payrist House.
The lordship uniform, his Dark Blood Red short beard, hair, and eyes created a perfect harmony, evolving his handsomeness further.
Ricardo reached the front of his throne, watched his people briefly, then raised his hand.
When those in front rose at this signal, those behind them also stood up.
The crowd was shocked upon seeing Ricardo in his magnificent lordship uniform.
"For the love of the ancestors, such a face can't be real!"
"Sister, he's so handsome!"
"Oh, I wish I could spend just one night with him, even if only once."
"Good genes, that bastard."
"Are we just lucky or what?"
"Look at his face. I could sue my family now, and it would be justified."
Just by appearing before his people, Ricardo had won the love, admiration, friendship, affection, and jealousy of many.
Marilin Kislavein, kneeling, offered Ricardo the Bloodstone Crown—the symbol of the Kislavein House, passed down from one Lord to the next through 65 generations—on a cushion of Dark Blood Red adorned with golden tassels at the corners.
His Master, Eduardo Kislavein, strengthened his voice with mana and shouted thunderously.
"RICARDO KISLAVEIN! ACCEPT THE LEGACY OF YOUR ANCESTORS AND ANNOUNCE YOUR NEW NAME TO ALL THE LANDS!"
Ricardo respectfully took the Bloodstone Crown, the legacy of his ancestors, held it aloft slowly, and showed it to his people.
He strengthened his voice with mana and shouted with such power and volume that even those outside the city could hear him.
"I, THE RULER OF THE WESTERN LANDS, THE 66TH LORD OF THE KISLAVEIN HOUSE, FORMERLY KNOWN AS RICARDO KISLAVEIN, HEREBY OFFICIALLY DECLARE THE BEGINNING OF MY REIGN AS HOUSE LORD KRAEL KISLAVEIN II!"
Ricardo placed the crown on his head and sat on his throne. But the crowd was in shock and fear; the enthusiasm had been replaced by a deathly silence.
Even his closest friends couldn't hide their fears about the future awaiting them.
The reason lay in the name.
226 years ago.
The Ancient Imperial Calendar, Year 1594.
The 49th House Lord, Krael Kislavein I, ascended the throne.
And to conquer all the Lands, he declared war on the Four Ancient Houses.
This war went down in history as the Great Lands War.
The war lasted 10 years. The Kislavein armies had prepared for this war for three generations.
Through the intense efforts of three House Lords over 37 years, the Kislavein House had built a massive army of ten million soldiers, each descended from the Kislavein bloodline.
Under Krael Kislavein's command, this army launched a massive invasion campaign against the Northern, Southern, Central, and Eastern Lands.
The Kislavein armies conquered more than half of each territory.
All peoples became convinced that the Kislaveins would rule over all the Lands.
The Ancient House Lords devised a plan with very low odds of success to change the course of the war.
They each attacked the Kislavein House Lord's headquarters with an army composed of their most elite warriors and mages.
This battle went down in history as the War of the Five Lords.
Krael Kislavein fought one against four against the Ancient House Lords. At the end of the battle...
All five Ancient House Lords died.
Every warrior and mage who fought in the battle was killed.
Although it resulted in a Kislavein victory, both sides lost their Lords and their most elite warriors and mages.
In the year 1604, new faces sat on the thrones of the Five Ancient Houses.
After Cornan Kislavein I, the 50th Lord of the Kislavein House, ascended the throne, he sent his envoys to the new Ancient House Lords.
As a result, a peace treaty was made. The treaty would last until each of the Five Lords died.
The Kislavein armies withdrew from the territories they had occupied.
Although not precise, between fifty and one hundred million people died in the Great Lands War.
The peace lasted 27 years.
After the Great Lands War, the new Lords who ascended the thrones died one after another in less than thirty years.
The last remaining of the Five Lords was Cornan I.
When Cornan I died in the 27th year of his reign, the peace ended in the year 1631 of the Ancient Imperial Calendar.
Now, for the first time in over two centuries, a House Lord had taken the name of Krael, who started the Great Lands War.
The meaning behind the name choice was far greater than imagined.
Ricardo had now declared to all peoples that he intended to conquer all the Lands.
Marco Kislavein broke the silence by shouting.
"LONG LIVE KISLAVEIN HOUSE LORD KRAEL II! LONG LIVE! LONG LIVE! LONG LIVE!"
Marco's friends joined in first, followed by the entire crowd who heard their voices.
Everyone shouted in unison.
"LONG LIVE THE HOUSE LORD! LONG LIVE! LONG LIVE! LONG LIVE!"
From this point on, the attention of all the Lands would be on Ricardo, now known as Krael Kislavein II.
The year 1820 of the Ancient Imperial Calendar was the first herald of a New Era.