The Vampire & Her Witch Chapter 1840: An Imperial Name

It took time for the cries of ’forever may they reign’ to die down, and by the time they did, Ashlynn’s face had turned a delicate shade of pink as she felt the outpouring of genuine support from so many people in the Great Hall.

"This is your victory," Nyrielle said softly. "They would not do this for me..."

"They would," Ashlynn said, stretching up on her tiptoes to bestow a light kiss on Nyrielle’s lips. "The people of the Vale would. The people of Airgead would. Even people of the Verdant Hills would once they came to understand how their lords truly treated them..."

"Perhaps," Nyrielle said, bestowing a kiss of her own on Ashlynn’s forehead. "They would celebrate the Lothian’s fall to be sure. But an empire... Without you, I’d never have dreamed of it."

"Well then, my Midnight Empress," Ashlynn said with a twinkle in her emerald eyes. "I think it’s time to watch our dream come to life," she said, turning back to face the crowd and raising a hand to call for quiet.

She could see the excitement on many faces in the Great Hall, along with a good measure of anticipation. Several young women, like Eira and Adala, had caught what she said about Jocelynn’s talents receiving no recognition in the Kingdom of Gaal, and they were all eagerly awaiting word of how the new empire would be different.

The Eldritch in the room had a different reaction entirely. There was a sort of calm that had settled over veterans like Commander Bassinger and Harrod when they learned that Nyrielle would be their guardian.

For close to a hundred years, Nyrielle had protected the Vale of Mists against every attack the Lothians made, and while there were casualties in every war, their homes had remained safe, and their families had never been threatened. Few announcements could provide more peace of mind than what they had already heard.

Dirar, however, looked deeply thoughtful as he processed the implications of what Ashlynn and Nyrielle had said. It was clear that they intended to set aside many traditions from both the human and Eldritch world to create a new order that belonged to them alone. Despite the fact that the empresses were a Great Witch and a True Vampire, they wouldn’t fold humans into the Eldritch tradition, nor did they seem intent on imposing human structures on the Eldritch.

The decision was likely wise... They’d just highlighted the failings of both systems of rule, and Dirar didn’t disagree with those failings. But what that meant for his own place in this new order, or for the place of his people, remained to be seen.

"Now," Ashlynn said, addressing the room once again once it was quiet enough to be heard. "Beyond its rulers, an empire needs a name to bind its people together in common cause and shared identity."

"We could have called it the Empire of the Vale," Nyrielle said with a smile that revealed the tips of her fangs. "And we intend for the Vale of Mists to serve as the capital of our new empire. Already, Vale City is rebuilding itself into a place that would not lose to great cities like High Fen City, Thousand Spires, or Star Lake City," she said, naming their nearest impressive neighbor along with some of the most impressive cities of the Eldritch world.

"Even you might be impressed by what’s become of my humble home since you last visited, Dirar," Nyrielle said with a widening smile.

"I look forward to visiting again," Dirar responded with a warm chuckle. "I appreciate the, um, rustic charm of this place," he said, gesturing to the stone walls of the Great Hall. "But I would have been saddened to hear that you intended to rule from here simply because the location is convenient."

"Some things matter much more than convenience," Nyrielle agreed. "And a new empire deserves a name of its own. One that hasn’t been inherited from everything that came before."

"On Midwinter’s Night," Ashlynn said, taking over from her beloved. "The Lothians fell, and their throne of power crumbled to dust. From that dust, something grew. Something new, precious, and completely unexpected. Once Nyrielle and I had a chance to see it and to understand its nature, we couldn’t set aside our old plans because neither of us could think of a better emblem for our empire."

"Some of you called it the Sacred Sapling," Ashlynn said, speaking of the tree that had grown from the Blood Acorn after breaking the curse of the Lothian Throne. It had reclaimed the remnants of a fallen Ancient Oak, and it was steeped in the power of both witches and vampires.

It even carried traces of the purified power of oracles that it had harvested from the Lothian throne, though compared to the rest of the power coursing through the tree, the power of oracles was thin and weak. That suited Ashlynn and Nyrielle both just fine. They intended to forge their own destiny, and they had no desire for the tree to guide the fate of their empire.

At one of the side tables, Lady Tosha sat up straighter in her seat. She’d been one of the ones to call the tree the Sacred Sapling, and even now, her memory of its birth was almost as precious to her as the birth of her own children...

It felt wrong to frame it that way, but she’d never before seen anything that touched her as deeply or made her feel the sense of wonder that the shimmering midnight blue, emerald green, and deep crimson leaves of the sacred tree had.

To hear that it would be the emblem of their new empire only renewed her desire to visit the tree again....

"Now you may know it by its proper name," Ashlynn told the assembled crowd of lords and ladies. "The Bloodroot Tree."

"Like our new empire, it is a thing born in bloodshed," Nyrielle said, unwilling to soften the image of the tree that inspired feelings of both wonder and terror with its crimson roots and shimmering leaves. "Like our new empire, it draws strength from everyone who nurtures it, becoming something greater than the predecessors that gave birth to it."

"The tree is our emblem and our namesake," Ashlynn said. "It is still young and fragile, just as our empire is. Together, we can nurture an empire that is mighty enough to resist any storm, with boughs wide enough to shelter all that we love and cherish," she said as she picked up her goblet from the table.

"My lords and ladies," Ashlynn said in a resounding voice. "The Bloodroot Empire welcomes you! Together we will thrive!"