The incense that rolled off the royal convoy smelled of musk, sandalwood, and three hundred years of hoarded wealth.
Twelve armored palace guards knelt in two flanking rows along the soot-stained hall of the smelting ward, unrolling an eighty-foot carpet of stitched crimson silk over the gravel.
At the head of the procession, the Imperial Prime Minister knelt so low his golden headdress clattered against the iron floor.
“By the mandate of the Nine Continents and the Mortal Imperial Throne!” the Prime Minister intoned, his voice trembling with respectful dread. “We present the Golden Decree of Supreme Sovereignty! To Lin Ke, the Grand Patriarch of Creation, Lord of Heaven and Earth!”
Behind the minister, sixteen eunuchs carried eight huge chests of carved purple spirit-jade.
They threw open the lids. They showed an avalanche of treasure that lit up the soot-blackened walls:
Nine-tier dragon-marrow elixirs glowing with crimson light, mountains of pure sky spirit stones, immortal phoenix feathers, and at the center, resting on a pillow of golden velvet, the Imperial Great Seal—the total sovereign power to tax, rule, and execute across eighteen mortal empires.
“We beg the Grand Patriarch to accept the mandate!” the Prime Minister pleaded, prostrating himself. “Rule over our empires! Command our armies! We offer you eighty thousand palace maidens, ninety million square miles of old family territory, and eternal sky tribute!”
