The Imperial Airship carrying the delegation sent by Olorin had arrived in YiTi, receiving a warm welcome from the Golden Empire. It was customary to roll out a literal carpet of gold on such occasions. They walked along the carpet and were escorted into the palace where they met with Zhenyi herself.
Zhenyi knew why they were here, and she was hoping that the Imperials would understand their situation. As such, she quickly escorted them to a room and served them drinks and some light food as they began their discussions.
As the leader of the delegation, Atelius was the first to speak. "My Lady, my name is Atelius, and it's great to see you in good health with the rising problems across the land." Atelius stated. He was already sort of knowledgeable about what was going on as he had seen the battle between the Golden Army and what he saw as rebels who looked like a proper army.
"Thank you, Atelius. I sometimes wish the world did not always require so much blood from those who would lead it. Still, it's an honor to receive you. I hope your Emperor will not think us ungrateful."
Atelius showed a polite smile. "I know, my Emperor understands the nature of governance. But I must ask plainly, Lady Zhenyi: will your civil war threaten our trade, or can stability be assured?"
Zhenyi nodded, "Stability is a relative matter," she replied. "Events have moved more quickly than any of us anticipated. Our armies are marching on the Rebels now, but with two claimants rising up, we will have our hands full. Your convoys, unfortunately will probably be continuously attacked until we can defeat the two claimants."
Atelius sipped from his cup, thinking. "The Emperor is at the moment not in a mood to simply sit back and let things progress the way they are. As of now, he is otherwise occupied, but once he is done, then he will look to resolve this matter. So, in the meantime, Chancellor Olorin will pause all trade with the YiTi until the matter is resolved."
Zhenyi nodded her head, "That is the best possible solution. We will settle this matter and then hopefully resume our cooperative trade that our two empires have had over the past years. She could also sense that Atelius was subtly suggesting that the Imperials could come in and help them. She appreciated this gesture, but her people could fight their own battles, plus bringing in foreigners at a time like this was not a smart decision.
Atelius could see that she was avoiding bringing up that topic, so he just moved the talks along.
The remainder of the conversation was just friendly chatter between the two sides. They talked for about half an hour, until Zhenyi had to be called away for other matters relating to the war. Atelius and his group boarded their airship and departed towards Imperial controlled territory.
———
After Kingslanding was burnt to the ground, the Imperial Army was split up into two different armies. Prince Oberyn would lead the Dornish North to take the remaining castles and Houses who refused to change allegiances. Alexander and Achilles went to the North to reinforce the wall against the Night King who had begun his long march on the Wall. The Knights of the Vale led by Lord Yohn Royce had taken Castle Darry and would join up with the Dornish army to help siege down the other castles in that area.
Maximus had called for the lords of the realm to assemble in front of the ruins of Kingslanding where he would start his reorganization of the seven Kingdoms and where the Lords of the realm would formerly swear their allegiance to him and the Imperial Union. In addition, sentences would be given out to those captured during the war which includes Cersei and Joffrey.
To speed up things up, airships were sent across the realm and the lords of the Crownlands, Westerlands, North, Vale, Dorne, and the Reach. The lords of the Iron Islands were completely obliterated with maybe a few people still alive. But all the lords and their Houses were wiped out by leaving the Islands in complete ruin, similar to Kingslanding.
Arriving in front of Kingslanding, the lords had walked down the ramps of the airships and were escorted to where the tents were set up. The tents covered a large enough area to cover all the lords and their families who arrived.
At the front was Maximus, sitting down on a throne with two formations of Imperial Guards on each side of him. In his arms was his firstborn son, Lucan, who was now a year old. Maximus took the little toy which was a miniature airship and made a swooshing sound as he moved it past Lucan's face.
Lucan reached out and tried to grab the toy, but Maximus raised it higher then brought it back down landing it in his hands. Lucan laughed as he grabbed the toy, "Dada" he said chuckling even more. Dada was the first word that Lucan learned, making Hela a little jealous since she spent more time with him than Maximus did.
On his left and right was each member of the Imperial Harem. Arianne was to his left holding his daughter, Seraphina. Lilith was to his right holding Aureon his second son with her contingent of witches behind them. Lyra and Merlin were also there, though they hadn't had any children yet.
After another hour had passed, Maximus had Hela, Arianne, and Lilith take the children within the comfort of the Airship while he alongside Merlin and Lyra would preside over the gathering.
One of the Imperial Guards raised his hand, causing the gathering of nobles to become silent. "I will now introduce, his excellency, Emperor Maximus Invictus of the Imperial Union." Announced the Guard as he turned around to face Maximus.
Maximus waved his hand, motioning for the Guard to get on with it. "Today, we have gathered to discuss the reorganization of Westeros and its Kingdoms under the Imperial banner and to give those who refused to bow their heads, their punishments." The Guard stepped back, ceding the floor to Maximus as he stood up.
"First," he started. "I will talk about the re-organization of Westeros under the Imperial Banner." This was a hot topic which caused some fear to appear in some lords' faces as they assumed that they were going to be losing land, many worried about their heritages, and many prepared for whatever was announced.
"The North has already been re-organized, and Lord Robb Stark holds the position of Governor of the Northern Province. However, this title will now be changed, and Lord Robb Stark will be a Viceroy of the Viceroyalty of the North. This position brings with it an increased number of benefits for the holder of the title, the lords beneath them, and the common folk. I won't explain all of your new responsibilities here, so to sum it up, you will have much of the authority you had before, only with the addition of Imperial Laws." Maximus paused for a moment, looking at the lords. Some of them were surprised and a little eager about these appointments.
"Prince Doran will hold the title of Viceroy of the Viceroyalty of Dorne. However, they will still be permitted to call themselves and their descendants 'Prince and Princesses of Dorne' due to their loyalty. The other regions will be formed into Viceroyalties as well. House Tyrell will hold the Viceroyalty of the Reach, House Arryn will hold the Viceroyalty of the Vale, and House Tully, the Viceroyalty of the Riverlands.
For the Stormlands, Lord Rolland Storm of House Caron will take up the title of Viceroy and rule the Viceroyalty of the Stormlands now that House Baratheon is no longer in existence. The Crownlands, however, will be directly ruled by me, thus no title will be created." Maximus pointed at Lord Rolland who stood up and walked in front of him, kneeling on one knee.
Maximus lifted his sword and placed the flat end on Rolland's shoulder. "Do you swear loyalty to me and to the order I bring?"
Rolland answered. "I do, my Emperor. My blood and body, and those of my house, are yours to command." For Rolland this was unexpected. He didn't think for a second before coming here that he was going to be appointed to such a position.
"Rise, Lord Caron." Maximus sheathed the sword on his own belt, then gestured the man to his place among the assembled lords. He repeated the ceremony for the other new appointments. Many lords muttered to themselves as they discussed what this new position brings for those great houses.
After the last of the new Viceroys were appointed, Maximus remained standing, hands clasped behind his back as he spoke directly to the remaining lords and ladies. "You may harbor old wounds, and dream of vengeance. That is your right as men and women of ambition. But understand this: the world has changed. If any rise against me, or conspire against the Imperial Union, your names and histories will vanish like smoke. Bury the past, or the past will bury you." He paused for a moment, once again looking at the faces of the lords.
There were men among the crowd who trembled while others shifted at the implications of what would happen. House Lannister's name was spoken only as a curse as they were now lost to history.
"Next," said Maximus, "Are those who have been taken as prisoners, or whose actions warrant judgment." A company of Shadowhand agents brought forth a row of figures, hobbled together with iron shackles. On one end was Tywin Lannister, stripped of any sigil. Next to him was Cersei, followed by Joffrey, Jaime and several others. In his head, Maximus wondered what type of things he should sentence them for. That's when he came up with the perfect one for Cersei.