Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

Royal Palace, Vijayanagara Empire.

The capital city was bustling with activity as the preparations for the coronation ceremony were happening in full swing. The streets of the capital cities were decorated with different murals and flowers.

The citizens lit diyas, and the temple hymns could be heard in the distance.

A festive mood encompassed the capital city. There were many new stalls selling goods in the capital for this joyous occasion.

It was a joyous occasion for the citizens of the city, as they could see the rise of the new king.

Almost two months had passed since the civil war. Security was very tight in the capital city for the celebrations.

The heightened security was also to ensure that the delegations from other kingdoms could safely get into the capital city.

The delegations from Yadava kingdom, led by the noble Akhil Holkar and Naiki, the close aide of the Queen, were the first to arrive.

Akhil Holkar, surprised by the huge extravagant atmosphere in the capital, looked out of the carriage.

"So.. beautiful." He muttered.

Naiki sat on the other side, and she held on to the letter personally written by Gauri, the queen.

Behind the delegation of the Yadavas was the Portuguese delegation led by General Barnabas and David Costa.

Both of them held high enough positions in the noble class of Portugal to attend the event.

David Costa looked out in awe of the capital city architecture. He was mesmerized with the temple's architecture. The diyas and the celebratory mood were very different and vibrant than back home.

He saw the excited smiles of children running around with toys for the ceremony.

'Wow,' he thought.

General Barnabas was in deep thought and just ignored David.

Dutch delegations arrived the next day in the capital city, led by the Lord Hendriks.

Lord Hendriks was pretty surprised when he heard that the Prince he had met for the spice deal had won the Civil War and was about to become the new Emperor.

He expected the second prince to win, but this was just out of his expectations.

"We have to keep good relations with him as well." He muttered.

Surprisingly, a delegation from Venice also came to the Empire's capital. It was led by Francesco Mocenigo, a noble from the house of Mocenigo in Venice.

The Doge of Venice was reported of the surprising infrastructure of the Empire by Pietro Tribuno, a close friend and a well-known merchant.

He talked about the closely patrolled roads and the rest stations, along with the excellent quality of the roads in the Empire.

Pietro also expressed his own opinions. He did say that it was made by a prince. His instincts were telling him to keep good relations with the Empire, as there was a chance their standing in the world order would change in the following years.

The doge trusted his friend Pietro and decided to send a delegation to the Empire. The delegation had to wait a lot of time since the civil war was ongoing at the time of their arrival in Goa.

Palace staff was working a lot to accommodate the delegations coming along with the Nobles in the capital city of Hampi.

All the big nobles were present in the capital already.

The old man Nayaka and his son, Bhima Nayaka, were present to help Harsha manage the event.

Harsha was talking to a head priest from the Virupaksha (a form of Lord Shiva) temple.

The head priest was a man named Acharya Vedamurti in his early fifties, clad in saffron robes and a rudraksha mala (rosary), around his neck, and vibuthi (sacred ash) on his forehead, arms, and chest as a mark of his devotion to Lord Shiva. His hair was tied into a small knot at the back of his head.

The head priest was taking Jyothishya (astrological observations) to determine the date for the ceremony. It was an ancient system of astronomy that used various planetary transits, movements of stars, and constellations to predict life events.

It was used to determine the timings for auspicious events that can alter the course of your life significantly, like marriage and coronation.

Acharya Vedamurti put down the gemstones after checking the star alignment and the birth chart of Harsha.

"Your Highness, we can have the ceremony three days from now in between the morning after the sun rises and afternoon."

Harsha found the whole thing intriguing since he had never experienced this before. He just went along with the ceremony, and he didn't mind it since it was exciting and pretty straightforward.

"We will perform the purification ceremony in the early morning at the temple, Your Highness."

"I understand."

The head priest left the palace quickly as the sun was beginning to set and he had to perform pooja in the temple.

Meanwhile, the other kingdom delegations trickled into the capital city in the next few days before the ceremony began.

The Gajapathi's delegations were led by the Crown Prince of Gajapathis, Lokendra Deva. He was sent by his father as the punishment for his mistakes in the case of the Shekhar family.

He didn't mind, as he wanted a break from the kingdom affairs for once. His father's nature restricted his authority a lot despite being the crown prince.

His father dipping his hands into the affairs of the Empire was a huge risk for the Gajapthis. He knew that it would backfire in the future, but he couldn't do anything for now. He needed to take the throne.

Lokendra objected to isolating Harsha after his sister passed away due to an illness. He knew it was a dumb move, but his father went along with it.

"When will he understand he is putting his kingdom at risk?" He muttered, looking out at the festive mood of the capital from his carriage.

The other kingdom delegations arrived in the capital the following day. The delegations from the Marathas, Qutb Sultanate, and Kasim Sultanate had made their way to the capital.