PREVIOUSLY

Tempest Shadow decided to declare war on Storm King after realizing the atrocities he had committed.
To do so she traveled in and out of the kingdom to seek allies and an army to counter the ruthless ruler.

After having managed to reunite various peoples under a single banner she set in motion a conflict that lasted for years, during this period old friends were lost and new ones made.
The final battle ended with Storm King's death and his army taken over by Tempest Shadow.

Following this great and long war a congress was assembled to decide what to do next. After several days of speeches and negotiations, the choice was reached to maintain the alliance between the peoples who had previously remained isolated from each other for centuries.

Below is a list of the six peoples

• League of Southern Griffins: the population is mainly made up of griffins who live in a territory in the extreme south of the continent among the icy peaks.
  They are known for being a warrior people trained in martial arts and disciplined by a sense of honor.
• Minotaur clan: they are also capable warriors but prefer to use a more ferocious and destructive approach. They believe only in the law of the strongest and are willing to obey anyone capable of leading them to victory.
  When they are not at war they use their strength in the mines to extract iron and minerals.
• Manticore conglomerate: the population is mainly made up of manticores who, unlike what one might expect, are very dedicated to science and study but prefer to remain isolated from the rest of the world.
  They live in various sanctuaries spread across the continent but the exact location of each of them is little known.
• Hippogriff Principality: the population is mainly made up of hippogriffs, their society is based on the maritime trade of healing substances whose origin is known only to them. They are also renowned philosophers and singers. They live in an area in the east of the continent overlooking the ocean but their cities are mainly under water.
• Cloud Riders: the population is a mix of flight-capable creatures, mostly pegasus, who live in large structures floating in the clouds. They are great explorers but also dabble in trade and air transport thanks to their advanced airships.
• Prairie tribes: group of various peoples who inhabit the prairies in the center of the continent, they are mostly farmers and breeders. Most of the inhabitants are anthropomorphic people dedicated to hard work.

The form of government that was chosen was a consular empire headed by an emperor supported by a council. Each people would remain partially independent as long as they respected the laws and directives imposed by the council.

Tempest Shadow was obviously chosen as empress even though she was reluctant.
It was clear since she had started all this and had worked more than anyone to eliminate Storm King.

The councilors chosen were 6, one for each people.

• Galileo: a very wise manticore but also with a good character, widely known also in other countries for having contributed to developing excellent weapons to be used against Storm King's army.
  He was assigned the role of head of the research and development department.
• Minox: former ruler of the minotaurs, he was entrusted with the role of General of the external army.
  The external army was responsible for the empire's attack force in case of war and in times of peace it guarded the borders
• Reddace: a Griffin who fought alongside his leader throughout the war, was appointed as general of the internal army which had a role in maintaining peace in the territories of the empire and in defense in case of war.
• Foxtrot: a female anthropomorphic fox native to the prairie tribes who is named as responsible for the empire's food and material resources.
• Aqua: hippogriff daughter of the prince who was chosen as responsible for health and education in the empire.
• Hori: a female pegasus chosen by her people and appointed as responsible for logistics and transport in the empire.

The Imperial Palace would remain the former Black Palace from which the Storm King reigned and the capital would be renamed the “New Metropolis”
The currency used would be the imperial banknote and the official language the basic one.

The name of the new empire would be “Union of Free Peoples” in honor of the freedom acquired after centuries of oppression.

CORONATION

(two months later)

“Damn you Galileo, did you really have to put me in the middle of this whole thing?!”
Tempest and Galileo were walking along one of the corridors of the newly renovated palace and headed towards the council chamber.

“My dear Tempest, you of all people were already entangled in this matter, and then who else could we have chosen? Minox? If that had been the case, he would have already issued a law to ban water and drink only alcohol. Hahaha!”
Galileo laughed out loud as he stood next to a sulking Tempest.

“I can understand taking command to ensure stability but I certainly didn't expect to become an empress.”
Tempest couldn't help but feel insecure about her new job.
“You know well that I am a fighter and not a politician.” she said as she rolled her eyes.
Meanwhile the two had arrived in front of the large doors.

Before they could enter Galileo put a paw on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes.
“Tempest, you have managed to unite all peoples into one, and I can think of no one better for this role than you.”
Tempest listened intently to the manticore's wise words.
“I and many others believe in you, you can do it.” Galileo removed his paw from his shoulder leaving Tempest to think briefly.

Remembering where they were, Tempest looked forward, straightened her neck and assumed a posture fit for an empress.
She slammed her hoof on the ground and the doors opened, revealing the large ovoid room.
In front of them was the council chamber, in the center there was a half-moon shaped table and in the middle there was a large and opulent chair on which the empress would sit, and then on the sides there were the other six chairs to seat the consuls.
Everything was meticulously decorated to give a sense of richness and power.
Along the walls there were large colored windows that represented the birth of their empire depicting the various moments of the war and the defeat of Storm King by the hands of Tempest.

The six consuls were already seated in their seats.
Tempest felt a little embarrassed knowing that she was late.
“The Empress is here!”
she heard shouting behind her, in fact there were two guards on either side of the door she had just walked through.
Those present in the room stood up and said in unison.
“Long live the Empress!”

Tempest was petrified by this act, she knew she was in charge but only then she came face to face with what it meant.
“Um.. rest?” she said in a slightly undecided voice the first thing that came to her mind, she wasn't sure if it was right to use military jargon in that situation.
The consuls sat down again, keeping their eyes on their empress.

Tempest went to sit on her throne, from her position she found herself raised and could see the center of the room and each councilor on its sides, everything had been designed to give importance to her figure but without being excessive.
“My Empress, we are pleased to welcome you to the council chamber”
Immediately to her right, Reddace made himself heard by bowing his head slightly.
Tempest looked at him strangely and then spoke to him in a friendly manner.
“Reddace, we've known each other for a long time now, there's no need for you to be so formal with me.”
Reddace raised his head and nodded
“This applies to you too.”
Tempest took a quick look at her friends with whom she had fought so hard and shed blood and tears.

With that said, the tension in the air cleared and Tempest immediately felt more relaxed, after all she was surrounded by people she trusted, there was no reason to be so rigid.

Tempest leaned forward and began to speak.
“So, tell me what we need to discuss today, I would say let's start in order from Hori.”
Tempest turned her gaze to the pegasus sitting on the far left of the table.
Hori straightened his back and cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly.

“So, in this last month we have realized that the union between our peoples is actually not as developed as we thought.”
Hori stopped to see how she was doing, everyone present was listening to her.
“I had the territory of the empire searched and it is clear that the connection between the various cities is almost totally absent and it can take days to reach one point to another.”
Hori finished her speech and took a deep breath.

Tempest grimaced slightly and then turned to Galileo.
"What do you think?"
Galileo bowed his head slightly as a sign of respect.
“I think this is a significant problem, the lack of connection between our peoples could hinder the unification process and would also impede communications and trade.”
“Thank you very much Galileo.”
Tempest took command of the speech.

“It seems obvious to me that this problem must be resolved as soon as possible. Having said that, I propose to create a communication network between the various cities, we will have to build railways and ports."

“Why also build railways, wouldn't it be enough to just use airships?” Hori asked, making his doubt about it known.

“Airships are excellent means of transport but only for long distances, and they are also expensive. The train, on the other hand, would be more useful for shorter but faster journeys, also guaranteeing a practical and not too expensive means of transport.
Furthermore, we also need to think about possible emergencies and having more communication routes would be advantageous.”

While Tempest spoke, Galileo felt even more within himself that he had made the right choice in proposing her as empress, even if she didn't realize it, she was definitely prepared to face these problems.

(three hours later)

Tempest had returned to her chambers completely exhausted, she felt less worn out after a battle than dealing with bureaucratic matters.
During the session they managed to agree on the construction of a railway network and ports, industrialization for the production of basic necessities and on how to use the enormous monetary funds left over from Storm King's previous reign. Finally they had decided on how to organize the army.

Military conscription would have been established starting from 20 years and would have lasted 5 years.
4 military groups would have been created. As previously mentioned there would have been an internal and an external army, an army at the complete disposal of Tempest and one for the council.

"Knock Knock"
Tempest got up from the bed she had been temporarily lying on and went to open the door.

“Hello Tempest, I came to see how you were after that long session at the council.”
Unlike Tempest, Galileo seemed to be as fresh as a daisy.

“Of course, come in.”
Tempest stepped aside to let the big cat inside.
The two sat at a table positioned in a corner of the imperial suite.

“How are you still energetic?!” she asked him curious to know what trick her friend had used.
“Hahaha! There's nothing special my dear, I'm used to it since we spent hours arguing with my colleagues, I'm sure that with time you'll get used to it too"

Tempest snorted and lowered her head dejectedly.
“I guess it's going to be like this every damn day.”
Galileo didn't want to give her false hopes but he was sure that the mare was giving the matter too much weight.

“For the moment I fear this will be the case, our new empire is just born, it is still unstable and there is so much to do.”
Galileo approached her and placed a paw on her back as usual.
“But remember that you are not alone, when you find yourself in difficulty you will have your friends and trusted friends at your disposal who will make decisions together with you.”

Tempest looked up and gave him a smile.
“I know, and I'm infinitely grateful, I just wish Flynn and his crew were still here with us.” she said in a solemn voice.

Once the discussion was over, Galileo stood up and assumed a more professional posture.
“I actually came here to talk to you about a matter that concerns our empire.”
Tempest was perplexed.
“As you well know, you are technically the empress but you have not yet been crowned….” “...so it needs to be made official to confirm and consolidate my role.”
Tempest finished the sentence by placing a hoof in her face to demonstrate her tiredness.

“See Tempest, you say you are not suited to the role of empress but you clearly understand how power dynamics work, proof of your abilities.”
Galileo complimented the mare.

“Looks like it's unavoidable, so let's get this done as quickly as possible.”

(One week later)

That day thousands of people had gathered in New Metropolis even though the newborn city consisted of only a few buildings and the imperial palace.
Hundreds of people who held important roles within the newborn empire were gathered in the main room used for major events.
The room was full of chatter and people whispering curious about what was going to happen.
The news of the coronation had quickly reached every corner of the empire and many had flocked to see the ceremony.

"Attention! Attention!"
At the end of the room in the center there was the court announcer flanked by two guards, he had a parchment in his hand which he read aloud.

“We are all gathered here to witness the coronation of Her Majesty, Her Empress Tempest Shadow and the six members of the council.”
With that he closed the scroll and stepped aside.
Immediately afterwards the trumpets began to sound and the large doors opened wide.

Tempest entered first and behind her were the 6 consuls placed in two rows of three. Each of them was dressed in a purple dress with gold trim, on their heads they had laurel crowns which were also golden while Tempest wore a very elegant tiara with a ruby set in the center. The apex of the tiara ended with a long horn wrapped in a pair of wings, together with it she also wore a necklace with a medallion hanging on which the imperial coat of arms was engraved.
The seven members slowly moved towards the throne positioned in the back center of the room.

The public carefully watched the new ruler and the chosen council members.
When Tempest was in front of her throne she turned 180 degrees, in front of her were her trusted companions bowing and behind them hundreds of subjects who had bowed their heads as a sign of respect and gratitude.

Tempest took a deep breath and then sat down on the throne, immediately everyone else stood up and looked at their empress and said in unison.

“Long live the Empress!”
“Long live the Council!”
“Long live the Empire!”

Author's Note

Imperial coat of arms:
the star in the center represents the power of the empire while the six stripes are the sei peoples.

Here is the first chapter, as with the previous story please use a little interpretation if you see any errors and if possible let me know in the comments