I remember the day everything changed.
The day the old chieftain fell, his life snuffed out in an instant. The day a child no, something greater took his place. I remember the fear, the uncertainty that gripped my heart when I first laid eyes upon him.
I had followed the hunting party into the sacred cave, had watched with my own eyes as our leader raised his weapon against the newborn with golden eyes. And I had seen, in the next breath, the chieftain's body collapse as if struck by an unseen force, his skull crushed, his blood pooling at the child's feet.
It was power unlike anything I had ever known.
And in that moment, I understood. We all did.
This was no ordinary being. He was not like us. He was meant to lead.
---
The journey back to the village had been silent, the weight of what we had witnessed pressing upon us like a storm. The others carried him not out of duty, but of reverence. I watched as the elders knelt before him, as the warriors who once swore allegiance to the old ways bent their heads in submission.
And I, too, fell to my knees.
Not out of fear.
Out of hope.
I had lived my whole life in struggle. We fought to survive, to hunt, to protect what little we had. We followed the strong, the ones who took what they could, who ruled by might and fear. I had accepted this as truth.
But when he spoke when he first spoke, I felt something stir in my chest, something I had never known before.
"You will not bow to me as you did the last. I am no god. I do not demand worship. I demand that you rise."
It was in those words that I saw a future I had never dared to dream of.
---
Years have passed since that day. The village is no longer just a village. It is a kingdom in its birth. We are no longer just hunters and gatherers we are builders, warriors, thinkers.
Where once we struggled to find food, now we have fields that feed us through the seasons.
Where once our homes were weak, they now stand strong against wind and storm.
Where once we feared the darkness, we now hold fire in our hands.
And he our Emperor has grown as well. He is strength incarnate, but he does not rule with fear. He teaches, he guides, he lifts us with him. His words shape us, his wisdom fills our minds, his very presence makes us believe we can be more.
I wake each morning knowing that my children will not live as I did. That they will know more than mere survival.
And I know, deep in my heart, that I would give my life for him. Not because he asks it. Not because I fear him.
But because I believe in him.
Because he is our future.
Because he is our Emperor.