Arther Star's calendar differed from most; each year held only six months, aligned entirely with the time cycles of humanity's most central and sacred world—the Origin Star, Shiweishèxing.
Galactic Year 5420, Month Six, Day Forty-Five.
When the capital's central district opened, citizens who had long received the news flooded into the white plaza spanning dozens of hectares before the Star Lord's estate.
The Naming Ceremony was a rite reserved only for families whose influence extended across entire star clusters, held only when a new direct descendant was born.
It was the common people's opportunity to meet the family's newest member, who would, under the gaze of thousands, receive their name.
Only ducal families were permitted to invite the royal family. As for marquises or those beneath them, unless the royal house sent an envoy on its own initiative, issuing an invitation would be considered disrespect.
A grand trapezoidal platform stood in the plaza's center, occupying a full hectare of space and rising several dozen feet high. Its entire structure was carved from a single block of pristine Jeyaustone.
Crowds wrapped around the platform layer upon layer, waiting in restless noise.
At eight in the evening, the gates of the Star Lord's estate opened. A procession of three-meter-tall light mechs took the lead, while the ceremonial guard followed in ornate armor modeled after that of the Ancient Empire. Wherever they passed, the crowd split like retreating tides.
The invited nobles ascended the platform one after another, forming small clusters and conversing in low voices. Spellcasters in deep-blue robes stood scattered across the platform, making their final preparations for the ceremony.
About half an Origin-hour later, the marquis's carriage—the Starfeather Palanquin—appeared. Among the nobility, it was a symbol older than bloodlines and holier than honor itself. Alongside it, two identical palanquins of matching class glided out of the estate.
Beautiful carvings adorned the palanquin's sides, each bearing the Karen family's sigil: a crystal sphere.
Any scholar versed in heraldry would have recognized the faintly glowing Eternal-Bond pattern at the sigil's center—a mark signifying:
A family that had existed since the founding of the Kartel Nation, with at least 4,500 years of lineage. One that had taken part in the Unification War against the Loryx Empire, birthed two Guiyi-realm sovereigns—one at the realm's pinnacle—and possessed history illustrious enough to be recorded in the Galactic Memorials… a family still in its prime.
The three palanquins halted before the grand platform. From the castle's highest terrace, Marquis Karen descended slowly.
Tonight, he wore a classical black arcane formal coat and a tall ceremonial hat, a white gold-embroidered cravat resting on his chest.
Behind him, the palanquin had been fitted with a special doorway to allow entry and exit.
The marquis approached it, gently offering his hand. A slender, lace-gloved hand reached out. A graceful, resplendent figure stepped out and gave him a soft smile.
The marquis's lady descended in a lavish pure-white gown. She extended her pale arm wrapped in white lace, allowing the marquis to take it.
Her long skirt floated lightly with magic, untouched by ground or dust.
Following her were envoys from several marquisates, as well as the three children who had returned from their respective stars—the eldest son Temons, the second daughter Yalenis, and the third son Evin.
The group ascended the platform, where the ceremonial guard raised their rifles in salute.
At the platform's peak, the blue-robed mages completed their final checks, gathering into formation.
At their head stood Ixi, the Chief of the Karen Family's Mage Corps—a Xuanyuan-realm polymorph archmage. Beside him was the swirl-bearded elder Rortas, the Great Seer of the Suosang Cluster, revered among prophets as the Abyssal Grand Oracle.
With the arrival of all participants, the ceremony officially began.
Lainshu stepped forward, carrying the newborn toward the center of the platform, where a three-tiered stone dais awaited. Each ascending level grew smaller in both diameter and height.
At the top, three hundred and twenty-seven silver-black lines radiated an enigmatic aura, outlining an intricate layered star-sigil. The lower tiers and sides of the dais were inscribed with dense silver runes of mysterious significance.
She gently placed the infant at the center. The silver-black sigil lit up in response, and the surrounding runes began to pulse in alternating brightness.
Once she stepped aside, Ixi raised his staff. His deep, rasping voice enveloped the entire platform:
"The ceremony begins!"
The mage formations on both sides began chanting simultaneously, their ancient, obscure incantations weaving into a strange melody.
Oppressive waves of arcane force rippled outward, and a mysterious atmosphere spread from the platform, sweeping across the entire plaza.
For hundreds of kilometers, the sky shifted into a rare phenomenon. The two moons orbiting Arther Star suddenly dimmed, plunging the night into deeper darkness.
The plaza erupted into noise. Many citizens, attending a Naming Ceremony for the first time, gasped and cried out at the spectacle.
But at the center of the plaza, atop the gleaming Jeyaustone platform, the dual moons blazed brightly a heartbeat later. Dense, mist-like lunar radiance surged downward, flowing into the infant's body—nourishing both flesh and soul.
At the same time, strange murmurs echoed throughout the night-draped city.
Soft, endless, whispering on and on.
As though the entire Arther Star was murmuring the same name—
Karen Anvis.
.....
(lol and bruh)