The mountain wind howled outside Dünrath, but inside the vast stone hall of the Revolutionary Congress, torches burned high and steady. What had begun as a handful of villages resisting tyranny had become something no baron, no crown, could ignore.
Emil stood at the central podium — no throne, no raised platform above the others. Every village chief, every delegate from the 1,500 villages and 3 cities of the Northern Lands, sat in a circular chamber carved by retired mages and reinforced with spellsteel braces.
"We're not warlords. We're not lords. We are the stewards of our people."
The chiefs murmured in agreement. Emil had spent weeks holding private talks with each of them before this gathering. His words, his promises of land reforms, education, protection, and dignity — they had taken root.
And now, they were ready to decide the course of their revolution.
A New System, A New World
The Congress split into committees — security, logistics, agriculture, arms, education. Emil ensured every delegate had a voice. Debates were fierce, sometimes chaotic, but guided by one unshakable principle: The people will not return to chains.
"Let us vote," Emil declared after days of deliberation. "We will ratify the Peasant Charter — a founding document that will grant every village the right to govern itself, provide education to its children, and contribute to a united defense."
The votes passed overwhelmingly.
With it, a new system was born: every village would elect a representative to the Congress, and each region a coordinator. Emil, however, declined any title beyond Chairman of the Union — a symbolic post, and one that could be revoked by vote.
That night, banners were hoisted in Dünrath. A new flag, stitched by a dozen villages — deep red, crossed with a black hammer and a quill — fluttered above the mountain.
The People's Union of the North had been declared.
Aftermath and Preparations
In the weeks that followed, Emil expanded his reach even further.
Standardized muskets were now produced in underground workshops powered by water and wind mana.
Mobile teaching units — led by trained villagers and young idealists — rode from village to village, teaching peasants to read, write, and handle firearms.
Village militias had replaced noble garrisons.
Scouts and couriers connected Dünrath to the farthest corners of the Union.
Emil, now level 37, had gained new passive bonuses — "Organizational Synergy" increased productivity in all workshops he owned, and "Leadership Aura" boosted morale of nearby allies. But more than his powers, it was his ideals that were creating waves.
Even southern cities — still under noble control — were whispering of Emil, the Red Revolutionary of the North.
A Letter from the South
Near the end of the chapter, Emil receives a letter from a scribe in the south. A cryptic but powerful message:
"The Crown has taken notice. The Lords gather in Elthurm. They speak of fire and iron.
—Your ally in ink,L."
Emil folds the letter, sighing.
"We've built something worth protecting," he says to Jorund, the ex-soldier turned head of the Union Guard. "If they come... we'll be ready."