The interface shimmered into place above the village green.
It hovered like an invitation—and a demand.
KINGDOM CORE STABILIZED
New Status: Level 2 – Settled StrongholdGovernance Protocols Unlocked
—Name your kingdom—Select Core Values (Max: 3)—Draft Foundational Laws
Bonus: Founding Emblem unlockedReward: +5% Morale (Passive)
Toren sat alone by the watchtower post, staring at the options as the villagers bustled below. Repairs from the beast attack were nearly complete. Spirits were high. But this—this was a new kind of step.
Not survival.
Definition.
He scrolled through the prompts.
Name:
He hesitated, then typed: Aurex.(Old Basic for "anchor." The one word from the Jedi holocron that stuck in his mind.)
Core Values:
—Adaptability—Knowledge Before Force—Unity in Function
He paused over the last one. Not "freedom." Not "loyalty." Function. They would survive because every person had a purpose—and because he would help them find it.
The system accepted the entries.
Founding values integrated.Settlement ID locked: Kingdom of Aurex.Founding Banner: Design schematic unlocked.
That last part surprised him.
He tapped the schematic. A new image formed—hexagonal cloth, simple pole mount, collapsible for transport. The design tool opened with freeform options: symbols, colors, shape. Not just digital.
Tangible.
He hesitated for a long moment before sketching it out.
A single starburst at the center.
Encircled by three rings: people, systems, planet.
A base of deep iron red.
Aurex.
They raised it two days later.
Mira helped stitch it. Grum hammered the pole into the earth with a solemn grunt. Even Wess gave a half-salute as it unfurled in the late morning wind.
Most people clapped.
But not everyone.
A few stood back—watching Toren, not the banner. Their eyes held calculation. Doubt. Quiet challenge.
Old Jakel muttered, "Names are heavier than walls."
Toren said nothing.
But he knew: the kingdom had stepped out of the forest.
And now the forest would notice.