From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 610 Coronation
The Lords' Alliance is possibly the most important political alliance in northeastern Faerûn.

Given the harshness of the north and the frequent southward incursions of orcs, monsters, and barbarians, it was almost impossible for a powerful nation to emerge in this land.

Those once-great powers all fell victim to the cold air from the far north and the disrupted roads.

Such geographical conditions forced the people living in this region to find ways to achieve autonomy by relying on settlements and depend on the power of cities and villages to ensure the survival of civilization.

But isolation and helplessness eventually lead to despair. Thus, under the leadership of several visionary rulers, a giant political alliance spanning the northern lands—the Lords' Alliance—was established in 1325 of the Valley Calendar, about 200 years ago. The alliance's purpose was to live in peace with each other and to share intelligence and cooperate in order to combat common threats.

Since the establishment of the Lords' Alliance, the enthusiasm of the autonomous cities of the North to join has been growing, and now it even has some members from the South. Baldur's Gate, which prospered by trading with the Chowssa River and the Sword Coast, is one of them.

Besides Baldur's Gate, there are nine other members in the Lords' Alliance.

They are Waterdeep, the "Crown of the North"; Neverwinter, a city with a perpetual spring-like climate; Silvermoon, the "Treasure of the North"; Mithril Hall, a dwarven fortress; Mirabar, the "Arsenal of the North"; and four towns with permanent inhabitants ranging from seven hundred to three thousand: Anfil, Longsaddle, Daggershoal, and Yata. They joined the Lords' Alliance not because the North lacked larger settlements, but because these towns were all strategically located, either at crossroads of land trade or at ferry crossings adjacent to multiple rivers.

Now, the Lords' Alliance is about to welcome its eleventh member, Dawnstar City, located downstream of the Chongsa River and adjacent to the Land of Death.

Andrei Collen, a former Silver Knight, Lord's Alliance agent, and also an ambassador, stood on the protruding rock in front of the End of Light Inn, gazing at the magnificent star-shaped castle across the river, and couldn't help but compare it to her hometown.

She was a half-elf from Silvermoon City. Although most people associate Silvermoon City of Faerûn with elves, the city is actually home to many different races, including not only elves and half-elves, but also humans, dwarves, gnomes, and halflings—races that yearn for "beauty and goodness."

There is no racial discrimination in this city, or at least not in the law. No one will be turned away by the Silvermoon City Guards because of their race.

From Andrei Corren's perspective, the same situation could be seen in most of the major cities within the Lords' Alliance. Cities that thrived on trade did not refuse to trade based on the race of the other party, since gold had no racial distinctions. On the contrary, in smaller settlements, people often held unfair views towards creatures that did not look like themselves.

For example, Tifflin.

As an intelligent race associated with the lower planes, the Tieflins are unlikely to receive a fair assessment from the people of Faerûn. Otherwise, the saying "One Tieflin is a rare sight, two Tieflins are plotting, and three Tieflins are a disaster" wouldn't be so widely circulated across the continent.

But in this city, the most common intelligent race Andrée Corren encountered were those red-skinned hybrids from the lower planes.

The owners of the End of Light Inn, the young widow who handles freight at the ferry, and the headmaster of the bard school who is recruiting apprentices are all Tyflin.

Morningstar City's ability to accommodate numerous intelligent races without prejudice, and even to include the universally despised Tyflins as its main population, is truly a rare occurrence on the continent of Faerûn.

Andrei Corren had only heard of similar cases in the human kingdom of Eltugard in the east, but ever since its capital Eltoril fell into Avernus, the people there had begun to discriminate against anything related to hell, including, of course, the Tyflins.

Silvermoon City, Andrei Corren's hometown, is a large academic metropolis that can be called a city of magic. Its leader is always the "Supreme Mage," and in addition to the numerous spellcasters, its vast library and academic institutions filled with scrolls and research materials are also one of the most prominent features of the "Northern Treasures."

Thinking of the Rainbow Bridge (a magical bridge made of arcane energy) spanning the river in Silvermoon City, Andrei Corren felt a surge of superiority.

In terms of overall layout and the appearance of its people, Morning Star City is indeed a rising star. However, in terms of historical heritage and academic atmosphere, this city on the banks of the Chongsa River will probably not be able to compare with Silvermoon City for hundreds of years to come.

As an agent and ambassador of the Lords' Alliance, Andrei Corren wholeheartedly affirmed the city's value to the Alliance and also believed that this emerging city would become a trading vassal of the nearby Baldur's Gate. Therefore, what the leaders of Silvermoon City needed to be more wary of was Baldur's Gate, which was considered a quagmire in Sword Coast.

Fortunately, the city had just suffered from the chaos caused by the Supreme God, and even the High Hall, which was the symbol of the city, was split in two. Even with support from all over the world, it would still take a lot of time to recover and challenge the status of Waterdeep and Silvermoon within the Lords' Alliance.

She arrived in Dawnstar City on behalf of the Lords' Alliance to conduct a coronation ceremony for the hard-won Lord of Dawnstar City and to complete the necessary oaths and documents for Dawnstar City's joining the Lords' Alliance.

The person who strongly facilitated this was Urd Ravengard, who had been reinstated as High Duke of Baldur's Gate. Half a month earlier, Andrea Corren, who had departed from Silvermoon City, had already arrived at Baldur's Gate. In addition to delivering congratulatory gifts to the Lord and Lady of Morningstar City, this team was also responsible for transporting a large batch of construction materials allocated by the Lords' Alliance to Baldur's Gate.

It was because she had been waiting at Baldur's Gate that Andrea Corren was able to travel upstream along the Chunssar River to the Dawnstar ferry the day after Ivy returned to Faerûn.

As Andrei Corren pondered the future of the Lords' Alliance, she suddenly saw a group of soldiers in gleaming armor, full of morale, emerge from the city gate and head straight for the End of Light Inn.

She knew in her heart that this must be the invitation from the local lord, but she didn't know what kind of person would lead this group.

Andrée Corren returned to the inn and gathered her entourage. She had only taken a small party of twelve, which had set sail from Baldur's Gate on a medium-sized cargo ship, carrying nothing but a gift for the local lord.

As for the supplies provided by the Lords Alliance for the reconstruction of Baldur's Gate, they were also transported by water, but the people and the boats were left in Grey Harbor and did not come with her to the Dawnstar City ferry.

André Corren's squad adhered to the Silvermoon City's consistent style, primarily wearing silver armor and white robes that reflected bright light, supplemented by various other equipment that shimmered with bright magical auras. Even in Waterdeep, a city thriving with trade and known for being able to buy almost anything, this squad's equipment was considered luxurious.

But André Corren was still taken aback when she actually saw the Morningstar City guards who came to greet her.

That was actually a guard entirely dressed in smoky blue and gold heavy armor!

It's important to understand that even considering the entirety of Faerûn, adamantite has never been a material that can be mass-produced. On the other hand, mithril, which can be obtained directly from the earth, has a considerable production volume on the continent. The Mithril Hall, a dwarven city within the Lords' Alliance, is renowned for its vast quantities of mithril equipment.

The fact that adamantite equipment could be deployed to the guard on a large scale was something Andrée Collen had never seen or imagined before.

"A pleasure to meet you! Master Andrei Corren!" Standing at the front of the group was a high elf noblewoman with soft, cloud-like white hair and a handsome face that was hard to look away from.

If Andrée Collen, being a half-elf and no longer young, hadn't been so, she might have been happy to have a drink with this charming high-elf nobleman in the tavern.

"Ambassador of the Lords' Alliance, Andrée Corren of Silvermoon City greets you." Andrée Corren nodded politely, then asked for the other's name, "And you are?"

"Asdellen, the judge of Morningstar City, this is my colleague, General Karak." After introducing himself, Asdellen stepped aside, revealing Karak behind him.

In Andrée Collen's eyes, this was an extremely robust female Tifflin, her bulging muscles exuding explosive power, her body wrapped in simple leather protective gear showing few scars, but rather her tattoos that shimmered with magical light were eye-catching.

“DOOM… destruction? apocalypse?” Andrei Collen pondered the meaning of the tattoos and gave General Tifflin a friendly smile.

Karak responded with her two rows of gleaming white teeth.

"Lord Doom wishes for a simple affair, so the banquet for you will take place after the coronation ceremony. Please forgive any shortcomings in our hospitality." Asderon smiled and gestured an invitation, and Karak led several soldiers clad in mithril armor to clear the way.

"Poor hospitality" was originally a self-deprecating remark made after completing the service, so how did it become something to be tolerated?
Andrée Corren didn't say much. Anyway, it was hard to find any entertainment in this emerging city, so she might as well finish the mission as soon as possible and observe the city and its lord more.

Walking on the cobblestone streets of Morningstar City, Andrée Collen finally had time to observe the soldiers around her, who were clad in full suits of mithril armor.

It doesn't matter if you don't look at it, you will be shocked when you look at it.

Why are there drow elves in there? And quite a few of them, making up half of the total.

As a city that has been harassed by the drow elves of Menzoberranzan for many years, the elves of Silvermoon City naturally harbor resentment towards their dark-skinned relatives who live underground. Although Andrei Corren is only a half-elf, she shares the same feelings.

Tifflin, grey dwarves, drow elves—international outcasts of Faerûn seem to be everywhere in this city.

Fortunately, as a newly developed city, Morningstar City's streets are not crowded, and there aren't many idle people on the streets.

The group was either busy building houses or had already left the city to farm, so they didn't attract much attention on the street.

Besides the ordinary people rushing by, Andrée Collen saw mostly religious figures carrying holy symbols.

Faiths commonly found in human cities, such as the Three Saints of Justice, Gonde the God of Craftsmen, Losanda the Lord of Dawn, and the Silver Mother Serene… all seem to have sent their followers to this city. Many priests and clerics are arguing with the city's administrators, seemingly over a dispute about the location of the temple.

"This is a new policy that was just decided this morning. Lord Doom requires all temples to be built within designated areas, which is why this situation has arisen," Asderon explained, noticing Andrei Corren's gaze.

Andrée Collen nodded silently, a new thought forming in her mind. The city was highly centralized; policies formulated by the lord in the morning were already being implemented by the afternoon. Moreover, the lord himself didn't seem to hold any particular reverence for the gods.

Morningstar City is not very large now, and the group arrived at the gate of Star Keep in no time. It was here that Andrée Corren saw the most shocking thing for her today - an intelligent construct made entirely of adamantite!
Feeling the emptiness as the anti-magic field swept across her body, Andrei Corren felt her brain tremble. Silvermoon City wasn't without intelligent constructs, nor was it without large constructs, but it truly lacked an adamantite intelligent construct of this size.

It seems that this city on the banks of the Chongza River is not merely a trading vassal of Baldur's Gate, but a unique trading city capable of using adamantite as its specialty to open up markets across the entire Faerûn continent.

Andrée Corren and her entourage walked silently and dazedly into the Lord's Hall of Starhold, where they met Lord Doom, who had a divine and radiant appearance.

Andrei Corren finally came to her senses, knelt on one knee to offer her congratulations to the lord, and then took out a gift from the Lord's Alliance from the treasure chest she carried with her: two mithril crowns made by dwarven craftsmen from the Mithril Hall and decorated by jewelers from Silvermoon City.

These crowns would be considered national treasures in any country on the continent of Faerûn, but in this city rich in adamantite, Andrée Corren felt they were somewhat inadequate to present.

Besides, the lord on the other side already has an extremely dazzling sapphire eagle crown, so whether he would even be interested in this crown is still uncertain.

As expected, the Lord of Morningstar City merely signed his name "Avi Doom" and the newly acquired Duke title on the official documents of the Lords' Alliance, without intending to accept the two mithril crowns.

However, upon noticing the smooth silver hair of his companion beside him, Duke Doom changed his mind. He instantly cast a spell that Andrei Corren found quite astonishing, melting the two mithril crowns back into liquid and reshaping them into a brand new silver crown.

Its design perfectly complements the eagle crest on his head, and the countless dazzling diamonds that flew out from his magic book form the feathers of the crest. Its ingenuity and grandeur far surpass the gifts from the Lords' Alliance.

Andrée Corren lowered her head deeply. She finally understood that the mage lord before her was not someone who could be easily manipulated, but rather someone that the Lords' Alliance needed to win over.

(End of this chapter)