The throne room was lined with the nobles of Fae Society. Galnyar went down the aisle and approached the throne. A priestess stood by with the Codex in her hands. Rellmeer stood opposite of the priestess with a crown of leaves in her hands. Galnyar approached Rellmeer and knelt in front of her. \u201cLong afore,\u201d began Rellmeer, \u201cthe Fae were a cutthroat people, great houses vying for control of the Republic. Buried were concepts of unity and love. Now, out of love for the people, my son hath stepped up to the challenge of ruling the Republic. Galnyar, son of Embrek and Myself, dost thou swear to stay true to thy new life as Emperor?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis I doth swear,\u201d replied Galnyar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDost thou promise to protect thy people and defend them from threats without and within?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis I doth promise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDost thou wish to remember the wisdom of rulers before thee?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis I doth wish.\u201d Rellmeer then placed the crown on his head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRise now and take thou the Oath.\u201d Galnyar stood up and turned to the priestess, placing his left hand on the Codex and raising his right. Before the priestess began the oath, Keshnakh went down the aisle and knelt in front of Rellmeer. Rellmeer retrieved a second crown of leaves. \u201cKeshnakh, daughter of Gurtagh and Wulmafu, wife of my son, dost thou swear to stay true to thy new life as Empress?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis I doth swear,\u201d replied Keshnakh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDost thou promise to protect thy people and defend them from threats without and within?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis I doth promise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDost thou wish to remember the wisdom of rulers before thee?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis I doth wish.\u201d Rellmeer then placed the crown on her daughter-in-law\u2019s head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRise now and take thou the Oath.\u201d Keshnakh stood up and waited behind Galnyar to take the oath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI, Galnyar Almaydia, do solemnly swear,\u201d began the priestess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI, Galnyar Almaydia, do solemnly swear,\u201d repeated Galnyar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat I will execute my duties as Emperor of the Fae Republic faithfully.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat I will execute my duties as Emperor of the Fae Republic faithfully.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI will uphold the laws and dreams of my people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI will uphold the laws and dreams of my people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI will care for those that are in dire straits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI will care for those that are in dire straits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith the help of the now Mortal Divine Ones, I will not let evil corrupt my judgement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith the help of the now Mortal Divine Ones, I will not let evil corrupt my judgement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf necessary, I will give my life to save my people, should disaster strike.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf necessary, I will give my life to save my people, should disaster strike.\u201d He then removed his hand as the priestess held the Codex in front of Keshnakh. She then placed her hand on the Codex and raised the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI, Keshnakh Almaydia, do solemnly swear,\u201d began the priestess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI, Keshnakh Almaydia, do solemnly swear,\u201d repeated Galnyar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat I will execute my duties as Empress of the Fae Republic faithfully.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat I will execute my duties as Empress of the Fae Republic faithfully.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI will uphold the laws and dreams of my people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI will uphold the laws and dreams of my people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI will care for those that are in dire straits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI will care for those that are in dire straits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith the help of the now Mortal Divine Ones, I will not let evil corrupt my judgement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith the help of the now Mortal Divine Ones, I will not let evil corrupt my judgement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf necessary, I will give my life to save my people, should disaster strike.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf necessary, I will give my life to save my people, should disaster strike.\u201d She removed her hand from the Codex and both she and her husband were directed to sit upon the throne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI now pronounce you Emperor and Empress of the Fae Republic!\u201d called the priestess. As the crowd cheered, Galnyar and Keshnakh looked lovingly in one another\u2019s eyes before kissing. That kiss prompted louder cheers of joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ball would be held five days later. Recent years called the event as an Adventurous Masquerade. The people attending would have a mysterious escort and would dance until they found their lovers. They would say a code phrase as they looked for their lovers while dancing with everyone else. Once all parties had found one another, a villain would try and capture one of the guests and a hero would dash into the ballroom and fight the villain. Once the villain is slain and unmasked, the hero unmasks, then the guests unmask themselves. With their costumes a secret, the ball could last throughout the night. Right now, Keshnakh was trying to figure out who would be her escort. Arsha was giving some suggestions. \u201cWhat about Quenthem?\u201d asked Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cQuenthem?!\u201d yelped Keshnakh. \u201cYou want me to ask Quenthem Roltam to be my escort to the ball?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a suggestion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith all due respect, it\u2019s a bad suggestion! Number one, you used to go out with him. Number two, he\u2019s got two left feet. Number three, and the most important point of them all, his eyes just wig me out!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd you don\u2019t want a person with crazy tiny eyes escorting you.\u201d Arsha simply rolled her eyes and chuckled. \u201cWell, what about Lady Drulyar? She\u2019s cute, she\u2019s a very good dancer, I never dated her\u2026and she has very big eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYeah, but her legs bother me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhich ones?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe ones running down her tail!\u201d Arsha just scoffed in disbelief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou are VERY picky when it comes to appearances!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd, sometimes, your definition of attractiveness frightens me!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLook, it\u2019s a masquerade! You won\u2019t see behind the mask or a lady\u2019s skirts anyways! Okay, how about Lardeth?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026I was kind of thinking Foresna.\u201d Arsha winced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe\u2026declined attending.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat, why? You told me he\u2019s a good dancer!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not all that wild about masquerades.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s tradition, Farm Boy!\u201d Lardeth wheedled to Foresna as they spoke in the guest room. \u201cYou should appreciate that!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI DO appreciate it,\u201d replied Foresna, \u201cbut I STILL won\u2019t go!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d asked Falnii\u2019s voice as she entered the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFalnii, I don\u2019t want to have to spend the entire night looking for you guys! It\u2019s just not fun!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s like a mystery!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen was the last time you saw me enjoy a mystery of any kind, hm?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCome on, you\u2019re not gonna spend the night looking for us!\u201d argued Lardeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou know how I am with deductions!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI hate to say it, Arsha,\u201d continued Keshnakh, \u201cbut with our history, Lardeth wouldn\u2019t be a good escort for me. We\u2026didn\u2019t exactly part on good terms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh dear, that DOES limit your options,\u201d said Arsha. \u201cMaybe I can get Foresna to come along.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot you too!\u201d protested Foresna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLook, all you need to do,\u201d urged Arsha, \u201cis dress up, bring Keshnakh to the ball, head to the corner, and say your code phrase to those in the area. We\u2019ll be there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut I\u2019m not gonna spend the whole night dancing with you three!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou won\u2019t be dancing with strangers for long. Come on, for us?\u201d Foresna sighed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Fine, I\u2019ll do it,\u201d he finally grumbled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYAY!\u201d Arsha hugged him. \u201cYou\u2019re the best! See you later!\u201d She then headed down the hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026The things I do for my lovers,\u201d he grumbled.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The throne room was lined with the nobles of Fae Society. Galnyar went down the aisle and approached the throne. A priestess stood by with the Codex in her hands. Rellmeer stood opposite of the priestess with a crown of leaves in her hands. Galnyar approached Rellmeer and knelt in front of her. \u201cLong afore,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,239],"tags":[482],"class_list":["post-5409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-three-realms","category-the-three-realms-book-6-the-eternal-age-of-unity","tag-fantasy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5409"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6494,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5409\/revisions\/6494"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}