The Mid-realm wedding ceremony was held in Largandra, at the same park where Arsha had her Tour\u2019s End Ceremony. It was a Dwarfish wedding ceremony, with six pickaxes surrounding a massive rock. A Dwarf priest approached the rock and stood upon it. \u201cMarriage\u2026is like a diamond,\u201d he began. \u201cIt takes years for it to become shiny and requires skilled hands to sculpt it to the shape the newlyweds want. Through their work, these ladies and gentlemen will accomplish many things.\u201d Arsha and her lovers then stepped forward. \u201cTake your axes and strike hard to free your new wealth!\u201d The priest then jumped off the rock as the brides and grooms took up an ax and swung at the rock. It cracked, but it didn\u2019t fall apart. They struck again. More cracks appeared, but nothing happened yet. They swung one last time and the rock collapsed, revealing precious stones of all types. Arsha and her lovers each picked a stone and held it aloft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLardeth Felompha, Falnii Loftanaf, Foresna Falshenda, Malnar Emboramii, Gorfanth Steelhorn,\u201d called Arsha, \u201cI promise to add my wealth to yours and make our love the most beautiful gem the Realms have seen!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLardeth Felompha, Falnii Loftanaf, Arsha Royana, Malnar Emboramii, Gorfanth Steelhorn,\u201d replied Foresna, \u201cI promise to add my wealth to yours and make our love the most beautiful gem the Realms have seen!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFalnii Loftanaf, Arsha Royana, Foresna Falshenda, Malnar Emboramii, Gorfanth Steelhorn,\u201d cheered Lardeth, \u201cI promise to add my wealth to yours and make our love the most beautiful gem the Realms have seen!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLardeth Felompha, Arsha Royana, Foresna Falshenda, Malnar Emboramii, Gorfanth Steelhorn,\u201d said Falnii, \u201cI promise to add my wealth to yours and make our love the most beautiful gem the Realms have seen!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLardeth Felompha, Falnii Loftanaf, Arsha Royana, Foresna Falshenda, Gorfanth Steelhorn,\u201d announced Malnar, \u201cI promise to add my wealth to yours and make our love the most beautiful gem the Realms have seen!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLardeth Felompha, Falnii Loftanaf, Arsha Royana, Foresna Falshenda, Malnar Emboramii,\u201d finished Gorfanth, \u201cI promise to add my wealth to yours and make our love the most beautiful gem the Realms have seen!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith the vows having been proclaimed,\u201d called the priest, \u201cI now pronounce you married! Kiss now and begin the first step to making your love the most beauteous gem in all the Realms!\u201d Arsha and her lovers then planted a passionate kiss on each other. They were all finally fully married.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The reception was held at the Royanas\u2019 castle, specifically the gardens. It was a standard outdoor ball, and everyone was enjoying themselves. Once more, Arsha and her lovers were the center of attention. Arsha smiled, enjoying the dancing. It always put her at ease whenever dancing was involved. Once the dancing was done, Arsha and her spouses went with the photos. This time, it was Arsha\u2019s Kitsune great-grandparents that surprised her spouses. Her mother\u2019s paternal grandfather was the great naturalist, Sir Davena Atenbrano. \u201cYou never told us you\u2019re his great-granddaughter!\u201d yelped Falnii.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI guess you guys never asked,\u201d chuckled Arsha. Sir Atenbrano was studying some of the bugs in the garden. \u201cSomething catch your eye, Great-grandpa?\u201d asked Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy dear Arsha,\u201d said Davena, \u201cit seems the ants here have made quite the home in these hedges, complete with even the necessary natural elements to keep them in check. Look at this particular one. See how it\u2019s moving erratically?\u201d Arsha and her spouses peered closely at the ant and noticed that it was constantly rubbing its legs on its head and trying to bite its own abdomen. Another ant then grabbed the erratic one in its mandibles and took it to another part of the hedge. \u201cAh, there we go. The colony\u2019s on a medical alert,\u201d said Davena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with the old ant?\u201d asked Malnar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat, Your Majesty,\u201d answered Davena, \u201cis the result of a parasite. Spores from a parasitic fungus that we usually call the Thrall\u2019s Mushroom has invaded its body and took over its mind. Look at it now.\u201d The ant was climbing up the hedge\u2019s branches. \u201cIts infected brain is directing the ant upwards. Then, once it\u2019s high enough, it will grip the stem with its mandibles. That other worker took the infected ant away from the colony because, within two hours, the fruiting body will erupt from the infected ant\u2019s head and spread its spores within a week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo the worker ant was keeping the Thrall\u2019s Mushroom spores away from the colony,\u201d guessed Foresna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPrecisely,\u201d confirmed Davena. \u201cIf any ant within the vicinity gets caught up in the spores, it will be at serious risk of death. The Thrall\u2019s mushroom is so virulent, it can wipe out an entire colony of ants. And it\u2019s not just ants that fall victim to this fungus. Indeed, other bugs have their own species of Thrall\u2019s Mushroom. Thankfully, it doesn\u2019t affect the Fae directly, but they DO have to check their domesticated bugs constantly, otherwise trade will cease.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo, how can the Fae wipe it out?\u201d asked Gorfanth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe simple fact is that they can\u2019t,\u201d replied Davena. \u201cThe fungus DOES have a positive effect on the natural world, preventing one species of arthropod from gaining the upper hand on all the others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf I may have everyone\u2019s attention!\u201d called Elgrad. He and his fellow Royals as well as Falnii, Foresna, and Gorfanth\u2019s parents were standing on a stage. \u201cAs we all know,\u201d continued Elgrad, \u201cmy daughter and her lovers have finally tied the knot! As such, it is time for their royal portraits to be revealed!\u201d Six covered portraits were then wheeled in. \u201cLadies and gentlemen, I give you the portraits Lardeth and the Shores of his Realm<\/em>, Falnii and her Family\u2019s Greatest Treasures<\/em>, Arsha and the Tranquility of her Realm<\/em>, Foresna and his Family\u2019s Pastures<\/em>, Malnar and the Backbone of her Realm<\/em>, and Gorfanth and his Family\u2019s Craft<\/em>!\u201d The portraits were unveiled. Lardeth\u2019s portrait was one of him on a sandy beach with clear water behind him, Falnii\u2019s was one of her in a library, Arsha\u2019s was one where she was standing in a sunny, grassy field, Foresna had a portrait of him draping his arm over a fence, Malnar\u2019s portrait was of her standing on a balcony overlooking the Belsnath Citadel, and Gorfanth\u2019s portrait was of him at a forge. \u201cMy dearest friends,\u201d finished Elgrad, \u201cthis is the greatest moment in all of history! Through this marriage, all three Realms have united as our children have planned! May their marriage be blessed!\u201d Everyone cheered as Arsha and her lovers kissed one another.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Mid-realm wedding ceremony was held in Largandra, at the same park where Arsha had her Tour\u2019s End Ceremony. It was a Dwarfish wedding ceremony, with six pickaxes surrounding a massive rock. A Dwarf priest approached the rock and stood upon it. \u201cMarriage\u2026is like a diamond,\u201d he began. \u201cIt takes years for it to become […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4939,"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-5525","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\/5525","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=5525"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5526,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5525\/revisions\/5526"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}