Let us feast! Let us feast!

Today is the end of the ugly beasts!

They are all gone!

The Firantes are down!

The Firantes are down!

Come out your cottages!

Mothers, babies, and grandmothers!

Enjoy the air and the sun!

The Firantes are down!

The Firantes are down!

Hyn saved us,

Blinded us with beauty,

Avenged our grieved!

The Firantes are down!

The Firantes are down!

Common folk song

Nay looked at the Cathedral’s ceiling with a mixture of awe and boredom. Ja’s fresco was as beautiful as she remembered them, even if she had never been able to see these exact ones when she had been in Leïn’s cathedral before. She had never been in the ambulatory before, hidden behind the large fake walls of the choir, and away from the sight of the public in the central nerve. In a way, the architecture was more like one of an amphitheatre than a church. The visitors could think it was one big room, while it truth there were ten more all around them. Nay had even thought that the beautiful partitions lacquered with tapestries were real walls, until being brought beyond them herself. It was mid-day, and she had been led here by half a dozen priestesses of Ja to prepare for the large afternoon event. Her emotions were mixed because, despite the magnificent surroundings, she was apprehensive of the coming event. The ceremony would begin in half an hour, and would only truly end the next day, in more than ten hours. Most of Leïn noble families would participate, as well as the biggest bourgeois families. The gigantic central nerve would be filled to the brim, and Nay still hated the crowd. Especially knowing most would be looking towards her. Her task being to secure the Imperatrix, she would be by her side for the entire ceremony, during the speech to start the celebration of the end of the War, during the speech to officially abdicate, and during the speech to Jarl’s investiture. She herself would obviously not need to talk but…

“Do you know what you’re going to say?” Her neighbour interrupted her thoughts.

“What?” The Legio turned to look at Trinne, her surprise a bit cut short by her friend’s appearance. The young woman’s red hair had been left freely flowing, but was filled with green and black accessories, fake flowers only making the red pop up more. Her make-up was simple, making the blue of her eyes even stronger and her lips bigger, while hiding her scar. She was wearing her grey pearls earrings, and her green dress was covered in buttons the colour of her hair.

“Excuse me miss, please do not move.” The young priestess of Ja currently taking care of Nay’s clothes, who had told her her name but which Nay had immediately forgotten, gently admonished the Legio.

“Are you cheating?” Trinne was only looking at the mirror in front of her. She had asked a few changes to the priestess in charge of her, who was curiously also a God-Touched.

“You know what you’re going to say?” Nay repeated, not understanding. “What? I have nothing to say, Garnet's planning is quite clear, I need to…”

“More makeup under my eyes.” The redhead interrupted her by talking to the make-up artist.

“Yes, duchess…”

Nay clenched her teeth. “Trinne…”

“Mh? Oh, yes. If you stay next to the Imperatrix the whole time, she’ll obviously have to officially introduce you. You may have to say something. Well, we’re talking about Hyn so…”

One of the priestesses visibly shook at hearing Trinne say the Imperatrix’ name without honorifics.

“Careful, you almost pricked me.” The redhead gave the priestess an angry look.

“I apologize duch…”

“Stop bothering the priestesses. Explain yourself.”

The priestess shook her head. “No, no. She is right. My apologies duchess.”

Trinne looked at the clergywoman for a moment, her annoyance disappearing in place of a most uncharacteristic smile. “I know you, don’t I? Sylvia, right?”

The God-Touched bowed deeply. “Yes duchess.”

Nay grimaced at the unusual tone of voice coming from her friend, and the joyous Rreico in the God-Touched. She inspected the priestess intensely, not recognizing her. Her hair was almost green in colour though, that was somehow familiar.

“How is your son?” Trinne’s question seemed to please the God-Touched immensely.

“Very well. He likes his new room a lot, and the warmth of the gods gave him a healthy winter.”

“I am pleased to hear it.”

Sylvia seemed to hesitate before finally talking again.

“I apologize if…But I expressly asked to be here to…” She coughed once to calm her nerves. “Really, sorry, but, if you ever see our prince heir, well Emperor, could you transmit to him my utmost gratitude? I doubt he would be interested in the thanks of someone like me but…”

“Of course Sylvia. And do not be mistaken, Jarl the Bohemian will be very happy to hear to his efforts brought positive results to those loved by the Gods. You are going to occupy an important position to help the people of the Empire of Ja, Sylvia, you should belittle yourself so.”

Nay finally understood what all of this was about, and her negative emotions vanished. Sylvia was the young woman imprisoned in the Cathedral the previous year, the one asking to see her baby. Trinne had worked hard to help the God-Touched apprentices after Nay had told her about how they were treated.

“A wall is a wall, whether covered in gold, blessed by the gods or littered with biach holes.” Was the reason Trinne had given to the Legio as to why she was fighting for their rights.

“When did they remove the collar?” Nay asked.

The Touched seemed slightly surprised, her smile disappearing for a moment. “Six months ago, miss.”

“Call me Nay, please. I’m sorry I could not help you back then.”

“Oh miss, no, no. You could not have done a thing.” But despite her words, the Legio could feel resentment in the God-Touched’ Rreico.

“Maybe. But nonetheless, I am sorry.” Nay turned her attention back to her friend. “Now, explain what this whole ’I am going to need to talk’ story is all about.”

The Legio saw her friend roll her eyes in the mirror. “I live in the chambers of the Imperatrix and I am the duchess of Gite. Nonetheless, I will be far from being at the front stage, my assigned place is with the jewels and other apprentices, next to the choir. I’m basically there to look pretty. You, you’re without a noble title, have a, sorry to say, quite abysmal reputation, and despite that, you’ll be next to Hyn the whole day. Some nobles may be aware that you are her goddaughter, but that’s far from a reason good enough to justify you being there all the time.”

Despite the professionalism of the priestesses and Sylvia, who had continued her work with no hesitation, Nay felt surprise in the women taking care of them, as if to make Trinne’s argument sounder. She saw the clergywomen look at each other, and the tension in one of the priestess’ of Ja taking care of her climb ostentatiously.

Nay grimaced as someone pulled her hair slightly too hard.

“Please, do not worry. I may be her goddaughter, but I am no noble, I won’t punish you if you make mistakes, you’ll always manage something better than if I did it myself.” She tried to comfort the priestess combing her hair.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t want to…”

“I though, am a noble, so if you fail, I will destroy any semblance of normal life you could hope to have.” Trinne’s announcement brought complete silence, and all the priestesses froze in their place.

“Trinne! Sorry, she’s joking. Trinne, apologize!”

“Out of the question. It is their fault if they cannot understand something so basic. I am the duchess of Gite, not of Leïn. I have no authority here! But Orchidee, please don’t pull her hair like that, you are supposed to be good at this.” Trinne switched to talk at the priestess taking care of Nay’s hair.

Ah, that was her name, Orchidee, Nay remembered. The Legio gave the poor woman a little smile, and Orchidee profusely apologized.

The Legio looked behind her, Trinne gave her a wink, the redhead currently sitting between Sapphire and Konnie. Two other women were sitting inside the corner between the choir and the deambulatory. Nay knew their names, Agathe and Pearl, but she had never seen them before today, as they had been on a mission through the Unbroken Ones. Nay couldn’t stop herself from pulling up the top of her dress. For once, it was the right size for her, reaching beneath her knees, but her cleavage was a bit too plunging for her comfort, and considering she was facing thousands of people, it was making her feel like a Soi courtesan with only lingerie on. The light blue outfit was filled with flourishes, and she was wearing more feminine accessories now than she had ever put on combined. She had three daggers hidden underneath her robe, which had a hidden pocket letting her reach the belt holding her weapons on her legs almost instantly.

To Nay’s right stood the Imperatrix Hyn. She was speaking calmly, not hesitating, not stumbling on her words, as if the thousands of people she was addressing were friends at a simple dinner. She was smiling, her Rreico void of any kind of nervousness. Her voice was amplified by the enchantments on the stone altar in front of her.

“…This year will be the greatest of celebrations for the end of the War since its first. The railway system to Gite is almost over, our Empire will be connected from east to west in less than a year. We have never been as powerful, as happy, as great. Despite that, our challenges are also great. The events in the western plains and in Striavie have shaken our plans, and the Carradins and Trechuite pirates have taken advantage of our crises shamelessly. But, we shall grow stronger through those trials. Because today is the day we remember our rise, where we remember why our Empire will endure while all the others fell. Our difference is not that we cannot stumble, it is that in the fall we do not look beneath, but up. We know that falling is an opportunity to rise back. And after all those years, after more than a century watching you, oh loved by the Gods, I can assure you that we will not forget this lesson. We survived the worst of the wars, and we shall not forget. Do not forget!”

The entire room rumbled like a war drum as everyone rose from their seat.

“We shall not forget.” Nay echoed the response with everyone else.

She, more than anyone else, could not forget, she was the living symbol of that fall.

The Imperatrix smiled warmly, her body language more friendly and less serious than it had just been. “Some of you are probably asking yourselves who is standing next to me, and why my son is not amongst us. Jarl the Bohemian is currently preparing to take my place, and is working, even during this sacred day, at becoming worthy for the responsibilities that will fall on his shoulders tomorrow. Jarl is a man worthy of you, and despite my overly great expectations as his mother, he has surpassed them all. As for who this ravishing young woman next to me is, I present to you officially my goddaughter, daughter of my former sergeant-general. I took her under my wing after the terrible event in Gite. Her name is Nay, but you certainly have heard her nickname: the Monster of Gite.”

Nay put a hand over her neck, horrified. Why did Trinne need to be right all the time?

“Come here, Nay.” The Imperatrix beckoned her to come closer. “This moniker could not be more unfit for her, and as her godmother, it is my responsibility to change that. So, what better way to prove her humanity than with a song? Is today not a day for partying?”

“What? No no…” Nay looked at the Imperatrix smiling at her, then at the crowd lit up by the numerous glass-stained windows.

“I apologize for not giving you any heads-up Nay, but it is more important than you realize. Everyone heard you sing when you cook, it’ll be fine.” Hyn put a comforting hand on her shoulder as she explained in a whisper only the Legio could hear.

Nay looked around for an emergency exit, but the only one she was stopping was being guarded by Garnet herself.

“Biach.” She swore. She looked at the stone altar covered in enchantment runes as if it was Gite’s moats. She went towards it with the two slowest steps possible, looked towards the crowd, almost fainted, and decided to just look the ground.

She gave a quick glance behind.

Trinne, for once, did not look like she was finding the situation funny. Nay could not feel her Rreico at this distance with so many people around, but she was starting to know her friend well enough to read compassion beneath her facade of indifference.

Trinne had been wrong. It wasn’t a speech that Nay was supposed to do.

It was better when Trinne was right, finally.

What to sing? What to sing?

She had to know thirty or so different songs, some sad, some joyous, some filled with hope and some claiming the end of times.

The Imperatrix cleared her throat, the Legio was taking too much time.

Nay looked at Trinne again.

The redhead said something silently, that the Legio obviously could not hear. But she read her lips, and Nay understood immediately.

Of course.

The Legio took on a giant gulp of air, her courage slightly rejuvenated.

She looked straight at the ceiling, finding confidence in the majestic murals telling Ja’s story. She held herself with dignity and started singing the Ascent to the unbroken Ones.