"We have gathered here today under the protection and care of the divine,” began the cardinal, an elderly gentleman with white and gold robes, hair greying in a tightly kept ponytail, “Family, friends, and acquaintances alike, under the eyes of the gods and goddesses, here in the church of the divine under the guidance of Iker, Lord of gods, we mourn the passing of Archduke Nathaniel Meran. A man who supported this kingdom and its citizens with his entire being. Some have described him as crass, blunt, short-tempered - words I've heard whispered today. But amongst the negative whisperings, I've also heard overwhelming words of respect and admiration for him as a man, as a husband, as a father, and as an archduke. I've heard love and respect for his work in the last hero crisis, as well as his work in maintaining Mare’s control over the Ibel Pass to the northwest. In some ways, we have him to thank for the way the Ibel Fort is today, his work with Viscount Throllo was incredibly important to our trade with Dusau. This is all not even considering his career-long devotion to the proper education of new nobles, which made many lives of lower nobles easier thanks to his generosity. He was a man who respected the ways of Sanso, God of Prosperity and Wealth, and gave back just as much of his wealth to his friends and community as he earned. And in the following of Sanso, we will return a mere portion of the prosperity he has shared with us."

The cardinal motioned to the side as young kids, deacons (priests in training), scrambled forward to collect funeral tithes from the crowd. They carried silver bowls with intricate imprinted patterns, into which all the nobles put coins or jewelry.

Alister held back a groan. Donations to a church were unlikely to do much more than curry favor in his mind. The cardinal continued to preach about the different gods, especially the goddess of dearth, and go on about how the person was wonderful in life and deserves the best in death. It felt like a full church service with all the speeches. Though boring and slow, the service wasn't for them, it was for the family. The least he could do was sit nicely for it. He let his mind wander, however, and return to people-watching.

The Beast King was trying to stealthily munch on a turkey leg he produced out of nowhere, while his wife was giving him a side-eyed glare. A few other nobles had noticed, but no one had the balls to tell him to stop. Blas, sad as he was about the passing, was eyeing the turkey himself like he wanted a piece. Alliana tapped his hand to get Blas to stop looking. Alister couldn't spot Wisteria from where he was sitting, not with all the heads in the way, though he wasn't sure he'd be able to even without being so short. She was with the servants and whatnot, but now that ceremonies had begun he didn't know if that meant outside the cathedral or in a different room or what. He had gotten too attached to that strange girl. Being without her in such a critical moment felt wrong. His mother said they'd be joining everyone again after the ceremony when the festival of life began.

Speeches started, each person that had something to say about the late archduke allowed to come up and speak for a moment about him. Most were only a couple of minutes long. King Kendrick’s “speech” was unorthodox and plain-spoken but thankful toward the man. King Augustus Mare gave a speech too, something kind hearted, allowing himself to be seen as open and caring, tears in his eyes - a moment of weakness for his fallen friend.

Alister was barely paying attention to most of it, only interested in the stranger speeches. One such instance was given by a tall feminine slime woman with jade skin and purple hair, a gentlemanly and handsome older elven knight beside her with black eyes and blonde hair. That was Sir Vulmine. He knew that much. The man was a legendary knight, and had more or less come back from the dead before… though the details he was unclear on and doubted the rumors about it were true. The appearance of a partial gem slime beside him was all the more strange. Alliana whispered to Alister that the slime girl, named Maple, was like his child, and that she was also close friends with the Beast King. The nobles thought it was odd, but Vulmine was respected enough (and Kendrick feared enough) that few cared.

Last to give a speech was Archduchess Callibella.

The deep skinned elf took a steadying breath, holding the podium and looking down on the casket, “Nathaniel was… the best man I could have hoped for. He was younger than I, but strong of will and keen of mind. I… miss him dearly… My heart is in tatters. My children… my family… all of us are in deep mourning. I wish and hope for his soul to be cared for well, for him to be reincarnated where we can meet once again in the future. The best healers and physicians could not sort out the illness he was struck by, and so I can only imagine that the gods sought to take him for a purpose. I wish him all the best on the other side.”

“Thank you all for coming. He would be touched to see how many of you care for him and for his family. I greatly appreciate it. And for the rest of the day, please enjoy the festival of passing. He wouldn’t like us to all be full of sadness and tears, he’d want to be remembered with joy… Thank you all… really…” She bowed her head despite her position, a small smile across her tearful face. Most of the high nobles were similar, a few dabbing their eyes with handkerchiefs.

Another twenty minutes and they were finally done inside the church and most people started to move outside. Ten more, and the cardinal emerged with the archduchess and her family. They were all teary eyed as the priest announced to the crowd, “Archduke Nathaniel has been laid to rest! Citizens! Partake in the Festival of Passing, and aid his soul on while you honor the gods!”

Archduchess Callibella walked off nearby and sat on a wooden platform that had been set up for nobles to watch festival entertainment, and tucked her face and tears into her handkerchief. Her family quickly sat beside her, including the Queen, to hug her, to rub her shoulders, and to cry with her.

“Alister,” Blas said, clearing his throat, eyes a little misty, “We can invite Wisteria back over with us now. For the moment I’d like you to stay put, but later on we can try to walk about and look at the other areas of the festival. I know you might think it’s boring, but please, try to enjoy the show. There will be a number of performers showcased for the nobles and commoners alike. They even set up this nice platform for us to view from.”

“Yes, father. I’ll be fine. It won’t be as boring at the speeches,” Alister sighed, just relieved to be doing something different.

Wisteria rushed over to Alister with Neth slithering by her side, “Alister! I was sad we couldn’t sit with you for the ceremony. Neth and I got some snacks while we waited. The concession stands are amazing.” She handed him a skewer with fried dough balls dipped in red sauce, then gave the same to Olana, Harriet, and Morgan.

Blas smirked, “What? None for us?”

Her eyes went wide, “N-no! I’m sorry! I can go get more!”

Blas laughed as Alliana gave him a firm bonk to the shoulder, “Sorry sorry. You’re fine. I’m not supposed to eat concessions without a taster first, unfortunately. Same for Alister, technically…”

“He’ll be fine,” Alliana sighed, “My skill says there’s no poison in them.”

“Then there you go!”

“Thank you, Wisteria,” Alister smiled, chuckling, “You’re so energetic.”

“And you act like an old man half the time,” she said back to him, popping one of the balls into her mouth.

Beast King Kendrick loomed over the group, such a large-framed individual. Alister and Wisteria bristled as he leaned down to her, “Where did you get them? They smell good. I want one.”

“O-oh… um. Over there,” she pointed to a stall a little ways off from the platform that was selling a number of confectioneries.

“Thanks!” He said, hopping down while his wife the Bloodsoaked Queen Saana pinched her nose in frustration.

Saana let out a long sigh, “He’ll be fine… he’s just like that sometimes. A lot of times. Well… most of the time.”

“He seems like a kind man,” Alliana offered.

Saana nodded, “Yes I suppose that’s true. Ah, Duchess Alliana, Duke Blas. We haven’t announced it officially yet but we’ve adopted a child. Keep an eye out for the letter, would you?”

“Of course. Congratulations. It’s not something I expected to hear.”

“It’s not something I expected to have happen. Her name is Melissa. She’s such a tiny thing. She must be right around Alister’s age,” Saana explained, “Perhaps when she’s more comfortable I can invite you all over for a playdate of sorts.”

“I’d love that,” Alliana answered. Alister wasn’t eager for the idea, hanging out with some brat, but it was probably good for some political reasons. He let out a small huff, but the sound was drowned out by Kendrick returning.

He had a mouth full of some sort of pastry with red filling spilling out along the edges, and hands full of bags of treats, “They haf scho much goo stuff!”

“Kendrick, dear, don’t talk with your mouth full while in front of other nobles please,” Saana groaned.

He set down the bags and swallowed hard, rubbing and licking the jelly off his lips, “Sorry! People smell so strong here, Saana. Lots of smoke and gunpowder. I’m not used to it, it’s so odd!”

“Yes, well guns are far more popular here, so it’s understandable. And they are likely to have fireworks planned for the festival,” she mused, “If it’s bothering you then try to focus on smelling the sweets. I’ll sit near you so you smell me more.”

Kendrick had a wide, dopey smile, “Thanks, love!”

Meanwhile, off in the roads and alleyways of the capital, a cruel cabal plotted to cause chaos.