The smell of incense hung heavy in the air as the brothers and sisters of the Divine church gently swung Thurible’s from side to side, filling the Grand temple with smoke. As Duncan looked around the temple he couldn’t deny that it had earned the title of ‘grand’. The building was constructed from a mixture of white marble and black granite. Great pillars of white marble ascended high into the dome shaped ceiling with several huge stained glass windows on every side of the walls. The temple was filled with gold and silver ornaments and the priests and clerics presiding over the funeral were dressed in fine silk. It truly was a place of awe. However Duncan did also find it ironic that a place that was meant to preach humility and modesty was also one of the richest places in Formaroth. Duncan stood on the second floor balcony, looking over the funeral on-going bellow him. The hall was filled with hundreds of nobles from Nyhem who had come to mourn the passing of their king. Or at least that is why they would say they were there; most of them were only present because it was socially expected of them. At the far end of the temple Grand Cleric Mildred was reciting the divine chant. Behind her lay the now deceased king John Remonnet in a finely carved wooden coffin, which was placed on top of a stone alter. He lay there wearing his ceremonial armour and holding House Remonnet’s Dwarven steel sword. Standing next to Duncan was Alenius; Alenius was a tall woman yet was unusually skinny for a solider. She had short ginger hair and was currently wearing leather studded armour. They were both out of earshot from everyone else and were able to speak freely to each other. “It’s strange” Duncan said as he turned to Alenius “In his entire life he never wore that armour, yet people seem to think that it’s appropriate for him to be buried in it”. Alenius nodded in agreement. “That’s how tradition works I guess” Alenius said glumly as she looked on to the funeral proceeding bellow. She had greatly respected John Remonnet and his death had saddened her. “Doing something because it’s the way it has always been done, [i]makes perfect sense[/i]. Not to mention the waste of perfectly good dwarven steel”. “No need to worry about that” Duncan said with a small smirk on his face “I have ordered the sword be sent back to Cawaport before he is buried; my brother has always wanted a dwarven steel sword in the family, he will be most pleased”. Alenius’s eye’s narrowed as she turned to face Duncan. “Don’t tell me you have stolen the Remonnets family heirloom for yourself” Alenius said harshly. Duncan’s face didn’t change as he replied calmly. “Of course not. After all I can’t steal something that no longer has any ownership over it. All possessions of the Remonnet family lost ownership as soon as John passed away. I am no thief, I have merely taking claim of the sword”. Duncan turned back to watch the funeral. “Besides, like you said it would be wasted in a tomb of stone in the hands of a rotting corpse”. Alenius’s faces soften a bit, though it was clear that she still disproved. She too continued to watch the funeral take place. The grand cleric was nearing the end of the chant. “It’s strange to think that you are now the ruler of Formaroth” Alenius said “Acting ruler” Duncan said bluntly as he corrected her. Despite currently being the official ruler of Formaroth, he actually wielded very little power outside of Nyhem. Half of the kingdoms in Formaroth had declared independence as soon as they heard of King John’s death and the other half would not swear fealty to Duncan until he had been crowned king. “There are still a lot of proceedings to go through before I am made king, including the coronation. Not to mention, people are going to try and take advantage of John’s death and crown themselves king, meaning we are going to have to debunk their fictitious claims to the throne as well, so I can solidify mine”. The grand cleric had finally finished the chant, giving the que for the priests and clerics to carefully picked up the coffin and carry it towards the back of the temple, where they carried it downstairs into the tomb where John would be buried. The nobles who had been seated in the great hall rose and started to flock out of the main temples doors. Duncan and Alenius exchanged looks and started to head towards the stairs leading down towards the main floor. They walked slowly so as to avoid the chaos that would currently be ensuing outside, with all the nobles barging past each other; barking at their servants to get their carriages ready so they could get home as quickly as possible. As they walked down the stairs Alenius continued the conversation. “So what is our first step towards getting you on the throne”? She said wilfully. Duncan paused for a minute before replying “The first step is finding out which members of the court are loyal to me, and which ones I will need to…remove”.