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[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220927/23fb834f443fddf069b302a80ffae13a.png[/img]
[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220927/713c9ea7f90a3bccf2680492bc93671a.png[/img]
[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220928/bcf4c8fb894d886cf1f86d12d903935e.png[/img]

[color=1E90FF][b]Time[/b]: Morning[/color]
[color=1E90FF][b]Location[/b]: The Church[/color]
[color=1E90FF][b]Interactions[/b]: [/color]
[color=1E90FF][b]Mentions[/b]: [/color]
[color=1E90FF][b]Attire[/b]: [hider]
[url=https://i.postimg.cc/8z5xjhFf/b73aac48-9c15-4c53-9289-37731ac8aace.png](Placeholder until I get a better reference image)[/url]
Roughspun, blue trousers
A shoulder belt and waist belt carrying his equipment
Two swords and two pistols, one on either side
A woven, conical hat wide enough to shade his entire face (in his hands)[/hider][/color]
[/center]

Sjan-dehk wasn’t sure what exactly he had expected, but he felt quite certain it wasn’t [i]this[/i]. And judging by how Iyen alternated between nervous giggling and quiet grumbles, she felt the same.

Neither of them were strangers to grandiose displays of piety. The Inner Viserjantan Provinces – and a few Outer ones – practically made a sport out of creating needlessly extravagant religious rites and rituals. He still remembered the ordeal that was accepting the Sejati and Vasenyan surrenders in the aftermath of the Siege of Mersawas. Signing the documents itself had taken mere minutes. It took, however, the better part of half-a-day to reach that point. In a show of mercy, the High Queen had afforded both capitulating parties the courtesy of an honourable surrender, and granted them the right to carry out all necessary rites. By the time all was over, Sjan-dehk had been just about ready to tear his hair out.

But even so, he could at least understand that the Sejatis and Vasenyans on that day had deserved every last minute and every last second of their ceremonies. They had, after all, held onto the Capital island for the better part of a year, fighting a valiant – albeit futile – defence even after their fellow rebels elsewhere had given up. Only when it became clear that further resistance would only lead to senseless deaths and suffering did they finally accept the High Queen’s terms. To Sjan-dehk, they had earned the right to march out with their colours high and pride intact, and the right to subject him to hours of boredom. 

Here, however, he wasn’t quite sure.

Paying respects to the local Gods was one thing. Iyen and he had willingly played along, intoning after the priest and echoing – to the best of their abilities – the words of the crowd. After that, however, things got a little more uncomfortable for the both of them. Sjan-dehk had understood enough of the song to gather the general idea of it. Initially, he had scolded himself for being quick to cast judgement. Caesonian ways were new to him, after all. Forming an opinion – a strong one, no less – of the King through a mere song simply wasn’t the right thing to do.

But the moment the doors were thrown open, and the procession came through, Sjan-dehk had little doubt that his initial judgement was correct.

[color=228B22]“The King…He’s uh, he’s quite proud of himself, isn’t he?”[/color] Iyen whispered.

[color=1E90FF]“Self-aggrandising,”[/color] Sjan-dehk replied, his lips pressed into a thin line. [color=1E90FF]“That’s the word you’re looking for.”[/color]

Everything about this little parade spoke of arrogance. And not just that, Sjan-dehk was quite certain that it was undeserved arrogance. It didn’t seem like the King had done anything great, such as winning a daring victory or bringing prosperity to his people. The entire city should be in a celebratory mood if that were the case, but it wasn’t, from what little Sjan-dehk had seen. Neither had the few traders and longshoremen his crew and he had spoken to shared anything regarding the King’s merits. If anything, they were a touch too eager to rant about the opposite. 

[color=228B22]“At least the dancing looks good,”[/color] Iyen remarked, but her discomfort was clear in her tone. 

[color=1E90FF]“Yes, and the armour of those guards look exceptionally polished,”[/color] Sjan-dehk added drily. [color=1E90FF]“Haven’t seen a ritual so damn elaborate since…Since the Som Dran incident. And we only saw what? Less than a fifth of the whole thing?”[/color]

Iyen clicked her tongue. [color=228B22]“You’re never going to let that go, are you?”[/color]

[color=1E90FF]“I defended your honour. Be grateful.”[/color] He glanced sideways at her with a grin.

Shaking her head, Iyen chuckled and said in a voice dripping with sarcasm, [color=228B22]“Oh, my hero. Whatever shall I do without this sea-addled, provincial Captain by my side?”[/color] She turned her attention back to the parade, her face pensive. [color=228B22]“But when you’re right, you’re right. This is awfully extravagant for just honouring a King, even if he is a God-King.”[/color] She paused and looked around. [color=228B22]“Sjan-dehk, I think they’re definitely sacrificing him. Doesn’t this seem like a send-off to you? They’ve even got his funeral portrait hung up and ready!”[/color]

[color=1E90FF]“First of all, you’re just as provincial as I am,”[/color] Sjan-dehk began. [color=1E90FF]“Secondly, be careful. You’re showing your Sudhrayarn instincts again. I don’t think there’ll be a sacrifice, but if there is…”[/color] He looked at her and gave a non-commital shrug. [color=1E90FF]“We’ll just stay out of it. Though we should also find their Crown Prince so we’ve at least got someone to negotiate with. Not unless they decide that he needs to ascend as well to keep their King company.”[/color]

Iyen giggled. [color=228B22]“My, are those your provincial instincts that are showing?”[/color] She placed her hands on her hips and looked back at the aisle. [color=228B22]“Well, at least they’ve got good music, and the performers are decen–Oh, by the Shadowed Green, Sjan-dehk, look at that!”[/color]

Sjan-dehk snapped his head around, following her gaze, and saw an ornate throne being carried down the aisle. The men shouldering – quite literally – its weight were themselves dressed in lavishly-designed and extravagant clothes. But even they paled in comparison to the man seated on the throne itself. Every part of his attire – from the crown that almost looked comedic in its complexity, to the cape that seemed closer to a carpet rolled down a corridor – was clearly made to impress. Attendants scurried like rats behind the litter, their hands clutching onto the tail of the cape. [color=1E90FF]“That’s the King,”[/color] Sjan-dehk muttered to Iyen, pointing to the man on the throne.

[color=228B22]“I guessed,”[/color] Iyen whispered back.

It didn’t escape Sjan-dehk’s notice that the King never once glanced at his people as he was carried down the aisle. Was this simply a Caesonian custom, or did he think of himself as too good to even deign to look at those who so worshipped him? It left a bad taste in Sjan-dehk’s mouth, either way. Amidst the nobility of Viserjanta, it was common to compare the Commonwealth itself to a ship traversing the waves. The rulers and nobles would be its captain, and the people, the sea. When both captain and sea were in harmony, all would be well. The captain had to respect the sea, and in return, the sea would never turn against them. If a captain were to think of themselves as too good to show the proper respects, however, then the waves would surely overcome them, and make them no captain at all. 

Sjan-dehk folded his arms as the King reached the end of the aisle, and was set down. The applause that erupted from the crowd as he turned and raised his hands almost made Sjan-dehk burst out laughing, not out of any maliciousness, but out of instinct. Any Viserjantan noble who did such a display without properly earning the right would be laughed out of any court, and Sjan-dehk felt quite certain that this King hadn’t done anything that warranted such adulation. Could he be wrong? Perhaps, and he would offer the proper apologies should that be the case. But for now, he couldn’t say that he liked this King very much.

[color=1E90FF]“I wish this was actually a cult, now,”[/color] Sjan-dehk remarked. [color=1E90FF]“At least they have some purpose. This just feels like bloody vanity.”[/color]