Arcane Journey

Chapter 258
The rain fell on the silent crowd, as if the sky was also weeping for the brave soldiers who died bravely.

People come to Dragon's Rest in Suzar to commemorate the heroes who died in the war against the orcs.

Hisaiah Obaiszil, Regent of Cormyr, stood a few paces behind the podium.

It won't be long before she stands here to deliver a eulogy for the fallen on behalf of all people and races in the kingdom.

She watched them coming in silence, exchanged greetings with them, but refused to speak to them any more.

Her life experience is much less than these nobles and vassals.

And she felt that this ceremony of praising the dead would be the most difficult thing she had ever encountered as a young and inexperienced person—this would definitely cause a lot of distress to other mourners.

The ceremony will take place in the shadow of her father's empty grave.

Hesaiah has attended too many ceremonies honoring the war dead.

At each mourning service, she hopes and prays with all her heart that it will be the last war-related service.

She believes that this is the wish of all kind leaders, but she also knows that her wish will not come true after all.

No matter what, they will always encounter enemies.

Sometimes the enemies are brand new.

Evil gangsters always pop up from nowhere.

There are also enemies that are old and long gone.

They were bound in chains, buried deep in the ground, sealed in a demiplane outside the material world, and they should have disappeared from this world completely.

But they will suddenly rise again after countless centuries of silence, to reign in terror, or simply to kill innocent lives.

Other times, the enemy was a force she knew well.

Such situations are often even more deplorable.

Even if she knew these enemies, their threat was equally great and terrifying.

How did her father rise to these challenges time and time again?

Hesaiah wondered, how did her grandfather do it?How did the Purple Dragon Kingdom, which lasted for thousands of years, do it?

Now the kingdom of Cormyr is finally ushering in a period of relative stability.

But the next enemy, the next challenge, will undoubtedly come soon.

The death of Yazen V was not a long time ago, but for the daughter and son of this great man, it seemed that a lifetime had passed.

Her father died in the war that just ended.

To be more precise, it was sacrificed when the magic dragon actually launched its first attack.

The evil dragon released by the orcs from the twisted void was ugly, cunning, extremely cruel and ferocious, and made the king die on the battlefield.

As always, Hesaiah summoned magic from the Feymoor to calm herself.

Even with such an enemy who must be vengeful, it does no good to harbor hatred.

After all, her father could not come back.

The only consolation for Hesaiah was that the legendary warrior died in a heroic battle, saving many innocent lives by his sacrifice.

In just the blink of an eye, Princess Hisaiah Obaiszir became Prince Regent.

In many ways, Hesaiah was never prepared for this responsibility, and even instinctively resisted it.

Even so, she was still keenly aware that she was not very good at other very important aspects.

Maybe she wasn't really a ruler yet.

Great was her father, not only to the young princess, but to Cormyr's subjects, and even to his enemies.

And the greater the man, the harder it is to fill the void left when he leaves.

The kingdom of Cormyr has another name: the kingdom of purple dragons.

The dragon tore apart the dragon, and people used this to describe Azen V's invincibility on the battlefield.

But he is not only a powerful warrior with extraordinary combat skills, but also an extraordinary leader.

In the first few weeks after his father's death, Hesaiah tried to calm his mourning and horrified subjects, as well as his own shock.

It made it impossible for her to really mourn her father.

People are mourning the loss of the dragon who guarded the kingdom, and Hesaiah's sorrow is only for this one person.

She can only keep her eyes wide open at night and cannot sleep.

She wondered how many enemies had died by the sword of the purple dragon in order to kill the king of Cormyr.

At one point, Hesaiah shared this idea with Sandra Cotter, leader of the Battlemages, royal mages of Cormyr.

The old man is now an advisor to the young ruler.

When he heard Hesaiah talk about his state of mind, there was a smile in his eyes that were still haunted by sadness.

"Son, I can tell you that before they overwhelmed your father with countless orcs, he single-handedly slew the most powerful dragon I have ever seen, and he saved countless Civilians who fled to Suzar. I am sure your father made the invaders pay dearly before he fell."

Hesaiah had no doubts about this, otherwise they would not have been able to defeat the Orcs.

Perhaps this was not enough to relieve her grief, and she could only be satisfied with it.

The memorial service was attended by a large number of armed soldiers, but on this day of remembering the dead, Hisaiah wore no armor.

She wore a white silk shirt, dark blue breeches, a ceremonial tunic embroidered with gold thread, and lambskin gloves.

The only runic sword she wears at her waist, both for war and for peace: Chaosbringer.

This is a gift from Eladrin from the Fairymoor.

She told her that the Chaosbringer had drunk blood at the hands of some and saved lives at the hands of others.

Today, Hesaiah wants to greet as many bereaved people as possible and to express his gratitude to them.

She hopes that she can bring comfort to everyone, but the cold facts tell her that she cannot realize this wish.

To her relief, the dawn of victory shone on them all... even a weary young regent.

She raised her face, knowing in her heart that the sun was behind the dark clouds.

The soft raindrops fell on her face, making her feel like a blessing.

She recalled a similar memorial service a decade earlier.

Raindrops also fell on the city of Araby that day, and what they remembered at that time was the heroes who made the greatest sacrifice in order to stop the dark lord Bane.

Two of Hesaiah's loved ones, who were present at the ceremony that day, were not able to accompany her today.

One of them was of course her father, and the other was always affectionately called Sister Myrcella.

Lady Myrcella Lauer, Mistress of Araby.

She wholeheartedly protects the kingdom of Cormyr.

But the disaster ten years ago made the female lord, who had lost her relatives and friends, unable to heal the pain in her heart and recover from that horrible moment.

Although she never showed it, she knew how much the pain had hit this lady.

Otherwise, she would not have sworn to the previous king of Cormyr on the day the ceremony ended that she would never set foot in the south.

"Can you?" The voice was warm and soft, just like the woman who asked the question.

Hisaiah smiled at Karena, the priest of the Earth Mother, who was asking her if she would accept her blessing.

Hesaiah nodded slightly, lowered his head, and immediately felt his tight chest relax, and his soul returned to peace.

She stood aside respectfully, watched the pastor talk to the people, and continued to wait for her moment to speak.

At her father's memorial service, she hasn't been able to really say a few words.

At the time her grief was too strong for her to think of anything else.

As time passed, the sorrow changed in her heart, became less blazing, but it did not lessen her oppression.

Anyway, today she was able to say a few words at least.

Hesaiah stood by his father's tomb, which was empty.

The curse of the dragon's blood has left him with no bones left.

Hesaiah looked at the stone face on the mound, which resembled his father.

Looking at it, Hesaiah could feel some comfort.

But even a skilled stone carver could not reproduce the king's fiery enthusiasm, violent temper, cheerful laugh, and his every move.

In a way, Hesaiah was glad that the tomb was empty, that she could always keep in her mind that her father was alive and well.

Hisaiah's thoughts went back to the place where her father had fallen.

The elven sword 'Purple Dragon' that my father used to kill the dragon, the sword inherited from Cormyr, lay there quietly, never to be touched by him again.

It may be waiting for another master, to whom it will respond.

The scabbard of this Elven Excalibur is made of gilded cherrywood, wrapped in enchanted red leather, adorned with the head of a purple dragon with ruby ​​eyes.

When Hesaiah held the sword, she could almost feel her father in front of her.

At that time, Hesaiah truly accepted the responsibility of Regent.

Light began to circle the sword again, not the bright orange-red glow of a warrior, but the warm blue halo of a swordmage.

At that moment, the wound in Hesaiah's heart began to heal.

Maybe Bryan wasn't really eloquent, but Hesaiah will never forget what he said to her as he gently placed the crown on her head:

"Your father is a real hero. Everything he does is a challenge to us, so that we will never be overwhelmed by fear...even in front of the gates of hell."

Brian is wise.

He didn't tell her that they must never be afraid, but that they just couldn't lose to fear, because only fear can make people brave.

"I will not, Father." The elven sword 'Purple Dragon' will testify for Hesaiah.

Sisaiah forced herself back to the present, nodded to Karena, then turned to look at the crowd.

The rain had slowed down, but it hadn't stopped, and it was clear that no one was going to seek shelter elsewhere.

Hesaiah glanced at bereft husbands and wives, bereft fathers and mothers, bereft orphans, and solemn and erect veterans.

She is proud of the soldiers who shed blood on the battlefield, and hopes that their spirits can rest in peace.

They had always loved those who stood before her, life or death, and Hesaiah knew that these loved ones were also heroes.

For none of those who stand in Dragon's Rest today have succumbed to fear.

Sisaiah saw Brian, who was standing far behind a lamp post, the two of them met their eyes, and he nodded to her with encouraging eyes.

This made her feel extra at ease, as if the man she loved so much was standing beside her, no matter whether she was facing the bottomless abyss or the nine prisons of Bator, she was not afraid.

She let her gaze sweep over the faces.

Some she knew, some she didn't.

She waved to a family of elves whose mistresses and mistresses were scarred by war but smiling, lifting their children above their heads so that she could see Cormyr's regent .

"Like many of you, I have experienced the pain of losing a loved one firsthand," said Hesaiah, her voice clear and powerful enough to be heard even by those at the farthest distances, " You all know that my father..."

She paused, cleared her throat, and continued:

"King Azen V... fell in the first battle of Suzar. The dragon's ravages of Cormyr had just begun. He died saving his soldiers. Those brave A soldier who rose to fight against unspeakable horrors, to protect us, to protect our land, our kingdom. He knows that no one is more important than the kingdom, not even the king. Just like every one of you You have all lost your parents, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters.”

"Because he and so many others had the courage to make sacrifices, we have achieved the impossible." Hesaiah's eyes fell on one face after another, seeing all longing for comfort:

"We defeated the dragon, we defeated the orcs. Now we pay tribute to all the heroes who died. We don't honor them by dying like them...but by living well, to heal our wounds, to help others To cheer up, to laugh, to feel the sunshine on our faces, to hug our loved ones and let them know that they matter every hour, every minute of every day."

The rain was over and the clouds were starting to lift, leaving the sky a bright blue and golden dawn.

"Neither we nor our world has escaped pain," Hesiah continued:
"We are scarred by the breath of a defeated dragon that burns the land we love with the breath of hatred. We do not yet know what it will cost us. Some places in our hearts will be lost forever, left empty .but if you will give your allegiance to a Regent who weeps with you today, and if you will remember the king who fought and died for you before, then I beg you—live. For our lives, ours Joy, our kingdom, these are the gifts left to us by the fallen. We must cherish them. For the kingdom of Cormyr!"

"For the Kingdom of Cormyr!" The civilians raised their right hands, the soldiers drew their weapons, and cheered in unison. Many people's eyes were filled with shining tears.

Now it was the others' turn to speak, and Hesaiah stepped aside wearily, and as she did so, her gaze automatically returned to Brian, and her heart sank.

Cavlier, the shadow thinker, the head of Araby City's intelligence agency, was standing beside Brian.

Hesaiah could clearly see the dignified expressions on the two of them's conversations.

In her memory, whenever this shadower appeared in the mage's tower in Araby City, her sister Myrcella would receive bad news.

That was exactly the case, she had already seen Brian's frown slightly.

As the new regent, Hesaiah can understand and value the role of agents of the intelligence agency for the kingdom.

Because she knew that she would never know how many members of the intelligence agencies gave their lives in the latest war.

It is even more impossible to know how Brian obtained detailed information when commanding this battle.

After all, unlike the upright warriors, these spies and scouts who are active in the shadows always live silently and die silently, and very few people know their achievements.

Sisaiah nodded to Brian, then shook her head slightly, indicating that she would speak with them away from the mourning crowd.

Mourning continues, with some kneeling and whispering prayers, others returning to their homes to release their grief in privacy, still others going to pubs and being among the crowds, Prove that you can also enjoy food, wine and laughter.

Although Hesaiah also thought of many ways to release her emotions, as the regent, she knew that her task was by no means so simple.

The three of them walked to the back of the monument silently. At this moment, the dark clouds had almost dissipated. The afterglow of the setting sun fell on the harbor below, and there were little glimmers of light on the water.

Hesaiah came to the stone wall, put his hands on the top of the wall, took a deep breath against the sea wind, and listened to the singing of seagulls.

She needed a little time to stabilize her emotions before she could listen to the intelligence brought from Arabe City by the so-called 'Master Spy'.

Because she knew well that Cavriel's words must be gloomy, like the shadow of Sultanza, the city of ghosts.

(End of this chapter)