Chapter 257: After the Rain, the Sky Sunny
The rain fell on the silent crowd, as if the sky was also crying for the soldiers who died heroically.
People came to the Dragon's Rest in Susaar to mourn the heroes who died in the war against the orcs.
Hisiah Obaiszil, regent of Cormyr, stood a few steps behind the podium.
Soon, she will stand here and deliver a eulogy to the victims on behalf of all people and races in the kingdom.
She watched their arrival without saying a word, exchanged greetings with them, but did not want to talk to them any more.
She has much less life experience than these nobles and vassals.
And she felt that this ceremony to praise the deceased would be the most difficult thing that she had ever encountered as a young and inexperienced person - it would also cause a lot of trouble to other mourners.
The ceremony will be held in the shadow of her father's empty grave.
Hesiah has participated in too many ceremonies to commemorate the war dead.
At every memorial service, she hoped and prayed fervently that it would be the last war-related ceremony.
She believed that this was the wish of all good leaders, but she also knew that her wish would never come true.
No matter what, they will always encounter enemies.
Sometimes the enemies are completely new.
Evil gangsters always appear suddenly from somewhere unnoticed.
Some enemies are ancient and timeless.
They were bound by chains, buried deep underground, and sealed in a demiplane outside the material world. They should have completely disappeared from this world.
But they will suddenly rise again after countless centuries of silence, imposing a reign of terror, or directly destroying innocent lives.
Other times, the enemy is a force she is familiar with.
Such situations are often even more sad.
Even if she knew these enemies, their threats were equally huge and terrifying.
How did her father meet these challenges again and again?
Hesiah wanted to know, what did her grandfather do? How did the Purple Dragon Kingdom, which lasted for thousands of years, do?
Now the Kingdom of Cormyr has finally ushered 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 to this great man's daughter and son, it seemed like a lifetime had passed.
Her father died in the war that just ended.
To be more precise, he died when the dragon actually launched the first wave of attacks.
The evil dragon released from the twisted void by the orcs was ugly, cunning, extremely cruel and fierce, causing the king to die on the battlefield.
As usual, Hesiah summoned the magic from the Feywild to calm herself.
It does no good to harbor hatred even against such an enemy who must be avenged.
After all, her father can't come back.
The only thing that comforted Hesiah was that this legendary warrior died in a heroic battle and saved many innocent lives with his sacrifice.
In just the blink of an eye, Princess Hesiah Obaiszil became the regent.
In many ways, Hesiah was never prepared for this responsibility and would even instinctively resist it.
Even so, she was still keenly aware that she was not very good at other very important aspects.
Perhaps she is not a true ruler yet.
Her father was so great, not only to the young princess, but to the subjects of Cormyr, and even to his enemies.
The greater the person, the more difficult it is to make up for the emptiness left when he leaves.
The Kingdom of Cormyr has another name: the Kingdom of the Purple Dragon.
The dragon tore the dragon into pieces, and people used this to describe Yazen V's bravery and 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, Hesiah not only had to calm down his own shock, but also tried his best to comfort his grieving and horrified subjects.
This made it impossible for her to truly mourn her father.
People are grieving because of the loss of the dragon that protected the kingdom, but Hisaya's sorrow is only for this person.
She could only keep her eyes wide open at night and could not sleep.
She wanted to know how many enemies died under the Purple Dragon Sword in order to kill the king of Cormyr.
At one point, Hesiah told this idea to Sandra Corte, the royal mage of Cormyr and leader of the war mages.
The old man now becomes an advisor to the young ruler.
When he heard Hesiah express his feelings, a smile appeared in his eyes that were still lingering in sadness.
"Son, I can tell you that before they swamped your father with countless orcs, he single-handedly killed the most powerful dragon I have ever seen. He saved countless people from the Forest of Kings. Civilians who fled to Susar. I can confirm that your father made the invaders pay a heavy price before he fell."
Hisaya has no doubt about this, otherwise they would not be able to. Defeat the orcs.
Perhaps this is not enough to eliminate her grief, and she can only be satisfied with this.
The memorial ceremony was attended by a large number of armed soldiers, but on this day of remembering the deceased, Hesiah did not wear armor.
She wore a white silk shirt, dark blue breeches, a thick ceremonial coat embroidered with gold thread, and lambskin gloves on her hands.
The only runed sword she wears at her waist can be used both in war and as a symbol of peace: the Chaos Bringer.
This is a gift given to her by the eladrin from the Fairy Wilderness.
She told her that the Chaos Messenger had drank blood in the hands of some people and saved lives in the hands of others.
Today, Hesiah wants to greet as many people as possible who have lost loved ones and express her gratitude to them.
She hoped that she could bring comfort to everyone, but the cold fact told her that it was impossible for her to realize this wish.
She took solace in the fact that the rays of victory shone upon 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 ten years ago.
On that day, raindrops also fell in Arabel City. At that time, they were remembering the heroes who made the greatest sacrifice to stop the dark lord Bane.
Two of Hesiah's loved ones attended the ceremony that day, but were unable to continue to accompany her today.
One of them is of course her father, and the other has always been affectionately called Sister Myrcella by her.
Lady Myrcella Raul, the female lord of Arabel.
She protects the Kingdom of Cormyr wholeheartedly. But the disaster ten years ago made the female lord who lost her relatives and friends unable to heal her inner pain and recover from that terrifying moment.
Although she never showed it, she knew how much the pain had affected this woman.
Otherwise, she would not have sworn to the incoming king of Cormyr never to set foot in the south on the day the ceremony ended.
"Is it okay?" The voice was warm and soft, just like the woman who asked the question.
Hisaya smiled at Kalena, the priest of the Mother Goddess of the Earth, who was asking her if she wanted to accept her blessing.
Hesiah nodded slightly, lowered his head, and immediately felt that his tight chest relaxed, and his soul regained peace.
She stood aside with respect, watching the pastor talking to people, and continued to wait for the moment when she would go on stage to speak.
At her father's memorial service, she never really managed to say a few words.
At that time, her grief was too strong to allow her to care about anything else.
As time went by, the sadness in her heart changed and became no longer as blazing as the flames, but the oppression on her did not lessen at all.
Anyway, she can at least say a few words today.
Heseiah stood by her father's tomb, which was empty.
The curse of the dragon's blood has long since wiped out his body.
Hesiah looked at the stone face on the tomb, which looked very similar to his father.
Looking at it, Hesiah could feel some comfort.
But even a master of stone carving with superb skills cannot reproduce the king's fiery passion, violent temper, cheerful laughter, and every move he makes.
In a way, Hesiah was glad that the tomb was empty. She could always think that her father was still alive and well.
Hisiah's thoughts returned to the place where her father died.
My father’s elven sword ‘Purple Dragon’ that killed the evil dragon, the sword inherited from the founding of Cormyr, lay there quietly, never to be touched by him again.
It may be waiting for another master, and it will respond to that master.
The scabbard of this elven divine sword is made of gilded cherry wood, wrapped in enchanted red leather, and decorated with the head of a purple dragon with ruby eyes.
When Hesiah held the sword, she almost felt that her father was right in front of her.
It was then that Hesiah truly accepted the responsibility of regent.
The light began to hover around the sword again, not the orange-red glare that represented the warrior, but the warm blue halo that represented the sword mage.
At that moment, the wound in Hesiah's heart began to heal.
Maybe Brian is not a real eloquent, but Hesiah can never forget what he said to her when he put the crown on her head tenderly:
"Your father is a real hero. Everything he does is a challenge to us. We must never be overwhelmed by fear... even in front of the gate of hell."
Published Ryan is wise.
He did not tell her that she must not be afraid, but that they just cannot lose to fear, because only through fear can people become brave.
“I won’t, father.” The Elf Divine Sword ‘Purple Dragon’ will testify for Hesiah.
Hisaya forced herself to return to the present. She nodded to Kalina and turned to look at the crowd.
The rain had slowed but not stopped, and it was clear that no one was planning to seek shelter elsewhere.
Hesiah's eyes swept over the husbands and wives who had lost their partners, the fathers and mothers who had lost their children, the orphans who had lost their parents, and the solemn and upright veterans.
She is proud of the soldiers who shed their blood on the battlefield and hopes that their heroic spirits can rest in peace.
No matter life or death, they have always deeply loved these people standing in front of her. Hesiah knew that these deeply loved people were also heroes.
Because none of those standing in Dragon's Rest today have succumbed to fear.
Hesiah saw Brian, standing far behind a lamppost, their eyes met, and he nodded to her with encouraging eyes.
This gave her extra peace of mind, as if the man she loved deeply was standing beside her. She was not afraid of the bottomless abyss or the nine hells of Baator.
She allowed her eyes to scan over the faces.
Some people she knew, some people she didn’t know.
She waved to an elf family whose men and women bore battle scars but had smiles on their faces, holding their children above their heads so that she could see To the Regent of Cormyr.
"Like many of you, I have personally experienced the pain of losing a loved one." Hesiah said loudly, her voice clear and powerful, even people standing at the furthest distance can clearly hear, " You all know that my father..."
She paused and cleared her throat before continuing:
"King Yazen V...in the first place of Susaal He fell in battle when the dragon's rampage against Cormyr was just beginning. He died to save his men, those brave soldiers who stood up to fight the 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 each of you has lost your father, mother, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters. "
"Because he and many others had the courage to make sacrifices, we achieved the impossible miracle." Hesiah's eyes fell on the faces of one person after another, and he saw everyone's faces. Yearning for comfort:
“We have defeated the dragon, we have defeated the orcs. Now we want to pay tribute to all the fallen heroes. The way we pay tribute to them is not to die like them... but to live well. Go down, to heal our wounds, to cheer others up, to laugh, to feel the sunshine on our faces, to hug the ones we love tightly and let them know that every hour and every minute of every day, They are all so important.”
After the rain, the sky cleared, the dark clouds began to dissipate, and the sky shed a bright blue and golden light.
“Neither we nor our world can escape the pain.” Hesiah continued:
“We are scarred, and the defeated dragon burns us with breath made of hatred. Beloved land. We don't yet know what it will cost us. Some places in our hearts will be forever lost and empty. Allegiance, if you are willing to remember the king who fought and died for you, then I ask you - live for our lives, our joy, our kingdom, these are the gifts left to us by the fallen. . We must cherish them."
"For the Kingdom of Cormyr!" The civilians raised their right hands, the soldiers cheered in unison, and many people's eyes were filled with sparkles. tears.
Now it was other people's turn to speak. Hesiah stepped aside tiredly. When she did so, her eyes subconsciously turned back to Brian, and her heart suddenly sank. .
Keveril, the Shadow Reader, the head of the intelligence agency in Arabel City, was standing next to Brian.
Hesiah could clearly see the solemn expressions on their faces when they were talking.
In her impression, every time the Shadow Reader appeared in the Mage Tower in Arabel City, her sister Myrcella would receive terrible bad news.
That was exactly the case, she had already seen Brian's slight frown.
As the new regent, Hesiah can understand and value the role that the agents of the intelligence agency play for the kingdom.
Because she understood that she would never know how many members of the intelligence agency had sacrificed their lives in the recent war.
It is even more impossible to know how Brian obtained the detailed information when commanding this battle.
After all, unlike the upright warriors, these spies and scouts active in the shadows always live and die silently, and few people know their achievements.
Hesiah nodded to Brian, then shook her head slightly, indicating that she would talk to them away from the mourning crowd.
The mourning continues, some people kneel down and whisper prayers, others will return to their homes to release their sorrow in a private environment, and some will go to the pub to let themselves be Being among people proves that you can still enjoy food, wine and laughter.
Although Hesaya also thought of many ways to release her emotions, as the regent, she knew that her task was by no means that simple.
The three of them walked silently behind the monument. The dark clouds at this moment had almost dissipated. The afterglow of the setting sun fell on the harbor below, and little sparkles appeared on the water.
Hesiah came to the stone wall, pressed the top of the wall with both hands, took a deep breath in the sea breeze, and listened to the chirping of seagulls.
She needed some time to stabilize her emotions before she could listen to the information brought from Arabay City by the Shadow Reader, known as the 'Spy Master'.
Because she knew very well that Keveril's words must be dark, just like the shadow shrouded in the ghost city of Sultanza.
(End of this chapter)