Part II:The Funeral
From the journal of Atír Archsinged, Broker of Waterlures17th of Hematite, 367“The humans arrived to trade. I am still learning the ropes on that stuff, but I think I got a hang on it when dealing with the elves earlier.
I met with the guild representative Kosha. It was a bit odd to meet at the Sanctuary of Snarls, opposite of the Prince's statue. Gave me the shivers quite a bit. But where else would we meet? It was the closest place at hand where to talk in privacy. I think I should ask Likot for an office.
Anyway, Kosha offered his sympathies and condolences after hearing of Kasat's death. It was appreciated. Then we made some export and import agreements. I ordered the same what Kasat used to. I think I didn't get it all right, but Kosha said he can check if it is the same as per usual. Very much appreciated that too.
I think I am beginning to at least accept this job, if not even like it.”
Mayor Likot was returning from the vinyards, carrying a bunch of ripe grapes in her basket to the stocks, walking through the refreshing summer rain.
She was satisfied that her duty as the mayor hadn't taken too much time away from tasks she was more eager to take care of, such as walking amidst the grape vines, picking fruit and taking a small sampling now and then. She was satisfied with her new quarters in the upper levels of the still-not-yet-opened-inn, which was supposed to be the new town hall at the same time. Now, finally after all these years, the place was being put into proper use: the mayor's office was there and Atír, the new broker, had an office and quarters there, too.
However, Likot was a bit disappointed at her forgetting that a guild hall had been promised to be built for the farmers. And the deadline came with nothing being completed. Thus, the project was abandoned for now, much to the chagrin of the farmsfolk. It was a stupid mistake from her, something she had hoped to avoid, but such is life: when you get a new responsibility and are not yet familiar with it, things like this are bound to happen. After all, she had no guidance on how to do things properly.
'Oh, if I would've only written it down somewhere!', she scolded herself,
'I must compensate for this somehow...'
Autumn arrived in Waterlures and with it came the merchants from Ustuth Ďdath and the outpost liaison Tirist Brasshandles.
Tirist lumbered across the wooden platforms above the lake, his massive amounts of fat shaking with every footstep. He was soaking wet, thanks to the typical rainy weather of the capybara village. His very long moustache and double-braided grey beard were sticking to his clothes and his protruding eyes had a sour look in them. He appeared to not be in the best of moods.
Huffing and puffing, he walked around Waterlures, searching for the 'Baroness'.
'Now where is that fat woman?', he grumbled in his thoughts,
'I want to get over this dreary business as fast as possible and leave this dump.'
He was surprised when the locals told him to head to the upper floors of the 'town hall' and meet with the mayor. He was accustomed to the so-called baronial quarters, which seemed like a more appropriate place for a dwarf of his station to meet up with his peers (though, one could hardly call Kasat a peer -- she was stripped of her nobility, after all).
Begrudgingly he headed to the large wooden building, walking up the narrow steep stairs, panting when halfway up. He certainly was not accustomed to bear his weight for such long distances, which made him ever the grouchier.
From the journal of Mayor Likot Languagehame22nd of Limestone, 367“I met with Tirist from the Mountainhome.He looked a bit sour at first and kept asking for Kasat. He didn't know the news, so I told him of the unfortunate departure of our Kasat from this realm into the domain of Ôsed. His disposition changed immediately. He went all silent and solemn, offering his condolences on behalf of the whole of the Dwarf Realm! Kasat must have been a very liked and loved figure among the higher strata of Ustuth Ďdath! Maybe I too will some day have the honor to visit Inkedwhims -- perhaps I'll catch a glimpse of the Unaging King himself!In any case, we went through the (apparently) usual stuff: imports, exports and news from the larger world (nothing worth of note had happened, he said). Afterwards, I mentioned that we have just completed a mausoleum for Baroness Waxedtiles and a funeral procession will be held before winter comes.I welcomed Tirist to stay for the event. He said he'd do his best to be still around at that point. It would be an honor to have someone of such a high rank attending!”
8th of Sandstone, 367(Background music for the scene)It was late evening, the sky was dark, the heavy clouds blocking what remained of the last light of the day. A heavy rain poured down from the skies, as if Ôsed herself was weeping. The quartzite road was slippery as Yawo walked up the hill carrying the unmoving body of Kasat, draped in the finest of robes Waterlures had to offer.
The way to the new central mausoleum was lined with citizens of Waterlures, all sad, but standing straight, trying to be as dignified and proper as possible in the damp weather -- it is something Kasat would have expected and wanted from them. There was Ova the mandrill man, Shebi the badger woman, Kib, Kasat's eleven year old daughter cuddling Shebi's cat Inod, fourteen year old Unib the milker and seven year old Ustuth, Kasat's son, on the left side, while on the right side stood little Ňnul with Edzul -- another of Kasat's children -- between Logem and Dodók who was next to the younger Logem, one more of the offspring of the baroness.
The halls of the mausoleum were lined, too, with the folk of Waterlures, but the outpost liaison was not to be seen -- no, he had headed to the statue garden on the hill to talk with the human representative who was still around. It was a shame that neither of them took part in the procession.
But Yawo paid no heed to such trivial matters. She had no love for the ways of the civilized, and though she was unmoved by Kasat's death, she truly had treasured the company of the baroness. She was the only one who she would have called a true friend in the village -- well, there was the wombat man, of course --and she had lost her.
As Yawo entered the tomb proper, the others followed suit, all silent except for the songs of mourning that the capybara children began to sing in unison.
When the songs subsided, each went one by one to say their final farewells to Kasat who lay in the masterfully made obsidian coffin prepared by the wombat man 'Bob' for this occasion.
Finally, Ďteb the gorlak prophet spoke, “Death is all around us. Our time in the Enchanted Dimensions is brief, but it is not the End.” She stopped to clear her throat before continuing.
“For we all are the Children of the Almighty Rabbit who watches us from Above, from the Stars, and from Within, from the very Earth and Rock itself. And as Her Chosen, our souls are immortal and we are here only to do Her Bidding for that brief moment before we return to Her, to join Her as the Stars shining so bright in the sky at night.”
“And Kasat did Ôsed's bidding. She brought you all here: you were all dispossessed, landless and oppressed by the Unaging King, by the servant of the Harbinger of Chaos and Death. A King who serves not the people, but only himself and his Dark Prince, the Bane of All Souls Pure. One who is not fit to be King, one who has forsaken the Ways of the Rabbit. But Kasat saw that there was more to life than living under the King's Heel.”
“Kasat had the courage to Dream and not only Dream, but make them True. Not for herself, but for all of You. For all who consider themselves the Children of Ôsed. It was the Rabbit who Guided Kasat in all her doings, but it in the end it was up to Kasat to bring it all to Fruition.”
“And that she did: we all are here. We have homes. New lives. Families. Growing families. We are growing. We are safe. We will remain safe. We will remain to grow. We will remain here. We will continue to keep the forces of the Prince at bay. We will win. And Ôsed's Plan will be completed by Her Chosen: us.”
“Now, let us Pray...”
The mausoleum: made of marble with a roof of brass.
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Okay, came out longer than was supposed to be. So, didn't get to the end of the year like intended (but almost to winter, which I'll speed through, unless something special happens).
A bit of a hassle arranging the funeral scene with burrows and temporary meeting halls, but turned out ok, I guess (don't usually "fake" scenes, but thought this warranted some special attention).
Not really much else to say. Tried out some background music for the funeral scene. Hope you liked the choice (if you listened to it). If you want, I could do that more often -- not all the time, but for special situations like this.
I've always felt that the cultures in DF, while pseudo-medieval and based somewhat on European stuff, are more close to Central Asian or Siberian or something. Especially when checking all the procgen music and clothing: lots of dresses, robes and togas (though could be from pretty much any cultures, Western Europe included). That's one reason why the choice of Khakassian music (there's also some similarities with the region's history and our capies).
Should try to draw something some day, but we'll see... Probably won't happen any time soon.
Yeah, maybe I'll just stop rambling for now.
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Topic: Waterlures - A Capybara Man Fortress & Adventure [DF 0.47.05] (Read 83718 times)