Rehny could hear the steady beat of hundreds of drums as he and the Thirty Seventh Legion approached the outer gate of Binoria. The drum beats were always met with jubilation and song as the Binorians prepared to welcome those bringing back wealth from the Gift giving with the Talisi. The drums were a signal to the city saying, "They are back! Vacate your homes and crowd the Bronze path to marvel and rejoice at the wealth earned by Binoria!" It was a signal that charged the whole city with excitement as throngs crowded the streets to welcome their heroes. Rehny chuckled. The people of Binoria are in for a shock. He thought.
Lutes, hundreds upon hundreds of lute strings were strung to fill the space between each drum beat. As his horse inched closer to the gate so did the sound of jubilation grow in intensity until the very ground vibrated with the city's energy. Rehny rode beside Princess Dahli at a slow pace set by Desan's retinue. Before him was Prince Desan, lying unconscious on a stretcher with four legionnaires hefting the Prince's weight between them and leading the way into the city.
Behind him marched the Thirty Seventh Legion with their heads bowed in shame. A return from a Gift giving would have had the Legions (in this case Legion) involved in the whole ceremony brimming with pride as they carried the gifts from the Talisi back into the city. The Legion Captain would lead his men beside the highest rank with his head held high and a smile plastered on his face as he waved at the welcoming crowd.
The Thirty Seventh Legion's Captain had remained behind in Binoria by request of the King to foresee preparations for the upcoming war with the Remu. It was Rehny's job now to take up the mantle of Captain and do the smiling and waving, he would rather eat from a chamber pot than participate in such tomfoolery. His eyes observed the unconscious Prince ahead of him, Desan's sword lay on his chest with its hilt beneath his right hand that was bandaged in linen that had been dipped in cerate and oil, his left arm had been bandaged in the same fashion where it had been fractured in an effort to minimize the damage until he could be seen by the Royal medic for splintering.
Desan's face was a mess, it looked like a Telinete rhino had sat on it. He had a broken nose, missing teeth, both his cheekbones were broken and his eyes were swollen shut. One look at him and you'd have mistaken him for someone who'd been attacked by bees and had escaped them by throwing himself off a cliff face first. The field medic had only been able to handle Desan's arm, ribs and fingers and had declared that there was little he could do for the Prince's face and that it was something that could be better handled by the Royal medic.
"Bless Meena, bless Meena,
Her grace is our quiver,
Our arrows are fashioned from Her favor,
Her wrath is our sword and the realm knows,
We shoot and never miss, we swing and never miss,
Oh Lavifan, Oh Lavifan, you never miss, never miss."
The singing could be heard as the outer gate slowly opened to welcome them. The Binorians had switched the words Oh King, Oh King to Oh Lavifan, Oh Lavifan. In honor of Desan. Rehny turned his head to observe Princess Dahli who rode beside him on her magnificent white steed. Her chin was tilted up and her grey eyes sparkled with malicious excitement.
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"We should send Desan to the palace ahead of us under the cover of night to prevent him from being seen by the citizens of Binoria." Rehny had advised Dahli the previous day in an effort to preserve the Prince's dignity and save face.
"No, I think the people of Binoria seeing him would be good for him in the long run. It would teach him to be less flamboyant and cut back on ostentation." Dahli had replied.
"But If the city saw him as he is right now his image would be tarnished." Rehny had argued. "Not to mention how humiliated your father would be."
"Nonsense, Desan is the Lavifan. The city will rejoice to see their great one return with scars, it'd be a sign of strength and father will be proud." Dahli had replied.
"What? What scars? The boy is disfigured not to mention unconscious! He looks like a trampled corpse for fucks sake!" Rehny had been outraged but his words had fallen on deaf ears. In fact, Dahli had orchestrated the opposite of his advice by having everyone march behind Desan's stretcher in the light of day as they made their way to Binoria.
The Kolotian had been placed in the middle of the Legion to hide him from the Binorians incase riot broke out and revenge was sought over the state of the Prince. The silk and gold chests followed at the end of the Legion where Rehny was sure nobody would even care to look provided Binoria's attention would be at the front where their precious Lavifan lay like a sack of Galiu meal.
The City guard were at the gate as usual, ready to receive and escort the Binorian heroes who'd completed their objective for the glory of Binoria. The legionnaires carrying Desan entered the gates first and several City guards let out audible gasps.
"Gods!" Exclaimed a round balding man dressed in red and gold leather whom Rehny assumed was the Chief of the City guard. The City guards stood wide eyed on either side of the beginning of the Bronze path that led from the outer gate to the palace. They were to escort them to the palace and keep the crowds from swarming them as they made their way but it appeared the sight of Desan had frozen them in place.
A child with Centala flowers who was smiling widely broke free of the startled City guard's barrier and raced to drop Centala flowers before the leading retinue but upon seeing Desan the boy fainted and had to be dragged off the Bronze path lest he got trampled. Several women positioned on either side of the Bronze path swayed their hips to the rhythm of the drums and lutes while singing "Oh Lavifan, Oh Lavifan." But as the Lavifan crossed their line of sight on the stretcher he lay upon the women's song was altered to ear piercing screams.
The screams and wails carried on as more took in the sight of the Prince and the singing of those yet to see Desan slowly died down as confusion reigned. The Legion marched towards the palace and Centala flowers dropped from the hands of children to lay at their own feet as their smiling faces broke into anguished cries at the sight of the Prince. The drums quieted down and not a lute string could be heard as jubilation turned into sorrow and joy to grief. Rehny didn't mind the transformation, in fact, he found it very familiar as the state of the city sort of mirrored how he usually felt inside. For once it felt good to have something in common with Binoria.
Rehny observed Princess Dahli, she looked unfazed by all that was going on and the ghost of a smile traced her face but avoided her eyes. She was obviously battling not to show evident glee at Desan's misfortune. Rehny turned his head to observe the Legion marching behind him, the men looked like they wanted to dig a hole and burry themselves in It. Rehny was about to turn his eyes back onto the Bronze path ahead of him till he caught sight of the Kolotian. Ishar was smiling and laughing while waving at the Binorians flanking the Bronze path.