Enlightened Empire

Chapter 419: Funerary Festival (1 - Start of Book 7)

Unlike other rituals for the dead from around the world, Medala's Funerary Rites were not only about dealing with loss, or about remembrance. Rather than treating the dead like they were lost, Medala's funerals treated them like warriors going into battle. After all, their beliefs told them that the dead would make a long, arduous journey through the underworld, until they joined the stars in the sky.

Thus, writing eulogies on the dead was considered pointless. By the time of the funeral, the dead would already be on their way, so they wouldn't even hear the celebrations in their name. In the end, most bereaved would just remember their dead in shrines and private beacon lights long after the funeral, once they believed the dead had completed their journey.

Rather than death or remembrance, decay itself took center stage for much of medalan funeral proceedings. Since the medalans believed that the state of the body's decay equated to the dead's progress on their journey, faster decay symbolized smoother travels. Thus, those who could afford it would use expensive methods to help speed up the journey.

In many cases, the dead would be covered with a wet cloth, sometimes even soaked in sugar water. Of course, these methods were only accessible for the very rich. Ordinary commoners could not afford such luxury as sugar. Even an ordinary piece of cloth was a valuable item in normal families, not to mention the sorts of shrouds the rich would use, ornate and covered with scenes from their lives or fancy weapons or companions who were meant to help the dead on their path.

On top of that, the quickly rotting bodies would have to be buried deep underground to prevent diseases. Thus, any proper burial would cost even more. Often, the noble houses of Medala even had their own family crypts or monuments, which was even more out of the question for a commoner family. All they could usually afford was a nameless spot in a mass grave, a simple hole in the ground.

This time however, things were different. In an open field south-east of Saniya, in late spring during the seventh year of the Era of Strife, the largest funeral in the history of Medala was being held, and no expenses had been spared. Much unlike the grand spectacle of the occasion, most of the dead were commoners, much to the shock of the established powers in the north.

One day very soon, this plot of land would be transformed into Medala's first public university. While the rebellion of the lords and the subsequent civil war had caused the construction to halt for half a year, the war was now over, so work would soon resume.

For now however, this area would serve as a place of remembrance for all those who had fallen in Sachay's civil war. As it was a planed and cleaned piece of land close to Saniya, it had been deemed the ideal spot.

At the moment, the young high priest Watachay, the man who had stepped out of Rapra Castle engulfed in lightning together with the king half a year earlier, was finishing up the rites for the fallen of the war.

Massive banners of cotton were draped over the dead soldiers who had been lined up in long rows, and then the cloth was sprinkled with sugar water. All of it was done by one single priest, the young Watachay, alone. As he walked along the rows of the fallen and generously wetted their covers, he spoke of the names and lives of every single man. One by one, he made those present in the audience aware of what had been lost. Despite his youth and good health, the priest was already exhausted, and his muscles and throat sore from the work which had already taken from morning till evening.

Every time an entire row of deceased had been covered and moistened, the dead would be let into the earth by their fellow soldiers who had survived the ordeal of the past year. After, the dead would be covered with soil by apprentice priests. Some time after today, a solid stone floor was planned to be built as a cover for this particular mass grave. Metal plaques would be inlaid into the stone to commemorate all those who lay here. Though of course, most bodies from the war never made it back home.

Due to logistical issues, and due to concerns over potential plague outbreaks, most soldiers who had died during the siege of Antila had long been buried in mass graves across the Anticasa Pass by this point. While the soldiers had dug trenches to save their lives on the front line, they had also dug graves in the back to save their souls. During the worst, most costly days of the war, the bodies even had to be burned, since there had not been enough manpower left for even a basic burial.

Though of course, these soldiers hadn't been forgotten in this, the largest funeral in Medala's history. Compared to the graves of the fallen, which only the friends and family of the dead cared about, the real centerpiece of this funeral was the large statue which had been erected to honor all those who had fought for the future of their country, whether or not their bodies were present. Of course, another monument was planned near Antila, but it was nothing compared to the splendor which had been constructed here.

A large pool had been built in an open plaza of the future university, filled with one hundred fake fish cast from bronze. From the center of the pool, a large figure rose, made up of carved soldiers in the uniforms of Saniya and Antila. Mixed in between them were also many other classic symbols of death, like ravens and turtles. Supported by these good omens, the carved men strove upwards, their hands and eyes reaching towards the sky, the goal of their journey.

In addition, dozens of small beacon shrines had been erected along the sides of the monument, meant for the bereaved to mourn their fallen family members, whether or not they had been buried here. Of course, many families would erect their own beacons at home as well, but not everyone had the money to do so.

Thus, the beacons were a gesture of inclusion for those who could not afford to construct their own shrines. Even more, there were many soldiers who had died in this war without leaving behind any family at all. Thus, every shrine would also get regular visits from apprentice priests, who would clean the shrines, the monument, and pray for the fallen of the war, especially those who had no one else to pray for them. It was the first hint at social security in Medala. If nothing else, those who had died for their country would at least be taken care of in death.

Much money, as well as innovative building techniques, had been used to make sure the statue and the beacons would be finished in time. Yet this was only the most obvious expense of today's grand celebrations.

Throughout the day, over one hundred thousand people had come to stand witness, all of whom had received food and drink for free as well. Thus, it had become the largest funeral in Medalan history, with no comparison. In addition, it was also a massive show of wealth from the King of the South, as well as proof of his care for his soldiers, and the commoners under his rule.

Though for now, the king himself was still surprisingly absent from the proceedings. Of course, he couldn't be asked to stand out in the sun for an entire day and listen to a priest drone on all this time. Not only was he a busy man who had only just returned from a long and grueling military campaign, he was also — through the nature of the lighting miracle — at least an equal to the reformed Pacha faith's high priest. As both of them had stepped through the lightning at the same time, their religious status was the same in the minds of the people.

Thus, Corco couldn't stand at attention while Watachay did important work, since it would have harmed his prestige, or so Fadelio had explained. No, the king could only appear at the end of the funeral, to hold his own speech, and show some simple gestures of respect and condolences towards the fallen. Afterwards, he would lead the prayers for the dead into a celebration of victory, which would last all night. At some point, he would also distribute some medals to the heroes of the war.

With a few simple actions, he would thus put an official end to the times of war in the south, hopefully ringing in long days of prosperity instead. Though for now, he still had to wait until Watachay got done with his burial business.

Since he couldn't appear himself, the king was still hidden within one of the unfinished university's already completed buildings. In here, he was supposed to prepare for his grand entrance. Though he had a hard time focusing on his preparations, since months of work on the road had eaten away at his patience, and he was distracted by the company by his side.

At the moment, there were only two people left in the king's dressing room. Normally, dressing the imperial family would have been work for Corco's personal servants. However, the king of the south had never really liked getting dressed by others in the first place. Today, his appearance was especially important, so he had reluctantly accepted their service at first. In the end however, he had sent them all out anyways, since they would only have gotten in the way of the long-awaited reunion between husband and wife.

"Are you alright?" Corco asked as he sorted out his long robes. For the ritual, he had put on fancy silk of purple, with a woven artist's motif of the underworld at the bottom and a starry sky above. The robe alone probably cost more than the yearly income for ten medalan families. On top of that, he was meant to wear his royal paraphernalia, including his cheap crown. At the moment however, all of his accessories were lying around who knew where, and his nice robe loosely hung on his frame in disorder. As he stared into a fancy mirror and plucked at the cloth in a vain attempt to make himself presentable again, a voice glowing with satisfaction finally replied to him from behind.

"Yes, I am very well."

Past his own reflection in his mirror, he could see his wife Sumaci, her clothes and hair as tousled as his own. Although they had to prepare for their own part in the funeral soon, they still had taken out the time to enjoy their own reunion after months apart.