Chapter 77: Chapter 71 – Marriage of an Emperor

"A peculiar aspect of Al-Shan culture when compared to mainland cultures was how they still actively sought after their parent's blessings for marriage. A practice mostly discarded in the mainlands in this day and age. Filial piety was considered one of the highest virtues for the Al-Shan people." - Anonymous Historian studying the Al-Shan culture.

 

Xain's wedding was held in the morning the next day, on a stage built by a seaside cliff, which granted the venue an amazing view. The choice for a seaside venue was rather unorthodox, as imperial weddings were usually held within the palace itself, but since Cal had been informed of the planned events, she knew the specific reason for this particular choice.

 

For her part, Cal had dressed in her formal wear and was fully armed, with her halberd held in her left hand, as she escorted Xain towards the stage. The crowd who came to watch the event applauded, and she saw that Samira was already waiting by the stage with a veiled Layla next to her.

 

Al-Shan customs dictated that both the groom and the bride were to be escorted by their parents to their matrimonial altar. Samira had escorted Layla since her husband had passed away during the civil war. On the other hand, Cal was the closest to a parent that Xain had, and as such she took up the parental role on his side.

 

She proudly took on that role and escorted the boy she watched grow up from early infancy until today to the ceremonial altar, where old Halmout as the prime minister presided over the ceremony. The Al-Shan people were not a religious one, and as such marriages for them were typically handled by civil officials. If a member of the imperial family was the one to marry, then it was not uncommon for the emperor or empress to preside over the ceremony.

 

As in Xain's case he was currently the only member of the imperial family left, Halmout as the prime minister received the responsibility to preside over his marriage as the highest ranked civil official.

 

Once Cal had delivered Xain to the altar, she exchanged nods and clasped hands with Samira, as a symbol that the parents approved of the union between the children. Xain and Layla held their hands together as they faced Halmout and repeated the solemn bridal vows after him word for word.

 

"And thus, I pronounce you, Xain Haroone, and Layla bin Mansoor, as husband and wife. May none lesser than death itself do this bond apart." Intoned Halmout solemnly as he recited the ceremonial words.

 

Xain raised Layla's veil, embraced her, and kissed her deeply as custom dictated. Cal and Samira clapped their hands in celebration, and the crowd that watched followed their lead. It was at this moment that the event planned for the wedding took place.

 

Many of the spectators suddenly screamed in alarm and fright as a massive, bulbous head rose above the seaside cliff, though order quickly reasserted itself when the guards calmed them down. The fact that none of the important people looked even the slightest bit flustered helped calm the populace down.

 

Bewildered, the spectators watched as two massive tentacles - each thicker than even the main mast of the empire's greatest ships - rose in the air, a long, dainty, finely woven shawl held tenderly by their tips.

 

The crowd watched half in disbelief as the massive tentacles gently draped the shawl around the shoulders of the newlywed couple. The shawl itself was woven from a rare purplish silk, only produced by certain species of monsters deep beneath the sea. A luxurious fabric only acquired through trade with deep sea merfolk settlements.

 

The multitude of pearls that were tastefully worked as decoration on the shawl made it a present fit for an emperor, and that was what it was. The crowd ceased their staring and clapped uproariously as the gigantic tentacles receded into the sea. The applause only grew wilder as the ancient kraken gave a slight bow-like gesture before it submerged beneath the waves once again.

 

As the applause gradually died off, Xain and Layla made their way towards the tables set for them in the middle of the clearing. At the same time, servants packed the ceremonial altar away, to be replaced by a troupe of dancers from the palace who displayed their craft on the now vacated stage.

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Cal was seated on a long table next to Xain's, with Halmout and Samira across from her. Her group shared her table on account of being her associates, while a few more officials were fitted on Samira's table to make up for the difference. Mustafa and his family, his three teenage adopted daughters, who were in actuality his nieces, sat next to Cal's table, though Hu-Lao was not in sight since he was slated to perform soon.

 

Mustafa's lineage was one of the very few old nobility lineages that survived the purge that followed the civil war. His nieces were still infants and toddlers at the time joined the loyalists, and he was thus allowed to adopt them as his own. His older nephews and other relatives chose to fight to the death and were dealt with accordingly.

 

Those three boisterous girls gave Cal some bad reminders of atrocities committed by her hands during the civil war and the purge that followed, but she shook the thought away as she looked back at Xain's table. She hadn't noticed that Aideen had discreetly placed her hand on her back when she noticed Cal's reminiscing look and channeled some magic to help relax her mind.

 

Hu-Lao and Ishmael - now also one of the higher ranked officers in the empire's army - appeared on stage next in full armor. They presented a martial dance to the emperor. Glaive clashed with spear, as the two danced a tightly choreographed fight that looked to be nothing short of a real one to onlookers.

 

After they retired - both of them had seated themselves at Mustafa's table afterwards - a group of palace musicians took the stage and played, as the feast was served. Servants busied themselves as they served not just the honored guests, but also the thousands of spectators. Meanwhile, in the imperial city teams of servants distributed food and drink for free, so as to allow everyone a taste of the celebrations.

 

First a thick, rich soup of shark's fin with a multitude of seafood was served. Followed by crab meat and innards cooked in its own shell, where it stewed in its own juices. A gigantic fish was slaughtered live before the crowd, before choice parts of its fatty flesh was seared and served to the guests.

 

Poultry was stuffed with various herbs and wrapped with lotus leaves, then encased in clay, in which it was baked. The resultant eggs of clay were broken apart before the diners, and the fragrant aroma spread out as servants unwrapped the leaf package before them.

 

Whole pigs were roasted on spits until their skin crisps to a golden-brown sheen, at which point they were chopped up and served. Small steamed dumplings filled with various meats, seafoods, and vegetables were served in baskets, the massive variety of which teased the taste buds.

 

Gigantic urns of fine wine were opened and poured, as the revelry spread amongst the populace. A revelry that only intensified when Ragiula returned and helped herself to urns of wine, to which many of the crowd drunkenly toasted her.

 

It was not until the sun had set and the two moons appeared in the sky that the crowd slowly dispersed, many helped along by their friends or families as they were too drunk to walk back on their own. That night, Al-Shan celebrated the marriage of their Emperor.

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