Keep The Faith Ch. 25: A Coronation
Joey blinked awake. His vision was bleary. Faint sunlight filtered in through the windows and birds sung brightly. Slowly he stretched and tossed the covers off. His communicator clattered to the ground noisily; he had forgotten he’d dropped it beside himself when he dozed off.
He swung his feet over the bed, and glanced at his ruined shirt from last night and groaned. Great. Now he only had one shirt he could wear. Not that he really needed one. It was plenty warm enough in the jungle.
Then, he realized why he had woken up despite the early hour and his earlier exhaustion. An incessant knocking was coming from his door. “Joey, I know you’re awake now,” came Hade’s voice. “I can hear you moving around. Open the door please.”
He fell back into his bed with a thump and debated just ignoring her and going back to bed. Hade, apparently reading his mind, began to knock louder. “I’m just gonna keep going,” she said. “Now open this door.”
Reluctantly, Joey stood up and opened the door. Hade nodded gratefully, then she stepped inside. “Oh, yeah, uh-huh,” Joey muttered. “Just go ahead and invite yourself right in.” “Apologies,” she said. Her hair was done up in an elaborate series of braids and twists. Distantly, Joey wondered how early she must have gotten up to do that. “But we’re on a bit of a tight schedule here.”
Joey noticed she had something bundled in her hands and he pointed towards it. “What’s that?” “Oh, it’s for you, my lord,” Hade said. “Just the proper formal clothes. I had Tairon help me adjust them, so hopefully they should fit. Go ahead and change and then meet me by the edge of Ichibi Umbusulwa. Quickly, please. I need to change as well, so I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
She handed Joey the bundle and he took it, surprised by her formality. She bowed slightly, and then stepped back out of his treehouse and into the jungle. After a moment of staring at the now closed door, he turned his attention to the pile of clothes in his arms.
“Well,” he muttered to himself. “Best to do what she says, I guess.” Quickly, he changed into a skirt (kilt?) and began to pull on the heavy collar. There was no shirt with the outfit, and Joey wondered if he was supposed to wear the one he’d bought last week. Eventually he decided against it. It would already be hot enough in this necklace anyways.
The collar seemed to be the centerpiece of the whole thing. It was made of plated gold, with a ring of deep blue and green stone inlaid in it. Dull red rocks were inlaid at the top of the collar, as well as small nuggets of what looked like copper. Bright parrot feathers hung from the bottom of it. It was beautiful.
Once Joey was dressed, he made his way towards the lake. The jungle seemed oddly quiet, even for the hour. As he passed by the village, he realized it was because there was no one there. Eventually, he reached the edge of the lake and saw why the village was empty.
Everyone in his empire was standing around the edge of the lake, clearly dressed in their finest clothes. At their head stood Hade. She was wearing a long silk dress, the fabric dark and fine. The bottom was embroidered with dark orange flames, a bright contrast against the dark green of the fabric. Images of birds lined the seam between the bodice and skirt and the edges of the sleeves were lined with embroidered leaves. It was a beautiful dress. She’d placed parrot feathers in hair, tucking the bright colors securely into her braids
As Joey approached, everyone but Hade kneeled. He glanced at her, unsure. “Welcome to your coronation, my lord,” she said, just loud enough for him to hear. Then she bowed deeply. Joey could only stare dumbfounded at the sight of everyone kneeling before him.
“This is…a lot,” he said after a moment. Hade nodded. “It is. But it’s a bit of an important ceremony.” “You look really nice, by the way,” he muttered. “Your hair looks great.”
“Thank you,” she said blushing slightly at the compliment. “It’s been a long time since I’ve done the full regalia. But since I’m the only one who was actually taught any of the old prayers, we figured it was best if I blessed the coronation. Now, kneel please.”
Joey did so, and Hade began. Her voice carried across the jungle, and even the birds were quiet.
“.几山ㄖ ɿυㄖγ ƨɒ 爪丨ʜ ɈɊɘɔɔ卂 .几ㄖ丨Ɋ爪ɒʜɔ ɿυㄖ ɘɈɒɿɔɘƨ几ㄖɔ ɘ山 ɘ爪ɒ几 ɿυㄖγ 几丨 .几ㄖ丨ɈɔɘɈㄖɿɊ ɿυㄖγ ʇㄖ γɈ丨ɿυɔɘƨ ɘʜɈ 乃几ɒ ɘɿ丨ʇ ɿυㄖγ ʇㄖ ʜɈ爪ɿɒ山 ɘʜɈ ƨυ Ɉ几ɒɿӘ .ɘㄥɈ几ɘϱ ɘᗪ γɒ爪 ƨ几丨ɒɿ ɿυㄖ 乃几ɒ ɘㄥ丨Ɉɿɘʇ ɘᗪ γɒ爪 ƨ乃ㄥɘ丨ʇ ɿυㄖ ɈɒʜɈ ƨυ ƨƨɘㄥઘ .ɘɔɒɘɊ 乃几ɒ γɈ丨ɿɘɊƨㄖɿɊ ƨυ Ɉ几ɒɿϱ ㄖɈ υㄖγ 几ㄖɊυ ㄥㄥɒɔ ɘ山 .ƨυ ƨƨɘㄥᗪ ㄖɈ ɿɘ山ㄖɊ ɿυㄖγ 几ㄖɊυ ㄥㄥɒɔ ㄖɈ ɘɿɘʜ 乃ɘɿɘʜɈɒϱ ɘɿɒ ɘ山 γɒ乃ㄖɈ ,ɿㄖ乂Ǝ”
She dipped her hands into the lake, and cupped a handful of the clear water. Slowly, she poured it over the top of Joey’s head, letting it pour over his shoulders.
“.几υƨ ɘʜɈ ƨ乃ɿɒ山ㄖɈ ƨυ 乃ɒɘㄥ 乃几ɒ ,ɘɿ丨Ɋ爪Ǝ ɘʜɈ ʇㄖ 几ㄖ丨Ɋ爪ɒʜƆ ,ɘƨ丨ɿ 山ㄖИ .乃几丨ʞ 乃几ɒ ɘɿυɊ ɘᗪ ㄖɈ ㄥυㄖƨ ƨ丨ʜ ɘɿɒㄥɔɘ乃 乃几ɒ ɘʞɒㄥ 乃ɘɿɔɒƨ ɿυㄖγ ʇㄖ ƨɿɘɈɒ山 ɘʜɈ ʜɈ丨山 爪丨ʜ γʇ丨ɿυɊ ɘ山”
Joey rose, the small speech having ended. Hade bowed to him once again, then she turned and marched into the jungle. He followed after her, as did his people. After a moment, they came to the steps of the Town Hall. Hade climbed to the top and Joey stood just a step beneath her.
Beneath them the crowd gathered, looking up expectantly. From a small podium behind her, Hade produced a circlet of gold. A large emerald sat in the center of it. Joey bowed his head, and Hade placed the circlet firmly on his brow. Then, he turned to face his people as she proclaimed, “I present to you Emperor Joey Graceffa of the Lost Empire”
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My God…
How long has it been since I was last here?
Er, you guys may have known me years ago by my other blog: fandomwanderer
Felt like a lifetime ago if I’m being honest.
Not gonna go into why I deleted my old blog, that’s a rather personal tale I don’t wanna get into.
But yeah… I’m back, in a much better state of mind compared to years ago.
So… hey everyone 🤟
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