Chapter 2 - Non-traditional Ways

The funeral was a marvellous sight to behold. An event so spectacular that those not from the empire would mistake it for a kind of celebration. In the distance, the bells of Ubbin Falls rang as a caravan is pulled through the dusty streets on the way to the Royal Amphitheatre, the king's body shielded from both the sun and onlookers with pure white linen. Both Gaius and Yasemin, the princess, were responsible for the washing and embalming of the late king's body, to have him dressed in his white tunic and purple robes.

Cassian stood in the middle of the amphitheatre along with the Great Sage, their eyes focused on the party escorting the king's body. The caravan was pulled by two of His Majesty's most magnificent of stallions, horses specifically bred to withstand the tough desert terrains beyond Ubbin Falls; one of the animals was His Majesty's horse that rose with him into his last battle. Behind the caravan, the prince and princess followed, each riding on horseback in a slow pace, and Queen Sophia followed on a steed of her own. Other suitors from the king's harem were on foot, their heads bowed and donning modest white clothing and have veils shielding their faces from the public.

Cassian, as well as the rest of Ubbin Falls awaiting King Darius's arrival, wore the mourning colours. Though, Cassian, like Gaius and Yasemin, wore a makeshift-crown made of weaved olive twigs. Beside the tan of their skins and the greenery from the leaves on their head, no one wore anything of colour. Cassian glanced at the crowd seated around the theatre. In earlier years, the theatre was used for public fights for the entertainment of the nobility, though those who were fighting were neither slaves nor volunteers who made wealthy met bet on the winning champion: the fighting was between the sons of the king of Emberland, fighting each other to death for the throne.

Marriage was against the empire's protocol for the king, as he was seen to be above in status of all of his subjects. The Great Sages of old has excused the sins of polygamy of a king and harems of the most beautiful women were established years prior to Cassian's birth. Though it was the dream of any woman within the harem to birth a son for the king, which was considered to be the highest honour in all of the empire, the only disadvantage of bearing a prince was that he would have to fight his brothers for the throne once the king passed away. It was a public spectacle.

It wasn't until King Darius abolished the law, as he had too much respect for his only brother, Prince Haris, who chose to become a man of knowledge and wisdom. The theatre, since then, has been used for celebrations, and until then, funerals.

The caravan headed to where the pyre was built: a sturdy structure build with olive wood, stone, and hay for easy ignition of flames. On the top surface a sheet was laid out to accommodate the king's body, decorated with both olive leaves and olive fruits, sour grapes from the vine, and beautiful bright flowers from cacti found within the Great Expanse. The passing of the king who abolished fratricide must be a beautiful memoir to those of the empire.

As the caravan stopped, Gaius dismounted and stepped over to help Yasemin from her horse, while the queen's attendees escorted her to a platform, an erected canopy shielding her veiled features from the harsh sunlight. Around the canopy the harem's women stood, mourning their lover's passing.

Cassian was exhausted, yet he forced his posture to be perfect, as he greeted his half-sister.

"You look tired, Brother," Princess Yasemin commented. "Has no one offered aid with the build of the pyre?"

Great Sage Haris cleared his throat when his nephew didn't respond. "If Sir Cassian wasn't stopped, my dear, I feared he might have destroyed the palace gardens near the waterfalls. That would have been a pity!"

Cassian balled his fists, relishing in the uncomfortable pains and cuts of his manual labour. Uncle Haris was right, of course, about him being close to wreak havoc to the palace gardens' conserved olive trees. It was news more shocking to him as opposed to Sophia's hysteria of Gaius not being named heir to the throne, thus he found a temporary vent to his frustrations and hurt by swinging around an axe and chopping down the wood reserved only for a member of the dynasty's funeral. The discomfort he felt in his hands at that moment was nothing compared to the tumultuous agony he experienced from within. If it were up to him, the whole palace could have been torn down to the ground, leaving it to nothing but a mere memory of something that has been.

The princess' dark gaze, identical to the queen's, raked over her half-brother's form. He was indeed the epitome of a great warrior: tall and muscular frame; a frown marring his features that made her think of her stoic father; his unruly, dark hair curling down to his muscular back; a hardened pull around his mouth and his jaw clenched tight. She then compared Cassian to her lanky brother's form, who only started to fill out with the mediocre training he joined with Sir Dante. In her eyes, Cassian, rather than Gaius, was more suited to be king. She cared not for her mother's constant paranoia of Gaius' life. Shouldn't a future king be left free to venture into a world of physical training and matters of state? Yasemin was most certainly the only daughter in the entirety of Emberland to be glad of being born a female. If she were her mother's second son, to what extend would Sophia be driven if she, too, were a prince? She couldn't fathom the possibilities!

Great Sage Haris held up his hand to silence the crowd and to motion for other sages to transfer the late king's body from the caravan to the decorated pyre. His brother's still form was covered with a modest cotton sheet, something he removed once his body was gently laid onto the pyre. The king's heavy arms were still in a crossed position over his chest and the dynasty's trinket still within his hand. Though, his once matted hair was combed, and his beard trimmed to befit the dignity of Emberland's king. A weaved circlet of olive twigs decorated his head, as a circlet of gold was seen as something the new king was to be crowned with.

Cassian observed with a critical eye that the body of the king had long gone stiff, as the hours of his passing has stretched to almost ten. The desert sun blazing down onto the heated ground within the amphitheatre was hot – an indication that noon has already approached. His eyes then met those of Queen Sophia, who glared at him from underneath the canopy she was seated, and he dreaded the fact of more conflict that would possibly arise whilst dealing with her.

"Pay no mind towards her hostile behaviour, Nephew," the Great Sage spoke up next to him in a whisper. "My brother has deemed you worthy of being his successor. If he had not, he would have passed his responsibilities on to your brother."

"Many of the courtiers will oppose my rule," Cassian's answer came gruffly.

Haris snorted. "Those who do not respect their former king's decisions are rather sheep that are influenced by the fear of wolves if trust within the shepherd is yet to be obtained." He folded his arms in front of him. "Who do you think they will flock to once you have proven yourself to defeat their fear of the wolves?"

Cassian did not answer. He just continued to stare in front of him, to his father's lifeless form on the pyre.

"Things were far worse than when my father had named Darius king," the Great Sage continued. "The king worthy of the throne had every obligation to smite other kingly candidates that could pose as usurper. Do you think the courtiers of that time supported your father's decision to spare my life and abolish fratricide?"

"I know all of this," Cassian told him. "I have studied every record about Emberland's history, Uncle."

"Then you ought to know that people do not care for legitimacy, Cassian. Marriage with the king was frowned upon by the people of the empire, as he was seen as the sole ruler of the empire – he needn't not tie himself down to a woman, a foreigner especially!" He stroked his beard thoughtfully. "King Darius has caused quite the commotion and disruption of empirical protocol when he announced his intent to marry Sophia, a woman of common origin, no less!"

Yet she calls every woman of my father's harem a harlot…

Gaius, obviously eavesdropping on the private conversation the Great Sage had with his eldest nephew, sucked in his breath. Of course, it was known that Sophia has worked her way up from concubine to the king of Emberland's wife, however, there never was talk about Sophia being a foreigner with no title. The women that had entered the palace's harem were usually daughters of esteemed noble families within the empire. Foreign slaves usually served those women as maids. Though, if Gaius was affected by his uncle's words, he did not display his displeasure.

"You ought to heed my words as well, Gaius, seeing that you listen so intently to others' conversations." The Great Sage was too wise to not have known of Gaius' eavesdropping. "You may have been raised to believe that Emberland's line of succession is passed down through legitimacy. While in kingdoms beyond the empire's border this proves to be true, Emberland and its culture are well-known for its controversial traditions. It was a privilege, rather than duty, that Darius married your mother once news of her pregnancy reached the king."

"It must be a sign of his devotion to her," Gaius stiffly argued. "Seeing that the mother of my brother was not offered such a proposal. She, too, was in the harem, was she not?"

"Ah, yes, indeed she was, though that matter is something of confidentiality, Prince Gaius. If I had my way, I would have preferred Aerwyna to be queen rather than Sophia." He sighed sadly, as if reminiscing. "They were truly made for each other…"

"Has she not denied the empire's superiority and committed treason? Uncle, I truly question your morals if you wished a traitor to have ruled the harem instead of my mother!"

Cassian felt his ire rising by the slandering of his mother's name, yet that was what was being said of Aerwyna – that she denied His Majesty and the empire's protocol, that she escaped the harem and thus, committed treason. If she were to be found within the empire's borders, she was to be executed and her head sent back to King Darius is a barrel of honey. Although, nothing of the sorts ever happened. Nothing that he knew of. Cassian was branded as the son of a king whose mother abandoned him, but it shocked everyone that the king doted on the child.

Guards closed the gates leading to amphitheatre to signal the start of the official ceremony. Nobles, merchants, workers, and peasants alike, who were already silent once the king was transferred from the caravan to the pyre, regarded the Great Sage with respect. Torches were lit despite being the middle of the day.

"The empire mourns the passing of her king," the Great Sage began his speech. "A family mourns the passing of a father and brother." He deliberately left out the husband part to spite Queen Sophia. "But a time has come for a chapter to be closed and for a new chapter to begin. Our late King Darius heroically expanded our empire's borders, fought bravely to defend our people, and ruled justly. Yet, he was wise to know that once his role within the dynasty has been fulfilled, it was time for a new era to begin. We shall saw our farewells to a great leader."

Great Sage Haris took a lit torch from one of the other sages and held it up high, so that the heated air around the flames rippled. With the gesture, nobles threw gold and small valuables from where they sat while the merchants, workers, and peasants threw to the centre whatever they could: fruits that were in season; bits of bread; salt; wildflowers plucked from the riverbank. All trinkets served a purpose in wishing King Darius farewell, as well as serve as something for someone to take home – gold can be salvaged by the peasants to add to their daily wage, fruit and other edibles can be picked up by the birds. In such a way, King Darius can provide for his empire one last time. Cheers radiated from the crowd as if to celebrate the late king's life and his accomplishments rather than mourning his passing. After all, he was a great king for his subjects.

Cassian stepped towards the pyre on which his late father was laid to rest to stand next to his uncle but bent down over his sire's body and ceremoniously placed a kiss on the king's cold forehead. The torch the Great Sage had held up was passed to the king's eldest son and the old man nodded.

Cassian, torch in his hand, brought it down to the hay. The flames instantly licked greedily at the dry patches of grass and soon, the late king of Emberland was engulfed in a fire, scorching the neatly combed hair and white clothes.

Cassian stood beside it all amongst the smoke with his head bowed, as did everyone else that was present in the amphitheatre. All was quiet except for the crackling of wood and the dancing of flames originating from the pyre. Tall columns of smoke rose to the sky towards the afternoon sun which slowly began its descent towards the west. Somewhere, the faint melody of a lyre can be heard as a tribute to King Darius. The warrior felt the prickling of tears gathering in his eyes. Whether it was from the smoke or mourning his loss, he did not know. He did not care. His father was the only one that had not abandoned him in all his life, who took him under his wing and taught him everything he knew. To imagine his father valued his life so much that he was prepared to give up his own just for Cassian to survive was something beyond the man's understanding.

A hand landed on his shoulder. It was the Great Sage.

"We ought to continue with the ceremony, Nephew."

The younger man was not ashamed for publicly wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Just remember, dear Nephew, that whatever is to happen after your father's funeral, please do heed that it was your father's wishes I carry out for the sake of helping you be the worthy successor your father wished for you to be," the Great Sage continued. "Some things might happen that we have yet to understand, but you ought to have faith and trust in my brother's words."

Cassian frowned at his uncle's riddled words. "What do you mean?"

"We shall speak of it tonight at the temple." Without waiting for Cassian's reply, Great Sage Haris approached the crowd once again.

"Citizens of Emberland! A king's destiny has been fulfilled and a chapter has been closed. Our deepest condolences and prayers will go out to the family of King Darius." The old man then motioned to another sage to bring about something settled onto an elaborate cushion – the golden circlet that was worn by King Darius on the battlefield. "A new chapter has begun for the continuation of the dynasty, and as per His Majesty's wishes written in a sacred will, a new king is to be crowned today before the sun sets in the west."

Cassian felt his heart give a nervous jolt.

No! This is no proper way a new king of Emberland is to be crowned! He can't do that in front of all these people whilst my father's corpse has not yet turned to ash!

The Great Sage smiled at him, though manoeuvred his way over to where Prince Gaius stood with a confused look on his features.

His jet-black hair glistened like silk in the harsh sunlight and his skin, not tanned by the sun like his brother's, formed a stark contrast with the shoulder-length locks. His golden gaze was ablaze like the sun's fire, though uncertainty was evident in his stuttering as his uncle approached him with a stoic expression. The sage carrying the circlet bowed in front of Gaius before Haris took hold of the golden circlet and instructed Gaius to kneel in the sand, before he held the crown up high for all to see.

"From the east to the west; from the Great Expanse to the Azure Depths, I, Great Sage Haris, name you, Prince Gaius, son of King Darius, the new king of Emberland!"

Cassian watched as the circlet was lowered on to Gaius's head and felt a mixture of thoughts coursing through his head.

… please do heed that it was your father's wishes I carry out for the sake of helping you be the worthy successor your father wished for you to be. His uncle's words resonated through his thoughts. Some things might happen that we have yet to understand…

Cassian did not understand.

"Now rise and greet your people, King Gaius!"

"Long live King Gaius!" the crowd cheered.

Queen Sophia practically squealed of happiness. Perhaps the old gloat of a sage did see that Gaius was more worthy of being a king than that ruffian of a bastard. It served him right wanting to take what was her son's by birth right! She saw the subject of her thoughts looking in her direction and gave him a smug smile, before cheering on the harem's women to throw whatever offerings they had left towards their new king.

Of course, these harlots need to enjoy it while celebrations last, she thought dreamily as she regarded the lowly women around her. The very women who attempted to steal the king away from her, the queen, by climbing into the king's bed. Her first petition to her son would be to evacuate the harem and to bring in new, young potential ladies from within the empire for her son to bed. However, to minimise the situation she is in, the harem will be filled with women her son will wed. She needn't use her skills in contraception then to get rid of unwanted bastard children. Just like I had these women believe they were unfit to bear the king children…

Princess Yasemin was as confused as Cassian. She regarded her half-brother with sympathy but didn't dare question her uncle's wisdom. He was the Great Sage, after all, a highly respected individual within the empire. He would not put the line of succession in jeopardy, even if he were threatened with death. She watched as her mother, the queen, enthusiastically motivated the women surrounding her to cheer and rolled her eyes. How much more of a hypocrite could her mother be? She couldn't name all the times Sophia had complained about the women who occupied her father's bed, even if it was much more acceptable to Emberlandian society than the king being married… If it were up to Yasemin, Cassian would have been the perfect candidate. He was much more of a king that Gaius who obeyed every whim of their mother.

The first-born son of King Darius stood amongst the chaos, brooding on his uncle's words. The warrior could not shake off the humiliated feeling despite him constantly reminding himself that a bastard of a king is not worthy of holding a title such as 'king'. Though, he was prevented from slipping away by the Great Sage, who laid a fatherly hand on his shoulder.

"You are not to leave, Nephew," he discreetly stated. "It is expected of you to stand by and celebrate your brother's coronation."

"I thought you respected my father's wishes," Cassian grunted disappointedly. "I'd rather be banished than to be part of this façade."

"I am respecting your father's wishes. Though I, myself, do not understand his reasons for a farce such as this, you ought to recall our traditions, dear nephew." The old man arched an eyebrow at Cassian. "Does crowning a new king after the funeral of another during the day follow the empire's protocol?"

Realisation dawned upon Cassian. "No. As a matter of fact, it goes against it. Why are things following the way it does, then?"

"Trust me, Nephew. King Darius knew of his wife's antagonistic behaviour towards you and her desperate wishes to have Gaius take the throne. It's a selfish greed for power – the moment I placed your father's crown on your brother's head she has already been scheming to deal with the women within the harem, seeking to replace them with younger maidens." He regarded the hypocrite queen cheering alongside the veiled faces of the harem. "Do you not find it uncanny that no other children were born after Princess Yasemin despite the king bedding others?" The Great Sage continued to explain. "It will serve a better purpose for the courtiers and common folk to believe that their new king shall remain within Ubbin Falls for a while until the dust has settled."

"I don't understand," Cassian confessed.

Haris nodded understandingly. "You will, in due time. You are to meet with me at the temple past midnight tonight. Only the most trusted sages and courtiers are to be present. There, everything of your father's will are to be discussed. I fear the longer you and I continue this conversation, the more suspicious we will appear to those wanting to take care of you in the more traditional ways…" The older man glanced over to where the queen, now dowager queen and Queen Mother, had her glance on them like a hawk.

It was when he saw the hateful look within Sophia's eyes that Cassian made sense of the whole scenario of crowning Gaius in public instead of him, his father's preferred heir. The moment King Darius breathed his last breath, Sophia believed that she had all control over the palace with her son a mere puppet in her hands. Thus, by deceiving the dowager queen, Great Sage Haris and the late king had saved the successor's life. If they hadn't thought it through, Cassian would have no longer been alive if it were up to Sophia securing her son's reign.

"Very well," Cassian told his uncle. "I'll play along until our meeting tonight. From tomorrow onwards, I'll no longer tolerate this charade."

With that said, Cassian walked over to Gaius, who was congratulated by various nobles who came to pledge their allegiance and support, even tagging their young daughters along in hopes of them catching the new king's eye. As the older man approached his half-brother the people quietly dissociated themselves from the conversation once they caught sight of the fearsome warrior.

Before Gaius could speak, Cassian pulled him into a brotherly embrace before bowing to him. "Long live King Gaius," he said with a low gruff.

"Thank you, Cassian, but you needn't bow to me. You are my brother. Just like Uncle Haris has supported Father's reign, I trust you, too, will show me yours?"

"Of course," Cassian answered. "For the good and protocol of the empire."

Deep down Cassian knew that once Gaius will start to perform stately duties, Sophia would worm herself into meetings concerning empirical politics. However, if his father had always known that side of her and had a will drawn up to prevent her from annihilating Cassian's role, who was he to question the great King Darius' wishes?