Caligus/The Eyes of Carter
Cartor entered the Cathedral, a high and impressive structure, with his two surviving bodyguards. Unlike the other, he was not dressed in knightly suits for festivities as the others. He and his men were wearing heavy armour, heavy steel shoulder-plates covered with the fur of a bear, and on the chest the red lion on a orange background, the symbol of Caligus. The guests standing at the immediate inside of the portal of the Cathedral took a step back out of surprise, and the others heard the heavy sounds of the metal echoing through the heights of the Cathedral, and focussed on the three men.
Cartor looked around, and admired the Cathedral for a moment, he had spend much time in it when he was still the Duke of Domus, and found himself appraising what the servants have done with it for the funeral. Several torches and candlesticks were illuminating the huge room, bur leaving the ceiling untouched, as if suggesting what the unknown will yield for Eagles Reach. Everybody was dressed in their knightly suits and gowns, and these were most of the time orange to represent the colour of Caligus, the flames of the torches playing on the orange clothes projected the colour on every wall and the smoke that floated in the room. Cartor gazed at the effect, an odd look from an apparent rough heavy-armoured Colonel, but soon everybody restarted their conversations.
There were Caligeans, Perdanites, Oligarchians, Ubentians, Fontanese, Ibladeshians, Itoruntians, Sirionites, even Yssaria had representatives. All unarmed, a sight that put a smile on Cartor’s lips, “The silence is still present…”. In front of the altar the coffin lay, a dark-brown coffin made of the elm tree that stood in the Royal Palace Garden. Cartor had already reached the space where most of the prominent council members were standing, a few glanced at his armour, but understood what he was stating with wearing it, and could neither would disagree. Only the Queen had not yet arrived, but Cartor knew she would not join them this evening, it seemed logical.
The talks dimmed and everybody looked expectantly to the altar when the first strike of the evening clock sounded. A door in the side of the Cathedral opened, a few metres near the place Cartor was standing, and three men with the banners of Caligus came into the room, it was the announcing in of the Queen. Cartor stood more erect and knightly out of respect, and when the sound of the metal was heard throughout the room, everybody did the same following the code of respect and honour.
The Queen made the strides forwards to reach the altar and looked into the room. The entire chamber was covered in pure silence, after a few seconds looking at the coffin, the Queen began to speak. Words floated out of her mouth and filled the room, not a word was lost in the vastness of it nor in the thick smoke it carried, and the words were lived at. Women let tears slip past their closed eyelids and men looked as if slapped in their faces, the defeat was visible in their eyes. Cartor suddenly felt a hand taking his, and when he turned around, he found Erica holding it, tears had covered her face and sparkled in the light of the dancing flames of the torches .
When the speech had ended, all the council members stepped forward, and took hold of each one of the handles of the coffin. Soon the coffin was lifted up and is travelling the room towards the entrance, while it was being carried by a growing number of men, but the silence endured. When they had reached the place they needed to be, the shadow of the old elm tree fell over the guests, and the coffin was gently placed on the ground near a grave. Everyone stepped back from the coffin to create an open space, in which, one by one, nobles came forward for their last words.
When it was Cartor’s turn, he walked towards the coffin and looked at it. “I will die in your name, my friend, that is my promise. I see all these people, and I feel the silence, I will end it my dear friend, I will end the silence and let your name by spoken again.” Cartor unbuckled his dagger and threw it into the hole that was dug, as a sign of never-ending loyalty of a soldier to his general. He stepped back into the mass of people and took Erica by her hands, “This is nothing like Dzikun.” She looked up and nodded, “I know, but it is you I’m worried about, please do not die, I would not survive the pain.” Cartor took her into his arms and held her, but he did not reply.
When everybody of the guests had said there last words, the coffin was lifted up again and dropped gently into the grave, upon the many daggers that lay on the soil. When the diggers began to fill the hole, people began to leave. A beautiful shrine was standing twenty metres from the grave to be placed upon it, a memory for Eagles Reach.
