Pomp and Circumstance of Glorious War

Requiem of the Moth S02 C12

Content warnings¹

Usira sleeps fitfully. It’s as if his body has realised he’s alone and decided to be constantly vigilant.

Yes, he has been on solo hunting expeditions but never on the Zillia Downs, never this far from his family. The Downs are too dangerous to hunt alone and the Isvalri take care of each other.

He knows sleep keeps him healthy and strong, along with food and drink, but he can’t stop his mind running off into painful directions once he closes the tent flap and then his eyes. Whether he will survive on his own. Where he should go. What he should do. How he could earn money. Perhaps he could cook. Preparing the moths they catch has never been his area of expertise but he remembers the basics. He can make simple campfire meals. Surely cooking follows the same pattern, no matter the ingredients.

He decides he will learn more and be a cook. Offer his services to a merchant caravan, then settle down… somewhere far away.

When Selin finds him after two sleepless twists, Usira fears he might be hallucinating.

Then he is relieved he doesn’t have to become a cook after all.

---

His eyes water when he sees the green-blue lights of the city. Silently, he thanks the Moth. No matter what happens next, he is grateful for getting to see his home, his family again.

Selin has been infuriating in his lack of useful answers. “The true culprit has been found. You’ll be cleared of all charges as soon as you’re back.” Who is the true culprit? How have they been found? What about their reputation?

No answer.

The long way back to Kandamsin gives Usira ample time to contemplate possibilities, come up with his own scenarios and turn them over in his mind.

Which is why he is not surprised when, after passing the gates, he is handed over to two hooded servants, separated from Selin and led through the winding corridors of a familiar government building. He is also not surprised when he is shown inside a parlour and the lone silhouette standing by the fireplace turns out to be Noe Yun.

Noe Yun who has snatched away the proof they gathered on the Downs and with it, any chance of redeeming their reputation. Noe Yun who has only ever sought to maximise his own power. Noe Yun who has been distant and cold. Noe Yun who looks at him with unreadable ember eyes now.

“You,” Usira whispers.

The smooth dark walls echo his voice back at him.

One corner of Yun’s mouth quirks upward. He keeps the scarred side of his face angled away. “Welcome home.”

“This is not my home. What am I doing here?” Usira has learned his lesson—twice. He can’t think of a reason why Yun would jump in to save him now. Even if he did though, Usira certainly won’t fall to the Vessi’s feet in gratitude.

The half-smile fades. He beckons Usira closer to the fire. “I did what I could on my own but you’re not entirely out of danger yet. I have a proposition. Your fate, and by extension your family’s fate, will depend on your answer.”

“Anything to help my family.”

“It might… no, it will most certainly change your life forever.”

It’s not like Yun to hesitate. When Usira steps closer, he notices Yun’s outfit: finest silvery-white silk, the sleeves of ceremonial length but unadorned. He wears only his family amethyst ring—the one Usira returned before his flight—and earrings with pale teardrop-shaped pendants. His bone-white hair is piled on top of his head with a few braids artfully falling over his cheek, trailing down his back. “Why are you dressed like that?”

Yun lacks his characteristic sharp irony. Instead, he radiates… sadness? No, that can’t be it. Surely Usira’s exhausted mind is playing tricks on him.

“It’s the only solution we could think of. I’ll ask again: Do you mean it?”

Usira wonders about that we but there are more pressing concerns. “Anything. Still, I’d like to know what it is I’m agreeing to.”

“You will in a moment. Come with me.”

Wrought-iron double doors open onto a raised black marble platform. The dimly lit hall beyond holds a crowd in pale finery: clanspeople, officials. To the right, an ivory-robed figure stands with her quill poised—a council scribe. There is to be an announcement worth recording.

Yun bows with a flourish of sleeves, elegant clan member from head to toe. “Welcome, all. Praise be to the Deep and the Moth on this happy occasion. Some of you may have heard already but I am pleased to announce that the parasite that has been tormenting us for far too long has been banished from our kitchens and dinner tables for good. The culprit behind the poisonings has been found at last and languishes in captivity as we speak. The investigation is still ongoing as his true identity and motive remain a mystery as of now. However, I can assure you that his name is not Isvalri.”

Whispers race through the crowd but Yun isn’t finished yet. With another flourish, he indicates Usira.

“On behalf of the Sethri, I shall issue a public apology to the Isvalri and especially to Isvalri Usira, who has been wrongfully accused of poisoning multiple clan members. Usira, know that you have been found innocent.”

Usira bows his head. With every word from Yun, the uneasy feeling in his gut grows but he has been around clanspeople long enough to recognise a show for the masses when he sees one. He will play his part as agreed.

“I cannot begin to express the shame of these wrongful accusations. As I was tasked with mediating in this conflict between clans and drip house, I have offered to personally make amends. In their wisdom, the Sethri have approved my suggestion. My apology consists of two pieces: First, I have gained permission for Noe Izo to marry Caxian Lien. It is my sincere hope that clan Caxian, one of the first victims, will accept this apology for their prolonged suffering from the parasite while the investigation was stalled. Second… Usira.”

Yun steps back and faces Usira. Even on this grand stage, he hides his scars behind strands of hair. What has changed, that he is hiding what he has defiantly bared to the light before? Usira focuses on that puzzle, on Yun’s ember eyes to distract himself from the spiking dread.

“Allow me to reforge the bond between our two families, between us.” Yun slides the amethyst ring from his finger and offers it behind his right sleeve—shaded from all eyes and so all the more blessed by the Deep. “Allow me to offer this ring as a token, to express my wish to never cut this bond again in my lifetime.”

Time stutters. Usira forgets the pounding behind his temples, the heaps of dust and sweat in his travel tunic, the lead exhaustion in his limbs. He nearly forgets where he is, where they still are.

Yun holds the ring out to him. Familiar, almost comforting.

Usira doesn’t know who slides it on his finger. Who closes both their hands around it.

A voice rings out over the rising tide of crowd noise. “The Deep has witnessed the forging of a new bond. May it hold as strong as silk, run as true as blood. Rejoice, all, for the joining of these two families.”

Usira doesn’t command his feet to exit the platform and retreat into the parlour but someone is holding his hand, leading him. When his face warms, he realises he is back in front of the fireplace and his thoughts return, slow as steam rising from a hot spring.

When Yun appears at his side, he whirls. The words spoken not a drip earlier echo in his head. The forging of a new bond. The joining of these two families.

What was that? But it’s as clear as the light from a thousand glowshrooms: a public proposal. Usira stares at the ring on his finger, then at Yun.

“By all the moths under the mountain, what have you done?”

Author Notes

And the curtain falls!

For this chapter title, I was surprised to learn that the phrase pomp and circumstance originates from Shakespeare’s Othello Act 3 Scene 3 where the general mourns what he sees as the loss of his glorious military occupation.

O farewell,
Farewell the neighing steed, and the shrill trump,
The spirit-stirring drum, th’ ear-piercing fife;
The royal banner, and all quality,
Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war!
And O you mortal engines, whose rude throats
Th’ immortal Jove’s dread clamours counterfeit,
Farewell! Othello’s occupation’s gone.

Whereas he laments the loss, nowadays pomp and circumstance are associated with excessive ceremony. Elaborate ritual is a big part of Sedrivar society, helping them define their place relative to everyone else’s place, their standing in the world. They would absolutely insist on the ONE right way of making important gestures or honouring important occasions, including… Yun’s proposal.

When worldbuilding specific details, I start by connecting them to the overall concept for the culture they will be associated with. Since the Sedrivar live in underground caves and venerate the Deep, something as important as Yun’s proposal is seen as all the more blessed if carried out in darkness, which is why he presents the ring in the shadow of his long sleeve. Isn’t it a romantic gesture too? For the Sedrivar, sex isn’t taboo like it was and still is in some Christian cultures but there’s still something beautiful and exciting about romance in private.

At the same time, Yun had to make a show out of it because Usira’s reputation was at stake. Reputation being very much a public concept, some sort of grand gesture was necessary. An apology and a proposal of partnership that could be merely professional but could also extend into the private… I hope I was able to strike the right balance.

Still, this particular proposal shouldn’t be seen as representative of how the Sedrivar usually handle this sort of occasion. Since it was so short-notice, I imagine Yun had to bend a lot of rules, involving symbolic ceremony, the blessings of ancestors and living family etc. Usira wouldn’t notice, of course, but other clanspeople might not be happy with this new sleight of hand. Then again, Yun has always done things his way, with little regard for propriety.

What sort of proposal is it really? That will depend on what Yun and Usira make of it. Either way, the next chapter will conclude Requiem of the Moth Season Two. Stay tuned for the aftermath!

1. Mention of parasites