NationStates Jolt Archive

Outside of the Great Halls of Law, in the centre of the capital city Lion's Arch, an enormous crowd had gathered. Charr filled every square inch of the courtyard with their large frames, all of them grumbling deeply about one thing or another. The resulting sound was a strange, continuous humming sound. A few humans stood around the edges of the courtyard. Although they were now supposedly equal in Charr society, this was really a Charr matter, and they knew better than to get in the way of such things. They had come so far in so short a time; the last thing they wanted to do was provoke a slaughter by accidentally disrespecting a Charr event.

The large wooden doors to the Great Halls opened slowly, and an entourage of Charr walked out. All of them wore pure black metal armour, covering every part of their large bodies except for their eyes, which had blacked-out visors over them. The thick metal even covered their horns and various spikes, giving them an almost demonic appearance, and their jaws were obscured by air filtration masks. These were the Black Guardians, honoured warriors who were chosen from birth to be trained in every Charr combat technique that had ever existed, and even some that weren't known to exist by most. Little was known of them, even by government officials, except for the fact that they were to be honoured, respected, and above all else, feared. It was often said that they were possessed by the Fiery Gods themselves, and wielded their full destructive power, though this was a myth almost as ancient as the Order of the Black Guardians itself. They were rarely seen by civilians, and their true movements were unknown even to most Council members. Yet nearly two dozen of them stood before the crowd.

Silence befell the courtyard as the Black Guardians stood between the crowd and the Great Hall, waiting patiently and motionless. Eventually, from the doors of the Great Hall, Bonfaaz Burntfur emerged, striding powerfully towards a podium at the top of the stairway. The crowd made a noise once more, destroying the silence with a bellowing roar.

"Honoured Charr! Bonfaaz roared into a large microphone, silencing the crowd again. "Hear my words! Today, I bring you news of great importance. As of yesterday, Honourable Clan Leader Reekfar Torus's lifeflame was extinguished!"

The crowd's mood changed quickly, to one of solemn contemplation. Some Charr roared angrily. Reekfar Torus was the leader of Clan Rrawfur, the third most powerful clan in Tyria. His armies were vast, his Clan's wealth considerable, and his influence widespread. His death would be a disappointment to millions, as well as changing the political landscape for years to come.

"His empty shell was located at the edge of the Maguuma Jungle, fifty-six miles from here," Burntfur said, and then paused. The crowd waited intently to hear what he had to say next, for it was important. Burntfur growled, "From the look of his wounds it appears that his life ended during honourable combat."

The crowd threw their arms into the air and burst into a deafening roar, causing the nearby humans to cover their ears and back away. They continued to roar for the next ten minutes, driving the humans away and forcing Burntfur to smash his fist against the podium repeatedly to silence them. When they finally calmed themselves, Burntfur once more spoke.

"Reekfar Torus' contribution to the Charr shall ne'er be forgotten, from his powerful armies, to his participation in the Crimmond encounter, from our technological reform, to our alliance with Gholgoth. His empty shell shall be given to the Great Gods of Fire in two days," Burntfur announced. "The ceremony will be grand indeed, befitting a warrior of his stature. It shall take place at the Reekmaaf Flame Temple, the only temple worthy of Reekfar Torus' honour. All those loyal to his spirit may come and bear witness."

The Charr crowds roared one again. Cameras recorded the speech, sending the recording back to their home offices for translation, and then off into the outside world...

[Bump]

To: The Government of The Charr
From: The Empire of Xeraph

The citizens of The Empire send both their condolences and congratulations. The passing of such a glorious warrior and leader is a loss to any nation, and so your people have a right to feel sorrowful. But, the compilation of his great deeds, and his legendary prowess are grounds for jubilation. His work and that of his Clan will be remembered here in Xeraph.

sincerely,

Vlad, Prince of the Empire, in the Name of the Emperor.

OOC: Whoops! Forgot about this thread. Had to go AWOL shortly after my last bump, and it slipped my mind. I will bring it back from the dead later on though...

Vlad, Prince of the Empire, your words are appreciated and your understanding respected by the Charr people. May the Gods of Fire grant you with the power to scold your enemies.

- Bonfaaz Burntfur

The following morning, the enormous, smoking Reekmaaf Flame Temple which stood at the centre of an old-fashioned city, was surrounded by millions of Charr. Its enormous, flaming pillars were dwarfed by the sheer number of Charr that had gathered in the capitol. Traffic came to a halt in the city, businesses simply closed down as they knew trade would be none-existent, and Charr Guardians stood vigil from the rooftops in full body armour, as they were unable to see anything from ground level. There were no humans to be seen; they had probably taken refuge in their homes to avoid such an enormous congregation of emotional Charr. And despite the massive number of Charr that had gathered in nearly every street of the city centre, there was no sound at all. Not even the birds whistled.

The main motorway in the city ran straight towards the temple, and it was the only road which was not completely flooded with Charr. A gorge had formed around it, with Charr flooding around the edges, desperate to get close to it. For down the centre of the motorway, six Black Guardians marched. In two columns of three, they used their shoulders to hold a large stone platform above them. Atop of the platform was the bare corpse of Reekfar Torus, uncovered and unclothed, visible to all. No attempts had been made to clean up the lethal wounds the body had sustained. There was a long slash down his chest, particularly deep around his weaker midsection, and a deep gash in his forehead was particularly stomach-turning. Blood had spilled all over the dead Charr's dark brown fur, clotting to darken it further and matting the fine hair. One of his main head horns had been viciously snapped off, as had one of his tusks. His claws were in various states and were covered in some kind of thick yellow-brown liquid, apparently having been used as weapons against a Devourer. This bulky Charr had apparently put up a very substantial fight, and taken a great deal of punishment, before finally being incapacitated.

The Black Guardians, wearing their armour and carrying their weapons on straps over their backs, slowly trudged down the motorway with the platform on their shoulders, bearing the weight with apparent ease. Charr tried to follow them along the edges of the motorway, getting as close to the dark warriors as they dared and scrambling over each other to try and get near and pay their respects. It was believed that immediately after death, as the soul exited the body of an honoured warrior, said soul would imbue all those nearby and worth with great powers and good fortune to thank them for their respect, and to continue on their legacy in others. Thus whenever a particularly well-known warrior died, there was always competition to be as close to the cremation procession as possible. After all, tomorrow, immediately before cremation, it would be too late.

At their current pace, the Black Guardians would take hours to reach the Flame Temple. The corpse would then vanish underground, to be anointed, branded and prepared so that the soul could be released the Flame Keepers. Tomorrow, it would emerge, and be presented to the Gods of Fire.