Lunesday, 27th of Maia, 470th Year of the Fifth Era

The entourage had arrived at the Dolok Mulajadi well into the night. Despite that, as was the case with the roads, the entire mountain was lit up by various beautiful lanterns and the like, giving it a truly festive atmosphere. As Josias and the entourage walked up the mountainside to reach their destination, he couldn't help but look back at the lights that trailed far off into the now distant shores of the lake-island.

Because there were still many other realm-kings that had yet to arrive, the feast that welcomed the Gorian delegation was relatively simple in its nature. After a short dinner, the great delegation was led towards a large clearing and plains where a few modest temporary buildings had been erected for the duration of their stay.

The buildings were moderately-sized gazebos with curtain-like covers and plenty of cushions and other such temporary beddings inside. The gazebos would mainly be used by the main royals and clan elders to rest and sleep in while the others had started erecting various tents and encampments within the clearing.

The main Gorian Gazebo-room would temporarily house the king, the archbishop, as well as Josias' parents and younger siblings including Tiur and Tigor. Josias and his companions had set up their own tent close to the royal gazebo. They laid their own carpets and cushions which they had brought with them from Goria. Well, it was mostly Johannes and Mateus setting up the tent. Josias and Sadrach were busy helping the girls set up their tent close to theirs.

There were various other clearings throughout the mountain, close to the summit, where the other kings and clans were lodging. The Rumaparau and Hutangali royals however chose to lodge within Goria's clearing to declare a united front.

Speaking of which, the noble clans of Pasaorma were located not that far away from the Gorian camp. However, Josias' grandfather had made it clear that outside of the formal processes of the festival, he had no intention of even laying his eyes upon them. Not especially if they continued to harbor what he considered to be a renegade prodigious son.

It was now just before midnight when Josias and the rest of his companions – and their respective partners – were enjoying themselves sitting around the campfire as they enjoyed the atmosphere. Their parents and elders had given them a warning to not stay out too late in preparations for the formal start of the festival to which they obviously agreed. At least verbally. It was their first time being to Matanitao, at least the first time that they could remember, hence why they wanted to enjoy the atmosphere to the fullest.

As they were talking and enjoying each other's company, Josias noticed several people were approaching. Squinting his eyes to help see in the dark, Josias smiled as he saw it was Gregory, Lasta, and some other of the youths of Hutangali and Rumaparau.

"Pardon our intrusion, gentlemen… Mind if we share a seat with you all here?" Gregory asked.

"Sit, sit, all of you!" Josias welcomed them to sit on some logs and makeshift chairs out of crates. "We would offer you all some drinks, but the elders have enforced a tough restriction on all that. Funless old codgers. All the while they're currently somewhere down there drinking their heads off with each other. Bloody hypocrites."

"Ah, well, that ain't a problem. We weren't coming here to look for drinks anyways. Just enjoying the view of the sky." The former bandit said as he sat down along with Lasta.

"So, how's Halak life been treating you, friend?" Josias asked. To his understanding, Gregory had officially been adopted as a member of the Simarhosa clan and was promptly married to Lasta back when they were still in Hutangali.

"It's definitely something different from how I was brought up… But I'm getting used to it…"

"Nga boi ho marhata Halak, bang? (Are you able to speak Halak now?)" Johannes asked Gregory.

"...Uhh… Otik-otik do…? (Little little?)" Gregory scratched his head as he smiled sheepishly.

"Well, there's at least some progress…" Sadrach quipped. "At least he understood that quickly."

"It's been a fun experience teaching my husband our tongue." Lasta said, still holding onto Gregory as she then eyed the women who were sitting beside the young Gorian warriors. "My, you boys weren't joking when you said your lovers were pretty. You girls are all absolutely gorgeous!"

The Gorian women smiled and giggled slightly embarrassed by Lasta's comments. Josias felt especially proud of the comment though. He was also looking to start something because it was getting boring, so he said, "Aye they are. But of course my Serena is the most beautiful of the lot."

Serena widened her eyes as she reflexively elbowed Josias and glared at him. "I'm so sorry, don't mind him. He's an idiot when it comes to things like this…" Serena quickly bowed her head and apologised on behalf of her fiance.

"Right, but you don't deny it?" Lasta smiled as her eyes squinted, teasing Serena who was caught off-guard.

"What-..??! No, no… I believe everyone here is equally beautiful!" Serena once again smacked Josias' arm. "See what you did!"

Josias could only laugh at Serena's actions.

"Josi, I consider such comments to be a belligerent act of war." Johannes said as he put his arm around Maria who was sitting next to him. "Obviously, this jewel of the Sigumogo is the prettiest and truest of all the women of Goria! No offense to my beloved ito (sister) Serena."

"Now, now. You must be blind, lae." Sadrach chimed in. "How could you have been raised alongside my dear Helena and not realise that moniker belongs to her?"

"...These actual idiots…" Arta couldn't help but shake her head as she saw the men starting to get in on such a stupid topic of discussion.

"They indeed are. No angel could even hope to compare to you." Mateus planted a kiss on Arta's head as he smiled at her.

"You're a liar too, I see…" Arta shook her head but she couldn't hide the smile that was plastered on her face.

"You Halak truly are lively people." Gregory laughed as he saw the various silly interactions. "Boisterous and insanely strong too. I don't understand how you have so many aura warriors among you. It's like every damn village is made up of aura warriors. I can't even remember how my brother managed to subdue those few villages we did."

"It's because the warriors of those villages were busy being held up by the king's tensions with the elders." A young warrior said while slicking back the black bangs of his hair. Josias knew him as Arga Sipirnitondi, Lasta's cousin.

"That's a fair point." Gregory nodded. "But regardless of all that, I never expected to be inducted into Halak nobility like this. All thanks to your lovely cousin here…"

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"That's the thing, Gregory. There isn't really an official sense or term for 'nobility' within Halak society." Josias said.

"Does this have something to do with how you said every village was its own kingdom?"

"Yes and no. When I said that every village was its own kingdom, I was talking more so about administration." Josias got up from his seat as he outstretched his arms. "This is the Dolok Mulajadi. This is where we Halak believed our Great Ancestor Si Raja Halak descended from the heavens or was born of the line of the gods depending on the myth you take. You see, all Halak peoples belong to a clan. Regardless of who they are, from the simple farmers to the warriors and kings. All our clans descend from that singular ancestor and all the clans keep records of our bloodline."

"That's not how we view it in the Northern Republic. Well, in that case, we don't have nobles or kings. We left all that behind when we left Feldonia for the colonies. I mean, of course there are still some families who claim to trace their descent from the old noble families of Terradome, but I'd wager most of us are just peasants."

"You see that doesn't make sense to us, Halak. We have a very sacred opinion of bloodlines, Lord Gregory." Josias continued. "I have heard of the Archbishop telling us of how the nobility system of the west works, but that doesn't make sense. Regardless of what occupation one holds, it does not erase the noble blood that flows in all our veins from the first Halak king."

"Right, but effectively, from what I've seen and been taught, isn't the Halaklands itself divided into the twenty kingdoms? Isn't that the whole point of this festival, which is to gather all the Halak kings in one place for some sort of festival?"

"Indeed it is. But again, I stress that when we're talking about nobility – or more specifically, the base value of a Halak person, we're all worth the same. It is just in the matter of birth and how our peoples have coalesced into the so-called kingdoms that we've developed a more streamlined method. But if you noticed yesterday, the Raja Malim referred to all the clan leaders as kings."

"Aye, that he did."

"Coming back to the basis of Halak culture, every man who is a father is a king. It is for a simple fact that 'Raja' in its base form simply means 'leader'. When you are a father, and you have a wife and children. You are the leader. In biblical terms, you are the priest of your family."

Josias didn't notice that his tone was growing passionate. Gregory smiled as he gave Josias' explanation a nod.

"As a proud descendant of the settlers who came to this new land in an escape from the old nobles and kings, I can't help but to really admire the Halak Philosophy." Gregory said "It doesn't just teach the philosophy that all men are created equal, but that all men are granted a high degree of honour. I like that."

"You see brothers! Lae Gregory has been shown the light! Hahaha!" Josias clapped his hands happily as the others laughed at his comments.

"But, even that philosophy has its flaws…" Arta said. "The belief that all men are kings and all women are the daughters of kings has made our people… pigheaded to say the least. And very prideful…"

"If each man is their own king, it just leads to stagnation and petty feuds of pride down the line." Safira added to which Hesekiel could only nod. "The Halak have been around for almost thirty generations at this point, but have any of you ever seen great cities like the ones the merchants tell us? I have only been to the capital of your republic once when I was accompanying my father on a trading trip, but I was so amazed by how large it was. Tall walls, stone buildings, large markets…"

"Oh, my lady, if you think Solagratia was amazing, you won't believe your eyes were you to ever see the Great Cities of Terradome." Gregory chuckled. "I myself have only been to a few of them while also accompanying my own father on his trade expeditions, but the Royal Capital of Feldonia was… Words can't describe its grandeur. Not to rag on the natural beauty of the Halaklands, but Solagratia is but an underdeveloped backwater compared to the Jewel of the Griffon's Head."

Josias wanted to say something more in defense of the Halaklands, but even he himself had to admit that that was the case. There was stagnation within the Halaklands. Centuries of dogmatic clinging to the old traditions and the adat have stifled their growth. But Josias smiled while thinking about that. Where people could only sense hopelessness, Josias sensed opportunity for greatness.

"That is exactly why, brothers and sisters…" Josias said as he clasped his hands together "The culture that we so love and are truly proud of, should never be discarded. But instead, it should act as an anchor towards the future growth and development of our lands! Can't you all imagine it? Imagine a Halaklands that was built up and developed like the cities of the west! God has given this opportunity for us to open up to newer horizons. New technologies, new techniques, new methods of ruling all so we can realise the true potential of our realms and make a legacy that our great ancestors would be proud of!"

"There he goes again in his wild dreams. Calm down, Josi, hahahah!" Johannes said as he shook his head and play-massaged Josias' shoulders that were outstretched due to his impassioned speech. "We'll talk more about that when you actually become king of Goria. Josi always gets excited when he talks about this."

Josias wanted to protest, but he only sighed as he laughed and shook his head before sitting back down next to Serena. "You'll all eventually see that I'm not wrong. Sooner or later. Sometime in the future, something's going to happen to prove me right."

"Alright, did someone place alcohol into our cups? Pfft, Josi's talking like a crazy person." Sadrach and the rest of them laughed.

"You all call me crazy, but regardless, I am indeed crazy." Josias said before his gaze turned towards Serena who had a raised eyebrow while looking at him. "Crazy in love with my lovely Serena!!"

As Josias said that, he immediately jumped to embrace Serena as he planted many kisses on her face and head. Other people there watching them be damned. "All that stuff I said earlier goes out the window every time I look at her! I just become stupid!! Mwah Mwah Mwah!!"

"Ahhhhh! Josi stop being stupid, pffft!! Hahahahahah!" Serena had playfully tried to get Josias off of her but the joy in her voice and her smile betrayed her feelings of happiness.

"Ughhh, go get a room, guys! Have some decency!" Johannes said with a disgusted tone.

"Hmmm, two can play at that game!" Lasta said as she quickly grabbed her husband's chin and kissed Gregory most passionately. This simple action elicited the gasps and giggles of everyone there.

However what surprised Josias the most out of all wasn't Lasta kissing Gregory. No, what shocked everyone there was when Hesekiel – without warning to even Safira – had also passionately kissed his fiance. Safira's widened eyes were proof of her shock. Everyone couldn't help but laugh when they saw that. But just as the youth were having the silliest time of their life, in the next moment…

"What the hell do you kids think you're doing on this sacred mountain??!!" A shout came from afar. Everyone immediately looked to the source of the voice and they saw the elders and clan heirs – their parents – approaching. It seemed like they had returned from drinking.

"GET YOUR GRUBBY HANDS OFF MY DAUGHTER!!" Josias saw his uncle Mora point at Hesekiel with such a face that he'd never seen before. "SUDUNG, YOUR BOY IS ACCOSTING MY PRINCESS!!"

Lord Hasudungan couldn't help but be baffled that his usually quiet son would have the bravery to do something like that. Lord Hamoraon was having none of it though as he drew his saber, not even caring that his future in-law was a fifth star aura warrior.

Hesekiel only stood up from his seat as he held Safira's hand and led her up too. He gave a slight bow to his future father-in-law before he quite literally swept Safira off her feet and proceeded to run away.

"COME BACK HERE, YOU MUTE FOOL!" Lord Mora immediately chased after the young couple.

"Laee, we can talk about this nicely!!" Lord Hasudungan chased after him, his gait also wobbly from the drinks he had.

"So this is what you kids are up to, huh?" Josias saw his father looking dead straight at him with the Archbishop laughing heartily beside him.

"Ummm…" Without warning, Josias followed Hesekiel's lead as he too put Serena in a bridal carry as he made a run for it.

"Gregory! I thought I told you about proper conduct!!" King Tagam shouted as well as he pointed towards Gregory and Lasta. Gregory only gave a small 'uh-oh' and he two started running.

Sadrach hadn't even done anything to Helena, yet her father had already appeared like lighting sitting next to him as he put his arms around him and smiled at him menacingly. Only Johannes and Mateus were left relatively alone, though Arta's father also exchanged a few looks with Mateus.

The night became even rowdier as the Gorian encampment was made a riot by the sounds of men chasing down their children and future sons-in-law. It was a wild night to be sure, but a fun one at that.

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