Odesday, 20th of Juno, 470th Year of the Fifth Era

As Josias had predicted, the situation of the third day of weddings had turned itself on its head between him and his lover. With him now a part of the 'parboru' and Serena as part of the boru of the 'paranak', it was her turn to be busy. It was her duty as a member of the Rapmasari clan to act as a 'parhobas'.

Though admittedly, Josias' own position that day was quite unique. On the one hand, his father's sister was Hesekiel's mother. But, his mother's brother was the father of the bride. They were both his cousins in one way or another. However, considering his goal of not doing anything that day, he chose to participate as part of his mother's clan of Hutabaru.

Josias was determined to not lift so much as a finger the entire day. He earned the break and he was about to celebrate.

At least, that's what he thought it was going to be before he woke up and was press-ganged by his lover to help her the entire day as well. He really couldn't catch a break. Either the world or his beloved wouldn't let it happen.

Because he was already used to the rhythm of helping around, today's wedding ceremony didn't feel as tiring as the last. Either that or Josias' body was getting used to the business of the ceremonies.

Being the third day, waking up early and getting ready at the church was becoming more and more like a routine. Of course, each wedding day gave itself a change. For one, the pianist for today's service obviously couldn't be Hesekiel. In his stead, Prince Hagabeon of Rumaparau had volunteered as the pianist.

It was quite an amusing thing for Josias considering Hesekiel was the pianist of Prince Hagabeon's own wedding. As for the lead singer, Arta had most graciously reprised her usual role. Though this time she wasn't doing it as part of the naposo.

As was the case yesterday, for the current wedding Josias and Serena sat on opposite ends of the church service. Because he was adopted by the Rapmasari, once again the Archbishop Ludwig was the one to officiate the day's wedding. It was his third day in a row officiating the weddings and Serena was extra vigilant in observing her father's health.

Luckily, Archbishop Ludwig being the doctor that he was, was far more disciplined when it came to taking his medications and conserving his mana. Outside of serious cases and emergencies, he didn't really exert much mana thus allowing him to divert some of that power to help maintain a semblance of health. Ignoring the exacerbations that would happen on a relatively irregular basis.

Just as an extra precaution, the Archbishop hadn't been the one to give the wedding's homily. That honour instead went to one of the native priests, Reverend Nalom Rapmasari. He was another member of the Rapmasari clan and a grandnephew of Elder Rihar.

During the vows and ring exchange, Josias had put extra attention towards the kiss. When Hesekiel had boldly kissed Safira on the mouth, Josias had almost leaped out of his chair pumping his fist. His mother had nearly thrown her sandal at him were it not for his quick thinking in pretending to fix his pants.

Josias was ecstatic that he had finally won a bet against Johannes. He spotted Johannes from a far and made a gesture of smudging his fingers together asking for money. Johannes rolled his eyes and laughed before shrugging. Whatever, he was just a sore loser anyways. Nothing and no one could take away such a victory from him.

Once more after the church ceremony, everyone moved over to the decorated field. In all appropriateness, Josias finally sat himself as part of Hesekiel's Bona Tulang. If tradition were to be taken to its fullest, Hese should've taken a daughter of one of his mother's brothers as a wife. This meant taking a wife from the Sigumogo clan. Though, clearly, that wasn't possible. As a sort of 'apology' for not doing so, according to custom, the Rapmasari had presented the Sigumogo with an 'apology' jambar.

During the mangulosi - the rite in which the couple and the groom's parents and their clan members are covered and blessed with an ulos cloth by the various clans – King Parhal represented the Sigumogo by giving a speech before blessing his grandson directly with a beautifully intricate ulos.

"...Ale pahoppuku, Hesekiel… on ma ulos nahulehon tu ho… This ulos was given to me on my own wedding day… to your late grandmother Maulia… Her parents hailed from Nabagak and true to their name, both this ulos… and your grandmother were beautiful…" Josias stood behind his grandfather, holding him as he gave the blessing to Hesekiel. "...May you two be blessed with a long… and happy marriage… longer than mine… May the peace and love that goes beyond… all understanding… from our Lord and Saviour be with you… I am so proud of you both… Be blessed with many strong children… Maybe name one after me..? Hahahaha-...!!"

King Parhal had started coughing a little violently but he insisted that he was fine. Even Hesekiel had gotten up from his seat next to Safira but King Parhal had stopped him. He gave a final pat to Hesekiel's shoulder, bidding him to sit. The king then spread out the ulos in his hands before wrapping the newly wedded couple with it. He gave both the bride and groom a kiss on their foreheads to bless them.

"...Stay strong, children..!" King Parhal gave them a smile. A smile that came straight from his heart, reflected upon his eyes.

Josias didn't expect it, but Hesekiel started tearing up. As always, he didn't say much, but it was still more than anyone would think.

"Mauliate godang da oppung… Mauliate… I can only hope to be half as strong as you, ompung. (Thank you so much, grandfather. Thank you…)" That was probably the most anyone's heard Hesekiel speak in a single breath. With a final pinch on the cheek, King Parhal led the Sigumogo entourage to give their greetings and blessings to the bride and groom's clans.

Josias gave another glance behind him as he made sure that his uncle was still standing there as a part of the entourage. Thankfully enough, he was, even if he stood quite a distance away from Josias' grandfather. Timotheus also kept his distance from his father though Maria stood close to them.

The rift within the Sigumogo clan was still plain and obvious for all to see. It was to be expected. They were never much for fake smiles or hiding their emotions behind a veneer of civility.

Josias sighed as he was reminded of the cold reception his grandfather had given his uncle. Uncle Partogi's absence during the church ceremony was reason enough for his grandfather to be put in a sour mood. It was to the point where King Parhal still refused to have Tiur and Tigor held by their parents, instead being held by Josias' own parents.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Despite the coldness within, Josias did his best to maintain the smile on his face. Admittedly, his cheeks were starting to hurt a little from it all. Faking things sure was tiring.

After the last of the mangulosi rites had been given, the next step was of course for the bride and groom to move to their new home. In this case, that was the great Bolon house of the Rapmasari clan.

The ceremony had lasted a little faster than what Josias had initially expected. It was still a couple of hours until the sun would decide to tint itself red and orange before setting upon the western continent.

Considering that the next day was the wedding between Johannes and Maria, the Sigumogo and Sinatua clans had returned earlier to prepare. It was also one of the few wedding ceremonies that would involve a non-Gorian realm. Maria being the granddaughter of the King of Saorma on her mother's side, meant that King Lombutua had a pivotal part to play. He would also be receiving a 'jambar' from the Sinatua clan.

Josias only hoped that the last two remaining weddings would commence without any further difficulties. He wasn't too hopeful, though, considering his uncle's and his grandfather's very strained relationship. But one could only hope and with that they had retired for the night. Or so Josias had thought.

***

Johannes was taking a short walk outside of the village along the river and into the streams. He thought it would be a good idea to take his mind off of all the thoughts he had in his head. However, all he got was a body attacked by the chilly winds of the night.

It wasn't as bad as the weather in Hutangali by any means, but considering he was out walking topless with only his pants and an ulos it was cold enough.

Johannes sighed as he looked at the moon and stars. He stared at it for quite a while before continuing to walk down the stream.

He was embarrassed to admit that he was getting antsy just a day before his big wedding. He didn't even know where the nerves were coming from. He loved Maria deeply and they had been in courtship for more than half a year.

None of that erased his doubts though.

He didn't doubt his ability to provide for her. The Sinatua clan weren't as wealthy as the Hutabaru, but they were still one of the eight great clans of Goria. He had never lived a life wanting of any basic need. His father had even provided a small plot of land for him to build a new house for him and Maria to live in.

Johannes' doubts came from thinking about Maria's own familial situation. Sometimes he had asked himself whether Maria was going through all this because of her genuine will or because she was trying to escape her own clan's situation.

The two had long been each other's confidants so Johannes knew of her situation more than most. He knew how prior to her father's exiles, things were already strained between her father and her brother. She would go on for hours upon hours about her wish for her family to go back to the way things were. Back to when they all happily lived and went to church together. Back to before the birth of her youngest brother and the sickness that overtook him.

Her brother's ailment and weak constitution since birth had stumped the physicians of Goria for the longest time. They had tried everything to heal him but nothing seemed to have prevailed. Maria would recount to Johannes about how day by day her father started considering numerous methods to try and bring Togar to a recovery.

One of those methods considered being the traditional Halak blood magic ceremonies. Johannes shuddered at the mere thought of such rituals. He was born into an already christianised Gorian realm so he had never personally seen such profane rites being carried out. All he knew came from stories of the elders. His grandfather would often recount to him stories when during the olden days, ritual cannibalism and blood sacrifices were something of a norm within the Halaklands.

He had asked both his grandfathers out of curiosity what human flesh tasted like and he always got mixed answers. His grandfather Marasi would often dodge his question, not wishing to speak about it at all. Sometimes he said it tasted like just any other meat but each time he said it, he'd look away and shiver.

His maternal grandfather, Rihar – who was trained since young to be the village's head shaman – gave more direct answers. He had described how it tasted somewhat like pig meat but good seasoning was required. In one of the more gruesome tales he recounted, during the reign of king Parhal's predecessor, they had eaten a man convicted of adultery and witchcraft alive. They tore at his flesh in ritualistic frenzy. Of course he would go on to say that was the only time he saw it happen, but the fact that it did happen was reason enough to scare Johannes.

All that to say, Johannes still didn't know how best to face his future father-in-law. He was an apostate and someone who had publicly declared his allegiance to the old ways of the ancestors. Why such an intelligent man would choose to follow such a barbaric philosophy was beyond Johannes' understanding. But Johannes also couldn't yet speak as a father who was trying to do everything in his power to save his child.

Despite that, Lord Partogi was still Maria's father and as his future Hulahula he must still show deference to him. It was just heartwrenching what Maria had to go through.

As Johannes continued walking, he saw a man sitting on a rock at the riverside with his feet in the shallow banks of the river. His head was bowed and his hands were folded in prayer. He looked to be wearing just a simple low cut white shirt and a simple ulos.

Johannes had unknowingly stepped on a washed up tree branch and that caused a cracking sound to reverberate through the air. When the praying man looked up, Johannes finally recognised him as the young reverend Timotheus. Maria's older brother.

"Eh, dang modom ho, lae? (You aren't sleeping yet, brother?)" Johannes called out sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. Timotheus gave him a wry smile as he shook his head.

"You know, Jojo, I could be asking you the same thing. Why're you out here this late at night when you're literally going to get married to my sister tomorrow." Timotheus shot back.

"You got me there, lae…" Johannes couldn't really think of a proper reason so he just said, "I was just… trying to clear my head of some thoughts."

"Oh, really? Well, I could be saying the same for myself but it appears your face is more troubled. Come sit with me, Jojo." Timotheus had patted the rock beside his for Johannes to sit. Johannes obliged as he sat down with a slight heave. "So, why're you having second thoughts about marrying my sister after all the effort in courting her?"

Johannes could only stare blankly at Timotheus as the answer hadn't sunk in yet. It was only after a few seconds that he shook his head and waved his hands erratically to deny Timotheus' question.

"What? No! I would never have second thoughts about that! I love Maria! Truly!" Johannes was doing his best to convince Timotheus who only gave a curt chuckle.

"Pfft, calm down, lae. You getting all defensive like that just makes me all the more suspicious." Timotheus laughed before giving Johannes a reassuring bump on his arm. "You know, I'm also a priest now so you can try to tell me things. I promise I'll at least listen. But anything bad about my sister and I'll drown you right here and now."

"I don't think that's something a priest should be saying." Johannes chuckled nervously.

"I was talking like her brother, not a priest. As a priest, I'd give you the proper last rites before drowning you and burying you. But all jokes aside, what's the problem here, lae?"

Johannes thought for a while as he sat in silence before finally shrugging and deciding to come clean to the young reverend about all his worries. He didn't know how Timotheus would react considering he was also partly responsible for these worries, but Johannes felt it was better to be honest than not.

With that in mind, he laid it all out as he talked about his own thoughts and opinions on the matter as well as what the best solution was. He didn't know how Timotheus would answer or what he would say to any of that. But Johannes did feel somewhat better putting his feelings out like that. Once he was done, he awaited Timotheus' thoughts with baited breath.

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