All marriages had to have a Witness, who stood between the bride and groom and attested for their commitment to each other. In all the Kingdoms before, the Witness was also required to officially register the marriage.
The concept of vows was also followed, which was quite similar to what Daneel was used to back on Earth. The bride and groom would each prepared the promises they wanted to keep during the marriage, and after they were said in the presence of the Witness, the marriage was as good as done.
After the marriage, both the bride and groom would be presented by personalized gifts by their family members and close friends, and with that, the event would close.
There might be a few other steps depending on which Kingdom a family was in, such as a raven having to caw if the marriage was in the Black Raven Kingdom, but other than that, this was it.
The idea of someone being anointed had been lost, but as Drakos spoke, everyone listened and talked between themselves about how they were witnessing something that was happening for the first time in thousands of years.
"Today, we are gathered to witness the marriages of three important couples. Can the first couple please step forward…"
And so, it started.
Aran and Ca.s.sandra"s proceedings went by quickly, with the only hitch being that the latter slightly lost her temper and set Aran"s b.u.t.t on fire when he jokingly vowed that he would call her the most beautiful woman on the continent until another that caught his eye came along. Yet, it looked like he had been prepared, as instead of jumping around in pain, he simply grinned and showed to the world that he was wearing a pair of flameproof diapers.
This resulted in almost the entire continent bursting into laughter, and in this peculiar way, the couple showed their love and understanding for each other as Ca.s.sandra laughed out loud, too, due to his antics and then hugged and kissed him for so long the Drakos had to finally clear his throat to signal the two to step aside.
The marriage of the Emperor and the Queen of Arafell was different. This became clear at first, itself, when the entry of the bride was accompanied by fireworks from all the people of Arafell and an extremely grand escort of giants dressed in s.h.i.+ning mail.
The giants of Arafell had not been forgotten by Daneel. They had been put to work extensively, but other than that, there was little they could do to contribute, as all they had was brute strength. They did not have the apt.i.tude necessary to work together with the other, nor were they capable of learning advanced formations to fight as a unit. Even the strongest of them could only rise to the Champion level where they might be able to cross at most two sub realms in terms of their raw strength, but using techniques, they would easily be brought down if they were up against a reasonably skilled expert.
As for the matter of Arafell enslaving the race, Daneel had found out that the giants were a curious species who were born with natural l.u.s.t for destruction. They had almost been wiped out in the age of the Empire, but Arafell had kept a few after demonstrating that they were not harmful. It was these giants who had survived the Apocalypse by her design and then multiplied to become a major part of her kingdom, so after seeing the entire situation, Daneel had been unsure about what his judgment should be regarding it.
On one side, it was a vile thing to enslave an entire species, but on another, the species would not have existed if not for her actions, in the first place. Hence, in the end, he had decided that judgment could wait until the war was done, so for now, he focused back on the altar where the Emperor had arrived.
At first glance, the man looked as if he was being overshadowed by the Queen who had opted to wear a dazzling violet gown with a long, long train that was enchanted to sway in the air even if there was no breeze.
Yet, just one look at his face was enough to understand that he was no ordinary person, and as soon as they saw him, as one, the entire Order stood up with shock.
Just like the Head had said, they had all decided to attend the ceremony, and because they were almost all learned individuals who had seen the face of the Emperor in ill.u.s.trations that were present in the Order, their surprise knew no bounds.
"This is no trick: that is him. Sit if you do not want to show disrespect."
It was only when Daneel said these words in their minds that they sat back down with even more humble expressions, as automatically, they laid this miracle, too, at Daneel"s feet.
Daneel saw no reason to correct them, so he set his gaze back on the bride and groom where the former was beaming so much that she looked like the happiest woman on the continent.
Her lifelong dream was finally coming true. It looked like even Drakos had warmed up to her, as he, too, smiled graciously when the two said their vows.
Surprisingly, when the kiss began, it, too, began to stretch on with the Queen forgetting where she was and showing such pa.s.sion that it almost looked as if she was prepared to conjure a barrier and a bed him then and there.
This time, Daneel was the one who had to clear his throat using the G.o.dnet to remind them about where they were. Yet, when they parted, he laughed as he saw the dumbstruck expression on the Emperor"s face, who had clearly been taken aback.
It was then that he confirmed that this was actually the man"s first kiss since his "death", as the man had not moved to do anything since his revival. So, his expression could be justified as one that would come on anyone"s face if they were being kissed for the first time in thousands of years.
The gift-giving ceremony also went by quickly. In the last marriage, Daneel had given an object to be worn on the neck that could enhance his Mindhunter powers to Aran, and a cloak that could burst into fire and empower any and all fire-related spells to Ca.s.sandra. Like most of the gifts he was giving today, they were from the vaults of the Order.
He was, after all, the Overseer of the order now, and even if that wasn"t the case, the contributions he had made to the continent so far were such that he could take anything he wanted from those vaults.
To this couple, Daneel gifted a spear that was quite similar to what the Emperor had loved to use back during the days of the Empire, and a set of jewels that were actually extremely powerful protective trinkets that could be worn as a last defense.
His gifts were met by grateful smiles from both Arafell and the Emperor, the former of whom seemed to have set aside all enmity.
And then, it was his turn.
His appearance on the altar was met by loud cheers and chanting by the millions below, to whom he waved.
Yet, he froze as soon as the two women arrived to join him.
There were so dazzling that his breath was s.n.a.t.c.hed away from his chest, and for a second, Daneel even wondered whether he was dreaming.
If the boy from back on Earth were told that he would be here, today, in just a matter of a few years, marrying two of the most beautiful women on the continent who loved him so dearly, he would have scoffed and called the one talking to him crazy.
Only, that was exactly what was happening now, so blinking fiercely, Daneel confirmed that it was all real and beamed so much that the two women both chuckled, knowing that all of their preparations had not been for naught.
Bold as always, Xuan was dressed in a golden gown that s.h.i.+mmered in the sunlight and seemed to change its shade with every pa.s.sing second. It was a great contrast to the white robes he wore on which Dragons seemed to be flying from his hands to his chest to his legs, but it was Eloise"s dress which he loved the most.
She… had chosen the same wedding dress that his mother had worn for her wedding. There were many times when he had looked at the photo of his parents being married, which used to be the only one present in their small home, and wondered how it would be when his time came. These had been the thoughts of the previous Daneel who had been killed when he arrived, but by taking on that man"s body, he had taken on his wishes, too, and this was another one that he was fulfilling.
On Drakos"s urging, the three began the ceremony. The two women uttered their vows together. They vowed to be with him no matter what he went through, and to strive to help him in every endeavor that he set out on. These were all the normal vows of most marriages, but there was one that was unique: they vowed to be faithful sisters for as long as they lived, never allowing any enmity to come between them.
When it was Daneel"s turn, he almost fumbled over his words as if he was still the little boy from back then. He did recover in a few seconds, following which his vows thundered over all of Angaria.
He had chosen the simplest of them, but also the one that he loved the most. All he said was that the two, from now on, would be an indispensable part of him for all his life, and as soon as he was done, tears could be seen in both of the women"s eyes.
When it was time for the kiss, he smiled and flicked his fingers to conjure another version of himself that stood in front of Xuan. Many whoops could be heard from below as this kiss, as expected, also began to stretch on, as even Daneel had forgotten himself in the happiness of the situation.
And this time, it was his mother who sent a message that made him step back instantly.
The rest of the day was spent partying with all of the people who had been invited, and his sovereigns whose joy knew no bounds. On that day, all of Angaria forgot the ma.s.sive threat at its borders and enjoyed itself as much as it could with friends and family.
When at last he found himself back in the balcony of his bedchambers in the Kingdom of Lanthanor, Daneel gazed out over the continent and fixed its image firmly in his mind.
One day left.
With this thought, he went back to bed where the squeals and screams of ecstasy bounced off the walls and made the room come alive.