Herald of Steel

The fifth day of Alexander's celebrations consisted of a hunting trip arranged around the back of the Cisran hills.

There the various lords were on large, powerful steeds, dressed in colorful attire, carrying bows and some even the newly invented crossbows, alongside sleek, black hounds, held in place by their leashes, each eager to break out for the hunt.

Alexander was the one to blow the horn for the start of the contest, and for the rest of the day, the group of nobles rode in small groups chasing game like rabbits, badgers, and raccoons through the meandering paths and tangled undergrowth that was occasionally dotted with cool, refreshing streams.

And it was these prized hunts that became the supper for that day, consumed with copious amounts of wine.

The sixth day was a relatively quiet day, as the nature of the event was a somber one.

For it was wholly dedicated to the gods.

This day, the nobles spent the entire day in temples, praying in gratitude for their success or listening to priests pray for them while reading aloud from their scriptures.

They wore very dull colors like brown or deep navy blue, with the women even having their heads and hair fully covered, emanating a very pious look as they seriously listened to the sermons.

These were given by, among many others, the likes of Theocles, Ophenia, and most popularly of all, the twin princesses.

The two former saintesses were already well known before and thus their arrival captured everyone's attention, their tall, identical stature, and pure white garb making many heads spin.

Even Alexander was forced out of his bored mind by the appearance of these two pure ebony beauties, and seeing them once again, could not help but long to bed them.

He remembered the reply Pasha Farzah had made to his marriage proposal, asking him to come to the capital to discuss it with him personally.

And Alexander indeed planned to do it as soon as he settled things back in Zanzan.

For now, though, he had to settle for keeping his itching hands to himself and content himself with only salaciously roaming his eyes over the abundant bodies of the two.

A move that fortunately went unnoticed given the huge gathered crowd, many of whom actually appeared to seriously listen to what the twins had to say, their melodious voice sounding like the soothing drops of water to many.

Alexander even noticed some of the more pious nobles drop real drops of tears upon hearing some of the sermons, much to the man's surprise.

The diet for today was nothing like the previous day, as everyone decided to forego the luxurious meals in favor of a modest or some might even say poor meal, as they tried to appear humble in front of the gods.

Thus the menu consisted of just bread and several types of cheese and olive oil, along with some sweet wine.

The nobles even skipped out on their nightly festivities that day, as a showcase of restraint and appreciation to the gods.

They however made it up for that and much more on the last day of the festivities, as the seventh day was solely dedicated to hosting a huge farewell banquet.

The celebrations started in the morning with minstrels and bards playing lively tunes to wake the people up and then a while later various performers took to the stage, performing many tricks to entertain the gathered lords and ladies.

That day, the serving tables were especially generous, overflowing with dishes of not only the regular kinds like beef, mutton, pork, and fishes like bass, mullets and shellfish, oysters but also many exotic ones, like fowls, peacocks, and poultry, to vanishingly rare fruit like dates and pomegranate, which did not grow in the country but were smuggled into Zanzan by one daredevil of a merchant.

But these were not the most exotic items to be served today.

No, for that prize would have to go to the elephant.

Yes, it seemed that one noble lady's wish had come true.

For Alexander had indeed decided to slaughter one today.

He did this mostly as a way to show off.

Alexander did not intend to ever use these beasts in battle since he did not trust them and only planned to keep them as prizes in a penned enclosure.

Thus around the afternoon of the day, he had the mahoot of the elephant make it lay down and with the help of a dozen men slaughter the magnificent beast in front of a cheering crowd, a sight that came to be remembered by all for many years to come.

For just the blade used to quickly and mercifully kill the beasts was a spectacle to behold.

And then the animal's head was boiled and cooked as a whole, the huge tusked head becoming the centerpiece of the party.

While the butchered animal's flesh was eaten by the few hundred attending nobles as well as being distributed to the homes of the soldiers serving in the army.

As for the nighttime activities, the nobles first held a huge ball, being dressed in their finest, where they waltzed and danced to melodious tunes.

And ended the night with a huge celebration where the loud moans of the enjoying nobles reverberated across the sky, one which Alexander sadly could not be a part of.

While Alexander and his band of retainers were feasting over an entire week, the youngest prince of Tibias- Perikles found himself with little to almost nothing to do, being stuck at home all alone for the whole day, every day.

The house they were given, a two story, renovated bungalow was more than adequate to live comfortably for him and his mother.

It had double digit rooms, along with all kinds of facilities, such as studies, a small library, various guest rooms, servant's quarters, and three huge courtyards, an outer, an inner, and a rear one.

They were also given their own staff to cook and clean for them so there was no need for them to bend their back on house chores.

They had an adequate food budget letting them maintain their expensive taste platalets.

They had access to beautiful clothes and jewelry to keep themselves up to date with the latest fashion trends.

They had valets, stable boys, and gardeners to maintain the other parts of the house.

And they even had ten bodyguards to protect them.

Perikles could have hardly asked for anything more given the nature of their residence here- as captive hostages.

But if there was one thing that the man could complain and change, it would be his boredom.

Because the man found himself to be completely alone and bored out of his mind during the day.

It happened because his mother was busy becoming a priestess of Gaia and thus spent most of her time in the temple under Ophenia's tutelage, familiarizing herself with the various rituals and memorizing all the scriptures required of her.

This took almost all her time, as the regal lady would leave home at the crack of daylight and return only around sunset.

As for his father, he had been moved to Zanzan's biggest clinic in order to let him gain better access to healthcare, enabling the doctors and nurses to keep him under constant surveillance.

Thus after a few days, Perikles decided to not let himself be cooped up in the house and instead took a few guards on a tour of the city.

And since he wanted to see all of it for himself,Perikles decided to forego the carriage and decided to make the journey by foot, intent on soaking all the vistas of this new.

"So clean!" And as he walked, the first muttering of surprise came from not the wide, white roads, he had already been impressed by them, but from him just breathing the air.

Because it was 'flavorless'.

It did not smell like anything.

Which was a brand new experience for the young prince since he recalled that every time he had stepped out into the lower streets of Parthenigh, a stinging salty and spicy arcid sensation would hit him, courtesy of all the discarded filth everywhere.

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Instead, the air only smelled of sea salt and the occasional smokiness courtesy of the cement kilns.

Perikles would only later find out the huge effort Alexander had to go through to keep it that way, having to only undertake a very expensive and time consuming infrastructure project by the name of the sewage works, but also employing close to a thousand men as sanitary workers to collect and sweep the streets clean.

Aside from the healthy air, Perikles also marveled at the concrete apartments, the huge aqueducts under construction, the large marketplaces, and the general hustle and bustle of the city.

Carts laden with goods like fruits and vegetables, various types of pottery, wines, fabric, and a thousand different things seemed to zoom across the streets in all directions, their numbers too numerous to count by sight one, while people walked along the sides with purpose and goal, their faces filled with anticipation and determination.

The young prince had rarely seen such hecticness in his own city, revealed only during the harvest season.

And as Perikles continued his tour, he finally came to a very large, dome roofed three story building, whose words instantly caught his eyes.

'Public Library'.