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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cerebral Paladin" data-source="post: 3181421" data-attributes="member: 3448">LOL!----Alistair noted that the Archbishop was very good at staring off into the distance, no doubt pondering Amelia’s death and lofty spiritual matters, and thus avoiding watching the mourners’ sins.  As the pyre consumed the last of the mourners, the Archbishop rose to his feet to conclude the religious portion of the ceremony.“If I may, your eminence, I would like to address the people as well,” murmured Alistair.“Of course, your grace.  I will introduce you at the appropriate time, and my priests will magnify your voice so that all the people can hear you.”  The Archbishop ran through several heart-felt prayers for the dead and then called Alistair to him for a eulogy.“Today is a sorrowful day for all of Canberry.  Who did not have their life touched and, in a large way for some and a small for others, improved by my grandmother’s life?  This has been a tragic year for me, with the loss of both my father and now my grandmother,”  Alistair’s voice strained with emotion.  “And it would be easy for me to think of this as a personal tragedy.  But the entire Archduchy feels her loss as keenly as I do; indeed, she was like a grandmother to us all.  And she taught me to view all of you as part of my family.“But, hard as it is to accept her death, we must persevere.  My grandmother knew we would mourn, but she would want-- indeed, she does want as she watches us from Lord Glor’diadel’s realm-- us not to give in to despair, but to live on, living our lives as she lived hers.  These are troubled times, and not just because of our loss.  But if we remain united, dedicated to doing what is right, trusting in Glor’diadel’s protection, we cannot fail.  She spent her life protecting and watching over us; we must not dishonor her memory by squandering that gift, but must work together to protect each other and build the world she sought.“My grandmother has passed, but her memory will live on.  In her honor, the Archduchy will endow a great school of magic.  But that will be only the most obvious way in which we will honor her memory and carry on her legacy.  The far greater way will be through honoring her in each of our hearts and through living our lives as she would want us to.”  Alistair choked up at the end and stepped back, overcome by emotion.The Archbishop smiled at Alistair, pleased by the effort, the message, and the effect that the speech had on the crowd, and led the gathered masses in a series of prayers before giving the benediction.  He was assisted throughout by Bishop Horace Hogsworthy, the palace chaplain.  While Bishop Williams had still lived as the Archduchess’s personal chaplain, the position of palace chaplain had been something of a dead end position, but Bishop Hogsworthy seemed to be pushing for a more prominent role now.  Unfortunately, he was the most self-indulgent clergyman of Glor’diadel that any of the Archducal Council had ever met.As soon as the formal ceremony ended, the Council turned away from the great square and re-entered the palace.</blockquote>

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