PART V - COMMAND REVIEW

"Honored guests and camp members," Kyra's amplified voice called from the podium, "please stand to welcome our hosts, Commandant Xera Delnara and Arkan Pelidri Sylbane of Cillisant and House Sylbane."

At once, all remaining murmurs of conversation ceased, followed a moment later by the room rising and the beginning of applause. Callie hopped down from her chair to stand, and walked over to the aisle so she could see, Chown taking up a spot next to her to do the same. At the back, Callie could see the Arkan's tall form, his white hair seeming to glow brightly against his skin due to the magical twinkling lights and what early-evening daylight was leaking in from the outside. The Arkan began to walk down the aisle, not swiftly, but not slowly, either. Waving and smiling to acknowledge the room, he would occasionally stop to clasp wrists with a random someone and say a couple words. It reminded Callie of a politician waving and interacting with a crowd, and right next to him, Xera was doing the same on their side of the aisle.

It took about a minute for the two to reach the front of the room, the polite applause continuing the entire time. Just before they reached their destination, Pelidri clasped wrists with Chown, adding a simple 'A grand Midsummer to you', while Xera did the same with Jorin and Nevikk across the way. The Arkan followed up with a smiling wink towards Callie before he walked up the dais with the Commandant, Xera then stepping onto a small booster to take a spot behind the podium high enough to see the room. Kyra had disappeared out of view to make way.

The Commandant was wearing a green uniform, the red of their shoulders standing out with multiple black marks showing their high rank. At their neck, they wore what appeared to be a silver-colored version of Pixyl's Bronze Sword of Valor, and multiple smaller medals were pinned to their chest, including two red Heartstones and another with a blue crystal, a second Silver Sword, and two Bronze. Others Callie didn't recognize, too. Pelidri was also adorned in medals, at least twice as many as Xera, including something ivory-white with a red gem set in it around his neck.

Xera held up a hand. "You may all be seated," Xera's amplified voice called, and the room quieted as people did so, Callie quickly returning to her own chair. "I wish to start by thanking all of you for attending, especially those who have traveled to be here, and wish you all the most-joyous of Midsummer celebrations." Xera gestured to Pelidri and back to themself. "To us, Midsummer is a reminder of the importance of friends and of family. Each of our worlds would be less-bright if not for them, and I am proud to consider all of you that beacon of brightness in my own life." Xera paused momentarily to acknowledge the polite response.

Clearing their throat, the Commandant continued. "You'll be pleased to know there will be few speeches tonight. Still …" Xera glowered in resigned annoyance when someone interrupted with a small cheer. This wasn't the right time for informal banter, unlike at the first feast. "Still … we do have a few that will be spread throughout the meal, as well as a surprise celebration or two in store for you all. But all that business aside, I know we are all here for the food and for the company, and to celebrate the holiday, so we'll do our best to assure we don't lose sight of that."

Xera looked to the side, as if offering the floor to Pelidri, but he shook his head slightly and Callie was able to hear a quiet 'later'. Nodding, the Commandant refocused on the audience, and drew in a breath. This seemed to instantly change the feel in the room, somehow, as if what was next demanded attention.

"Sergeant-Major Natala!" Xera called out loudly, projecting their voice to the rear of the tent.

"Commandant Xera!" came the acknowledging reply, the Dwarf at the far end of the aisle in front of the stage.

"We are in need of a Command Review," came Xera's simple order, before they stepped down from the podium, taking up a position on the opposite side from Pelidri as they both came to stiff attention.

There was the sound of a single pair of footsteps walking quickly down the aisle, and Natala soon came into sight. She was decked out in her green uniform, light blue cloth on each shoulder, each decorated with multiple black stripes flanking two stars showing her high enlisted rank. After touching her fist to her chest, she turned to face the crowd, herself coming to straight attention. Around her neck she wore a medal, a gold version of Pixyl's Bronze Sword, while several additional medals and ribbons were pinned to her chest, including at least two Silver Swords, two or three Bronze, and a Red Heartstone.

"By the ranks," the Sergeant-Major called out, "all officers and honored soldiers are to present themselves for review! All rise in recognition."

At once, the room stood again, people moving to get closer to the aisle, forming a corridor of bodies between the stage at the rear and the two officers at the front. Natala, herself, took a couple steps to the side, and turned to face inwards as well. "Command Review!" Natala's voice boomed in order.

Callie heard the light sound of a pair of boots, and leaned in slightly to look who it was. To her surprise, against the backdrop of others awaiting their turn, it was Lhawni leading the procession. The obviously-nervous Goblin focused her gaze straight ahead, face concentrating as if trying to remember precisely what she was supposed to do. That, in and of itself, was strange enough, but what made it even stranger was that Lhawni was wearing a perfectly-fitting uniform, and looking rather good in it. The cloth was green, like other combat classes, and she had the blue on each shoulder like the other enlisted, but there were no stars or stripes on it, so they weren't showing any rank.

As she got about half-way down the aisle, behind Lhawni followed the form of Vanis, walking next to one of the camp's soldier contingent that Callie sort-of-recognized, but didn't know. Both had green uniforms, both with blue shoulders, and both with two black stripes set off against the blue. However, in Vanis's case, one was covered by the black mourning sash he was wearing across his chest. Immediately behind Vanis and the other soldier were two additional soldiers from the camp, those two followed by Tazrok, wearing his own gigantic uniform, all three also showing two stripes on each shoulder. In the case of Vanis, he also wore his Medal of Distinction around his neck, and the soldier next to him wore what appeared to be a Red Heartstone around his. The other two, and Tazrok, had no medals.

Returning to Lhawni, Callie watched her walk ahead, her short legs making for a rapid pitter-patter against the temporary wooden floor. She was nervous, maybe even a bit frightened, and being the first down the walk wasn't helping any as all eyes followed her. None of the eyes had any malice, of course, but that wasn't helping the poor Goblin any. Finally she came to Xera and Pelidri, quite close to where Callie was, standing in both confusion and a little bit of awe as she looked up at her superiors.

"Recruit Lhawni!" the Sergeant-Major called out rather simply, her voice slightly amplified and announcing the Shaman so the entire room could hear. Lhawni snapped to attention, followed by bowing her head to each officer as she touched her right fist to her chest.

"Recruit Lhawni," Xera said in simple acknowledgement as both officers returned the gesture, Pelidri using the simpler Imorian style. Lhawni next turned ninety degrees to her right and stiffly walked off to the side to make way for the next group, obvious relief on her face.

Natala continued, announcing the next rank of corporal and then the names for Vanis and Tazrok, as well as the other three as they stepped up for presentation. Tazrok stood behind the others, his huge form imposing over everyone, and the loud thump as his fist hit his chest in salute reverberated around the room. Once again, Xera replied, using each of their names in turn and returning the gesture. The simple acknowledgement completed, the five moved again, filing away to the side after Lhawni to make way for the next.

The next happened to be Pixyl, her own Bronze Sword high on her neck, Heartstone pinned to her chest. She must have been the only corporal-major in camp, as she was alone, the rank on her shoulder represented by two lines with a star between them.

"Corporal-Major Pixylatw … Pixyla … Pixy … Bah!" Natala scowled, tripping over the Pixie's name three times and getting flustered. There were chuckles around the room from those familiar with the whole name, likely knowing full well they'd stumble, too. "Aww, dammit … Corporal-Major Pixyl!" Natala finally said in a chuckling huff. "Sorry," she mumbled under her breath towards the little Pixie, who was trying not to blush.

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"Corporal-Major Pixylataweneecina," Xera acknowledged simply, nailing the pronunciation and adding a bit of a teasing lilt towards Natala. Like the others, Pixyl turned after the greeting and quickly walked away.

Callie finally put the details together, thinking back to what Lena had said about uniforms a short time ago. These must be all the soldiers ranked Corporal or higher being presented. If they had been awarded them, they would wear their medals for bravery, injuries, or for outstanding deeds. As part of the protocol, the medal at their neck was always the highest one they had received, with any additional worn on their uniform. So for Xera, their highest was the Silver Sword, while for Vanis it was the lower Medal of Distinction. Pelidri was probably following a similar tradition, but wearing the accolades of the Cillisine army. This didn't really explain why Lhawni was in uniform though.

The procession worked its way through the ranks, following Pixyl with a pair of sergeants, and then a single high-sergeant from the camp, accompanied by one of the Arkan's people with presumably the equivalent rank. Apparently with Natala guiding everything, she wasn't going to be part of the procession, despite being the highest-ranking enlisted at the camp, as once all the other ranked enlisted personnel were presented, the officers came next. That led off with the new Scryer, Sub-Captain Millavana. She wore the dark blue of logistics and support, her shoulders red with a single black stripe. Of course, being fresh from the academy, she was wearing no medals. Next came Captains Kela, Rowani and Maugra, Kela also in blue. Those three walked with the second of Pelidri's people adding a fourth.

Major Celeste was next, as there were no sub-majors at the camp, and her presence absolutely couldn't be missed. She practically jingled with the medals she wore. On her chest were not just two Silver Swords, but a Gold one as well, along with two Red Heartstones and others Callie didn't immediately recognize. But around her neck was something special. Callie remembered back to the opening feast, recalling it was called a Radiant Star. It certainly fit, as it was an eight-pointed star of milky-white crystal with an eternal, softly-glowing yellow stone set in the center. It simply screamed with the Major's past deeds. Up until now, Callie had known that the Major was a total badass, but what was at her neck surely made that word an understatement.

Just as there were no sub-majors, there were also no sub-colonel officers at camp, so the final three presented to Xera and Pelidri were Legate Galin, Master-Healer Tasi, and Master-Trainer Thorn, all three in green, each displaying the rank of colonel. Tasi was wearing a single medal Callie didn't recognize high on her neck and two for distinction on her chest. Galin had a Silver Sword, as did Thorn, at their own necks, with multiple lesser ones below, Galin also wearing a Red Heartstone. Callie wasn't sure what the difference between a Red Heartstone and the Blue one that Xera wore was, but with Xera wearing the only one she saw, thought it possibly might have something to do with the Fairy having permanent battle injuries in the form of their missing wing and arm. She'd check with Vanis.

With the final officers now presented, that ended the simple ceremony with a final few words from Natala. As ceremonies went, Callie found it actually quite meaningful. Each person was given an equally-brief moment of recognition, but none held out above another, no matter the importance of their past awards or their rank. Civilian personnel made up most of the camp staff, so with only a few officers at camp, and not a lot of other soldiers above the rank of high-private, the whole thing was over in only a few minutes. This kept the standing time short for everyone and the evening moving along at a brisk pace.

Plus, Callie got to see Pixyl in a uniform! What girl doesn't look smoking hot in a uniform?

The simple formality of the Command Review completed, the audience was released and everyone returned to their seats. Chatter started to build again as the guests went back to their bread, crackers and drinks, a few remaining standing to join or rejoin conversations that had been put on hold. The soldiers and officers that had just been presented filed back into the tent from wherever they had gathered, and a half-dozen escorts led them off in small groups, taking them to their appropriate seating. In the case of the four destined for Callie's round table, the escort simply pointed the way. Callie, Juniper and Chown did sort of stand out.

Vanis lingered behind the other three, stopping when someone asked for his attention, and then smiling in recognition. He began talking to a visitor in a friendly way, hand on the person's shoulder, as if just informed the two had a mutual acquaintance or perhaps that they had met another time. The Elf prince seemed happy to be somewhat distracted from the heavy things in his life, wearing a warm smile and even trying to laugh a little. It was nice to see, given everything that had happened.

"So, what d-d-do you think?" Pixyl asked as the remaining three arrived at the table.

As Callie turned, her girlfriend did a little pirouette to show off the uniform. In response, Callie made a frowning, considering face, as if she was a critic inspecting a piece of art. "I don't know …" she said slowly. Pixyl's eyes shot wide, suddenly worried what Callie was thinking and that she disapproved.

"I'm just kidding," Callie grinned, smacking Pixyl lightly on the arm with the back of her hand. "You look fantastic!"

The relief in Pixyl's eyes, apparently having not initially seen the joke on Callie's face, was evident, and she let out the breath she'd been suddenly holding. Then she blushed more as Callie held her at arm's length, looking her up and down as she hungrily drank in the image with a tongue-rolling purr.

"You look great, too," Chown added, speaking to Lhawni.

"Thanks!" Lhawni replied, the blushing less evident on her green face, but still there.

"He's right, Lhawni!" Callie concurred. "I do have a question though. Why are you ..."

There was the sound of a loud, clear bell from the front dais, cutting off Callie's question. All eyes turned to see the smiling Kyra, wearing a bright-yellow, calf-length and low-cut dress accented with a crumple of yellow netting in her hair. She was holding a bell out with one hand, and in her other was a small, metal hammer which she used to strike the bell a second time. The room settled, everyone quickly scampering to their seats. Vanis wrapped up his brief conversation, indicating they'd talk more later. He came close to the table, but instead of sitting, stood off to the side, as if waiting.

"Good evening, everyone," Kyra said, her voice clear and amplified. "We welcome you all again to what we hope will be a truly memorable occasion. Our resident Culinar is currently busy with final preparations, and she asked me to pass along a couple items of note regarding the meal. First, magic will be used to set and clear the table between courses in the interests of time and limited space. Thus, when announced, please pick up your drinks or they will be whisked away with everything else, and be sure to keep the space clear as new eating settings are summoned."

"I have got to learn how to do that!" Callie mumbled to herself, pushing Culinar magic back up a little higher on her eventually-to-learn list.

"Our appetizer and main course this evening have been made from scratch with non-summoned food and minimal magic, save preservations. I've had a sample of both and I must say they are simply stupendous! However, without magic, each table will need to be served individually. As one might expect, most of our dining staff are Goblins and they will be using carts, so please be sure to keep the center and side paths clear and be observant, lest any of the Little Ones get underfoot."

The room chuckled as one, and Callie caught Kyra's statement that it was common for Goblins to be kitchen staff, and made a mental note to talk to Lhawni about it at some point. Were Goblins some kind of an underclass? If so, it was a social dynamic she hadn't really been aware of.

"Finally," Kyra continued, "simply signal if your table needs more wine or water, or should you need anything else, for that matter. If we are able, we will attend to your every need." Clearing her throat, she glanced at Vanis, who nodded in return. Smiling, Kyra continued. "The Prelude to the Feast is normally given by our Commandant. Events have occurred, however, and there will be a change this year. As such, it is my humble honor to present his Royal Highness, Prince Vanis del Montano, son of King Feldwin the Second, and brother of the heir to the throne, Princess Alena."

There were a few loud applause, but they were quickly shushed. Given everything that had happened, and who was going to speak, it didn't feel right to cheer wildly. Still, everyone perked up and focused their attention to the front of the room. There was a feeling that these were going to be important words, demanding solemn respect. At Table 1, Callie and the rest focused as well, and as Vanis took his spot, she and the prince locked eyes. Callie gave Vanis a quick nod and smile, trying to support her friend and one of the most-important people in her life, whom she knew was hurting right now. He may have been all smiles and friendly to everyone, but there was still pain and anger inside.

Vanis stiffened his posture regally and looked out over the room, before lightly clearing his throat. "I was quite young when my great-grandmother unexpectedly passed, and I did not fully understand the importance of the funeral at that age. Many people had spoken, including my father, all telling a story or remembering a moment they'd had with her. She had been a grand person, and the way she had touched so many had been equally grand. Yet, still I was confused as to why people had spoken so highly of her, and only highly of her. She was dead after all, and was sometimes quite strict with me and others, and would never hear the praise anyway. It was eventually my great-grandfather, now widowed, that explained to me that the speeches were not for her, but instead for all those that knew her and loved her, so they would remember the good things about her and be at peace. Well, he tried to explain it. I was only nine, so I really only understood it was important to tell a nice story about someone when they died." Vanis looked out over the audience, a rich sincerity on his face. "So, as I won't be able to attend the funeral back in Imor, I will instead share a story with all of you."

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