Midnight Station - Part 01: Twilight faces the Dark Martial March

by Khampostel

The arrival of midnight I

On the island of Cunabula, about two hours before the day of the sun purification, Dana, a leopony from the highest peak of the island, observed the preparations for the "purification ceremony". As the "Primado" of the temple order, Dana was responsible for organizing all activities related to the ceremony, including accompanying the Great Patriarch throughout the Great Procession, presiding over the midday speech to the King, leading the closing speech, etc.

Normally, these tasks never discouraged her, on the contrary, they gave her a sense of purpose and fulfillment. She loved her job, loved Cunabula, and even as a cub, she had awaited this day with a smile.

However, on this occasion, the situation she was experiencing was tense. An event that had not occurred in more than a thousand years had been announced: the official arrival of a foreigner to Cunabula.

The King, the Council, the population in general, and herself received the news with surprise and fear. It was not for less, the Great Patriarch was the one who announced it in an emergency meeting of the Council one day before and gave no further explanations.

No one on the island knew who the foreigner was and why they would be received. Only she and a select group of individuals, including the Great Patriarch and the King, knew the identity of the foreigner.

However, the most important thing was not to know the identity of the foreigner, but the purpose of their arrival.

Dana closed her eyes and offered a prayer for the kingdom. It was all she could do at that moment, and she still clung to the faint hope that everything would turn out well.

"Excuse me, 'Primado' Dana. The preparations for the welcome ceremony have been completed," announced one of her colleagues from the temple order. He interrupted her prayer, but she did not take offense, as she had ordered him to inform her when everything was ready.

"Come with me. I will review the work you have prepared," said Dana solemnly, and both set off for the temple.

In front of the temple, a small crowd of members of the knight order and the temple had formed. The members of the knight order had divided into six squads of six members. Their formation was of three groups on both the right and left sides of the welcome mat. Each squad represented one of the six main houses of Cunabula: the 'Draco Dragon' house, the 'Quetzalkan' house, the 'Urutaú' house, the 'Ofiotauro' house, the 'Akhtubut Qirshin' house, and finally the 'Leopony' house. In addition, there were regular soldiers on the perimeter of the temple and a small number of members of the temple order waiting on the other side of the welcome mat.

Dana quickly reviewed their formations. On her way, she stopped a couple of times to evaluate the soldiers' martial skills, the cleanliness of the place, the lighting, and the decorations. Finally, she climbed the highest steps of the temple and nodded in approval.

"Good job. That's all for now. You can return to your reserved duties," said Dana with satisfaction.

"Thank you very much," replied the Leopony assistant. He bowed respectfully and quickly withdrew.

From the temple porch, Dana carefully observed everyone present.

Dana had not been sincere. She was not sure if this was a "good job" to welcome a foreigner. That afternoon, she searched the history books of the great library for how the last welcome event had been carried out, but only found some references to the decorations and attire that should be worn. It all seemed too "festive" for the occasion, so she simply left it aside. She ordered one of the temple members assigned to the "Great Procession" to help her with the arrangements, while she took care of the invitations. The final result was perhaps the most appropriate for the moment.

On the other hand, the painter she had requested was already preparing the paintings for the nation's historical memoirs, so in the future, the next welcoming officials would have something more tangible as a reference.

"The future" Dana stopped her thoughts on that word. Once again, the feeling of darkness and silence enveloped her.

"Silence... too much silence!" Dana's sense of danger activated. The soldiers, knights, and temple acolytes also sensed the change in the environment.

Dana turned around and focused her attention on the temple. The light that always radiated from it had disappeared. The very air that surrounded it was tense, as if it were close to an eruption. The moment had come.

"Maintain your positions. Adhere to the orders you received. All of you are the pride of Cunabula, show it tonight!" Dana roared and was answered by the clamor of all present.

In response to her words, there was a burst of light from the temple. It burned in multicolored flames and a rainbow beam shot up into the sky. Soon the entire firmament flickered, revealing the invisible dome that covered the entire island.

The temple gates began to open. Dana bowed.

Seven trumpets began to sound successively and the standards of the knight and temple orders were raised.

Finally, the temple gates opened completely. Two figures advanced towards her: one was the 'Great Patriarch' and the other was...

"Rise, daughter of Cunabula," was the magnanimous voice of the Great Patriarch.

Dana obeyed, before her was the figure of her master and next to him was the 'midnight envoy'.

The 'midnight envoy' was the title given to the foreigner who would visit Cunabula. But Dana knew his real name and the fact that he had made 'unofficial' visits before. As in those visits, he kept his figure hidden with a black tunic that resembled the background of an abyss. The only difference she noticed was the three-star brooch he wore.

Dana followed protocol.

"Great Patriarch, Midnight Envoy, on behalf of the blessed kingdom of Cunabula, I welcome you. I am Primado Dana of the temple order of harmony and I will be your guide on this occasion," said Dana.

"I thank you, Primado Dana," replied the Great Patriarch.

"I thank you, Dana," said the musical voice with a tinge of seriousness. "However, it will not be necessary at this time. I will remain in the temple until I am summoned to deliver my message before the council of Cunabula. The Great Patriarch will explain the other details to you," he said curtly and without saying goodbye, quickly returned to the interior of the temple.

Dana was surprised and annoyed by the envoy's arrogant behavior. In addition, the temple was the most sacred precinct of the kingdom, and for a foreigner to take it as if it were their property was an insult. But it was 'her', so there was no choice but to accept it.

"What does all this mean, Great Patriarch?" Dana asked her master seriously.

"Dana, at this moment I need to meet with the king and the council. Accompany me, I will explain the situation on the way," replied the Great Patriarch with a tone of fatigue and affliction that he had rarely shown. Slowly he began to descend from the temple.

Dana understood that she should not ask more questions and began to advance with her master along the path that descended towards the city.