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a Lucy is born in Geb
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Unless she shows up really early she's not going to get one of the good seats, but somewhere with lines of sight to the stage is entirely doable. 

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The speech doesn't start off especially remarkable. Queen Galfrey's delivery is good, and she knows how to make her voice carry enough that Luzai doesn't have much difficulty making it out, but if Luzai has listened to or read enough speeches before the content will be fairly familiar even with different words. She congratulates Kenabres on their resilience, praises the bravery of the defenders that stood by when hope seemed lost, and talks up the magnitude of the victory that has been won, albeit at bitter cost. She's building to something, though, and judging by the anticipation building in the rest of the crowd Luzai isn't the only one that's noticed.

"But we cannot rest on our laurels - though we have driven back the enemy in disarray, in time they will reorganize, and seek to bring down our fair country once more. So we shall not simply let them! We will take the fight to them once more, and remind them of why all the hordes of the abyss have not taken Mendev! I hereby declare the fifth Mendevia crusade underway, and appoint Knight Commander Irabeth Tirabade, chosen of Iomedae, to lead it to victory!"

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--Wow okay! 

Luzai does not regret the fact that all the attention for the Wardstone Incident fell on the paladins, but. She really hopes Irabeth is okay with this? What did Irabeth tell Queen Galfrey about the whole situation? Luzai would prefer it if the crusader queen did not know about her secret evil mom but if she in fact has no idea what's going on and honestly thinks Iomedae was behind the Incident things could get awkward. 

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If the queen knows anything about Luzai's parentage, she's not broadcasting it to the world in her speech! Instead she introduces some more of the people who will be helping run the crusade, and encourages the people of Kenabres to join up. It's a pretty good sell, but it's presumably made easier by the fact that lots of them no longer have a home to go back to. And then it's time to celebrate! The food isn't free like the alcohol, but there is lots of it available, and music and dancing for people who are interested.

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Luzai is not feeling much like partying right now. 

If possible she'd like to find Anevia; if not...she'll go hug her brother. 

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Anevia seems to be helping Irabeth fend off the veritable surge of well-wishers and brownosers who seem to have decided that they really need to talk to the next knight commander; if she had a way to get them some space, it might help, but if she's just looking for a private moment it seems hard to arrange around the dozens of other people who all really want that too.

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Yeah no checks out. She'll--actually she'll see if Seelah is available.

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Seelah is available! She also had her five minutes of fame from the Grey Garrison, but compared to the new knight commander she barely seems to rate and is quite grateful for it. She's got a drink of some kind in her hand and is listening appreciatively to one of the musicians.

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"Seelah! How are you doing."

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"I'm excited! I was thinking about what I'd be doing next, and after last week just manning the border and waiting for the next big attack didn't really appeal. Not that it's unimportant, or anything, but I'd much rather stop them before they start going after innocent people, and if we move the borders far enough in even throwing the wardstone again won't let them get at a city."

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"I'm excited but also nervous. I mean, obviously being proactive about dealing with the demons is more appealing than being reactive, but--dealing with queens is a little scary." Half-shrug and small self-deprecating smile. "I mean, this one is, you know, a paladin, and alive, so that's a huge improvement, but."

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"Brr, now I'm imagining the demons trying to kill her to raise her as an undead. At least she'd make them regret it if they tried it."

Left unsaid is how well that strategy apparently worked out for Terendelev.

"Let's talk about something less gloomy. Where do you think the crusade is going to go? A lot of people are talking about heading straight for Iz, or even the Threshold itself, but I'm betting they plan to swing for Yathscar first."

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"Good question. I mean, Drezen's the obvious first step, right, considering..." Staunton fucking off with Minagho at the Wardstone battle. 

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"That would be kind of poetic. I doubt Aponavicus will give it up without a fight, but better him than Khorramzadeh anyway - swords I can handle."

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Nod. Luzai should do more research on high-profile demonic commanders, and by "research" she mostly means "ask Mom." Not that she couldn't find out common-knowledge stuff about them easily enough without, but Mom might know juicy details and secret weaknesses that are not public knowledge, and it's good to generate requests that are Definitely From Her And Not A Paladin. 

"Well, I don't think there are any strategically important points that'll be taken without a fight."

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"True, we'd probably have them already otherwise. To easy fights, then!"

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"To easy fights! And unexpected advantages."

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The next morning, while the newly declared crusade makes preparations to head out, a visibly wrung out Daeran comes looking for Luzai. He seems to have cleaned up at some point between the drinking and the present, but he's clearly not happy about something and it's probably not just the headache his restoration didn't entirely managed to banish.

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"--You don't look great, did something happen?"

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"What hasn't happened?"

He looks like badly he wants to flop somewhere, but he's stymied by the lack of good options nearby.

 

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"The Terrasque hasn't surfaced." 

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“If anything, that would be a relief at this point. Tell me, do I look like a paladin to you? Or maybe a glory addled fool excited to be gutted by a demon?”

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"Well, with your hair and eyes, you sorta do, but I'd've thought your infamy would set anyone straight on that front."

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“And yet you’re looking at the newest member of the Crusade leadership, for some godsforsaken reason. If they really needed a beautiful blond to fill by cousin’s shoes, couldn’t they have found someone dumb enough to actually want it? I haven’t the slightest talent or interest in it.”

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