A sermon is held in the great temple, before the ball
*Lerina approaches the Alter in the great temple - many citizens in attendance*
She begins with the opening prayer for Gallia.
"Eternal Gods, open up my lips so my mouth may declare your glory!
We stand here today before you, in your honor, with your love, and in your guidance.
May the divine watch over all here, and may you grant us the salvation we seek."
A clergy member then recites the Royal prayer as Lerina listens
"Divine, with all our honor, love, courage and compassion
We ask you to shine upon our mortal leaders
Grant them the strength to lead us and the power and glory to spread thy words."
Lerina begins the sermon
"Gallians and guests, welcome to tonights mass. Tonight, we will focus on a divine that we hardly speak of, as I am of some indifference to her tenets. We speak of Sallana. Why, of all nights, the same night we prepare to honor Winter do we speak of Sallana? Because as the cold months slowly end, a new dawn will rise. And with the new dawn, will come a marriage. Friends, your Sultana is proud to announce her engagement to your Vizier, Marley Green. While no official plans have been made you are the first public to hear this announcement.
Tonight we focus on her Tenet "Take no shame in whom or what you love if no harm becomes of it, welcome it.". This, this hits personally and for the Elven among us you might be familure with this issue. Myself, an Elf, engaged to a human. While yes, it is a curse in that I will eventually be a widow due to the lifeline, and my heir will not be of pure blood, the Goddess of love, tells us to look past this. If no harm becomes of it.
You can argue the harm is leaving a future child to be raised only by her mother if human is to perish. You can argue, depriving Altera of pure elven blood. But in the focus of it, we are appeasing most other gods tenets by reproducing. We are bringing life into this world, a gift of the Mother.
I have had ambitions to make Gallia a home of the elven, and as we do welcome all here , that goal can still be made by allowing others to live here, to be our brothers and sisters. Tonight, we we celebrate Winter we do so not only as elven blood, but as the blood of Altera. May Winter hear us all. May the ladys angels guide us through our mourning. May our suffering, be eased. We have lost, a lot. Many of us have lost our families, friends, loved ones. While some came back, some never will. I cannot erase the pain you all feel. But as your leader, I am here to ease your suffering as much as I can.
May all of us now head to the palace, where we will have a dance in honor of winter."
