#who herself incited the riot from beyond the grave

[the-colony-roleplay]

COL22 EVENT  ╬  RUINA REX: “THE FUNERAL” ╬  part ii

Kiss your perfect day goodbye Because the world is on fire Tuck your innocence goodnight You sold your friends like guns for hire Go play with your blocks And now you'll pay when these walls come tumbling down Oh, they're tumbling down                                                —Guns for Hire, Woolkid [x]

The day dawned bright and unseasonably warm, as though nobody had thought to tell the sun that it was to be a grim day. Breakfast was a subdued affair; anyone with a hand in the funeral wasn’t present, whether they were discussing last minute changes to the ceremony or ensuring the coffin was properly sealed, and those that were present talked only in hushed tones. It was out of respect, in some cases. In others, it was out of a furtive need for privacy as people discussed whether a man like Kaiser could really be felled by something as mundane as an aneurysm.

It was the first grave in many years that had been dug at the Natural Memorial and it felt momentous to different people, for different reasons. At the foot of all those thin, sickly trees lay a hole, vacant for now. Soon it would be Kaiser Bahr’s final resting place, and as Colony 22′s first martyr (if one believes the rumours), it would likely change the meaning of the Memorial forever. It would be impossible to go to the trees now and not think of him.

There was certainly no risk of anyone forgetting him today. If he had few he called friends in life, it seemed as though the whole Colony turned up to say goodbye this morning, gathering in little groups around the grave, which was presided over by the Colony’s own reverend, Enoch Lynch. Cambie, while arranging the funeral, had hesitated to approach him since by no account was Kaiser a religious man, but if nothing else Enoch knew how to lead a funeral and she’d really had no idea who else to ask.

She’d had no idea what ought to be said, either. They couldn’t incite a riot, but it was difficult to talk about Kaiser without acknowledging his extreme beliefs—and yet getting into that would only anger the NWRF. His son, Diederick D’Mornay didn’t have the energy for much input beyond ensuring nobody accused Kaiser of being a good father. In the end, the ceremony was simple by necessity. Enoch spoke, the crowd listened, and heads were bowed respectfully as the coffin was lowered into the ground.

With the formalities completed, attendees were invited to move to the chapel where there would be a wake. This was when the rain came. A sudden, bellowing downpour, driving citizens inside in scurrying lines. It was as though the skies had now caught up and wept for this unexpected death, swollen tears from angry clouds nobody noticed rolling in. Perhaps Kaiser had sent them. Perhaps his followers, fallen before him in the wastes, in riots.

Inside, the chapel was muted and eerie beneath the thundering on the roof. At the end of the room was a charcoal portrait of Kaiser, hand drawn by one of the more artistic members of the Colony, a wreath of synthetic flowers, a few candles and an abstract tapestry to make a memorial of sorts. It was carefully apolitical, and as a consequence felt as though it were missing something. The pews had been pushed to the sides of the room, with a few tables scattered through the space left by them. What might pass as a buffet was laid out— sausage rolls, mini sandwiches, potato salad, cheese and meat, chocolate cupcakes, the sort of finger food that is easily eaten while milling around. There were even a few bottles of wine set out, though the guards made it clear they were keeping an eye out for anyone taking more than their fair share.

Since Enoch had done his part, Cambie was unwilling to ask more of him— instead she took the lead herself, and went to the fore of the room to say a few words about Kaiser, and to invite anyone else that had stories to share to go up at some point over the course of the afternoon.

And with that done, the rest of the afternoon’s proceedings were left in the hands of the residents of the Colony. While Cambie hadn’t known Kaiser terribly well, she felt pretty confident in her conclusion that he’d not want his funeral run exclusively by Elites. He was a man of the people, and the people should be the ones using their voices now.

A/N: Alrighty, without further adieu, here is part two of the Ruina Rex (#col22rex) plot drop!!

This is where the timeline will officially move forward to the 2nd week of April, and as per the Colony PDD Notice that was released, the funeral will take place at 10:00am, Monday, April 10th.

As usual, you will no longer be permitted to start any new threads from the week prior or part one of the event (“Howl”), but you are encouraged to keep going on those threads as long as you need to to wrap them up! 

And to avoid confusion on the dash, we’re again asking you to accordingly title any new threads you start that have to do with the funeral or wake portion of this event, to help differentiate new stage ones from the old ones. However, like last time, this is a plot drop style event, meaning that you are permitted to do threads and paras about being at the funeral or wake, during the time of the funeral (if your character didn’t attend), as well as any time that follows during the new timeframe week. In other words, this is not a contained event, and you still have the full week available to you to plot and play with! Check out the Colony Calendar here for reference!

Now in terms of the wake itself, though Miss Cambie Andrews opened with a small and somber introduction, she invited others to say a few words on their own time throughout the function. One example of someone who will eventually go up to speak is Adrián Benítez. If you think any of your characters will step up to say a few words or tell a story, please let us know ASAP on the Main Blog and we will release a list of speakers in the coming days, so that everyone can know for reference in their threads or future plots! 

If you do put forward your characters as people who’d spoken during the wake, you may certainly post a self para about it if you like, but you are by no means obliged to. We can still include your character on the list, even if you don’t plan to officially write a thread or segment about it! 

The wake itself will go from approximately 10:30 to 1pm, at which time a late lunch will be served back in the Colony main building. Again, all citizens will receive the rest of the day off any classes and training, and schedules will recommence on Tuesday (save for anyone with special exemptions, like Ricky D’Mornay). 

Anyone with questions about the event, please direct them to the Main Ask Box so that we can answer them publicly in case they’re helpful to others! 

And finally, just a reminder that it will be during the third and final stage of this event, that we will be incorporating another ‘volunteer’ character to be written into the drop. So keep your eyes peeled on the main for more information—we will be reaching out to again ask for volunteers a little closer to the next drop.

With all that said, we hope you enjoy part ii: The Funeral of our Ruina Rex event!

Much love, 

xxCol22Mods