#7 After The Wedding

Unfortunately, all records of the wedding between Queen Kulambria and Sonitrus were later destroyed by the queen herself, for reasons that will much later be explained. The information we share with you here is drawn from personal writings from individuals close to the royal party (including notes even from Sonitrus' personal journal) , a solid understanding of Nolavarian history and tradition, and a moderate amount of pure speculation.

It is safe to assume that the ceremony was quite extravagant and that all people of all ages of Nolava would have been present for it. We can also assume that many songs would have been written specifically for the occasion, and-according to Nolavarian tradition-at least one of these songs would have been played repeatedly for forty days and nights directly following the ceremony. [At the time of this writing, we remain in search of writings and songs related to this wedding, and we will share them accordingly if and when they are discovered.]

There are many things that fascinate us regarding the wedding between Queen Kulambria and Sonitrus, but of particular interest we note that their union was unprecedented in the kingdom of Nolava-and for more reasons than one.

Firstly, previous to Queen Kulambria's rule, royal inheritance had always remained with the male. We can only speculate as to why Kulambria's father, King Sonus-upon his deathbed-gave the throne to her instead of her brother Sebius, though it should be noted that Kulambria was the eldest of the siblings.

Secondly, as the previous paragraph would imply, there never was  a question as to whether a man who married into the royal family would be rightfully crowned king. Ultimately it was decided by a council of elders shortly after the wedding that Sonitrus would in fact be titled "King Sonitrus" for official reasons, but that citizens of Nolava would not be required to address him as such, and that a crown would be made specially for him that was identical to Queen Kulambria's in every way. In effect, though he could be properly called "King," he would wield no actual power in any official capacity. It must be added that Sonitrus himself interacted with the council of the elders, and much of the details they set forth were by his own request (Sontrus was a humble man by nature who desired above all to properly fulfill his duties as Chief of all bards, nor had he any desire for power).

And this leads us to another curiosity regarding their marriage: namely, that, as a rule of thumb, bards rarely engaged in romantic relationships, let alone marrying. There was no written rule or regulation among the bards regarding celibacy, but it was generally believed by them that intimate relations with a particular individual would likely interfere with their duty and relationship to the people as a whole, so those situations were simply avoided. That system had been quite adequate up until the marriage between Queen Kulambria and Brother Sonitrus, Chief of all bards.

This potential conflict was not lost on our dear Sonitrus-now "King"-and it is clear from many of his songs, poems, and journal entries that it was a dense weight he carried with him on many a day after the wedding. Even in a tangible sense, the adjustment would have been a great challenge to him: he had bunked with fellow bards, Brothers Martinus and Samulus for many a season since his youth. Moving into the castle and sharing a bed with the Queen, one might imagine, would have been quite un-comforting-initially, at least. 

We will explore many of the struggles and inner conflicts of our dear Sonitrus in the days to come that followed his marriage to Queen Kulambria. For now, we leave the reader with an excerpt from an untitled poem he wrote that seems to have been written just a few weeks after the wedding (perhaps it was intended to be a song, we are still looking into this possibility):

     "The light vanishes quickly, beneath the surface,

       It suffocates;

       The lantern bleeds its oil into an unknown current;

       It drowns.

       Will the daystar call it to the surface?

       Will the moonlight speak its name?

       Will it ever breathe again?"

Thank you all for sticking with us, and for your fantastic love and support