The streets of the capital blazed with color and sound as Eladoria celebrated its double deliverance: the Shadowblight broken and the war against the Bearans brought to a swift, decisive end.
Banners of gold and crimson fluttered from every balcony, embroidered with the royal lilies and the new emblem of a green soap bar crossed with a healer's staff.
It was a cheeky addition the common folk had adopted in honor of their savior duchess. Flower petals rained from upper windows in thick, fragrant clouds of white and scarlet. Masked revelers in feathered caps and painted faces danced through the crowds, their laughter mingling with the pounding of drums and the bright trill of pipes.
At the heart of the procession marched Prince Caspian's victorious army or what remained of it. Soldiers in polished armor rode tall, their faces still gaunt from the front but lit now with hard-won pride.
