Hobrazia

[Wu Han]

Hobrazia Mourns the Father of the Nation, and Marches Forward in His Honour

28 October 5690 | On this most sacred day in the resplendent history of our great Hobrazian nation, the sun itself seemed to hesitate in the sky, unwilling to depart on a mourning nation, with the whole of the Republic united in bidding farewell to President Vasil Khimshiashvili. From the highest mountains to the lowest coastal plains, the entire nation cried to Heaven as one. Soldiers marched with tears tracing lines down their chiselled faces. At precisely 12:00, the exact hour our dear President's heart stopped beating, mourning guns thundered across Astoria, their echo washing over the whole of the capital, and far beyond. In perfect unity across the whole of the nation, locomotives, ships and patriotic motorists sounded their horns and sirens, a mighty chorus of grief and gratitude. Then came ten minutes of absolute silence, so profound that even the birds seemed ashamed to sing.

A FUNERAL BEYOND HISTORY, A LEADER BEYOND TIME

Never before in Hobrazia, nor throughout the world over the course of countless millennia, has a leader been honoured with such sincere and heartfelt devotion, spontaneously arising from the humble and grateful hearts of the Hobrazian people. As the funeral procession advanced from the Parliament Building, where the President had been lying in state, towards the National Patriotic Mausoleum, the coffin of President Khimshiashvili passed by throngs of hundreds of thousands of mourning civilians lining the National Boulevard, draped in the national colours and resting in a bed of flowers. More than 10,000 elite and stunningly handsome soldiers, forged by the departed President's iron resolve and fatherly care, marched ahead in flawless dress uniform. Their boots struck the ground in perfect unison, a living heartbeat of the nation's defenders, despite the greatest defender of the nation now residing in heaven. These sons of Hobrazia solemnly saluted the man, and the bloodline, who had made the armed forces the unbreakable force that upholds our Republic's sovereignty.

A stunning gold-plated statue of President Khimshiashvili was dramatically unveiled at the very moment his coffin entered the roundabout which surrounds it, with the President's radiant face raised toward heaven. In one emotional scene, a group of children ran into the procession, disrupting it for a short moment as they sobbed and begged the President to return. The gardens of the National Patriotic Mausoleum, the site of the funeral service, overflowed with tens of thousands of citizens, while millions more stood in reverent stillness before screens erected in every city, town, and provincial capital.

THE BLOODLINE OF THE NATION SPEAKS

Acting President Tacəddin Cavadzadə, upholding his constitutional duty, as well as his fraternal love for the President who considered him a brother and uncle to his children, welcomed mourners to the funeral service, introducing the first of the President's kin to speak: Mother of the Nation, fair Elene Dadiani. Her sorrow was felt by all, as the matriarch of the Hobrazian people struggled to rise, overcome with grief. Supported by her daughter Khatia and son Davit, the distraught widow made a heartfelt and desperate plea:

Vasil! My Vasil! My world has crumbled, even air cuts me like a knife! I cannot breathe, I cannot move, I cannot live without you! Every shadow mocks me, every silence screams your name, and I am lost... lost! Come back, my love! Come back to me! I need you! I cannot go on without you! Hobrazia cannot go on without you!

Our dear Mother's eulogy ended as she became inconsolable, and her children guided her back to her seat. The next to rise was the President's beloved daughter, Ambassador Khatia Khimshiashvili. Usually the epitome of Hobrazian feminine charm and poise, the grief and sadness of her dear father's passing gave the beautiful Khatia a miserable appearance. Nevertheless, she delivered a eulogy which brought tears to the eyes of all who attended:

Pa-pa. Before I knew my own name, I knew yours. Once I learned it, all other words arranged themselves beneath it. Even now, language feels beneath you; even the word Pa-pa feels meaningless, as if blood were the limit of what bound us. As if the word daughter were sufficient to describe what I was to you, and what you were to me.

You were not simply my dear Pa-pa. You were my origin. You were the borders which outlined the limits and contours of my body, and my existence. You were the center of gravity that held my soul in place, under your firm grip.

I am so grateful to have been able to kiss your lips one last time, despite the forces that tried to keep us apart. When I kissed you, Pa-pa, I did not merely press my lips to yours. Rather, I pressed against the very source of Hobrazia.

You are the law that shapes me, the fire that warms me, the authority that corrects me. Every breath I take, every thought I form, every step I make is guided by your eternal presence. You are not gone. You are inside me, as you have always been, and as I have always longed for you to be.

And until the end of my days, and beyond them should history allow,

I will belong to you and to Hobrazia, exactly as you intended.

The next to speak was the President's eldest son, Minister of Defence Revaz Khimshiashvili. A strong and stoic military man, Revaz provided a eulogy that was short in length, but deep in conviction and meaning:

Father.

You served Hobrazia, and lived, longer than any of us could imagine. You led with strength, discipline, and resolve.

I am your son. I mourn your passing. I honour your life.

Your legacy is the nation itself. May we preserve it, as you would have demanded, with vigilance and duty.

Rest in peace.

All the children of Vasil Khimshiashvili gave a eulogy except his son Rostom, who had reportedly lost his voice from wailing for days after the passing of his father. Unable to speak, and barely able to move, the grief-stricken Rostom was nevertheless shown throughout the ceremony with tears streaming down his face, as he faithfully carried out his funeary responsibilities alongside Acting President Cavadzadə.

The late President's daughter, MP Mimoza Khimshiashvili stated that, "the nation glows brightly because my father looked upon it, and after it, as he did his own children." Minister of Sport Danieli Khimshiashvili eulogized his father as "the titan who uplifted our dignity, and protected our sovereignty," while Astoria Mayor Davit Khimshiashvili thanked his father "on behalf of an eternally grateful nation, and a humble son, for a lifetime of devotion to the progress of our people." Otar Khimshiashvili, a great servant of the state, expressed that: “[My dear President] was the backbone of our country for many years and a role model for us all. I am deeply affected by his loss, but I know that from above he watches us carry on his legacy. He watches with his own father as we build on his foundations.”

Following the conclusion of the eulogies from the Khimshiashvili family, the voice of the people themselves next rang out through Babine Keshev, Mayor of Zariya, whose grief-stricken, poetic address echoed across the Mausoleum gardens and resonated deep within the souls of the Hobrazian people:

Oh, the insolence of the birds to sing! The insolence of the mountain winds to blow! Even the sun seems to dim its shine in these solemn days, where the cold air seems to pass right through us.

My whole guts and innards have been scooped out and tossed by cruel fate into the Siriachi River. To know that never again will I have the privilege to bow before my master, our beloved father of the nation, is to know that my heart will never again be full. Simply to see his radiant smile, to be embraced by his warm hands, to hear his powerful voice – that is the nourishment that I and my country will have to go without.

I fight on for you, dear President!

The Acting President concluded the eulogies with an address which sought to transform our collective grief into unbreakable resolve:

This nation must mourn the loss of the titan of the nation, the father of the state, the great shepherd that for decades stood as the voice of the people. Our Great Leader is no more, but he would not want us to give up, his greatest love was Hobrazia and the people in it. Tirelessly he worked to improve his beloved country, that he guided with such resolve.

Now, we enter a new era. One without President Vasil Khimshiashvili. Though, he shall forever remain in our hearts and minds while we toil further, while we use his relentless spirit to work for the nation. I call upon all god-fearing citizens of Hobrazia, my compatriots, my brothers of the nation, to use the resolve of the Great Leader to push onwards. It may feel like a cold and dark time now, but he would not want that, he would want a future full of hope, glory, and limitless growth. The same he provided for all the years he stood at the helm of the state.

In his honour, I shall do so too. Work has already begun to push forwards the vision of the Great Leader. To bring further peace, stability, and justice to our nation. But every night I shall pray to God and ask for Him to give me that same resolve, that same brilliance, and that same vision that our Great Leader had. Long live the President, God bless the Great Leader, and thank you Vasil Khimshiashvili for being a true leader and a good friend.

Following the religious rites, President Vasil Khimshiashvili was subsequently laid to rest within the National Patriotic Mausoleum, where his father, President Zaal Khimshiashvili, also rests eternal. However, every citizen is strengthened by their conviction in the truth: our Great President has not left us, for he is Hobrazia.

The fourteen days of national mourning will continue, but already the people march forward with the certainty that the Great Leader watches from eternity as the nation he forged advances toward ever greater glory.

დღის სიახლეები (News of the Day) is a conservative pro-Khimshashvili media website owned by several scions of the Khimshiashvili family.

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OOC: Quotations contributed to by Pragma and Kubrick for their respective characters.