Today’s story, as is usual with our Tuesday stories, is inspired by a prompt from : Write about a father’s heirloom I didn’t want, but which my father insisted. Scoot also lent inspiration through this Note. I couldn’t resist.
“Dorp!” the majestic command rang through the high chamber. “Step forward!”
He didn’t want to. He would rather have been anywhere else on the entire planet than there. He could’ve been, for example, on the spaceport platform just beside Ceruflax Lake, sitting beside Trinix, watching the suns rise, their light setting the waters aflame.
But everyone was looking at him now, so he stepped forward. He kept going down the long aisle until he was standing before his father.
“About time,” his father rumbled at him, just low enough so only he could hear. Then he raised his voice. “Behold my son, Dorp, Crown Prince of the Sqings, Heir to the Holy Boots of Arcamon, Marshal of the Island of Plee…”
The titles were endless. Dorp hadn’t even visited the island of which he was the marshal; he hadn’t been allowed. Neither had he been given the boots. It was all meaningless. Nonetheless, the whole thing kept going. Dorp wished Trinix was there.
“…and Commander of the Armies of Sqing, I, Glorp, Third of My Name, do hereby-”
Dorp started. The titles were meaningless, but he still knew them. He had to, in case of official ceremonies like this. That one about the Commander hadn’t been there before. He looked up at his father. He was smiling. He never did that. Dorp’s circulatory liquids ran cold.
“And proclaim that Dorp is awarded and bestowed with the Ring of Sqing!” He took a ring off his foremost tentacle and formally presented it to his son. It was green, a half-shade off emerald, and it emitted a low hum just barely audible. The sound always bothered Dorp, though he’d never been able to say why.
“Take this in token of Command,” his father bellowed, “Go forth, lead our armies into the galaxy, and establish our Empire everywhere! Glory to Sqing!”
“Glory to Sqing!” the assembled crowd echoed.
A second’s pause.
“Glory to Sqing,” Dorp said miserably.
Aww, poor Dorp.
Out of curiosity, how does one pronounce Sqing? Does the q make a ch sound, as in Qi? Or a kwuh sound as in Squash? Or is this an entirely different phonetic system using roman characters, just to keep in interesting?