And thus it came about to celebrate the first year of his rule of the former Stolen Lands.<br/><br/>For the month leading up to the celebration, Devaguea had seemed distracted, before finally vanishing on one of his off days for an hour, and then appearing to give Tina a copy of a song he had had bouncing in his head for a while, 'I'm Free,' it was titled. It didn't have musical notations, only lyrics, but he asked for her to turn it into something decent, in time for the celebration if possible.<br/><br/>Then the celebration finally rolled around, and the lordling went all out on it, pouring some of his own hoard into it to make it special. And pride of the celebration was the large sized effigy of the Staglord, surrounded by kindling, ready to be lit at sundown. There were several kegs of ale, mead and wine for the adults, juices and milk for the kids, nearly a dozen cows had been slaughtered for each major meal, and there was a cooking competition to one side. Several bards had shown up, the guard were on light duty but still out in force, and all sorts of entertainers plied their trade as everyone relaxed and enjoyed life in the Lands of Mystery.<br/><br/>Then at sundown, Devaguea ascended the platform in front of the effigy, and gave a nice, comforting speech to his citizens, thanking them for their steadfastness, calm, and common sense in the face of what life had thrown at them over the last year. He did not give a hollow promise that the next year would be better, knowing he had no control over what happened. Instead he did promise that he would meet each problem that came at his people with the same dedication and resolve that he had shown so far, so that they, his real hoard, could enjoy their lives to the fullest. And he also promised that threats would be met in the true fashion of the Lands of Mystery, before turning to the dozen men and women that had been selected by lots to start the fires of the effigy. "Show those bandits, brigands, pirates, and thugs what will happen to those that think we are their prey!"<br/><br/>As the fire began to surge up the effigy, he turned to his ever present shadow, and nodded to the liontauress. "So, how did you enjoy your first winter up here? And I never did get around to asking for your opinion on the new armor."<br/><br/>He had spent most of the day giving short flights to the more adventurous children, as well as mingling with his subjects, so he hadn't had much of a chance to mingle with his advisors or enjoy the food, though he planned to gorge on the leftovers. He didn't touch the alcohol at all, sticking to the fruit juices, though he failed to either explain or advertise his preferred drinks.<br/><br/>Diplomacy for speech = 32 (+15)