When Abbas and Alya saw the Waddan “delegation” they were shocked to say the least. They did not expect the most lavish of delegations but in this case is was more than just austere. Abbas considered for a moment the possibility that the Tamoran lavish welcome might not be appropriate for the guests under these circumstances but he shrugged it off. Tamoran lavish welcomes represented Tamora in the first place so they were appropriate regardless of how guests presented themselves.
Abbas liked the fact that Yasin, as young as he was, already had a 14 year old boy. It was a relatively common practice in Tamora to marry young since marriages were generally arranged by the parents so he felt had something in common with Yasin.
“Thank you for the gift. It honors me. The Tamoran Empire would also like to extend friendship to the Humaydah people”.
The trip to the Great Temple of Djerb would take more than 30 minutes even with the traffic restrictions in place that allowed going through the city without any jams. That was in part because of in the center of the city the convoy slowed down considerably to allow the people gathered in the streets, that where there to see the Imperial couple but also the guests that the press talked so much about, to get a glimpse of the Imperial couple, Yasin and Karam.
From time to time fighter planes, mainly Su57, could be heard flying low so that people could see them. It was a tradition when hosting important foreign dignitaries to both have people in the streets but also to have the air force but on display their best fighters. The entire visit was organized and orchestrated as a show aimed to display Tamoran might, to make guests feel important and also please the Tamoran people.
The Great Temple of Djerb, one of the holiest sites of the Manist faith
The interior of the Great temple of Djerb
The convoy stopped near the entrance of the Great Temple of Djerb where the Imperial couple, the guests and other important members of the welcoming committee got off and went inside the Great Temple of Djerb. The Great Temple was already packed full except for the corridor in the center. The moment imperial couple and the two guests entered the Great temple, all attendees got up from their seats and remained standing as the Imperial couple escorted Yasin and his son through the corridor all the way to the first row where their seats we waiting for them. Once they got there they remained standing and soon the Supreme Ayatollah made his appearance signaling the start of the religious service.
The Waddan guests, as Manists, would recognize the religious service though small differences would no doubt be present.
The Supreme Aytollah pointing towards the place where Yasin and Karam were seated when he mentioned the “Humaydah Tribe”
During the sermon, the Supreme Ayatollah also made a statement referring to Waddan and the foreign guests:
“Today we see another sign of the greatness of our ancestors. As the tribes of Waddan have emerged from isolation, a thousand miles away from Tamora, we see among those tribes one that follows the Prophet. That is the result of the great missionary work of our ancestors no doubt and should inspire us to continue our work today all over Mundus so that generations from now they can reap the benefits of our work: a Mundus that does not reject the word of the Prophet but instead embraces it fully.
But dear brothers and sisters in faith, the people of the Humaydah Tribe, which share our faith, also tell teach us another important lesson: to keep our faith no matter what. They are testament to what we teach: that one is truly blessed not when he is showered with material wealth but when one has kept the faith of the Prophet and his teachings.
Let us now rise and pray for our brothers and sisters in faith in the kingdom of Clysperis that have made the ultimate sacrifice in defending their faith and defeating those that terrorized Clysperis and its people”.
Afterwards, the religious service soon ended and the Imperial couple invited the Waddan guests to the Imperial palace. During the short trip from the Great Temple to the Imperial palace, Abbas asked the two guests:
“How did you find the service ? “ referring to the one they had recently attended. “Now that our two peoples are both looking to extend our friendship, I hope one day to be able to attend service in a temple of the Humaydah people. “