Celebrations of the Minbari people

Minbar.
Beautiful from the surface, even more breathtaking from space.

The descent to the planet always felt somewhat divine, albeit unintentionally. Having such a view, knowing part of it belongs to you in memory – it is what classified as divine for Renati.

Though she did not have an actual 'home' with family and friends as most of her fellow Minbari did, she related to Tuzanor as her little nest, her place to call home. Logically, since she had spent the better of her time on the planet there.

Today they were not descending to Tuzanor as they normally did, but were in orbital trajectory towards Yedor, Minbar's capital city.
Characterised by its large crystal formations and city carved out of the planet's very being, Yedor was one of the most captivating places to be.

Of the 2 billion and 303 million people of Minbari society, two billion had Minbar registered as their home. 82 percent of this population was urban, causing for all cities, especially Yedor, to be humongous in proportion.

The numbers may seem enthralling, but when compared to the 15 billion – 9 billion after the war – Humans and double the Centauri, it is obvious to any the Minbari are a dying race.

The city was divided in two large sections, an 'upper' and 'lower' level. This was because of the waterfall formation the three mouths of the rivers Temeor, Shesnshai and Lerh'mor made, naturally separating one level from the other.

The upper level contained most common usage places such as halls, arenas, gathering places and more, while the lower level was home to the inhabitants of the city of Yedor.
The spaceport was located on the upper level.

Whilst descending Renati noticed there were far more Minbari ships present than normal.
No specific type of ship, rather random types, but just a lot more then were supposed to be.

"What's with the crowd?", she wondered.
"It's Minbar Renati, there are always a lot of ships", Varas responded.
"Yes, but considerably this time"
"I have no idea", Varas said uninterested. She dug deeper into the scroll she was holding, didn't even look out the window to check.
Guess they wouldn't know until they docked.

The terminal saw grey with Minbari. Every Religious, Worker and Warrior must have ventured to Minbar this morning, but for what?

"I have a bad feeling about this...", Varas worried about what they had missed.
"Oh come on, it can't be that big of a deal? As Anla'Shok we would have known before hand, it must be something last minute. Let's just ask!", perky Renati replied.

Before Varas could stop her friend, she had already tapped the shoulder of the old – Religious – man in front of her, presenting him a smile.
"Raha'kaf(1), might you inform me of why there are so many people here today?"

Renati's sheepish smile confused the man.
His sense of humour did not register her remark as funny, thus he replied sharply: "This is not a matter to be joked about"
"I am not testing your wit Su'Val(2), I am merely inquiring the reason for the mass amount of people here", she responded kindly.

The old man's eyelids flashed in a blink to soothe his surprise.
"Why I have never!", he uttered and turned around to his spouse again.
"The younglings these days! In my day, you would be exiled for a crime such as this! Only a Warrior could sacrilege as such", he complained.

The female next to him gave Renati an evil glare. He would be on about this all day now.

The young Anla'Shok was insulted.
"He thinks I'm Warrior Caste!", she whispered to Varas.
"In this case I suggest you stay Warrior Caste to avoid bringing shame upon the First Fane of Chu'Domo. If what we have missed is big enough for a Religious Caste to deny you a reply, caution is advised", Varas wisely stated.

After a three and a half hour calm queue, they finally passed through customs.
Well, customs was just a word for the location where you can collect your luggage, as Minbar has no off-world visitors other than Minbari, they don't need to check for anything.

Renati and Varas collected the little luggage they had and each received a folder which stated the different activities in the capital city for the next three days.

"It's Minbar! We live here, we know what goes around in our own capital city, do we not?", Renati mumbled in confusion, but was quickly dragged forward by Varas. When she turned to her friend to complain about the arm-jerking, she saw Varas' lips had grown pale.

"What is it?"
"Just open the folder", she stuttered.

1000 year Valen commemoration.

Today we commemorate the 1000th year since Valen came to the people of Minbar. In order to make this a celebration worthy of his honour, we have prepared many festivities throughout the city for the next three days.

May this pamphlet be your guide for this miraculous event

Renati stood frozen on the spot, goggling Varas.
"We forgot about Valen day?", they uttered in unison.

"How scandalous!", Varas yelped.
"How dare we!", Renati added in utter disbelief.
"How could we?", Varas added again

"We will not be spared for this… we shouldn't be spared for all that is good in this world…"
"May Valen forgive us", Varas spoke.
"I think he's the last one to think of forgiveness at the moment", Renati quaffed.
"We will do penance later"
The two females continued their way out of the airport in disbelief of their own stupidity.

The folder had detailed descriptions of all available entertainment in the city for the next three days, including today's climax.
For this event, Renati and Varas shared seat number 17.345.444 and 17.345.445
Yikes.

"I would like to see if my grandmother is around and visit some of the festivities with her. Care to join us?", Varas suggested.
"I would be delighted", Renati said sheepishly, grateful for her friend's thoughtfulness.

For the next three days, a lot of places would be open to the public when at other times they were not.
Classic examples are the Religious Caste class of top children visiting the space platforms that are normally only visited by Warriors, or the curious Minbari visiting the Flarn factory.

So much to do in so little time! What would they do first?

Varas walked in her grandmother's house and saw her in a conversation with another elderly man.
"Ah Varas! Good to see you're here, this is my good friend Dhurlat. When we were younger we studied at temple together. He came all the way from Sorpigal for this joyous occasion", Midiri explained as Varas bowed.
"Honoured to meet you", Varas spoke.
"Who is that behind you?", her grandmother spoke, "Is that Renati? Well that's been a while!"

Renati entered the room and bowed respectfully.
"Glad to see you have both made it back for the Valen commemoration. It would be a shame to have missed this because of your duties", Midiri continued.
"Yes, indeed it would have", Varas spoke nervously and looked at her fellow Anla'Shok.
"But thankfully we made it back just in time!"
She was careful with her phrasing on the last one, for she could not insinuate their timely return was deliberate, nor did she want to emphasise its coincidence.

"We were thinking of attending the festivities together", Varas proposed
"Very good idea, we were just about to depart to see the Star Rider Infantry Parade passing through the centre soon", Varas' grandmother suggested
"Oh and then the opening of the Valen Temple", her friend Dhurlat insisted as they left to enjoy the day.

The Warrior parade had been impressive but brief. Being on a tight schedule due to the grand show later that afternoon, none of them had time to perform extra little demonstrations for the children as they often did.

The company's mind was taken off the Warrior glory once they saw the revelation of the new temple before their eyes.

They were not alone: millions of Minbari attended the opening of the new Valen temple. They had spent a hundred years building it to absolute perfection. It was the life's work of a team of seven Master Crafters, with an unthinkably large work force supporting them.

Forged out of the purest of crystals, it would be the new home for thousands of Minbari students and teachers. The pinnacle of Minbari education, its constructors hoped.

The ceremony was not of the shortest. Everything was blessed and accounted for, from the smallest crystal to the largest sculptural depiction.

The highlight of the event was the actual opening of the temple.
The door had been closed with a triangular seal, which was broken by a Warrior, a Religious and a Worker Caste pressing each corner of the triangle together.
The massive door opened for the first time and allowed the public inside.

The temple emitted a bright white light due to the reflection of the light on the many, many different layers of crystal the temple had. It was breathtaking at the same time as it was soothing.
There were many rooms for meditation, class rooms, training grounds, and much more.
But most importantly: all was made available for every Minbari to see.

The summit of the day started late mid-day.
All Minbari present gathered in the enormous Valen dome that had been built especially for that occasion.
The Worker Caste had constructed it so that fifty million Minbari would fit in.

By curving the structure downwards into the crystal soil of the planet on one end and moving to the sky on another, they covered a lot more ground than a 'standard' coliseum would.
It was absolutely enormous.

Fifty million unfortunately was only a small part of the population, but it would at least give the first arrivals the opportunity of seeing it live. Others would have to follow it on the gigantic projections in every large city on every planet in the system.

Renati, Varas, her grandmother Midiri and her friend Dhurlat had arrived at the dome well in time. The queue was formed orderly as usual, with no one being impatient. Everyone would be seated timely before the start of the festivities, haste was not a trait of the Minbari people.

Their distant seats still had a good view on the centre stage, as expected. There would of course be a large projection of the events atop the stage, showing wide shots and close ups of the events as they happened.
Entertainment was perfected as well as everything else in their culture.

The roof of the dome was retractable, so there was no limit to the spectacle. The Minbari had programmed favourable weather for the day, there would be no inconvenience for the viewers.

The show started with the stage in the centre being lit up by Minbari fireworks. Unlike human fireworks, they are plasma based allowing them to be more colourful and more detailed. They usually opened up in circular or triangular shapes, but for occasions such as these, the most creative artists are let loose to express their visions.

The fireworks set the mood for the Minbari audience, which was amazed by the display of their ships' armada that followed.

Dozens of Sharlin cruisers flew over the dome, displaying their speed and agility and shaking the ground with their after burners.

Ahaelden – Fire Wings – skin dancer Nial fighters flew over the crowd and inside the dome. Sometimes they left only about half a meter's distance between themselves and the spectators.
Some of the younger children stretched out their arms and were able to touch the smooth surface of the fighters as they sped by.

Ninety Nial skin dancers in total stunted their way through the dome, amazing the public. The timing at which the crafts crossed each other, showed of their excellence. All confident in their abilities, most of the pilots sat calmly in their cockpits as they rushed by one another.

As a finale, they sped up in a single formation and broke apart to twirl around their own Sharlin cruisers.
An amazing sight that was hailed by much cheering. With this, the Warriors had opened the event.

Master entertainer Zaca, well-known amongst his people, would guide the Minbari public through the events of the evening.
The first event of the day was a demonstration by the Vonilbok – the Wind Swords
"Still the mightiest of the Warriors!", he welcomed them to the stage

198 Vonilbok Warriors marched up the stage together, demonstrating their craft with the Denn'Bok and their traditional Wind Sword blade in alternation. They all performed the same set of movements, but perfectly synchronous.

When seen from a distance, the spectacle looked like one giant Warrior force rather than individuals coming towards you.
What a sight that must be for the enemy in times of war!

For twenty minutes, the crowd held its breath as the finest of the finest of the Minbari race showed why the Clan were as fearsome as they were reputed to be.

Memories of old resurfaced with the elderly, feelings of courage and awe were touched with the young ones, all of them connected to the same cause: the pride of the Minbari people.

To finish their show, the Vonilbok threw their Denn'Boks up in the air one by one and formed a spiral of constantly moving fighting pikes as they ran around to keep it going. With the hilts of their swords they tapped the falling Boks back into place.

In the final ten seconds every Warrior picked their own Denn'Bok out of the moving spiral, which was kept on the move until only nine were left.
Those were thrown up again and caught in unison by their owners.

Together, the Vonilbok retracted their Denn'Boks, sheathed their swords and bowed for the crowd.

They were warmed by the cheers and compliments from the crowd. The young ones screamed their lungs out to show appreciation – not very professional, but accepted in context.

Such a display of power!
Many had forgotten how impressive they really were.

Shai Alyt Branmer had not been part of the demonstration and neither had Akel.
How odd, Renati thought.

"Look Va'mala(3), there are the Fi'sularae!", a little boy in the crowd near the Anla'Shok cried out.
The man took the child on his shoulders, so the young one could better admire the demonstration of the power by the flamboyant Star Riders.

Masters of the Minbari equivalent of the shuriken, the Sularanai – literally 'objects from the sky' – they dazzled the crowd as they sent the little devices flying though them in order to hit the targets scattered along the dome.

The projectiles are plasma powered, so can fly a lot further than the strength of an arm's throw would bring them.
They are used for numerous purposes amongst the Warrior Caste, the two most prominent being projectile weapons and locator devices.

Eighteen members of the Fi'sularae clan started off in the centre of the dome and threw their Sularanai at targets in the far ends of the dome.
The targets were so small, they could not be seen with the naked eye from where they were standing. Therefore, each Warrior had a small visor on one eye to help them acquire their goal.
Their shots were still manually targeted by nothing else than the Warrior's throw, they could just calculate the distance and position of their target more easily with the visor.

Some argued the use of it, since the Worker Caste could easily incorporate a locking system on them – and some models had – but the Star Rider clan refused to use those. Pride in their skill did not allow the ease of their work.

The skill was notable, to say the least.
The finest Stars of them all shot their projectiles with such precision, they crushed the previous one every time a new one hit the target.

Every time.

Now that the crowd was warmed by their new heroes, eighteen more Fi'sularae appeared in the hallways separating the crowd, turning on their friends in the centre.
Those attempted to continue their act, while in addition dodging the mini-stars being thrown at them by the others.

A nifty little detail: they were not using training weapons.

Again the audience watched in awe at the mastery of their own brood. Gasps and yelps sounded throughout the crystal dome when some of the Sularanai got too close to the children in awe, veneration even, of the spectacle.
Too close in their mother's opinions of course.

The Warrior saw no harm in it, but enjoyed the females' agitation.
Typical Star Rider behaviour.

Nevertheless, their performance was hailed by many cheers, salutes and applause. Master Zaca initially had some trouble breaking through the crowd's enthusiasm, but quickly gained control once the polite people realised he was speaking.

"And now, for a more enthralling display, please welcome the Shaibar'nik, giving their duty of protecting Minbar and environs for one night to their peers", he
Zaca announced the demonstration of the Moon Shields' cunning with excitement.

As always, the light on the floating platform dimmed, and Zaca flew out of the picture in the dark without hindering anyone watching the spectacle

The dome's roof closed and blue moonlight emitted from the spotlights in the ceiling onto the stage.
Fifty million Minbari witnessed the floor of the stage slowly transform in a large basin.

"Water Va'mala?"
"Shhhh, just watch, you'll see", he hushed the child that looked at the display with greedy eyes.

Renati smiled at the young child's remark. His enthusiasm reminded her of the reason she joined the Anla'Shok: so much to discover!

Silence filled the room until suddenly, one Shaibar'nik broke through the perfectly flat surface of the water from below.
She leapt up high in the air, greeting the crowd with a bow.

Her body was covered in one of the Clan's traditional outfits for aquatic demonstrations: a royal blue Crystalmesh Dress, which was attached to the body only by the way it folded around it.
It had many 'extra' end, which hung in abundance next to the body when in rest, but once moving they transformed the Warrior inside to a spectacle of elegance.

The Shaibar'nik were the more gracious of the Minbari Warrior Clans. Where the Vonilbok excelled in force, the Shaibar'nik did in elegance.
All of their preferred fighting styles were based on their refined taste of life. Almost all of them looked like well-practiced dances when performed.

Nevertheless, they were equally deadly.
Their technique often left the enemy baffled or confused, and their speed was incredible. They had strived for thousands of years to find the perfect balance between beauty and efficiency and frankly, they have perfected it long ago.

The Clan of the Shaibar'nik had long been isolated on an island on Minbar in the older days, which is where they acquired the mastery over aquatic battles as well.
Tonight, they would show only a blink of their capabilities.

As the first Shaibar'nik dove back into the water, seventeen more emerged from beneath and bowed simultaneously to the crowd and to each other on their way down.
Renati derived from their garments they were all male.

Their traditional outfits for this type of event were different, but achieving the same effect. The tailoring of the extensions was adjusted to be less female, thus accentuating other parts of the body.

A preferred highlighted spot for many designers of these garments were the Shaibar'nik's lower arms, where they carry their arm guards. This brought out the intricate movement the Shaibar'nik hands crossed through the water with.

When Varas zoomed in with her Anla'Shok visor, she alerted Renati.
"Isn't that Shai Alyt Naroon of the Tiris?"
Renati took another look with hers and confirmed: "Incredible! It is!"

The soldiers were armed with arm guards, some projectile weapons Varas couldn't quite make out and their Denn'Bok.

Underwater recordings showed the crowd what happened in the sub-aquatic.
There, the Minbari engaged in close combat with one another, using their arm guards and the projectiles that were water adept.

The reason they could stay under water so long is because the Minbari had developed an efficient breathing system ages ago.
It was placed in the back of the mouth, against the top set of teeth, remaining invisible to the naked eye.
The Minbari were masters of molecule manipulation, as the Denn'Boks proved, and had developed two different systems.

One breather already contained oxygen enough for 48 hours of breathing, highly compressed. The other had an unlimited amount as it converted water molecules to oxygen.
All the carrier had to do, was take some water into his mouth when he wanted to breathe, like taking a breath but under water.
Depending on the situation, the Minbari would select the correct tool for the job.

It was a play of dodging projectiles, back lashing them and distracting the enemy with movement that was very difficult to follow for any non-Shaibar'nik. Most Minbari in the crowd experienced the play as a dance, only the other Moon Shields saw the excellence of the ones on the other side.

Varas and Renati were both looking at Shai Alyt Naroon. His fighting was most impressive. He had a very good technique, with such a perfect timing that to them, he stood out.

Then something caught Varas' eye. She noticed that Naroon's arm guards had a light blue gleam on them that illuminated slightly every time he hit something.
The coincidence was simply not mathematically possible in Varas' opinion, so she picked her friend's nose.
"Renati? Are those your armguards?", she whispered, not disturbing the others in trance of the music and movement.

Renati smiled warmly. She was surprised, but felt privileged at the same time.
"I gave them to him when I freed him on the Drahk war cruiser. He has asked me if he could keep them", she explained.
"One of the Shaibar'nik Warriors is wearing your Anla'Shok armguards for this demonstration… what an honour Renati!", Varas exclaimed.

Perhaps there would be one ship of Warriors they could turn to when in need.

We're going to need all the friends we can get she thought as she pondered on the closing battle.

The irony of this Valen day was striking her.

Here they were, the entire Minbari race celebrating over something they didn't half understand. Instead of celebrating they should be preparing for the battle.

The prophecy stated that after 1000 years, the Ancient Enemy would return. Instead of figuring out the countermeasures, the Minbari were dreaming in the honour of a half-god long gone.

Have we fallen in disgrace? she wondered.

Have faith in Anla'Shok Na, she heard a friendly voice speak in her mind.
He will wake the people up, I believe in him
Varas looked at her friend and smiled. She was getting better at that.
"You're right", she said.

Near the end of the display, the Shaibar'nik swam to the surface in unison and leapt up, higher than before.

Below them, the stage closed over the water, making the basin disappear. Just as the stage clicked into place, the eighteen Shaibar'nik landed on their feet on it, splashing the water off their uniforms onto the dry surface.

Again, the Warriors of the Minbari people were treated to a loud round of cheering.

More demonstrations followed from the Fe'endumar – Nightwalkers, some members of the Religious Caste and a select crowd of Workers, who each showed their own area of expertise, holding the crowd in awe for as long as they were allowed.

Near the end of the show, finally, the Anla'Shok were allowed to demonstrate their skills. Renati was surprised that at the current level of respect, they were even allowed in at all.

Eight of the most revered members stepped forward onto the stage.
One of them stepped forward and F'hursna Sech Durhan, undefeated with the pike, to step up for a challenge.

Of course the Vonilbok accepted the challenge and unrehearsed, he fought the eight Anla'Shok members.
The fight lasted over twenty minutes, but the intensity made it seem like an hour.

F'hursna Sech Durhan performed certain moved that even others of his clan had not seen demonstrated before, knocking the healthy and several-tens-of-cycles-younger-than-him Minbari off their feet.
Truly a man of unprecedented creativity!

At one moment, he fended off two oncoming Anla'Shok with his Denn'Bok while another had leapt up in the air to strike him down.
Without turning around, F'hursna Sech Durhan stretched out his hand and grabbed the Denn'Bok of his air assaulter, stopping him in mid-air. He spun him around and threw him to the other end of the stage.

Mind boggling!

The battle ended with none surrendering to the other, but all nine bowing to the public.
F'hursna Sech Durhan of course feeling very pleased with his own performance for 50 million Minbari.
Pride was something rooted deep amongst Minbari.

"We have reached the end of the ceremony, with one event left to inspire you", Master Zaca announced.

As he spoke those words the entire dome turned dark and the people's lips sealed. No one made a sound. Not one of the fifty million Minbari spoke, coughed or made any other type of noise.

Then, in the centre of the stage, a lonely spot light illuminated a figure cloaked in grey. Another followed, and another and another until nine spotlights revealed nine grey figures.
They took of their hoods and revealed themselves as the Grey Council.

One of the Grey spoke to his people: "We will tell you about something long forgotten. May you carry it in memory henceforth"

A fireworks display of history took the Minbari from before the last Shadow war until now. mages described how the Ancient Enemy was defeated with the help of Valen, how their race as prospered in the thousand years since his coming and so on.

This while the Satai added the necessary background knowledge to complete the picture for all: Worker, Warrior, Religious.

On could summarise it as a large commemoration to Valen for all the good he had done for the Minbari people, as well as everything that has occurred over time because of his actions.

After the Council's display of history, another figure stepped onto the stage, in the centre of the circle.

The dark hooded man revealed himself as Anla'Shok Na, leader of the Anla'Shok. His pin shone bright in the spotlight pointed at it, illuminating some of the first row faces green.

Lennon warned the Minbari people that Valen had not only brought good to their culture by deed, but also by word. They were in no position to forsaken his teachings now

"Valen prophesised the return of the Ancient Enemy: the Shadows. A thousand years after his earliest encounter, they would return to our universe to wreak havoc once again", his voice bellowed darkness and fear throughout the previously overjoyed dome.

Anla'Shok Na listed a number of events which he read directly from an original copy of the book of Valen, laying on a pedestal in front of him.
Events that had passed, events that were occurring now and some events that would occur in the future.

"We are not ready yet to face the Shadows. Although the Anla'Shok are growing in numbers, we need more support.
Valen himself has warned us not to to take this task upon ourselves. We need to seek the help of other races in this", Lennon addressed the federation.

Of course, he was clever enough not to mention which races were needed in the alliance. He was taking enough risk as it was pretty much telling the Warrior Caste they could not handle the enemy on their own.

Lennon's speech was not well-received by everyone, but he had delivered it nonetheless. Now they had all been undeniably informed.
What happens next, is up to fate.

After this notion, Zaca traditionally ended the show and aspired the people to enjoy the Valen commemoration meal and the additional late night festivities.

Footnotes:

(1) - Rahakaf (Adrenato): Excuse me

(2) - Su'Val (Adrenato): Term used to politely address a male. Comparable to 'sir'. Literally: Honoured male

(3) - Va'mala (Adrenato): Father

Author's remark:

I'm not sure about the names of the rivers. I am in possession of a digital version of the Minbari Federation Factbook, but the page has that featured in a terribly small font. Unfortunately the page is also overcompressed, rendering the text unreadable. I zoomed in as far as I could and tried to make the best of the names.

If anyone knows the true names, please let me know! Anonymous comments are allowed!

Next Chapter: Getting better acquainted

Coming soon! Stay tuned!