Free Shadow of the Blue Ring by Jerome Kelly

for the night, general Theomir Ravenn!”
    There was a thunderous cheer from the whole room as Ravenn himself finally walked out onto the stage. They had been waiting to see him all evening and now the wait was finally over. Ravenn looked well, he looked a fair few years younger than his age would have suggested. The stress of his military career and the Vulian war had not affected him physically at all, he looked in great health.
    “Good evening ladies and gentlemen,” he boomed into the microphone, “oh it’s so good to be here tonight, it is so refreshing to see you have turned out in such numbers. I’m flattered, I really am. Let me be the second person to welcome you all to Lahara’s finest venue, I’m looking forward to an excellent night alongside all you fine people.”
    There was further cheering around the room as he spoke. James had never once seen Ravenn’s cheerful side, he had always been business first when aboard the Morning Star. It was refreshing though, it was nice to see that all these tough-as-nails generals and military leaders had their fun sides and were able to let off some steam.
    “Well I honestly don’t know where to begin tonight,” Ravenn continued, “forty years, forty long years I have served as a general in the Churian military. There have been highs, there have been lows, there have been downright desperate times. Now, tonight, that time must come to an end. This will be my last hurrah before I step down and begin my retirement in the quiet, tropical resort of Carpara. It will be sad to see my long career finally come to an end but all good things must come to an end at some point and it is my time tonight.
    “This night will not be exclusively about me though, there will be a further set of honours for the evening. I have arranged for awards to be given to those individuals who have gone beyond the call of duty to help our new alliance in it’s efforts to rebuild after the devastation brought by the Vulian occupation. Given how much time and effort it has taken to restore this alliance. I will now call up these inspirational men and women one by one to receive their awards.”
    Two more officers rolled forward a stand that contained a series of sculpted, glass awards, each one bearing an inscription and two large signatures. James could not quite make out who any of them belonged to though, he wasn’t close enough to get a good look.
    “First up…” Ravenn began, picking up the first of the awards, “. . . we have this award for general Marek Juarez of Suros for his outstanding contribution to the reform and the rebuilding of the military forces of Suros. This man has almost single handedly put back together the shattered remains of a once proud and fearsome military and has inspired a new generation to rise up to take the place of those who sacrificed their lives to help turn the tide of one of the greatest battles of our time. Unfortunately, Marek cannot be here to receive this award tonight but our best wishes go out to him and we will see he receives this commendation for his efforts. Next up…”
    Ravenn continued to pick up each of the awards one by one with the recipient of each coming to the stage to proudly claim their award. As promised, there was an award for another one of James’s former crew.
    “. . . Our next award goes to Karlo Danero of the Lorridan defence legion of Voronia. I had the pleasure of serving alongside this man in battle in the past and I can personally vouch for him in his deserving of his award tonight. Through this man’s efforts, the famed Lorridan Defence Legion, one of the most feared and respected divisions in the entire alliance has been rebuilt and renewed. In addition, he has recently opened one of the finest training institutes for young soldiers on Voronia and it has recently been voted second only to the famed Korodon academy of Tolis in terms of the quality of it’s teaching and of it’s facilities. Receiving a